Reading wars: The way children are taught to read is about to change

Federal politics got interesting this week when our very own James Massola and David Crowe reported that the Labor government has asked the Treasury to model cuts to negative gearing tax concessions, a policy that has previously caused Labor plenty of electoral pain.  The Prime Minister and his frontbench are being very coy about any proposed changes to the tax treatment of investment properties.  Are changes to negative gearing an option the government is really considering? How would they argue the case to cut the concessions this time, given they have tried and failed to do so before? And would changes to negative gearing make any difference to house prices anyway? Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss are chief political correspondent David Crowe and national affairs editor James Massola.    Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many of us can’t keep our eyes off of what’s happening in the Middle East, with a disturbing escalation of violence in Lebanon. But, according to International and Political editor, Peter Hartcher, the conflict that has a greater likelihood of threatening our safety here, is the one that is growing by the month, between China and many countries, including Australia. Today, Hartcher discusses the disturbing new video released by the People's Republic of China. And the former Australian prime ministers who have rung the alarm bell when it comes to this threat.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is a multi-billion dollar industry in Australia. And it’s been touted as a key way for us to eventually reach net zero carbon emissions.But our carbon credit schemes are also riddled with predatory behaviour, according to a year-long look into the market by our journalist, Charlotte Grieve. Particularly harmed, she says, are remote Indigenous communities. Their burning practices, which date back 60,000 years, are the golden standard within the carbon credit industry. The pay they receive for this practice has the power to transform these communities, where jobs are scarce. Today, investigative journalist Charlotte Grieve, on how this ancient knowledge, and the practitioners who are hoping to pass it down to younger generations, are being exploited. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, one of Australia’s best known crime reporters, John Silvester, kept a secret.He knew there had been a significant development in a notorious and long unsolved cold case: The Easey Street murders.But he didn’t write anything about it, until a few days ago, when he broke the story that there had been an arrest.It was big news, most of all for the family of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett, school friends from the country who flatted together in Collingwood before their lives were violently and cruelly taken.Today, John Silvester takes us behind the scenes of the police investigation, the arrest and why he kept quiet on the case for so long.For more: Easey Street suspect unmasked as link to victims emerges, John Silvester et al, The Age. John Silvester's new book, 'Dark City', is out now.  Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As investigative reporter Patrick Begley puts it, it’s an apology that those Peter Dutton offended can’t remember, which he won’t repeat and doesn’t like to discuss. And some wonder whether he ever made it at all. It all centres on something the opposition leader said a while ago: “The reality is that Malcolm Fraser did make mistakes, in bringing some people in in the 1970s.” Today, investigative reporter Patrick Begley on the mystery of the Peter Dutton apology.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Albanese government came to power promising to ease the housing crisis by increasing supply. But has its housing agenda stalled?  This week, the Greens hardened their opposition to two key elements of the government’s housing policy.  The Prime Minister has urged the Greens to “get on with it” and wave the plans through. So will Labor be able to secure its agenda? And if not, who will pay the political price?  Plus we have a look at the war of words between the business lobby and the government. Is this just the usual tension we often see between a Labor government and corporate interests? Or is it something more significant?  Joining Jaqueline Maley to discuss, is federal political correspondent Paul Sakkal and chief economic correspondent Shane Wright.Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What obligation does the Australian government have to help retrieve its citizens from debilitating circumstances, overseas? This question will be at the heart of a High Court case on Monday, which will help decide the fate of 12 Australian women, and their 22 children, who’ve been languishing in refugee camps in Northern Syria for five years. To those who have opposed bringing them home, the women are a threat - the family members of slain or defeated Islamic State fighters who may believe in dangerous ideologies. But to those who say they should be repatriated, they are victims of war.  Today, associate editor and special writer Deborah Snow on what distinguishes these women from those before them, who were successfully brought home to Australia.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the next week, while you and I are sleeping, members of the Murdoch family will be duking it out in an American courtroom over control of one of the most powerful media empires on the planet. It’s the latest escalation in a civil war that has been building within the family for years.   Today, media writer Calum Jaspan, on why Rupert Murdoch has pitted one of his children, Lachlan, against three of his other kids. And how the outcome of this case will impact all of us.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nine weeks after Republican candidate Donald J Trump was almost killed at a rally in Pennsylvania, the FBI is investigating another attempt on his life. Trump was on his golf course in Florida on Sunday afternoon when Secret Service officers spotted a man with an AK-47 hiding in the bushes a few hundred metres away. In the aftermath, Vice President Kamala Harris said: “Violence has no place in America”. Her running mate, Tim Walz, declared: “It’s not who we are as a nation”. But, isn’t it? Today, North America correspondent Farrah Tomazin on how, when shocking forms of violence are so commonplace, another attempted assassination almost feels normal. And why that't not OK.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's arguably the most shameful stain on Australia's military. In 2020, an inquiry concluded that there was credible information implicating 25 special forces personnel in alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. Four years on, the finding is still reverberating.  Last week, Defence Minister Richard Marles announced he would strip medals from a number of senior officers who served in Afghanistan. The move has drawn the ire of some veteran groups who argue no action should be taken until any charges are proven against soldiers.  Today, foreign affairs and national security correspondent Matthew Knott on what the announcement means, and why one of the country's most famous special forces soldiers, Ben Robert Smith, still has his Victoria Cross medal.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.