Explore every episode of the podcast 7am

She was the first person ever to become an astronaut wearing the Australian flag – and now Australian of the year Katherine Bennell-Pegg could finally be taking that flag into space.

The federal government has sent an offer to the European Space Agency to send Bennell-Pegg on a 2028 space mission.

If accepted, it will be the first time an astronaut has travelled to space under the Australian flag.

But there’s a $100 million dollar catch.

Today, co-director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute at Swinburne University, Dr Rebecca Allen on whether the hefty price tag is worth it – and why she thinks Australia needs to become a player in the space game.

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: Co-Director of the Space Technology Institute at Swinburne Uni, Dr Rebecca Allen

Photo: AAP Image/Darren England

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When John Howard introduced the GST in the year 2000, Australians were largely unimpressed.

More than 25 years later, some experts – including a former treasurer – say it’s time for an update.

A new report from the independent think tank the Grattan Institute proposes broadening the Goods and Services Tax and raising its rate to 15 per cent – to avoid what it says is a looming budget disaster.

Today Grattan Institute CEO Dr Aruna Sathanapally on why she argues we should raise the GST – even during a cost-of-living crisis – and how to package the changes so poorer Australians could actually end up better off.

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: Grattan Institute CEO Dr Aruna Sathanapally

Photo: AAP Image/Dan Peled

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once upon a time, Australians were told Pine Gap was a space research facility. Today, we know it's one of America's most important overseas intelligence bases – although much of what happens there remains secret.

Now, Pine Gap is facing renewed scrutiny as defence experts say intelligence gathered at the base is likely being used to support US strikes on Iran, and an Alice Springs court recently received evidence alleging it assisted Israeli military operations in Gaza.

The Greens and Independent MP Andrew Wilkie are demanding answers, but the Albanese government has refused to say how intel from Pine Gap is being used.

In 2024, investigative journalist Peter Cronau uncovered a major expansion at the base, including three enormous new satellite dishes believed to be part of an American missile-detection system.

Today, editor of Declassified Australia Peter Cronau on what Pine Gap actually does, why its capabilities are expanding, and whether its role in American wars could put Australia in danger.

This episode first aired in June 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: Editor of Declassified Australia, Peter Cronau

Photo: Google Earth

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been a week of shock and grief. 

The attack on Helen Haines has left her family and the community she represents confronting a trauma that has reverberated across the country and whose consequences will endure long after the headlines have moved on. 

In Canberra, there have been calls for restraint, for care with words and for an end to the cruelty that has become so familiar in our public life. Those calls ask politicians and the media to recognise the weight of our words and our collective responsibility for the tone we accept in public debate. 

Today, ABC Melbourne’s Raf Epstein on a devastating week, the habits we’ve come to accept, and whether this moment will change anything once the political contest resumes. 

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: ABC Melbourne host Raf Epstein

Photo: AAP Image/James Ross

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an Ebola treatment centre in eastern Congo, young children are being cared for by people in protective suits – isolated from the love and comfort of their families, who can only watch on from a window. 

For paediatrician Rupa Narra, it was unlike anything she’d experienced in 16 years working in global health. Some of her patients were too young to understand why their parents couldn’t hold them in what would be their final hours. 

And as health workers confront the outbreak, the international support they once relied on has been stripped away.

Today, Médecins Sans Frontières doctor, Rupa Narra, on the children caught up in the Ebola crisis and what happens when the world retreats from helping contain it. 

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: Médecins Sans Frontières doctor, Rupa Narra

Photo:msf.org.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You can see it in the drawn faces of the politicians lining up to speak about Helen Haines this week – Canberra has been shaken to its core.

ASIO and the Australian Federal Police have been liaising with parliamentarians – some of whom say they no longer feel safe after the alleged attack, which left the beloved Victorian independent fighting for her life.

But some of the same politicians offering their condolences have been responsible for the increasingly ugly, even violent, rhetoric on the floor of parliament – their words contributing to the very environment that’s made them feel unsafe.

Today, Independent MP Allegra Spender on her own experience, the hypocrisy in parliament, and why she’s calling for change – regardless of what the driver’s motivations are found to be.

