Please Explain

A fire at a Geelong oil refinery - one of two refineries left in Australia - has heightened anxiety around fuel supply. Energy Minister Chris Bowen joins the Inside Politics podcast today to address the impact of this fire and the scramble for petrol and diesel imports as the nation grapples with one of the most severe oil shocks in history. The pugilistic minister, a lighting rod in the debate about Australia's renewable energy transition, joins chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and energy correspondent Mike Foley to discuss the rocky path to a green economy, and Australia's position to deal with the war and subsequent energy crisis. You can read Sakkal and Foley's story on our websites here, and all our federal political coverage here.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seven weeks into the US-Israel war with Iran, the narrative that Donald Trump was pushed into the war by Benjamin Netanyahu, and that the US president is an agent of Israel, still permeates the internet.How much truth is there to these claims?Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher talks about who really is driving the war, and why it matters.Read Hartcher's column here.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As our journalist James Massola put it, his niece Mattea is like most three-year-olds: boisterous and bursting with energy.Mattea is also not like most three-year-olds: from the moment she was born, her parents have had to grapple with a complex set of problems that make life very different.I’m Samantha Selinger-Morris, and you’re listening to The Morning Edition, from The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Today, chief political commentator James Massola on Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme and what next month’s expected cuts to the scheme really mean.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, have been tanking in popularity polls. Meghan is now the second-most disliked royal, beaten only by the disgraced Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.So why is this faux-royal tour occurring down under when the British monarchy is arguably on the nose?Today, senior writer Bevan Shields comments on recent bullying accusations against Prince Harry, what they're doing here this week - and how much they're charging us for the pleasure.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been slammed – over the course of years – for failing to crack down on the more than 1 million gambling ads broadcast every year on Australia's free-to-air TV and radio, not to mention the rest of our gambling industry, which has driven some families to financial ruin.Then, finally, just over a week ago, came the prime minister’s announcement of a gambling overhaul.Today, business reporter Kishor Napier-Raman on just how much so-called “filthy money” our government is taking away from stakeholders, and if there’s any chance these reforms might break the link between children and sports wagering.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new leader of the Nationals, Matt Canavan, is a former Marxist from the suburbs who was once a Productivity Commission economist and then, a firebrand right-wing senator. Canavan joins Inside Politics today with chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal at a time when the Nationals are battling for survival against an ascendant One Nation. The pair discuss Australia's over-reliance on the US, Canavan's dislike of identity politics, his surprising love of electric vehicles and, to cap it off, religion.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump has backed down, at the eleventh hour, from his horrifying threat to - as Trump put it himself - unleash destruction on Iran’s entire civilisation. Both sides have now said they have agreed to a two-week ceasefire, which includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on how to make sense of the events of the last 24 hours. And whether in two weeks, the world is likely to be, yet again, on the brink of carnage.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian Federal Police today arrested war hero Ben Roberts-Smith over the war-crimes murders of five unarmed Afghan civilians and prisoners during the Afghan War.The arrest comes after a quiet, five-year-long investigation into Roberts-Smith, which reportedly involved tapped phones, listening devices, and raids by secretive Office of the Special Investigator detectives.Today, investigative reporters Nick McKenzie and Michael Bachelard reveal how this arrest unfolded, and what happens next.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was a significant judgment in a Victorian court last week, one that is causing a great deal of controversy in the medical community.The case centres on what happened when a woman presented to a regional hospital to give birth.The woman, Larissa Gawthrop, was in labour – but the hospital refused to admit her until she’d undergone a vaginal examination. For the hospital, this test is routine, but Gawthrop had been really clear in her birth plan – she’d only consent to an examination if there was an urgent medical reason.What happened next, according to the court decision, was tantamount to assault, and the judge awarded Gawthrop $275,000 in damages.Today, senior writer Wendy Tuohy discusses the landmark case and its implications for the medical community.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many of us probably have a hunch that vaping is bad for our health.Questions about just how bad have been around for years.So why, then, has there been a backlash by health researchers against a new study, that has now declared that the evidence is in, and e-cigarettes are likely to cause oral and lung cancer?Today, science reporter Angus Dalton on the main warnings contained in this Australian study.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we debate the merits of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s national address before getting stuck into what’s happening with the budget. With the world in a bit of a shambles, we found it interesting that the PM hasn’t totally killed off the idea of reforms in the budget to things such as capital gains tax and negative gearing. But, as our guest and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright says, this is the most difficult budget to piece together since the response to the global financial crisis in 2008. Finally, host Jacqueline Maley and chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal talk about a fascinating interview Andrew Hastie gave recently.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump says he’s nearly done with the war in Iran, declaring: "We will be leaving very soon." His secretary of state also said on Wednesday that he can "see the finish line". This would be significant, but only if the Americans were in control of the war. