News Weakly

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah takes a deep dive into Pauline Hanson’s first National Press Club address and the global rise of populist politics.From multiculturalism and immigration to childcare, abortion, transgender rights, and the meaning of “Australian culture”, Hanson’s speech offers a masterclass in the political lessons democracies keep refusing to learn from Donald Trump.What does “monoculture” actually mean? Is Australia already a shared civic culture? And why do major parties keep responding to populists by adopting parts of their argument?And one more thing: News Weakly is now completely ad-free. No sponsors. No mining companies. No meal kits. No cryptocurrency exchanges run by fugitives. Just listener support through Patreon and the ongoing collapse of civilisation.All that, and more.Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul MottramThis podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks at how every political problem somehow ends up being blamed on immigrants.Comedian Dave Hughes goes viral railing against Labor’s housing policies, permanent residents, and falling property values, accidentally arriving at the same talking points that have fuelled One Nation’s resurgence. Meanwhile, anti-immigration riots erupt in Belfast after a violent crime becomes a vehicle for broader fears about migration, identity, and social decline.The episode explores why housing affordability, wage stagnation, and cost-of-living pressures keep getting reframed as migration problems instead of policy failures, and how media personalities help launder increasingly extreme ideas into “common sense”.Plus: Pauline Hanson’s political comeback, Barnaby Joyce’s confusion about what a permanent resident actually is, and the algorithmic pipeline turning ageing celebrities into grievance influencers.All that, and more.Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul MottramThis podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah dives into the latest Australian culture war, where an autism podcast somehow becomes a referendum on Israel, Gaza, free speech, antisemitism, cancellation, and who should be allowed to work.The ABC finds itself under fire after commissioning a podcast hosted by Grace Tame, despite controversy surrounding her comments about October 7, Hamas sexual violence, and the phrase "globalise the intifada". Meanwhile, Charlie Pickering discovers the dangers of talking to Avi Yemini, and Australia once again debates whether disagreement should be answered with argument or unemployment.Along the way, Sami examines the Jayson Gillham controversy, the limits of institutional neutrality, why cancellation campaigns rarely achieve their stated goals, and the difference between offensive speech, political speech, artistic speech, and work that is itself the speech.All that, and more.Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul MottramThis podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks at what happens when political parties mistake nostalgia for strategy and spreadsheets for compassion.Tony Abbott returns as Liberal Party president, raising questions about whether the Coalition plans to solve its existential crisis or simply appoint it to a leadership role. Meanwhile, sweeping changes to the NDIS could see hundreds of thousands of Australians lose access to support, generating considerably less outrage than proposed tax changes affecting property investors.Plus, BHP’s green ambitions collide with leaked internal documents, KPMG discovers the risks of ignoring whistleblowers, and Donald Trump attempts to resolve the Iran conflict by threatening… Oman.All that, and more.Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul MottramThis podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks at what happens when populism accidentally stumbles into good policy while everything else quietly catches fire.The federal government tweaks negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions, triggering a media meltdown from a property-owning class suddenly discovering class warfare. Meanwhile, Pauline Hanson unveils a gas policy so interventionist it accidentally sounds Scandinavian.Australia also discovers compassion for “boat people” when the people on the boats happen to be Australian activists detained by Israel during the Gaza flotilla interception.Plus: literary fiction panics after an allegedly AI-generated short story gets shortlisted for a major prize, and Elon Musk’s gutting of USAID collides with a growing Ebola outbreak in Africa.All that, and more.Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul MottramThis podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks at what happens when politics stops pretending to care equally about everyone.Labor’s latest budget is compared to the brutal Abbott-Hockey austerity budget of 2014, revealing how conservative outrage mysteriously only appears when wealthy Australians lose tax advantages. Meanwhile, the Albanese government finally responds to gambling reform recommendations with a plan so timid it feels focus-grouped by Sportsbet itself.In the UK, Labour MPs appear ready to repeat the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years at high speed, threatening to hand Nigel Farage the easiest political opening of his life.Plus: Coles gets caught playing games with “Down Down” pricing, and the Royal Commission into antisemitism exposes something darker than political disagreement — a growing public instinct to explain away Jewish fear rather than confront it.All that, and more.Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul MottramThis podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.