The Morning Edition

There’s been a bit going on in the world of media in Australia. Just last week, a court case began over the ABC’s sacking of high-profile presenter Antoinette Lattouf, while in another case, cricket commentator Peter Lalor was told to back his bags by a commercial radio station. And the drama is all over what they had posted on social media about the war in Gaza. But what do these cases mean for everyone else? Can your employer sack you if you post something about the war?  Today, employment lawyer Cilla Robinson answers this vexed question, but first, media writer Calum Jaspan brings us up to speed with ABC versus  Antoinette Latouff. Audio credit/For more: Inside Antoinette Lattouf’s case against the ABC, ABC In-depth : https://youtu.be/f9knkGDXE3w?si=KTXTmfRLSTnzVnhs Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year promises to be a big one: we have a federal election coming up, we have a continuing cost of living crisis, and we have the urgent challenge of responding to the increasing volatility of our closest ally, the United States. These are all all big themes.  Why, then, has parliament spent the week talking about long lunches for small business? Is the debate over lunches just a bit of sparring before more substantive issues are discussed? How have both parties used the summer break to sharpen up their attacks on each other? Plus, we will look at the hate speech legislation before parliament, likely to pass soon with bipartisan support. And we will probe the PM’s response to President Trump’s plans to have the US annex Gaza.   Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss is chief political correspondent David Crowe and national security correspondent and foreign affairs correspondent Matthew Knott. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The other day, the world suddenly saw Matildas Captain Sam Kerr in a new light. In police body-cam footage that has made global headlines, Kerr could be seen swearing at a police constable, and calling him names, while seemingly seething with disdain. But how is the footage, which was aired in a London courtroom - where Kerr is on trial for racial harassment - being viewed here, where she’s long been seen as a hero? Today, Europe correspondent Rob Harris, and sports reporter Vince Rugari, on whether Sam Kerr might serve jail time. And how her behaviour is dividing opinions in our sporting community.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s hard to keep your kids off screens, right? Especially when you’ve got so many demands on your time. But what impact does screentime have on really young kids? Especially those who are five and under? Today, technology editor David Swan, on where to draw the line, so we can keep our kids safe. And why the impact on young kids has been, perhaps, left out of the national conversation.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s official. American president Donald Trump has launched a new era of trade wars, with the sweeping tariffs he has imposed on Canada, Mexico and China primed to come into effect today. There is serious tit-for-tat energy, here. With Canada vowing to retaliate by imposing tax on Florida Orange Juice, Tennessee whiskey, and Kentucky peanut butter.  But how do tariffs actually work? Who pays for them? And just how much can they raise consumers’ bills, and damage - or help - any of these countries’ economies?    Today, Senior Economics correspondent Shane Wright, and North American correspondent Michael Koziol, on whether this is, as one newspaper has dubbed it, “the dumbest trade war in history.”Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Belle Gibson was revered, worldwide, for an astonishing feat. She had healed herself from terminal cancer through the power of healthy eating. And launched a global business on the back of it. There was just one problem. She never had cancer. And were it not for the relentless digging done by a pair of junior journalists from Melbourne, her deceit might never have been uncovered. Belle Gibson’s story will soon be the subject of a new Netflix series, Apple Cider Vinegar, which premieres on Thursday. Today, the two journalists who wrote the book upon which the series is based  - Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano, on what happens when hope, fear and manipulation are supercharged by the world of social media.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi there, I’m Jacqueline Maley, the host of Inside Politics, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald’s weekly politics podcast.  We’re bringing you the best episodes of 2024, before we return in early February for the election year. In this special episode, which aired last month, respected columnist Niki Savva explains why Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should retire if he wins the next election. We’re releasing this episode for you today, on January 31.  Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Has the NSW police force just thwarted a domestic terrorism plot? This is what people across the nation are asking themselves, since Sydneysiders woke to news that a caravan full of explosives had been seized in the north-west of the city. Just as worrying, to many, was what is alleged to have also been contained in the caravan: the address of a Sydney synagogue. Today, chief reporter Jordan Baker on why police chose to wait 10 days after making their discovery, to tell the public. And the shock waves this incident has sent through the Jewish community.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They are one of the most successful bands of all time, with one album enshrined as the second-biggest selling album in history.But do we value AC/DC here? Or are we embarrassed by the band that Rolling Stone Magazine once heralded as embodying “all the blood, sweat and arrogance” of rock’n’roll?Because less than two months ago, the childhood home of AC/DC founders Angus and Malcolm Young was bulldozed.Today, conservation expert James Lesh, and head of creative video, Tom Compagnoni, on which cultural sites we protect, in Australia, and which we don’t. And what this says about us. You can read Tom's opinion piece here: Congrats Sydney, you just bulldozed your own legacySubscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the past three years, as North America correspondent Farrah Tomazin has had a front-row seat to the biggest story in the world – the political comeback of US President Donald Trump. Farrah, or more endearingly known as ‘Faz’ around the newsroom, writes that America is a country of frustrating contradictions, where abortions are banned more willingly than assault weapons.Today, the outgoing reporter reflects on the major stories she’s covered during a whopping 25 years at our papers, and why she’s choosing to stay in a country she once described as a ‘dystopian tinderbox ready to explode’. You can read Farrah's story here: https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/hit-by-a-car-covering-johnny-depp-s-court-case-it-became-emblematic-of-my-time-in-the-us-20250124-p5l6ya.htmlSubscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.