Podcasts by ABC News Daily
ABC News Daily is the podcast that helps you understand the issues affecting your world. Every episode, host Samantha Hawley walks through one story with the help of an ABC colleague or expert in under 15 minutes. When you want coverage you can trust, listen to ABC News Daily.
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'Stumbling into war': How Putin's bluff could backfire from 2022-02-22T04:00
The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, could be about to unleash the biggest invasion in Europe since the Second World War.
Western leade...
Self-isolation is out, as Boris Johnson claims COVID 'victory' from 2022-02-21T04:00
Australia's begun reopening its borders to international travellers and some states are easing COVID restrictions, but it's just a fraction of what...
David Speers on the China scare campaign from 2022-02-18T04:00
The head of Australia's peak spy agency, ASIO, says matters of national security shouldn't be politicised.
But it's a bit late for that: ...
Prince Andrew's disgraceful journey to sex trial settlement from 2022-02-17T04:00
Prince Andrew's fall from grace is complete, after he settled in the rape case brought by Australian-based woman Virginia Giuffre.
It mea...
What drove the 'freedom convoy' to Canberra? from 2022-02-16T04:00
It was the biggest rally they'd managed so far: On the weekend, up to 10,000 'Convoy to Canberra' protesters gathered outside the parliament.
...
'We've sacrificed so much': Nurses quit after Omicron from 2022-02-15T04:00
We all think we know how bad the Omicron wave was, but we're only now starting to get a better sense of just how dire things became at its peak in ...
Scott Morrison, Anthony Albanese and the swinging voters who’ll determine the election from 2022-02-14T04:00
In Australia, elections are always won or lost in a few dozen marginal electorates based on the views of the so-called undecided.
So as t...
The million Afghan children starving to death from 2022-02-11T04:00
The people of Afghanistan are starving to death.
Almost six months to the day since the Taliban seized control, it's estimated 95 per cen...
Patricia Karvelas on the explosive Tame and Higgins speech from 2022-02-10T04:00
Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame and former staffer Brittany Higgins have delivered an explosive address to the National Press Club that's ...
'Frankly, he's lost my trust': life in McGowan's Fortress WA from 2022-02-09T04:00
It's always been cut off from the wider nation, but never quite like this.
As the rest of Australia opens up further, including by welcom...
Communities cut off as Omicron rips through the NT outback from 2022-02-08T04:00
While infection levels are beginning to drop in most of the country, Omicron is now ripping through remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern T...
Justin Langer saved Australian cricket after 'sandpapergate'. Now he's out. from 2022-02-07T04:00
He rebuilt the Australian cricket team after the international embarrassment of the so-called "sandpapergate" cheating scandal, and last month he t...
Laura Tingle on Scott Morrison's reset failure from 2022-02-04T04:00
With the federal parliament returning next week, there's a lot at stake for Scott Morrison as he prepares to face voters at the next election.
Listen
Ukrainian life in the shadow of war from 2022-02-03T04:00
Ukrainians are again living with the threat of invasion, with tens of thousands of Russian troops amassed along their country's eastern border.
Loneliness, illness and death, as COVID hits aged care again from 2022-02-02T04:00
COVID is ripping through Australian aged care homes at a rate we haven't seen before, with more than 400 residents dying in January alone.
The Omicron surge, in the words of two American doctors from 2022-02-01T04:00
After record breaking COVID numbers during the Omicron wave, Australian doctors are hoping hospital admissions have plateaued.
It's a sim...
School's back, but only for some from 2022-01-31T04:00
With some kids back at school already and others heading back to class today, how vulnerable are we all to another Omicron surge, and who's really ...
Introducing ABC News Daily from 2022-01-27T16:30
ABC News Daily is a new podcast that will help you understand the issues affecting your world.
Every episode, host Sam Hawley will walk y...
Goodbye from The Signal team from 2021-12-10T04:00
It's goodbye from The Signal team — join us to revisit our favourite episodes.
(We've chosen from a pool of 900, so you know they'll be g...
What Omicron means for 2022 from 2021-12-09T04:00
Ever since Delta, we've been talking about the inevitability of a new variant.
And yet somehow, Omicron came as a surprise.
Bef...
Can Scott Morrison win again? from 2021-12-08T04:00
In 2019, lots of people thought they knew what would happen at the federal election.
And almost all of them were wrong.
This ti...
Calling the next Trump-Biden race from 2021-12-07T04:00
The firehose of Trump-era headlines out of America has dried up, but Joe Biden hasn't been having an easy time during his first year in office.
How 2021 went for Scott Morrison (and a message from The Signal) from 2021-12-06T04:00
Parliament has risen for 2021 and it certainly looks and smells like an election campaign is underway.
The prime minister Scott Morrison ...
Why contraception in Australia is stalled from 2021-12-03T04:00
Contraceptive choices for Australians haven't really budged in the last few decades.
So what's the hold up? And how far off are some of t...
Can Scott Morrison end trolling? from 2021-12-02T04:00
Scott Morrison has a plan to end online trolling in Australia.
A draft of the Government bill released yesterday would force social media...
Parliament's shocking sexual harassment problem from 2021-12-01T04:00
Sexual harassment and bullying are rife within Australian federal politics.
That's the finding of a landmark report by the Sex Discrimina...
Everything we know about Omicron from 2021-11-30T04:00
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 was only named on Friday, but it's already notorious.
Even though there are still more questions about it...
Are we ready for the next pandemic? from 2021-11-29T04:00
This pandemic is far from over, with scientists scrambling to get a handle on the Omicron variant as governments worldwide throw up hard borders. <...
Vaccinated, cured, or dead: Europe's fourth COVID wave from 2021-11-26T04:00
Vaccinated, cured, or dead: those are the three likely paths ahead for Germans, according to the country's Health Minister, as it prepares to plung...
Scott Morrison's revolting backbench from 2021-11-25T04:00
Religious discrimination, voter ID laws, a federal anti-corruption watchdog: Scott Morrison's end-of-year parliamentary to-do list is long.
Does Victoria have an illegal logging problem? from 2021-11-24T04:00
The Victorian Government's own logging business, VicForests, is facing new allegations of illegal logging.
In the past it's been found to...
Will Australia's harshest lockdowns protect the NT? from 2021-11-23T04:00
COVID-19 had been largely kept out of the Northern Territory, but in the past few days that changed.
Now, residents in a string of commun...
Imagining a post-coal Australia from 2021-11-22T04:00
The Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been talking up the future of the coal industry in the decades to come.
That's despite a COP26 prom...
Can we really count our emissions? from 2021-11-19T04:00
Most of the world's nations struck a major deal on Sunday in Glasgow to do more to bring down their emissions.
But for the deal to be wor...
How Belarus engineered a migrant crisis from 2021-11-18T04:00
A new migrant crisis is building on the European Union's eastern frontier.
At the border with Poland, thousands of migrants and asylum se...
Why are there gallows on Melbourne streets? from 2021-11-17T04:00
You don't see gallows at a protest all that often in Australia, but they've appeared more than once lately in Melbourne.
The scenes are j...
When will Australian kids be vaccinated? from 2021-11-16T04:00
28 million American children between the ages of 5 and 12 are lining up to get vaccinated against COVID-19, after health authorities there gave Pfi...
Did the Glasgow climate summit fail? from 2021-11-15T04:00
After walkouts, tears and last-minute deals, the UN climate summit in Glasgow is over, and all 197 countries have signed up to the final agreement....
Speaking about unspeakable crimes from 2021-11-12T04:00
Australia has undergone a revolution in how we talk about many crimes and disorders.
Despite the new openness, discussing incestuous abus...
Have we u-turned on electric vehicles? from 2021-11-11T04:00
After declaring in 2019 that electric vehicles would "end the weekend", the Government has had a change of heart.
It announced a 250 mill...
Can Joe Biden actually change America? from 2021-11-10T04:00
Joe Biden has passed a signature bill through Congress, but it's just a warm up for the next one.
The Build Back Better Plan is facing an...
Will we need COVID boosters forever? from 2021-11-09T04:00
More than 80% of the eligible Australian population is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
It's a major milestone, and it comes as the...
Has Glasgow solved climate change yet? from 2021-11-08T04:00
A week ago we were wondering what the UN climate summit in Glasgow, COP26, might deliver for humanity.
We'd been told many times that the...
Is there a case for nuclear power? from 2021-11-05T04:00
A handful of Nationals have pitched nuclear power as a way to lower Australia's emissions.
It's not the first time the idea has come up i...
Australia's submarine war with France from 2021-11-04T04:00
France's fury with Australia over the decision to scrap a submarine contract isn't cooling.
Less than a week after Scott Morison assured ...
Is Australia's climate record smoke and mirrors? from 2021-11-03T04:00
There's a lot of pressure on the leaders of wealthy countries gathering in Glasgow at the moment to be more ambitious on cutting emissions.
Fortress Australia drops the drawbridge from 2021-11-02T04:00
After almost 600 days, Australia's borders have finally reopened to millions of citizens, permanent residents and New Zealanders who've been vaccin...
What Gladys Berejiklian has to say to ICAC from 2021-11-01T04:00
On Friday, the former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian gave long-awaited evidence at a corruption inquiry, and there's more to come.
The fo...
What to expect at 'the last chance saloon' from 2021-10-29T04:00
The next two and a bit weeks of the climate summit in Glasgow could decide whether the world is still liveable at the end of the century.
Listen
Does anyone like Australia's climate plan? from 2021-10-28T04:00
Parts of Australia's new net-zero climate policy are finally public.
But many who've read its 129 pages say the much-anticipated 'plan' i...
How Crown Casino got away with it from 2021-10-27T04:00
Most companies described by a royal commission as callous, dishonest and disgraceful would be done for.
But yesterday, after those words ...
Is the worst of COVID behind us? from 2021-10-26T04:00
Australia is clipping through its COVID vaccination milestones at breakneck speed.
In Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney, lockdowns are over ...
What's in Australia's net zero deal? from 2021-10-25T04:00
It's been a long time coming, but the Nationals have finally agreed in-principle on terms for a net zero by 2050 target.
Announcing the d...
Billionaires in space from 2021-10-22T04:00
More and more billionaires are jumping on rockets to try to reach space.
Richard Branson was the first with Virgin Galactica, Jeff Bezos ...
Is China winning the nuclear arms race? from 2021-10-21T04:00
China might just have taken a big step forward in its nuclear capability.
It's reportedly been testing space missiles which could get aro...
What Trump's Supreme Court judges are up to from 2021-10-20T04:00
Donald Trump's presidency is over for now, but he left a huge mark on the US Supreme Court.
The former president appointed three of the c...
When can you book an overseas holiday? from 2021-10-19T04:00
After 19 months of being effectively cut off, Australia is less than two weeks away from reopening the border to outbound travellers.
NSW...
Why we have a 70s economy from 2021-10-18T04:00
The global economy is in weirder shape than it's been in a long time.
Major economies are emerging from lockdown, a complicated set of dy...
Why we're betting billions on hydrogen from 2021-10-15T04:00
It's been hard to open a news app this week without running headlong into a story about hydrogen.
But for an energy source that seems to ...
Would Australia go to war over Taiwan? from 2021-10-14T04:00
For a private citizen visiting out of a personal interest, Taiwan sure made a lot of fuss over the former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Tha...
Are we reopening too fast? from 2021-10-13T04:00
The end of Australia's lockdown era is approaching fast.
In Sydney, pubs are open, schools are going back, and lines for haircuts trail a...
Why renting is a health risk from 2021-10-12T04:00
Some health risks are obvious, like smoking, or eating too much sugar. But what about renting?
As many as a million Australians live in h...
Are we doing enough for Afghan refugees? from 2021-10-11T04:00
Since the Taliban retook the country, millions of Afghans have been trying to get out.
Many go first to Iran or Pakistan, and from there ...
