Shows
Inside Politics‘Intergenerational bastardry’ in our tax system: Do older Australians have it too good?This week was an exciting one in Canberra, especially if you’re the kind of person who digs the philosophy of tax and transfer. We are talking, of course, about the economic roundtable, hosted by Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Meanwhile Health Minister Mark Butler began the necessary but painful process of reining in the enormous growth of the NDIS. Chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal, and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright join Jacqueline Maley to discuss. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2025-08-2222 minInside PoliticsIs there beef between Chalmers and Albanese? And, we talk Palestine, and productivity mixed-messagesThis week the Albanese government announced it would recognise Palestine as a state, a huge foreign policy shift that was greeted with approval by many and criticism by others. Plus, the Reserve Bank assumes a fall in productivity right before the government's productivity summit, and is there tension between the PM and Treasurer?Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss is chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2025-08-1426 minInside PoliticsA case of 'burger diplomacy' for Trump, while Barnaby Joyce puts his beef aside to oppose net zeroPrime Minister Anthony Albanese faces tricky terrain with the government lifting a ban on US beef imports to Australia this week, leaving him open to suggestions he has capitulated to pressure from Donald Trump. We also witnessed a democratic festival in the form of the opening of the new parliament, with former foes Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack putting differences aside to attack the government's 2035 emissions reduction target. Soon, the PM will have to decide on the interm emissions target. Some big companies want him to go hard, while others urge a slower approach to...
2025-07-2421 min
Over the Back FenceJacqueline Maley: The Book Everyone’s Talking About - Lonely MouthThis week Nicola and Di chat with the best-selling author Jacqueline Maley. Jacqui is an esteemed, award-winning journalist and novelist, who works as a senior writer and columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. She is celebrated for her incisive commentary on politics, culture and social affairs. Her latest novel Lonely Mouth, is the book everyone is talking about, including Nigella Lawson who says it’s one of her favourite Australian books. In this episode we hear how Jacqui got started in her career as a journalist. After studying law and getting a summer clerkship at...
2025-07-2049 minInside Politics‘Killing season’ is over, so what will Anthony Albanese do with this moment?Well, here we are, a new term of parliament begins next week. There’ll be fresh faces and, hopefully, fresh ideas. So will the government use its massive majority to press ahead with major reforms in housing, or tax, and how will opposition leader Sussan Ley and her team rebuild their battered party? Before we get to that, the news this week has been dominated by Anthony Albanese’s trip to China, which has been full of stage-managed warmth. But with our very own Paul Sakkal away travelling with the PM, and our host J...
2025-07-1720 min
Something to Eat and Something to ReadLonely Mouth, hunger and soup‘Lonely mouth is a Japanese expression. It means, like, you feel like you want to eat something, but you don’t know what it is. You’re looking for just the right thing. But maybe there is no right thing. Maybe you don’t need anything at all.’This episode, we are talking and thinking about Jacqueline Maley’s latest novel, Lonely Mouth. It begins with two young girls being abandoned by their mother at the Big Merino just out of Goulburn and goes on to be the story mostly of the elder sister Matilda, her hungers...
2025-07-1041 minInside PoliticsDid Anthony Albanese just give his most important speech?What do the great war time Prime Minister John Curtin, and current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have in common? Well, a little bit, according to Albanese. On the weekend the PM delivered the John Curtin Oration and set tongues wagging with hints about his newly independent stance when it comes to our relationship with the United States. But how will this land with the Trump administration, which is currently reviewing the AUKUS pact? Is it possible they will make Australia pay more for submarines under the pact? Or pressure us into participating in a p...
2025-07-1023 minInside PoliticsSalacious texts and detail, but did the corruption watchdog’s first case fall flat?The creation of a National Anti-Corruption Commission was a key Labor promise before it won Government in 2022. The Commission was duly created and this week it released the findings of its first ever investigation. But was it a little anti-climactic? Can we hope for bigger and better corruption-busting in the future? Plus, interest rate cuts and the confusing matter of the Trump tariffs, and their effect on the Australian economy. Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss is federal politics reporter Olivia Ireland and senior economic correspondent Shane Wright.Subscribe to The Age & SMH...
