The book banned in Sydney - and why it's a warning for Labor

It’s finally happened. In a court decision that breaks with 247 years of American history, Donald Trump has become the first former president of the United States to be criminally convicted. Because, earlier today, a jury of 12 New Yorkers found that Trump was guilty of falsifying business records. What do business records have to do with this infamous hush money trial, involving an adult film star? And can a felon still run for the American presidency? Let alone serve from jail, if Trump - who is currently ahead in many states - were to win in November? Today, in a special episode of The Morning Edition, North America correspondent Farrah Tomazin, on how this conviction may reshape the 2024 presidential race.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Albanese government faced relentless pressure this week as it scrambled to replace a ministerial direction linked to tribunal decisions that has allowed serious criminals to stay in Australia. The Prime Minister has also been forced to defend embattled Immigration Minister Andrew Giles in parliament - as public servants revealed some criminals including murderers and sex offenders were not required to wear ankle monitors under immigration detention laws. The Coalition has stepped up its calls for Giles to go, detailing cases where the Administrative Appeals Tribunal allowed non-citizens to stay in Australia, despite their history of often violent offending. Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss these developments is chief political correspondent David Crowe and migration reporter Angus Thompson.Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When, last week, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a snap national election for early July, the derision came thick and fast. First, it was because he made his announcement, in front of 10 Downing Street, while being pelted with rain. Without an umbrella. But then came his first election promise.Should the Tories be elected, all 18 year olds will go through compulsory national service, in a bid to create a “renewed sense of pride” in Britain. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher, on Rishi Sunak, and whether this proposal has any chance of rejuvenating his party, which, as one commentator recently put it, is “facing an extinction-level event”.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has immigration numbers squarely in his sights. Lower the number of immigrants in this country, he has said, and we will see an improvement with all sorts of social challenges. This won’t just help fix our dire housing crisis. But it will also help people get in to see a GP, and finally gain a spot for their child at kindergarten. His policy was the cornerstone of his budget reply speech, two weeks ago. But since then, his speech - and the coalition - have come under fire. For promoting a populist idea that will fail to address these struggles. And, even worse, possibly fueling racist sentiment. Today, columnist Jacqueline Maley on the Coalition’s cornerstone policy, which it plans to take to the next election. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are used to hearing bad news when it comes to the environment.  And it's for good reason. The world’s temperature is rising at an alarming rate, our air is full of pollutants, species are becoming endangered and then, extinct.  But, we are here to deliver some good news, on the Australian initiatives that are making a difference.  Today, climate and energy correspondent Mike Foley on the three good news stories about our environment.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Trial by Water is a new investigative podcast series about Robert Farquharson, who has been locked up for decades for an unthinkable crime: murdering his three sons in a dam on Father’s Day, 2005. Now scientists and lawyers are asking the question: did we get it wrong? And is this man in prison for a crime he didn’t commit? Episode 1 will arrive on Saturday, June 1.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the last few months, a new wave of avian flu has been raging across the world.  In the United States, the strain has been found in cows, and it has also reached far-flung Antarctica, infecting penguins, seals and polar bears.  So far, transmission to humans has been extremely rare, and Australia remains the only continent in the world to keep the virus out. But last week, health authorities confirmed a Victorian child had been critically ill with another strain of the virus, becoming Australia’s first-ever case of human bird flu. Today, science reporter Angus Dalton on the alarming new cases of bird flu in Australia. And what the risks are to us.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we look at two stories about our public servants. The first story is about the faceless kind of public servant who toil in government departments, and the second story is about the political public servants at the heart of the Albanese government, as we discuss the different public and private roles of ministers.  Joining Jacqueline Maley is national affairs editor James Massola and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, it has been the biggest question in geopolitics. Who will win the struggle for world domination? China? Or the United States? American president Joe Biden has dubbed it the “fight to win the 21st century”. But behind the grandiose rhetoric, there is one tiny country stuck in the middle of these two superpowers. Taiwan, the independent country that China claims as its own. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on how Taiwan’s new president - a former political ‘hot-head’ inaugurated earlier this week - might manage his country’s struggle for sovereignty. And his citizens’ growing fear of invasion.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s not everyday that an Australian artwork gets thrust into the global spotlight, let alone becomes a punchline on a hugely popular American late night talk show. But all that changed last week, after news broke that Australia’s richest woman demanded that her portrait be taken down from the walls of The National Gallery of Australia, in Canberra. Today, investigative reporter Eryk Bagshaw, who helped break this story on why it’s gone viral, and how Gina Rinehart’s lengths to remove the portrait speak to the heart of Vincent Namatjira’s artwork, a satire about wealth and influence.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.