Cut Through

It’s been a terrible year for corporate incompetence, misdeeds and thievery. But amongst all this bad business behaviour, is there a way to objectively determine which company is the worst of them all? Yes, according to politics editor Bernard Keane. So he devised a scoring system and applied it to 58 of Australia’s biggest corporations.This week we awarded the Alan Bond Award for Corporate Misconduct to [SPOILER!]Keane joins the podcast to explain the logic behind his scoring system, the rationale for Crikey’s final ranking, and why Australia’s economy is so vulnerable to these toxic oligopolies.With Qantas, News Corp, Woodside, Google, Crown, Optus, PWC, Hancock Prospecting and Lockheed Martin all jostling to be the best of the worst, listen to find out exactly how we split the hairs. *According to Crikey!Read more:And Australia’s worst company is…Read about our criteria for the award hereThese are Australia’s worst industriesWho’s responsible for our dud companies? Bad management, bad governments — and usGot a tip about bad business behaviour? Contact us securely.Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletterCrikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Blair wants to give Larry Ellison the full NHS data set, to “power AI”. Donald Trump is making trade and tariff threats on behalf of American tech billionaires. And when Mark Zuckerberg wanted changes made to Australian policies, he just called then treasurer Josh Frydenberg direct. Big tech is now inextricable from politics. How did it happen? Crikey's politics reporter Anton Nilsson joins the podcast to discuss his part in the global investigation uncovering exactly how big tech shapes legislation, litigates against governments, and deploys its influence to avoid regulation.Read more:Tony Blair is a tech evangelist with a lot of power. Insiders are worriedRead the draft of Tony Blair’s plan for Gaza, in full‘Australia’s example has spread’: Inside big tech’s global playbook to stop news media bargaining codesInside the US lobby group banking on the $6.7 trillion future of data centresHere’s 20 questions for Google that remain unansweredRead the full Big Tech’s Invisible Hand seriesSign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletterCrikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert cancelled. Journalists fired by right-wing media oligarchs. A president — and the institutions that support him — silencing political dissent. The US has indeed returned to the 1950s, when McCarthyism became a nationwide witch hunt for communists and “subversive” ideology.And it’s catching: the Red Scare-esque hysteria over political speech is evident in Australia, with campaigns against critics of Israel, climate activists and progressive voices supported by government crackdowns. Crikey’s reporter-at-large Charlie Lewis joins the podcast to explain the striking parallels between McCarthyism and the fraught political discourse of 2025. Read more:Welcome to the New McCarthyismAlways partisan, the Supreme Court has contorted itself into the shape dictated by Donald TrumpHow the authoritarian playbook creates a far-right media for the Five Eyes worldPaul Robeson, the ‘Last Tour’ and Australia’s lost historyCharlie Kirk’s martyrdom in the US is to be expected. Here, it’s bafflingSegal’s antisemitism plan would be the deepest intervention in Australian universities since FederationSign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletterCrikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if we told you that US politics is more transparent than Australian politics? Case in point: we know that Gina Rinehart donated money to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s legal defence fund. But how much? The Senator doesn’t have to say.Sean Johnson, founder of Open Politics and author of this week’s Rinehart donation scoop, joins the podcast to explain the many ways politicians can hide assets and keep potential conflicts off the register of interests. With so many loopholes, exemptions and no consequences for failing to disclose, the system is best summed up as, “trust me, bro” — but Johnson has ideas for how we can fix it. Read more:The company they keep: Where does your MP invest their money? Search our databaseGina Rinehart among slew of people bankrolling Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s defamation defenceLandlord List: See how many properties your local MP ownsNothing can force politicians to disclose their conflicts and benefits. That’s a problem.Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletterCrikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a two year battle, the Murdoch family has settled the biggest question about its future: who gets control of daddy's media empire. Three of Rupert Murdoch's adult children, Prudence, James and Elisabeth have agreed to get out of the game, selling their shares in the family trust for US$3.3 billion. Favoured son Lachlan will buy them out and maintain the legacy of staunch conservatism in News Corp and Fox, just as Rupert planned.Crystal Andrews is joined by Crikey founder Stephen Mayne to unpack who gets what in the deal, and what Lachlan plans to do with the media empire. But the feuding is far from over. If a disgruntled James Murdoch wanted to mess with his estranged father and brother, what are his options now? Mayne has some ideas. Read more:For the secretive Murdochs, the succession drama has been a nightmare. It’s far from overWho are the other Murdoch siblings?Rupert Murdoch’s corporate record over 70-plus years as CEO and chairmanHow does News Corp make its money?The Murdoch Century, our series about the legacy of the family’s media empireProject Harmony, our series about Rupert Murdoch’s succession plan for LachlanSign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletterCrikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The “media-baiting” tactics of neo-Nazi groups was on brutal display at the