The Fifth Estate

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 this key for understanding, the recent history of the Vatican and the Roman Church remains opaque.'

How is Martel qualified to make such statements? He is an acclaimed academic and journalist in France, and the author of several widely translated books on contemporary culture and political science, including The Pink and the Black, On Culture in America and Global Gay. His latest book, In the Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy, is the result of four years worth of investigative journalism, including hundreds of interviews across many corners of the globe, in efforts to understand the scope and culture of homosexuality within the Catholic Church.

Many of his sources – including priests, cardinals, Vatican administrative staff and sex workers – have spoken to Martel about widespread clerical homosexuality under terms of anonymity. Their combined testimony paints a portrait of a bizarre culture of conspiracy and cover-up, with ramifications that extend way beyond the sexual identities of individual priests and into church policies on contraception, IVF and the handling of cases of sexual abuse.

The Vatican, as Martel describes it, is a place of surreal duplicity. But an investigation with mostly anonymous sources raises its own questions about double standards. Join Martel for a discussion of his remarkable book with Sally Warhaft.

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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 bones of many in the industry, and a through-line of Merchants of Truth, a bracing new account of American journalism’s moral crisis written by Jill Abramson.

A former executive editor of the New York Times, and a widely-respected media veteran, Abramson looks at fake news, click-bait and the commercial objectives of Facebook and Google. Her unflinching – sometimes bleak – investigations take readers to the front-line of the essential and existential decisions being made at the heart of four key outlets: Buzzfeed, VICE, the Times and the Washington Post. Against Facebook virality and Google’s algorithm, can hallowed principles of objectivity and impartiality survive?

The first woman to hold many of the senior roles she’s occupied, Abramson shares what she’s learned through her celebrated career. She also addresses the criticism and controversy surrounding the book: she has been accused of being dismissive towards young, digitally savvy journalists and their readerships’ interests, and of factual errors and plagiarism – charges which she refutes.

With host Sally Warhaft, join us for a fascinating and frank discussion with one of modern journalism’s most experienced figures, and an exploration into the future of media.

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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 – including Argentina and Egypt – with mandatory voting. Australia is rare, within this small group of nations, in imposing penalties on citizens who fail to turn up to vote. Compulsory voting has been in place here since 1924 and it sets us apart from other advanced democracies. Less than 60% of the US voting-age population cast ballots in the 2016 presidential election.

For this conversation, we bring together citizenship law expert Kim Rubenstein and the eminent historian Judith Brett, author of From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage: How Australia Got Compulsory Voting. They trace the history of our voting system and examine how it’s shaped the tenor of our debates and our sense of ourselves and our representatives – plus, how the system may yet change. With Sally Warhaft, they discuss donkey votes, ballot boxes, barbeques and the wide-ranging implications of compulsory participation.

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Housekeeping #2: ID / Government 10 Jun 2016 Podcast episode

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Housekeeping #3: No-Shows / Australian politics 17 Jun 2016 Podcast episode

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Housekeeping #4: Scrutiny / Government 27 Jun 2016 Podcast episode

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Housekeeping #5: Locked Out / Crime 30 Jun 2016

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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 conversation, we’ll discuss the disturbing rise of nationalist populism in Australia today, expressed through such events as the United Patriots rally at St Kilda beach, the ‘African gang’ scare campaigns and the white supremacist terrorist attack at Christchurch. Tim Soutphommasane is the former race discrimination commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission and he is the author of an essay published by Melbourne University Press, ‘On Hate’, which examines the threat that racist extremism poses to Australian democracy. Santilla Chingaipe is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker who has reported extensively on African-Australian communities.

With Sally Warhaft, the pair discuss populism, prejudice and radicalism in the context of recent events and the looming federal election.

Photo: Jon Tjhia

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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 circles: journalist Michelle Grattan and former Liberal leader John Hewson.

Warhaft, Hewson and Grattan — Photo: Johnboy Davidson / José Eveline

What are the major parties offering, in terms of health, education, housing and climate policy? Which policies can really swing voters? How will the minor and single-issue parties fare in the Senate? Will Tony Abbott hold on to Warringah? Can Bill Shorten be our new Prime Minister? And is anything as exotic as leadership stability possible in the 46th Parliament?

In this episode, Sally Warhaft talks politics and policy beyond the polls with Grattan and Hewson.

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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 Ghouta, Syria. It wasn’t just sarin: the area was also bombarded by mortar fire. At least 1500 people died. Eid didn’t, but the devastating assault irreversibly injured his community and upended his life.

Since its beginnings during the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, the war has claimed tens (some say hundreds) of thousands of lives. It has made refugees of more than ten million people, including Eid – an activist and journalist, himself born to Palestinian refugee parents.

In this episode, the author of My Country: A Syrian Memoir speaks with Sally Warhaft about his life, the history of the conflict and how he understands the prospect of it ending. They discuss the Syria he grew up in, the Syria he fought for, and the Syria the world abandoned.

Kassem Eid's visit was supported by Goethe Institut Australia.

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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 and Gabrielle Chan.

Our panellists unpack and reflect on the issues that have monopolised domestic headlines – from yet another leadership spill to the banking royal commission and the senate’s controversial ‘It’s OK to be white’ vote. They examine the major events that have attracted international attention, too: the suggested relocation of the Australian embassy in Israel, live animal export bans and damning reports of Resignation Syndrome in children on Nauru.

Of course, the year isn’t over just yet. Mark Latham has joined One Nation, the ScoMo Express has been out campaigning, and the NSW Labor party is grappling with a sexual harassment scandal ahead of the 2019 election. Join us as we examine the wild ride that was – is – 2018 in Australia … and ponder what may lie ahead in an election year.

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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.

Sally Warhaft and Kerry O'Brien — Photo: Jon Tjhia

Kerry O'Brien at the Wheeler Centre — Photo: Jon Tjhia

‘We absolutely cannot make any assumptions about the future of democracy in this country.’

Kerry O'Brien, in conversation with Sally Warhaft

He’s interviewed Nelson Mandela, David Bowie, Margaret Thatcher, Herbie Hancock and Mikhail Gorbachev. As a journalist, he’s watched 13 Australian prime ministers come and go and he’s personally interrogated most of them, live on The 7.30 Report. Kerry O’Brien is a singular figure in Australian journalism – a broadcast journalist, foreign correspondent, columnist and feature writer – who has interviewed some of the most influential Australian and global figures, across politics, art and sport over a career of 50 years.

In Kerry O’Brien: A Memoir he shares behind-the-scenes tales of talks with the likes of Tony Blair and the Dalai Lama as well as his insights on the social, political and media upheavals he’s witnessed up close.

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

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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.