PODCAST · news
The Fifth Estate
by The Wheeler Centre
The Fifth Estate responds to the most important stories of the day and reignites those that have fallen off the front pages.
Episodes
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Can You Keep a Secret? Media Rights and the Need to Know
Sally Warhaft, Peter Cronau and Scott Ludlam in conversation on stage at Bendigo Writers Festival. Why is WikiLeaks so important? What is there to be learned from the documents released? According to the writers in A Secret Australia, the leaking of hidden government documents yielded knowledge...
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New Economic Futures
Sally Warhaft and George Megalogenis Remember March 2020? When Australian borders closed, when we saw the first round of social restrictions? When the disturbing and surreal realities of COVID-19 finally hit home across Australia? March! We were so young. Back then, Sally Warhaft caught up with...
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Breaking the Climate Stalemate
What might the economic and social upheavals of 2020 mean for climate policy in Australia? For this Fifth Estate conversation, host Sally Warhaft brings together Judith Brett and Marian Wilkinson – two writers who have undertaken in-depth research into the resource economy and Australian climate...
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Kevin Rudd on Australia’s Post-Pandemic Future
Sally Warhaft and Kevin Rudd, live via video-link What are the origins of COVID-19? How could the pandemic’s spread have been better contained? These are fraught and complex questions – and finding the right forum to ask them is a diplomatic minefield. How will Australia's call for a World Health...
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Tom Porteous on Human Rights and COVID-19
Sally Warhaft speaks with Tom Porteous, who joined us live from Paris Tom Porteous is a former journalist for the Guardian and the BBC, and an expert on global conflict management and resolution. Now deputy program director at Human Rights Watch, he joined Sally Warhaft live from Paris to discuss...
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Joshua Wong: Unfree Speech
Sally Warhaft, left, and Joshua Wong Joshua Wong was still a teenager when he rose to international prominence as a leader in Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement, protesting increased Chinese Communist Party intervention in the city’s electoral system. ‘That’s the transformation of Hong Kongers …...
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Malcolm Turnbull
Sally Warhaft interviews Malcolm Turnbull – in his home – from the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne In 2015, when Malcolm Turnbull returned to the Liberal Party leadership and assumed the Australian Prime Ministership, he brought with him a passion for free enterprise, a touch of style and a vision…
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State of Emergence
Sally Warhaft, left, and George Megalogenis There is little doubt now that the COVID-19 coronavirus will drastically alter our lives, communities and societies for some time to come. Amid confusing, contradictory or misleading information about how we should respond – and how we should protect...
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Bob Brown: Australia Ablaze
Bob Brown The bushfires that raged across the country this summer have caused environmental and economic damage that will be felt for years to come. In Canberra, they have ignited a frenzy of finger-pointing in every direction. In this Fifth Estate discussion, Sally Warhaft talks with...
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Political Wrap 2019
For the final Fifth Estate of 2019, George Megalogenis returns to reflect with host Sally Warhaft on the year in Australian politics. Sally Warhaft and George Megalogenis They discuss the early manoeuvres of Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese, and the 46th federal parliament. They talk, too…
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Samantha Power on Influence and Idealism
How does a person navigate the change from activist outsider to influential insider? How do you balance idealism and pragmatism under pressure? Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Samantha Power has had to navigate these questions first-hand. From a troubled childhood in Dublin to a career as a war...
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Past Imperfect: Writing Australian History
For this Fifth Estate discussion, we're joined by two prominent historians for a conversation about their careers, and how they have each navigated the changing tropes and traditions of Australian history writing. What role do contemporary historians play in shaping the way all Australians…
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Women's Work
American-born journalist Megan K. Stack is an acclaimed author and war correspondent. She was Moscow bureau chief for the L.A. Times when she made the decision to work from home and look after her newborn child. As her growing family followed her husband’s work through China and India, Stack’s…
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Red State Real Talk: Mia Love
Mia Love Mia Love was once a rising star of the Republican Party. She was the first black female Republican elected to congress, running and winning in Utah's 97% white 4th District in 2015. During her time in office, Love was appointed to the House Financial Services Committee, which oversees…
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Tim Costello
Sally Warhaft and Tim Costello For decades, Tim Costello has been among Australia’s most outspoken voices on issues of social justice and global inequality. Through his work as a minister, as a lawyer and as the mayor of St Kilda council, he’s tackled pressing social issues – from gambling and...
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Family Violence Emergency
Sally Warhaft and Jess Hill The recent book by Jess Hill, See What You Made Me Do, calls for a drastic and urgent rethink in the way we conceive of family violence in Australia. Rigorously researched, and packed with interviews and case studies, it's a once-in-a-generation book that asks us to…
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Foreign Affairs
Sally Warhaft and Michael Fullilove What is Australia’s place in the world? How are we getting along with our neighbours? And how is our international outlook changing? For this conversation, Sally Warhaft is joined by executive director of the Lowy Institute, Michael Fullilove. The pair discuss...
