This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks at what happens when populism accidentally stumbles into good policy while everything else quietly catches fire.

The federal government tweaks negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions, triggering a media meltdown from a property-owning class suddenly discovering class warfare. Meanwhile, Pauline Hanson unveils a gas policy so interventionist it accidentally sounds Scandinavian.

Australia also discovers compassion for “boat people” when the people on the boats happen to be Australian activists detained by Israel during the Gaza flotilla interception.

Plus: literary fiction panics after an allegedly AI-generated short story gets shortlisted for a major prize, and Elon Musk’s gutting of USAID collides with a growing Ebola outbreak in Africa.

All that, and more.

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks at what happens when politics stops pretending to care equally about everyone.

Labor’s latest budget is compared to the brutal Abbott-Hockey austerity budget of 2014, revealing how conservative outrage mysteriously only appears when wealthy Australians lose tax advantages. Meanwhile, the Albanese government finally responds to gambling reform recommendations with a plan so timid it feels focus-grouped by Sportsbet itself.

In the UK, Labour MPs appear ready to repeat the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years at high speed, threatening to hand Nigel Farage the easiest political opening of his life.

Plus: Coles gets caught playing games with “Down Down” pricing, and the Royal Commission into antisemitism exposes something darker than political disagreement — a growing public instinct to explain away Jewish fear rather than confront it.

All that, and more.

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks at the stories Australia keeps turning into culture wars instead of solving.

The death of Kumanjayi Little Baby reignites debate around Indigenous communities, systemic neglect, Welcome to Country ceremonies, and the country’s ongoing inability to confront its own contradictions. Sami explores the idea of the “Pink Flamingo”: the national dysfunction everyone sees but nobody meaningfully addresses.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party responds to electoral collapse by considering a return to Tony Abbott, because apparently the answer to political failure is expired yoghurt conservatism.

And in journalism, former Age editor Michael Gawenda and writer Jeff Sparrow collide in a debate over objectivity, activism, and whether journalists still know the difference between reporting facts and performing politics online.

All that, and more.

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah takes on one of the most circular, exhausting debates in modern politics: how we talk about Israel and Palestine—and why the conversation keeps going nowhere.

Using the comparison between Pakistan and Israel, this episode reframes the discussion away from slogans and toward something more useful: treating countries like countries, not symbols.

From the legacy of Partition in 1947 to the ongoing realities of Gaza, the West Bank, and global politics, Sami explores why some states are criticised for their actions, while others are endlessly debated for their right to exist.

Plus: what the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 can teach us about Palestine, the limits of American protection, and why “impossible” states have a habit of becoming real.

All that, and more.

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks at power, money, and the systems that insist everything is working fine while clearly not working at all.

The UAE exits OPEC, raising the prospect of cheaper oil and a full-blown Gulf power shuffle. Pauline Hanson receives a $1 million plane from Gina Rinehart, because nothing says anti-elite politics like private aviation funded by billionaires.

Meanwhile, a royal commission into a deadly terror attack finds no systemic failures, which is somehow more disturbing than finding some. And the government’s new plan to tax tech giants to fund journalism raises a bigger question: in 2026, what even counts as journalism anymore?

All that, and more.

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah looks at what governments call “hard choices” and what they quietly refuse to choose.

The federal government plans to remove 160,000 people from the NDIS, citing unsustainable costs, while economists and crossbench MPs push for higher taxes on gas companies making billions from public resources. Meanwhile, a children’s book is pulped after controversial comments by its illustrator, reigniting debates about censorship, free speech, and artistic hypocrisy.

Plus, FBI Director Kash Patel sues The Atlantic for $250 million, and the strange politics of diaspora conservatism takes centre stage.

All that, and more.

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NEWS WEAKLY 208 – April 18, 2026

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah returns to a world that somehow got worse while he was away.

The Middle East descends into a surreal loop of ceasefires, blockades, and immediate betrayals, with Trump now proposing to “blockade the blockade.” In Australia, Ben Roberts-Smith is granted bail on serious war crimes charges, raising questions about justice, power, and who pays for it all.

Meanwhile, the NDIS is once again under fire for being “too expensive” just as the government quietly commits $53 billion to defence spending. And in Iran, executions hit their highest level in decades, with over 1,600 people killed in a system built less on justice than control.

All that, and more.

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music 'Historic Anticipation' by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah breaks down the biggest news stories in Australia and around the world, including the latest Middle East ceasefire developments, the rise of One Nation in South Australia, the Rio Tinto bailout, and major strike action by teachers and ABC staff.

The Iran–Israel–US conflict continues to escalate, with ceasefire negotiations collapsing amid ongoing military strikes, rising oil prices, and global economic uncertainty. What does the failure of diplomacy mean for the region, and why does every “peace deal” sound like it was written by one side and emailed to the other?

In Australian politics, the South Australian election result has triggered intense debate about populism, voter behaviour, and the future of the Liberal Party. Is this really a political shift, or just another cycle in Australia’s long history of voters making entirely predictable bad decisions?

Meanwhile, the Australian government has announced a $2 billion bailout for Rio Tinto’s Boyne aluminium smelter, raising serious questions about corporate welfare, public ownership, and why multinational companies receive taxpayer support while continuing to minimise tax obligations.

Plus, thousands of teachers across Victoria go on strike over pay and conditions, while over 2,000 ABC staff walk off the job, exposing deeper issues in public sector funding, cost of living pressures, and the sustainability of essential work in Australia.

What’s covered in this episode:

• Middle East ceasefire collapse and Iran–Israel conflict update
• One Nation surge in South Australia and Australian political analysis
• Rio Tinto bailout and corporate welfare in Australia
• Victorian teacher strikes and ABC staff walkout
• Cost of living crisis and public sector pay disputes

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The sharpie is mightier than the ballistic missile.”

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Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music “Historic Anticipation” by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.