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: Independent MP Allegra Spender

Photo: AAP Image/James Ross

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In France, thousands of arrests have been made and partial curfews imposed across the country, after a weekend of protests that spiralled into violence and looting.  

The protest movement, which began four weeks ago with students demanding better conditions at high schools, culminated in half a million people protesting the rising cost of living on the weekend.  

In some areas, shops were looted, and buildings torched. 

Protests have also broken out in other parts of Europe – including Spain, Belgium and Italy. 

The French President Emmanuel Macron, has now demanded a full security review and “new operational methods” to end the rioting. 

Today, writer Sarah Wilson from Paris, on how the protests turned violent, and what it all means for the future of politics in France, and across Europe. 

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: Writer Sarah Wilson

Photo: Oualid Abdellaoui / JNA PRESS

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday afternoon Independent MP Helen Haines was returning to her electorate office in the regional Victorian town of Wangaratta, when she was struck by a white Toyota LandCruiser. 

Witnesses described seeing the car make a u-turn, and then ram Haines against a vehicle, before reversing and hitting her a second time.

A local barbershop owner ran to the driver’s side of the vehicle, removed a knife from the man’s pocket, and wrestled him to the ground. 

The alleged attacker, who has now been identified as 43 year old Tarrawingee man Brendan Nugent, was then arrested by police at the scene. 

Helen Haines was taken to hospital in a critical condition, and has lost her leg in the attack. 

The AFP and Victorian police are investigating, and identifying potential charges, with the AFP saying it appears to be an “isolated incident”, with no known threats connected to the matter.

Meanwhile the head of ASIO is warning that elevated levels of grievance, intolerance and polarisation have continued to create a "permissive environment of violence"

Today in a special episode, columnist and broadcaster Waleed Aly on our changing attitudes to political violence, and why this moment should be a turning point for politics and for all Australians

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: Columnist and broadcaster Waleed Aly

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Greens are in crisis mode after one of their senators was accused of inappropriate conduct towards women. 

On Monday the party held an emergency meeting after an explosive statement from Jordon Steele-John, denying the allegations and accusing the new party leader of lying.

An internal Greens investigation is underway. 

But what could be more politically damaging than the claims against Senator Steele-John, is the Greens alleged coverup of misconduct claims against him.

Today, journalist Rachel Withers on the investigation, the secret dossier to contain the crisis, and what the events of the last week tell us about the Greens. 

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 Rachel Withers

Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On February 9, thousands of people gathered at Sydney Town Hall to protest the visit of Israeli president Isaac Herzog.

They wanted to march to state parliament, but police were blocking their way.

The scenes that followed were shocking: 10 officers and dozens of protesters – some in their 70s and 80s – were injured in the violent clashes that unfolded.

Now, after hundreds of complaints of police brutality, the law enforcement watchdog is today opening its investigation into what officers did, how the operation was planned and who gave the orders.

Today, Managing Partner at Marque Lawyers, Michael Bradley, on who should be held accountable for the violence at Town Hall – and why NSW Police fought to keep the investigation behind closed doors.

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: Managing partner at Marque Lawyers, Michael Bradley

Photo: AAP Image/Flavio Brancaleone

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For decades, thousands of South Korean children were adopted into families overseas, including here in Australia.

Many grew up believing they were orphans, only to discover years later that their identities had been falsified, their biological families were still alive and, in some cases, they were victims of human trafficking.

An investigation in South Korea last year exposed widespread fraud and abuse in the country's international adoption industry.

Now, an Australian government inquiry is underway, examining Australia's role, what authorities knew and how these children were allowed to be brought into the country.

Today, Martin McKenzie-Murray on the fake orphans trafficked to Australia, and the fight to uncover the truth about their adoptions.

This episode first aired in May 2025.

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: Associate Editor of the Saturday Paper, Martin McKenzie-Murray

Photo: AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In politics, there’s nothing quite like a book launch to remind everyone you’re here if they need. 

Josh Frydenberg is back, with a new book, some pointed criticism of his party, and perhaps an eye on a return to Canberra. Meanwhile, Angus Taylor is steering the Liberals firmly to the right, although even that hasn’t spared him a heckling from the conservative faithful.

