Spin Cycle: Recent Episodes
RRR - Triple R
Spin Cycle covers all things media, unravelling the tangled threads of politics, the 24 hour news cycle, the spin and the story behind the stories. With Jess Lilley, Najma Sambul and Charlie Lewis.
This week on Spin Cycle, Jess & Rachel are joined by Xavier George, recent guest on Insight for their “Boomers vs Millennials” episode - which tackled all things generational divide.
Plus the team recap other news of the week, including the return of Annabel Crabb’s Kitchen Cabinet, and her now infamous episode with Peter Dutton.
With hosts Jess Lilley and guest co-host Rachel Withers.
Charlie Lewis flies solo this week while Jess Lilley is on break.
Author and journalist Walter Marsh joins the show to talk about his new book Young Rupert- chronicling the power and politics surrounding Rupert Murdoch’s early years and how he established his global media empire.
Plus a breakdown of some of the week's media stories including News Ltd using AI to publish thousands of articles across its publications and the latest developments with Twitter/X as the ABC shuts down its accounts on the platform.
High school student journalists Aidan Sinclair and Saskia De Leeuw Kyle join Jess and Charlie to discuss the YMCA Victorian Youth Parliament and its Youth Press Gallery program. They consider whether the environment simulates what it's really like being a journalist, and if there are enough outlets providing a platform for youth journalism. Jess and Charlie also cover the ABC and Nicole Chvastek, and the seemingly increasing newsworthiness of opinions.
As Barbenheimer floods cinema screens this week, the Spin Cycle team takes a look at arts and culture journalism in Australia.
Jess and Charlie are joined by Brodie Landcaster, author and freelance cultural journalist, to discuss the Hollywood Writer and Actor strikes and whether the media environment provides enough time for journalists to generate meaningful film reviews.
Jess and Charlie also cover the new Twitter and the Liberals' growing popularity in Melbourne's Western suburbs.
Charlie Lewis is away this week. Jess captains the good ship Spin Cycle with special guest co-hosts Rachel Withers (Contributing editor at The Monthly) and Esther Anatolitis (Editor of Meanjin).
They chat to journalist Nick Feik about his reporting into how laws designed to support whistleblowers are failing to protect those who speak up. Plus, a dive into the frontpage landlord story that sent Twitter chirping earlier in the week.
Rachel Withers joins Jess and Charlie in the studio to discuss her recent piece for The Monthly. What does it mean to be a 'Teal Independent', and what do they tell us about the characteristics of the electorates they represent.
The team also talk about the Robodebt commission report released this week and the role of media advisors in light of a recent Rochelle Miller interview.
Associate professor of public health and preventative medicine, Charles Livingstone, joins Jess and Charlie to talk about the media and gambling. They discuss the politics, research, and recommendations, and ask the question:what does the future of gambling regulation look like in Australia?
Jess and Charlie also update on the coverage of the yes and no campaigns for the Voice to Parliament, the recent Cricket crisis with British PM Rishi Sunak, and turbulence at the ABC.
A note that this episode includes discussion of problem gambling and addiction. If you or someone you may know needs help, you can visit Gambling Help Online or call the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858 for support services available 24 hours.
Jess and Charlie's guest is Kimina Lyall, Deputy CEO of Dart Centre Asia Pacific, a clinical psychologist and a former journalist. She talks to the team about trauma literacy in the Australian media; how does the media respond to traumatic incidents, and are we cultivating a media environment of inflicting further trauma?
Jess and Charlie also talk the corruption inquiry into Gladys Berejiklian, and influencers reviewing labour conditions.
Jess is joined by senior reporter for The Australian, Sarah Elks, to discuss Sarah's jaw dropping series of investigative reports into long-time QLD MP, Warren Entsch. From spiriting a billionaire to Thursday Island for a covid jab to questions around government-funded pottery classes in Doomadgee to Entsch's former lives as a croc catcher and LGBTIQ+ activist - this is a story you don't want to miss. Jess is also joined by Swinburne University senior media lecturer, Dr Belinda Barnett, to discuss the impact of AI on newsrooms.
Media ethics expert and long-time journalist, Denis Muller returns to Spin Cycle to join Charlie for a discussion on the past week's news. What does the ABC's redundancy of Andrew Probyn and his role say about their approach to political reporting? Is the News Corp response to the Ben Roberts-Smith saga undermining other media outlets? Is there a way for media monopolies to be effectively regulated?
Jess and Charlie are joined by journalist Marc Fennell for a discussion about the making of his new SBS documentary The Kingdom, his personal history with the church, and the changing face of Pentecostal religion in Australia. The team also cover how the continuing media response to the Ben Roberts-Smith verdict appears to have split along ideological lines and the continuing adventures of social media influencer Caroline Calloway.
In this episode, Najma, Charlie and Jess debrief on the erratic media coverage of the Victorian State Election before Jess and Najma have an in depth conversation with author and journalist, Paddy Manning, about his unauthorised biography of Lachlan Murdoch, The Successor. The team wrap the show with a chat about the guilty pleasure that is having Scott Morrison back in the media glare doing very Scott Morrison-like things.
