7am

For more than a decade, Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has been talking about gambling addiction.
His advocacy means he’s become a lightning rod for people to share their stories.
Now, as the government this week passed legislation aimed at reducing gambling harms, Wilkie is among an angry group of dissenters who say the bill is a “national shame”.

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Guest: Independent MP Andrew Wilkie
Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
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In 2022, Masha Alyokhina escaped Russia disguised as a food delivery courier.
She had spent years being arrested, imprisoned and watched by the state for her work with punk rock protest group Pussy Riot and for speaking out against Vladimir Putin.
But Alyokhina says the Russia she fled wasn’t transformed by one dramatic moment. Repression came piece by piece, until fear, censorship and eventually silence became part of everyday life.
Now, she says the same pattern is taking hold elsewhere, as people become overwhelmed, disengaged from politics, and complacent that the freedoms they inherited will simply endure.
Today, Pussy Riot’s Masha Alyokhina on what Putin’s Russia can teach us about authoritarianism, and why democracy can never be taken for granted.

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Guest: Pussy Riot’s Maria (Masha) Alyokhina
Photo: AAP Image/Kelly Barnes
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When news broke this week of an alleged sexual assault involving the Sydney Swans AFL team in Melbourne, old faultlines in the way the sport handles accusations against its players re-ignited.
Everything from the players involved, to the language used by the club, and the way the media reported the allegations, came under the microscope.
So how much has changed when it comes to footy players doing the wrong thing. And what would a good response from the AFL look like?
Today, journalist and author of Night Games, Anna Krien, on the way forward for the AFL.

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Guest: Journalist and author of Night Games Anna Krien
Photo: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi
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Over six days of public hearings, Australians with a disability told parliament what losing NDIS support would mean for their independence, their families, and their everyday lives.
Despite more than 4,000 submissions and calls for reforms to be paused, the government’s overhaul of the scheme passed the senate yesterday, with support from the Coalition.
By tightening access and reducing some supports, the changes are forecast to save $37.8 billion over the next 4 years. But advocates warn the cuts will leave people worse off, and shift the costs onto families, hospitals and the states.
Today, CEO of Women with Disabilities Australia Sophie Cusworth, on what these reforms mean for people who rely on the NDIS, and if the scheme can be made sustainable without leaving people behind.

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Guest: CEO of Women with Disabilities Australia Sophie Cusworth
Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch
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Last week Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for fewer childhood vaccines, sprouting links to autism – which have been definitively disproved by scientists and health organisations around the world.
During Trump’s second term, the misinformation from the president and his health secretary, RFK Jr, has been relentless – undermining public trust in vaccines, as outbreaks of previously eliminated diseases flare up again.
Today, Professor of Public Health at the University of Sydney’s Infectious Diseases Institute Julie Leask on the politicisation of antivax sentiment, and the implications for Australia

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Guest: Professor of Public Health Julie Leask
Photo: Bonnie Cash/EPA
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