The Morning Edition

Russian President Vladimir Putin has landed in China to meet Xi Jinping, days after the Chinese leader hosted US President Donald Trump.

Will Putin gush over Xi, as Trump was accused of doing?

Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher discusses the historic concessions Trump has made to China, and what Putin is hoping to achieve from his meeting.

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It’s like clockwork. Every March, countless parents, children and teachers across Australia grip their foreheads, wondering about how their NAPLAN scores measure up.

But now, a new study of our country’s national standardised scholastic test has revealed an unsettling trend.

Today, education reporter Nicole Precel on the educational segregation that is thriving in Australia – and what it will take to fix it.

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With the Liberal Party in a political death spiral, it was perhaps inevitable that when Opposition Leader Angus Taylor gave his budget reply speech last week, he’d swing for the fences.

But could his much-awaited immigration policy help fix Australia's housing crisis?

Today, chief political commentator James Massola on what Angus Taylor means when he says his policy proposal “puts Australians first”.

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Melbourne’s nightlife industry has been beset by violent crimes for much of this year.
Under the cover of night, well-known venues - including an iconic French restaurant - have been targeted.

What makes this series of connected crimes interesting is the motive remains a mystery.
Some club owners have received an ominous message before an attack, but with n...

The federal budget was pitched as a big moment for a progressive government that wants to equalise wealth and home ownership.

And one of the main attacks from the opposition is that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has had to break a promise in order to get there.

So will the broken promise line resonate if the changes are broadly supported by the public?

Also today, Inside Politics host Jacqueline Maley and chief political cor...

When US President Donald Trump meets with China's President Xi Jinping this week, it will be a geopolitical heavyweight match-up with enormous stakes, according to Joe Biden’s former deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell.

On the table is everything from global trade to security.

And, at a time when Trump is arguably at his weakest, and Xi at his most paranoid.

Today international and political editor Peter Hartcher on whet...

The federal government has delivered one of the most anticipated budgets in recent history, with the focus on shifting wealth from Boomers and opening more of the housing market to younger wage earners.

In order to get there, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers have enacted an overhaul of negative gearing, capital gains tax and trusts.

Today, we bring you an early episode of The Morning Edition from Parliamen...

We’re only hours away from the federal treasurer handing down the government’s much-anticipated budget. All eyes have been on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s anticipated - and controversial - changes to taxes that benefit the wealthier members of our society.

But there’s an entirely different factor that is likely to sway the government’s thinking.

Today, political columnist Sean Kelly ...

Travis Reyes, a 21-year-old US marine, remembers feeling smug as he sat with his feet dangling out the door of a military aircraft, soaring high above a gulf in the Northern Territory.

Yes, dozens of military personnel had died in these hybrid aeroplane/helicopters over the years. But the take-off from Darwin had been smooth.

Today, senior reporter Grant McArthur on the 23 marines who crashed in the bush, shocking the...

The electorate of Farrer is holding a by-election this weekend and we’re expecting the contest will be a good one.

The NSW seat, which hugs the border with Victoria, belonged to former opposition leader Sussan Ley for 25 years. Now, it’s a microcosm of the pressures the Coalition is under from independent candidates and One Nation.

And as Inside Politics host Jacqueline Maley puts it, Labor has grabbed the popcorn ...

US President Donald Trump never fails to miss an opportunity to punish his allies. This week, it was Germany after Trump announced he’d be pulling 5000 troops from the country after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the US had been humiliated by Iran.

But away from the front-page news, Germany and Japan – another former enemy of the US – have been on the rise.

Today, international and political editor Peter Hart...

For millions of people, David Attenborough was the man who introduced us to the wonders of the natural world.

But, with Attenborough turning 100 years old on Friday, some are rethinking his legacy, and realising that his biggest achievement might have been missed entirely.

Today environment editor Nick O’Malley and former BBC arts director Jonty Claypole talk about how the world’s most famous naturalist c...

Kylie Moore-Gilbert was imprisoned in Iran for more than years, accused of being a spy.

Five years after her release, the research fellow in security studies at Macquarie University is calling on the Australian government to change its strategy towards hostages.

Today, Moore-Gilbert speaks about how the era of "quiet diplomacy" is – in some hostage cases –over.

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On the evening of Anzac Day, a man is alleged to have set in motion a series of events that sparked a national outcry, broke hearts, and ignited rage in Alice Springs.

Today's episode comes after the news that 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis was charged on Sunday with the murder of a five-year-old girl in a tiny Alice Springs community.

We cross to the Northern Territory to journalist Hannah Murphy, fro...

Inflation figures were out this week, and it wasn’t good news. Next week’s interest rates figures from the Reserve Bank aren't looking crash hot either. So how do these results impact Jim Chalmers’ impending budget and what are the chances the treasurer will press ahead with changes to taxes and housing?

We also chat about the government’s new favourite buzzwords from ‘intergenerational equity&rsq...

When the National Disability Insurance Scheme was created in 2013, it was proof that a rich society could find the money to help people living with a disability. This was social democracy at work.

Twelve years on, it has turned into a $62 billion behemoth, on track to cost more than the age pension.

The Albanese government last week admitted the scheme was at risk of collapse. It announced a root-and-branch overhaul to remove 300,0...

Regular listeners will know Peter Hartcher – he’s our international and political editor and a weekly voice on The Morning Edition, helping us dissect and process the extraordinary times that we’re living in.

Every week we get a lot of comments from our listeners, so we put a call out for the burning questions you’ve wanted to ask Hartcher. Today we've collated a selection of them for this special episode.

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It's shaping up to be a story of profound betrayal – if the allegations are proven in court.

On the one hand is one of Australia's most influential and richest philanthropists, a woman who doesn't use email or indeed a computer. 

On the other is her personal secretary, whom she entrusted with access to her intimate personal and financial details.

Today, chief investigative reporter Kate McClymont on the case of Judith Ne...

Within hours of the shooting, right outside where US President Donald Trump was dining at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, the American president was venting his anger.

Not, notably, about the gunman firing shots in the lobby of the hotel. But at a journalist who read out what the suspected shooter allegedly thinks about Trump. 

Today Bruce Wolpe, a senior fellow at the United States Studies Centre, on why this shooting differs...