About this podcast
The ABC's politics podcast, Politics Now, dives into the biggest political stories in Australia and around the world, giving you a balanced look inside the strategies and decisions behind the headlines. Whenever major news breaks, we'll be in your feed with coverage you can trust.
From Monday to Wednesday, Patricia Karvelas will chat to a rotating cast of the ABC's biggest political journalists about the latest news.
On Thursdays, 'The Party Room' with Patricia Karvelas and Fran Kelly will discuss the week's developments in depth with another journalist, and answer your questions.
On Saturdays, David Speers gets into the details of a major trend or issue with the help of an expert on 'Insiders On Background'.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 250 episodes
- Will artificial intelligence take your job? · 21 minScientia Professor of AI at the University of New South Wales, Toby Walsh joins David Speers to unpack what the AI transition means for the future workplace.
- Victoria: ‘They’re feasting on the carcass of Labor’ · 27 minThis week, Victoria has had EVERYTHING. For Ben Carroll it was a No Good, Very Bad week of dire polls and even direr headlines from a corruption royal commission. One Nation…
- Albanese's 'two-step' AI tango · 41 minThe Prime Minister may be at COP, but the Albanese Government's focus has very intentionally been on domestic issues this week. Anthony Albanese delayed his trip to chair ERC…
- Labor's housing hot potato · 27 minNew home loans have plummeted, falling across the board. A downturn in investor loans drove the decline, plunging a whopping 30 per cent, but investors weren't the only group to…
- Albanese unveils AI watchdog · 28 minPrime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced an AI safety watchdog will be set up after the Medicare breach. The Albanese Government will introduce mandatory safety and…
- Albanese's trust issues · 30 minIt's poll Monday — and you know what that means! PK and Jacob dig into new polling showing voter trust in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has plummeted. Only 20 per cent of…
- Why is Australia so pessimistic? · 21 minANU's James O'Donnell joins David Speers to explain what's behind the Scanlon Index numbers.
- Victoria: The invisible election campaign · 30 min"You cannot microwave a field campaign." Air and ground games, AI lies and microwaves - all part of the invisible push to win votes in Victoria. Have they lost the keys to the…
- A blow to 'nasty' politics · 38 minThe US Democrats have taken control of both the House and the Senate, in what's been labelled a "blue tsunami" and a "Republican shellacking". It was an election race watched…
- What the US midterms mean for Australia · 21 minAs the results of the US midterm elections start to roll in, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned there could be economic consequences for Australia. The Treasurer says Australians…
- Does Labor have any 'hope' to sell? · 36 minAs households brace for possible fifth interest rate rise this year, Labor ministers have been trying to manage expectations. Raf thinks the Albanese Government is struggling to…
- Is Albo starting to sound like Scomo? · 31 minTensions have emerged between the Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as cost of living pressures continue to bite. The Treasurer has played down the…
- Australia's broken mental health system · 22 minProfessor Pat McGorry, Executive Director of Orygen, tells David Speers in this week's Insiders: On Background State and Federal governments share responsibility for the failing…
- Victoria: Is Dan Andrews the ex we can't get over? · 26 minSouth of the Murray, ghosts of premiers past loom over the current leaders. What influence are Dan Andrews and Jeff Kennett still having on the way Victorians vote? And has the…
- Can anyone land the economic message? · 47 minIs Australia about to enter a period of "long economic pain"? Stubborn inflation and the prospect of another interest rate rise next week is putting fresh pressure on the…
- Bad inflation, a Greens tax and stinky grants · 25 minAustralia's latest inflation figures are in, and it's not good news. Inflation ran hotter than expected in September, raising the prospect of another interest rate rise next…
- A major economic fight is brewing · 30 minThe Coalition has finally put some numbers on its plans to cut government spending, identifying more than $30 billion in proposed savings. But every cut comes at a cost. So what…
- A morning of tributes, a week of tension · 28 min"We look forward to the day you return to this place, and I get to say the following nine words: 'I give the call to the member for Indi.'" Parliament is back and tearful…
- Mathias Cormann’s prescription for tackling grievance politics · 30 minFormer Finance Minister and now OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann says the cost-of-living crunch is fuelling frustration and pulling voters to populist parties.