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Plots and Prayers
Sally Warhaft and Niki Savva When Julia Gillard overthrew Kevin Rudd in 2010 it was as if the Canberra sky fell in. In the years since, we’ve seen Rudd the Second punished by the electorate and Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull each dispatched by their own party. This year, something changed.…
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Medicine and Healthcare in Australia
Sally Warhaft, Ranjana Srivastava and Gustav Nossal There's much to celebrate in the history of Australian medicine and medical care – from the famous breakthrough in penicillin to the development of the Gardasil vaccine. Our Medicare model is the envy of many countries. But have we become...
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Post-Election Wrap 2019
Sally Warhaft and Paul Kelly A month on from the federal election, once the dust has settled, we take an in-depth look at the events of 18 May and discuss what we might expect from the new Morrison government. With a mandate, and likely a revamped front bench, can Scott Morrison unite a fractured...
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In the Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy
Sally Warhaft and Frédéric Martel The Catholic Church, writes Frédéric Martel, is ‘a system built ... on the homosexual double life and on the most dizzying homophobia … Without this key for understanding, the recent history of the Vatican and the Roman Church remains opaque.' How is Martel...
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Jill Abramson
Sally Warhaft and Jill Abramson on stage at the Athenaeum Theatre — Photo: Scott Limbrick How should the media survive the current age? It’s a question that haunts the bones of many in the industry, and a through-line of Merchants of Truth, a bracing new account of American journalism’s moral...
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Right or Duty? Compulsory Voting in Australia
Sally Warhaft, Kim Rubenstein and Judith Brett In a democracy, should voting be a citizen’s right or a citizen’s duty? Australia is one of a small number of countries – including Argentina and Egypt – with mandatory voting. Australia is rare, within this small group of nations, in imposing...
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On Hate
When, and how, does hate flourish in a society? How is hate spreading in our society? When do speech acts qualify as acts of hate? Who is encouraging the spread of hate, and what do they have to gain? In this conversation, we’ll discuss the disturbing rise of nationalist populism in Australia...
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Federal Election 2019
After yet another year of chaos in the Australian Parliament, a federal election looms. For an in-depth discussion of the context – and possible outcome – of the vote, Sally Warhaft will be joined by two veterans of Australian political circles: journalist Michelle Grattan and former Liberal…
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Kassem Eid: My Country
Sally Warhaft and Kassem Eid on stage at the Wheeler Centre In 2013, Kassem Eid narrowly escaped death when Bashar al-Assad’s government unleashed a now-infamous sarin gas attack on Ghouta, Syria. It wasn’t just sarin: the area was also bombarded by mortar fire. At least 1500 people died. Eid...
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Political Wrap 2018
For the final Fifth Estate of 2018 – and in the wake of the Victorian election and its recriminations – we look back at the year in Australian politics with series host Sally Warhaft and seasoned political observers George Megalogenis and Gabrielle Chan. Our panellists unpack and reflect on the...
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Kerry O'Brien
Sally Warhaft and Kerry O'Brien — Photo: Jon Tjhia Kerry O'Brien at the Wheeler Centre — Photo: Jon Tjhia ‘We absolutely cannot make any assumptions about the future of democracy in this country.’ Kerry O'Brien, in conversation with Sally Warhaft He’s interviewed Nelson Mandela, David Bowie,...
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US Midterms and Beyond
Sally Warhaft, Bob Carr and Dennis Altman The 2018 midterm elections in the United States will be held on Tuesday 6 November. In the heated, highly partisan atmosphere in Washington – and indeed across the whole of the United States – the stakes feel higher than ever. Two years into Donald…
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Foreign Affairs
Sally Warhaft and Stephen Smith — Photo: Scott Limbrick As we hurtle towards the end of 2018, it’s clear we’ve entered a period of increased volatility and uncertainty in global relations. The world's two major powers are locked in a trade war, the European Union is looking decidedly shaky and…
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Christianity Today
Sally Warhaft and Greg Sheridan In 1966, 88% of Australians identified as Christian in the census. By the 2016 census, the proportion had dipped to 52%. The number of Christians who attend church regularly is even lower. How has Christianity gone from being at the centre of Australian cultural…
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Media, Police and Crimes Against Women
How is journalism changing when it comes to reporting on crimes against women? Why do some crimes, and some victims, get more press than others? And how does media coverage affect police investigations and the pursuit of justice in specific criminal cases? For this Fifth Estate conversation…
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Katharine Murphy
Sally Warhaft and Katharine Murphy at The Fifth Estate ‘Conflict is not a new commodity in news,’ Katharine Murphy has written. ‘ … But media disruption has intensified the conflict cycle, compressing it into smaller, louder, intraday bursts, and those constant interruptions have a material…
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David Neiwert
Sally Warhaft and David Neiwert — Photo: Sophie Quick At Melbourne Writers Festival, journalist, author and acknowledged expert in American right-wing extremism David Neiwert speaks with Sally Warhaft about journalism, media and politics in the context of the alt-right in Trump’s America. See...