2025-07-0320 min
Culture ClubThe Devil Wears Amazon: Anna Wintour Departs Vogue & Bezos' Tacky WeddingHi friends! Welcome to Culture Club. In this week's ep we have pop culture bites that we NEED to discuss with the class. First up, the new Sense and Sensibility adaptation starring Daisy Edgar-Jones has been announced. Plus, author (and Culture Club Chats alumni) Diana Reid worked on the screenplay! Huge. Next, Olivia Rodrigo had her movie moment as she spotted at Glastonbury singing along with the "Common People". Sabrina Carpenter has an album cover that's "approved by God". And, has the rumoured fued between Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia finally...
2025-06-3038 minInside PoliticsSussan Ley: From punk teenager to rebuilding the Liberal PartyShe is a former shearer, a pilot and a mother of three children. She has a dark past as a punk in Canberra. She has been one of the only women in the room in successive Liberal cabinets. She was the deputy to former opposition leader Peter Dutton, and following the last election, she took his job. She is, of course, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley. Today, chief political commentator James Massola and host Jacqueline Maley speak to Ley about the Coalition’s woman problem, how she plans on stopping a split within the Coalition over ene...
2025-06-2622 minInside PoliticsAlbanese ghosted by Trump at G7 summitThis week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese travelled to the G7 summit with high hopes of scoring a sidelines-meeting with US President Donald Trump. The PM wanted to discuss the AUKUS pact, and the tariffs that the US government has put on Australian aluminium and iron ore among other things. But events overtook, and Trump left the summit to deal with the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Albanese did not get his meeting. He didn’t even get a phone call cancelling the meeting. So what does this mean for our relationship with our supposed clo...
2025-06-1922 minInside PoliticsHow Albanese could use his huge majority to introduce major reformThis week the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave a big speech at the National Press Club in Canberra, and used it to dangle the prospect of economic reform. During its first term, the Albanese government was criticised for not being bold enough in its agenda. So is the PM signalling he will use his huge majority to institute major reform? What would a daring economic reform agenda look like? And are Australians ready for it? Plus, Plus, Jacqueline Maley, Paul Sakkal and Shane Wright, discuss the hardening of the government’s stance on Israel, after it i...
2025-06-1222 min
The Readings PodcastJacqueline Maley in conversationIn this episode, a conversation with the bestselling author of The Truth About Her, Jacqueline Maley. Maley’s new book, Lonely Mouth, is a tender and vivid novel about the conflicted way women think about their bodies, their appetites, and themselves in the world.
2025-06-0629 minInside PoliticsWhy Dorinda Cox's Greens defection was personal for the PMThe dramatic shakeout from the general election continued this week, this time from the left wing of Australian politics, with WA Greens senator Dorinda Cox defecting to Labor. It was a coup for a triumphant Prime Minister. But will the PM live to regret his new recruit? What does Senator Cox’s defection mean for the much-depleted Greens party? And how does it fit with the PM’s recent approval of the extension of a giant fossil fuel project off the West Australian coast? Chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal, and chief political commentator James Massola join host Ja...
2025-06-0524 minInside PoliticsWho lost the game of brinkmanship, and Albanese hardens on IsraelWell, they fight, they break up, they kiss, they make up. Never before have the lyrics of a Katy Perry song been more relevant to federal politics. After last week’s shock split, this week the Coalition got back together again. But at what cost? What compromises have been made on both sides? And will the Nats and the Libs be able to work constructively together after all the drama? Meanwhile, Labor is moving ahead with plans to hike taxes on super accounts of more than $3 million, and Anthony Albanese hardens his rhetoric on I...
2025-05-2924 min
News ClubWeekly Wrap: A political break up, genocide claims, and the doping gamesOur 2025 audience survey (please, and thank you!)
