Per capita, Aussies are the world’s biggest losers, gambling away between $25 to $31.5 billion per year. In 2023, an inquiry into gambling harm chaired by the late MP Peta Murphy made 31 recommendations. Despite crossbench support for gambling reform, none of these recommendations have been implemented by the Australian government.

Jules and Jez also chat about the perils of AI slop which has just dubbed  Macquarie Dictionary's 2025 word of the year.

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Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez chat about the stories you're obsessed with, the stuff you've missed and the things that matter. Episodes drop every Wednesday afternoon. Join the conversation and email the show at [email protected]

Democrats and Republicans voted unanimously today to release the full Epstein files. Now it's up to Trump to sign the bill. He's been under increasing pressure over recent months to release the files and last week had a big falling out with Marjorie Taylor Greene who was previously a huge supporter of Trump and the MAGA movement.

Jez and Jules also talk about Victoria's new Liberal leader, Jess Wilson, who is a moderate and a millennial.

Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez chat about the stories you're obsessed with, the stuff you've missed and the things that matter. Episodes drop every Wednesday afternoon. We want to hear from you! Join the conversation and email the show at [email protected]

This week an article in the New York Times set group chats alight everywhere. "Are women ruining the workplace?" it asked. We have thoughts. And what do the resignations at the BBC tell us about the state of the media and power. The BBC's director-general and head of news resigned amid criticism of the broadcaster's editing of a speech Donald Trump delivered before protesters attacked the US Capitol.

Julia Baird and guest host Chas Licciardello chat about the stories you're obsessed with, the stuff you've missed and the things that matter. Episodes drop every Wednesday afternoon. We want to hear from you! Join the conversation and email the show at [email protected]

Jules' pick: https://www.whitlam.org/women-and-whitlam

Chas' pick: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/F3HI1zugyU4

EDITOR'S NOTE: In this episode, Chas Licciardello says that the BBC re-ordered the speech by Donald Trump. This is not correct. While Donald Trump mentioned "going to the Capitol" twice in the speech, the BBC ran the two grabs in the correct order but with almost an hour of speech in between. 

Could messaging apps be keeping us from REAL connection or do they enable connections we otherwise wouldn't have had...? The truth is it's complicated.

Jules and Jez also chat about your stories of cleaners flying under the radar, the disconnect between avoiding news broadcasts and bingeing Mafia content, and the story behind a message in a bottle found on a remote beach in WA.

Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez talk about the stories you're obsessed with, the stuff you've missed and the things that matter. Episodes drop every Wednesday afternoon. We want to hear from you! Join the conversation and email the show at [email protected]

As Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping meet for the first time since 2019, Jez and guest host Emma Shortis discuss the meeting and what it means for the future of the relationship between the two superpowers.

And what can the New York mayoral race tell us about the future of the US Democratic Party?

Jeremy Fernandez and Emma Shortis chat about the stories you're obsessed with, the stuff you've missed and the things that matter. Episodes drop every Wednesday afternoon. We want to hear from you! Join the conversation and email the show at [email protected]

Prince Andrew will no longer be called "the Duke of York" following further revelations about his relationship with US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Jules and Jez chat about what we now know and the lack of transparency in the royal family.

And while Barnaby Joyce has led to lots of new speculation about the future of the Coalition, there are calls for the Liberal Party to do more to reconnect with women. A leader of a grassroots movement aimed at boosting female representation in the party says the Liberals risk staying in long-term opposition unless it stops dismissing women as “woke”. 

Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez chat about the stories you're obsessed with, the stuff you've missed and the things that matter. Episodes drop every Wednesday afternoon. We want to hear from you! Join the conversation and email the show at [email protected]

Despite not winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump has been dominating the headlines (as usual), and the real winner: Venezuelan politician and activist, Maria Corina Machado, even thanked him. As violence erupts in Gaza, the real question is whether Trump’s peace plan will hold.

Jules and Jez also preview the Boyer Lectures which focus on democracy, and they talk about why Australia’s ‘democracy experiment’ is an important global benchmark. And stick around for their picks of the week where we find out about a dog with attitude and communicating with cuttlefish. 

Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez chat about the stories you're obsessed with, the stuff you've missed and the things that matter. 

Episodes drop every Wednesday afternoon. We want to hear from you! Join the conversation and email the show at [email protected]

It's no secret that US President Donald Trump wants to win The Nobel Peace Prize. Badly. Barack Obama won it in 2009 and Trump has repeatedly said he deserves the prize. 

Jules and Jez take a look at previous recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize which include Martin Luther King Jr, Nelsen Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu and the Red Cross.

But the Nobel Peace Prize hasn't been without controversy. So could Trump actually make the cut, and is the award still even relevant?

Jules and Jez also talk about the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, who is now ceremonial head of 85 million Anglicans in over 165 countries.

Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez chat about the stories you're obsessed with, the stuff you've missed and the things that matter. 

Episodes drop every Wednesday afternoon. We want to hear from you! Join the conversation and email the show at [email protected]

While there's a lot of hope around Trump's 20-point proposal for peace in Gaza, Jules and Jez look at a crucial piece that's missing from it.

And despite LGBTQI+ education modules and an action plan, the end of the AFL season has been marred once again by homophobia. Perhaps men's footy could learn a thing or two from the Matildas.

Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez chat about the stories you're obsessed with, the stuff you've missed and the things that matter. 

Episodes drop every Wednesday afternoon. We want to hear from you! Join the conversation and email the show at [email protected]

Thousands turned out for Charlie Kirk's memorial, but there seems to be a disconnect between Christian values and the policies of the Trump administration.

While Jimmy Kimmel is back following a huge backlash against the FCC crackdown, journalism and free speech in the United States is still under threat.

Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez chat about the stories you're obsessed with, the stuff you've missed and the things that matter. Episodes drop every Wednesday afternoon. 

We want to hear from you! Join the conversation and email the show at [email protected]