NEWS WEAKLY 196 – 17th January 2026

Top Stories of the Week

Running From Iran

A nationwide internet blackout, mass killings, exile fantasies, and the danger of confusing silence for stability.

Albo Hates Hate

After Bondi, Australia reaches for sweeping hate laws that try to arrest a feeling instead of fixing a mechanism, while New Zealand’s Christchurch response still quietly embarrasses us.

Writers Read the Room

Adelaide Writers’ Week is cancelled, apologised for, then retroactively justified, proving once again that institutions love free speech right up until they have to defend it.

Kevin Oh Succession

Kevin Rudd exits Washington and Canberra realises the next US ambassador’s main qualification is surviving Donald Trump without triggering an alliance incident.

Plus

A deep dive into how “foreign meddling” narratives poison solidarity, why cultural institutions keep mistaking safety for optics, and how despair gets rebranded as pragmatism.

And at the end of the episode, a bonus feature:

Mocking the News – Sami’s documentary exploring how satire collides with journalism, objectivity, and power, and why jokes sometimes end up telling the truth faster than headlines.

Quote of the Week

“Silence isn’t stability. It’s just what violence sounds like once it’s done its job.”

Support the Show

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Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music ‘Historic Anticipation’ by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

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