Shows
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 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 min
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 min
Inside 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 min
The Morning EditionInside 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 discuss the intricacies of...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 min
The Morning EditionInside Politics: Dutton’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. ...2025-04-0821 min
The Morning EditionInside Politics: The 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 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 Jacqueline Maley in the latest episode...2025-03-3120 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 min
The Morning EditionInside Politics: Peter 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 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 minInside PoliticsInside Politics: What's going on with the Greens?As much as we can know anything these days, we can probably say the next election is going to be very close. But what about the Greens, often called the third party of Australian politics? How are they faring with the Australian public? Have they successfully rebranded from being the party of the environment to being a broader based movement? National Affairs Editor James Massola and Federal Political Correspondent Paul Sakkal joins Jacqueline Maley for Inside Politics.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener f...2024-11-1420 minInside PoliticsWill Dutton be tempted by Trump’s ‘war on woke’?Donald Trump has been elected as the 47th American president. His decisive victory will have major impacts on global affairs and on the Australian economy. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton were quick to congratulate Trump, and both leaders will be assessing their relationship with the President elect over coming weeks. So what does a Trump presidency mean for Australia? Joining Jacqueline Maley to unpack is chief political correspondent David Crowe and Nine’s national affairs editor Andrew Probyn. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, vi...2024-11-0719 min
USSC LiveWho will be America's next president: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump?The 2024 presidential race is already emerging as one of the most important elections of our generation, and could shape Australia’s foreign policy for years to come. So what can we expect? On 24 October 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted an exclusive event in partnership with The Sydney Morning Herald. SMH editor Bevan Shields, political and international editor Peter Hartcher and columnist and senior writer Jacqueline Maley were joined by USSC experts, Chief Executive Officer Dr Michael Green, who previously served on the National Security Council at the White House from 2001 to 2005, and Director of Research Jared Mon...2024-11-021h 34Inside PoliticsWe are not America, why are we debating abortion?Politics is full of surprises but few people expected abortion policy to be back on the agenda in 2024. The fierce abortion debate in the United States has been turbocharged by the upcoming presidential election. Now the fight over reproductive rights has made its way to Australia. Abortion has been a surprise issue in the Queensland election campaign. It was also the subject of an attempted legislative rollback in South Australia last week. Now it is being put on the federal agenda by high-profile Opposition front-bencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss is...2024-10-2418 minInside PoliticsAnthony Albanese and the Copacabana dramaIt’s probably our greatest national obsession. Property: buying it, selling it, how much it costs and how hard it is to afford. This week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made headlines when it was reported he had bought a $4.3 million ocean-front beach house at Copacabana on the NSW Central Coast. Albanese said the purchase was made in contemplation of his changing personal circumstances. He is set to marry his partner Jodie Haydon, who grew up in the area and whose family still lives there. But the optics were unbelievably bad. Australia is in the m...2024-10-1719 min
RadioMMT#039 Anne & Kev: Protecting the Purity of the Central Bank, Oh My!Can anyone explain why we have a "per capita recession"? Anne & Kev can't help noticing the government is in surplus and not spending enough of our public money, and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is putting a high price on money. Could it be the Labor government is more interested in the optics than the actuality of being good economic managers? Could it be that interest rate decision-making isn't much more than a puritanical morality play?Anne & Kev have a good crack at both fiscal and monetary policy this hour.Show Notes "Changes to RBA Act will further entrench t...2024-10-1100 min
Sydney Writers' FestivalJulia Baird: Bright ShiningFollowing broadcaster and author Julia Baird’s multi-award-winning international bestseller, Phosphorescence, comes a beautiful and timely exploration of that most mysterious but necessary human quality: grace. Bright Shining: How grace changes everything asks what grace looks like today, how we recognise it, nurture it within ourselves and express it. For Julia, grace can be found by being kinder, bigger and better with each other. Sit down with Julia to discuss this luminous work, which The Guardian described as “a book the world needs now”. In conversation with journalist Jacqueline Maley. This episode was record...2024-10-0950 minInside PoliticsIs Dutton's strategy to derail government agenda working?Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wanted to talk about the budget surplus and the crack-down on the big supermarkets over their alleged ill-treatment of customers this week, but that was derailed by the escalating conflict in the Middle East. While the government struggled to find the right form of words to respond to the crisis between Israel and its neighbours, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton labelled the Prime Minister weak, and said he needed to stand more firmly with Israel. The result was an ugly week where both men vied to position themselves to voters as the be...2024-10-0320 minInside PoliticsThe fight the PM has to haveFederal politics got interesting this week when our very own James Massola and David Crowe reported that the Labor government has asked the Treasury to model cuts to negative gearing tax concessions, a policy that has previously caused Labor plenty of electoral pain. The Prime Minister and his frontbench are being very coy about any proposed changes to the tax treatment of investment properties. Are changes to negative gearing an option the government is really considering? How would they argue the case to cut the concessions this time, given they have tried and failed to do...2024-09-2617 minInside PoliticsSocial media 'crackdown'Snapchat is officially on notice. As are Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. This week the Prime Minister and his communications minister Michelle Rowland announced they will introduce a ban on young people using social media. But they were short on detail, including exactly what age the government would require teens to be before they could access social media. