Cut Through

The latest drop of Epstein files totalled a whopping 3.5 million documents. Buried within it were remnants of conversations Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted paedophile and sex trafficker, had about Australian politics — and attempts to destabilise democratic elections made by people in his orbit.

Crystal Andrews and reporter-at-large Charlie Lewis discuss why Kevin Rudd and Clive Palmer appear in the Epstein files alongside the likes of Steve Bannon and Peter Mandelson; and why no one should be surprised about the intersection of the abuse of women and girls and the spreading of toxic politics worldwide.

Read more:
The Epstein files show that Australia, like many nations, is at the mercy of men like him
Here's how Epstein broke the internet
Epstein, Mandelson, and the conspiracy theories that turn out to be true

Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletter

Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonus episode: Our previous episode scrutinising One Nation’s surge upset made many of the party’s supporters. They took issue with describing what the data says about the archetypal One Nation voter: they tend to be older, live in regional Australia, and have lower levels of education and income.

Crystal Andrews and Bernard Keane return to debate whether it’s patronising to describe voters this way, or just stating the facts? And how can you discuss a political movement’s influence on Australia, if you can’t talk about who they are?

Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletter

Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One Nation’s surge in the polls can no longer be denied, now neck-and-neck with the Liberal party at around 20% of the primary voting intention. Combined with a tense social environment and a high-profile joiner in Barnaby Joyce, is “Opposition Leader Pauline Hanson” a real possibility?

Party supporters and detractors say the polls are a sign we must take the party seriously. So politics editor Bernard Keane and reporter Anton Nilsson join the podcast to do exactly that — scrutinise One Nation’s policies and prospects.

We discuss the strong and weak points of the policy platform, if One Nation can expand its appeal to a broader voting base, and whether there’s any chance of survival post-Pauline.

Read more:
One Nation is on a roll. So what are the party’s actual policies?
No, One Nation isn’t leading the Coalition. The real story is how Albo is undermining the major parties|
We went to Pauline Hanson’s cancelled-then-uncancelled propaganda movie premiere so you don’t have to
The media’s ongoing amnesia regarding Pauline Hanson
What’s going on with Gen X men and One Nation? I’m sick of being told to feel sorry for them
Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletter

Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The government has unveiled its National AI Plan, laying out a roadmap to scale up AI infrastructure and adoption that Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres claims will help “create a fairer, stronger Australia where every person benefits from this technological change”.

But the plan did not include the mandatory guardrails that many expected would serve as proactive regulations for tech companies.

Professor Kimberlee Weatherall, co-director of the Centre for AI, Trust and Governance at Sydney University, joins the podcast to explain the government’s AI strategy, what’s missing from the plan and how Australia measures up against other countries when it comes to AI policymaking.

Weatherall’s book recommendations:
The Shortest History of AI by Toby Walsh and any from this list by London School of Economics and Political Science

Read more:
Australia’s national AI plan has just been released. Who exactly will benefit?
Labor goes hands-off in productivity-focused national AI plan
Can wise heads fix the hard problem of AI policy?
How Australia’s national security chief used AI to write speeches and ‘personnel communications’
How data centres are killing Australia’s climate progress
How AI is reshaping religion and mental health

Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletter

Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A big year in politics and policy ended with a bang — Labor and the Greens worked out a deal to pass the long overdue reforms to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. What have we learned about how the 48th Parliament does the work of legislating?

Politics editor Bernard and political columnist Rachel Withers join the podcast to conduct a “Parliamentary Year in Review”. We scrutinise the policy proposals that made the biggest impact for better or for worse and examine the senate dynamics between Labor, the Greens and the independents. Plus, who gave the standout performances in parliament this year? The answers are not what you’d expect…

Nominations for Arsehat of the Year: https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/11/25/arsehat-of-the-year-nominations-crikey-2025/

Nominations for Shitstirrer of the Year: https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/11/27/crikey-shitstirrer-of-the-year-nominations-2025/

Read more:
The Greens, Labor, and the environment all scored a win today — it’s a lesson in how politics *should* work
Behind Labor’s Big Lie about FOI

Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletter

Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.