The Fifth Estate

The Fifth Estate episodes:

• 07.28.2021

  Can You Keep a Secret? Media Rights and the Need to Know

  Sally Warhaft, Peter Cronau and Scott Ludlam in conversation on stage at Bendigo Writers Festival. Why is WikiLeaks so important? What is there to be learned from the documents...

  
• 09.30.2020

  New Economic Futures

  Sally Warhaft and George Megalogenis Remember March 2020? When Australian borders closed, when we saw the first round of social restrictions? When the disturbing and surreal realities of COVID-19...

  
• 09.30.2020

  Breaking the Climate Stalemate

  What might the economic and social upheavals of 2020 mean for climate policy in Australia? For this Fifth Estate conversation, host Sally Warhaft brings together Judith Brett and Marian Wilkinson – two writers who have undertaken in-depth research into the...

  
• 06.11.2020

  Kevin Rudd on Australia’s Post-Pandemic Future

  Sally Warhaft and Kevin Rudd, live via video-link What are the origins of COVID-19? How could the pandemic’s spread have been better contained? These are fraught and complex questions...

  
• 05.28.2020

  Tom Porteous on Human Rights and COVID-19

  Sally Warhaft speaks with Tom Porteous, who joined us live from Paris Tom Porteous is a former journalist for the Guardian and the BBC, and an expert on global...

  
• 05.13.2020

  Joshua Wong: Unfree Speech

  Sally Warhaft, left, and Joshua Wong Joshua Wong was still a teenager when he rose to international prominence as a leader in Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement, protesting increased...

  
• 04.29.2020

  Malcolm Turnbull

  Sally Warhaft interviews Malcolm Turnbull – in his home – from the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne In 2015, when Malcolm Turnbull returned to the Liberal Party leadership and assumed...

  
• 04.01.2020

  State of Emergence

  Sally Warhaft, left, and George Megalogenis There is little doubt now that the COVID-19 coronavirus will drastically alter our lives, communities and societies for some time to come. Amid...

  
• 03.16.2020

  Bob Brown: Australia Ablaze

  Bob Brown The bushfires that raged across the country this summer have caused environmental and economic damage that will be felt for years to come. In Canberra, they have...

  
• 11.29.2019

  Political Wrap 2019

  For the final Fifth Estate of 2019, George Megalogenis returns to reflect with host Sally Warhaft on the year in Australian politics. Sally Warhaft and George Megalogenis They discuss the...

  
• 11.29.2019

  Samantha Power on Influence and Idealism

  How does a person navigate the change from activist outsider to influential insider? How do you balance idealism and pragmatism under pressure? Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Samantha Power has had to navigate these questions first-hand. From a troubled childhood in Dublin to...

  
• 11.04.2019

  Past Imperfect: Writing Australian History

  For this Fifth Estate discussion, we're joined by two prominent historians for a conversation about their careers, and how they have each navigated the changing tropes and traditions of Australian history writing. What role do contemporary historians play in shaping...

  
• 10.25.2019

  Women's Work

  American-born journalist Megan K. Stack is an acclaimed author and war correspondent. She was Moscow bureau chief for the L.A. Times when she made the decision to work from home and look after her newborn child. As her growing family...

  
• 10.21.2019

  Red State Real Talk: Mia Love

  Mia Love Mia Love was once a rising star of the Republican Party. She was the first black female Republican elected to congress, running and winning in Utah's 97%...

  
• 10.07.2019

  Tim Costello

  Sally Warhaft and Tim Costello For decades, Tim Costello has been among Australia’s most outspoken voices on issues of social justice and global inequality. Through his work as a...

  
• 09.19.2019

  Family Violence Emergency

  Sally Warhaft and Jess Hill The recent book by Jess Hill, See What You Made Me Do, calls for a drastic and urgent rethink in the way we conceive...

  
• 08.04.2019

  Foreign Affairs

  Sally Warhaft and Michael Fullilove What is Australia’s place in the world? How are we getting along with our neighbours? And how is our international outlook changing? For this...