March for Australia rallies last Sunday, with many traditional and new media outlets suckered in to amplifying their hate-filled agenda. How can journalists do responsible reporting without falling into the trap?Cut Through host Crystal Andrews and contributor Scobie McKay discuss the complexities of reporting on the far right and how Australian tabloid media’s obsession with the “freedom movement” is helping neo-Nazis recruit new members. Read more:How neo-Nazi support for a viral anti-immigration rally exposed fractures among ‘freedom’ groupsHow to report on neo-Nazis without giving them what they wantWhy the sovereign citizen movement is no longer a fringe curiosityBefore the horror of Porepunkah, Australia’s media platformed Dezi Freeman for yearsAttack on Camp Sovereignty: How ordinary fears are giving cover to extraordinary hateWhite Rose Society’s 9 Principles for Journalists Reporting On Neo-NazisSign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletterCrikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In just four months, social media platforms will be forced to ban kids aged 16 and under. How will that work? No-one actually knows.Crikey associate editor and tech journalist Cam Wilson has been closely following the progress of the teen social media ban – from the push for a ban by commercial radio host Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli, to the rushed legislation, aggressive lobbying by the tech giants, and, now, a trial of age-verification technology that’s not quite going to plan. He joins Cut Through host Crystal Andrews to explain what the hell is going on, and what you can expect when the results from the tech trial are made public.Read more:How Australia’s teen social media ban tech trial was derailed by expert turmoil and secrecy‘No fucking sense’: The secret deal which removed a ‘crucial’ part of the teen social media banSee the leaked teen social media ban tech trial report that has experts worriedFor parents, the teen social media ban doesn’t have to be perfect to be worthwhileThe Wiggles’ teen social media ban lobbying exposes an uncomfortable truth about young kids and techHow Crikey will report on the teen social media ban (and how we got here in the first place)Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletterCrikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers held his much-hyped Economic Reform Roundtable this week, with politicians and a selective list of experts, leaders and business executives discussing solutions for the challenges facing the Australian economy. Boring? Yeah. But given this three-day meeting will shape the next three federal budgets, it deserves your scrutiny.Economist Jason Murphy joins readers’ editor Crystal Andrews to explain what ‘productivity’ means, why the roundtable was so fixated on this concept and to talk through some of the proposals on housing, tax reform and Centrelink.But patience is the name of this game: Murphy thinks any “success stories” from this roundtable won’t be seen for 10 years or more.Read more:Jim Chalmers wants his economic roundtable to rise above party politics. Good luck!How Jim Chalmers’ ‘boardroom blitz’ roundtable kicked offReader reply: Is it time for a Universal Basic Income?Some taxes are inefficient at any level. Even modest reforms will helpHow the productivity roundtable became a vast gaslighting exercise — and sums up the fatal rot in Australian politicsSign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletterCrikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For years the Labor government has insisted Palestinian statehood could only come “at the end” of a peace process with Israel. This week, Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong announced an abrupt change: the time to recognise the state of Palestine is, apparently, now. Readers’ editor Crystal Andrews and politics editor Bernard Keane discuss what caused the Labor government to shift its position on Palestine. Will Australia ever go beyond symbolic gestures to impose meaningful penalties on Israel? Sanctions aren’t completely off the table — but there’s a reason we won’t lead the way.Read more:Australia sends F-35 jet parts to Israel. Is it legal under international law?NSW Labor MP says he was ‘gagged’ and faced ‘bullying’ after trying to criticise Minns on GazaCould Australia joining the chorus on Palestine tip the balance?The challenge of halting an ally-turned-monster looms larger still for Albanese and WongCash, Joyce, Hastie and co keep pushing Ley’s Coalition (far) right into the marginsSign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletterCrikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first episode of our new weekly podcast, we’re addressing the biggest criticism of Crikey: that we’re too hard or too soft on Labor… and the Coalition. And the Greens, the independents, One Nation. You get the picture. Cut Through host Crystal Andrews speaks to editor-in-chief Sophie Black and politics editor Bernard Keane about how Crikey plans to cover the 48th Parliament, and how journalists and news publishers should be adapting to Australia’s new political landscape. What does it mean to truly scrutinise the people in power, who decides what is “newsworthy”, and why does the media seem to focus on political antics rather than analysis of policy proposals?Plus is the Coalition now so politically irrelevant that the media should ignore it altogether? Read more:How our newsroom plans to cover the 48th Parliament (1:21)‘Background use only’: How Labor justifies its silence on Gaza to the media (12:17)As Bowen jibes the Coalition on climate, he still lets it dictate his policies. Who’s the real joke? (22:08)The grim reaper of Australian politics is back. Finally (18:10)Oppositions and accountability — or, trying for the least worst of both worlds (30:20)Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletterCrikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.