Death blow or skyrocket: The economy and climate under Trump

Fake reviews, bogus conversations with unsuspecting users and exposed private messages - are just some of the goings on at dating app Down, according to a whistleblower. And Down is one of scores of dating apps scrutinised as part of an investigation by The Age that found increasing concerns from consumers and experts about the industry’s conduct. Today, investigative reporter Clay Lucas on dating apps’ last-ditch attempt at survival, as a growing number of users walk away from the apps.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australians should see more money in their bank accounts at tax time, with the start of what’s called stage 3 tax cuts taking effect from this week. But this benefit is looking like it could be wiped out, and quickly, with new research showing that middle income earners will be paying more tax as early as 2025. Today, senior economics correspondent Shane Wright explains how much money you could see back in your pocket immediately. And why Australians could be paying more tax in just a couple of years.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s no one quite like Donald Trump. He heralds himself as the saviour of the economy, while experts seriously wonder if he'll drive the country into financial crises. He questions climate science even as his supporters faint at his rallies from the pre-summer record heat. So what would another term of Donald Trump in the White House mean for Australia, the global economy and the environment if he wins the presidency? Today, in our second episode of a special Monday series, senior economics correspondent Shane Wright talks through the impact of Donald Trump's plans for the economy. And later, national environment and climate editor Nick O’Malley on how Trump’s antipathy towards combatting climate change might impact not just Americans’ quality of life, but ours, tooSubscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"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 political coup is Assange’s release? Who has been working on it and for how long? Why has Albanese made it a project of his government?  And, the temporary defection of Labor Senator Fatima Payman to the Greens. Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss is chief political correspondent David Crowe, national security correspondent Matthew Knott, and live from Saipan, North Asia correspondent Lisa Visentin. 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.

What will it take for Benjamin Netanyahu to lose his grip on power? He holds the record in Israel for most time served as prime minister: three stints, over 16 years.  But now, he is deeply unpopular; held responsible, by many Israelis, for not only the deadly October 7 attack, by Hamas. But also for turning his country, in the years before then, into a profoundly unsafe place to live. Today, international and political editor, Peter Hartcher, on whether Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that the most intense stage of fighting in the south of Gaza is nearly at an end, could finally spell the end of his political career.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the news broke yesterday morning that Julian Assange had been set free from a London prison, the buzz spread immediately through parliament house in Canberra.After spending more than a decade in prison or hiding, what exactly, had Assange agreed to plead guilty to? And will he finally come home to Australia?Today, foreign affairs and national security correspondent, Matthew Knott, on how the case that changed politics and journalism, forever, finally came to an end. And what the ripple effect might be, on both domestic and American politics.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Victorian education minister Ben Carroll announced, earlier this month, that his government had mandated a change in the way teachers instruct children to read, he admitted that he was potentially “stepping on a hand grenade”. He was entering the long-running “reading wars”, which have pitted teachers, principals, and parents against each other. Today, education editor Robyn Grace, on why one union has ordered its teachers to disobey the government’s mandate. And whether the new method will help remedy the inadequate reading proficiency of too many Australian children.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's no one quite like Donald Trump. He has torn up long-standing treaties, threatened to abandon allies, indulged his rivals and shook America's stability as the centerpiece of Western democracy. So what would another term of Donald Trump in the White House mean for Australia and the global world order? In a special Monday series, our journalists examine his impact on trade, security, climate change and the economy, as well as who Australia's most influential lobbyists will be.  Today, international editor Peter Hartcher and foreign affairs national security correspondent Matthew Knott on how the long standing relationship between the United States and Australia might be thrown off kilter by a Trump presidency, and how our power brokers should handle Trump's mercurial temperament. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, national climate and environment editor Nick O’Malley and national affairs correspondent Matthew Knott, join Jacqueline Maley.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Chinese Communist Party has long used unconventional means to improve strained relationships. In the 1970s, this meant sending ping pong players to the United States, to encourage the country to lift its embargo against China. (It worked.)So it was that China pledged, over the weekend, that it would loan one of our zoos two so-called therapy pandas. That’s right, pandas.Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher, on how this diplomatic strategy went down in Canberra. And the skirmish in Parliament House that highlighted the perennial tensions between Australia and its largest trading partner. Which might take a lot more than therapy pandas to fix.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.