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Masha Gessen
Masha Gessen is an award-winning author and a staff writer at The New Yorker. She speaks to Sally Warhaft about The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, her non-fiction 2017 National Book Award-winning work that charts the coming-of-age of four Russians born in the early…
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Whitewash: Crops, Corruption and Cancer
Glyphosate is the most widely used weed-killer in the world. It’s the active ingredient in Roundup, the flagship agricultural herbicide sold by Monsanto, and it’s used in more than 130 countries including Australia. Glyphosate is in our parks, gardens, golf-courses and playgrounds. And it’s in…
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Les Hinton
With Sally Warhaft, Les Hinton – Rupert Murdoch's right-hand man for more than 50 years – talks about the past, present and future of the mainstream press … as well as life alongside the man he calls ‘an authentic colossus’. Sally Warhaft and Les Hinton — Photo: Jon Tjhia Hinton has enjoyed both…
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Tracey Spicer
For this episode, Fifth Estate host Sally Warhaft welcomes Tracey Spicer to the Wheeler Centre for a conversation about her accomplished, diverse and fearless life and career in Australian journalism – and the challenges and opportunities arising from the popular movements seeking to correct...
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Public Health and Drug Policy Today
Sally Warhaft, Richard Di Natale and Fiona Patten in discussion at the Wheeler Centre — Photo: Jon Tjhia In the 1980s, Australia was an early adopter of free needle syringe distribution programmes. At the height of the AIDS epidemic, this controversial harm-reduction strategy played a crucial…
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Katy Tur: Reporting Trump
Sally Warhaft and Katy Tur — Photo: Jon Tjhia Katy Tur, sometimes known as ‘Little Katy, third-rate reporter’, is an award-winning NBC News correspondent. She covered Donald Trump’s campaign from day one and quickly made an enemy of the future president. Tur travelled to 40 states during the...
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Derryn Hinch
Sally Warhaft and Derryn Hinch — Photo: Jon Tjhia Derryn Hinch is among the Australian media’s most controversial and unpredictable characters. He’s the former editor of the Sun and the former New York bureau chief for Fairfax. He’s been sacked from high-rating shows on Channel Seven and 3AW and...
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Australia's #MeToo
Left to right: Sally Warhaft, George McEncroe and Kate McClymont — Photo: Emily Harms How do headline-grabbing stories about powerful figures in the media affect the broader Australian culture? The #MeToo movement began in the US – with the Harvey Weinstein revelations in October 2017 – and it...
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The President's Pen
Pat Cunnane — Photo: Jon Tjhia ‘What’s a POTUS?’ Pat Cunnane, aged 22, asked a co-worker this question on one of his first days working at the White House. It’s safe to say he figured out the answer pretty quickly, rising from his first job as White House media monitor to become the senior writer...
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Jacqui Lambie
Sally Warhaft and Jacqui Lambie — Photo: Jon Tjhia Jacqui Lambie is hot-blooded, unpredictable and often startlingly candid. Rising to public office with the Palmer United Party in 2013, she quickly outplayed her billionaire party leader, and struck out on her own as an independent for Tasmania…
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Political Wrap
For the final Fifth Estate of 2017, Sally Warhaft and guests George Megalogenis and Alice Workman look back at the year in Australian politics. The panel dive deep into the issues that have dominated this year’s domestic headlines, from energy policy to housing affordability. They look at the…
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Sam Dastyari
Senator Sam Dastyari is among the youngest politicians in Canberra, but in just a few years, he’s attracted more attention than many politicians garner over their entire careers. The combination of compelling backstory – told in his new book, One Halal of a Story – and industrial-strength…
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Incorrigible Optimist
Gareth Evans Gareth Evans was at the centre of Australian politics for much of his 21 years in parliament, serving as cabinet minister in both the Hawke and Keating Labor governments. His term as foreign minister, from 1988 to 1996, marked a pivotal time in Australian foreign affairs – and the...
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High Court
In recent times, it seems the Australian Constitution has been in the headlines more often than not. Accordingly, the High Court has been in the spotlight, too. What are our expectations of the judiciary with regard to keeping the other branches of government in check? How well do citizens, and...
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Hindu Nationalism in India
Sally Warhaft, Shashi Tharoor and Meena Kandasamy — Photo: Sophie Quick In 2014, Narendra Modi swept into power as Prime Minister of India; he did so on a pro-business, pro-development platform and on a wave of Hindu nationalism. It was a spectacular victory and, if the decisive recent state...
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Alfred Deakin and the Art of Minority Government
Judith Brett Alfred Deakin, Australia’s second Prime Minister, spent 32 years in politics. Renowned for his oratorical ability, superb negotiation skills and workable minority governments, he served as Prime Minister for three separate terms in the turbulent first decade of the new Commonwealth.…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Fifth Estate responds to the most important stories of the day and reignites those that have fallen off the front pages.
HOSTED BY
The Wheeler Centre
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Fifth Estate have?
The Fifth Estate currently has 100 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Fifth Estate about?
The Fifth Estate responds to the most important stories of the day and reignites those that have fallen off the front pages.
How often does The Fifth Estate release new episodes?
The Fifth Estate has 100 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Fifth Estate?
You can listen to The Fifth Estate on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Fifth Estate?
The Fifth Estate is created and hosted by The Wheeler Centre.
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