While firefighters in Victoria battle devastating bush fires that have destroyed homes and livestock, at the other end of the country, Queenslanders were bracing for floods from ex-Cyclone Koji.

Today, David Bowman, a professor of pyrogeography and fire science at the University of Tasmania, on what causes this climate whiplash and how our changing climate is worsening our extreme weather.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the first day of the new year, Donald Trump wrote on his social platform Truth Social, what he wanted for 2026. And I quote, “Peace, peace on earth”. 

Two days later, Trump invaded Venezuela. And now, the American president is threatening to invade at least four other countries. 

Today, Bruce Wolpe, senior fellow at the United States Studies Centre, and a former congressional staffer, on whether Trump’s imperialist aggression, and a recent mutiny of more than a dozen top-ranking MAGA members, might break his hold on power.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re on a break over summer, our dear chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal is probably off to a yoga retreat somewhere in Bali, and we return at the end of January for another fun-filled year of Inside Politics.

Well, we can’t ignore the impact that Donald Trump had on domestic politics last year and for this episode, we return to a point in time when most of the press pack was obsessed with whether Anthony Albanese will meet with the US president. It finally happened, and we recorded this episode about a week before the meeting would take place.

Paul is joined by our special guest star, and economics correspondent Shane Wright, to forecast the details of the meeting, before they argue about Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ abandonment of superannuation reforms.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi, it’s Samantha Selinger-Morris here, and I’m the host of The Morning Edition. We’re bringing you the best episodes of 2025 before your Morning Edition team returns on Monday.

In August, two police officers were shot and killed at a property in Victoria’s high country and suspected murderer, Dezi Freeman, went on the run. Now, more than four months later, he is still missing. 

In this episode, associate editor and special writer Tony Wright takes us to the whispering forests and deep valleys of the high country, which have long hidden those on the run.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re bringing you the best episodes of 2025 before your Morning Edition team returns next week.

Last May, the incumbent Labor government swept to power while the Liberal Party suffered an election wipeout, with women voters, in particular, shunning the party.

In this episode, recorded just after the election result, political and international editor Peter Hartcher traces the Liberals’ surprising history of embracing the female vote and how that crucial vote was lost in 2025.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi, it’s Samantha Selinger-Morris here, and I’m the host of The Morning Edition. We’re bringing you the best episodes of 2025 before your Morning Edition team returns next week.

With the tragic death of a wellness influencer after the birth of her child at home in Melbourne, the practice of freebirthing was thrust into the spotlight last year.

In this episode, senior writer Wendy Tuohy takes us through the nuances of homebirthing, a woman’s right to choose where she has her baby, and why ‘freebirthing’ is seen as so radical.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we’re heading back to a court in Melbourne with crime writer Chris Vedelago. It was the day when one of the last remaining figures from the city’s gangland war, Tony Mokbel, was released on bail thanks to a legal scandal like no other. 

Mokbel had convictions quashed over the so-called ‘Lawyer X’ saga and since this episode was aired, he was freed from prison. 

We’re bringing you the best episodes of 2025 before your Morning Edition team returns next week.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy New Year.

We’re on a break over summer - lucky us - before we return at the end of January for another year of Inside Politics.

Today, we’re returning to an episode recorded in the wake of the divisive ‘March for Australia’ protests, which became the vehicle for a hodgepodge of causes, including immigration, an issue that would lead to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s sacking from the frontbench. 

The episode features chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and federal political correspondent Natassia Chrysanthos.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Remember how there was a federal election?

In this episode, we return to Anthony Albanese's astonishing landslide victory in May with former chief political correspondent David Crowe and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright.

Crowe and Wright reflect on how history-making the win was, and what Albanese will do with his mandate.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we return to a good news story as we kick off a new year. The fame of Robert Irwin, the son of ‘crocodile hunter’ Steve Irwin, was supercharged recently when he won one of America's top reality television shows, Dancing with the Stars.

Our culture editor-at-large Michael Idato delves into the Irwin family empire and how Robert Irwin’s brand of “nice” won over America.

And we hope you have a safe and happy new year.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.