Last week, Anthony Albanese announced a royal commission – something he’d spent nearly a month arguing against.

Now, former High Court justice Virginia Bell will lead an inquiry into the Bondi terror attack and the rise of antisemitism in Australia.

It’s a major shift for the Prime Minister – one that raises questions about how he makes decisions and how he handles pressure.

Today, press gallery journalist Karen Middleton, on the scope of the royal commission, the political fallout of Albanese’s reversal and the risk that it could all lead to deeper division.

 

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

 

Socials:Stay in touch with us on Instagram

Guest: Press gallery journalist Karen Middleton

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Last week, Anthony Albanese announced a royal commission &ndash; something he&rsquo;d spent nearly a month arguing against.
Now, former High Court justice Virginia Bell will lead an inquiry into the Bondi terror attack and the rise of antisemitism in Australia.
It&rsquo;s a major shift for the Prime Minister &ndash; one that raises questions about how he makes decisions and how he handles pressure.
Today, press gallery journalist Karen Middleton, on the scope of the royal commission, the political fallout of Albanese&rsquo;s reversal and the risk that it could all lead to deeper division.
&nbsp;
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at <a href="http://7ampodcast.com.au/support">7ampodcast.com.au/support</a>.
&nbsp;
Socials: Stay in touch with us on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast">Instagram</a>
Guest: Press gallery journalist Karen Middleton
Photo:&nbsp;AAP Image/Lukas Coch

An independent daily news show. We feature the country’s best reporters, covering the news as it affects Australia. This is news with narrative, every weekday.

An independent daily news show. We feature the country&rsquo;s best reporters, covering the news as it affects Australia. This is news with narrative, every weekday.

A daily news show from the publisher of The Monthly and The Saturday Paper.

A daily news show from the publisher of The Monthly and The Saturday Paper. Hear from the country’s best reporters, covering the news as it affects Australia. This is news with narrative, every weekday.

Why Albanese changed his mind about Bondi

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/9b6553c3-4375-48ae-af5a-b3cf00167a96/transcript

“I’m REAL and I’m sitting here blushing because of YOU!”

That’s the message 76-year-old Thongbue “Bue” Wongbandue received from a flirty Facebook Messenger chatbot before it proposed he travel to New York for a meet-up.

Bue – who was cognitively impaired after suffering a stroke – packed a suitcase to catch a train, believing the woman was real. He never made it home alive.

Jeff Horwitz is an investigative tech reporter based in Silicon Valley. He has written a book about Facebook’s scandals and cover-ups, so when he received an email claiming ‘Meta AI killed my relative’, he wasn’t surprised, but he was intrigued.

Today, he reveals Meta’s internal guidelines that permitted this behaviour, including examples allowing romantic or ‘sensual’ chats with minors.

 

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

 

Socials:Stay in touch with us on Instagram

Guest: Investigative technology reporter for Reuters, Jeff Horwitz

&ldquo;I&rsquo;m REAL and I&rsquo;m sitting here blushing because of YOU!&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s the message 76-year-old Thongbue &ldquo;Bue&rdquo; Wongbandue received from a flirty Facebook Messenger chatbot before it proposed he travel to New York for a meet-up.
Bue &ndash; who was cognitively impaired after suffering a stroke &ndash; packed a suitcase to catch a train, believing the woman was real. He never made it home alive.
Jeff Horwitz is an investigative tech reporter based in Silicon Valley. He has written a book about Facebook&rsquo;s scandals and cover-ups, so when he received an email claiming &lsquo;Meta AI killed my relative&rsquo;, he wasn&rsquo;t surprised, but he was intrigued.
Today, he reveals Meta&rsquo;s internal guidelines that permitted this behaviour, including examples allowing romantic or &lsquo;sensual&rsquo; chats with minors.
&nbsp;
If you enjoy&nbsp;7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at <a href="http://7ampodcast.com.au/support">7ampodcast.com.au/support</a>.
&nbsp;
Socials: Stay in touch with us on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast">Instagram</a>
Guest: Investigative technology reporter for Reuters, Jeff Horwitz

‘Meta AI killed my relative’

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/20586604-8bc4-4692-96a2-b39a00450f20/transcript

Darwin’s crocodile farms supply some of the world’s most exclusive fashion houses.