For Anthony Albanese, it’s a welcome distraction from what has been a torrid couple of weeks for the government. His own MPs are getting restless, and the prime minister's own confidence isn’t proving contagious.

Today, columnist Paul Bongiorno on the Liberals’ competing visions, Labor’s midterm blues, and a prime minister waiting for the wind to change. 

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: Press gallery veteran Paul Bongiorno

Photo: AAP Image/Sarah Wilson

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a decade of fighting and billions spent on American weapons, Saudi Arabia still hasn’t defeated the Houthis.  

Instead, the Iranian-backed armed movement from Yemen, one of the Middle East’s poorest countries, is breaching Saudi defences with cheap drones and missiles, striking airports and oil infrastructure. 

This week, an attack on the passenger terminal at Riyads’s international airport killed 13 people and injured at least 320.

With the US already fighting a war with Iran, Saudi Arabia is now pressing Donald Trump to intervene against the Houthis. But is Trump prepared to open another front in the Middle East in order to help a country in which his family has business interests?

Today, Journalist Akbar Shahid Ahmed on the continued rise of the Houthis, and the pressure on Trump to intervene. 

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: Diplomatic Correspondent at The Washington Sun, Akbar Shahid Ahmed

Photo: EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For generations, Australians could reasonably expect that their lives would be more prosperous than their parents. 

But over recent years, that bargain has started to break down. 

Productivity growth has barely moved for a decade. We’re working more hours, without producing much more for each hour we work, and that stagnation is showing up in incomes, living standards and rising interest rates. 

Now with economic growth under pressure, the government is betting that new technology, particularly artificial intelligence, can help turn things around.

Today, Productivity Commission Chair Danielle Wood, on why Australia has stopped becoming more productive, whether AI can change that, and what happens if it can’t.

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: Productivity Commission Chair Danielle Wood

Photo: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2009, US Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan opened fire on fellow soldiers and civilians at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, killing 13 people and wounding 32. He was sentenced to death in 2013 for the attack, which he described as an act of jihad.

Now the Trump administration has scheduled his execution by firing squad for December 3. And Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says he wants the public to watch via livestream.

It’s the latest example of an administration willing to put its use of deadly force on display – from sharing videos of boats being blown up in the Caribbean, to turning military strikes on Iran into social media content.

So why is the US so determined to show off its military muscle?

Today, journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin, on the growing spectacle of American state violence – and what happens when killing becomes something to watch and celebrate.

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 filmmaker Abby Martin

Photo: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Coalition is saying that soon, you won’t be able to criticise the Prime Minister on the internet.

It’s part of its campaign against Labor’s proposed Digital Duty of Care – which the opposition has branded the “Albo-rithm”, arguing it would give the government the power to decide what Australians can see and say online.

So what’s actually in the government’s bill? And how far does it go towards addressing the harms created by social media and its algorithms?

Today, Digital Rights Watch chair Lizzie O’Shea on whether Labor can force Big Tech to change what we’re served – and why Donald Trump’s White House has now weighed in.

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: Chair of Digital Rights Watch, Lizzie O’Shea

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kath Madgwick has been to hell and back. One of the most recognisable faces of the Royal Commission into Robodebt, her only son Jarrad took his own life after being told he owed Services Australia nearly two thousand dollars. 

Kath has been fighting ever since.

The royal commission report dedicated more than a page to her story. But now, Kath says she’s experiencing injustice of another kind. Booted out of the $475 million robodebt class action – her compensation claim over Jarrad’s death has been denied by the Commonwealth.

Today Kath Madgwick, on how – even as one of the worst affected victims of the robodebt saga – she’s somehow missed out.

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: Robodebt victim’s mother, Kath Madgwick

Photo: Supplied

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth gathered hundreds of service members at a base in Virginia to lay out his vision for the American military.

Alongside sweeping changes to the way it fights and trains, Hegseth announced a new Office of Religious Affairs – reporting directly to him – aimed at putting what he calls “spiritual health” on the same level as physical health.

It’s the clearest sign yet of how Hegseth’s evangelical Christianity is shaping the Pentagon and religious policy across the armed forces.

Earlier this year, we looked at the beliefs driving Hegseth’s push to remake the military – and why Donald Trump chose him to wage a cultural and ideological battle inside it, bringing so-called “warrior culture” back to an institution they believed had gone “woke”.

