The middle class is being hollowed out while a tiny owning class accumulates fortunes, assets and political power at a scale that rivals nation-states.

The money keeps flowing up. Governments get poorer. Public services deteriorate. Then the anger is redirected towards people with even less power.

In this episode, Matt and Elliot follow the divide between owners and earners, expose how extreme wealth escapes taxation and ask what it would take to start punching up again.

Can democracy rebuild the broad Australian middle before private fortunes become private fiefdoms?

Find out in this week's episode of Worth Knowing.

Chapters ➡

00:00 Taking on the big kahuna
01:34 The middle we have lost
03:57 Childhood Australia and the precariat
05:57 What the numbers show
08:29 From the Gilded Age to trickle-up economics
10:59 Three failures of capitalism
15:39 When markets stop being free
19:32 Inequality and the loss of sovereignty
23:27 Cost of living and who profits
25:17 Stop punching down
27:46 Taxing extreme wealth
30:57 Democracy, coalitions and political courage
34:03 Is Britain still a middle power?
35:01 Final thoughts

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack and your favourite podcasting channels, at: https://worthknowingpod.com

For show notes and a deep dive on each episode, visit the Substack via the link above.

The old US-led order has ruptured... but Australia is still behaving as though it’s 2012.

In this episode, Matt and Elliot ask what happens when your closest ally can no longer be trusted. From Trump’s America and the Pentagon’s growing alliance with Silicon Valley oligarchs to Albanese’s AI bargains and the A$368 billion AUKUS bet, Australia keeps exporting abundance, importing vulnerability and calling it stability.

Canada and Europe recognise that compliance no longer buys safety and are widening their choices. So why is Australia still rolling over for belly rubs?

Find out in this week's episode of Worth Knowing.

Chapters ➡

00:00 Ten episodes of weekly sense-making
01:30 The bigger bubble that has already burst
03:40 Why Carney’s rupture speech matters
10:15 Albanese and Australia’s leadership vacuum
14:00 Exporting abundance, importing vulnerability
16:45 The AI copyright and data-centre bargain
21:20 Middle powers and tech companies with state-like power
27:05 Why America can no longer be trusted
30:45 The A$368 billion AUKUS question
34:00 Allies, protectorates and sovereign defence
36:30 Albanese, Carney and the schoolyard bully
40:35 Final thoughts and where Australia goes next

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack and your favourite podcasting channels, at: https://worthknowingpod.com

For show notes and a deep dive on each episode, visit the Substack via the link above.

AI was the elephant in every room at Climate Week NYC. Behind the promises of green innovation looms a ‘brown boost’ in data centres, gas and power.

This week, Elliot reports from New York as he and Matt unpack the real, immediate and enormous energy demand behind the race towards AGI, and the religious promise that once we reach the Promised Land, AI will save us.

Where are the examples? What are the strategies? And can AI companies become good corporate citizens without locking in another generation of gas and coal?

And what hope do we have when even the climate tech VCs are all in on AI and fresh out of decarb?

Find out in this week's episode of Worth Knowing.

Chapters ➡

00:00 AI is the elephant in every room
00:15 A typhoon rolls through New York
02:32 Climate Week becomes AI and Data Centre Week
06:35 The missing global guardrails
07:55 AI’s brown boost
09:09 Nvidia says: trust us, we're surgeons
12:20 Racing towards the Promised Land
16:48 Decentralised energy and good corporate citizens
20:47 Renewables are on a tear
22:26 Patagonia, Twiggy Forrest and Sylvia Earle
27:02 Active hope and Gross Domestic Regeneration
29:41 Why COP31 will not save us
31:58 The war is not yet over

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack and your favourite podcasting channels, at: https://worthknowingpod.com

For show notes and a deep dive on each episode, visit the Substack via the link above.

The AI bubble is looking very, very frothy. But after the OpenAI–Hugging Face incident and Andrew Yang’s extraordinary claim, Matt thinks a bubble may already have burst... and something strange, dangerous and potentially extraordinary is emerging underneath.

This week, Matt and Elliot unpack the circular economy of IOUs between AI labs, cloud providers and chipmakers, and what happened when AI agents moved beyond the boundaries of a controlled cybersecurity evaluation.

Why are rival AI leaders suddenly sounding the alarm? And is a choice between human extinction and incredible shareholder value really all that's on offer?

This isn’t another doomer episode. It’s a conversation about what the hell comes next... and who gets to imagine it.

