Inside the Powerful Elite Forces Running Iran

For some time now, an alarming number of Australian boys have been engaging with, and looking up to, the misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate. This week, the conversation about misogyny and the “manosphere” has resurfaced. Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek has accused Married At First Sight of platforming coercive control and misogyny, Netflix has released Louis Theroux’s Inside the Manosphere, and fresh research suggests roughly 40% of teenage boys surveyed agreed that women lie about domestic and sexual violence. Tate’s influence is warping classroom conversation, driving female peers to the fringe of discussion and even causing some teachers to quit. So why are misogynistic influencers reaching so many young men? Today, we’re bringing you an episode from 2024 – in which Ange McCormack speaks to author and journalist Anna Krien about the misogynist radicalisation happening in our schools. This episode was first published in March 2024.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Journalist and author, Anna Krien Photo: AP Photo/Vadim GhirdaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Canberra, accountability is often promised in moments of crisis. Much harder is what comes after. Matt Canavan has taken over the Nationals leadership, sharpening his party’s ability to confront One Nation. Former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson has walked away from the government’s antisemitism royal commission, raising fresh questions about a process already under pressure. And years after Robodebt devastated thousands of lives, a final report has landed with a reminder of just how hard real accountability can be to find.  Today, press gallery journalist Karen Middleton, on what Canavan’s rise means for the Coalition, why Richardson’s resignation matters to Anthony Albanese, and what the Robodebt findings tell us about whether the system is capable of holding anyone to account.    If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Karen Middleton, press gallery journalist Photo: AAP Image/Mick TsikasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Bolton has spent years arguing that bombing Iran isn’t just justified but necessary.  For decades he has argued that American military force can solve the problem of hostile regimes in the Middle East. He backed the Invasion of Iraq, championed some of the most disastrous American interventions of the modern era, and despite that, he is still arguing more force, more intervention and more regime change will bring stability to the Middle East. Now, as the US escalates again, Bolton’s worldview is back at the centre of the debate. A worldview, that when it comes to Iran, our government shares.  Today, former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, on the strikes on Iran, and on why a man who backed the invasion of Iraq still sees bombing as the answer.    If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Ambassador John Bolton, Former Trump National Security Advisor Photo: PA/AlamySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Iran announced a new Supreme Leader. Mojtaba Khamenei is the son of the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But who’s really running the country now? We look into the heavily armed elite forces pulling the strings – the Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.Today, Iranian journalist and author Arash Azizi on what direction Iran’s elite armed forces could take the country.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Iranian journalist and author, Arash Azizi Photo: EPASee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Sunday night, after Iran’s final game of the Women’s Asian Cup on the Gold Coast, protesters surrounded the team bus, banging on the windows and shouting “let them go”. Later, five members of the Iranian squad broke away from their minders. By Tuesday, the federal government had confirmed they had been granted humanitarian visas. The move followed days of concern about what the players might face if they returned to Iran, after several were denounced on Iranian state television for refusing to sing the national anthem at the start of the tournament. The government says the same option remains open to the rest of the team, but for now they look set to return to a war zone. Today, former Socceroo and human rights advocate Craig Foster on what this moment says about football’s failure to protect women players when they needed them most.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Former Socceroos captain and human rights advocate, Craig Foster Photo: AAP Image/Dave HuntSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Independent MP Monique Ryan can remember a time in Australian politics when small breaches could cost a career.  Now she says we’ve been gradually conditioned to tolerate corruption and the loss of transparency in parliament. Over recent years, there has been a marked increase in the number of lobbyists with access to Parliament House. Literally thousands move through the building, meeting politicians and staffers; often leaving little public trace of who they’ve spoken to and why.  Today, Independent MP, Monique Ryan on the thousands of lobbyists roaming the halls of Parliament House and the system she says allows them to influence, behind closed doors, the decisions that affect us all.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Dr Monique Ryan, Independent MP Photo: AAP Image/Lukas CochSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who should hold the power to decide how AI is used on our battlefields? That’s the question being debated after a face-off between the Pentagon and one of the world’s biggest AI companies. Anthropic ultimately lost its contract with the US military after refusing to let its Claude program be used for mass surveillance of American citizens, or for fully automated weapons capable of killing with no human oversight. But now that its rival, OpenAI, has stepped into the ring and cut its own deal with the government, what does that mean for how AI is used in our current wars – and the wars of the future? Today, David Wroe from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on tech titans, robodogs and whether AI should be used to kill.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: David Wroe, Australian Strategic Policy Institute Photo: Xinhua/Sipa USASee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been revealed this week that Monash IVF has paid millions of dollars in secret settlements, after two nightmare mixups saw women implanted with the wrong embryos – one of them giving birth to a stranger’s baby. At least three families have now received compensation for the bungle, which was caused by human error. But these mistakes – at one of the oldest and most reputable clinics in the country – have had devastating consequences that reach far beyond the affected families, damaging the confidence of anyone relying on fertility treatment in Australia. In this episode, which first aired in June 2025, Ruby Jones speaks with writer and public health campaigner Hannah Bambra on why the IVF industry is so vulnerable to human error.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Hannah Bambra, writer and public health campaigner Photo: AAP Image/Dean LewinsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the United States launched strikes on Iran, Australia was quick to back the move.  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says it’s about defending global security. But critics say that argument sounds familiar. More than two decades ago, another Australian prime minister used almost identical arguments to justify joining America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Back then, Albanese himself warned those decisions would redefine Australia as a willing backer of US militarism no matter whether it is in the national interest.  Today, political editor at Crikey, Bernard Keane, on why he believes the Prime Minister has undergone a remarkable transformation, and what it means for Australia as the conflict grows.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Bernard Keane, political editor at Crikey Photo: AAP Image/Mick TsikasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An effort by Congress to rein in President Trump’s war in Iran has failed. Democrats and a few Republicans tried to use the War Powers Resolution to force Trump to get approval from Congress to keep fighting – but it didn’t pass. Now the war is dragging in more countries, fuelling a global crisis and dividing nations. Today Jasmine El-Gamal, former Pentagon adviser and founder of Averos Strategies, on Trump’s war – is it ego, blind ambition or part of a plan to reshape the world?    If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Jasmine El-Gamal, founder and CEO of Averos Strategies Photo: Abbas Hassan/TASS/Sipa USASee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.