NewsDaily News

7am

Solstice Media

An independent daily news show. We feature the country’s best reporters, covering the news as it affects Australia. This is news with narrative, every weekday.

Play

Open in

79 episodes
daily
Avg 16 min
English

Episodes 79

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

#2043
September 12 · 30 min
This is Alice Springs: Children of the Intervention
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.
- Transcript
#2042
September 11 · 15 min
Did the PM dabble in pork barrelling?
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.
- Transcript
#2041
September 10 · 17 min
“Nerd Reich”: Are big tech billionaires at war with democracy?
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.
- Transcript
#2040
September 9 · 13 min
Why Jacqui Lambie’s not done fighting veteran health caps
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.
- Transcript
#2039
September 8 · 15 min
Why are the conservative parties suddenly obsessed with super?
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.
- Transcript
#2038
September 7 · 15 min
The far right is winning. Could Australia’s neo-Nazis be next?
In imposing scenes in the UK over the weekend, hundreds of masked men belonging to the hard-right group Patriot Platform stopped traffic. Around the same time, political party AfD was making history in Germany – becoming the first far-right party to win in the country since World War two. And on the other side of the world, Australia’s high court will today hear from our most high profile Neo-Nazi group in a challenge, legal experts say could see the federal government’s ban on White Australia (formerly known as the National Socialist Network) overturned. Today, Associate professor of politics at Deakin University Josh Roose on Germany, the UK, and Australia’s high court challenge – as the far-right continues its march across the world. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Associate professor of politics at Deakin University, Josh Roose Photo: AP Photo/Matthias Schrader See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2037
September 6 · 16 min
Have the Greens lost their appetite for a fight?
On the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Labor has promised a vast new national park to protect more than 12,000 koalas. But there’s a catch. The New South Wales government wants carbon credits to help pay for it. By ending planned logging, it could generate credits that are then sold to companies to offset their emissions. For the Greens, that creates a dilemma at a moment when both major parties are bleeding voters – voters who are walking straight past the Greens as an alternative. They want the forests protected, but have long opposed carbon offsets that allow big polluters to keep polluting. Now those two positions are about to collide. Today, co-chief executive officer of the Australia Institute Richard Denniss on koalas, carbon offsets and whether the Greens are still willing to pick the big fights. 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-chief executive officer of the Australia Institute, Richard Denniss Photo: AAP Image/David Wigley See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2036
September 5 · 13 min
Firebombs and gang wars: The bloody fallout of Australia’s tobacco crackdown
For years, Australia has made cigarettes increasingly expensive in an effort to drive down smoking. Now, the Coalition wants to dramatically reverse course. It's promised to slash the tobacco excise by 80 per cent, arguing that soaring cigarette prices have fuelled a violent black market. It also wants to legalise and regulate vapes and nicotine pouches. Labor says there’s no evidence the tax cuts would draw smokers away from the black market, while public health authorities warn it could undo decades of progress in reducing smoking. So, who’s right? Today, Martin McKenzie-Murray on how Australia’s public health success helped create the conditions for a deadly tobacco war – and whether making cigarettes cheaper could actually help end it. This episode was first published 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: Martin McKenzie-Murray Photo: AAP Image/Diego Fedele See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2035
September 4 · 18 min
Paul Keating's unfinished argument for an independent Australia
Paul Keating has been out of office for thirty years. But he’s never really left the national conversation. Keating wanted Australia to find its security in Asia, not from it, and to stop defining itself through bigger powers in the Anglosphere. That vision now sits uneasily alongside AUKUS, a more powerful China, and an Australia tied ever more closely to the United States. Today, historian and author of Grand Ambition James Curran, on Keating’s argument for a more independent Australia – and why it continues to challenge the modern Labor Party. 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: Historian and author of Grand Ambition, James Curran Photo: AAP Image/Darren England See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2034
September 3 · 15 min
Chanel Contos on the fight to turn off your algorithms
Speaking at the Press Club this week, consent education advocate Chanel Contos outlined how social media companies are feeding misogynistic content to young men online. Now, she wants the government to compel social media companies to give people the option to restrict their algorithm. So can, and should, the algorithm be contained? And would social media companies even comply? Today, CEO of Teach Us Consent, Chanel Contos on the damage the algorithm is doing – and the next tech frontier. 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: Teach Us Consent CEO Chanel Contos Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2033
September 2 · 15 min
Should Meta’s “pervert glasses” be banned?
They’ve been dubbed pervert glasses. And with good reason – women around the world are reporting being sexually harassed, filmed without their consent, often without their knowledge. But this week, the federal government ruled out an import ban on smart glasses – as concerns about the technology rise and examples of their misuse flood the internet. Today, Associate Dean of Interaction Technology & Information at RMIT Dana McKay, on the rising popularity of smartglasses, how to regulate their use, and the dangers if wearable surveillance tech becomes widespread. 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 Dean of Interaction Technology & Information at RMIT, Dana McKay Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2032
September 1 · 16 min
Labor’s One Nation problem
One Nation has declared that “politics has changed” after snatching a formerly safe Labor seat in a surprise by-election victory in WA over the weekend. Until now, it had been the Coalition feeling the effects of the orange wave, but now Labor officially has a Pauline problem of its own. So what does this mean for the government, and the country? Today, WA political reporter for Business News, Gary Adshead on how One Nation won over WA voters and whether it can replicate that victory elsewhere. 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: Political reporter for Business News, Gary Adshead Photo: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2031
