Australia vs the Internet: Misinformation overload
To scroll through social media during an election campaign in 2025 is to experience some of the worst misinformation. But an online soup of bots spouting partisan talking points wasn’t inevitable, even in recent years. After the 2016 election of US President Donald Trump and UK vote for Brexit, it was clear that online platforms like Facebook and Twitter were used to target voters with misinformation and disrupt political discourse enough to sway elections. As a result, the social media giants really tried to crack down on harmful content spreading online…or at least they pretended to.But in the last year or so, they’ve almost completely given up… and the vast digital sea of misinformation has become more dangerous than ever. If you're around Newcastle on the 18th of May, come along to the live show of If You're Listening at the Young People's Theatre - tickets available here: https://yptninc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/149193Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq
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25:40
Australia vs the Internet: RIP your newsfeed
When US President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, the world’s three wealthiest people stood right behind him, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. All own massive online platforms. These tech billionaires are now major political players in their own right, but for the last 15 years the platforms they control have shaped political debate, changed how people feel about their governments and gathered information on voters that tells politicians which buttons to push. The Australian government has attempted to force the social media giants to pay for the news that they profit from and that worked… for a little while. But in the last year the broligarchs have torn up those contracts and are embracing a brave new newsless world – which isn’t great news for Australia’s upcoming federal election.Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq
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24:30
The secret weapon that changed war forever
In the middle of the 1800s, the Confederate army built a stealth vessel that could travel undetected underwater to give them the military edge over the Union...so did it work and how has it impacted military innovation since? In this special episode of If You’re Listening, Matt Bevan sits down with Marc Fennell to talk about his new ABC RN show, “No One Saw It Coming”. Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.
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31:49
Australia vs the Internet
You’re not losing your mind, the internet is different now. The 2025 Australian federal election will be the first in a decade where news isn’t readily available on social media, and there’s no effort to fact check or moderate what is there. The billionaires behind the major tech platforms aren’t just background characters in politics anymore; they’re centre stage, making decisions around misinformation, bankrolling candidates, generating content that aligns with their own ideology and broadcasting it to the masses. Not only has the fight against misinformation online been lost, sometimes social media feels entirely divorced from reality. While the United States government has been incapable of regulating the tech giants, and now seems to have been taken over by them, Australia has made multiple attempts to push back. In this series from If You’re Listening, Australia vs the Internet looks at Australia’s attempts to rein in big tech, and how it's shaping the Australian election. First episode drops Thursday 24th April.Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.
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2:19
How Japan dodged a global housing crisis
Australia’s housing market is in the midst of a crisis that feels like it will never be solved and now housing is one of the major battlefields of the upcoming federal election. In this episode of If You’re Listening originally published last year we head to Japan, where 30 years ago, houses were the most expensive in the world. Today home ownership in Tokyo is comparatively affordable with plenty of housing stock up for grabs – so how did they achieve this massive turnaround? And is it something we could do here in Australia? This episode was originally published on the 28th March 2024Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq
The world is on fire. There's a coup. Inflation is through the roof, and AI is taking our jobs. What does it all mean? Each week, Matt Bevan explains the biggest story in world news while hiding in his basement from assassins and authoritarian regimes.
Recent episodes include an exploration of the relationship between India and China, a closer look at the Saudi Arabian city of NEOM, the conflict in the Middle East, the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, and Ukraine's incursions into Vladimir Putin's Russia. Matt Bevan draws connections between stories from the past and the events of the present to help listeners understand world news and international affairs.
The podcast also features series about big moments in world news; previous series have focused on the United States presidential election, the United Kingdom's 14 years of Conservative Party leadership, Donald Trump's relationship with Russia, Donald Trump's presidency and promise to Make America Great Again, the Mueller Report, Vladimir Putin's scheme to destroy western democracies, how the relationship between Australia and China came to the verge of collapse, and Australia's turbulent history with climate change.
There's a new episode of If You're Listening every Thursday.
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