Episode 171: The Fuel Crisis, Trump's new forever war and the good news is about bilbies, this is the Week on Wednesday

This week, Van Badham and Ben Davison juggle a chaotic dog incident while discussing multi‑employer bargaining and planned industrial action by local government workers in Victoria. The dogs calm down enough for Van and Ben to get into the details of the spike in fuel prices driven by Middle East and Ukraine conflicts - and the related misinformation about this online. The discussion around Australia’s fuel reserves and policy responses naturally escalates into critiques of U.S. military action in Iran and its global geopolitical fallout. The good news is that it’s Easter, and bilbies are involved! TASTY, TASTY bilbies! Enjoy!

In robust form, Van and Ben discuss South Australian election - Labor’s emphatic win, One Nation’s vote versus their actual seats and how Liberal collapse is about a specifically right‑wing fragmentation, whatever fantasy alternative scenario the online and offline commentariat prefers to entertain. They get into the meaty detail of the new Australia-EU trade agreement (good news for wine lovers AND people who love democracy) and Van gets excited about a British “megahedge” while new dachshund puppy Miccius brings some, uh, aural texture to discussion. It may be a Thursday but it will always be the Week on Wednesday!

Van Badham (on her own while Ben’s away!) explores Australia’s new parliament, a record-breaking Labor majority, and freshly shuffled cabinet - but the real news? Susssssan Ley may be the Liberals’ new leader, but is she flying the Liberal plane straight into the glass cliff? Meanwhile, the Greens are fighting amongst themselves (again) about putting the “landlord” into “leadership” and Captain Carry On - aka, Andrew Hastie - role plays as the Aussie Pete Buttigieg… if Pete were right-wing, allergic to universities and not very fun at a party. Van also asks: if a National Party leadership challenge is taking place, does it make a sound? And the answer appears to be no. No, it does not.    Meanwhile, there’s a surge in diversity on Labor’s benches worth celebrating as well as - YES, OMG - real wage growth that’s outpacing inflation as the actual business of government somehow manages to roll on. And if that weren’t enough good news, there’s been a breakthrough in the breakdown of forever chemicals, by jiminy!   It may be one woman talking to herself for 45 minutes, but we hope you enjoy it!

Van Badham and Ben Davison deliver an unmissable post-election edition of The Week on Wednesday, unpacking one of the most extraordinary federal election results in Australian history. With Anthony Albanese securing Labor’s biggest win since WWII, defeating not just Peter Dutton but also Greens leader Adam Bandt, Van and Ben bring deep analysis, biting wit, and raw insight into: - What led to Labor’s sweeping mandate - Why the Coalition suffered such a brutal collapse - The spectacular fall of the Greens’ lower house ambitions - How union campaigning and party discipline shaped the outcome - The Trump effect—and how Australian voters emphatically rejected it - The nuclear fantasy and the cost of out-of-touch ideology - Why the "parliament of independents" myth finally imploded Their signature candid discussion takes on democratic responsibility political fantasy and hope hope hope, this episode is a must-listen for anyone who cares about where Australia is headed next.

Van Badham and Ben Davison launch into analysis of the Australian election campaign so far, with Ben barely emerged from a three-day strategy lockdown at his job but happily reunited with faithful hound, Germanicus.  Van has been keeping an eye on the election, and a couple of perturbing recent twists: parents from Catholic schools in key marginal seats received thinly-veiled “We’re not saying vote Liberal, but…” letters from the Catholic education authorities and publishing them on the internet, with horror. Van, a Catholic herself, delivers a righteous takedown: Just when you thought it couldn’t get weirder—enter the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (aka Exclusive Brethren). Members of this secretive sect are popping up en masse at pre-poll booths as Liberal volunteers, particularly in teal and Labor marginals. Uniformly dressed, slogan-repeating, and cagey about their affiliations, Van explains their ultra-conservative, anti-worldly ethos: “No pets, no pop music, no pants for women—but apparently, private jets are fine.” The vibes, friends - are sus. Ben gives a summary of the polling data this far, and what it’s telling us - but we end with liquid gold. Companies Peequal and NPK Recovery collected 1,000 litres of female runners’ pee at the London Marathon and turned it into fertiliser for wheat—enough for 3,000 loaves of bread. Quote of the day: “It’s brilliant to think that the nervous wees of thousands of women are helping a good cause.” Enjoy the show!