August 31 · 14 min
“Accident waiting to happen”: Why Nepal’s floods could happen again
A wall of grey, silted water tears through a Himalayan Valley. People look on in shock, disbelief and fear as buildings are swallowed. Cars are swept away and people run as the flood surges down below. In its aftermath, more than 800 people are dead and thousands are missing, including 43 Australians. In the search for answers, scientists now believe the disaster began high in the mountains, when an enormous mass of ice and rock, weighing around 500 million tonnes, collapsed and unleashed a torrent of water down the valley. Today, glaciologist at University of Sunshine Coast Adrian McCallum, on how this disaster unfolded, and why the Himalayas and some of the world’s other great mountain ranges are becoming more vulnerable to events like 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: Glaciologist Adrian McCallum Photo: EPA/NARENDRA SHRESTHA See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2030
August 30 · 21 min
Anthony ‘the Mooch’ Scaramucci: The man who turned on Trump
On day one of his role as communications director for the White House, Anthony Scaramucci sung Donald Trump’s praises. He would serve in that role for just another ten days, a span of time that has become known as a “mooch”. Since leaving the White House, Scaramucci has become one of the president’s most vocal and scathing critics. Now, he says Trump’s return to power is the product of deeper failures in American politics, and a warning about what happens when economic anger goes unanswered. Today, The Rest is Politics US host Anthony Scaramucci on why Trump came back, the limits of his power, and how Australia should deal with the U.S. president. 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: The Rest is Politics US host Anthony Scaramucci Photo: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2029
August 29 · 13 min
Is Australia failing to teach kids to read?
The latest NAPLAN results show around a third of Australian students are still falling short in literacy and numeracy – results that have barely budged since 2023. At the same time, Australia is settling a decades-long fight over how children should be taught to read. For years, many schools relied on outdated methods that encouraged children to work out words using context, pictures and other cues. Now, some classrooms are increasingly moving towards phonics and explicit instruction. But the evidence for that approach has been around for decades. So why is it taking so long for classrooms to catch up? Today, journalist Martin McKenzie-Murray on why the old methods lasted for so long, and how children should actually be taught to read. This episode was first published 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: Associate editor of The Saturday Paper, Martin McKenzie-Murray Photo: AAP Image/Dan Peled See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2028
August 28 · 18 min
The “three shocks” reshaping Australian politics
Australia has changed in ways our politics is still struggling to understand. We are now a majority migrant nation. Professional women have overtaken blue-collar men as the largest group in the workforce. And the two countries Australia has relied on most, China and the United States, have become less predictable. Labor has adapted to parts of this new reality. The Coalition, so far, has struggled to do the same. Today, author of Three Shocks, George Megalogenis on the tectonic plates reshaping Australian politics. 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 Three Shocks George Megalogenis Photo: AAP Image/Dean Lewins See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2027
August 27 · 17 min
“I feel sick about it”: Tanya Plibersek on the Swans, Scots College and rising misogyny
Over the past two weeks, allegations of sexual assault involving some of the country’s most powerful institutions – the Swans and Sydney’s Scots College – have forced an uncomfortable question about how Australia responds when women say they have been harmed. But behind those cases is an even more troubling shift. New research suggests some young men are becoming more hostile towards women, while misogyny and sexual violence is being normalised online. And with pressure building on leaders and governments across the country to confront it, the question is whether the response is keeping pace with the problem. Today, Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek, on the institutions failing women, the forces shaping a generation of boys, and whether governments are doing enough to stop 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: Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2026
August 26 · 15 min
Operation Economic Outcast: Can Trump really isolate Iran?
As Trump’s war with Iran reaches the six-month mark, the US is increasing its economic pressure – threatening harsher sanctions not just against Iran, but against anyone else who does business with it. That puts China, the country’s most important trading partner, directly in Washington’s sights. But how much of this is just bluster? And has Trump lost the ability to turn this conflict in his favour? Today, The National Interest’s editor-at-large, Steve Clemons, on the dwindling options available to the US – and what that means for its increasingly unpopular president. 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-at-large of The National Interest, Steve Clemons Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2025
August 25 · 14 min
The manmade origins of bird flu and the mutations dangerous to humans
Bird flu has reached a new milestone, crossing over to infect and kill a seal in South Australia. It marks a new phase of the outbreak, and has sparked fears for many endangered wildlife species, which face the possibility of extinction. So how does the way we farm, eat, and live make us vulnerable to viruses like this? And could humans be at risk with the next mutation? Today, journalist and author of Sentinel: when diseases spread between animals and humans, Michael Dulaney on the root cause of the virus - and the future of animal pandemics in our times. 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 Michael Dulaney Photo: AAP Image/Darren England See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
#2024
August 24 · 17 min
The “cult” church accused of paying far-right activists for election stunts
Last year, the Prime Minister was ambushed in his hotel lobby by far-right figures boasting of being fed “private intel” during the last election campaign. The incident was one of about a dozen stunts targeting Labor, the Greens and some Independents. It turns out, this wasn’t just about influencers trying to generate content. It was actually a co-ordinated campaign allegedly paid for by a wealthy Christian sect. Today, investigative journalist at The Age Sherryn Groch on the Exclusive Brethren, its bags of cash, and connections to the Liberal Party. 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: Investigative journalist at The Age & SMH Sherryn Groch Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript

Showing 21–40 of 79 episodes