The positive power of petitions and the struggle of living with long COVID

For a long time signing an online petition was seen as the slackest form of activism. But now the digital world has supercharged petitions. Australia's under 16 social media ban started as an online petition. Supported by regular people, calling for change. Whether it's slowing down traffic on your street or shaking up national policy, petitions can give regular people power. Julie-Ann Finney led a petition calling for a Royal Commission into Veteran suicides. Paige Mulholland is communications manager at Change.org and Dr Sky Croeser is a senior lecturer in Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry at Curtin University.

Last week, New South Wales' first public long COVID clinic announced it will close its doors at the end of the month. In a statement, St Vincent's Hospital said patients who had been visiting the clinic would continue to receive the same comprehensive care but "within well-established clinical frameworks and with specialist input available as required". The statement also said: "Patients currently under the care of the Long COVID Service will be contacted directly by our team in the coming days to discuss their transition and ongoing symptom management." But the clinic's closure is leaving many long COVID patients frustrated and angry... and unsure exactly how they will manage their condition, which is complex and can be debilitating. And as we approach the sixth anniversary of COVID first surfacing ... patients, clinicians and researchers are still grappling with some basic questions. Why are some people struck down with long COVID and not others? How can we better diagnose it? What treatments will help the most? And how can we ensure all Australians have access to this help? Charlotte Sangster is living with long COVID and Dr Emma Tippett is a Clinical Research Fellow at the Burnet Institute and Founder of the Clinic Nineteen.

If you're on any kind of social media, you may have seen this mythical dessert popping up everywhere. Dubai chocolate. It's milk chocolate, filled with pistachio cream. But what's really remarkable is how much it costs - about $25 for a standard-sized block. There's the same excitement around Labubus, Ooshies, and even - if you were around in the 90s - the Beanie Baby craze. So, is an item going viral enough to make it worth something? Dr Paul Harrison, Deakin University's head of Consumer Behaviour, discusses what makes some trends reach fever pitch... and others fizzle.

In our regular segment My Two Cents, we ask those questions you'd rather not answer about money. In this episode, hear how veteran rock and roller Mick Thomas of Weddings, Parties, Anything and The Roving Commission, makes his money decisions.