- Victoria: Messiahs and naughty boys · 27 minVictoria's political leaders are fessing up to drug taking and not paying for petrol. The major parties aren't banning abortion, but instead competing to make abortion free…
- A kinder, gentler politics · 42 minThe devastating alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines has sent shock waves through Australian politics across the week. Urgent questions about the safety of our elected…
- How do we change the political tone? · 26 minHow do you keep politicians safe without shutting the public out? Following the alleged attack on Helen Haines, calls for greater protection are growing, as MPs grapple with the…
- Has politics changed forever? · 29 min"This wasn't an accident. This was a deliberate act.” Stark words have been shared by the Prime Minister following a devastating alleged attack on Independent MP Helen Haines…
- An ugly internal Greens war · 29 minTensions inside the Greens are boiling over. WA Senator Jordon Steele-John says rumours about his conduct are being weaponised for political purpose - allegations he strongly…
- Is the government losing the trust of small business? | Insiders On Background · 26 minAfter prompting an intervention from the Prime Minister over the ATO's controversial credit card ban, ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar unpacks the fallout and the…
- Victoria! One Nation! A state election question bonanza · 33 minIt’s Question Time - and not just any Question Time - a Victorian state election special! With one of the most consequential state elections of 2026 fast approaching, Victoria…
- A sitting week with spooks and ghosts · 42 minIt’s been a strange sitting week in Canberra, with the Albanese government trying to push through a packed legislative agenda - only to find itself repeatedly dragged onto…
- Got a problem? Just text the PM · 24 minAre the Prime Minister and his treasurer working together, or are they being played off against one other? Midway through a sitting week, the government has managed to put…
- 'Spicy' late night letters about an AI world · 32 minThe political fight is moving more and more online. AI companies want to build, train and expand in Australia, but the welcome mat now comes with conditions - including from a…
- Is Josh Frydenberg back? · 29 minParliament is back for another sitting week and Jacob Greber is back on the podcast! But as Jacob tells PK, it's already looking like a "tricky" week for the Albanese…
- Migration cuts: what's at stake for Australia's universities? · 28 minProfessor Carolyn Evans is the Chair of Universities Australia and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.
- The 'raw politics' of immigration · 45 minWhile the government faces criticism from all sides over its economic management after the latest RBA cash rate hike, the Coalition is pitching dramatic cuts to immigration as a…
- Labor doesn't want a fight on immigration · 25 minOpposition leader Angus Taylor has undertaken a media blitz, as he tries to sell the Coalition's immigration policy. But he's already facing significant backlash from the…
- Angus Taylor tries to 'outbid' Pauline Hanson · 31 minOpposition leader Angus Taylor has unveiled the Coalition's immigration policy, promising the "biggest cut to immigration in the history of this country". PK tells Raf she sees…
- Is the 'sensible centre' dead? · 31 minPrime Minister Anthony Albanese and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen are in Fiji for pre-COP talks. But back home the Opposition has labelled the high-level climate talks a…
- Should the Greens work with Labor or try to replace it? | Insiders On Background · 28 minFormer Greens leader, Adam Bandt, now chief executive of the Australian Conservation Foundation, says working with the government is key to delivering reform.
- Albanese's selfie diplomacyIt's Question Time! But first, Fran does a West Wing welfare check on PK (she's in the slump part of the series). And then it's over to your brilliant questions, including: Is…
- Inflation is up. Labor's mojo is down · 37 minThe economy has been the key story of the political week, with an interest rate rise and some less than rosy inflation figures compounding Labor's economic woes. A war over…
- Are the Greens shifting further left? · 26 minNSW David Shoebridge has emerged as the new Greens leader, using his first pitch to hammer economic messages and vow to "replace Labor". And while he signalled the Greens would…
- Who will lead the Greens? · 33 minThe Greens are looking for a new leader, after Larissa Waters stepped down from the top job for health reasons. It comes as the Greens languish in the polls, while One Nation…
- Does Labor have the ‘midterm blues’? · 29 minPK is back from her break! And she's got some big thoughts about how the political "argy bargy" around the OpenAI Medicare data breach is playing out. The Coalition is pushing…
- What's the bigger threat to humanity: climate change or AI? · 26 minFortescue founder Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest warns uncontrollable AI could decide the best way to stop climate change is to get rid of humanity.
- A big week for existential dread · 43 minPrime Minister Anthony Albanese dropped an "AI bomb" in the middle of UN week, announcing that an Open AI agent hacked into a Medicare portal. So, as debate rages at the UN…
- Albanese’s UN super intelligence · 26 minPrime Minister Anthony Albanese has continued his push for global AI safeguards at the UN general assembly, positioning himself as a global leader on tackling online harm. It…
- Is the Coalition joining the super wars?Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg has reignited the super wars, with a pitch he says is about generating a "sophisticated debate" over the policy. As Clare tells Raf, internal…
- Albanese's AI eraPrime Minister Anthony Albanese is continuing his online safety charm offensive at the UN this week, after a quick visit to tour Apple headquarters in Silicon Valley. It follows…
- The AI arms race: ICRC pushes for new rules for autonomous weapons in war | Insiders On Background · 40 minAs AI bosses warn of the growing threat the technology poses to humanity, the International Committee of the Red Cross is pushing for new global rules to govern AI-powered…
- Howard bingo and pollies on pods · 26 minIt's Question Time! But first, Fran and PK catch-up on what's been an "intense and wild" week. PK is still mad she didn't get to choose George Michael as her expert subject on…
- Labor's immigration crackdown · 49 minHome Affairs Minister Tony Burke has unveiled Labor's long awaited migration plan, including a crackdown on overstayers and a ballot for backpackers. It comes after One Nation…
- Labor's 'narrow path' and 'stinky sausage' · 24 minThe AI fight keeps getting messier. As all sides weigh in on copyright, creators, investment and whether Australia can afford to miss the next tech wave, Anthony Albanese is…