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton promised the minerals industry that a Coalition government would be the “best friend” of miners. Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss, are chief political correspondent David Crowe and shadow communications ministe...2024-09-1223 minInside PoliticsThe Treasurer v The Reserve BankThis week’s National Accounts figures showed that GDP growth was the weakest annual figure since the 1990s recession, not counting the pandemic. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the soft growth reflected the “impacts of global economic uncertainty, higher interest rates and persistent but moderating inflation”. But Chalmers also seemed to blame the Reserve Bank, saying the RBA is “smashing” the economy with interest rates. Meanwhile, The Age and SMH exclusively reported this week that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vented his frustration to his cabinet colleagues over the mishandling of the possible new census questions about gender and s...2024-09-0519 minInside PoliticsForeign students and the economyThe Albanese government has told the university sector it has to slash foreign students by 53,000 places by next year. The universities say this will financially devastate them, but the government has pledged to halve net migration by next year, and something has to give. Plus, this week, members of the militant CFMEU hit the streets in major capitals to protest the Government’s decision to place the controversial union into administration. Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss is chief political correspondent David Crowe and Australian National University professor Andrew Norton. Cut through the noise of fe...2024-08-2922 minInside PoliticsA chat with Treasurer Jim ChalmersIn this special episode of Inside Politics, Treasurer Jim Chalmers sits down with Jacqueline Maley, chief political correspondent David Crowe and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright to talk about tax, housing and the cost of living crisis. The Treasurer acknowledges how high mortgages are impacting ordinary Australians, and talks about what the Government is focusing on in the upcoming mid year budget. Plus he shares some words of wisdom he lives by every day. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside P...2024-08-2227 min
Good Weekend TalksBest-selling author Roxane Gay on body positivity, Trump and Channing TatumIn this episode, we speak with best-selling author and social commentator, Roxane Gay. A decade after the publication of her much-talked-about book, Bad Feminist, Gay offers her unapologetic views on everything from body image, to writer's block, to the likelihood of Kamala Harris becoming America's first female president, to her current writing projects, which include - surprisingly - a romance novel with actor Channing Tatum. Hosting this conversation is senior writer and columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald, Jacqueline Maley. Roxane Gay will appear at Carriageworks in Sydney, as part of the Festival of Dangerous Ide...2024-08-0935 minInside PoliticsFatima Payman quits Labor over Palestinian statehoodAfter a tumultuous couple of weeks in Canberra, senator Fatima Payman has quit the Labor party. On Thursday, Payman emotionally announced her decision to leave the party that helped her gain a senate seat in the 2022 election, saying she had exhausted every option to raise her concerns about the government’s position on Palestinian recognition. Today, political correspondents Paul Sakkal and Angus Thompson talk to Jacqueline Maley about the split between Payman and the Labor party and its ramifications.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...2024-07-0420 minInside PoliticsHow big of a political coup is Assange's release?"My name is Julian Paul Assange." These were the first words spoken by the Wikileaks founder and high-profile long-time former prisoner as he finally faced court to answer charges this week. Assange accepted a deal to plead guilty of violating US espionage law and appeared on Wednesday in a court in the obscure US Pacific island territory of Saipan. He was sentenced to time already served and boarded a flight home to Canberra, Australia. He arrived home on Wednesday evening to a cold Canberra evening, a triumphant fist raised. So how big a pol...2024-06-2721 minInside PoliticsDutton's nuclear plans 'slightly bonkers', but will it win an election?This week Opposition leader Peter Dutton unveiled the Coalition’s plans for its nuclear energy policy. In doing so, he drew the battle lines for the next election, with the Albanese government firmly backing in its own plan to lower emissions using renewable energy sources, particularly wind and solar.Plus, this week Australia hosted a visit from the Chinese Premier Li Qiang. So did the visit improve relations with our largest trading partner, or set them back?Today, chief political correspondent David Crowe, and national climate and environment editor Nick O’Malley and national affairs corr...2024-06-2021 min
Fourth EstateWhen Push Comes To Shove: Costello’s Unseemly EndIt’s been a scandal-plagued few weeks for Nine Entertainment, made only worse by its Chairman, Sir Peter Costello’s altercation with a News Corp journalist at Canberra Airport, leading to his resignation.Mike Seccombe, National Correspondent for The Saturday Paper and Jacqueline Maley, Columnist and Senior Writer at The Sydney Morning Herald, join Tina Quinn to discuss the tumultuous developments at one of Australia’s largest media organisations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2024-06-1335 minInside PoliticsThe climate wars are backThis week, opposition leader Peter Dutton indicated he would not commit to a climate change target for 2030 until after the election. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hit back, saying the Coalition policy would mean energy shortfalls and higher bills. This development sets up the next election as a battle between the major parties on global warming. Also, there has been discontent among Liberal party members - particularly senator Hollie Hughes, who was recently kicked off a winnable spot on the senate ticket. Today, national affairs editor James Massola and chief political correspondent David Crowe join Jacqueline...2024-06-1319 min