Watering down our anti-corruption efforts from 2021-10-08T04:00
It's been a busy time for Australia's state-based anti-corruption bodies.
In New South Wales, an ICAC investigation has prompted yet anot...
Why Facebook's in trouble again from 2021-10-07T04:00
Facebook is hauled over the coals by US congress on a semi regular basis, but this week has been especially damaging.
Former employee Fra...
Are Liberals in trouble in wealthy seats? from 2021-10-06T04:00
Australia's major political parties are gearing up for the next federal election.
And it's not just political parties in preparation mode...
Home COVID tests are on the way from 2021-10-05T04:00
Before long, Australians will be able to test themselves for COVID-19 at home.
Rapid antigen tests deliver results within 20 minutes, and ...
How NSW got a new Premier from 2021-10-04T04:00
If you blinked on Friday you might have missed Gladys Berejiklian's resignation.
The NSW Premier made the sudden announcement within an h...
Are the climate wars winding down? from 2021-10-01T04:00
Australia's never been closer to adopting a net zero by 2050 target.
The Prime Minister Scott Morrison's slow shift in rhetoric is now cu...
Can we still trust COVID modelling? from 2021-09-30T04:00
The big Delta outbreaks in Victoria and NSW are on different trajectories, but this week there was a strange crossover moment.
On Tuesday...
Is China killing coal? from 2021-09-29T04:00
China is the world's largest public funder of coal-fired power overseas, and it's a particularly important source of funding for projects in South-...
China's "too big to fail" moment from 2021-09-28T04:00
The seemingly inevitable collapse of the major Chinese property firm Evergrande has economists around the world worried.
The most pessimi...
Are the Taliban different this time? from 2021-09-27T04:00
The Taliban is settling back into power in Afghanistan, a month after their victory.
Since then, the militant group has named an interim ...
Prince Andrew's legal battles from 2021-09-24T04:00
It's been seven years since Virginia Giuffre first made allegations against the Queen's son, Prince Andrew.
The Prince has always emphati...
Who's really protesting in Melbourne? from 2021-09-23T04:00
Nazi cry babies, fascist morons, drunks, opportunists, or just really frustrated construction workers?
There are a lot of opinions gettin...
Part 3, The Gap: Is self-determination working? from 2021-09-22T04:00
In many parts of Australia, Aboriginal community leaders want more control over local decision-making.
They say it's a race against time ...
Will we spend 2022 in lockdown? from 2021-09-21T04:00
If you're locked down right now, you're probably spending quite a lot of your time imagining how much better 2022 will be.
NSW and Victor...
Why Christian Porter quit Cabinet from 2021-09-20T04:00
Things were looking shaky for Christian Porter for days before he resigned from the frontbench.
In less than a year, the man formerly des...
Australia's nuclear option from 2021-09-17T04:00
It's the most significant defence announcement in Australia in decades.
After months of secret talks, the US and UK will help Australia d...
Labor's awkward choices from 2021-09-16T04:00
Federal election season is fast approaching, and lately Labor has been trying to get itself into shape.
While much of the party's policy ...
Can we still vaccinate the world? from 2021-09-15T04:00
If you thought Australia's vaccine rollout was on the slow side, then spare a thought for Ethiopia, Nigeria or Kenya, where vaccination rates are s...
How sexual harassment laws are changing from 2021-09-14T04:00
Back in April, the Australian Government welcomed the findings of landmark report into workplace sexual harassment.
The report followed a...
Our not-so national COVID plan from 2021-09-13T04:00
Despite breaking its daily COVID record again on the weekend, New South Wales is now counting down to reopening in late October.
It's more...
This Week: How 9/11 narrowed America’s view of the world from 2021-09-11T08:00
20 years after 9/11, we look at how the attacks fuelled American xenophobia and blinded the US to grave issues beyond terrorism. A view from a Puli...
Does the four-day week work? from 2021-09-10T04:00
Being paid the same amount of money to work fewer hours is a strong pitch, so it's easy to see why workers might support a four day week.
Listen
Can we really count on the US? from 2021-09-09T04:00
Australia's been positioning itself as America's best friend in the world for a long time now.
It's 20 years since the September 11 attac...
Part 2, The Gap: Why aren't mining royalties closing the gap? from 2021-09-08T04:00
Indigenous communities are calling on governments to find better ways of using mining royalties to close the gap.
Many Aboriginal leaders...
Why you can't trust the unemployment rate from 2021-09-07T04:00
On paper, the Australian economy seems to be going pretty well.
We learned last week that we avoided a recession in the second quarter of...
How will ICUs handle the peak? from 2021-09-06T04:00
The number of COVID patients needing an ICU bed in New South Wales is expected to keep climbing into October.
The problem is that even no...
This Week: More vaccines, but when can we make them here? from 2021-09-04T08:00
Australia is borrowing Pfizer jabs, while it waits for purchases to arrive. But when might mRNA vaccines be made onshore? And Indigenous communitie...
Wilcannia's unfolding COVID catastrophe from 2021-09-03T04:00
There's a lot of anger and frustration in the far-west of New South Wales.
And Wilcannia, 11 hours west of Sydney and 8 hours north-east ...
Can the Taliban run a country? from 2021-09-02T04:00
With the US and its allies out of Afghanistan, there's no real contest for power anymore.
But the next challenge facing the Taliban is ar...
Part 1, The Gap: Fixing remote work for the dole from 2021-09-01T04:00
It's called the Community Development Program or "work for the dole", and in remote communities in the Top End many say the work and training they ...
Can the Family Court be fixed? from 2021-08-31T04:00
Most people who've taken more than a fleeting glance at Australia's Family Court, agree that it's broken, even if not everyone agrees on what exact...
How Donald Trump changed Fox News from 2021-08-30T04:00
America's biggest cable news network, Fox, played a decisive role on election night in 2020.
With early states seemingly falling Donald T...
This Week: Can schools be COVID-safe? from 2021-08-28T06:00
As NSW charts a path to schools opening, experts say measuring and filtering classroom air is essential, alongside masks and vaccines, as we "learn...
Why Lebanon's people are leaving from 2021-08-27T04:00
It's been over a year since an explosion tore through the centre of Beirut.
The blast killed hundreds, injured thousands, and left hundre...
Reopening, ready or not from 2021-08-26T04:00
Every other day is a new worst day in NSW at the moment.
But despite the almost-daily rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, the NSW Premi...
What if housing never becomes affordable? from 2021-08-25T04:00
Everyone knows Australian house prices are completely bananas, but understanding why stumps even the experts.
So will the current trends ...
Does offshore processing work? from 2021-08-24T04:00
Australia's off-shore processing policy towards asylum seekers arriving by boat is 20 years old this week.
Over that time, the policy has...
When housewives go far right from 2021-08-23T04:00
It's not hard to understand why people might gravitate towards a simpler way of life in 2021.
For some women who call themselves "trad wi...
This Week: Covid tightens grip on NSW from 2021-08-21T08:00
NSW case numbers skyrocketed this week, with the Premier extending the lockdown and admitting the state was no longer chasing "covid zero". What do...
Erasing Afghanistan's women (again) from 2021-08-20T04:00
Life has changed at a breathtaking pace for women and girls living in Kabul.
In the days since the Taliban retook the capital, they've be...
What's our COVID exit strategy now? from 2021-08-19T04:00
We're all used to bad news at this point, but even by 2021 standards, the numbers out of NSW yesterday were a horror show.
The state mana...
What really happened to Juanita? from 2021-08-18T04:00
One of Sydney's most stubborn cold cases could yet be solved.
In 1975, the newspaper publisher and activist Juanita Nielsen disappeared. ...
Kabul after the fall from 2021-08-17T04:00
No-one knows what exactly comes next for Afghanistan.
The country has fallen to the Taliban, nearly 20 years after the US and its allies ...
Was reopening the UK a mistake? from 2021-08-16T04:00
A month ago, people across England were celebrating 'Freedom Day'.
Initially, it seemed the British Government's high-stakes gamble was p...
Where did all the Trumpists go? from 2021-08-13T04:00
A lot of far-right Trump supporters were kicked off mainstream social media as part of a crackdown on misinformation in the past year.
No...
Where your old clothes end up from 2021-08-12T04:00
Australians typically buy a whole lot more clothes than we need.
Most of us eventually send the excess off to charity, but that's not nec...
A wake-up call on climate change from 2021-08-11T04:00
The news on climate change just keeps getting worse.
A new landmark report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says...
Do we need COVID vaccine boosters? from 2021-08-10T04:00
As if getting hold of your first two jabs wasn't hard enough, now there's talk you'll need a third.
Less than a fifth of the Australian p...
Australia's biggest online quiz from 2021-08-09T04:00
Everyone loves an online quiz, but not everyone loves Australia's biggest online quiz — the census.
The chaos of the 2016 poll is still l...
How life might change for the unvaccinated from 2021-08-06T04:00
Life could be about to get a lot harder for unvaccinated people.
Not only because of their potential exposure to the virus, but because t...
Is America going to ban abortion? from 2021-08-05T04:00
America's fight over access to abortion is long, bitter and ugly.
And with a conservative majority now sitting on the US Supreme Court, t...
Is Delta worse for young people? from 2021-08-04T04:00
COVID 19 seems to be affecting young people like never before.
Queensland's outbreak is still small next to Sydney's, but the virus is co...
Why Sky was banned from YouTube from 2021-08-03T04:00
Australia's biggest commercial news channel, Sky, is banned from posting on its YouTube account for seven days.
The temporary block, whic...
What Australia's missing with the far right from 2021-08-02T04:00
The far right in Australia has changed.
But the way Australia tries to manage the threat of violent extremism from that movement seems to...
Are the Brisbane Olympics a mistake? from 2021-07-30T04:00
Winning always feels good, even if being the only one left in the race does spoil the buzz a bit.
So why was Brisbane the only city in co...
What if Sydney never gets to zero? from 2021-07-29T04:00
In Sydney, the reminders keep coming that this outbreak is not like past outbreaks.
The NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian made the unsurpris...
Will Australia regret the Afghanistan war? from 2021-07-28T04:00
How do you know if a war was worth it?
As America and its allies complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan next month, marking the end o...
Who's behind the lockdown protests? from 2021-07-27T04:00
Anti-lockdown protests were held in at least four capital cities on Saturday, and in the aftermath of the biggest march, in Sydney, police have mad...
Australia's eight year hard border from 2021-07-26T04:00
Australia's borders have been closed for 18 months.
But for one group of people, the entry ban goes back much further than that.
Could oil rigs be good for the ocean? from 2021-07-23T04:00
More than a thousand oil and gas wells off the Australian coastline are nearing the end of their lives.
Once they're decommissioned, it'll...
South Africa's perfect storm from 2021-07-22T04:00
It's been a deadly few weeks in South Africa.
Before the police, the army and the security services intervened en masse, there was widesp...
Should we be Mediscared? from 2021-07-21T04:00
Medicare's pricing system is changing, and Labor is resurrecting an old argument that the Coalition is attacking universal healthcare.
But...
Being trans at the Tokyo Olympics from 2021-07-20T04:00
Very few athletes in recent history have provoked as much outrage as New Zealand's Laurel Hubbard.
In Tokyo, the weightlifter will become ...
What it costs to lock down 12 million people from 2021-07-19T04:00
Australia is entering a frightening new stage of the pandemic this week.
Greater Sydney, Greater Melbourne and all of regional Victoria ar...
Is reopening the UK a huge mistake? from 2021-07-16T04:00
gAbout 12 million Australians are in lockdown right now in an effort to reclaim Australia's COVID zero status.
At the same time, the UK ha...
Australia's slow-motion response to Delta from 2021-07-15T04:00
The Delta variant of COVID-19 was first picked up in India last October, but it still seems to have taken Australia by surprise.
So why we...