In this episode: devastating floods in northern NSW, we’ll get you across why they say they’re a once-in-500-years event. Plus, a Coalition uncoupling, and Trump turns up the rhetoric on South Africa. In what's coming up, Beef Week and Kamala Harris is Gold Coast bound.
Recs:
Lonely Mouth by Jacqueline Maley
Couples Therapy on Paramount+
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2025-05-2333 minInside PoliticsNew Labor faces, the divisive Tim Wilson and David Crowe’s farewellIt will go down as one of the most resounding victories in Australian political history. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese out-performed the expectations of just about everyone last weekend, decimating the Liberal party to the extent where even its leader lost his own seat. So, what next for Labor? As the caucus gathers in Canberra on Friday, we look at the new faces in the team and discuss which are the ones to watch. Also, we try to decide whether the teals have gone backwards or consolidated power with their results. Chief Political Correspondent David Crowe, and Political Correspondent Paul...
2025-05-0824 min
Dear Rach & SophAll the May 2025 book releases you need to know about!New books mentioned in this episode:General fictionThe Remarkable Truth of Alfie Bains by Sarah Clutton (Allen & Unwin)Lonely Mouth by Jacqueline Maley (HarperCollins)Everything Lost, Everything Found by Matthew Hooton (HarperCollins)The Good Mistress by Anne Tiernan (Hachette) – NZ authorBoom Town Snap by Jay Martin (Fremantle Press)RomanceSalty, Spiced and a Little Bit Nice by Cynthia Timoti (Pan Macmillan)Last Breath (Blood Wine Dynasty Book 2) by Emma...
2025-05-0416 minInside PoliticsThe seats we’ll be watching on SaturdayWell, it’s finally here. Saturday is election day, and by Saturday night we will have some idea of who is going to govern Australia for the next three years, during this volatile and pivotal moment in global history. Today, we talk about the seats to watch on election night, the ones that will determine the outcome of the poll. And we will also zoom out to the bigger picture. Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have depicted duelling visions of the Australia they want to build. They also have sharply different leadership styles. ...
2025-05-0122 min
Fuel Your Mind With The Full Audiobook Everyone Is Talking About — So Captivating!Lonely Mouth by Jacqueline MaleyPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/2/audible/143481to listen full audiobooks.
Title: Lonely Mouth
Author: Jacqueline Maley
Narrator: Hannah Fredericksen
Format: mp3
Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
Release date: 04-30-25
Ratings: 4 out of 5 stars, 1 rating
Genres: Family Life
Publisher's Summary:
From the bestselling author of The Truth About Her comes Lonely Mouth, a delicious, clever, tender and vivid novel about the conflicted way women think about their bodies, their appetites, and themselves in the world.
2025-04-3010h 12
Big IdeasThe painting that changed Australia — the story of Blue PolesIt's been called a coming-of-age story for a nation. The Whitlam Government's purchase of Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles in 1973 helped to bring down the government. So how did this abstract expressionist masterpiece become the most famous, most controversial artwork in Australia?Then: how does political portraiture affect how we feel about politicians — and how we vote? Jacqueline Maley looks at The Art in the Optics — and explains why political portraiture is more important than ever today.These events were recorded at the National Library of Australia on 3 March 2025 and the National Portrait Gallery on 20 March 2025.
2025-04-2956 minInside PoliticsWhy the environment is MIA in this electionSalmon farming is not something most voters consider when they go to the polls on election day. But for Tasmanian voters, it is a huge and often divisive issue. This debate about the environmental effects of salmon farming is playing out in an election where any other discussion of the environment is pretty much non-existent. Which is curious because energy policy goes hand-in-hand with the environment and that is a decisive topic of this election. It’s also curious that the federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has been very quiet during the campaign. National environment an...
2025-04-2821 minInside PoliticsHow does polling work and will it be right this time?This week we are doing a special podcast about our complicated relationship with political polls. As journalists, we like them because, maybe, they can tell us something about what voters are really thinking. But we are a bit wary of them too. Especially after the federal election in 2019, where the polls were wrong. That caused a massive rethink in how polling is done, and how we in the media rely on it. Jacqueline Maley is joined by chief political correspondent, David Crowe, and special guest Jim Reed, who conducts the resolve political monitor poll for our papers....
