Recently on this podcast we have been highly fixated on the problems within the Liberal opposition and we have neglected the government somewhat. So this week we are going to focus on Labor, and to that end we have a real treat for listeners. Sean Kelly, a columnist for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, was previously a Labor staffer with Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. He is the author of a book called The Game: A Portrait of Scott Morrison, and he has just published the latest quarterly essay – which is called The Good Fight, What Does Labor Stand For?

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It’s a Sunday at a park in Singapore, and, as journalist Zach Hope observed, it’s the servants day off.

They lounge on picnic rugs, shaking off the week of cooking, cleaning – and raising other people’s kids. Singapore has more than 300,000 migrant domestic workers, or “helpers”, as they’re called and many care for the children of expats, including Australians.

Today, South-East Asia correspondent Zach Hope on this extraordinary workforce and the system, he says, is premised on profound sadness.

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There can be no mistaking it – it is that time of year known as the killing season. Because, as of this morning, there are two state political leaders who’ve lost their jobs. One whose job is rumoured to be on the chopping block. And all this, as rumours swirl that federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, might not last through to the new year. Today, state political editors Chip Le Grand and Alexandra Smith, on why all this turmoil, now. And what it means for you.

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Donald Trump has long sworn that his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was no big deal, that he didn’t know about his abuse of girls and women, and there was nothing of consequence in the so-called Epstein files.

Then came last week, when a group of Democrats, and later Republicans, released thousands and thousands of pages of emails and correspondence from Epstein, which could suggest that Trump knows more about Epstein’s conduct than he’s been letting on.

Today, North America correspondent Michael Koziol, on whether Republicans will vote for the full release of the files this week – and whether this could bring down the president.

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Four years ago, when our senior economics correspondent, Shane Wright, pointed out the failings of our central bank, government leaders, including the federal treasurer, sat up and took notice.

Well now, he’s at it again. And this time, he’s got his sights on what he calls an unspoken economic problem that is driving down our quality of life.

Today, Wright on how our convoluted system of government is hurting all of us, wasting billions of dollars each year. And what it might take, to fix it.

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This week in federal politics there was really only one show in town, and that was the compelling and 'can't look away' car crash that is the Liberal party's continued ructions on its net zero policy.

They culminated, or maybe even concluded, on Thursday afternoon, when the Liberal Party met and finally came up with a policy.

Today, host Jacqueline Maley is joined by chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and chief political commentator James Massola.

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“Did women ruin the workplace?”

This was the question that was put forward in a New York Times podcast that - no surprises here - quickly went viral.

The main thrust of the argument was that women are gossipy and overly emotional, and so, as we take over more and more businesses, we are a threat to the pursuit of truth and innovation. 

To say that women from the across the globe shot back is an understatement. 

Today, senior writer Jacqueline Maley on so-called “conservative feminism” and the political and cultural forces that have led us to this moment. And the hilarity - and danger - wrapped up in this conversation.

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How could dozens of white supremacists be allowed to rally outside of the NSW parliament building, on Saturday morning? And why didn’t the police who watched them congregate make them disperse, once they heard them use antisemitic tropes about power and influence, and chant a Hitler Youth slogan?

These are just two of the questions facing our government and police force, in the wake of an incident that has not only created fear, but led to two MPs facing threats of death, and rape.

Today, state political editor Alexandra Smith, on what this incident tells us about whether our laws - and the institutions meant to keep us safe - are fit for purpose. And whether NSW is weaker than other states and territories, at warding off the attempts of the Neo-Nazi group to establish a political party.

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Tributes have flown in – from the likes of actor Russell Crowe and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – for John Laws, the polarising broadcaster who died over the weekend at 90.

But, it has to be asked: why are we still talking about him, decades after his peak, when he played a key role in helping prime ministers either nab, or keep their hold on power?

Today, Dr Denis Muller, a former journalist and media ethicist from the University of Melbourne, on the mixed legacy of the so-called “voice of the people”.

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Have you ever taken on a 10km run, or a half marathon - maybe pushed yourself just a little too much, without properly researching what you should be eating, to fuel your efforts? 

Many have. And it’s no wonder endurance activities are an increasingly popular coping mechanism for those of us struggling to deal with the mental load of everyday life.

But experts across the globe say they have been seeing athletes - and regular people - who have been under-eating and suffering from a little-known syndrome called REDs, or relative energy deficiency in sport.

Today, Good Weekend senior writer Katrina Strickland, on this contentious syndrome, which some experts say can be allied to eating disorders, and has led some sufferers to have “bones like dust” and - in one case - a woman in her late 20s to have, as her gynaecologist put it, the “uterus of a 60 year old”.  

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