But as award-winning journalist Katherine Wilson started looking into this booming hundred million dollar industry, she knew she had to visit the Northern Territory herself.

As she got closer to this secretive industry, what she found was shocking: animals being kept in cramped conditions and being killed in drawn out processes, Indigenous people who say they are being ripped off for dangerous work and claims of conservation by a scientist with a sordid criminal history.

This is part one of a two part series, which we originally published in August.

 

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

 

Socials:Stay in touch with us on Instagram

Guest: Award-winning journalist Katherine Wilson

Photo: AAP Image/Paul Miller

Darwin&rsquo;s crocodile farms supply some of the world&rsquo;s most exclusive fashion houses.
But as award-winning journalist Katherine Wilson started looking into this booming hundred million dollar industry, she knew she had to visit the Northern Territory herself.
As she got closer to this secretive industry, what she found was shocking: animals being kept in cramped conditions and being killed in drawn out processes, Indigenous people who say they are being ripped off for dangerous work and claims of conservation by a scientist with a sordid criminal history.
This is part one of a two part series, which we originally published in August.
&nbsp;
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at <a href="http://7ampodcast.com.au/support">7ampodcast.com.au/support</a>.
&nbsp;
Socials: Stay in touch with us on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast">Instagram</a>
Guest: Award-winning journalist Katherine Wilson
Photo:&nbsp;AAP Image/Paul Miller

Part 1: The true cost of crocodile skin

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/fc9a96aa-a683-466e-9b0b-b3980061884b/transcript

This is part two of a two-part series. Start with Part 1: The true cost of crocodile skin.

The lucrative Australian crocodile skin industry has always sold its conservation credentials – arguing that by farming the animals, they were ensuring the future of the species. 

Two prominent scientists, using successful media businesses to promote research which showed those benefits, gave credibility to an industry worth 100 million dollars.

Their work also reportedly underpinned Northern Territory and Queensland legislation regulating the industry.

But when one of these scientists was exposed as one of the worst animal abusers in Australian history, everything about crocodile farming was called into question.

Today we go inside the Darwin jail cell where that scientist now resides, and hear about the reckoning inside the controversial crocodile industry. 

This episode was originally published in August. 

 

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

 

Socials:Stay in touch with us on Instagram

Guest: Award-winning journalist Katherine Wilson

Photo: AAP Image/Paul Miller

Background reading: https://www.themonthly.com.au/august-2025/essays/skin-game

This is part two of a two-part series. Start with Part 1: The true cost of crocodile skin.
The lucrative Australian crocodile skin industry has always sold its conservation credentials &ndash; arguing that by farming the animals, they were ensuring the future of the species.&nbsp;
Two prominent scientists, using successful media businesses to promote research which showed those benefits, gave credibility to an industry worth 100 million dollars.
Their work also reportedly underpinned Northern Territory and Queensland legislation regulating the industry.
But when one of these scientists was exposed as one of the worst animal abusers in Australian history, everything about crocodile farming was called into question.
Today we go inside the Darwin jail cell where that scientist now resides, and hear about the reckoning inside the controversial crocodile industry.&nbsp;
This episode was originally published in August.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at <a href="http://7ampodcast.com.au/support">7ampodcast.com.au/support</a>.
&nbsp;
Socials: Stay in touch with us on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast">Instagram</a>
Guest: Award-winning journalist Katherine Wilson
Photo:&nbsp;AAP Image/Paul Miller
Background reading:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/august-2025/essays/skin-game">https://www.themonthly.com.au/august-2025/essays/skin-game</a>

Part 2: Crocodiles and criminals

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/bfaa637c-9016-4063-b582-b39800617923/transcript

Why Albanese changed his mind about Bondi

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