Today, former Voice of America Chief National Correspondent Steve Herman on Pete Hegseth, Christian nationalism and the religious worldview reshaping the US military.

This episode first aired in March, 2026.

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 chief national correspondent for Voice of America, Steve Herman

Photo: Alex Wong/Pool Photo via AP

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Coalition is under pressure from One Nation, and its response is becoming increasingly clear. Angus Taylor is pushing a much harder line on immigration, borrowing language that echoes populist movements overseas. 

At the same time, One Nation is escalating its own rhetoric as it tries to capitalise on the anger and discontent spreading across the electorate. It’s part of a broader fracturing in Australian politics, as the major parties try to confront a more volatile electorate – and as the government faces renewed pressure over interest rates, inflation and the cost of living. 

Today, press gallery journalist Karen Middleton, on a political system being pulled towards its edges, and whether Anthony Albanese can still make the centre hold. 

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: Press gallery journalist Karen Middleton

Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Greens’ official think-tank has a new proposition — a national chain of 624 publicly owned supermarkets.

To make that a reality would cost more than $25 billion, and involve the forced sale of 200 Coles and Woolworths supermarkets. 

But the Institute, which took its inspiration from New York mayor Zohran Mamdani, says it would cut grocery bills by 22 per cent. 

Today, former MP and now Green Institute Executive Director Max Chandler-Mather on his proposal for a publicly owned supermarket chain. 

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: Green Institute Executive Director Max Chandler-Mather

Photo: AAP Image/Dan Peled

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Big events have always had the power to shape elections: from John Howard and the Tampa affair, to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. 

And it doesn’t get much bigger than a foiled attempt to bring down a plane mid-flight.

One week on from the Flydubai incident, details are continuing to filter out about the co-pilot accused of stabbing his colleague in an effort to crash the Tel Aviv-bound plane. 

And as investigations continue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been front and centre – with the country’s election just weeks away.

Today, Middle East correspondent for The Economist, Gregg Carlstrom on what we know about what happened on Flydubai flight 1073 and whether Netanyahu could use it to help him get re-elected.

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: Middle East correspondent for The Economist, Gregg Carlstrom

Photo: @IsraeliPM via x.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Angus Taylor has promised “the biggest cut to immigration in the history of this country” – vowing to cut net overseas migration to one hundred thousand for two years if he wins office, slashing Australia’s temporary migration intake by 650 thousand over four years.

Temporary graduate visas would be scrapped and new international students capped at 240 thousand. Australia’s humanitarian intake to be halved at ten thousand a year.

In a press conference which saw classic Coalition slogan “stop the boats” make a comeback, a new catch cry made an appearance as Angus Taylor tried to out muscle Labor and One Nation – promising to “raise the standards and reduce the numbers”.

Today, Director of the Migration Hub at ANU, Professor Alan Gamlen on what the Coalition’s drastic cuts would actually mean for Australia, why this debate is happening now, and the dangers when migration rhetoric reaches fever pitch

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: Director of the ANU Migration Hub, Professor Alan Gamlen

Photo: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States is once again tightening its grip on Cuba. 

New travel and economic restrictions are adding to a brutal oil blockade that has already pushed the country deeper into crisis, leaving Cuba increasingly isolated both politically and economically. 

But behind the decades of hostility between Washington and Havana, there’s a human cost that can be easy to lose sight of. 

Power cuts stretch through the night. Food and medicine are scarce and millions of people are struggling with water shortages. 

Today, SBS reporter for Dateline, Colin Cosier takes us inside Cuba, where he travelled undercover to document what life has become for the people caught up in an age old power struggle. 

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: SBS reporter Colin Cosier

Photo: SBS / Colin Cosier

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham stood in front of the Labour Party conference and promised to break politics as usual. 

In an emotional speech, he took aim at privatisation, austerity and Brexit, arguing that Britain’s departure from the European Union had done more harm than good. 

Alastair Campbell was in the room and he sees Burnham’s speech as part of a much bigger political moment, as populist parties gain ground, America redraws its alliances and China is asserting more power abroad. 