Jess and Charlie are joined in the studio by Katerina Kostakos and Jonathan Hawes to talk about MOJO Media, the broadcasting and news organisation run by Monash University journalism students. They also cover the Victorian state election, news editors behaving badly and the real life implications of media whipping up divisive hysteria over social issues.
Charlie talks to Anna Draffin, CEO of the Public Interest Journalism Initiative, about the latest Australian News Data Report and what it may suggest about the near future of journalism and news consumption in Australia. Charlie also talks about reporting for the State election as well as the on-going drama around the Group Voting Tickets, Preferential voting and the 'preference whisperer' Glenn Druery.
Jess is joined in the co-host chair by Rachel Withers, contributing editor of The Politics at The Monthly. They discuss journalists ramping up personal attacks on each other and the perennial problem of misogyny in the media. They also drill down on the war on Dan Andrews in this state election campaign, particularly from The Herald Sun who are happy to entertain Q level conspiracy theories to fuel their attacks on Victoria's premier.
Just when you thought Twitter couldn’t get any worse – Elon Musk took over. Since the tech billionaire purchased the platform, he's made striking moves, including displaying his commitment to free speech by tweeting and deleting misinformation. Joining Jess and Charlie to talk about the impact Musk's takeover might have on Twitter as a nexus for journalists, activists and whistleblowers is writer and Program Lead at Digital Rights Watch, Samantha Floreani. Plus we look at the shift in rhetoric surrounding the death of Cassius Turvey, the predictable coverage of the Victorian state election and some weirdness featuring the late author Bryce Courtenay.
It's a heavy news week as Jess and Charlie discuss this week's Four Corners investigation into missing and murdered Indigenous women. The show revealed an epidemic of violence in Australia and yet the news media's response has been muted. They also cover the media response to the killing of 15-year old Cassius Turvey and the #justiceforcassius campaign on social media. Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are warned that this episode contains the names of deceased persons.
Najma is back with Jess for a fascinating chat with Walkley award winning reporter, Ben Doherty, about The Guardian’s remarkable new podcast, Ben Roberts-Smith v the media. The team also ask what’s going down at the BoM? There’s a storm of controversy brewing at the Bureau of Meteorology.
This week Spin Cycle welcomes The Age State Political Reporter, Sumeyya Illanbey to the studio to talk about the machinations of covering the November 24 Victorian state election. What do news rooms choose to focus on and what do they leave out? We also chat about the results of the Alex Jones Sandy Hook trials, the inquiry into the Queensland Police Force and why the media love hounding politicians over election promises.
Luke Henrique-Gomes, The Guardian's social affairs and inequality editor, joins Jess and Charlie on the show this week to discuss current issues being covered in the media. They cover the crisis with cost of living in Australia, robo-debt and welfare services. Jess and Charlie also discuss Essendon football club, the usual drama of the news cycle, and hi-fiving kids.
On this week's episode of Spin Cycle, Jess and Charlie return and talk about Q+A's controversial panel inclusions, racism in the AFL, the UK's budget struggles and billionaires buying newspapers for their children.
This week on Spin Cycle, Jess and Charlie talk to Jess Ho, food writer and former food/drink editor of Time Out Melbourne.She is also the author of Raised By Wolves, a coming-of-age tale adventuring in the world of food and hospitality. The team discusses the entertainment provided by press releases and negative reviews, as well as discussing whether politicians practise what they preach.
It's Radiothon time at Triple R and the entire Spin Cycle team has reunited to help spread the word about the importance of community and listener funded media. They're joined by special guest Patricia Karvelas ( the host of ABC's RN Breakfast) who shares her own personal experiences with community media.
Radiothon is on now until October 5, 2022. If you want to join in and help support Spin Cycle you can subscribe to Triple R here by October 5 2022 to go in the running to win a heap of prizes. (T&Cs here).
Jess and Charlie chat through the news stories of the week, the biggest involving Charlie's employer, Crikey, in the week that Lachlan Murdoch filed proceedings for defamation against the independent news site. They also discuss the fallout from Lena Wilson's New York Times review of Bodies, Bodies, Bodies and ponder what level of dancing is acceptable to the media for an international leader.
This week on a guest-free Spin Cycle, Jess and Charlie get into the details of Scott Morrison's many secret ministries, what senior journalists knew and when, and the ethics of holding back a big scoop for more than a year. Plus, when should former Prime Ministers be forced to vacate the public square and what important stories got lost in the noise around Morrison this week?
Saffron Howden is a journalist providing editorial training to regional publications across the country with ACM (Australian Community Media). Charlie and Jess talk to her about the series, Young & Regional, encouraging young journalists to draw their own experiences in reporting on the housing crisis.
