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Punching news in the headlines!
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196. News Weakly 196: Not Talking 'Bout the Revolution
01:05:54||Season 1, Ep. 196NEWS WEAKLY 196 – 17th January 2026Top Stories of the WeekRunning From IranA nationwide internet blackout, mass killings, exile fantasies, and the danger of confusing silence for stability.Albo Hates HateAfter Bondi, Australia reaches for sweeping hate laws that try to arrest a feeling instead of fixing a mechanism, while New Zealand’s Christchurch response still quietly embarrasses us.Writers Read the RoomAdelaide Writers’ Week is cancelled, apologised for, then retroactively justified, proving once again that institutions love free speech right up until they have to defend it.Kevin Oh SuccessionKevin Rudd exits Washington and Canberra realises the next US ambassador’s main qualification is surviving Donald Trump without triggering an alliance incident.PlusA deep dive into how “foreign meddling” narratives poison solidarity, why cultural institutions keep mistaking safety for optics, and how despair gets rebranded as pragmatism.And at the end of the episode, a bonus feature:Mocking the News – Sami’s documentary exploring how satire collides with journalism, objectivity, and power, and why jokes sometimes end up telling the truth faster than headlines.Quote of the Week“Silence isn’t stability. It’s just what violence sounds like once it’s done its job.”Support the Showpatreon.com/samishahSami 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.
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195. Quick Announcement about my new documentary!
01:32||Season 1, Ep. 195Just a quick announcement that the next episode of News Weakly will contain a bonus audio documentary about News Satire.195. News Weakly 195 - The Empire Forgets to Whisper
23:46||Season 1, Ep. 195NEWS WEAKLY 195 – 10 January 2026This week on News Weakly, the empire stops pretending, the internet gets unplugged, a royal commission settles in for the long haul, and a writers’ festival demonstrates once again that its strongest literary skill is drafting a press release explaining why someone has been quietly uninvited.ALSO IN THIS EPISODE• Trump abandons subtlety entirely, floats Greenland acquisition, and introduces the Donroe Document, which sounds less like foreign policy and more like a hostile takeover clause.• Iran responds to nationwide protests by pulling the internet plug, proving once again that authoritarian crisis management always starts with “have you tried turning the country off and on again?”• A long, uncomfortable look at how free speech gets hollowed out not by ideology, but by boards, risk assessments, and the quiet terror of a bad headline.QUOTE OF THE WEEK“Trump didn’t end the international order. He ended the bedtime story version of it.”SUPPORT THE SHOWIf you enjoy long arguments disguised as comedy, consider supporting the show on Patreon: patreon.com/samishahSami 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.194. News Weakly 194 - Ahmed Al Ahmed teaches Journalism 101
20:37||Season 1, Ep. 194NEWS WEAKLY 194 – Media Ethics, Paper Wars, and a Currency in Freefall03 January 2026TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK• A terror hero meets Australian media ethics• Humanitarian aid fails an ideological compliance test• Iran’s economy collapses again• Australia’s regulator regulates itselfQUOTE OF THE WEEK“You don’t pay for interviews. Not in cash. Not in gifts. Definitely not in hotel suites.”SUPPORT THE SHOWNews Weakly is listener-supported and ad-light by choice.If you’d like to support the show and keep it independent, you can join the Patreon at:http://patreon.com/samishahSami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.For more: http://thesamishah.comTheme music ‘Historic Anticipation’ by Paul Mottram193. News Weakly 193 - Overwrought Analogy For Curbs On Free Speech
12:24||Season 1, Ep. 193NEWS WEAKLY 193 - 24th Dec, 2025Temporary Democracy, Permanent ConsequencesThis week on News Weakly, grief turns into legislation at speed, history offers an inconvenient warning, and Australia tests whether banning protest actually makes anyone safer.QUOTE OF THE WEEK“You don’t delete anger by banning protest. You just move it somewhere else.”SUPPORT THE SHOWIf you value sharp analysis without billionaire backing or emergency legislation energy, consider supporting the show on Patreon.👉 https://patreon.com/samishahSami 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.192. News Weakly 192 - Politics Before Pain
15:50||Season 1, Ep. 192NEWS WEAKLY – 20 Dec, 2025TOP STORIES OF THE WEEKA national tragedy becomes a political talking pointAlso, why the antisemitism plan didn’t come with a time machineAll that, and more, on News Weakly.Quote of the Week“You can’t spend a decade attacking the fire brigade and then act shocked when the hose pressure isn’t what you wanted.”Support the ShowIf you value independent satire that takes the news seriously without treating it gently, you can support News Weakly on Patreon.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.191. News Weakly 191 - Conditional Condolences
16:47||Season 1, Ep. 191NEWS WEAKLY – Episode 191Conditional Condolences17th December, 2025This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah delivers a long-form editorial on the Bondi attack and the reaction that followed, focusing not on the crime itself but on the way grief gets filtered, qualified, and politically managed online.Support the showIf you value independent, listener-supported satire, you can support News Weakly on Patreon.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.