Show Notes
NEWS WEAKLY 196 – 17th January 2026
Top Stories of the Week Running From Iran A nationwide internet blackout, mass killings, exile fantasies, and the danger of confusing silence for stability. Albo Hates Hate After Bondi, Australia reaches for sweeping hate laws that try to arrest a feeling instead of fixing a mechanism, while New Zealand’s Christchurch response still quietly embarrasses us. Writers Read the Room Adelaide Writers’ Week is cancelled, apologised for, then retroactively justified, proving once again that institutions love free speech right up until they have to defend it. Kevin Oh Succession Kevin Rudd exits Washington and Canberra realises the next US ambassador’s main qualification is surviving Donald Trump without triggering an alliance incident.
Plus A deep dive into how “foreign meddling” narratives poison solidarity, why cultural institutions keep mistaking safety for optics, and how despair gets rebranded as pragmatism. And at the end of the episode, a bonus feature:
Mocking the News – Sami’s documentary exploring how satire collides with journalism, objectivity, and power, and why jokes sometimes end up telling the truth faster than headlines.
Quote of the Week “Silence isn’t stability. It’s just what violence sounds like once it’s done its job.”
Support the Show patreon.com/samishah 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.
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.
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