Chapters ➡

00:29 Introduction to the AI bubble and market context
01:58 Lessons from the dot-com bubble and early internet optimism
03:10 The parallels between past crashes and current AI valuations
04:55 The circular economy of AI companies and market interdependence
07:01 Potential for a market crash driven by overvaluation and speculation
12:37 Regulatory challenges and the risk of monopolistic control
15:50 Narrative-driven markets
19:43 The importance of balanced narratives and realistic expectations
21:21 The potential for AI to create a better future if managed wisely
23:14 Call for imagination, regulation, and societal engagement
25:10 Something has happenned
28:17 The Hugging Face Incident and Its Implications
30:28 The bubble that has already burst
35:25 Closing thoughts and upcoming Climate Week event

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack, and on your favourite podcasting channels at: https://worthknowingpod.com

For show notes and a deep dive on each episode, visit the Substack via the link above.

The world is set to blow past 1.5°C, Europe has endured four brutal heatwaves, Nepal has been devastated and a monster El Niño is gathering strength.

Our political leaders and mainstream media have already moved on. Online, the response has split between “we’re doomed” and “we already have all the solutions”. Matt and Elliot ask what both narratives leave out: the scale, speed and systems change required to actually turn this around.

From hopium and copium to care, simplification and defiance, this is an emergency broadcast about the climate threshold we have crossed and what the hell we do now.

Chapters ➡

00:44 Introduction to Climate Crisis
02:15 The Impact of Recent Climate Events
07:06 Political Responses to Climate Change
13:26 The Role of Community in Climate Action
22:12 Framework for Climate Response
30:00 Hope and the Path Forward

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack, and on your favourite podcasting channels at: https://worthknowingpod.com

For show notes and a deep dive on each episode, visit the Substack via the link above.

Australia’s packaging waste is out of control. Industry, recyclers, environmental groups, state governments, councils and consumers agree on what needs to change.

So why has the Albanese government walked away from a political open goal?

Matt and Elliot unpack the reform that could transform Australia’s waste economy, the political calculation that killed it, and why the cost-of-living excuse falls apart as soon as you look at the numbers.

Chapters ➡

00:33 Introduction: Australia's Packaging Waste Crisis
02:19 History of Waste Policy in Australia
04:11 Failure of Voluntary Targets and the 2018 Framework
06:28 Political and Industry Resistance to Reform
08:12 The Role of Regulation and EPR Explained
10:03 Economic and Environmental Benefits of EPR
11:48 Case Studies: Successful EPR Schemes
13:30 The Impact of Inaction and Future Risks
15:45 Call to Action: How Citizens Can Influence Policy
17:43 Conclusion: The Path Forward for Australia

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack, and on your favourite podcasting channels at: https://worthknowingpod.com

One Nation is rising because it understands something the Australian left seems unwilling to admit: the anger is real.

But if migrants, refugees and culture-war targets aren’t the cause of that anger, who benefits from pointing it at them?

Matt and Elliot follow the grievance from Australia’s hollowed-out political centre to two unlikely movements overseas, asking whether the left still remembers how to turn discontent into people power.

Because the system does feel rigged. The real question is who rigged it... and what it would take to build something else?

00:00 Introduction to the Politics of Discontent
02:33 The Global Context of Discontent
05:32 The Role of Major Parties in Australia
06:57 Lobbying and Public Interest
09:57 The Rise of Right-Wing Populism
12:44 Left-Wing Populism: A Missed Opportunity
15:41 The Need for a New Political Movement
18:26 Emerging Movements: DSA and Cockroach Movement
21:28 The Importance of Organising for Change
24:10 The Role of Joy in Political Movements
27:01 Conclusion: The Future of Politics in Australia

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack, and on your favourite podcasting channels at: https://worthknowingpod.com

Tech billionaires increasingly have access to the levers of power inside government, while they tighten their control over the channels we rely on to push back against that power and hold it to account.

This week, Elliot and Matt explore how Silicon Valley’s self-styled disruptors became part of the governing class - from Peter Thiel’s network inside the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s DOGE, to the unnamed algorithms who are the new editors-in-chief of our politics and culture.

What happens when the people inside government also control the public square? And if politicians can be voted out but platform owners cannot, who will push back against Big Tech's big build of their very own private state?

Chapters ➡

00:00 Introduction to the influence of big tech on society
02:29 Historical parallels: religion and power in governance
04:09 Private Wealth and Political Power
06:08 Peter Thiel's Political Network
09:39 DOGE and the Conflict of Interest
11:43 Silicon Valley's Broken Promise
17:52 Algorithms Replace Editors
21:55 How Algorithms Shape the Information Diet
23:28 Profit, Monopoly and Democratic Power
26:43 Why Platform Power Can't Be Voted Out
28:05 Media Literacy and Alternatives

Watch and subscribe to the channel now, as well as our Substack, and on your favourite podcasting channels at: https://worthknowingpod.com