Van Badham and Ben Davison are back - with new tech, new producer (welcome, Casper!), and a jam-packed episode on everything that matters. After three debates and polling momentum seeming to flow to Labor, Van and Ben pick apart three defining (and revealing) policy conversations of the election campaign: housing, health and education. From the ideological shockwaves of Dutton’s Trump-flavoured Coalition to Albo’s pitch for a Big Labor Legacy, it’s the election campaign Australians have to pay attention to. With the dog in Ben’s lap (an occasionally growling), Van and Ben break down the real differences between policies (hint: one builds houses, the other is more of a vibe), unpack the return of old Liberal tricks, and even find time to celebrate bobcats roaming free in New Jersey. It’s fierce, funny, forensic - and not to be missed.

On her own today (yes, poor Ben is STILL unwell), Van takes you through some highlights of Dr Jim's 2025-26 Australian budget, the insane, almost-unbelievable story of the Trump administration's "group chat" scandal, and some good news for African penguins. Yes, the budget includes actual money for women's health (hello menopause clinics!), green iron, and schools. Yes, a real journalist got added to a U.S. government Signal chat where they were planning airstrikes. And YES — for once — something good has happened for penguins. It's a bananas world, but Van is here to help you make sense of it! Please light candles and sing songs of magic that Ben can be back next week; we must not let the bananas prevail.

Van Badham and Ben Davison devote an episode to pulling apart the world’s most uncharismatic populist, Peter Dutton, as well as his energetic attempt to make Australia as dysfunctional as it was last time he was in government: with plans to reduce workplace pay and safety gains, sack 38,000 public servants, end fee-free TAFE, strip universal childcare provisions and dance for Gina Rinehart and the fossil fuel industry like an auditionee for a “Fame” revival. While Dutton promises a suite of policies that might sound "solution-y" - from nuclear energy proposals to changes in superannuation for home buyers - it's such a Trump-like approach, it's little wonder "the Temu Trump" nickname is starting to stick. How this may manifest in a his campaign pitch and how those who want to stop him should respond to it is also TOP OF MIND. There’s also good news about cars in Norway, and Germanicus is finally successful in crawling up onto Van’s lap.  Join us as we unpack the intricate dynamics of the day, offering our own SPARKLING TAKE on why risking Peter Dutton is a bad, bad, very bad idea.  AND Van gives our Cadre and Extend the Reach supporters a shoutout!

Van Badham and Ben Davison are FINALLY back! Today, they take "Auspol 2025" head-on. As a federal election looms, the episode explores reality versus hyperbole around the Australian economy and considers the role of disinformation warping the view. The good news is about the growth of Australia's renewables infrastructure set to energise MILLIONS of homes. Ben shares his expert insights on the economic landscape, highlighting the strength of Australia's fundamentals and dissecting the misinformation clouding public perception, Van is more grateful than ever for having gone to art school, and Germanicus yaps at at least two passers by (you've missed him the most, people, haven't you?!). As Australia gears up for an election year, the podcast assesses the capitalist conditions imposed on political discourse, the Xenophobic Lie Machine, Peter Dutton's "nuclear mcguffin" and the economic implications of all three. It's a bumper return episode and we are just so glad to be back! Thanks for sticking with us over QUITE the challenging year!  

Van Badham and Ben Davison (and Germanicus the dog) HAVE RETURNED! As Ben recovers from twelve months of illness, this long overdue return to The Week on Wednesday begins with heartfelt gratitude for the Medicare system, as you’d expect. Our delighted duo then analyze the first U.S. presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, highlighting Harris's effective preparation and Trump's off-chops - and certainly weird - shouty rants about pet-eating in Ohio. They also explore news from the word of “Disinfoland”, concerning the arrest of Telegram's Pavel Durov in France, the suspension of Elon Musk’s “X” platform in Brazil  and the indictment of two alleged Russian agents for “information laundering” pro-Putin talking points through U.S. right-wing influencers. Ben encourages you to JOIN A UNION, and Van cuddles the dog. A big shoutout to our supporters who’ve stayed with us all these months; friends, we are SO BACK. More on the US Presidential debate: https://www.npr.org/2024/09/11/nx-s1-5108401/donald-trump-debate-eating-dogs-cats-immigrants-false-stereotype Great piece from Alexander Howard about the present window for effective social media platform regulation: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/10/opinion/telegram-tiktok-x-social-media.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare Sally McManus explains the allegations against the CFMEU: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Srn4vDrnuCrxcmCa/ Come see Van’s new show about Nazis in Melbourne: https://melbournefringe.com.au/event/werewolf/ Buy us some coffee (and we’ll spend the money on ads): https://buymeacoffee.com/weekonwednesday