“We don’t know what the harms could be”: when medicinal cannabis doesn’t work

Go to any family or professional gathering these days, and there's a good chance you’ll be in a room with someone who’s used medicinal cannabis; for anxiety, physical pain, or hundreds of other conditions that have been treated, legally, with the product, for the last 10 years. Today health reporter Angus Thomson on the Australian researchers who’ve found there is no evidence that medicinal cannabis is effective at treating anxiety, depression and PTSD.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Housing affordability in Australia is at an all-time low, and it’s left young people rethinking the dream of homeownership – something previous generations had taken for granted.  Today, property reporter Caroline Zielinski, on whether we can (or should) return to the Great Australian Dream – an enduring belief that home ownership can lead to a better life.  Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By now, you’ve probably seen the Reddit threads blowing up over which movie should win the best picture Oscar today. How can Ryan Coogler’s Sinners – a vampire horror musical set in the Jim Crow era – not win, say angry cinephiles, noting that it’s the most nominated film in Oscar history. And yet, One Battle After Another, the Leonardo DiCaprio starring film about a government that has devolved into an authoritarian regime, is touted as the favourite. Today senior culture writer Karl Quinn and culture and lifestyle writer Nell Geraets, on which films tend to win at the Oscars, and which often get shut out. And whether Timothée Chalamet will be punished for his comments knocking ballet and the opera. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we talk about the incredible story of the Iranian women's soccer team, some of whom defected and were given asylum in Australia. It was a wonderful story, and a great public relations coup for the government.  Plus, the legacy of outgoing Nationals leader David Littleproud, and we examine the somewhat controversial style of the incoming leader Matt Canavan. Joining host Jacquline Maley is chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and national security correspondent Matthew Knott.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It could be argued that no American president has been as enamoured with violence as Donald Trump. He appears to relish all of it: the spectacle, the promise of it taking place, and, lately, its bloody reality, as - at the time of recording - American bombs continue to drop on Iran.So, is this the key to to understanding the US president's motivation or all the other wars he’s planning?Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on which country Trump has set his sights on next, and whether Australia is now at war with Iran.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five female Iranian soccer players, in Australia competing for the Asian Cup, escaped in the night from their handlers to seek refuge from their home country, which is in the middle of a war with the US and Israel.Initially another two women decided to join them and defected a day later, but on Wednesday afternoon, one of the pair changed their mind and contacted Iranian officials with the intention of returning home.Today, in a bonus episode, crime and justice reporter Amber Schultz joins us from Malaysia, where she has been tracking the rest of the team on their journey back to Iran.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thousands of people in Lebanon have fled their homes due to Israeli airstrikes and forced evacuations as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated this week. Today, Europe correspondent David Crowe and photojournalist Kate Geraghty report from Lebanon, after the US and Israel’s war on Iran expanded to the region. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The lieutenant governor of Texas has called it “the biggest theft from the people of Texas in the history of Texas”. He was referring to the work of Australian gamblers who scooped up a $US95 million jackpot. And this is the kicker: they did it by buying up nearly every single lottery ticket and, they say, by following all the rules.Today, investigative reporter Patrick Begley on the Australians who took down the Texan lottery.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Micky Ahuja catapulted his company MA Services from nothing to the big time to become the security provider of choice to the federal government retail giants like Coles and Bunnings, and a major sponsor of AFL clubs.But his empire was a house of cards. Today Nick McKenzie on one of the more spectacular and disturbing corporate unravellings in recent memory. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Israel and the United States are at war with Iran in a rapidly escalating conflict that Australia seems to be trying to avoid as much as possible. Today, we'll talk about how viable it is to be neutral these days, and whether Australia is doing its duty as a middle power. We'll also discuss the Liberal Party review that Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and others tried to keep it secret, only to have it leaked by none other than the prime minister himself this week. Joining Jacqueline Maley today is foreign affairs correspondent Matthew Knott and chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.