Could Australia be punished for polluting? from 2021-07-14T04:00
The Prime Minister Scott Morrison argues Australia is doing more than its share to combat climate change, but it's becoming increasingly clear that...
Australia's abortion postcode lottery from 2021-07-13T04:00
There's an assumption that it's relatively easy to access abortion care in Australia, but that really depends on where in the country you live, par...
Where are the holes in the Sydney lockdown? from 2021-07-12T04:00
Things are pretty dire in NSW.
The extended lockdown in Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains has got progr...
Australian politics, as told by women from 2021-07-09T04:00
Parliament's gender problem is as old as the institution itself.
Today on The Signal, a story of an alleged workplace assault in the 80s t...
Deciphering the travel ban rules from 2021-07-08T04:00
Australia's travel ban is one of the most draconian measures against COVID-19 in the world.
Not only that, but it's being applied in what ...
How much trouble is Trump in? from 2021-07-07T04:00
Donald Trump's family business is being accused of operating a tax fraud scheme and its chief financial officer is now also facing criminal charges...
How Indonesia's COVID response fell apart from 2021-07-06T04:00
Just north of here, 145 million people are in lockdown on Java and Bali in Indonesia.
Hundreds a day are dying of COVID, including some wh...
A world without lockdowns from 2021-07-05T04:00
As lockdowns in most Australian states and territories lift, more than five million people in NSW are maybe less than halfway through theirs.
<...
What happened to Mhelody Bruno? from 2021-07-02T04:00
When a transgender woman was strangled in 2019 in regional NSW, her killer received a 22-month sentence with a 12-month non-parole period for mansl...
Is this worse than sports rorts? from 2021-07-01T04:00
There was a major story about a Government spending scandal that broke earlier this week — not that you could hear it over the din of COVID coverag...
Will our vaccines work on Delta? from 2021-06-30T04:00
Australia isn't even halfway vaccinated, and there are already new variants triggering a cascade of restrictions around the country.
Eight...
Is our recycling still going to landfill? from 2021-06-29T04:00
If you've ever put something in the recycling and wondered whether there's a point, this episode is for you.
Three years ago, Australia's ...
Can we get back on top of COVID? from 2021-06-28T04:00
Australia is backsliding in the battle to suppress COVID-19, and the weekend brought more bad news.
Greater Sydney and Darwin are both in ...
Is delivery riding Australia's deadliest job? from 2021-06-25T04:00
A spate of deaths among food delivery riders last year shone a light on how desperately unsafe that job can be.
Companies promised to do b...
How scams are getting smarter from 2021-06-24T04:00
Online scams are working better on us than ever before.
Gone are the days when you could smugly delete the odd typo-ridden email and know ...
Do Australian farms rely on exploitation? from 2021-06-23T04:00
Australian farmers are screaming out for workers.
For years, European backpackers have been part of the solution, but now a change to the ...
A second dose of Barnaby Joyce from 2021-06-22T04:00
After three fairly noisy years on the backbench, Barnaby Joyce is back on top.
He retook control of the National Party, the smaller siblin...
Can Australia's status quo beat Delta? from 2021-06-21T04:00
NSW authorities hope to crush Sydney's COVID outbreak using masks, social distancing and contact tracing.
It's a plan that's worked well i...
Why young women are not their mothers from 2021-06-18T04:00
The attitudes of young Australian women are changing, and fast, on everything from marriage to kids and home ownership.
That's according t...
Has the public shifted on asylum seekers? from 2021-06-17T04:00
There's one Tamil asylum seeker family that's put the Government in a very uncomfortable position lately.
The Muragappans, known more wide...
Ben Roberts-Smith v Channel Nine from 2021-06-16T04:00
One of Australia's most decorated soldiers, Ben Roberts-Smith, is suing Channel Nine over allegations of murders committed during his service in Af...
How iron ore welds China to Australia from 2021-06-15T04:00
Australia's trade war with China is an instructive tale, and at the G7 meeting in Cornwall this week it was again front of mind.
So what a...
Did we boost vaccine hesitancy? from 2021-06-14T04:00
Mass vaccination is our only way out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
So far though, the take-up of vaccines in Australia has been slow, with tho...
Why women block and boycott more than men from 2021-06-11T04:00
Women behave a bit differently online to men.
That's according to one of the biggest social surveys that happens in this country, Austral...
Does the AN0M sting show police need more powers? from 2021-06-10T04:00
After three years of uninterrupted eavesdropping on the world's crime networks, a global police operation showed its hand this week.
The ...
Asia's cautionary COVID tale for Australia from 2021-06-09T04:00
Australia loves to see itself as an international COVID success story, and there's a lot of truth to that.
But we used to have more compan...
A plague that won't end from 2021-06-08T04:00
Mice are still multiplying in their millions across eastern Australia.
Since September last year, the rodents have been devastating crops,...
What's keeping Melbourne in lockdown from 2021-06-07T04:00
What began as a circuit-breaker lockdown for Melbourne is now in its second week, as contact tracers try to find the source for two new cases that ...
Is it getting harder for young people? from 2021-06-04T04:00
One of the country's biggest surveys shows that most Australians think it's harder for young people to get ahead than it used to be.
So wh...
What we got wrong about Tiananmen Square from 2021-06-03T04:00
Australia has a long history of calling out China for human rights abuses.
This week, during a visit to Queenstown, the prime minister Sco...
Is Australia on track for a pay rise? from 2021-06-02T04:00
Australian wages have been stuck for a long time. In fact they've hardly twitched for about a decade now.
The conventional wisdom as to wh...
Did COVID-19 leak from a lab? from 2021-06-01T04:00
At the start of the pandemic, conspiracy theorists pounced on the idea that COVID-19 came from a lab.
At the time the theory was widely pa...
Is Victoria's lockdown working? from 2021-05-31T04:00
Victorians know life in lockdown better than anybody else in Australia.
On the three previous occasions the state has gone into a lockdown...
Gaza and Israel's uneasy ceasefire from 2021-05-28T04:00
The ceasefire in Gaza and Israel is a week old today, and tensions in the region are running hot.
In Gaza, Palestinians mourning those kil...
Victoria's vaccine wake-up call from 2021-05-27T04:00
We still don't have a handle on how big Victoria's COVID outbreak is going to be.
But already the blame-game has started.
From lo...
Are we getting better at treating COVID-19? from 2021-05-26T04:00
It's been 11 months since a big COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne threw the city into lockdown.
Now, the virus is again spreading in the city...
Must the Games really go on? from 2021-05-25T04:00
The Tokyo Olympic Games have already been delayed once.
Now, eight weeks from the opening ceremony, opinion polls show most people in Japa...
What went wrong with the vaccine rollout from 2021-05-24T04:00
So far Australia's COVID-19 vaccine program has not been a success.
Our early vaccine bets didn't pay off, the rollout strategy has been o...
Is raiding your super ever a good idea? from 2021-05-21T04:00
When getting your first housing deposit together feels impossible, raiding $50,000 from your super fund is tempting.
But is it a good idea...
Do we really need a new gas power plant? from 2021-05-20T04:00
It started with an ultimatum, and it's ending in a new gas-fired power plant.
The Government is making the case for the new project at Kur...
39 questions that could save your life from 2021-05-19T04:00
If you're a victim of domestic violence, and you go to police, that can yield a whole range of responses — from urgent to unconcerned.
A l...
Why Israel and Gaza are on a knife edge from 2021-05-18T04:00
The fighting between Israel and Palestinians is more intense than it has been for years.
Israeli troops have amassed at Gaza's border, wit...
Getting ready to open 'Fortress Australia' from 2021-05-17T04:00
Lowering the drawbridge on 'Fortress Australia' is shaping up to be a logistical nightmare.
According to an estimate in last week's federa...
Friyay satellite doomsday scenarios from 2021-05-14T04:00
The satellite business is booming.
From state-sponsored spy tech, through to machines the size of a postage stamp, companies and nations a...
Annabel Crabb reviews the 'women's budget' from 2021-05-13T04:00
The government desperately wanted to impress women with this federal budget, and shore up votes before the next election.
The Treasurer Jo...
Your federal budget cheat sheet from 2021-05-11T19:30:27
The Federal Government has just handed down what is most likely its last budget before the next election.
It's a pretty odd one, because t...
Do we need a 'people's vaccine'? from 2021-05-11T04:00
As rich countries return to normal, COVID-19 is still spreading in developing countries worldwide.
In places including India and Brazil, t...
Keeping mum about being transgender from 2021-05-10T04:00
There's a fight going on in New South Wales right now about whether transgender people can be acknowledged in schools.
The bill would ban ...
Can the budget fix aged care? from 2021-05-07T04:00
Australia's aged care system is deeply broken.
Over two and a half years, a royal commission into its failures heard harrowing stories of ...
How flying home became a crime from 2021-05-06T04:00
Remember when Barnaby Joyce threatened to have Johnny Depp's dogs put down?
Australia's Biosecurity Act gives ministers sweeping powers, f...
How would war with China play out? from 2021-05-05T04:00
In the space of a month or so, war with China has gone from being the stuff of paranoid science fiction plots to a serious political topic.
Is India downplaying its COVID crisis? from 2021-05-04T04:00
India is facing the world's worst COVID crisis yet.
Hospitals are running out of oxygen and bodies are being burnt in the street.
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When the game plays you from 2021-05-03T04:00
About two thirds of Australians are gamers of some kind, although not everyone realises it.
It's one of the industries that did incredibly...
Can Papi G survive Australia's wildest election? from 2021-04-30T04:00
Tasmania's bizarre election campaign has had a bit of everything.
From unsolicited explicit images to candidates dumping on their own part...
What happened to budget repair? from 2021-04-29T04:00
Two years isn't really that much time.
But in politics, it may as well be two decades, and when you throw in a pandemic, it's basically et...
Understanding the ADHD gender gap from 2021-04-28T04:00
Burnt out, anxious and feeling like you're on a rollercoaster you can't get off: welcome to life with ADHD.
And if you're a female with th...
Mining our way to net zero from 2021-04-27T04:00
There's an uncomfortable reality about reaching net zero that's not often discussed.
It's that getting there might mean a whole lot more e...
Beyond the brink: India's COVID catastrophe from 2021-04-26T04:00
India is facing the world's worst coronavirus wave to date, with more than 330,000 new cases daily.
Hospitals are swamped, morgues and cre...
Teenagers review the milkshake consent video from 2021-04-23T04:00
The government-funded 'milkshake' consent videos have arguably launched more memes than meaningful realisations.
Commentators, experts, an...
Will George Floyd's murder change America? from 2021-04-22T04:00
It took the jury just 10 hours to deliver the verdict the world has been waiting for.
After a three-week trial, 12 Minneapolis jurors foun...
Is the Australian military 'too woke'? from 2021-04-21T04:00
The Government has had more than usual to say about the Australian military lately, and if you've been listening, you might have noticed a distinct...
What's the price of rejoining the world? from 2021-04-20T04:00
Australia is the land which COVID forgot, but there's no chance it can stay that way.
As of this week, we're in a travel bubble with New Z...
Should Scientology lose its tax free status? from 2021-04-19T04:00
The Church of Scientology has always been controversial and it may be about to come under fresh scrutiny.
Australian law still considers S...
Why vaccines haven't halted COVID in the US from 2021-04-16T04:00
America's luck when it comes to COVID-19 seems to have changed, and then changed back again.
US President Joe Biden made it very clear fro...
30 more years of deaths in custody from 2021-04-15T04:00
30 years ago to the day, a royal commission into Indigenous deaths in custody handed its findings down.
Since then, at least 450 more Firs...
From Cartier watches to bullying claims from 2021-04-14T04:00
It started with a public row about Cartier watches.
Late last year, the former CEO of Australia Post Christine Holgate stood aside after h...