For countries like Britain and Australia, that means old assumptions about political leadership, alliances and global power are being tested all at once.   

Today, former Tony Blair adviser and the co-host of The Rest Is Politics, Alastair Campbell, on how centre-left leaders can respond to the rise of populism, and what a shifting global order means for countries like Australia.

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: Co-host of The Rest is Politics Alastair Campbell

Photo: Supplied

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you listen to podcasts, and let’s be honest, there’s a fair chance that you do, it’s likely that you’ve heard ads for a thing called Better Help.

It’s an app offering flexible, affordable therapy whenever you need it. Kind of an “Uber for therapy”.

Since we first brought you this story two years ago, app-based therapy has continued to grow – and now AI chatbots are increasingly being used for mental health support too.

So are we actually better off with BetterHelp and apps like it?

Today, we’re returning to our conversation with clinical and forensic psychologist Dr Ahona Guha, on the Uberfication of mental health care – and why a gig economy for psychologists isn’t the answer to our struggling mental health system.

This episode first aired in August, 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: Clinical and forensic psychologist Dr Ahona Guha

Photo: betterhelp.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Shoebridge has taken over the Greens leadership with a big ambition: to replace Labor.

He’s doing it at a time when Australians are becoming less attached to the major parties, and less trusting of the people who run them.

But so far, it’s Pauline Hanson’s One Nation that has made the most of that anger, while the Greens, after losing seats at the last election, have stagnated in the polls. Their challenge now is to convince disillusioned voters that the Greens can be more than a bit player in the halls of parliament. 

Today, Greens leader David Shoebridge on his plan to turn the Greens into an anti-establishment force, and whether that requires changing the party itself.

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: Greens leader David Shoebridge

Photo: AAP Image/George Chan

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

News of an alleged rape involving seven men at an elite university – a case being called the ‘Cornell 7’ – is reverberating across the US. 

For many people, the case – and the way the men and the institutions involved responded at the time – echoes high profile incidents here in Australia. 

So what responsibilities are our institutions failing to live up to? And what should they be doing differently? 

Today, advocate Tarang Chawla on the so-called Cornell 7, and what the case tells us about misogyny at home.

And a warning – while we try not to get too graphic, this episode does cover sexual assault.

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: Anti-violence advocate Tarang Chawla

Photo: AP Photo/Seth Wenig

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In April this year, Ben Roberts-Smith was arrested and charged with five counts of the war crime of murder.

He’s now out on bail and maintains his innocence – and One Nation has swung its support behind him. 

Now, the minor party says it’s also seeking to make a change to the criminal code — a change that could make a big difference to Roberts-Smith’s upcoming trial. 

Today, journalist Ben McKelvey on the law One Nation wants changed — and what that could mean for Australia’s international standing. 

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 Ben McKelvey

Photo: AAP Image/Russell Freeman

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years we’ve heard from older generations that the current interest rate pain is nothing compared to the horror of 17.5 per cent rates in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.

But now, as the Reserve Bank delivers its fourth hike this year, analysis shows the pain being inflicted on homeowners is comparatively worse.

So, as the official cash rate hits a 15 year high of 4.6 percent – how bad could it get?

Today, KPMG senior economist Terry Rawnsley on the chance of more interest rate hikes, the flow on effects of this latest hit, and whether we should be looking at alternatives like tax hikes, to get inflation under control.

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: KPMG senior economist Terry Rawnsley

Photo: AAP Image/Sarah Wilson

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In June, an OpenAI agent was looking for public information about medicines spending when it broke into a Medicare statistics website and accessed files it wasn’t authorised to see.

No personal Medicare information was accessed, and the breach itself was relatively minor. But the behaviour is more concerning: the agent hit a barrier – and instead of stopping, found a way around it.

And it wasn’t the first time.

Sydney Von Arx runs the Nightingale Collective, which monitors these AI systems. Her team uncovered a group of OpenAI agents behaving in remarkably similar ways around the same time as the Medicare breach – even sharing tips with each other about how to get around restrictions.

Today, what happens when AI agents stop taking no for an answer – and can the companies building them actually control what they do?

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: AI researcher and CEO of Nightingale Collective, Sydney Von Arx

Photo: AAP Image/Susie Dodds / Pictures: Tracey Nearmy and Dan Himbrechts

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A rare old book can now be worth more dead than alive.