2025-04-2423 minInside PoliticsThe battle of the teals in Kooyong and BradfieldThe threat teal independents pose in this election - to the dominance of the two-party system, to the stability of our parliament and to the Liberal Party’s base - is very real. Today, we focus on two of these seats: Bradfield in Sydney and Kooyong in Melbourne where the teals and the Libs are neck and neck. City reporter for The Age Rachael Dexter and NSW political editor Alexandra Smith join Jacqueline Maley to discuss.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2025-04-2120 minInside PoliticsIs the campaign getting away from Peter Dutton?This week on the campaign saw the release of competing housing policies, and the appearance of Peter Dutton’s son Harry. But in many ways the campaign continued to be overshadowed by Donald Trump. Labor is making increasingly explicit attacks trying to link Dutton to the US president. And Dutton’s cause wasn’t helped with one of his key frontbenchers aped a Trump slogan. Does this mean the wheels have fallen off the Coalition campaign? Chief Political Correspondent David Crowe and National Affairs Editor James Massola join Jacqueline Maley to discuss. Subscribe to The A...
2025-04-1724 minInside PoliticsWhat we must learn from our 'worst' election campaignThis week our revered economics editor Ross Gittins wrote an essay for the Age and Sydney Morning Herald, in which he lamented the state of this election campaign in particular, and Australian politics in general. The essay was titled “They treat us like mugs”, and Ross did not miss with his critique of the timidity and cynicism of the two major parties’ campaigns. Gittins joins Jacqueline Maley in the studio, to talk through his searing critique. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener f...
2025-04-1523 minInside Politics‘Gaslighting’ or gas-led recovery?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 the intricacies of gas...
2025-04-1021 minInside PoliticsDutton's massive WFH backflip was the 'right decision'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 S...
2025-04-0821 minInside PoliticsThe perils of the campaign trailWhen Anthony Albanese couldn't name the cash rate, or the unemployment rate on day one of his last campaign, it was a moment that could have lost him the election. But, as The Age and Sydney Morning Herald’s associate editor Tony Wright says, he was up against Scott Morrison who was "on the nose" across the nation. And that was before Morrison spear-tackled a child at a soccer match. Campaigns can win, and lose, an election and Wright has seen a few since his first campaign covering Bob Hawke in 1983. Wright speaks to...
2025-03-3120 minInside PoliticsPeter Dutton’s speech, and let the election beginIn this early episode of Inside Politics, we come to you soon after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton gave his budget reply speech on Thursday night, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese all but certain to call an election on Friday morning. Did Dutton's speech, which moved to intensify the contest over household budgets, one-up the government's budget earlier in the week? Inside Politics host Jacqueline Maley dissects all the news with chief political correspondent David Crowe and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/...
2025-03-2721 minInside PoliticsCyclone Trump, Alfred and the forces sweeping an election awryWell, the world order is rocky and looking to get rockier. US President Donald Trump has had a spectacular falling-out with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, and waging a damaging trade war, while China is cruising war ships off the Australian coast. And the conflict in Gaza is unresolved. Not to mention closer to home, South East Queensland and northern NSW now have Cyclone Alfred bearing down on them. So, how will all this uncertainty affect the election campaign? And how can the leaders keep the focus on ordinary people, when there is...
2025-03-0620 min
Politics NowHas the PM looked 'weak' on Trump?As the election campaign looms, the RBA has handed down a highly anticipated rate cut, Clive Palmer has launched a new political party — and now commercial pilots have been warned of a potential hazard in airspace between Australia and New Zealand, where three Chinese warships are conducting military exercises.But on the global stage, Donald Trump has labelled Ukrainian President a "dictator" — and suggested Russia "holds the cards" when it comes to peace talks. So, has Anthony Albanese been strong enough in condemning it?Patricia Karvelas is joined by Tom Crowley and Jacqueline Maley, columnist and...
