100 episodes

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition SMH & The Age

    • News
    • 3.9 • 1.1K Ratings

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

    Peter Hartcher on why China is tanking its economy on purpose

    Peter Hartcher on why China is tanking its economy on purpose

    For decades, a downturn in the Chinese economy has meant a boon for investors in the West. But then came an unwelcome announcement, earlier this month, from the Chinese government. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on why this announcement isn’t just bad for our economy, but is a reminder of China’s dramatically revamped - and dangerous  - geopolitical goals.
    Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
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    • 20 min
    The church, the Liberal Party, and the Tax Office raid

    The church, the Liberal Party, and the Tax Office raid

    It’s a church that preaches a hatred of people outside of its own flock. Women are treated as second-class citizens. And homosexuality is not tolerated. 

    So why does the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church have such extraordinary access to political power brokers? And does it actually perform the acts of charity that it says it does? For which it receives multi-millions of dollars in government funding and tax exemptions?

    Until last week, many remained questions without answers. That is, until the Australian Tax Office performed an astonishing raid on businesses owned by the church.

    Today, investigative reporter Michael Bachelard on the Plymouth Brethren Church, which has long flown under the radar, but is now being exposed to the light.
    Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 19 min
    Trump says he’s nasty. But can Kevin Rudd win him over?

    Trump says he’s nasty. But can Kevin Rudd win him over?

    Once one of our most popular prime ministers, before experiencing stunning and repeated political rejection, Kevin Rudd has been out of the spotlight for years. But that was before Donald Trump let rip with a string of invectives against Rudd, in an interview last week. 

    It was a conversation that unleashed a barrage of think pieces. Why did Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appoint Rudd as the ambassador to the United States in the first place? And how can he possibly advance our interests in the White House now? 

    Today, foreign affairs and national security correspondent Matthew Knott on Kevin Rudd, the one-time power player who was cast-out to the political wilderness and is now back in the spotlight.
    Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 17 min
    Nick McKenzie reveals the ‘priority target’ of Australian intelligence agencies

    Nick McKenzie reveals the ‘priority target’ of Australian intelligence agencies

    In the struggle for power and influence in the Pacific, there is one man Australian security agencies have their eye on.

    He’s allegedly a member of a powerful organised crime network spanning the Pacific. And, according to secret intelligence documents out of Canberra, he’s a potential threat to our national interest.

    Why? Because he’s also a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party. And his alleged activities are taking place amid China’s growing influence in the Pacific.

    All this comes at a time when a security agreement between Beijing and the Pacific Island nation of Fiji, once put on ice, now seems to be back on the table.

    Today, investigative journalist Nick McKenzie on his story with The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes on Zhao Fugang, and why his influence in Fiji matters to Australia.

    Watch full story on Nine's 60 Minutes here.

    And just a note, there is no suggestion by our mastheads that Zhao Fugang is a convicted criminal or is guilty of the allegations, only that he is of such serious concern to Australia’s security agencies he has designated as a high priority target.
    Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 18 min
    Inside Politics: Another government abandons religious discrimination laws

    Inside Politics: Another government abandons religious discrimination laws

    It is an issue that has come up for the last couple of governments, and one that none of them have yet been able to resolve. 

    Religious discrimination laws have been a contentious topic in our politics for the better part of a decade now, with the rights of gay and gender-diverse students and teachers set against the rights of religious schools to teach and hire according to the values of their faith. 

    During the election campaign, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would settle this conflict if Labor won government. But this week the PM effectively abandoned the issue, as Scott Morrison did before him. 

    Also, the visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister and Donald Trump’s rather hurtful comments about our Ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd.

    Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss, is chief political correspondent David Crowe and political reporter Natassia Chrysanthos.

    Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.

     
    Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 22 min
    The world’s biggest tech firms are enabling the most nauseating crimes imaginable

    The world’s biggest tech firms are enabling the most nauseating crimes imaginable

    The world’s biggest information and communications companies dominate our lives, in many ways. Google, Apple, Microsoft, among many others - we use their products to write up work reports, store our photos, and send messages to our loved ones. Sometimes hourly.

    And yet, these same companies, according to recent research, are arguably enabling paedophiles to commit the most heinous of crimes against children. On a scale never before seen in human history.

    These companies are also producing the technology needed to crack down on these crimes, so why aren’t they using it?

    Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on the shocking social crisis that’s been hiding in the shadows. And the two government commissioners who are fighting to protect the most vulnerable people in our society.
    Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 21 min

Customer Reviews

3.9 out of 5
1.1K Ratings

1.1K Ratings

Honeybgrrrl ,

Poor research

Your episode on cannabis over prescribing hinged on a patient ‘Gary’ who claimed they were able to fill repeat prescriptions. As a schedule 8 drug, scripts are required to have an interval period between script refills. The period of time varies from Dr to Dr but is typically two weeks or monthly. Gary would not be able to fill that excessive amount all at once. That would most likely be six months worth. Stop with this sensationalism and do better.

jezza.belle ,

Infiltrated by the big boys

I cannot stand my news analysis being interrupted by ads from Ladbroke. Gambling advertising is evil and should be banned.

witnessofadictatorship ,

Corporate propaganda

Hearing the business columnist, never has someone licked the boots of their corporate masters so much. Defending the price gouging when there’s only one grocery shop in town, they’d rather see us starve than have the poor CEO answer for the greed that’s devastating working people.

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