When news surfaced in March, that schools across Australia were recording record levels of violence, with a huge number of principals having either suffered physical abuse, last year, or witnessed it, education reporter Nicole Precel wanted to find out more.

What, if anything, could stop principals from being bitten, and teachers from being pushed down stairs, by students? And turn around the often plummeting academic records and mental health of the students at these schools?

Today, Nicole Precel, on how two determined principals dramatically altered the culture of a school dubbed, only six years ago, “Australia’s worst school”. 

And the trauma they needed to confront, in order to do it.

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The Australian government and opposition party have both announced policies to address the country's housing crisis, with young people in particular priced out of the market.

Labor say they want to drop deposits for mortgages to buy a home to five per cent, while the Coalition want to make mortgage repayments tax deductable. 

In an early release episode, Brendan Coates, who is the Grattan Institute's housing and economic security program director, talks through these policies and which could boost housing supply and home ownership.

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A year on from Joel Cauchi's apparently indiscriminate stabbing spree at the Westfield shopping centre in Bondi Junction, what have we learned?

Later this month, an inquest into the attack, which claimed the lives of six people and injured another 10, will begin. 

Today, chief reporter Jordan Baker, and crime reporter Perry Duffin, on what the coroner hopes to learn and whether any intervention in the lead-up could have prevented Cauchi’s attack.

For more:

'At 3.33pm the bloody rampage began. By 3.39pm six innocent people lay dead or dying', Baker and Duffin, The Sydney Morning Herald.

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No one fell off a stage this week, but we did see the two party leaders face off for their first debate, plus the Coalition released modelling of its gas policy.

With energy prices so crucial in this election, we are going to take a closer look at the Coalition’s gas plan - is it credible or is it just a cover-up for a nuclear policy that may never come off? 

Chief political correspondent David Crowe and special first-time guest on the pod, business reporter Nick Toscano, join Jacqueline Maley to discuss the intricacies of gas supply. 

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To say that American president Donald Trump’s global tariffs have sparked chaos around the world is an understatement. One analyst called the result, “a self-induced economic nuclear winter”.                                                

And that was before the tit-for-tat trade war between the United States and China escalated today with Trump imposing an additional tariff on China, taking the total to 104 per cent.

Today, international and political editor, Peter Hartcher, on where this trade war with China could lead. And the mini-rebellion among Republicans to Trump’s tariffs.

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Extraordinary scenes unfolded outside an Australian court last week when one of the last remaining figures from Melbourne's gangland war, Tony Mokbel, was released on bail.

And there watching it all unfold was crime writer Chris Vedelago, who has been following the Mokbel story for years. 

Today, we delve into a legal scandal like no other, and one that could ultimately see the likes of Mokbel have their convictions overturned.

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US President Donald Trump has officially unleashed chaos on the world's financial markets. It's a strange time to be campaigning for election, but Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton must adjust and carry on. 

So how is the incredible international volatility impacting the election campaign? Will all this disruption be favourable for the incumbent PM? And do Australian voters really want a candidate promising change at this moment in history? 

Regular columnist for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, and former adviser to Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, Sean Kelly, joins Jacqueline Maley to discuss.

You can read Sean Kelly's column here: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australians-want-change-but-not-if-it-looks-like-donald-trump-20250406-p5lpii.html

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Like you, I’ve seen the reports about the hemorrhaging of the American stock market, and wondered where this is going to lead. I can’t get my head around what it all means that trillions of dollars have been wiped from the American stock exchange. And as we record this, we’re being warned that the Australian share market is in for a bloodbath.

Today, deputy business editor Clancy Yeates, on where Trump’s trade war will leave Australia’s economy, both in the short term, and the longer term. And whether this foreshadows a global financial crisis.

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It’s one of the greatest joys of being pregnant: getting an ultrasound, to see a picture of your unborn child’s face. But now many medical experts are sounding the alarm about the increasingly popular trend of so-called “reassurance” ultrasounds.

These are scans that pregnant women frequently opt for, not only to get a chance to see their child, but also to allay anxieties over their baby’s health, or just nab a souvenir image. 

But in some cases, these scans have led to stillbirths, late-term abortions and incorrect diagnoses.

Today, senior health reporter Henrietta Cook, on why these scans have sometimes led to heartbreaking outcomes, and the push to regulate sonographers.

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Week one of the election campaign is done. Albanese has been hammering his Medicare message. Dutton has sought to broaden his image but is still playing to type, telling Sky News that he is ready to “fight” Donald Trump on Australia’s behalf, if necessary. So who won the week? And what is it like to be on the campaign trail with the leaders as a journalist, catching mystery flights to places unknown and travelling with your colleagues on an actual bus?

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