Hack

On COVID's 5th anniversary we have to ask: are we okay? 

And barred windows, a single exit and pyrotechnics: how a nightclub fire in North Macedonia claimed the lives of dozens of young people. 

Plus, Gout Gout's record-breaking run was ruined by illegal wind. What does that mean? 

Listen now:

00:53 - Reflecting on your COVID experience 

07:23 - How COVID lockdowns changed lives forever 

21:20 - North Macedonia's nightclub tragedy 

25:13 - Gout Gout's latest run

Guests

• Dr Angela Donohue, psychologist, My Tribe Family Psychology 
• Professor Sharon Lewin, director, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
• Mitch Dyer, track and field journalist, Straight At It

Get the whole story from Hack:

• Follow us on Instagram
• Listen to our deep dive wherever you get your podcasts 
• Listen on the triple j app or on your radio live at 5:30pm

It's been 5 years since COVID shut down the world as we know it. 

Some people don't want to remember at all, while others have been changed forever since lockdowns took over the country. 

Today we ask: are we all ignoring our collective COVID trauma? 

Guest: 

• Dr Angela Donohue, psychologist, My Tribe Family Psychology 

Donald Trump tried to help Elon Musk this week by buying a Tesla. But is it really the kind of boost the brand needs?

Also this week: Trump’s trade war started. Would holding Bluey hostage help Australia’s case?

And an influencer who picked up a baby wombat started an entirely different Australia-US fight. 

Plus, how taskmasking is the secret way to looking busy without actually being busy at work.

Host Dave Marchese is joined by comedians Lauren Bonner and Dave Hoey.

Australia hasn't secured an exemption to Trump's tariffs... yet. Now the "friendship" between the two countries is under threat. 

And Formula 1 is back in Melbourne this weekend - could Oscar Piastri take out the win? 

Plus, Australia's got one of the highest uptakes of vaccines in the world, but is rising anti-vax sentiment putting it at risk?

Listen now: 

01:09 - Trump's tariffs in action

12:09 - Anti-vax sentiment rising 

24:29 - F1 in Melbourne

Guest: 

• Dr Scott French, international trade expert, School of Economics at UNSW
• Dr Katie Attwell, professor and vaccine sentiment researcher, University of Western Australia 
• Michael Lamonato, motorsport journalist, Fox Sports

Get the whole story from Hack:

• Follow us on Instagram
• Listen to our deep dive wherever you get your podcasts 
• Listen on the triple j app or on your radio live at 5:30pm

Australia's always been proud of having one of the highest uptakes of vaccines in the world.

But with the US reporting its first measles deaths in a decade and politicians here expressing anti-vax views, could all of that be at risk?

Hack takes a look at vaccine sentiment across the country.

Guest: 

• Dr Katie Attwell, professor and vaccine sentiment researcher, University of Western Australia 

Get the whole story from Hack:

• Follow us on Instagram
• Listen to our deep dive wherever you get your podcasts 
• Listen on the triple j app or on your radio live at 5:30pm

People in Syria are grappling with how to set up a new government, after the fall of the Assad regime last year. But in the last few days there’ve been horrifying reports of revenge killings and massacres. We speak to someone who’s there. 

And access to abortion in Australia is being described as a ‘postcode lottery’. So could the federal government step in? 

Plus, meet the "third culture" Aussies learning how to own their mixed heritage.

Listen now: 

01:16 - Update on the violence in Syria

09:30 - Abortion access around Australia 

14:46 - Connecting to your heritage 

Guests:

• Heidi Pett, investigative journalist based in Syria 
• Kano Ravalji, founder of Third Culture and Youth Commissioner at the Victorian Multicultural Commission

Get the whole story from Hack:

• Follow us on Instagram
• Listen to our deep dive wherever you get your podcasts 
• Listen on the triple j app or on your radio live at 5:30pm

About half of Australians have a parent born overseas, so a lot of young people grow up in a mixed heritage household. 

So what’s it like trying to connect, or even reconnect, with that part of your life? 

Maybe you don't feel Indian enough, or Filipino enough, or Samoan enough... 

In this episode, we unpack the "third culture" of growing up with mixed heritage.

Guest:

• Kano Ravalji, founder of Third Culture and Youth Commissioner at the Victorian Multicultural Commission

Get the whole story from Hack:

• Follow us on Instagram
• Listen to our deep dive wherever you get your podcasts 
• Listen on the triple j app or on your radio live at 5:30pm

Police reckon a caravan they discovered filled with explosives outside Sydney was a fake terrorism plot. So what's the story? And did Peter Dutton over-cook it to "stoke fear", as government ministers are out claiming? 

Also, Donald Trump's having a spat with former Aussie prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. It's bad timing, with Trump threatening Australian businesses with tariffs.

Plus, we find out what it's really like balancing the demands of normal life after an Olympics. 

Listen now:

01:11 - Caravan hoax

09:31 - Should world leaders stand up to Trump? 

20:43 - After the Olympics

Guests: 

• Perry Duffin, crime reporter, Sydney Morning Herald
• Melissa Conley Tyler, lead, Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue
• Sonia Boland, national wellbeing manager, Australian Sports Commission

Get the whole story from Hack:

• Follow us on Instagram
• Listen to our deep dive wherever you get your podcasts 
• Listen on the triple j app or on your radio live at 5:30pm

Imagine being at the pinnacle of your career as an athlete - winning a medal at the Olympics.

And then you have to come home.

The comedown after a sporting event like the Olympics or Paralympics can be physically and emotionally tough for athletes.

So how do they cope? And are we doing enough to support them across the board afterwards?

Guest:

• Sonia Boland, National Wellbeing Manager, Australian Sports Commission

Hundreds of thousands of people still don't have electricity, as the wild weather from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred keeps smashing south east Queensland and northern NSW. Understandably, there's a lot of focus on fixing infrastructure. But what about the impact on the coastline itself?

Plus, WA Labor had a massive election win over the weekend. So does the result mean trouble for Peter Dutton come federal election time?

And US scientists are trying to resurrect the woolly mammoth from extinction... by genetically modifying mice.

Listen now:

01:20 -  WA election results

06:06 - Is Peter Dutton in trouble?

13:48 - Ex-TC Alfred update

21:20 - Woolly mammoth comeback

Guests:

• Zak Kirkup, former WA Liberal leader
• Dr Darrell Strauss, oceanographer, Griffith University 
• Dr Emily Roycroft, evolution and genomics expert, Monash University