The Fin

Jessica Gardner, the Australian Financial Review’s Washington correspondent, covers US politics and foreign policy. Nicci Smith, a foreign affairs reporter focused on the Middle East, examines Israel. They explore Trump’s midterm vulnerability, cost-of-living anger, Democratic contenders and market risks, alongside Netanyahu’s election battle, coalition uncertainty and Israel’s deeper social divisions. The fallout reaches energy prices, critical minerals and democracy.

Janek Drevikovsky, a legal technology reporter, and David Marin-Guzman, an employment law correspondent, explore AI’s disruption of Australian law. They discuss a self-represented worker’s courtroom victory, AI tools challenging powerful institutions, and clients scrutinising legal advice. The conversation also examines overloaded tribunals, judges’ evolving roles, workplace power shifts and the threat to traditional law-firm staffing models.

Paul Smith, technology editor, and Jonathan Shapiro, senior business and markets reporter, unpack Firmus’s spectacular IPO collapse. They trace the unraveling of its cooling partnership, its pivot from Bitcoin mining to AI factories, investor doubts and valuation concerns. The conversation explores the company’s search for fresh capital, tensions between private and public markets, and what the debacle signals for Australia’s data-centre industry and the AI investment boom.

Australian pollster and political analyst Kos Samaras joins Australian Financial Review senior reporter Greg Bearup to explore regional Australia’s political fault lines. They visit towns that rely on migrant workers, examine Dubbo’s multicultural economy and aged-care workforce, and unpack why One Nation is gaining support. The conversation also considers health, financial insecurity and frustration with government services.

Myriam Robin, a senior Australian Financial Review reporter covering housing and economic affairs, investigates Eddie Dilleen, a 34-year-old landlord with roughly 200 properties. The conversation explores his rise, renter activism, the backlash against property investors, rent-vesting and borrowing risks, and why Australia’s housing crisis is deepening tensions between landlords and tenants.

Andrew Hobbs, AFR wealth reporter, and Michael Read, deputy economics editor, unpack Australia’s superannuation battles. They explore whether people should access retirement savings early for wages, housing or mortgages, whether the 12% guarantee is necessary, and how much is enough for a comfortable retirement. They also examine tax concessions, inheritances and the politics shaping super’s future.

Alex Gluyas, markets reporter at The Australian Financial Review, explores whether AI signals a golden age or an investment reckoning. They examine Cathie Wood’s bullish technology forecast, warnings from AI leaders, speculative valuations, data-centre pressures, Bitcoin, and the bond-market threat that could unsettle expensive tech stocks.

Primrose Riordan, an Australian Financial Review associate editor covering property and private credit, and Jonathan Shapiro, a senior finance and markets reporter, examine Bathla’s spectacular collapse. They trace its rise in Western Sydney, unfinished homes and stranded buyers, mounting debt, and lenders’ concentrated exposure. They also explore private credit’s wider vulnerabilities, the threat to housing supply, and why more property failures may follow.

Sumeyya Ilanbey, the Australian Financial Review’s Victorian political correspondent, joins editor-in-chief James Chessell to examine Victoria’s costly Suburban Rail Loop. They explore its origins, escalating price tag, federal backing, secret transport levy and why Labor may be unable to cancel contracts. The discussion also considers debt, energy costs and how the project could shape November’s tight state election.

Max Mason, courts correspondent who covers high-profile legal fights, and Primrose Riordan, investigative business reporter, dig into Jon Adgemis’ $1.8b collapse. They unpack explosive court testimony, alleged tax and funding schemes, the rise from KPMG to pub empire, lender fallout as debt ballooned, and the risks private credit and investors face when due diligence falters.