What drives male sexual aggression from 2021-04-13T04:00
There's a loud question echoing in Australians' minds, as the country has its belated #MeToo moment.
The big question is 'why?'. What driv...
How worried should you be about AstraZeneca? from 2021-04-12T04:00
Australia's vaccine strategy was already in trouble, but in the past few days things got worse.
The AstraZeneca vaccine at the centre of o...
Has the Government worked out what women want? from 2021-04-09T04:00
One in three working Australians report being sexually harassed at work, and this week the Government came up with some solutions.
It's be...
Are we replacing coal power fast enough? from 2021-04-08T04:00
Australia's coal fired power plants are on borrowed time.
The Northern power plant at Port Augusta in South Australia was reduced to rubbl...
Floods and COVID: Timor Leste's twin crises from 2021-04-07T04:00
The people of Timor Leste woke up on Sunday morning to an extraordinary situation: large parts of their capital, Dili, were underwater.
On...
Solving the never-ending work day from 2021-04-06T04:00
Australians work some of the longest hours in the developed world, and for plenty of people the job doesn't finish when they leave the office.
...
How to get through family lunch from 2021-04-02T04:00
If you're seeing family this weekend, you could well be girding your loins for some sort of argument around the dinner table.
It's hard to...
Inside PNG's COVID-19 crisis from 2021-04-01T04:00
Papua New Guinea's COVID-19 crisis is spiralling out of control.
In just three weeks, the country has recorded 3,000 new cases, and clinic...
Exposing the Luna Park cover-up from 2021-03-31T04:00
In 1979 at Luna Park in Sydney, the ghost train caught fire.
It killed seven people, and police at the time were quick to blame an electri...
Is Australia botching the vaccine rollout? from 2021-03-30T04:00
Six million Australians are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, but as of Monday, fewer than 600,000 have had it.
For many countries, the h...
Is the NDIS changing for the better? from 2021-03-29T04:00
Nearly half a million Australians living with a disability have been put on notice.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme, which they r...
Inside a far-right recruitment drive in Australia from 2021-03-26T04:00
Hours of secret recordings obtained by the ABC show that a global neo-Nazi group is recruiting in Australia.
'The Base' has been grooming ...
Coping with the floods of the future from 2021-03-25T04:00
The floods in NSW and QLD are both déjà vu and a taste of worse to come, if climate change forecasts are accurate.
The question is, how mu...
Scott Morrison's glass houses from 2021-03-24T04:00
There was palpable tension in the Blue Room of Parliament House when Scott Morrison stood up to speak yesterday.
At the outset of the pres...
Do we need a minister for loneliness? from 2021-03-23T04:00
COVID-19 lockdowns and border closures have meant a lot more of us than usual have recent experiences of feeling lonely
And now, with a ne...
How secure is our vaccine supply? from 2021-03-22T04:00
From today, 6 million more Australians are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
But with Italy already blocking the export of 250,000 doses ...
How funerals are changing from 2021-03-19T04:00
Funerals in Australia are changing.
The death rituals of past generations aren't necessarily the right fit for people dying today, or for ...
Europe's AstraZeneca freakout from 2021-03-18T04:00
More than a dozen countries have paused their rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine, mostly in Europe.
Australia isn't among them, and as of ...
What's beyond the JobKeeper cliff? from 2021-03-17T04:00
The verdict is unanimous: JobKeeper kept Australia afloat during the COVID-19 recession.
But all good things must come to an end. Specific...
Are these women's marches different? from 2021-03-16T04:00
We've been here before.
Thousands of women took to the streets on Monday to demand a safer world, free from gendered violence.
Th...
Surviving Syria's 10 years of war from 2021-03-15T04:00
Over the past decade, the lives of millions of people in Syria have been turned upside down.
From bombings to beheadings, Syria has been u...
Truth telling in Arnhem Land from 2021-03-12T04:00
The people of Arnhem Land are having a conversation that could radically re-shape Australia.
In the Top End of the Northern Territory, the...
Are COVID-19 variants outpacing vaccines? from 2021-03-11T04:00
COVID-19 was expected to mutate slowly, but a year into the pandemic, we've lost track of how many new variants there are.
Scientists are ...
How COVID created unbeatable politicians from 2021-03-10T04:00
COVID-19 has done something strange to Australian politics.
The WA Premier Mark McGowan is facing this weekend's election with a 90% appro...
Convincing people to get the jab from 2021-03-09T04:00
Most people can't wait to get a COVID-19 vaccine, but new research found that more than a quarter of Australians feel the opposite way.
Th...
How JobKeeper landed in some rich pockets from 2021-03-08T04:00
JobKeeper was supposed to go to the hardest hit corners of the economy.
It’s the program widely credited with keeping us from economic dis...
Weren't house prices meant to fall? from 2021-03-05T04:00
A year ago, as COVID-19 spread worldwide, the smart money was on property prices taking a hit.
But 12 months on, prices are rising faster ...
Christian Porter's emphatic denial from 2021-03-04T04:00
As far as denials go, this one was emphatic, strenuous and categorical.
The Attorney-General Christian Porter told a press conference in P...
Busting myths about Chinese Australians from 2021-03-03T04:00
The relationship between China and Australia is still in the pits, and there's deep suspicion here about Chinese influence campaigns.
So w...
Will $500 million cure aged care? from 2021-03-02T04:00
Aged care in Australia needs to be rebuilt.
That's the recommendation contained in the final report of a royal commission that's spent yea...
Another episode about alleged rape and politicians from 2021-03-01T04:00
There's a bipartisan meltdown underway when it comes to sexual assault.
On Friday it was the Coalition, with an anonymous letter accusing ...
What Brittany Higgins started from 2021-02-26T04:00
Australia has been transfixed by the story of Brittany Higgins for almost a fortnight.
The former political staffer alleges she was raped ...
What Indian farmers are protesting about from 2021-02-25T04:00
India is a nation of farmers, and right now many are worried new laws will drive them out of business.
For months now, tens of thousands h...
No jab, no job? from 2021-02-24T04:00
The COVID-19 vaccination program is finally here, with the first Australians receiving a jab on Sunday.
It's a staged rollout, with the mo...
Inside Japan's nuclear disaster zone from 2021-02-23T04:00
It's been ten years since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, but the clean-up is still in its infancy.
Today on the Signal, we're going insid...
How QAnon is mutating to survive from 2021-02-22T04:00
It hasn't been an easy time for QAnon supporters.
A key prediction that Joe Biden would be hauled away in handcuffs instead of inaugurated...
Facebook v Australia from 2021-02-19T04:00
Facebook has adopted a drastic bargaining position in its fight with Australia, blocking news from its platform rather than agreeing to a plan to p...
Why one family is still on Christmas Island from 2021-02-18T04:00
The modern Liberal Party is very attached to its tough asylum seeker policies, because it's always been a vote winner for them.
But are th...
Is Donald Trump going to jail? from 2021-02-17T04:00
Even though Donald Trump was acquitted at his Senate impeachment trial, he isn't out of the woods yet.
The former US president is still fa...
Can hotel quarantine be fixed? from 2021-02-16T04:00
Australia's hotel quarantine system seems to be leaking, and the leaks are happening more often.
So is the barrier between us and COVID-19 stil...
What is Russia up to in Australia? from 2021-02-15T04:00
We're used to the idea that China wants to exert its influence in Australia, but Russia's campaign to advance its own interests attracts less atten...
Scott Morrison's climate crab walk from 2021-02-12T04:00
What a difference a single word can make.
Scott Morrison appears to be crab walking his way to a net-zero emissions target, something he n...
Where are all the electric cars? from 2021-02-11T04:00
The technology keeps getting better, but Australia's electric vehicle uptake has been incredibly slow.
For most people, it's still way too...
Are Australia’s dietary rules right? from 2021-02-10T04:00
We all remember the food pyramid, but is it right for everyone?
Australia’s dietary guidelines were designed with the best of in...
Is Russia's vaccine better than ours? from 2021-02-09T04:00
In 1957, the Russians won the space race when they launched their satellite, Sputnik.
In 2020, they claimed they'd won a different race, l...
Plan B to ban Trump from office from 2021-02-08T04:00
Donald Trump is widely expected to be acquitted in his second impeachment trial beginning this week, but Democratic strategists have a backup plan....
Being 'proud' of Collingwood from 2021-02-05T04:00
Collingwood is one of Australia's biggest, oldest and richest sporting clubs, and now it's become known for something else: a history of "distinct ...
Myanmar's mystery coup from 2021-02-04T04:00
Myanmar is having a recurring nightmare.
The country has endured more years of military dictatorship than democratic rule, but this week's...
Where does GameStop stop? from 2021-02-03T04:00
Three weeks ago, pretty much nobody knew about the share price of the US gaming retailer GameStop.
Now, it's making global headlines.
...
Would Google really leave? from 2021-02-02T04:00
Would Facebook and Google really bail on us?
If it's a bluff, it's a big one.
The tech giants are threatening to dramatically sca...
Who's running the rabble? from 2021-02-01T04:00
As it was unfolding, the storming of the US Capitol building looked like the very definition of chaos.
But now that the dust has settled, ...
Too soon to relax? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The rules are finally being relaxed. After months of getting progressively stricter, Australia’s COVID-19 containment measures are moving in the opposite ...
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What's wrong with prepping? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
You know coronavirus has reached a new phase when the Prime Minister starts talking about toilet paper supplies. Shop shelves are starting to empty out as...
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Australia's secrecy addiction from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Federal Court has ruled the AFP's raid on the ABC last year was completely legal. That ruling has raised a question about whether the law itself needs...
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When floods follow fires from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Australian east coast has just endured three extreme weather events back to back. There's been drought, unprecedented bushfires and now, heavy rain an...
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How $100m in sports grants backfired from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The term 'sports scandal' might make you think of drug cheats or sex tapes. Not novelty cheques being handed over to bowling clubs in marginal electorates...
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How the climate change debate was cooked from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Most days, it feels like Australia's climate wars have been raging forever, but it wasn't always this way. In 2007, there was bipartisan support for a pri...
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Can you buy the US presidency? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Michael Bloomberg is one of the world's richest men, and he's taking a wildly long shot at becoming the next US President. The problem is, he's very late ...
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Quitting is for quitters from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Energy Minister Angus Taylor's attempt to embarrass the Mayor of Sydney has backfired so comprehensively he's now fighting for his job. He's at the ce...
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Australia's missing history classes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How much has really changed when it comes to what Australian kids are taught about Aboriginal people? In the 1950s Indigenous academic and activist Marcia...
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Julian Assange's unlikely, powerful friends from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Julian Assange has struggled to win friends in the Australian Parliament, but that might be changing. An unlikely alliance of MPs from across the politica...
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How to plant a spy in Parliament from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Planting a spy in Australian Parliament might be easier than you think. ASIO is currently investigating an alleged Chinese government plot to get one of i...
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China's hi-tech crackdown on Muslims from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
China's detention camps for Muslim minorities are so secretive that the state denied their existence for years. Now, top secret documents reveal exactly h...
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Westpac's 23 million mistakes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
23 million is a lot of times to break the law. That's how many times Westpac, one of Australia's biggest banks, has been accused of dropping the ball on a...
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Is robodebt robo-dead? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Robodebt is dead. Or is it? After years of doggedly defending its policy of automated Centrelink debt recovery, also known as robodebt, the Government has...
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Australia's uncounted dead from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As the daylight fades at a Darlinghurst park in inner Sydney tonight, a list of names will be read out. They're Australia's transgender dead, and it's one...
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Britain's untouchable family from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
"Excruciating", "bizarre", and "out of touch". Prince Andrew's interview about his Jeffrey Epstein links couldn't have gone much worse than it did. Comme...
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Trump's make or break witness from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
There's one witness in Donald Trump's impeachment inquiry who everyone's holding their breath for. The US ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, a billion...
