Nevena and John talk to ABC Journalist, Maddison Connaughton,

Maddison Connaughton is an investigative reporter for Background Briefing. She has also worked at the ABC programs Four Corners and Media Watch.

Prior to the ABC, she was editor of The Saturday Paper and a senior editor at Vice. Her reporting has also appeared in The Guardian, New York Times, The Observer, Foreign Policy and more.

Looksmaxxing refers to a subculture focused on maximizing physical attractiveness. While some aspects involve standard self-care like grooming and fitness, the trend often moves into extreme and hazardous territory, particularly within online communities.

https://theconversation.com/looksmaxxing-is-the-disturbing-tiktok-trend-turning-young-men-into-incels-221724

The post Sat, 28th Feb, 2026: Maddison Connaughton – ABC Journalist, ‘Looksmaxxing’ and its Bizarre Side Effects appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Nevena and John speak to Rachel Payne -Legalise Cannabis MP for South-Eastern Metropolitan, about her recent article in the New Matilda, about a lack of class in politics.

Rachel Payne is a prominent Australian politician and a key figure in the Legalise Cannabis Victoria party. Since her election to the Victorian Legislative Council in 2022, she has consistently advocated for comprehensive cannabis law reform, focusing on decriminalisation, medicinal access, and road safety

https://newmatilda.com/2026/02/25/why-im-an-mp-who-cant-use-the-c-words-often-enough/

The post Sat, 28th Feb, 2026: Rachel Payne -Legalise Cannabis MP for South-Eastern Metropolitan-The C-word (class) In Politics appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

John Safran discusses some observations in media and some life hacks that happened to him recently

The post Sat, 28th Feb, 2026: Observations with John Safran appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

The post Sat, 28th Feb, 2026: Cat Woods – Freelance Journalist, What’s Hot, what’s not on TV and Films, Nicole Kidman’s Scarpetta, Angelina Jolie in Couture appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Nevena and John talk to Mark Nielsen – Associate Professor, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Punch and his Plushie, Attachment Theory

A baby macaque monkey named Punch has gone viral for his heart-wrenching pursuit of companionship.

After being abandoned by his mother and rejected by the rest of his troop, his zookeepers at Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan provided Punch with an orangutan plushie as a stand-in mother. Videos of the monkey clinging to the toy have gone viral worldwide”

“But Punch’s attachment to his inanimate companion is not just the subject of a heartbreaking video. It also harks back to the story of a famous set of psychology experiments conducted in the 1950s by US researcher Harry Harlow.

The findings from his experiments underpin many of the central tenets of attachment theory, which positions the bond between parent and child as crucial in child development.

Harlow took rhesus monkeys from birth, and removed them from their mothers. These monkeys were raised in an enclosure in which they had access to two surrogate “mothers”.

A viral monkey, his plushie, and a 70-year-old experiment: what Punch tells us about attachment theory

Mark joined the School of Psychology in 2002 as a UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellow after completing his PhD at La Trobe University. His research interests lie in a range of inter-related aspects of socio-cognitive development in young human children and non-human primates. His current research is primarily focused on charting the origins and development of human cultural cognition.

He is:

– Senior Research Associate, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
– a member of: Association for Psychological Science; Society for Research in Child Development; Australasian Human Development Association
– an Associate Editor: Journal of Experimental Child Psychology; PLoS ONE
0 an Editorial Consultant: Child Development; Developmental Science

The post Sat, 28th Feb, 2026: Mark Nielsen, Associate Professor, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Punch and his Plushie, Attachment Theory appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Nevena and John speak to Michael Galea MP, State Member for S E Metro Region: Parliament Update

Michael Galea is an Australian Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council, representing the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region since his election in 2022. Based on parliamentary records from 2026, he serves as Deputy Chair of the Legal and Social Issues Committee and is active in committees covering economy, infrastructure, and the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The post Sat, 28th Feb, 2026: Michael Galea MP, State Member for S E Metro Region: Parliament Update appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

On the 18th of February 2026, the Victorian Greens will today move to establish a powerful parliamentary inquiry into the scale and scope of anti-LGBTQIA+ hate crimes across the state, following a disturbing string of attacks on gay and bi+ men.

This comes following a troubling string of attacks on gay and bi+ men which have seen them lured to public places through fake online dating profiles and violently attacked.

The inquiry, to be conducted by the Legal and Social Issues Committee, would examine how anti-LGBTQIA+ influencers and hate groups operate online, including far-right, misogynistic, and homophobic ‘alpha-male’ content, and explore strategies to protect young people from this influence.

It would also look at the adequacy of existing responses to preventing these crimes, and the support available to victim survivors.
The inquiry would examine ways to improve LGBTQIA+ community safety and support victim survivors of these and other hate crimes, as well as look into ways to combat anti-LGBTQI+ influence on young people particularly through hateful online content.

The Greens are urging all political parties to support the inquiry, which is due to report by 1 September 2026.

Quotes attributable to the Victorian Greens equality spokesperson, Aiv Puglielli:

“No one should have to fear for their safety because of who they love.

“We are seeing gay and bi+ men being lured to public places through fake online dating profiles and violently attacked just for being who they are. As a queer person, it is genuinely terrifying to see this terrifying escalation of violence towards my community happening before our eyes.

“This doesn’t come out of nowhere. We know there’s a “manosphere” of anti-queer influences and far-right “alpha-male” networks that are grooming and radicalising young men online, building these hate networks and fuelling this very real hatred and people are being seriously harmed.

“We can’t look the other way while LGBTQIA+ people are being harassed, threatened, and terrorised. Enough is enough. We need to get to the root of this.”

https://greens.org.au/vic/news/media-release/victorian-greens-move-establish-inquiry-lgbtqia-hate-crimes

The post Sat, 28th Feb, 2026: Aiv Puglielli MP, Greens rep for Nth Eastern Metro, Hate Crimes Enquiry; Victorian Greens move to establish an inquiry into LGBTQIA+ hate crimes appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Nevena and John Safran are in the hosting seats this week as they discuss the news, views, reviews of the week and what’s coming up in this week’s programme.

The post Sat, 28th Feb, 2026: Weekly Wrap Up with Nevena and John Safran appeared first on Saturday Magazine.