The Morning Edition

This week on the pod we are going to delve into what we are calling Canberra’s Coachella - AKA the Productivity Summit, which is happening the week after next.  What is the point of it? And what is productivity anyway?  Here to discuss, we have Chief Political Correspondent, Paul Sakkal as usual, and special guest star and productivity king, Senior Economics Correspondent Shane Wright.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you heard the news that Donald Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday and responded with a shrug, you probably weren’t alone. How do or die are monthly jobs statistics? And wasn’t this just another instance of Trump attacking someone whose findings he didn’t like? Not according to experts from across the political aisle, who have raised the alarm that this move represents a different threat, altogether. Even for Donald Trump. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher, on what history tells us happens once a country’s leader starts controlling facts.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all know that divorce settlements often get ugly.  We hear stories about the couples who chainsaw couches in half, such is their disagreement over who is entitled to get what. So, who knew that, behind our backs, divorce settlements have been getting even messier?  Today, legal affairs reporter Michaela Whitbourn on the new methods that couples are using to hide their assets.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Picture this. A man has been convicted of rape. And as he sits in his prison cell, awaiting a sentence, he continues to be paid his taxpayer funded salary of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. He hasn’t been fired.  It might sound implausible. But this case is playing out right now, with a NSW member of parliament.  Today, state political editor Alexandra Smith on the case of Gareth Ward. And why behaviour that would get you fired from any job in the private sector, doesn’t automatically rule you out of making the law.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you feel like you’re working like crazy, but getting nowhere fast, you’re far from alone. It turns out that Australians work many more hours, per week, than our counterparts in Germany and Japan. But a new study has shown the benefits of a four-day work week.  Today, economics writer Millie Muroi, on why the government keeps going on about productivity. And whether a shorter work week, which has already been adopted in other countries, could be heading our way.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian and UK prime ministers Mark Carney and Keir Starmer have all called for Palestine to be recognised, one way or another.  But Anthony Albanese remains cautious. So what is the Australian Prime Minister waiting for? This week on Inside Politics, European correspondent David Crowe, national security correspondent Matthew Knott and chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal explain.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the last 54 years, countless writers have lived by the words of the late author Graham Greene who wrote that writers should have a “splinter of ice in the heart”. He meant that we need to maintain a critical distance from the events we cover, in order to remain objective. But have journalists become part of the world’s problems, with our focus on catastrophes? Today, international and political editor, Peter Hartcher, on the argument that some journalists have been “bad friends” to all of you, and the clarion call for a new type of writing, to meet this moment of calamity that we find ourselves in.  Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The release of images of starving children lying listlessly in their mothers’ arms, in the Gaza strip, has pushed a growing number of global leaders to accuse Israel of breaking international law.  So, is this the tipping point that will end the war? Today, foreign affairs and national security correspondent Matthew Knott on the plight of Gazans, now. And whether Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will bow to Donald Trump, who has just said he wants to make sure that Gazan civilians are given “every ounce of food”.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Smyth was one of Australia’s very top cancer scientists. Or, as one former colleague puts it, “the god of immunology." But Smyth was a god who fell to earth and doubt now surrounds his work after a public unravelling. Today, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald's national science reporter Liam Mannix on Smyth’s so-called “lab of secrets”, and his faked data, which now underpins a cancer drug being given to patients. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Obesity affects about a third of Australian adults, while another third are classified as overweight. But the weight loss drug Ozempic has proven to be a game changer in tackling this health epidemic across the country.  Drugs such as Ozempic have evolved from managing diabetes to managing waist lines as Hollywood celebrities and doctors have   hailed it as a phenomenon, with Ozempic users dropping kilos without crash diets or joining the latest run club. A  But what's the catch?   Today, Explainer reporter, Jackson Graham breaks down the wonder drug and the side effects you need to know while balancing the risks with the benefits.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.