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The night Kumanjayi Walker died from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Protests have continued across Australia, six days after the death of Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu in the Northern Territory. A police officer has now b...
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He fell from a parking lot from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
On Monday a police officer in Hong Kong shot an unarmed 21-year-old protester at point-blank range. Later that day a middle-aged man was doused in petro...
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Should I stay or should I go? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The question of whether to stay or go stopped being a hypothetical for thousands of Australians this week. So what separates one group from the other? To...
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It starts like a normal day from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
You never wake up thinking that today is the day your house will be consumed by a bushfire. But on a day like this, things can change very quickly. There...
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Does hard work always equal more money? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Everyone wants to think they’re living in a meritocracy. So why has the gap between the rich and the poor in Australia been growing for decades? About ha...
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How Jenny fought the law and won from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jenny Hallam had six car accidents, suffered unbearable pain and decided to cook up some medicinal cannabis. That decision changed her life. Her pain beca...
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When is a strip search not okay? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Anyone can be strip searched, even children, and the rules that govern when that's legal are very murky. 122 underage girls have been strip searched by NS...
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Can you really ban boycotts? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants to ban boycotts to protect the mining industry. It's not a new idea. In fact, Malcolm Fraser did something very si...
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Falling out of love with the Melbourne Cup from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
158 years ago, no-one was worried about the ethical implications of the Melbourne Cup. The race was born into a very different Australia and grew into a t...
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How bad could 88 days be? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Visit Australia, see the country, get paid in the process. It's a strong pitch for tourists who get drawn into the working holidaymaker program. But doin...
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Who's making all the money? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Australia's rich list is changing. In 1997, fresh out of military school, Ashik Ahmed moved here from Bangladesh. In 2019, he's worth $148m and is one of...
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Worst Christmas present ever from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It's hard enough to convince people to vote at the best of times, but what about when it's 3 degrees and raining? On December 12, in the middle of winter,...
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Rebuilding ISIS: 'Give it six months' from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, but his group isn't. Anyone who's watched ISIS over the years believes this is just the beginning of ...
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Angus Taylor and the document drama from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It started like any other political stoush between the left and the right, but it's ended up somewhere very strange. On September 29 the Federal Energy Mi...
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My boyfriend faked his death from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
After Rachel and her boyfriend broke-up, she got a message that he'd died. There had been a memorial at the beach with close-friends and family. Two year...
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Sparing the lucky horses from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When Mike Botting bought a share of Prince of Penzance, he never thought he had a Melbourne Cup Winner. He also never thought he'd see the animal welfare...
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Is your boss spying on you? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Between the towering shelves in a Melbourne warehouse, an algorithm precisely measures how fast staff are working, where they're moving, and when they're t...
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What China wants from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Australia has been trying to get China to pick up the phone for more than six months, but still there’s no answer. Over that time, China has thrown up bar...
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How to pull off a Syrian rescue from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What would it take to bring the 66 Australian women and children stuck in Syria’s Al Hawl camp home? The Government’s been asked for months to step in and...
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It started with 100 dead cows from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Grainy video from a farm in West Virginia shows a horror scene of tumour-ridden cattle, dead and dying, with blackened teeth and missing fur. It was the f...
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Joe Biden's rickety bridge to victory from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Joe Biden's path to the White House is firming, but it's a lot more rickety than pollsters were predicting. So how, after the massive polling failures of ...
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What happened at 'The Chora Rock Show' from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It started with Australian troops burning rubbish, but before long hundreds of angry Afghanis were pelting their base with rocks. What happened next is di...
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Conspiracy theories vs the law from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
You really can say just about anything in the US. But this week a Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist found that there were limits. One of the authors of a bo...
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A man walks into a casino from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What's wrong with a cooler bag full of cash? If you're the biggest name in Australian casinos, it's not a good look. Crown is worth more than $8.7 billio...
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Drugged into submission from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Imagine finding out that someone had been sedating you without your consent. According to a Human Rights Watch Report, it's happening all the time in Aust...
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Australia's long queue of 'plane people' from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
You've heard of boat people, but what about plane people? 95,000 asylum seekers have arrived by plane over the last five years, and their lives are very d...
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How China watches Australian unis from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Chinese government loves to keep a close eye on its citizens, and it's getting better tech to do that all the time. But some Chinese students living i...
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Is ransomware the new normal? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
23 Victorian hospitals are still recovering from a major ransomware attack that cancelled appointments and delayed surgeries. It follows a well establishe...
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Who is Extinction Rebellion? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Protests have a way of pissing people off, and Extinction Rebellion has definitely made some enemies this week. On the other hand, it's also pretty good a...
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Sand, death and the Kurds from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Donald Trump has been itching to get US troops out of Syria for a very long time, and now he's following through on that promise. That means the US is wal...
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Australia's water barons from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The drought is driving a spike in water prices. It's now at a point where crops are failing, and farmers are going out of business because they can't affo...
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Why we can't cure cancer from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It’s starting to look like an outright cure for cancer is off the table for now. So if we can’t make cancer disappear altogether, is it possible to live w...
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One computer to rule them all from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Humans are about to hit the quantum age, and how the future looks will depend a lot on who gets there first. The world's first fully functioning quantum c...
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How Melbourne did it from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It's the moment Melbourne has been waiting for. From tomorrow, they will be able to leave home for any reason; pubs, cafes, restaurants and shops will reop...
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Should Victoria redraw the roadmap? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Victoria has come a long way, but eliminating COVID-19 is still beyond its reach. The number of daily cases was tumbling, but lately it's plateaued. That...
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Why you'll probably get a tax cut from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
You know it's a rough Federal Budget when a projected trillion dollar debt isn't even the Government's biggest problem. The Treasurer Josh Frydenberg last...
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Are prisons the new asylums? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When Australia closed down its asylums in the 90s, there was meant to be a new system to replace it. The idea was that people with severe mental illness w...
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What to expect from a COVID-19 vaccine from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A vaccine for COVID-19 seems closer than ever this week, but the reality may not match up with our fantasies. The Government has struck a deal to secure e...
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Who is Kamala Harris? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
For the first time in history, a black woman is in the running to be US Vice-President. In picking Kamala Harris, Joe Biden is hoping to broaden his elect...
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Can you COVID-proof the Olympics? from 2021-01-29T04:00
Wars, boycotts, pandemics - the modern Olympics has withstood them all.
But can it overcome COVID-19?
There've been three Olympic...
Why Russians are protesting in -52 degrees from 2021-01-28T04:00
Russians have been rallying in subzero temperatures, and it's all down to one man - Alexei Navalny.
After surviving an assassination atte...
Adjusting to a 3 degree world from 2021-01-27T04:00
We've always talked about avoiding climate change, but now the Australian Government is talking about adapting to it.
With fires, floods a...
What you need to know about the vaccine rollout from 2021-01-26T04:00
Australia's first COVID-19 vaccine has been approved, but it's not here yet.
It's definitely good news, but regulatory approval wasn't the...
What Biden's America means for Australia from 2021-01-25T04:00
America has changed its tune on a number of fronts since Joe Biden took over last week.
From climate change to COVID-19 and dealing with t...
Goodbye 2020 (and stay out) from 2020-12-18T04:00
It's nearly over, and the end can't come soon enough.
As 2020 draws to a close, The Signal team looks back at the winners and losers from ...
Will COVID vaccines reopen the world? from 2020-12-17T04:00
The dream of free movement is starting to seem more real, with COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out around the world.
Margaret Keenan was th...
What the far right's been up to from 2020-12-16T04:00
2020 has provided fertile ground for both conspiracy theories and Australia's far right groups.
Today on the Signal, how has that kind of ...
Why we're in the Pacific's bad books from 2020-12-15T04:00
Across the Pacific, the climate change outlook is bleak.
The models suggest that higher average temperatures in the region will exacerbate...
Australia's long journey to a treaty from 2020-12-14T04:00
While most of Australia was distracted by a pandemic, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been edging towards the long held ambition ...
How broken is Australia's Family Court? from 2020-12-11T04:00
When the Whitlam Government set up the Family Court of Australia, plenty of experts said it was the global gold standard.
But 35 years on,...
Is this the biggest workplace change since WorkChoices? from 2020-12-10T04:00
At the height of the pandemic, many lost jobs and plenty of businesses were forced to shut their doors.
Today on The Signal, the Federal G...
Will renters ever be able to retire? from 2020-12-09T04:00
In the 1950s owning your own place was the 'Australian dream', but for millions of young people in 2020 it's more like the Australian mirage.
<...
Pardon me, Mr President from 2020-12-08T04:00
Donald Trump, like all US presidents, has an unfettered ability to pardon people for federal crimes.
So far in his presidency, it's a powe...
Criminalising controlling behaviour from 2020-12-07T04:00
An overwhelming majority of women murdered by their partners in Australia are subject beforehand to a pattern of behaviour called coercive control....
What did Trump do in the Middle East? from 2020-12-04T04:00
Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is on one last official trip to the Middle East.
On paper, it's a peace mission, but nothing in ...
Correcting the war record from 2020-12-03T04:00
Australia is coming to terms with a revised history of the war in Afghanistan, since an inquiry by NSW Court of Appeal judge Major General Paul Bre...
Did Australia just get its first treaty? from 2020-12-02T04:00
Australia has never had a treaty with any of its Indigenous nations, but the Noongar people from WA may have just changed that.
They now h...
Why Australia lost it with China from 2020-12-01T04:00
Scott Morrison doesn't often lay into China the way he did this week.
Lately, we've been trying to mend the fence with our biggest trading...
Ethiopia's peace prize winner's war from 2020-11-30T04:00
Ethiopia's prime minister Abiy Ahmed was 2019's Nobel Peace Prize winner, but some fear he's on the way to becoming a dictator.
Over the w...
How do prisoner swaps work? from 2020-11-27T04:00
After 804 days in jail in Iran, Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert is finally free.
The Iranian government says it's the result of a ...
America's superspreading holiday from 2020-11-26T04:00
Joe Biden will inherit a public health crisis beyond any US President's experience when he takes office on January 20th.
At the moment, th...
Why delivery apps are deadly from 2020-11-25T04:00
Since September, five delivery riders have died on the job in Australia, and none of their families has been entitled to compensation.
The...
Australia's place in the vaccine queue from 2020-11-24T04:00
More and more COVID-19 vaccines are returning their clinical results, and it's good news.
The latest development came from the Oxford Univ...
Australia's back road to net zero from 2020-11-23T04:00
More and more countries are signing up to a net zero emissions target.
China, Japan and South Korea have all committed in just the past fe...
Prosecuting Australian war criminals from 2020-11-20T04:00
The horrific revelation that Australian soldiers in Afghanistan murdered 39 people in cold blood is a moment of national reckoning.
But re...
Locking down South Australia from 2020-11-19T04:00
We've seen coronavirus lockdowns before, but this one is different.
For six days, the entire state of South Australia is under tight restr...
Bracing for some "brutal truths" from 2020-11-18T04:00
Most of us don't have a clear picture of what Australia's special forces do when they're on a deployment.
In some ways, that's the whole i...
Has Adelaide's COVID luck run out? from 2020-11-17T04:00
South Australia was having a charmed run against COVID-19, but on Sunday that changed.
Six weeks out from Christmas, a cluster is growing ...
Is Donald Trump staging a coup? from 2020-11-16T04:00
Donald Trump's reaction to his election loss has people dropping the c-bomb.
It's been clear for more than a week that he lost the US elec...
Leaving Afghanistan behind from 2020-11-13T04:00
While we were all watching the US election, a terrorist attack in Kabul killed 35 people.
It's just the latest attack in the country and t...
Does Australia have a Murdoch problem? from 2020-11-12T04:00
Half a million Australians, including two former prime ministers, want to see a royal commission into Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, and whether or no...