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher argues the United States has leached power in this war, while the Iranian regime is in its element.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Investigative reporter Nick McKenzie logged on to a Zoom call to meet the man who said he was Aaron Pierson. McKenzie was also hiding his real identity, posing as a recruiter for an Australian tech company. The whole thing was a set-up, a trap for someone McKenzie suspected to be a spy for North Korea. Today, McKenzie talks about the new way spies are targeting Australian businesses, and what happened in that Zoom call.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government has finally announced its national fuel security plan to help us cope with one of the worst global oil crisis the world has seen.After meeting with the heads of all states and territories in a special meeting of the national cabinet, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was acting now to be “overprepared" for any worsening of the crisis that has resulted from the war in the Middle East - now in its fifth week, and showing no signs of stopping.Today, hear federal political correspondent Natassia Chrysanthos on what relief Australians will get out of this plan, and whether the government’s measures will boost inflation.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a sudden conclusion to one of Australia’s most intensive manhunts, self-described sovereign citizen Dezi Freeman was shot dead by police on Monday morning. For more than 200 days, Freeman evaded police after killing two police officers at a rural property in Porepunkah, in Victoria’s High Country, on August 26 last year. In a bonus episode today, crime reporter Melissa Cunningham on how the deadly saga of Dezi Freeman came to an end. For all the latest on this story, visit theage.com.au or smh.com.au.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the murky and fast-flowing water surged into their house in northern Victoria, Brian and Glenys Mulcahey were determined. They would save their home of more than 50 years.In the end, they couldn’t. But what they didn’t know then, during that devastating flood in 2022, was that the worst was still to come.For Brian Mulcahey was never the same again; the previously active man slid into a state of listlessness, and was later sent to a mental health facility.Today, regional editor Benjamin Preiss on the link between dementia and natural disasters.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, while we were all freaking out about the oil crisis – and rightly so – European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen visited to finalise a trade deal between Australia and the EU. Negotiations for this have been on and off for eight years, so it was not a moment too soon that we signed it. But, as Jacqueline Maley and Paul Sakkal discuss, this wasn't just about delicious foodstuffs from Europe, and indeed, Europeans getting access to our delicious foodstuffs; it was also about shoring up our strategic security in a very uncertain time. And, we also talk about One Nation's election unexpected result in South Australia.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can we make heads or tails of where the Iran war is headed, and when it might end, when Donald Trump changes his strategy with whiplash speed? One minute, the US President says he’ll drop more bombs on Iran, “just for fun”. The next he decides to lift sanctions on Iranian oil and says that he’s having “productive” negotiations with his enemy. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on whether this war will lead us all into a recession, and what Trump said that reveals how much political trouble he’s now in.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As much as we love to hate Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O, who for so long ruled Australia's most expensive radio program, the implosion of their show is consequential. And not just in a business sense – although if Sandilands is successful in the lawsuit he launched against his former employer this week, it could take the entire radio network down. Today, media writer Calum Jaspan on whether Sandilands might take his brand to another platform, and turn it into a political force, with an even greater focus on the grotesque and vulgar – and what’s happened to Jackie O.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’ve noticed the hike in prices at the petrol pump, but how high might prices go? And are we at risk of running out of petrol?Today, energy reporter Nick Toscano on what plans our government and the fuel companies have to manage this crisis.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Looksmaxxing" is a trend on social media where, as the name suggests, men aim to "maximise" their appearance in sometimes extreme ways. There are tales of breaking legs in order to be taller, and talk of "bone smashing" – where young men claim they are hammering their faces to heighten their cheekbones.Today, Becca Rothfeld, a writer with The New Yorker magazine, talks about where this movement came from and why so many of its stars are Australian.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we’re talking about the enormous global volatility the government is dealing with, courtesy of the US-Israel war on Iran, and whether we need to be worried about things like our fuel supplies.Also, with this global instability and an interest rate rise this week, will Treasurer Jim Chalmers water down his budget ambitions, or press on with major changes to intergenerational equity and tax?The Inside Politics team of Jacqueline Maley and Paul Sakkal also find time to touch on the electorate of Farrer, which is shaping up to hold one of the more interesting byelections.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For someone who has said he’s already won the war in Iran, US President Donald Trump sure is angry.On Tuesday night, he lashed out at allies, including Australia, that have declined to send ships to the Middle East to help put a stop to the oil crisis caused by the war.Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher speaks on the attacks Trump is now facing from within his own party over the war, and who’s really winning in this conflict.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Medicinal cannabis has been increasingly used, legally, to relieve symptoms and treat conditions such as anxiety or chronic pain. 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 post-traumatic stress disorder.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.

