'Only a rort if you're not in on it': Inside the Big Build scandal

Over the weekend, a particularly deadly strain of bird flu was confirmed in NSW for the first time.This takes the total of confirmed cases nationwide to six.Today, science reporter Angus Dalton on how much of a risk we’re dealing with.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The death of 17-year-old Thai girl, Thanchanok Donhomla, has shocked Australia, and sparked fear among sex workers in Pattaya. Thanchanok's body was found in a suitcase and dumped in long grass by a railway.The man accused of murdering her is 45-year-old Australian, Simon Peter Carman. He is being held in the Pattaya Remand Prison.Today, guest host Benjamin Preiss talks to Southeast Asia correspondent Zach Hope who says, in the world’s sex capital, a rampant industry funded by anonymous male tourists has come into sharp focus.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government's capital gains tax and negative gearing changes are now legislated, and this week there has been some early data on how these changes are hitting the property market. Plus, Labor's compromise on gambling advertising reforms and Angus Taylor's leadership of the Liberal Party. Senior economics correspondent Shane Wright and federal political correspondent Natassia Chrysanthos join Jacqueline Maley to discuss. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In December last year, Australia was confronted with its worst-ever incident of antisemitic violence when gunmen killed 15 people on Bondi Beach at a Hanukkah gathering. That came after the firebombing of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne and an arson attack on the Lewis' Continental Kitchen in Sydney. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, or ASIO, has now warned that hatred of Jews is one factor virtually all violent extremist cohorts have in common. How did we reach a point where so many Jews now say they feel unsafe in Australia? Today’s discussion, guest-hosted by Benjamin Preiss, is with international and political editor Peter Hartcher.   Background reading It’s the unique hate that inflames all others, and Australia is failing to quell it Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Victorian government has staked its reputation, to a large extent, on an ambitious infrastructure program – termed the Big Build by state Labor, the program includes major road and rail projects totalling billions of dollars.  Victoria Police however, say there is no doubt gangland-linked corruption has infiltrated the Big Build.  Today, investigative reporter Nick McKenzie joins Benjamin Preiss on the revelations of wrongdoing within Victoria's Big Build.   Background reading ‘Organised, strategic and out of our remit’: Police issue reality check on Big Build corruptionSubscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Karl Stefanovic was the face of Australian morning television for 25 years. Lauded for wearing the same suit for a year to highlight sexism, laughed at for showing up drunk on air following the Logies. Now he’s agreed to part ways with Nine, the owner of our mastheads, after he featured far-right, anti-Islam British activist Tommy Robinson on his podcast. Today, columnist and senior journalist Jacqueline Maley on whether the Stefanovic saga is the new rite of passage for the middle-aged man, or, if it signifies a fundamental shift in mainstream media.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For decades, neuroscientists have offered opposing theories for how our brains process the risks and rewards of daily life. Some thought our brains dedicate the most energy into managing everyday realities. Others have thought our brains fire up when we’re thrown something unexpected.Now we have an answer. And it might make you re-think how you live.Today, science reporter Angus Dalton on findings by researchers from the University of Sydney, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, that might help explain how our brains are functioning, in this age of information overload.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week independent MPs Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender announced they would form a new political party, Community Strong Australia. Steggall was successful as the first teal candidate, winning the prize seat of Warringah on Sydney’s north shore from former prime minister Tony Abbott in 2019. Spender took Sydney’s blue-ribbon electorate of Wentworth from Liberal David Sharma in 2022.But the leaderless Community Strong is a high-risk strategy, as all other teal MPs have declined to join. Today, Steggall is a special guest on Inside Politics with Jacqueline Maley to talk about, amid the fracturing of the Coalition and the rise of One Nation, why now is the right time for Community Strong Australia.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More Australians feel unsafe in the world than ever before, according to new research from the Lowy Institute. And it is this environment of fear – fear of a bad economy, of terrorism, of immigration – that makes for an environment ripe for a political party like One Nation to prosper.Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on how Australia is experiencing a moment he has never witnessed before, and where the solutions lie.   Background reading This is the Australia that Pauline Hanson has been waiting for – a frightened country Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After months of criticism, and two significant scandals, Sir Keir Starmer has resigned as British prime minister.So, why is the country on the cusp of having is seventh prime minister in only 10 years?Today, Europe correspondent David Crowe on Starmer’s drastic fall, and on Andy Burnham, the unconventional politician who’s expected to take his place.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.