Does sex in Canberra matter? from 2020-11-11T04:00
Christian Porter and Alan Tudge are the two government ministers at the centre of a ABC 4 Corners investigation.
Both men have been accuse...
Can Biden calm the farm? from 2020-11-09T04:00
It took a minute, but the US finally has an election result.
Joe Biden has won the White House and now, he's trying to do two main things:...
Wait, so who won? from 2020-11-05T04:00
Election day in the US might be over, but the election itself is most definitely not.
The Trump and Biden campaigns both appear to be gear...
Your US election guide from 2020-11-04T04:00
No-one knows quite what's going to happen to America after today.
This presidential election marks the beginning of what's likely to be a ...
Has Europe left it too late? from 2020-11-03T04:00
Europe is beginning what Melbourne has only just finished: a second lockdown.
COVID-19 is tearing through the western part of the continen...
Is JobMaker a dud? from 2020-11-02T04:00
If there's one thing people want from their Government during a recession, it's jobs.
Luckily, the Federal Government has a new scheme cal...
Victoria's sacred tree fight from 2020-10-30T04:00
For some of the Djab Wurrung people of Victoria, a group of majestic trees beside the Western Highway near Ararat holds enormous cultural significa...
Why Queensland is a political enigma from 2020-10-29T04:00
If there's one predictable thing about politics in Queensland, it's that it's unpredictable.
Federally, the state is a bonanza for the Coa...
How the US Senate could change everything from 2020-10-28T04:00
You wouldn't know it, but there are a lot of elections taking place in the US on November 3.
Arguably the next most important contest, aft...
Where's that corruption watchdog? from 2020-10-26T04:00
Being a corrupt state or territory government official is a pretty dicey game these days: there's a reasonable chance you’ll get caught.
B...
Why is Taiwan arming itself? from 2020-10-23T04:00
China has been flexing its political and military muscle all year, with trade sanctions and a brutal crackdown in Hong Kong.
Now, it's upg...
Are Facebook and Twitter protecting Biden? from 2020-10-22T04:00
Donald Trump's favourite news story right now is the one about Joe Biden's son, Hunter, and he will not stop bringing it up.
By contrast, ...
Why the world's newest war isn't new from 2020-10-21T04:00
There's been a war going on for the last few weeks, but one side says most of the world is ignoring it.
A patch of mountainous terrain abo...
Is Gladys Berejiklian home free? from 2020-10-20T04:00
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has managed to turn the PR tide in her favour, since her relationship with disgraced former MP Daryl Maguire was exp...
Is Australia failing Faamanu Faamanatu? from 2020-10-19T04:00
About 1,000 Pacific Islanders are in Australia on something called the Pacific Labour Scheme.
On their visa, they're allowed to work in Au...
How long queues could help Trump from 2020-10-16T04:00
Most Australians have probably never waited 11 hours in a queue for anything.
Not for concert tickets, not to get into a sports game, and ...
Could COVID-19 save Jacinda Ardern? from 2020-10-15T04:00
Very little about Jacinda Ardern's meteoric rise was predicted beforehand.
She became prime minister of New Zealand in 2017 after just sev...
What will become of Gladys Berejiklian? from 2020-10-14T04:00
Until this week, the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian had a squeaky clean image.
If she had a reputation at all beyond NSW, it was as a comp...
Do Olympic boycotts work? from 2020-10-12T04:00
The Olympics is always meant to be apolitical, but there are growing calls for Australian athletes to pull out of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing....
America's Very Polite Debate from 2020-10-09T04:00
US vice-presidential debates don't usually get much attention.
But with both Donald Trump and Joe Biden well into their 70s, plenty of vot...
James Packer's casino nightmare from 2020-10-08T04:00
James Packer is currently on board a $200 million dollar superyacht at sea, but it's not plain sailing for the Australian billionaire.
Pac...
Australia's new gas heartland? from 2020-10-06T04:00
Australia is a big step closer to opening up a new gas field near the NSW town of Narrabri.
It’s come at a moment when the Federal Governm...
What if Trump doesn't recover? from 2020-10-05T04:00
Donald Trump is the world's highest profile COVID-19 case to date.
It plunges an already remarkable US Presidential race into new territor...
Did China just save the planet? from 2020-10-02T04:00
The world's largest emitter, China reckons it will be carbon-neutral by 2060 and that its emissions will peak within the next 10 years.
If...
Trump and Biden's debate chaos from 2020-10-01T04:00
It was Donald Trump and Joe Biden's first face-to-face showdown.
And in America, plenty of people were left with the impression that the w...
What's happened to Hong Kong's protesters? from 2020-09-30T04:00
Protesting in Hong Kong isn't what it used to be.
Beijing's National Security Law which was brought in several months ago, coupled with CO...
Imagining a conservative Supreme Court from 2020-09-29T04:00
All the signs suggest Donald Trump is going to get his way on the US Supreme Court.
His nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, is beloved by most con...
When wellness and conspiracy collide from 2020-09-28T04:00
The wellness industry has a dangerous streak of conspiratorial thought, and it's only become wider during the pandemic.
What seems at firs...
Why do whales strand themselves? from 2020-09-25T04:00
After thousands of years, we still don't really know why mass whale strandings happen.
Almost 500 whales beached themselves on a remote st...
Why take phones from refugees? from 2020-09-24T04:00
Going without a phone is most people's idea of hell, and people in immigration detention have more reason than most to feel that way.
The ...
Is the uni sector getting a raw deal? from 2020-09-23T04:00
Australian universities are shrinking in almost every imaginable way.
Their budgets, their student intake and their staff are all diminish...
What's at stake in the Supreme Court from 2020-09-22T04:00
There's always been a reasonable chance the US Supreme court could decide the race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
A few days ago, it ...
Why money laundering is easy from 2020-09-21T04:00
International money laundering is a lot easier than you think.
Out of trillions of dollars in suspicious transactions, only one per cent i...
Homeless, to hotel, to homeless from 2020-09-17T04:00
Many rough sleepers who’ve been put up in hotels during the pandemic could be turfed out soon.
But they’re not the only ones who might be...
Could America's fires change votes? from 2020-09-16T04:00
Australians might feel a sense of deja vu watching America's wildfires this week.
The sun is obscured by smoke, lives and homes have been ...
What are Assange's chances? from 2020-09-15T04:00
Julian Assange is back in court, and the US seems more determined than ever to get its hands on the Wikileaks founder.
It's been making th...
Australia's soldiers of fortune from 2020-09-14T04:00
Under the cover of darkness, one night in June last year, an inflatable boat showed up in the capital of Malta, carrying 20 mercenaries, among the...
Could Clive Palmer bankrupt WA? from 2020-09-11T04:00
Clive Palmer is in at least six legal battles with the state of Western Australia.
Among them is a defamation suit, a High Court challenge...
Silencing Victoria's rape survivors from 2020-09-10T04:00
Thousands of Victorian survivors of sexual assault would be forced to ask a court for permission if they wanted to tell their own stories in full a...
Stop one mine, stop them all? from 2020-09-09T04:00
Stop one coal mine, stop them all.
That's the plan for a lawsuit that’s been launched by a group of teenagers on behalf of every single yo...
More dangerous dead than alive from 2020-09-08T04:00
Being Alexei Navalny is a dangerous job.
The Russian opposition leader is currently in intensive care in Berlin, after being poisoned, but...
What is Victoria's plan B? from 2020-09-07T04:00
Victoria's intended destination is zero new cases and the ETA is late November, but there are no guarantees.
The state is desperately tryi...
"Make Diggers Violent Again" from 2020-09-03T04:00
"Make Diggers Violent Again" is not a message you’ll find on any official Defence Force social media account.
But current and former speci...
Making Facebook and Google pay from 2020-09-02T04:00
Facebook and Google have gone to war over a proposal to make them pay Australian news outlets for their content.
Facebook is threatening t...
Meet the stranded Australians from 2020-09-01T04:00
No home, no flight, dwindling medical supplies and a depleted bank account.
Today, we're following two of the many thousands of Australian...
Are workplace rules about to change? from 2020-08-31T04:00
Workplace reform has been a political no-go for the Coalition since WorkChoices, but COVID-19 is changing that.
JobKeeper 2.0 is looking l...
Is our unemployment system broken? from 2020-08-28T04:00
In the late 1990s, Australia privatised the system that helps the unemployed find work.
The idea was that by paying employment service pro...
Welcome to the Trump show from 2020-08-27T04:00
It's the most unusual Republican National Convention in history.
The RNC has been going all week in Charlotte, North Carolina, featuring c...
Catching COVID-19 again from 2020-08-26T04:00
The world has recorded its first official COVID-19 reinfection case.
At first glance, it looks like immunity to the virus may not last th...
What's the future of air travel? from 2020-08-25T04:00
Australia's travel ban won't last forever but even when it’s over, flying overseas is unlikely to be straight forward.
Today on The Signa...
Trump and the QAnon conspiracy from 2020-08-21T04:00
There's a far-right conspiracy theory at the heart of Donald Trump's base.
It's called QAnon, and it has hundreds of thousands of follower...
Is Trump sabotaging the US Post? from 2020-08-19T04:00
The US Postal Service is slowing down.
Ordinarily, that wouldn't be international news but it’s given rise to accusations from Democrats o...
Surviving extreme isolation from 2020-08-18T04:00
Some forms of isolation are more severe than others.
The pandemic has forced many people with chronic illness to change their lives beyond...
Meet the COVID-19 deep cleaners from 2020-08-17T04:00
Often when there’s a COVID-19 scare at a business, school or workplace, we hear about the premises being "closed for deep cleaning".
...
Closing down coal from the inside from 2020-08-13T04:00
Climate activists have a new tactic in their fight against Australia's coal industry.
After years of trying to tear the industry down from...
Australia's four COVID-19 frontlines from 2020-08-12T04:00
Australia in the COVID-19 era is a patchwork quilt: there's a big outbreak in Victoria, regular small ones in NSW, and the constant risk of a flare...
What do Beirut's protesters want? from 2020-08-11T04:00
The rage in Beirut is white hot and building.
A week after a warehouse containing 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded on the city's ...
Is Victoria going hard enough? from 2020-08-10T04:00
The death toll in Australia from COVID-19 is now rising faster than ever.
In Victoria, millions are living under the toughest restrictions...
Who’s first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine? from 2020-08-07T04:00
As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, a lot of attention is focussed on vaccine development.
Preliminary results out of Oxford and China look...
Has Europe given up on containing COVID-19? from 2020-08-06T04:00
Victoria is closing down, as Europe and the UK are largely open, in many places.
That's despite the fact that the caseload is still much h...
Five stages of life in lockdown from 2020-08-05T04:00
The second lockdown in Victoria is harder than the first.
People are angry this is happening, scared about how long it might last, and wor...
How Trump could fight an election loss from 2020-08-04T04:00
Donald Trump has been backsliding in the polls for months, but there are more signs with each passing week that he's unlikely to go down without a ...
How 5G and COVID-19 conspiracies merged from 2020-08-03T04:00
Conspiracy theories about 5G have been around for years now.
But since the start of the pandemic, a new one has emerged, and it's spread l...
Is Melbourne's lockdown a failure? from 2020-07-31T04:00
Melburnians have been living under Stage 3 restrictions for more than three weeks.
Pubs, cafes and gyms are closed, hosting friends or fam...
How criminal can a 10-year-old be? from 2020-07-30T04:00
It's still possible to be arrested and charged with a crime at the age of 10 in Australia.
There's been a sustained campaign to raise the ...
Are we in for another Black Summer? from 2020-07-29T04:00
This time last year, one of the worst bushfire seasons ever seen in Australia was just getting started.
The so-called "Black Summer" fires...
Locking up terrorists indefinitely from 2020-07-28T04:00
One of Australia's most notorious terrorist prisoners could be held in detention even after he finishes his term later this year.
In 2008,...