Books are being bought, cut apart and scanned to train artificial intelligence.

Nobody knows how many books have been destroyed this way, but second-hand booksellers around the world have reported anonymous orders ranging from thousands to as many as a million books at a time.

And internal documents from AI giant Anthropic revealed plans to “destructively scan all the books in the world”.

Today, author Sarah Wilson on the destruction of knowledge to build artificial intelligence.

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: Author Sarah Wilson

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When starting out at university, it’s normal to want to meet new friends and establish a community.

But for some young Australians, that formative time has led them down the path of a secretive and extreme religious group accused of using deceptive tactics to draw in young people: Shincheonji. 

According to one former member, the group took over his life – leaving him sleep deprived and isolated, and teaching him that using his own judgement was dangerous. He described what happened to him as “mind control”.

Since then, similar accounts have been heard by a major Victorian parliamentary inquiry – which has now recommended new laws targeting coercive control by high-control groups.

And Shincheonji itself is now under investigation by Australia’s charities regulator.

Today, journalist Aleisha Orr on one young Australian who spent years inside the doomsday church – and what it took for him to get out.

This episode was originally 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 Aleisha Orr

Photo: shincheonji.org

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For decades, liberal democracy came with a promise: that with each generation we would become freer, wealthier, and have more control over our lives.

But after years of economic shocks, war and political upheaval, more and more people seem to have stopped believing that promise.

And in its place, we’re seeing political movements emerge that don’t just want different policies – they’re questioning some of the fundamental ideas our democracies were built on.

In his new Quarterly Essay, Time of Monsters, writer and broadcaster Waleed Aly argues this is part of something bigger – a crisis in liberalism itself.

Today, Waleed Aly on whether we’re entering a post-liberal age – and what might replace the old order.

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: Writer and broadcaster, Waleed Aly 

Photo: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, Donald Trump’s attacks on the media were treated as part of the spectacle of his politics. Now, three major news organisations have had their White House passes revoked – and Trump says others could follow.

Here in Australia, we’re seeing Pauline Hanson follow the same playbook – with One Nation repeatedly deciding which news organisations can attend its press conferences. But unlike America, press freedom in Australia has remarkably few legal protections backing it.

So what happens when politicians stop respecting the rules we’ve simply assumed they would follow?

Today, journalist and press freedom advocate Peter Greste, on how fragile press freedom is in Australia and why we’ve relied for so long on convention rather than law.

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 press freedom advocate, Peter Greste

Photo: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s an uncomfortable fact our government doesn’t like to face: 25 years on from the Tampa affair, we’re still paying a tiny island micro-nation hundreds of millions of dollars to keep immigration detention alive.

One of the ways we’re doing that is by helping to prop up Nauru Airlines – a company riven with financial, governance and safety issues.

Today, independent journalist Nick Feik on how our relationship with a foreign commercial airline is compromising the Australian government’s own regulators, departments and procurement processes in the name of immigration detention.

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: Independent journalist, Nick Feik

Photo: Nauru Airlines

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the defining themes of Donald Trump's presidencies has been his war against the media.

Last week, he banned journalists from three media outlets from the White House, saying he’s had enough of the negative stories about him. This week, those outlets sued him over the ban.

And just last year he proved no one’s off limits,  taking media mogul Rupert Murdoch to court in a ten-billion-dollar lawsuit that’s still playing out – all over another story he didn’t much like.

Today, journalist and author Gabriel Sherman on the battle of the titans between Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch – and who really holds the power in this twisted transactional relationship.

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 Gabriel Sherman

Photo: EPA/Samuel Corum and Kevin Lamarque via AP

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia in 2066 will be older, richer, and – according to the treasurer – transformed by artificial intelligence.

The latest intergenerational report says, despite an aging population, our real incomes will be 55 percent higher by 2066. And Jim Chalmers says AI will get us there.

But the same report says younger Australians aren’t seeing the same gains in income, wealth and home ownership as the generations before it. So what does this report really say about our future – and how much of it is political wishful thinking.