Only six days since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, the destruction is mounting. More than 800 people have been killed, including Iranian schoolchildren and American service members. What will it take to stop this war? And what might compel Donald Trump to end it, if he can? Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on Trump's tactics, and how his MAGA base is responding.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bonus episode of Inside Politics, we’re joined by the Nationals leader David Littleproud.He’s a man under pressure – commentators, Liberal MPs and some of his own colleagues blamed January’s split on the 49-year-old from Chinchilla in regional Queensland.Today, chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and Littleproud discuss the Coalition rupture and what’s next under the leadership of Angus Taylor.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If leading figures of the AI boom, like OpenAI chief Sam Altman, have their way, much of the world (or better yet, space) will be covered in data centres. But what about the havoc their construction is wreaking on our neighbourhoods? Today, investigative reporter Clay Lucas, on the Australians living next door to these loud, energy-sucking centres that some say are a threat to our environment. And whether our state governments are letting a rapidly evolving, resource-intensive industry expand largely unchecked.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Only days before US President Donald Trump declared war on Iran, another Epstein files bombshell dropped — this one, relating to allegations against the American president. An investigation revealed that the Department of Justice withheld more than 50 pages of FBI interviews and notes from conversations with a woman who accused Donald Trump of sexual abuse, decades ago, when she was between 13 and 15 years old. Today Foreign Policy magazine deputy editor Amelia Lester on what some Democrats are calling “the largest government cover-up in modern history”, and if it could hurt Donald Trump.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump's act of war on Iran at the weekend seemed inevitable but nevertheless shocking. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and civilians died when joint American and Israeli strikes rained down on the country, beginning on Saturday. Trump says it’s time for the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow their government. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher discusses who is likely to rule Iran and if this will lead to a wider war.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we had some not-so-great inflation figures and also reports that there'll be another interest rate rise right before the government hands down its federal budget in May. Newly-minted shadow treasurer Tim Wilson, aka the "energiser bunny", accused Treasurer Jim Chalmers of pouring fuel on the economic flames, but what is the government saying about the situation? Also in this episode, we discuss the extraordinary situation where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had to be evacuated from The Lodge in Canberra. Joining host Jacqueline Maley is chief economics correspondent Shane Wright and chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Pentagon once said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could succeed in three days. So, as the war rages on, more than four years later, what else have world leaders got wrong? For one thing, what a nation’s most important source of power is. Today international and political editor Peter Hartcher on the underestimated power that Ukraine holds, and what it would take for us to acquire it.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jamal Rifi is the Sydney doctor at the centre of a controversial mission to repatriate the so-called ISIS brides – 34 Australian women and children who are living in a camp in Syria. He also wants to bring back a young man who was taken to Syria as a boy who is now in an adult men’s prison. The women travelled to Syria and were married to jihadists, who are now dead or in jail. When Islamic State's so-called caliphate fell, they were put in detention camps. For seven years they have lived in no man’s land, trying to return home to Australia. Dr Rifi, a medical doctor and friend of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, speaks to senior writer Michael Bachelard for this special episode of The Morning Edition.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A scream in the night, glass smashing, and dogs barking - these were the first signs that something terrible had happened in a suburban Sydney street.Since then, police have revealed this was a highly unusual case of mistaken identity that resulted in the kidnapping of an innocent 85-year-old grandfather. And on Tuesday morning, the worst fears of his Sydney family were realised: police announced they believed they had found the body of the widower, almost two weeks after he was taken. Today, crime reporter Riley Walter on a case that has gripped Sydney.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.