Donald Trump's anti-BLM surge from 2020-07-27T04:00
In some US cities, Black Lives Matter rallies haven't just persisted. They've escalated.
Earlier this month, Donald Trump sent federal law...
Is debt really that bad? from 2020-07-24T04:00
Australia's now running the biggest budget deficit since the Second World War, and according to the Treasury's latest outlook, there are even bigge...
Halfway to a COVID-19 vaccine from 2020-07-23T04:00
Australia just had its worst ever day in the fight against COVID-19.
Yesterday across the country, 502 new cases were confirmed, and in th...
Can we dodge the job support cliff? from 2020-07-22T04:00
Yesterday, about 5 million Australians got some good news and some bad news.
The Government is extending the JobSeeker and JobKeeper payme...
No episode of The Signal today from 2020-07-21T04:00
For legal reasons, the episode of The Signal we were planning today won't be released.
Don't worry though, we'll be back in your feed this...
COVID-19's "long haulers" from 2020-07-20T04:00
At first, we were told COVID-19 would generally last about two weeks.
So why are there more and more people whose symptoms are lingering f...
Preparing for a world without babies from 2020-07-17T04:00
We're used to anxiety about population growth, but what about decline?
New research suggests that by 2100 the population will be shrinking...
Has the wind changed on Trump? from 2020-07-16T04:00
Something very interesting has happened in US presidential polls.
Voters who Donald Trump has always been able to count on are abandoning ...
Who really has power in Australia? from 2020-07-15T04:00
45 years ago Australia's Governor General fired the Prime Minister, and many people have never quite got over it.
Yesterday, the ghost of ...
Learning to love face masks from 2020-07-14T04:00
Face masks are the latest tool being recommended in the fight against COVID-19.
Wearing a face mask in certain circumstances is now the of...
Hong Kong's radical reinvention from 2020-07-13T04:00
Hong Kong is a very different place now to what it was last month.
It's been almost two weeks since Beijing's tough new National Security ...
COVID-19's mysterious origins from 2020-07-10T04:00
You probably think the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic are broadly clear cut.
The virus originated in a live animal and seafood market, i...
Why would Australia ban TikTok? from 2020-07-09T04:00
TikTok's reputation is changing.
It used to be known as a Gen Z haunt and lip sync repository, but now there's growing anxiety about its l...
How border closures failed in 1919 from 2020-07-08T04:00
100 years ago, when we were up against the Spanish Flu, Australia failed to contain the pandemic, and the weak spot was the border between Victoria...
Is the Arctic too far gone? from 2020-07-07T04:00
On the eve of the northern hemisphere summer solstice last month, a Siberian town inside the Arctic circle, cracked 38 degrees Celsius for the firs...
Are all lockdowns equal? from 2020-07-06T04:00
It's Australia's harshest COVID-19 lockdown yet.
This morning, 3,000 people living in 1,345 units across nine public housing towers in inn...
Why Hong Kongers take the risk from 2020-07-03T04:00
China's new National Security Law that Hong Kongers were dreading didn't keep them from protesting this week.
Thousands turned out, and hu...
Surviving a poor, dangerous, disorderly world from 2020-07-02T04:00
Australia is stocking up on weapons to protect itself against an increasingly "poor" and "disorderly" world.
To that end, Scott Morrison ...
Victoria's backslide into lockdown from 2020-07-01T04:00
Millions of Victorians are adjusting to news of their second COVID-19 lockdown.
Ten postcodes covering 35 suburbs will effectively wind ba...
How the West looks from China from 2020-06-30T04:00
Australia's relationship with China at the moment is toxic and dangerous, and Chinese state media isn't helping.
Yesterday, under the head...
America's war on its health officials from 2020-06-29T04:00
America just had one of its worst ever weekends in the fight against COVID-19.
In a terrible new milestone, the country is now recording m...
What COVID-19 is doing to Brazil from 2020-06-26T04:00
The poorest Brazilians are coming up with grassroots answers to COVID-19, even as the spread of the virus accelerates.
There are thousands...
Australia's incredible shrinking media from 2020-06-25T04:00
It's a bleak time in the Australian media industry.
On top of the looming loss of 250 staff at the ABC, already this year nearly 100 newsp...
Is sexual harassment preventable? from 2020-06-24T04:00
Sexual harassment allegations against the former High Court Justice Dyson Heydon have revived the conversation about victimisation in the workplace...
Is it possible to ‘unrelax’? from 2020-06-23T04:00
Relaxing COVID-19 restrictions is the easy part, but reversing them might be harder.
The daily number of new COVID-19 cases in Victoria ha...
Doing the maths on an arts degree from 2020-06-22T04:00
University could be about to get a lot more expensive, depending on what you want to study.
From next year, under a government proposal, i...
Billing sexual abuse victims from 2020-06-19T04:00
Law firms of all sizes have swooped in for a cut of the national redress scheme, by billing survivors of child sexual abuse for a cut of their paym...
Could China and India go to war? from 2020-06-18T04:00
Decades had passed in a disputed sliver of the Himalayas between China and India without a death.
Until Monday.
20 Indian troops ...
Labor's big Victorian meltdown from 2020-06-17T04:00
Labor's alleged Victorian branch-stacking crisis keeps expanding.
There are reports that as much as a quarter of the state's membership mi...
Why China is executing an Australian from 2020-06-16T04:00
Australian Karm Gilespie dropped off the radar back in 2013.
As it turns out, he's spent the last six and a half years in a Chinese prison...
What we know about Australian slavery from 2020-06-15T04:00
Slavery didn't just happen in the US and Britain.
In Australia, the practice is rarely described in those terms, or at all, but a number o...
Does Type A blood increase your COVID risk? from 2020-06-12T04:00
More than 416,000 people have died since COVID-19 was detected in Wuhan, but much about the virus remains mysterious.
Now, researchers say...
How Indigenous deaths in custody happen from 2020-06-11T04:00
There's an ugly pattern that's fuelling Australia's latest Black Lives Matter marches: the high rate of Indigenous deaths in custody.
Aust...
Dismantling the police from 2020-06-10T04:00
Abolishing the police force is a confronting notion for most people.
But some US cities are contemplating it as a solution, frustrated wit...
How New Zealand eliminated COVID-19 from 2020-06-09T04:00
It's a huge moment in New Zealand.
For the first time in 75 days, everyone can go to work, linger in a cafe, hug friends and family, or ju...
America's untouchable police unions from 2020-06-08T04:00
People have tried to fix America's policing problem before, but they've always hit the same wall: police unions.
They're the reason police...
Detained, resettled, and now fighting COVID from 2020-06-05T04:00
On top of riots and a bitter divide between police and the black community, the US is also home to the world's biggest COVID-19 caseload, and an un...
Does Australia have a policing problem too? from 2020-06-04T04:00
It's a 43 second clip that's kicked off a big discussion about policing in Australia.
In the phone video, recorded on Monday, a white NSW ...
Trump's war on Antifa from 2020-06-03T04:00
Donald Trump is pointing the finger at what he says are violent elements of the far left.
At the same time, white supremacists are ramping...
Vladimir Putin and the doctor from 2020-06-02T04:00
There's a young Russian doctor who's been distributing urgently needed protective gear to frontline health workers in Moscow.
So why is sh...
Is America permanently broken? from 2020-06-01T04:00
America is in the grip of a wave of violence not seen in a generation, after yet another death of a black person in police custody.
In doz...
Why your dreams are getting weirder from 2020-05-29T04:00
If you've been having more intense dreams since the pandemic began, you're not alone.
Today we find out why that's happening, whether or n...
Unpacking a very strange truce from 2020-05-28T04:00
A friendly chat between a Coalition government and the union movement over industrial relations might seem as likely as hell freezing over.
How the gas leak went wrong from 2020-05-27T04:00:07
Theoretically, there are no bad ideas in brainstorming, but the pitch for a "gas-led" economic recovery hasn’t won many fans.
The Governme...
Meet the economists denying debt from 2020-05-26T04:00
Australia is drowning in public debt, but what if we never have to pay it off?
The kind of government spending it's taking to keep Austral...
Calling time on Hong Kong's rebellion from 2020-05-25T04:00
Beijing has finally lost patience with Hong Kong's rebellious streak after a year of relentless pro-democracy protests.
It's decided to ra...
Donald Trump's miracle drug from 2020-05-22T04:00
Donald Trump has been pushing hydroxychloroquine for months as a treatment for COVID-19, but scientists and health officials say there's not enough...
Inside an Australian COVID-19 ward from 2020-05-21T04:00
Australia has begun to relax in a lot of ways, but Australian hospitals can't.
Even though the feared tide of COVID-19 patients never mate...
Australia's bargaining chips with China from 2020-05-20T04:00
China and Australia have a lopsided relationship, and when China loses its temper, things can get out of hand very quickly.
So with our bi...
2020's fresh blow to the reef from 2020-05-19T04:00
While we've all been focused on COVID-19, the Great Barrier Reef has had a devastating few months: it's experienced its most extensive coral bleach...
How to spot a COVID-19 hotspot from 2020-05-18T04:00
As Australia re-opens, we've been told to expect outbreaks along the way, but the question is: where?
Today we break down how the virus sp...
Can our universities survive COVID-19? from 2020-05-15T04:00
Australia's universities are in trouble: thousands of students are stuck overseas, and thousands more are reconsidering their study plans in Austra...
COVID-19's other death toll from 2020-05-14T04:00
We know economic downturns drive up the suicide rate.
So what kind of toll could COVID-19 exact in the years to come, and what can we do n...
COVID-19: a tale of two towns from 2020-05-13T04:00
There's a growing and perplexing appetite to lift the shutdowns in the US, despite the fact their infection rate is still climbing.
Since...
Could COVID-19 make Australia fairer? from 2020-05-12T04:00
There's an old saying: never waste a crisis.
So could that adage apply to COVID-19 and tax?
Today on The Signal we look into why ...
Avoiding the second wave from 2020-05-11T04:00
Australia isn't the first country in the world to decide to ease social restrictions designed to stop the spread of COVID-19.
In South Kor...
Tracing the origins of COVID-19 from 2020-05-08T04:00
Donald Trump has a theory about where COVID-19 came from.
He seems more convinced with each passing day that it came from a Chinese lab.
Is China really running the WHO? from 2020-05-07T04:00
The World Health Organisation is supposed to be impartial, but is it really?
The US President Donald Trump has accused the WHO of being fa...
Is Joe Biden in trouble? from 2020-05-06T04:00
Former Democratic Senate staffer Tara Reade has accused her old boss and presumptive presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexual assault, a charge h...
Who'll pay the COVID-19 bill? from 2020-05-05T04:00
Australians were warned 150,000 of us could die of COVID-19 if we weren't careful.
As it happens, we were.
But economists are sta...
Is COVIDSafe safe? from 2020-05-04T04:00
People like the idea of the COVIDSafe app, but most Australians still don't want it on their own phone.
The Government wants millions more...
Hooking up in lockdown from 2020-05-01T04:00
In theory, single life is lonelier than usual during a pandemic.
Social distancing norms mean that anyone without a partner is pretty much...
Can you get the virus again? from 2020-04-30T04:00
More than 5,600 Australians have recovered from COVID-19, and there are glimpses of the slow return of normal life.
But if you've had the ...
North Korea's missing dictator from 2020-04-28T04:00
No-one's sure how Kim Jong Un is doing, and North Korea's not saying.
There's even a theory he might be dead.
So what do we know ...
How Americans are judging Trump from 2020-04-27T04:00
Donald Trump's response to the pandemic broke new ground last week when he suggested injecting disinfectant as a way to fight the virus.
N...
You may Zoom the bride from 2020-04-24T04:00
Objectively, it's not a great time to get married.
Plenty of people have cancelled imminent wedding plans, especially while attendance at ...
