Should Donald Trump win the presidential election in November, what might he do? Will he halve the US defence budget, thereby threatening allies, like Australia, that rely on the United States for protection? Or perhaps, as Trump once asked his most senior defence staff, he should “bomb the hell out of Iran?”

This last anecdote is one that Chris Miller, the one-time defence secretary during the Trump administration, relayed to international and political editor Peter Hartcher, in an interview earlier this week.

Today, Peter Hartcher, currently on the ground in Washington DC, on what insights Chris Miller gave him about how Donald Trump might go about trying to achieve his goals, during a second term as president.

Should Donald Trump win the presidential election in November, what might he do? Will he halve the US defence budget, thereby threatening allies, like Australia, that rely on the United States for protection? Or perhaps, as Trump once asked his most senior defence staff, he should “bomb the hell out of Iran?” This last anecdote is one that Chris Miller, the one-time defence secretary during the Trump administration, relayed to international and political editor Peter Hartcher, in an interview earlier this week. Today, Peter Hartcher, currently on the ground in Washington DC, on what insights Chris Miller gave him about how Donald Trump might go about trying to achieve his goals, during a second term as president.

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

‘Dial up the crazy’: An insider on how to deal with Trump

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/88b564ea-a9a6-4751-910a-a5d800019396/clips/f585bd49-4063-482a-bf5e-b1a90035089c/transcript

This is the trial that a Supreme Court judge never wanted to hear.

Over many months, Justice Marcus Solomon warned of the “human cost” of a prolonged and highly public trial if former defence minister Linda Reynolds made good on her threat to take her former staffer, Brittany Higgins, to court for defamation.

And so it has come to pass. Reynolds, who has mortgaged her home of 40 years to pay for her legal costs, says she has been nationally vilified. 

Higgins, who is now pregnant, has yet to take the stand, but has reportedly sold her home in France - where she moved to start a new life - to defend herself.

Today, WA Today reporter Jesinta Burton, on the toll that suing one of Australia’s most public rape victims - as found by the civil courts - might have on both women. And to what end.

This is the trial that a Supreme Court judge never wanted to hear.
Over many months, Justice Marcus Solomon warned of the “human cost” of a prolonged and highly public trial if former defence minister Linda Reynolds made good on her threat to take her former staffer, Brittany Higgins, to court for defamation.
And so it has come to pass. Reynolds, who has mortgaged her home of 40 years to pay for her legal costs, says she has been nationally vilified. 
Higgins, who is now pregnant, has yet to take the stand, but has reportedly sold her home in France - where she moved to start a new life - to defend herself.
Today, WA Today reporter Jesinta Burton, on the toll that suing one of Australia’s most public rape victims - as found by the civil courts - might have on both women. And to what end.

'A tale that needed a villain': Why Linda Reynolds is suing Brittany Higgins

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/88b564ea-a9a6-4751-910a-a5d800019396/clips/40d83b55-df0f-4407-97a4-b1ca00bb2974/transcript

Four people currently face jail time of up to 15 years, after being criminally charged in Sydney last month with conspiracy to manipulate the stock market over a messaging app. So far, so usual. Potential scammers are always lurking among us. We know this. 

But here’s the kicker. Only hours after that group’s charges were made public, a completely separate cohort created their own WhatsApp group to try and rope other unsuspecting Australians into engaging in the same crime. It’s an indication of just how common these scams are now. And how brazen the people behind them are.

Today, senior reporter Sarah Danckert on how to spot these scams. And how they damage the rest of our own bank accounts, even if we’ve never been targeted ourselves.

Four people currently face jail time of up to 15 years, after being criminally charged in Sydney last month with conspiracy to manipulate the stock market over a messaging app. So far, so usual. Potential scammers are always lurking among us. We know this. But here’s the kicker. Only hours after that group’s charges were made public, a completely separate cohort created their own WhatsApp group to try and rope other unsuspecting Australians into engaging in the same crime. It’s an indication of just how common these scams are now. And how brazen the people behind them are. Today, senior reporter Sarah Danckert on how to spot these scams. And how they damage the rest of our own bank accounts, even if we’ve never been targeted ourselves.

How our journalist was asked to join a stockmarket scam

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/88b564ea-a9a6-4751-910a-a5d800019396/clips/b779b00c-af3a-4750-bb09-b1c6006a849c/transcript

This week the boss of the Australian spy agency, ASIO, lifted the terror threat level from possible to probable. The last increase in the threat level was in 2014, and it was in response to Islamic extremism. 

This time, the risk to society is different - it is the risk of young men, especially, being radicalised online by a grab-bag of conspiracy theories and far-right grievances, and carrying out a lone wolf attack. 

So what are the social conditions that have led to this evolving threat to our safety? And what can our security agencies do to make us safer? 

Plus, we take a look at the decision by the Reserve Bank to leave rates on hold and the effect this will have on the fortunes of the Albanese government.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.

This week the boss of the Australian spy agency, ASIO, lifted the terror threat level from possible to probable. The last increase in the threat level was in 2014, and it was in response to Islamic extremism. 
This time, the risk to society is different - it is the risk of young men, especially, being radicalised online by a grab-bag of conspiracy theories and far-right grievances, and carrying out a lone wolf attack. 
So what are the social conditions that have led to this evolving threat to our safety? And what can our security agencies do to make us safer? 
Plus, we take a look at the decision by the Reserve Bank to leave rates on hold and the effect this will have on the fortunes of the Albanese government. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/link/follow-20170101-p5apym">Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter</a>.

Inside Politics: Lonely men on the internet and why the terror threat was raised

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/88b564ea-a9a6-4751-910a-a5d800019396/clips/43054f14-1218-4da4-b2fc-b1c60059ce07/transcript

‘Dial up the crazy’: An insider on how to deal with Trump

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