7am

In politics, there’s nothing quite like a book launch to remind everyone you’re here if they need.
Josh Frydenberg is back, with a new book, some pointed criticism of his party, and perhaps an eye on a return to Canberra. Meanwhile, Angus Taylor is steering the Liberals firmly to the right, although even that hasn’t spared him a heckling from the conservative faithful.
For Anthony Albanese, it’s a welcome distraction from what has been a torrid couple of weeks for the government. His own MPs are getting restless, and the prime minister's own confidence isn’t proving contagious.
Today, columnist Paul Bongiorno on the Liberals’ competing visions, Labor’s midterm blues, and a prime minister waiting for the wind to change.

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Guest: Press gallery veteran Paul Bongiorno
Photo: AAP Image/Sarah Wilson
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After a decade of fighting and billions spent on American weapons, Saudi Arabia still hasn’t defeated the Houthis.
Instead, the Iranian-backed armed movement from Yemen, one of the Middle East’s poorest countries, is breaching Saudi defences with cheap drones and missiles, striking airports and oil infrastructure.
This week, an attack on the passenger terminal at Riyads’s international airport killed 13 people and injured at least 320.
With the US already fighting a war with Iran, Saudi Arabia is now pressing Donald Trump to intervene against the Houthis. But is Trump prepared to open another front in the Middle East in order to help a country in which his family has business interests?
Today, Journalist Akbar Shahid Ahmed on the continued rise of the Houthis, and the pressure on Trump to intervene.

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Guest: Diplomatic Correspondent at The Washington Sun, Akbar Shahid Ahmed
Photo: EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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For generations, Australians could reasonably expect that their lives would be more prosperous than their parents.
But over recent years, that bargain has started to break down.
Productivity growth has barely moved for a decade. We’re working more hours, without producing much more for each hour we work, and that stagnation is showing up in incomes, living standards and rising interest rates.
Now with economic growth under pressure, the government is betting that new technology, particularly artificial intelligence, can help turn things around.
Today, Productivity Commission Chair Danielle Wood, on why Australia has stopped becoming more productive, whether AI can change that, and what happens if it can’t.

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Guest: Productivity Commission Chair Danielle Wood
Photo: AAP Image/Dean Lewins
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In 2009, US Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan opened fire on fellow soldiers and civilians at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, killing 13 people and wounding 32. He was sentenced to death in 2013 for the attack, which he described as an act of jihad.
Now the Trump administration has scheduled his execution by firing squad for December 3. And Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says he wants the public to watch via livestream.
It’s the latest example of an administration willing to put its use of deadly force on display – from sharing videos of boats being blown up in the Caribbean, to turning military strikes on Iran into social media content.
So why is the US so determined to show off its military muscle?

Today, journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin, on the growing spectacle of American state violence – and what happens when killing becomes something to watch and celebrate.

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Guest: Journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin
Photo: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
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The Coalition is saying that soon, you won’t be able to criticise the Prime Minister on the internet.
It’s part of its campaign against Labor’s proposed Digital Duty of Care – which the opposition has branded the “Albo-rithm”, arguing it would give the government the power to decide what Australians can see and say online.
So what’s actually in the government’s bill? And how far does it go towards addressing the harms created by social media and its algorithms?
Today, Digital Rights Watch chair Lizzie O’Shea on whether Labor can force Big Tech to change what we’re served – and why Donald Trump’s White House has now weighed in.

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: Chair of Digital Rights Watch, Lizzie O’Shea
Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.