7am

Last year, Tracy Hall was sent a dating profile that sent chills down her spine. The name on the profile was different, but the image was that of notorious conman Hamish McLaren.
He had been jailed for scamming 15 Australians out of $7.6 million – including Tracy, his girlfriend and final victim, whose life savings he stole after meeting her under a fake identity.
Now, as McLaren prepares for release on parole this week, Tracy says the systems that allowed him into her life still haven’t been fixed.
Today, Tracy Hall on the conman who stole her life savings, the growing romance scam industry costing Australians tens of millions of dollars a year, and whether dating apps are doing enough to protect the people using them.

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Guest: Romance scam advocate and survivor Tracy Hall
Photo: Supplied
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For generations of Australians, Powderfinger songs are tied to first loves, long drives, share houses, break-ups and summers that still feel close enough to touch.
They were written by people, played by a band, and carried by listeners into their own lives.
Now, that music has been found inside the machinery of artificial intelligence, harvested into vast datasets without permission and without payment.
At the same time, the federal government is fending off whistleblower claims of a “dirty deal” with tech giants that would give AI access to Australian music and art in exchange for billion dollar investments
Today, Bernard Fanning on what happens when machines are trained on our songs, and who gets to tell Australian stories, us or AI.

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Guest: Bernard Fanning
Photo: bernardfanning.com
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It’s been one year since Kumanjayi Walker’s family gathered in the Central Australian community of Yuendumu, to hear the findings of a coronial inquest into his death.
Kumanjayi Walker, a 19 year old Warlpiri-Luritja man, when he was shot and killed by former constable Zachary Rolfe in 2019.
In 2022, Zachary Rolfe was found not guilty of Kumanjayi Walker’s murder, but his family has always maintained that Rolfe’s racism played a role in Walker’s death – something the coroner said couldn’t be ruled out.

Today, we’re bringing you an episode recorded just after the inquest, with investigative journalist Kate Wild – whose book, The Red House, examines Kumanjayi Walker’s death and how the racist culture of the Northern Territory Police enabled Zachary Rolfe to act with impunity.
This episode was originally published in July 2025.

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Guest: Investigative journalist and author of The Red House, Kate Wild
Photo: AAP Image/Aaron Bunch
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Pauline Hanson went to the National Press Club with a party polling like a threat to the old order. Then she had to explain what that party was actually for.
Since her appearance, One Nation’s federal support has slipped. The speech, with its talk of monoculture and its familiar targets – migration, the ABC and renewables – gave voters a clearer look at the movement behind the momentum.
But the story doesn’t end there.
In Victoria, where the state election is now months away, One Nation is polling better than the Labor government. And now, Hanson’s message is being carried by a loud cast of celebrity sympathisers.
Today, founder and CEO of Cheek Media Hannah Ferguson on what happens when One Nation is no longer just a protest vote, and how the Liberals and the Greens have struggled to take advantage of an electorate clearly in the mood for change.

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

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Guest: Cheek Media founder Hannah Ferguson
Photo: Instagram @karlstefanovic_
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Donald Trump returned to the White House promising to make America the crypto capital of the world, despite having once dismissed Bitcoin as “not money” and warned it was “based on thin air” in a 2019 tweet.
In his first year back in office, Trump has set that scepticism aside as it has become clear crypto presents an extraordinary business opportunity.
A new financial disclosure hints at just how lucrative those ventures have become, with Trump disclosing more than $1.4 billion USD in income from family crypto ventures last year, raising questions about how far a president can go in turning public office into a money-making machine.
Today, journalist and research director for Public Citizen’s Trump Accountability Project, Zach Everson, on Donald Trump’s crypto empire and the new frontier of political corruption in America.

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

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Guest: Journalist and research director for Public Citizen’s Trump Accountability Project, Zach Everson
Photo: AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.