7am

Next election the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will have a new contender for his Sydney seat, with commentator and Cheek Media founder Hannah Ferguson announcing she’s taking a tilt.

She says she’s started canvassing locals to find out what they want from their representative, and that she’s already been warned that attempts to build a dirt file on her have begun.
Today, we speak with Hannah Ferguson, and political journalist Karen Middleton, about what it takes to actually oust a PM, and what else could be in store.

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Guest: Candidate for Grayndler Hannah Ferguson and press gallery journalist Karen Middleton
Photo: AAP Image/ Lukas Coch
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After a chaotic 24 hours of backroom plotting and mounting pressure, the Victorian premier resigned.
Jacinta Allan’s replacement, and former deputy leader Ben Carroll, now has just four months to turn Labor’s fortunes around in what’s shaping up to be the most unpredictable election the state has ever seen.
Polls show an unprecedented three-party contest – with voters split, almost equally, between the unpopular Labor government, an Opposition ridden by scandal, and a rising One Nation.
Today, ABC Melbourne Mornings host Raf Epstein on what Labor’s change of leader means for an already chaotic election race and whether Australia’s most progressive state could turn orange.

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Guest: ABC Radio Melbourne host Raf Epstein
Photo: AAP Image/James Ross
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Cory Doctorow is the author and tech critic who brought us the term ‘enshittification’ – which refers to the gradual decline in the quality of digital platforms and services over time.
Now he’s warning that what we’ve been led to believe is the inevitable march of AI towards world domination isn’t that inevitable after all, and actually what we’re marching towards could be the end of the AI bubble.
Because every time you ask ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini a question, companies like OpenAI are losing money. The more we use, the more they lose.
And while those AI giants burn through billions of dollars a year, gambling that eventually they’ll figure out how to turn it into a profitable business, the world’s economy is hanging in the balance.
Today, Cory Doctorow, on why the AI boom is being pushed into every part of our lives and what happens when the bubble bursts.

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

Cory Doctorow is in Australia this August for appearances at Sydney’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas, and in Melbourne at The Capitol, presented by The Wheeler Centre and Now or Never. His new book, The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI, is out via Verso

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Guest: Author Cory Doctorow
Photo: AAP Image/James Ross
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Alan Joyce was once one of Australia’s most admired business leaders.
By the time he left Qantas, he had become one of the country’s most hated men.
His final years at the airline were marked by unlawful sackings, cancelled flights, withheld refunds and a collapse in public trust. But in a new memoir, Riding the Jet Stream, Joyce defends many of the decisions that made him a symbol of corporate arrogance and public distrust.
Today, former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, on what he believes Australians got wrong about him – and whether he accepts responsibility for the damage done to the Qantas brand on his watch.

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Guest: Former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce
Photo: AAP Image/Joel Carrett
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When Robert F Kennedy Jr was sworn in as Health and Human Services Secretary, his confirmation came off the back of a fiery questioning from Democrats and Republicans alike about RFK Jr’s record on vaccines. And under oath, RFK Jr denied he was against them.
But now, Reuters reports he considered scrapping the entire childhood immunisation schedule, removing polio and MMR vaccines, and spending five billion dollars investigating the disproven link between vaccines and autism.
Kennedy has spent two decades campaigning against vaccines, using his famous name to become one of the movement’s most prominent figures.
Today, we return to our conversation with investigative journalist Brian Deer, on Kennedy’s anti-vaccine campaign – and the deadly consequences of vaccine misinformation in Samoa.
This episode was originally published in February 2025.

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: Investigative journalist Brian Deer
Photo: AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.