Podcast
7am
Hosted by Solstice Media · EN
An independent daily news show. We feature the country’s best reporters, covering the news as it affects Australia. This is news with narrative, every weekday.
149episodes
Episodes
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Is this the demise or rise of Karl Stefanovic?
Yesterday00:17:49Summary readyKarl Stefanovic has spent decades as one of the most recognisable faces on Australian television. A household name from the largely inoffensive world of breakfast television. Now, that multi-million dollar career at Nine appears to be over, after Stefanovic published an interview with Tommy Robinson, a British far-right activist with a long criminal history, who has built a large following based on hate-driven rhetoric towards Muslims, immigrants, the changing face of Britain; and on the claim that he’s being silenced by the establishment. But the fall out from the podcast, including his split with Nine, may have worked in Stefanovic’s favour as he tries to forge a new career in outrage podcasting. Today, Crikey’s media reporter Daanyal Saeed on Karl Stefanovic, the interview that ended his time at nine, and the audience he may have been chasing all along. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Crikey media reporter Daanyal Saeed Photo: The Karl Stefanovic ShowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The race to stop bird flu becoming a “wildlife massacre”
2d ago00:13:21Summary readyBird flu has reached mainland Australia – with cases first confirmed in WA and now South Australia. The strain, detected in three seabirds, is H5N1 – a deadly form of the virus that has swept through wild birds overseas, forced farmers to slaughter millions of chickens, spread to mammals, and, in the United States, infected dairy cows and farm workers. Authorities in Australia say the risk to the public is low – but for wildlife, an outbreak could be devastating. Experts fear it could become the tipping point for species already endangered or close to extinction. Today, CEO of the Invasive Species Council Jack Gough, on the race to stop bird flu becoming a wildlife disaster in Australia. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: CEO of the Invasive Species Council, Jack Gough Photo: PR Handout/Lori-Ann Shibish, Esperance Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What the hell happened to the Greens? Max Chandler-Mather explains
3d ago00:15:15Summary readyAmid the seismic political shift currently underway in this country, there’s been one party missing from the conversation: the Greens. And it’s curious, because the conditions that have seen One Nation rise – frustration with the major parties, a slip in living standards, appetite for change – should suit the Greens and their anti-establishment politics. So why are they lost in the political wilderness?Today, former Greens MP and Greens Institute CEO Max Chandler-Mather on whether the Greens can mount a comeback and tap into the progressive version of Pauline’s populist politics. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Former Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather Photo: AAP Image/Lukas CochSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Emily Maitlis on the fall of Keir Starmer and the UK’s next PM
3d ago00:17:50Summary readyThe Prime Minister of the UK Keir Starmer has announced his resignation – meaning Britain is preparing for its seventh leader in just ten years. Starmer, who won in a landslide victory for the Labor party only two years ago, has been haemorrhaging support from the public and the party for months. The man likely to replace him: Andy Burnham. Today - host of the News Agents Emily Maitlis on Starmer’s downfall, who Burnham is, and how he’s poised to take power. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Host of The News Agents Emily Maitlis Photo: AP Photo/Thomas KrychSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Police trial live face-scanning technology: what could possibly go wrong?
