The Yarn

This week's News Bites guest is Jeff Sparrow, who has been writing opinion pieces for the past two decades. His new book, Provocations, brings together his best writing from this period.  

Over the years, Jeff has written on topics as diverse as geological time and Australia’s history of slavery. He’s also seen countless media outlets close down, making it harder and harder to work as an opinion writer in Australia.  

He spoke about his craft with The Yarn’s executive producer, Louisa Lim.

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This week we're launching a new series called News Bites. It spotlights the journalism of staff and students at the Centre for Advancing Journalism. 

Our first guest is lecturer Jo Chandler, who’s reported extensively on Australia's closest neighbour, Papua New Guinea. 

It's a place that's hard to report from. Many areas can only be reached by plane or boat.  There's also political violence and corruption, with deadly brawls often spilling into the streets during election season 
 

Jo's reporting often focuses on climate and health issues, as well as gender. For News Bites, she was interviewed by her colleague Jeff Sparrow.  

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Swarms of animals can wreak havoc. Just think of piranhas swarming their prey or locusts descending on farmland. But sometimes swarming behaviour can be benign, even beneficial.  

This week, we’ll hear about hordes of animals from both ends of the spectrum. From pests running amok to endangered species swarming to fuel biodiversity.  

Reporting by Die Hu, Harry Sekulich, and Bec Pridham.

These stories were produced for the Science Gallery and were developed with mentors from All The Best.

The Yarn is produced at the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne.

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From ants to mice to locusts, we’ve looked at swarms of animals. Now we’re turning our attention to what happens when humans swarm. When our baser instincts take over, we can become irrational, even threatening. Especially en masse.  

In our three stories this week, we’ll hear from victims, onlookers, and even someone who was part of a menacing horde.

Reporting by Chloe Macmillan, Lishan Chen, and Ying Wei.

These stories were produced for the Science Gallery and were developed with mentors from All The Best.

The Yarn is produced at the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne.

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Our bodies are incomprehensibly complex systems made up of tens of trillions of cells. But what happens when those cells become combatants on microscopic battle fields? 

This week, we’re taking both micro and macro perspectives on human health with three stories about medical issues and the advocates trying to cure them. From what happens when cells swarm to whether medical collectives can improve your health. 

Reporting by Jenny Cai, Pema Monaghan, Mustafa Nuristani.

These stories were produced for the Science Gallery and were developed with mentors from All The Best.

The Yarn is produced at the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne.

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As smart phones, smart appliances, and even smart homes become more ubiquitous, it’s easy to lose track of where our data goes and who’s benefiting from it. Data swarms – and how they’re being used and abused – are part of our reality. 

This week, we’re celebrating the opening of the Science Gallery’s new Swarm exhibition with three stories about data swarms – and how the collection of data is changing life as we know it.  

Reporting by Clancy Balen, Fiona Wang, and Claudia Su.

These stories were produced for the Science Gallery and were developed with mentors from All The Best.

The Yarn is produced at the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne.

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A government report has exposed a healthcare system pushed to breaking point in rural New South Wales.      

In the state’s central and far west, overworked nurses are taking on the roles of doctors, hospitals don’t have enough free beds, and vulnerable children aren’t getting the specialist care they need.  

Today our guest is Jordyn Beazley, The Citizen’s former cadet journalist. She used a grant from the Michael Gordon Foundation to investigate this crisis. In a three-part collaboration between The Citizen and The Guardian, she reported on the rural communities hit hardest.  

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Australia’s new prime minister Anthony Albanese put indigenous affairs front and centre in his victory speech by committing to the Uluru statement—a petition that calls for a First Nations voice enshrined in the constitution. 

But what impact will this have on the mainstream media’s blind spots when it comes to reporting on Aboriginal issues?

This week, our executive producer Louisa Lim explores these issues with Madeline Hayman-Reber, a Gomeroi woman and award-winning Indigenous affairs journalist. 

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It's the week after a federal election and we've got a new government. But as the dust settles on the mainstream media’s pre-election reporting, some of their oversights are becoming more visible. 

This week our executive producer Louisa Lim unpacks the election coverage with Ruby Jones, the host of 7am, one of Australia’s most popular daily news podcasts.   

She also tells Louisa about making 7am’s election miniseries and the ins and outs of producing a daily news podcast. 

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Over the past month, we’ve heard from The Citizen’s reporters about their interviews with the residents of Chisholm in the lead up to the election. 

In 2019, the electorate was one of the most marginal seats in the entire country but things were a little different this time around.

In our fourth and final episode, we’ll hear some post-election analysis from reporter Petra Stock and reflect on what it means for Chisholm to have both a new Prime Minister and a new MP.   

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