  
• 07.22.2019

  Plots and Prayers

  Sally Warhaft and Niki Savva When Julia Gillard overthrew Kevin Rudd in 2010 it was as if the Canberra sky fell in. In the years since, we’ve seen Rudd...

  
• 07.08.2019

  Medicine and Healthcare in Australia

  Sally Warhaft, Ranjana Srivastava and Gustav Nossal There's much to celebrate in the history of Australian medicine and medical care – from the famous breakthrough in penicillin to the...

  
• 06.21.2019

  Post-Election Wrap 2019

  Sally Warhaft and Paul Kelly A month on from the federal election, once the dust has settled, we take an in-depth look at the events of 18 May and...

  
• 06.18.2019

  In the Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy

  Sally Warhaft and Frédéric Martel The Catholic Church, writes Frédéric Martel, is ‘a system built ... on the homosexual double life and on the most dizzying homophobia … Without...

  
• 05.06.2019

  Jill Abramson

  Sally Warhaft and Jill Abramson on stage at the Athenaeum Theatre — Photo: Scott Limbrick How should the media survive the current age? It’s a question that haunts the...

  
• 04.17.2019

  Right or Duty? Compulsory Voting in Australia

  Sally Warhaft, Kim Rubenstein and Judith Brett In a democracy, should voting be a citizen’s right or a citizen’s duty? Australia is one of a small number of countries –...

  
• 04.03.2019

  On Hate

  When, and how, does hate flourish in a society? How is hate spreading in our society? When do speech acts qualify as acts of hate? Who is encouraging the spread of hate, and what do they have to gain? In this...

  
• 03.25.2019

  Federal Election 2019

  After yet another year of chaos in the Australian Parliament, a federal election looms. For an in-depth discussion of the context – and possible outcome – of the vote, Sally Warhaft will be joined by two veterans of Australian political...

  
• 03.06.2019

  Kassem Eid: My Country

  Sally Warhaft and Kassem Eid on stage at the Wheeler Centre In 2013, Kassem Eid narrowly escaped death when Bashar al-Assad’s government unleashed a now-infamous sarin gas attack on...

  
• 11.28.2018

  Political Wrap 2018

  For the final Fifth Estate of 2018 – and in the wake of the Victorian election and its recriminations – we look back at the year in Australian politics with series host Sally Warhaft and seasoned political observers George Megalogenis...

  
• 11.28.2018

  Political Wrap 2018

  For the final Fifth Estate of 2018, we look back at the year in Australian politics with series host Sally Warhaft and seasoned political observers George Megalogenis and Gabrielle Chan.

  
• 11.14.2018

  Kerry O'Brien

  Sally Warhaft and Kerry O'Brien — Photo: Jon Tjhia Kerry O'Brien at the Wheeler Centre — Photo: Jon Tjhia ...

  
• 11.14.2018

  Kerry O'Brien

  Appearing in conversation with Sally Warhaft, revered Australian journalist Kerry O’Brien talks about what he’s learned from grilling the great, the good and the not-so-good over five decades.

  
• 11.07.2018

  US Midterms and Beyond

  Sally Warhaft, Bob Carr and Dennis Altman The 2018 midterm elections in the United States will be held on Tuesday 6 November. In the heated, highly partisan atmosphere in...

  
• 11.07.2018

  US Midterms and Beyond

  Sally Warhaft dissects the 2018 US midterm elections – talking polls, candidates and analysis with former Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr and La Trobe University academic Dennis Altman.

  
• 10.22.2018

  Foreign Affairs

  Sally Warhaft and Stephen Smith — Photo: Scott Limbrick As we hurtle towards the end of 2018, it’s clear we’ve entered a period of increased volatility and uncertainty in...

  
• 10.22.2018

  Foreign Affairs

  Host Sally Warhaft and former Foreign Minister Stephen Smith explore Australia’s place in a changing region and a changing world. What are the new security challenges? And how can we nurture friendships within the region, while staying on good terms...

