Don't Praise The Machine (DPTM)

We kick off 2026 by looking back exactly 30 years to 1996—the year Google was born, Dolly the sheep was cloned, and the Macarena consumed the world. From Tamagotchis and Nintendo 64 to the Spice Girls and Independence Day, we dissect how much has changed from that era of optimistic stability to today's urgent uncertainty. Join us for a journey through the cultural touchstones that shaped millennials and the strange path that brought us to 2026

It's the most wonderful time and that means the lads are sharing personal wins from the year, looking back at the most impactful episodes of 2025, checking in on the best Gen Z lingo of the last 12 months, and making some bold predictions for 2026.

When and why did we start naming every little niche - and defining ourselves in terms of -cores, vibes and aesthetics?

Australia's much anticipated social media ban for under-16s is about to start. What can we expect? Will it work? And if it does work, will that be a good thing? 

Music is uniquely vulnerable to A.I. destruction. But why? And does anyone care?

For many, Tom Green is a relic of boundary-pushing 90s comedy. But Tom's innovations in podcasting in the early noughties may prove to be his most lasting and underrated legacy.

Whoop whoop! Welcome to the Dark Carnival.

On the eve of the wildly popular Melbourne Cup, we look at Australia's bizarre obsession with gambling. Just how bad is it? And why has it taken hold?