Today, Vice Chancellor’s professor and Chief Societal Economist at the University of New South Wales, Richard Holden on what Australia could look like in 40 years – and where the economics end and the politics begin.

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: UNSW Chief Societal Economist Richard Holden

Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A whole new galactic battleground has just opened up.

The United States has declared it has weapons in space, and it’s ready to use them.

So, are we entering a new era where the opening moves of a war could happen hundreds of kilometres above us?

Today, Senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Dr Malcolm Davis on the space weapons now at the ready, and the likelihood of an orbital offensive.

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: Senior analyst at ASPI, Dr Malcolm Davis

Photo: National Air and Space Intelligence Center

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last year, the company that ran Australia’s immigration detention network for over a decade, British conglomerate Serco, lost its contract, but not before helping build what’s been called one of the world’s ‘most extreme and secretive’ detention regimes.

The question at the time was whether its replacement – American private prison operator MTC – would be any better.

Eighteen months later, we have an answer. Recorded incidents across the detention network have more than doubled – from almost 800 to over 1,600 – since MTC took over.

At the same time, Australia’s offshore detention system on Nauru is expanding – hundreds more people are being transferred to the island, and the Albanese government has announced plans to expand immigration detention as part of its crackdown on visa overstayers.

Today, journalist Denham Sadler on the private companies paid billions to run Australia’s immigration detention system – and the warnings that were there before MTC took over.

This episode was originally published in January, 2025.

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 Denham Sadler

Photo: AP Photo/Rick Rycroft

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Migration is shaping up to be the next big battleground in federal politics as Labor desperately tries to wrestle back control of the narrative from One Nation.

But does this week’s long-awaited plan leave the government stronger or weaker politically?

And could going harder on Pauline Hanson hold the key to tackling One Nation? This week, the major parties gave it a try as some of Hanson’s nasty comments came back to bite her.

Today, Contributing Editor at The New Daily, Amy Remeikis on immigration politics and whether some things are off limits, even for Pauline Hanson.

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: Contributing Editor at The New Daily, Amy Remeikis

Photo: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After one false start and a hell of a lot of political pressure from the right, Labor has finally unveiled its long-awaited immigration plans.

Backpackers, students and visa overstayers will all be targeted by the measures – designed to bring net overseas migration down from around 300 thousand, to 225 thousand by 2028.

So what impact will the overhaul have on our economy, our communities, and on Labor’s re-election prospects? 

Today, journalist Peter Mares – who writes extensively on immigration for Inside Story magazine – on what’s in store, and whether the issue Labor’s addressing is a political problem, or a real one.

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: Inside Story Magazine journalist Peter Mares

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, countries including the UK, Canada and France announced plans to restrict trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

In the past, Australia has joined its overseas allies in actions on Israel. This time it’s different – with Foreign Affairs Minister, Penny Wong, saying Australia isn’t considering joining the ban. 

So – why not? 

Today, Commissioner on the UN’s Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel, Chris Sidoti, on Australia’s responsibilities, and its failures. 

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: Commissioner on the UN’s Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Chris Sidoti

Photo: AP Photo/Leo Correa

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the last week, AI bosses around the world have suddenly grown a conscience – urging a global slowdown amid fears the race to develop artificial intelligence could outstrip humanity’s ability to control it.

For Dex Hunter-Torricke, that realisation came a little sooner. The big-tech insider walked away last year, disillusioned, after spending 15 years inside the belly of the beast.

He wrote speeches for Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook, worked with Elon Musk at SpaceX, and most recently helped Google DeepMind explain the rise of artificial intelligence to the world.

Now, he says society is making the same mistakes with AI as it did in the social media era – sleepwalking into what comes next.

Today, founder and president of The Center for Tomorrow, Dex Hunter-Torricke gives us a glimpse inside the big tech firms shaping our future.

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: Founder of The Center for Tomorrow Dex Hunter-Torricke

Photo: @dexhuntertorricke via Instagram

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The numbers are almost incomprehensible – last month US debt hit 40 trillion dollars. With an interest bill of more than three billion dollars a day.

And that’s before Donald Trump’s trillion dollar promise to hand every adult in America a cheque for five thousand bucks!

Now, as global debt levels rise to record highs, and the cost of paying that debt rises too – experts are sounding the alarm – warning the economic storm that’s brewing is starting to look an awful lot like the 2007 global financial crisis.