This week, the Spin Cycle team welcome award-winning journalist Michael Miller who has the spent the last year covering Australia as a foreign correspondent for The Washington Post. He talks through the daunting task of embedding in a new country, finding the right stories for an American audience, and his reflections on the Australian accent.
With presenters Jess Lilley, Najma Sambul and Charlie Lewis.
This week, the Spin Cycleteam is joined by Tom Ravlic, a journalist and author to discuss his new book Crown: Playing in the Shadows. Ravlic delves into how Crown was able to get away with "illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative" conduct for so many years, and the role whistleblowers and the media play in bringing these kinds of scandals to light. Plus our favourite confected media outrage of the week (it involves sending grizzled army vets into high schools to stop kids vaping) and Charlie gets a shout out in Jess's favourite podcast.
With presenters Jess Lilley and Charlie Lewis.
Charlie and Jess are joined by Iraq War whistleblower and independent MP, Andrew Wilkie, in this raw and fascinating discussion about the price whistleblowers pay and the urgent need for better protection.
The far reaching conversation covers Wilkie's own harrowing experience, as well as Julian Assange, Bernard Collaery, Witness K, Richard Boyle and more.
with presenters Jess Lilley and Charlie Lewis
This week, The Spin Cycle team are joined by The Age's Education Editor Adam Carey, for a longform conversation about all things education reporting. Learn about what its like to work on the ground reporting on education issues, the schooling system and more during a global pandemic.
With presenters Jess Lilley, Najma Sambul and Charlie Lewis.
This week on Spin Cycle, Jess Lilley welcomes special guest host and Triple R's own Elizabeth McCarthy. The two discuss the recent Logies Awards drama and share their thoughts on The Cut's recent cancel culture piece that sympathised with a young teenager who shared nude photos of his ex-girlfriend.
Plus Karen Paterson from The National Indigenous Radio Service explains what you'd find tuning into NIRS, and discuss the highs and lows of managing radio broadcasting.
This week's episode of Spin Cycle welcomes The Saturday Paper's Arts Editor Alison Croggan. Alison shares her thouhgts on the developing Peter Hughes/Miles Franklin plagiarism scandal, and makes sense of Hughes' explanation in the Guardian.
Plus Jess Lilley and Najma Sambul discuss the Sydney Morning Herald's mishandling of Rebel Wilson's latest relationship news and the resulting international backlash.
This week on Spin Cycle, Jess Lilley and Charlie Lewis welcome writer, lawyer, and defamation law specialist Michael Bradley. Michael shares his thoughts on 2022's rising defamation cases among public figures and comments on Australia's contrast to other jurisdictions on defamation laws.
Plus, Jess and Charlie discuss ABC's recent decision to abloish librarians and archivists.
This week on Spin Cycle,the team is joined by special guest Dr Glynn Greensmith, Journalism Lecturer at Curtin Uni, and ABC broadcaster/researcher. Glynn hops on the line to talk through the recent mass-shooting events in the United States and the role that media organisations play in how they report on gun violence and how this coverage can perpetuate and cause more violent events.
Plus, Jess, Charlie and Najma reflect on the return of gigs and live music in Melbourne, take a break from Australian Politics and unpack some of their recent reporting and journalism work over the past week.
For the first time since the federal election campaign, the full Spin Cycle team are back in the studio. Jess Lilley, Najma Sambul and Charlie Lewis reunite to share their election night experiences and the surprising outcomes as the vote counting kicked off.
They examine the editorial bias of News Corp throughout the campaign, give some insight into marketing strategies for the election and share their own personal media highlights from the weekend's coverage.
Jess Lilley and Najma Sambul are back together in the studio once again, joined this week by special guest host and digital producer for ABC News Breakfast, Ahmed Yussuf. Ahmed chats about his election coverage for ABC, plus developments in Collingwood AFL player Héritier Lumumba's accusations of racism against the club.
The multi-talented academic, writer & Palestinian community advocate Fahad Ali also joins the program to talk about how Palestine is covered in Australian media, in the wake of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh - killed by Israeli military forces in the West Bank last week.
This week, Jess Lilley is solo in the studio with both Najma and Charlie hard at work covering the federal election. Charlie hops on the line direct from WA to give some insight into his own election coverage for Crikey and how he's managing to keep his sanity in check.
Plus, Journalist and IndigenousX creator and development manager, Rachael Hocking joins Jess for a yarn about IndigenousX’s new traineeship program, ‘Our Truth Our Way’, a development for a more diverse media presence, along with some insight on election coverage from a Blak media perspective.
This week on Spin Cycle, Jess Lilley and Najma Sambul jump on the line with author, writer and entertainment reporter Patrick Lenton, to talk about the ins and outs of pop culture reporting in 2022. In particular, asking the question 'how does one report about pop culture and entertainment news, when what's happening around the world is filled with doom and gloom?'
Plus, Spin Cycle's own Charlie Lewis phones in directly from Federal election campaign trail and Jess and Najma briefly reflect on Australia dropping down to number #39 on the World Press Freedom Index.