The Morning Edition

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 we...

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, inv...

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 hospi...

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.

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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, th...

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 elemen...

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.

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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 - ...

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 Freema...

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 i...

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 indee...

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 Ha...

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 bran...

"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 cam...

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 ...

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 ...

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.

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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.  

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