Spin Cycle

Eddie Lloyd is a criminal lawyer and close friend to former Australian Defence Force (ADF) lawyer David McBride. She's been attending and closely following McBride's trial for leaking secret information to journalists about alleged war crimes.
Eddie speaks to Spin Cycle's Charlie Lewis, Jess Lilley and Rachel Withers about her perspective on the trial and more broadly the handling of whistleblowing in Australia.
Charlie, Jess and Rachel also discuss Francesca Albanese’s address at the National Press Club and appearance on Q+A, and more updates on the coverage of Israel and Gaza.
Note: after this broadcast aired, David McBride pleaded guilty to unlawfully sharing military information and he is expected to be sentenced early in 2024.
Eddie Lloyd is on Twitter at @worldzonfire. 

Dr Jay Daniel Thompson from RMIT joins Charlie and Rachel to discuss the government's proposed digital/online misinformation bill. Together they look at the issues in the language of the proposal and how mis- and disinformation are being handled in the media right now.

Rachel and Charlie also talk about this week’s editorial review at the ABC on how they are reporting on Israel and the human rights crisis in Gaza.

This week on Spin Cycle Jess and Charlie talk to Professor Rick Sarre about the recent change in Queensland law that allows the naming of the accused when they are charged in sexual assault cases. How does the change affect the way the media reports on these cases?

The team also discusses the latest in the reporting on the Israel/Hamas conflict and on-going commentaries from former Prime Ministers.

Jess flies solo this week on Spin Cycle and is joined by Daany Saeed, media reporter for Crikey News. Together they discuss the ABC's potential disclosure of footage collected in confidence, the leaking of information during the Cleo Smith case, and the IDF's international media approach.

Charlie is joined by returning guest host Rachel Withers of The Monthly. Together they talk to the Centre for Advancing Journalism's media ethics expert and Senior Research Fellow, Dr Denis Muller. 

They discuss the rise of Trumpism, the requirement for balanced reporting, the separation of opinion and news, and the Australian media's approach to political reporting in the wake of the referendum.

Rachel and Charlie also explore the aftermath of The Voice to Parliament referendum, looking at where the 'Yes' votes polled the highest and how the media can misconstrue data and statistics in their reporting.

Jess and Rachel are joined by Peter Lewis of Essential Media to talk about polling, given its prominence in the lead up to the Voice to Parliament referendum. What's the process how do they achieve accuracy?
The team also talk to Nasser Mashni, President of The Australian Palestine Advocacy Network, to discuss the week's coverage of the Palestine-Israel conflict. How has it shown the continuing bias of perspective in mainstream media, and the lack of context provided for situations such as this?

Rachel Withers and Jess Lilley are joined by Natasha May, Health reporter for The Guardian Australia, to discuss a special report into the rise in youth gambling - the team ask whether parents, schools and government are doing enough to regulate and educate.

Rachel and Jess also discuss grifters, Taylor Swift, and the latest in the Voice to Parliament referendum and whether there really is a recent uptick in ‘Yes’ support.

Award winning Investigative journalist Nick Mckenzie (The Age) joins Jess, Charlie and Rachel Withers, to discuss a groundbreaking investigation to former Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo.

The team also discuss the resignations of Dan Andrews and Rupert Murdoch and what it means for the local and international face of Newscorp now and in the future.

A note that this episode contains discussion of sexual assault. If you or anyone requires support, you can call the National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling line on 1800 737 732

This week, Jess and Charlie are joined by guest-host Esther Anatolitis, editor of Meanjin. Together they talk to Dr Eugenia Flynn, writer, researcher, RMIT Indigenous postdoctoral fellow and guest-editor for Meanjin’s most recent Spring Issue, which features works entirely from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creators.

The team also discuss the media’s coverage of  sexual assault allegations, in light of recent reporting on UK comedian Russell Brand, and discuss whether Scott Morrison’s book will really be as different from other ex-PM’s memoirs as he says it will be.

Charlie and Jess are joined by host of The Mission, Daniel James and contributing editor for The Monthly, Rachel Withers. Together they discuss the media's focus on negativity, outrage headlines and disinformation in the lead up to the referendum on The Voice, and the real world impacts this has on Indigenous people.

Journalist, Karla Grant also joins the team to talk about her SBS Dateline report on the Sámi First Nations Parliament of Norway. What parallels can we draw with the proposed Voice to Parliament in Australia?