  
• 10.22.2018

  Christianity Today

  Host Sally Warhaft and journalist and author Greg Sheridan talk morality, hope, disillusion and the changing shape of faith in today's global society.

  
• 10.21.2018

  Christianity Today

  Sally Warhaft and Greg Sheridan In 1966, 88% of Australians identified as Christian in the census. By the 2016 census, the proportion had dipped to 52%. The number of...

  
• 10.21.2018

  Christianity Today

  Host Sally Warhaft and journalist and author Greg Sheridan talk morality, hope, disillusion and the changing shape of faith in today's global society.

  
• 10.08.2018

  Media, Police and Crimes Against Women

  How is journalism changing when it comes to reporting on crimes against women? Why do some crimes, and some victims, get more press than others? And how does media coverage affect police investigations and the pursuit of justice in specific...

  
• 10.08.2018

  Media, Police and Crimes Against Women

  For this Fifth Estate conversation, Sally Warhaft is joined by former Victoria Police chief commissioner Christine Nixon and veteran crime journalist Andrew Rule to discuss prejudice and perception in media and police work. How does public scrutiny help and...

  
• 09.24.2018

  Katharine Murphy

  Sally Warhaft and Katharine Murphy at The Fifth Estate ‘Conflict is not a new commodity in news,’ Katharine Murphy has written. ‘ … But media disruption has intensified the...

  
• 09.24.2018

  Katharine Murphy

  At the Wheeler Centre, Guardian Australia political editor Katharine Murphy joins host Sally Warhaft as they discuss how politicians, journalists and citizens are learning to navigate the changing new media world order.

  
• 09.24.2018

  David Neiwert

  Sally Warhaft and David Neiwert — Photo: Sophie Quick At Melbourne Writers Festival, journalist, author and acknowledged expert in American right-wing extremism David Neiwert speaks with Sally Warhaft about...

  
• 09.24.2018

  David Neiwert

  At the Melbourne Writers Festival, journalist, author and acknowledged expert in American right-wing extremism David Neiwert talks to Sally Warhaft in an intimate discussion on journalism, media and politics in the context of the alt-right in Trump’s America.

  
• 09.17.2018

  Masha Gessen

  Masha Gessen is an award-winning author and a staff writer at The New Yorker. She speaks to Sally Warhaft about The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, her non-fiction 2017 National Book Award-winning work that charts the coming-of-age of...

  
• 09.17.2018

  Masha Gessen

  Masha Gessen is an award-winning author and a staff writer at The New Yorker. She speaks to Sally Warhaft about The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, her non-fiction 2017 National Book Award-winning work that charts the coming-of-age of...

  
• 09.10.2018

  Whitewash: Crops, Corruption and Cancer

  Glyphosate is the most widely used weed-killer in the world. It’s the active ingredient in Roundup, the flagship agricultural herbicide sold by Monsanto, and it’s used in more than 130 countries including Australia. Glyphosate is in our parks, gardens, golf-courses...

  
• 09.10.2018

  Whitewash: Crops, Corruption and Cancer

  Veteran investigative journalist Carey Gillam has spent decades exploring the links between big business, biotech and agriculture in America. With Sally Warhaft – in the immediate aftermath of a landmark US ruling on weed killer Roundup's links to a cancer...

  
• 07.30.2018

  Les Hinton

  With Sally Warhaft, Les Hinton – Rupert Murdoch's right-hand man for more than 50 years – talks about the past, present and future of the mainstream press … as well as life alongside the man he calls ‘an authentic colossus’. ...

  
• 07.30.2018

  Les Hinton

  With Sally Warhaft, Les Hinton – Rupert Murdoch's right-hand man for more than 50 years – talks about the past, present and future of the mainstream press … as well as life alongside the man he calls ‘an authentic colossus’.

  
• 07.13.2018

  Tracey Spicer

  For this episode, Fifth Estate host Sally Warhaft welcomes Tracey Spicer to the Wheeler Centre for a conversation about her accomplished, diverse and fearless life and career in Australian journalism – and the challenges and opportunities arising from the popular...