2025-02-2118 minInside PoliticsThe thing that flummoxed the Reserve BankWell, the Reserve Bank finally answered our fiscal prayers this week, and announced an interest rate cut of 0.25 percent, providing relief to stretched mortgagees across the land. But arguably no one was sweating on the rate cut more than the Albanese government, which desperately needed a strong sign that the cost of living crisis has turned a corner, and things are going to get easier for working Australians. But is the rate cut enough, and will they reward the government for it by voting Labor at the next election? And what about the curious anomaly...
2025-02-2019 minInside PoliticsSteel, macho men and the PM’s phone call with TrumpWe bring you this episode of Inside Politics on Valentines Day, but right now the trade relationship between Australia and our closest ally is at a delicate juncture. This week President Donald Trump declared his intention to impose tariffs on aluminium and steel imports from all countries, no exceptions. And the pressure was on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to negotiate a way out. Albanese had a long, and reportedly warm conversation with Trump about the tariff issue, with Trump saying he would consider an exemption for Australian steel and aluminium. But no promises...
2025-02-1322 minInside PoliticsThe best and worst of 2024If things are supposed to be slowing down for Christmas, well, nobody told our federal politicians. This week we had a mid-year economic update and a contentious debate about the Coalition’s nuclear energy plans. Today, chief political correspondent David Crowe joins Jacqueline Maley to look back at the political year and explore some of its themes. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omny...
2024-12-1919 minInside PoliticsWas Albanese’s response to the synagogue attack really that bad?This week was dominated by the appalling anti-Semitic attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea in Melbourne’s south-east. There followed more attacks in Sydney - A car was torched in the Eastern suburbs, where there is a strong Jewish community, and houses there were graffitied with anti-Israel slogans. The violence was followed by political conflict. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was accused of not doing enough to quell anti-Semitism and make Jewish Australians safe. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was accused of politicising the whole issue. So could the PM have handled the week better? And...
2024-12-1219 minInside PoliticsNiki Savva on why the PM should retire, even if he does win the next electionPrime Minister Anthony Albanese should retire. Not right now, but a “decent interval” after the next election, if he wins it. So says Sydney Morning Herald and Age columnist Niki Savva, who joins Jacqueline Maley this week to talk about the government’s prospects of re-election, how well Peter Dutton has performed as Opposition leader and whether the Teal Independents have fulfilled their promise in the 47th parliament. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.Subscribe to The Age...
2024-12-0518 minInside PoliticsA 2024 fire sale, ‘something big’ needed on cost of livingThis week was the last sitting week of the parliamentary year, and there is speculation the Prime Minister will call an election early in 2025, meaning it might have been the last parliamentary session of the Albanese government, full stop. So what legislation did the government get through this week? And more broadly, how well positioned is it, going into an imminent election campaign? Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss is chief political correspondent David Crowe. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our...
2024-11-2820 min
RadioMMT#042: Steven Hail: Fear and Chaos in AmericaAnne asks economist Dr. Steven Hail, what do we have to fear from Project 2025? The answer might surprise you. What's more, we answer the implied question. If most of our political leaders, economists, bureaucrats etc do not understand how the monetary system works, then how is it the system works as well as it does? (Of course we could be managing our monetary system, and our economy, so they serve people and planet a lot better than they currently do.) Show Notes Project 2025 (chapter 24) Lever Time (episode 3, podcast)Project 2025 Is Even More Radical Than You Thinkproduced by Arjun Singh, 5th Nove...
2024-11-2200 minInside PoliticsWhy Peter Dutton is opposing foreign student capsThis week, the federal Opposition ruled out co-operating with the government on legislation to cap the number of international students coming to study at Australian universities. Both Labor and the Coalition say that international student numbers need to come down, to ease pressure on housing and infrastructure. But Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Labor’s bill was flawed because it favoured the big Group of eight universities at the expense of regional unis. Dutton promised the Opposition will impose bigger cuts on international students than Labor, and he said that the best way to bring down...
2024-11-2118 min