Podcast
Fourth Estate
Hosted by 2SER · EN
Every week, we discuss how the media has covered the news and analyse issues affecting the industry - with some of the biggest names in journalism in Australia and around the world. Broadcast live on Sydney's 2SER 107.3FM, with the financial assistance of the Community Broadcasting Foundation.
26episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Final Chapter of Virginia Giuffre | Remembering Derryn Hinch
1w ago00:48:32Tap to summarizeAfter surviving Jeffrey Epstein and helping expose one of the biggest sexual abuse scandals in modern history, Virginia Giuffre became a global symbol of courage. But her story didn't end there. Award-winning Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe joins Fourth Estate to discuss her extraordinary investigation into the final months of Giuffre's life — examining allegations of domestic violence, coercive control and institutional failures, and what her story reveals about trauma, violence against women and the media's reporting of survivors. We also pay tribute to one of Australian journalism's most influential and polarising figures, Derryn Hinch. Journalist and media historian Andrew Dodd reflects on Hinch's remarkable career, his battles with the courts, his move into politics, and the complicated legacy of a broadcaster who forever blurred the lines between reporting, advocacy and activism. Further reading and listening: Good Weekend: "Isolated, scared, forlorn: The heartbreaking final months of Virginia Giuffre's life" by Melissa Fyfe and Carla Hildebrandt. Virginia: Melissa Fyfe and Carla Hildebrandt's four-part investigative podcast from The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and Good Weekend. The Conversation: "Derryn Hinch was a bombastic journalist fuelled by imperfect principles and righteous outrage" by Andrew Dodd. This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, domestic and family violence, and suicide. If you or someone you know needs support, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or Lifeline on 13 11 14. Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at fourthestate@2ser.com or tweet us at @fourthestateau Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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The Week in Media: Royal Commissions, Big Tech & THAT Podcast
2w ago00:38:37Tap to summarizeThis week on Fourth Estate, we unpack the biggest stories shaping Australian media, politics and journalism. As the Royal Commission into Antisemitism turns its attention to the media, we examine the recommendations aimed at the ABC and SBS, including calls for greater oversight and more "positive" coverage of Israel. What could this mean for editorial independence, public trust and press freedom? We also discuss the federal government's tougher social media laws, whether multi-million dollar fines can really force Big Tech companies to protect young Australians, and why tech platforms continue to escape the level of scrutiny often directed at public broadcasters. Plus, Australia's long-running battle over gambling advertising returns. As new reforms take shape, we ask whether broadcasters have become too dependent on gambling revenue, and whether streaming platforms are poised to become the industry's next frontier. And finally, Anthony Albanese's appearance on Nikki Osborne's Bush Deep podcast sparked days of headlines over some very awkward exchanges. We ask whether the controversy was overblown, whether politicians are increasingly choosing entertainment podcasts over rigorous journalism, and if the media's fixation on viral moments is distracting from the questions that really matter. Is "relatability" replacing scrutiny in Australian political coverage? Joining host Tina Quinn are Mark Kenny, political analyst for The Canberra Times and Professor at the Australian National University's Australian Studies Institute, and columnist for The Monthly, Karen Middleton. We'd love to hear from you! Email us at fourthestate@2ser.com or tweet us at @fourthestateau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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The Free Speech and Free Fall of Karl Stefanovic
3w ago00:38:27Tap to summarizeKarl Stefanovic's dramatic exit from Nine has become one of the biggest Australian media stories of the year. But is this simply the downfall of a television star, or a sign that the media landscape itself is changing? After his podcast interview with far-right activist Tommy Robinson sparked widespread backlash, Nine ended its three-decade relationship with one of its biggest names. Now, as Stefanovic embraces podcasting and the language of "free speech", bigger questions are emerging. Can Australia support a Joe Rogan-style media model? Is controversy a viable business strategy? And where is the line between journalism, platforming and personality-driven media? Joining Tina Quinn to unpack the saga are The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age columnist Jacqueline Maley, whose sharp analysis of the affair has sparked national debate, and Crikey Readers' Editor and Cut Through host Crystal Andrews. We'd love to hear from you! Email us at fourthestate@2ser.com or tweet us at @fourthestateau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Profile: In Conversation with Barrie Cassidy (Part 2)