How much do lockdowns lower emissions? from 2020-04-23T06:00
This pandemic is bringing about the largest drop in carbon emissions in recorded history.
The bad news is, the fundamentals of the global ...
What if Virgin goes under? from 2020-04-22T06:00
Australia's aviation sector could be about to get significantly less crowded.
Virgin has gone into voluntary administration, carrying bill...
How far off is a vaccine, really? from 2020-04-21T06:00
The received wisdom on the subject of a COVID-19 vaccine is that it'll take 12 to 18 months to develop one.
That timeline has become a soo...
Was Australia ready? from 2020-04-20T06:00
In theory, Australia should have been well prepared for a pandemic.
We'd even done training exercises back in 2006 and 2008.
Aust...
Is this app the price of normality? from 2020-04-17T06:00
It's the classic tech trade off; surrender your privacy in exchange for a better life.
This time though, it’s a pretty tempting offer.
Listen
How the Ruby Princess unravelled from 2020-04-16T06:00
Just what do we know about what happened on board the now notorious Ruby Princess, and who might be responsible?
Today on The Signal, we'r...
Could Australia eliminate COVID-19? from 2020-04-15T06:00
Eliminating COVID-19 sounds like a pretty attractive option right now.
New Zealand seems to be on its way to doing just that, and it's bei...
What went wrong in Tasmania from 2020-04-14T06:00
A month ago, Tasmania looked like the gold standard for tackling COVID-19.
They'd closed the border early, and the state had no cases...
Life after lockdown from 2020-04-09T06:00
It's hard to imagine life after COVID-19, but Wuhan is the first place in the world to get a glimpse.
Most people in the city are finally...
George Pell's acquittal and its legacy from 2020-04-08T06:00
After a year behind bars, George Pell is a free man, but his life won't be the same.
Yesterday, he was acquitted of child sex offences by ...
COVID-19's silent carriers from 2020-04-07T06:00
We got something wrong in the early stages of COVID-19.
For a while, we were convinced the virus almost always showed symptoms.
N...
Ripping up the economic rulebook from 2020-04-06T06:00
If you'd predicted a $130 billion wage subsidy a month ago no-one would have believed you, but here we are.
The JobKeeper scheme is a desp...
New love in a lockdown from 2020-04-03T06:00
There's no bad time to fall in love, but this would have to come close.
We follow three couples who are trying to navigate new love in a w...
How deadly is COVID-19? from 2020-04-02T06:00
At first it was 15 per cent. Then it was 3, but it's still dropping.
So why can't we work out the death rate for COVID-19?
Today...
Six months? Or longer? from 2020-04-01T06:00
There's been a lot of guesswork about how long it'll take for life to get back to normal after COVID-19.
Six months is a timeframe that h...
COVID-19: Australia's eviction moratorium from 2020-03-30T06:00
Hundreds of thousands of Australians were inching closer to eviction, until last night.
A new six month moratorium will keep a roof over t...
Love in the time of coronavirus from 2020-03-27T05:00
From transnational estrangement and indefinite celibacy, to new couples and frustrated singles; COVID-19 heralds chaos for romantics everywhere.
COVID-19: Could we test everyone? from 2020-03-25T05:00:35
It's not possible to test the whole world for COVID-19. Yet.
For now, only certain people in Australia are eligible, while clinics preserv...
COVID-19: The unemployment line from 2020-03-24T05:00
Centrelink is overwhelmed with the newly unemployed this week.
All over Australia, people have been queueing for hours outside its offices...
COVID-19: The fork in the road from 2020-03-23T05:00
Australia is at a fork in the road when it comes to coronavirus, and we don't have long to choose.
In one direction is total lockdown.
How long until COVID-19 immunity? from 2020-03-20T05:00
29-year-old Mike is out the other side of coronavirus already.
He's still holed up in his Bondi apartment, but essentially, he feels fine...
COVID-19: The ultimatum to expats from 2020-03-19T05:00
As many as a million Australians overseas are facing a choice this week; Rush home, or risk getting stuck where you are.
Today, we hear f...
COVID-19: Choosing who to save from 2020-03-18T05:00
It's clear watching Italy that if COVID-19 spreads too quickly, the health system will buckle, and if it does, it won't be possible for doctors to ...
How paedophile priests think from 2020-03-17T05:00
People find ways to rationalise the terrible things they do, even when the act in question is pure evil.
Today, the groundbreaking interv...
COVID-19: The faces of the jobs crisis from 2020-03-16T05:00
Shae's casual work has dried up because people aren’t going out, Ben's gigs have been cancelled and Charlie's business might end up folding.
Victoria's mutant cows from 2020-03-13T05:00
When scientists tried to genetically modify cattle, they made a mistake.
Now, those cows have ended up in Australia. Specifically, in a pa...
COVID-19: Phase two from 2020-03-12T05:00
Public health officials keep referring to containment as a "phase".
So if it is, then what comes next?
Today, the phase of COVID-...
George Pell's case for acquittal from 2020-03-11T05:00
George Pell could be a free man after today's appeal in the High Court.
In today's episode we cover everything you need to know about the...
How coronavirus lies are spread from 2020-03-10T05:00
Big, small, ridiculous and scarily believable. The lies about coronavirus come in a staggering array, and they're spreading around the world.
<...
The countdown to net zero from 2020-03-09T05:00
The message to the world is clear: get to net zero emissions by 2050, or suffer the worst effects of climate change.
While some countries ...
And then there were two from 2020-03-06T05:00
Super Tuesday effectively narrowed the race for democratic nominee to Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
After an abysmal showing in early pri...
Wriggling out of a recession from 2020-03-05T05:00
Everyone wants to know if the bushfires and coronavirus are going to drag Australia into a recession.
The economy was already under strai...
Hire, fire, repeat from 2020-03-03T05:00
When Sarah confronted her boss to find out why she stopped getting shifts running children's parties they couldn't give her an answer.
Sh...
Growing up non-binary from 2020-03-02T05:00
Meet Olivia, an 11-year-old on puberty blockers, who rejects he, she, they & them as pronouns.
Olivia is non-binary, and there are plenty ...
Is your wage being stolen? from 2020-02-28T05:00
More and more major Australian companies are admitting to staggering wage theft.
Coles, Target and Woolworths are just some of the latest...
Inside an animal testing lab from 2020-02-27T05:00
When three baboons escaped from a van at a Sydney Hospital earlier this week it was a sharp reminder that we still experiment with animals in quite...
COVID-19: When containment fails from 2020-02-26T05:00
No-one wants to use the word pandemic when it comes to coronavirus, but many experts now see that as the inevitable outcome.
So are contai...
Stripping a national honour from 2020-02-25T05:00
The Order of Australia is supposed to recognise the very best in the community.
There's a growing list of people who are arguing that men'...
Julian Assange's last stand from 2020-02-24T05:00
The US is finally making its pitch in a UK court to have Julian Assange extradited, but with Assange, nothing is simple.
Today, Andrew Wil...
What the media still gets wrong from 2020-02-21T05:00
Nour Haydar wanted to be a journalist, but when her father murdered her mother, she had second thoughts.
The media coverage was relentless...
How a whole generation got mad from 2020-02-20T05:00
Something very strange just happened in Ireland.
Sinn Fein, a political party verging on socialist and with historic links to the IRA, jus...
How AI is stalking coronavirus from 2020-02-19T05:00
The whole world is trying to figure out where the new strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, will spread to next.
So could artificial intelligen...
Testing Trump's election pitch from 2020-02-17T05:00
Donald Trump is likely to stake his 2020 election pitch on the strength of the US economy.
So is it as good as he says?
How much ...
Australia's unluckiest company directors from 2020-02-14T05:00
Dummy director schemes target vulnerable Australians, mostly with total impunity.
It's a common practice in white collar crime, targeting...
Young and in The National Party from 2020-02-13T05:00
The Nationals seem destined for another leadership spill, and soon.
But that's not the only choice its members are making.
The pa...
Why China's choosing coal from 2020-02-12T05:00
New coal fired power could be back on the table for Australia.
The Government's spending $6m on feasibility studies to determine whether o...
Censoring China's grief from 2020-02-10T05:00
People in China are furious about one specific coronavirus death.
Dr Li Wenliang tried to blow the whistle early on, before the virus had ...
Getting sex offenders off the apps from 2020-02-07T05:00
We want to believe that dating apps are safe.
But looking around, there are some pretty scary stories about who else is on them.
...
Iowa: where trust goes to die from 2020-02-06T05:00
It's safe to say only one thing about the democratic primary in Iowa: it was a total mess.
The system for counting votes collapsed, the re...
Anarchists to barristers from 2020-02-05T05:00
They started out as a ragtag group of anarchists and The Greens have always had an inner struggle over just how radical they should be.
S...
Why we can't fight firestorms from 2020-02-04T05:00
Thunderstorms created by bushfires could easily be mistaken for a scene from the Old Testament.
Fire tornadoes, lightning strikes and gust...
Sports clubbed to death from 2020-02-03T05:00
It took two weeks of pressure, but the Minister being blamed for the sports rorts scandal, Bridget McKenzie, has quit the frontbench.
It's...
What the fires did to climate change from 2020-01-31T05:00
We talk a lot about what climate change did to the bushfires, but what about the other way around?
The fires this season have almost doubl...
Life in the world's biggest quarantine from 2020-01-30T05:00
Wuhan might be a city of 11 million people, but right now, you could hear a pin drop.
There are no cars on the streets, shops are running...
Why the confusion about coronavirus? from 2020-01-29T05:00
A lot has changed in the last week.
Coronavirus is spreading and the death toll keeps rising.
Scientists are learning more about ...
What the fires did to animals from 2020-01-28T05:00
The number of human lives and homes lost in the fires is meticulously counted, but the toll on wildlife is more mysterious.
Joan Reed fr...
Who can call themselves Aboriginal? from 2020-01-24T05:00
Defending his racial identity wasn't what historian Bruce Pascoe had planned for his summer break.
But then the Home Affairs Minister Pete...
How a deadly virus is born from 2020-01-23T05:00
When people in the Chinese city of Wuhan started getting sick after visiting a local market, everyone thought it was a pneumonia outbreak.
Listen
Impeachment: the final chapter from 2020-01-21T05:00
It's the home stretch of Donald Trump's impeachment.
The Senate trial begins tonight, and a man named Lev Parnus has a mountain of new, la...
What the bushfires did to politics from 2020-01-20T05:00
The Government's taken a big hit over its response to the massive destruction caused by bushfires this summer.
It's under more pressure t...
Goodbye 2019, we hardly knew you from 2019-12-13T05:00
For its last episode of 2019, The Signal takes a tour of the things that surprised us, scared us and blew us away.
Expect Chinese revoluti...
Why police are vetting rap lyrics from 2019-12-12T05:00
There's one rap genre that police in the UK and Australia are listening to right now, but it's not because they're fans.
Drill artists hav...
Summer's not what it used to be from 2019-12-11T05:00
We're less than two weeks into the Australian summer, but already it feels like it's been a lot longer than that.
All anyone can talk abou...
When a volcano erupts without warning from 2019-12-10T05:00
When the volcano on New Zealand's White Island erupted yesterday, it happened pretty much without warning.
There were around 50 people the...
Inside a free speech comedy club from 2019-12-09T05:00
Tears, laughter, meltdowns and impromptu therapy.
The results are always unpredictable at a Sydney comedy club where performers are allowe...
How the far right defends itself from 2019-12-06T05:00
'It was just a joke' is apparently not a good enough defence against terrorism charges.
Phillip Galea found that out the hard way.
Medevac: an autopsy from 2019-12-05T05:00
The Government has finally managed to repeal the medevac laws.
The rules that made it easier to bring asylum seekers to the Australian mai...
What's Russia got to do with it? from 2019-12-04T05:00
Just a week out from the UK election, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still refusing to release a report examining Russian infiltration of British ...