Episode Details

South Australia has announced a royal commission into Artificial Intelligence at a critical moment for the technology, with leaders of Big Tech calling on the US government to support an international effort to try and slow the pace of AI development, or risk it careening out of control.

Victoria has been labelled the suppression order capital of the nation, but after the identities of two high profile rapists were concealed from the public, the state’s new premier is promising to ‘close every loophole’ if he’s re-elected in November. Associate Professor Jason Bosland, Director of the Centre for Media and Communications Law at Melbourne Law School says he's never seen the relationship between the courts and the media at such a low point. 

Asbestos was once prized for its invincibility as a building material, elevating the ‘humble fibro shack’ to cult status in Australia. But now we know this magic mineral was the devil’s dust  - a toxic fibre that’s still killing hundreds of people every year. Historian James Watson joins Fran to talk about his new book, Asbestos Nation.