4w ago01:14:04Tap to summarizeAfter serving as Prime Minister Bob Hawke's press secretary, Barrie Cassidy returned to journalism with a new perspective on politics and power. Following several years as a correspondent based in the United States with The Australian, an unexpected approach from Network Ten persuaded him to return to Australia to host Meet the Press. In Part Two of our special profile series, Barrie reflects on that decision, his eventual return to the ABC, and the creation of Insiders — the Sunday morning political program that would become one of the country's most influential current affairs shows. Joining Tina Quinn, Cassidy also reflects on the changing relationship between politicians and the press, the evolution of political journalism, and the lessons learned over more than four decades covering Australian politics. We'd love to hear from you! Email us at fourthestate@2ser.com or tweet us at @fourthestateau. Episode artwork photographed by Matthew Smeal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Please Explain: Pauline Hanson, One Nation and the Media's 30-Year Dilemma
Jun 1901:04:59Tap to summarizeThirty years ago, Pauline Hanson exposed a fault line in Australian politics that never really went away. This week, following Hanson's first National Press Club address and amid signs One Nation is enjoying its strongest political moment in years, Fourth Estate asks what the media got right, what it got wrong, and whether we've ever truly understood the Australia that keeps bringing Hanson back. Joining Tina Quinn are broadcaster Raf Epstein, award-winning journalist David Leser, whose landmark Good Weekend profile Pauline Hanson's Bitter Harvest remains one of the defining accounts of Hanson's rise, and veteran political reporter Margo Kingston, author of Off The Rails: The Pauline Hanson Trip, one of the most influential books written about the One Nation phenomenon. Together they revisit the journalism that shaped Australia's understanding of Hanson — from Tracey Curro's famous "Please Explain" interview to Maxine McKew's forensic Lateline interrogation — and ask what those moments can tell us about her resurgence today. We also hear from Crikey's Charlie Lewis and Nine Political Editor Charles Croucher, who were both in the room for Hanson's National Press Club appearance. Why has Hanson endured? What does her resurgence tell us about Australian politics, the media, and the voters journalists still struggle to understand? And three decades on, how the hell do we cover her going forward? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at fourthestate@2ser.com or tweet us at @fourthestateau Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Profile: In Conversation with Barrie Cassidy (Part 1)
Jun 1401:48:19Tap to summarizeWhen Barrie Cassidy arrived in Canberra in 1979, Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister, the political shockwaves of the 1975 dismissal were still reverberating through Australian politics, and Fraser was already fending off the leadership ambitions of a rising Andrew Peacock. The press gallery was smaller, the media landscape less fragmented, and for a young reporter who had discovered a passion for politics while covering Victoria's state parliament, Canberra offered a front-row seat to power. What followed was a career that would take Cassidy from the corridors of Parliament House to the Prime Minister's office itself, before carrying him overseas to report on some of the defining political stories of the late twentieth century. As part of our ongoing profile series, Barrie Cassidy joins Tina Quinn to reflect on those formative years, his time working for Bob Hawke, and the experiences that shaped one of Australia's most respected political journalists. This is part one of a special two-part conversation. We'd love to hear from you! Email us at fourthestate@2ser.com or tweet us at @fourthestateau Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The Stories We Tell Ourselves: China, America and Australian Self-Reliance
Jun 501:08:24Tap to summarizeFor decades, China was seen in Australia as an opportunity. Today, it's more often described as a threat. But how much of Australia's understanding of China reflects reality — and how much is shaped by the stories we tell ourselves? As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks of an "ideological disagreement" with the United States, and as global tensions expose vulnerabilities in supply chains and energy security, a broader question is emerging: is Australia prepared to think more independently about its place in the world? This week, Fourth Estate examines the media narratives, strategic assumptions and political debates that have come to define Australia's relationship with its largest trading partner. Host Tina Quinn speaks with former Labor leader and University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Bill Shorten about Australia's fuel security, sovereign capabilities and what self-reliance might look like in an increasingly uncertain world. Then, a panel featuring Professor Wanning Sun (University of Technology Sydney and a frequent contributor to Crikey), Peter Hartcher (Political and International Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age) and Ben Doherty (Senior Reporter, Guardian Australia) explores how China is framed in Australian media, the influence of the United States on Australian foreign policy, and whether Australia's assumptions about alliances, security and sovereignty need rethinking. Are we seeing China clearly — or through the lens of geopolitics, fear and strategic rivalry? And as the balance of global power shifts, what does Australian self-reliance actually look like? Get in touch, we'd love to hear from you! Tell us your thoughts and email us at fourthestate@2ser.com. You can also tweet us at @fourthestateau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Sarah Wilson on Complexity, Collapse and Making Art in the Apocalypse
May 2801:07:26Tap to summarizeSarah Wilson has lived through almost every era of modern media — from becoming a newspaper columnist in her early 20s, to editing Cosmopolitan magazine and hosting MasterChef Australia, writing bestselling books, podcasting and independent publishing. But in recent years, her focus has shifted toward much bigger questions: how do we live meaningfully in an age of ecological crisis, political instability, information overload and growing civilisational anxiety? In this conversation with Tina Quinn, Sarah discusses her new book, I Eat the Stars, why she believes our resistance to societal collapse needs to evolve, and why making art, finding beauty and embracing uncertainty may be more important than ever. They also discuss why Australian media often struggles to grapple with complexity, the pressures of the modern attention economy, and how Sarah’s own long and unconventional career has shaped the way she now thinks about journalism, culture and the path forward. Get in touch, we'd love to hear from you and 2SER needs you! Head to love2SER.com and tell us your thoughts, or email us at fourthestate@2ser.com. You can also tweet us at @fourthestateau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →One From the Archives: Sophie McNeill and We Can't Say We Didn't Know
May 2100:42:17Tap to summarizeAs the war in Gaza continues — and journalists covering the conflict are being killed at unprecedented rates — we return to the Fourth Estate archives for a conversation that now feels more urgent than ever. In this 2020 interview, former ABC Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeill joins then-Fourth Estate host Sharon Davis to discuss McNeill’s book We Can’t Say We Didn’t Know: Dispatches From An Age Of Impunity and the years she spent reporting from Gaza, Yemen, Syria and Iraq. Together, Sophie and Sharon unpack the realities of frontline journalism: documenting war crimes, navigating questions of objectivity and advocacy, and bearing witness to immense human suffering in an era increasingly defined by impunity. The conversation also revisits the extraordinary case of Rahaf Mohammed, the young Saudi woman whose plea for asylum led Sophie to fly to Bangkok — sparking an international story that blurred the lines between reporting and intervention. Listening back now, the interview is striking not only for how sharply it anticipated many of today’s debates around war reporting and press freedom, but also for the insight it offers into the convictions that would later draw Sophie away from journalism and toward international human rights advocacy and a career in politics. This episode was originally broadcast in March, 2020. Get in touch, we'd love to hear from you and 2SER needs you! Head to love2SER.com and tell us your thoughts, or email us at fourthestate@2ser.com. You can also tweet us at @fourthestateau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Red Scares: The Budget and the Backlash
May 1401:04:20Tap to summarizeFrom accusations of “broken promises” to cries of socialism, class warfare and even communism, the media reaction to the Albanese Government’s federal budget has been fierce. But how radical are the reforms actually being proposed? This week, Tina Quinn examines the political and media framing surrounding the budget — from the rhetoric around debt, aspiration and intergenerational burden, to the backlash over modest changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions. First, Tina speaks with Ben English, editor of The Daily Telegraph, whose paper branded Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ budget a “big-taxing communist manifesto.” Then, a panel featuring Phil Coorey (Political Editor, Australian Financial Review), Shalailah Medhora from (Political Reporter for Hack, Triple J), Jason Koutsoukis (Special Correspondent, The Saturday Paper), and Kalila Welch (Cheek Media), unpack the politics, economics, lobbyists, scare campaigns and media narratives shaping the national debate. Is this meaningful reform — or moral panic? And if even soft changes provoke this level of outrage, what does that say about the future of economic reform in Australia? Get in touch, we'd love to hear from you and 2SER needs you! Head to love2SER.com and tell us your thoughts, or email us at fourthestate@2ser.com. You can also tweet us at @fourthestateau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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