The Front

What fate awaits the Lionesses who are returning to Iran? Iranian-Australian journalist Shokoofeh Azar is hoping for the best – that the women will be forced into a humiliating public confession - but won’t be imprisoned, tortured or executed.
Shookofeh has personal experience of how the Islamic Republic treats women. After several arrests and stints in prison in Iran, Shookofeh came to Australia on a people-smuggling vessel, via Christmas Island - a path many Iranians have taken in their desperation to be free. Now, she works for The Australian.
See the video of this interview on our YouTube channel and read some of Shookofeh’s work here:
Bombed, afraid, defiant: Iranian voices from the war
Sexual torture, Koran beatings: the horrors women face in Iran’s prisons
Amid regime repression, Iranians are so angry they can’t feel fear
This episode of The Front is presented by Claire Harvey, produced by Kristen Amiet and edited by Lia Tsamoglou. Our team includes Tiffany Dimmack, Joshua Burton and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music.

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Golden - the huge girl-power anthem from KPop Demon Hunters - is officially Best Song at the 98th Academy Awards. Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another was the night's major victor, while Australian nominees Rose Byrne and Jacob Elordi went home without a statue. Plus, Donald Trump’s latest warning over the Strait of Hormuz.
Relive all the action on our Oscars live blog and see the best looks from the red carpet at theaustralian.com.au.
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Crypto-currency titan - and occasional astronaut - Russell Wilson has an incredible story of bouncing back from a multi-million dollar fraud committed against his company CoinSpot. But when we tried to track him down for The List: Australia’s Richest 250, Wilson proved elusive - which made us even more intrigued.
Read more about this story at theaustralian.com.au and see the video by subscribing to our YouTube channel.
This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Claire Harvey and edited by Joshua Burton. Our team includes Kristen Amiet, Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music.
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If you love movies as escapist art, you might find the Monday’s Oscars ceremony a bit tedious. Today, our cheat’s guide to the movies vying for Best Picture – and a flashback to when movies used to be … fun.
Find out more about The Front podcast here. You can read about this story and more on The Australian's website or on The Australian’s app.
The weekend edition of The Front is co-produced by Claire Harvey and Jasper Leak. The host is Claire Harvey. Audio production and editing by Jasper Leak who also composed our theme.
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Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was reportedly gravely injured in a strike during the Middle East conflict. Plus, Qantas settles a covid legal challenge for $105m and Bluesfest bites the dust.
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