Food criticism has changed a lot since John Lethlean wrote for publications like The Age and The Australian. Over a 25 year career, John chronicled Australia's shifting tastes, watching dining fads come and go. Ultimately, his career came to an end after one line in a review got him into hot water. Guest: John Lethlean - former restaurant critic and author of Post Script: The good, bad and occasionally ugly bits from a 25 year career in Australian food writing
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15:57
The rise and rise of the comfort class in the US
Right now, there are 902 billionaires in the US and almost half of the representatives in Congress are millionaires. Described as ‘ the comfort class’ by writer, Xochitl Gonzalez, the group is so out of touch with people living from pay-check to pay-check, that their perspective may no longer be relevant in America. GUEST: Xochitl Gonzalez, is a staff writer at The Atlantic. She is the author of the novel Olga Dies Dreaming and was a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.PRODUCER: Ali Benton
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18:36
Bernard Keane's Canberra: Albanese dismisses US call to up defence spending
As US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth calls on Australia to significantly increase its military spending, journalist Bernard Keane asks if the US remains a predictable partner in the Asia-Pacific region. Guest: Bernard Keane, Politics Editor, Crikey
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15:59
Merle Oberon's false identity
Hollywood actress Merle Oberon was born in poverty in India. To make it in the movies, first in London and then Hollywood, she had to invent a new life story that concealed her race. Her advisors came up with Tasmania as her birth place. Guest: Mayukh Sen, New York-based journalism teacher and film writer. Author of ‘Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood’s first South Asian star’ (WW Norton) Producer: Ann Arnold
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22:44
National security - how it started and how it's changed
It was Franklin Roosevelt who came up with the notion of national security, to persuade Americans to get involved in World War ll. His pitch was that Americans had social security, domestically, under the New Deal. But to keep the world's instability at bay, and protect the 'American way of life', participation in world affairs was necessary. Guest: Professor Andrew Preston, author of 'Total Defense: The New Deal, and the invention of national security’ (Harvard University Press) Producer: Ann Arnold
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