Today, Senior Economics Correspondent at the Age and SMH, Shane Wright on the chance of another GFC and what it means for Australia.

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: Senior Economics Correspondent at the Age & SMH Shane Wright

Photo: AP Photo/Richard Drew

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One by one, the Aboriginal leaders, organisations and watchdogs the Northern Territory government is supposed to work with are walking away.

The Children’s Commissioner has resigned. An Indigenous MP has left parliament after more than a decade. And now almost the entire Aboriginal side of the Territory’s Justice Policy Partnership has suspended its involvement.

They’re all making a remarkably similar complaint – that the government isn’t listening, and that the structures supposedly designed to give Aboriginal people a say have become meaningless.

Today, National Indigenous Times journalist Dechlan Brennan, on how relations got this bad – and whether a government can tackle the Territory’s enormous problems if the people most affected no longer believe there’s any point in sitting at the table.

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: National Indigenous Times journalist, Dechlan Brennan

Photo: AAP Image/Supplied by (A)manda Parkinson

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From afar, Alice Springs is a whirlpool of myth and truth. A town with competing interests and few solutions, marked by chaos and decades of government overreach.

In cities and towns across Australia, we read about a “crisis” about “rampages”. One newspaper described the children of Alice Springs as “tiny menaces stuck on a turnstile of trouble”.

In this first episode of our three part series This is Alice Springs, Daniel James visits the town at the heart of our nation, to find out how all the interventions, big and small, by governments of all persuasions have led to this chaos. What he finds is that almost all of it leads back to one thing.

This series was originally published in October 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: Hosted and reported by Daniel James

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2020 Anthony Albanese called for the sacking of then-sports minister Bridget McKenzie over her involvement in the infamous sports rorts – which he labelled a farce. Not long after, she resigned.

But now that similar pork barrelling claims have been levelled at the Prime Minister, he’s come out swinging – refusing to admit any wrong-doing over his failure to declare membership at a golf club which received a six million dollar grant.

Also coming out swinging this week was Andrew Hastie. The Liberal MP delivered a masterclass in how to take on One Nation as he labelled Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce lying cowards over a party-backed cartoon calling him a traitor.

Today, press gallery veteran Paul Bongiorno on a fiery week in parliament, and who came off second best.

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: Press gallery veteran Paul Bongiorno

Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Donald Trump was sworn in for a second time, some of the most powerful men in the tech world had the best seats in the room.

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg – a display of just how close silicon valley had aligned itself to the administration.

But within that world, journalist Gil Durán says, is a smaller, more radical group with a much bigger ambition: get rid of democracy, and use technology to build a new order in its place, controlled by a wealthy elite. And in his new book, The Nerd Reich, Gil traces how these once-fringe ideas have moved closer to the White House than ever before.

Today, Silicon Valley journalist and author Gil Durán, on the group he’s dubbed the “Nerd Reich’, the ideas driving them, and how they became part of Trump’s political project.

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: Author of The Nerd Reich Gil Durán

Photo: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last month, an emotional Jacqui Lambie revealed a private health battle connected to her time in the army – a debilitating prolapse that required surgery.

The Tasmanian senator called out gaps in health care services for female veterans, and raged against the government’s plans to introduce a $5,000 cap on allied health services for veterans.

This week fellow veterans joined her calls, laying down their war medals outside parliament house in protest, as Lambie promised to continue the fight.

Today, Senator Jacqui Lambie on why veterans are getting a raw deal.

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: Independent Senator for Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie

Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One Nation is copping heat for a proposal that would let Australians take some of the money going into their super as extra pay instead.

For up to three years, renters and mortgage holders could choose to take home a quarter of the money that would normally be put into their retirement – worth about $44 a week for someone on the average full-time wage.

At the same time, the Coalition has been looking at its own ways to give people greater access to their super now – and some of its MPs want to go further.

So why is superannuation suddenly being pitched as an answer to Australia’s cost-of-living and housing problems? And is it a good idea?

Today, economist Greg Jericho, on the growing political fight over what our super should actually be for.

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: Chief economist at the Australia Institute, Greg Jericho

Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.