4d ago00:17:07Summary readyIn Western Australia, police have just started trialling technology that can identify people as they walk past. A marked police van will scan faces outside major events, cross-checking them against a watchlist of people wanted by authorities. Police say it’s targeted and that innocent people have nothing to fear. But once this kind of surveillance is switched on, the question becomes how far it spreads, and who decides when it stops. Today, UNSW cyber security expert Professor Richard Buckland, on the scope creep of live facial recognition technology, and the danger of normalising police powers before the public understands them. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: UNSW cyber security expert Professor Richard Buckland Photo: WA PoliceSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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“Too many abortions”: The growing push to wind back reproductive rights
5d ago00:16:28Summary readyAnti-abortion activists say it was the most successful pro-life campaign in Australia - last week a bill to overturn abortion access after 25 weeks was voted through the upper house of South Australia’s parliament. It didn’t make it through the lower house, but women's advocates are still sounding the alarm amid a growing push against reproductive rights - led, in part, by One Nation. Pauline Hanson, once a supporter of a woman’s right to choose, has changed her tune, as her colleague Malcolm Roberts pushes for the party to adopt a blanket abortion ban. Today, writer, peer-support worker, and reproductive health advocate Hannah Bambraon the local and international forces looking wind back abortion access in Australia If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Writer & reproductive health advocate Hannah Bambra Photo: AAP Image/Dean LewinsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Paul Barry on the billionaire who failed Whyalla
6d ago00:13:38Summary readyIn 2017, billionaire businessman Sanjeev Gupta rescued the Whyalla steelworks from administration, becoming known as the “saviour of steel”. There was hope in this small South Australian town that steelmaking – and the thousands of jobs tied to it – would survive. But since then, Gupta has lost control, the South Australian government has forced the steelworks into administration, and taxpayers are now underwriting the rescue to the tune of $2.4 billion. Now, the sale of the steelworks is in its final stages, but the question of whether Whyalla becomes the green steel town politicians promised, or whether public money is being used to keep an ageing steelworks alive, remains. Today, investigative journalist and former host of the ABC’s Media Watch Paul Barry, on the billionaire who brought Whyalla to the brink – and what it would really take to save the town. This episode was originally published in January, 2025. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Investigative journalist and former host of the ABC’s Media Watch Paul Barry Photo: AAP Image/David MariuzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Pauline Hanson and the end of political consequence
1w ago00:16:15Summary readyThis week, Pauline Hanson took to the National Press Club stage with a greatest hits collection of the grievances that have fueled her political career. Immigration. Multiculturalism. Trans rights. Indigenous Australians. The “political elite”. The changing face of the country. The backlash from the government, sections of the community and commentariat was immediate. But that may no longer be enough. For years, Hanson has survived controversies that would have ended most political careers. And as One Nation support grows, one thing is becoming more evident: we are now entering a political era where outrage carries no penalty. Where the shock of what politicians say matters less than the anger they channel. Today, columnist Sean Kelly on Hanson’s resurgence, the opportunities it creates for politicians of every persuasion, and what becomes possible when voters decide the old political order is broken. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Former Labor advisor and The Age & SMH columnist, Sean Kelly Photo: AAP Image/Lukas CochSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Are the Socceroos the antidote to Pauline Hanson?
1w ago00:17:06Summary readyThis week, Pauline Hanson called for multiculturalism to be replaced with monoculturalism. At the same time, the Soccerros were capturing the hearts and minds of Australians everywhere on the biggest stage of all, the World Cup. It’s a team filled with players from multiple cultural backgrounds and one, that if Hanson’s vision of the nation came to bear, simply wouldn’t exist. Today, former Soccerroo and refugee advocate, Craig Foster. On the team that’s quietly challenging one of the most divisive debates in the country, simply by taking the field. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Former Socceroo and refugee advocate, Craig Foster Photo: Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via APSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Farmers fear this weedkiller made them sick. Why hasn't Australia banned it?
1w ago00:18:27Summary readyParkinson’s is the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world. And in some Australian farming communities, doctors are questioning why so many seem to be getting it. For years, some farmers and doctors have drawn a link to paraquat – a powerful weedkiller still used widely on Australian farms, despite being banned in more than 60 countries, including the UK, China and Brazil. This month, Australia’s chemical regulator is expected to decide whether paraquat can keep being used here – after a review that’s been going on since 1997. Professor Wesley Thevathasan is one of about 50 neurologists who made submissions to that review, calling for paraquat to be banned. But he says the regulator has ignored them – as well as some of the strongest evidence linking exposure to the chemical to Parkinson’s. Today, Associate Professor Wesley Thevathasan, on the farmers who fear paraquat made them sick, and whether Australia’s regulator is listening. Farmer audio courtesy of ABC rural. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Parkinson’s disease specialist, Associate Professor Wesley Thevathasan Photo: ABC / Jake HamiltonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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