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In the first episode of 2026, Antony Loewenstein unpacks the political aftershocks of the Bondi attack and the fight now raging over how it’s being used.
From the push for a Royal Commission to the weaponisation of antisemitism claims, to the shrinking space for Palestinian and Muslim voices in Australia’s cultural institutions, this is a clear-eyed look at how fear becomes policy and how dissent gets managed. Antony also breaks down the Adelaide Writers’ Week fallout and why Gaza has been pushed off the front page when it matters most.

Overlay sources:

https://www.afr.com/world/middle-east/iran-exposes-israel-double-standards-20260112-p5ntbv

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/13/i-cannot-be-party-to-silencing-writers-which-is-why-i-am-resigning-as-director-of-adelaide-writers-week-ntwnfb

https://overland.org.au/2026/01/universities-and-the-arts-after-bondi-from-definitions-to-ambient-antisemitism/

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/jan/13/adelaide-writers-week-cancelled-as-board-apologises-to-randa-abdel-fattah-for-how-decision-was-represented-ntwnfb