The Chaser Report

Energy guru Saul Griffith reckons Australia can lead the way in solving the climate crisis, with our abundant sunlight and love of new technology. Griffith has been advising the Biden Administration on renewables and is well known around the world for his passion for energy solutions that don't just work, but work better than what we have now. He reckons we already have all the technology we need to make it happen – if only we had the political will. His new book is Electrify: An Optimist's Playbook For A Clean Energy Future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nina talks us through the 'bad art friend' controversy that recently featured in the New York Times and made everyone who group chats with their friends feel terrified that they too were about to inspire a really scathing short story. Plus, Charles and Dom took a stab at predicting this week's news last week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the start of the millennium, The Chaser team met with one of Australia's best standup comedians to explore the prospect of working together. Which, in hindsight, would have been a great idea – at least for us. It did not go well. 20 years later, Charles and Dom talk it over with Wil Anderson – and discover why nothing excites him more than a standup show with no plan.Wil's show Gruen is back on TV (and iView) from today, but despite our best intentions, we didn't really talk about it much – and you'll highly likely watch it anyway! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before he was Australia's Tallest Satirist, 7.30's Mark Humphries used to work in a warehouse – which is where he met Charles Firth, who gave him his first job in comedy on a tv show called The Roast. Which is why Mark is willing, to take a break from his full-time job of going on podcasts and panel shows to tell some embarrassing stories about the early days. (The team are on holiday, but all this week we have brand new extended interviews with some of our favourite people to tide you through – and the headlines are updated every day.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia Zemiro of Rockwiz, Home Delivery and many other fabulous things joins Gabbi, Dom and Charles to explore how ordinary people can get their voices heard in Canberra – and maybe even get elected. Her new podcast about this is called 'Who Cares With Julia Zemiro', and will be in the A Rational Fear feed.(The team's having a week off to celebrate the end of NSW's lockdown – but we have a brand new extended chat with some of our favourite people for you each morning – plus fresh headlines every day!) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan Ilic (A Rational Fear) plans to put billboards up at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, but he has too much money and not enough jokes, so the team pitch some ideas. Meanwhile Nina scores some free skating gear to use once Freedom Day arrives, and John unpacks Gina Rinehart’s bizarre speech about climate change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aleksa delves through the latest pile of billionaires’ tax evasion schemes, while Sami is so sick of Melbourne’s lockdown that he’d rather visit a South Korean dystopia. Also, Gabbi gets a long-overdue tyre change, and she and Charles announce that they’re doing some strange archaic thing called ‘performing live’. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lawyer Michael Bradley joins the podcast to hypothesise about what would happen if certain federal ministers were ever to face an ICAC, and Zander has the latest scoop on the Facebook outage directly from the source. Plus Dom looks at some surprising new coal projects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After an eventful long weekend, Dom, Gabbi, and Charles catch up on all the latest news from the NRL Grand Final to Gladys’ resignation. Craig has a medical question about Covid testing, and Charles wonders if he has dementia. Plus Dom is unsure about sharing his name with a NSW’s potential new Premier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Justin Kurzel and Shaun Grant are no strangers to recent, painful topics, having collaborated on the acclaimed movie 'Snowtown' in 2011. Ten years later, they've tackled one of the darkest days in Australia's history – the Port Arthur Massacre. Their film Nitram is both an extraordinary feat of atmospheric, naturalistic filmmaking, and a powerful polemic supporting gun control – receiving rave reviews, and a Best Actor award at Cannes for its star, Caleb Landry Jones. Justin Kurzel and Shaun Grant discussed their film with Zander and Dom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At a fan’s request Sami Shah lets Adelaide know how he really feels about them with no holds barred. Sami also tries to understand why Australia is part of the Quad alliance. Plus Gabbi, Dom and Charles find a good news story – albeit about Britney Spears. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After observing how no journalists can identify the mysterious white powder surrounding NRL players, Craig tries to solve the mystery once and for all. Meanwhile Lachlan has received his first ever sponsor, though it hasn't gone exactly to plan, and Charles tries to solve America's financial crisis. Plus the curious case of a Danish artist taking the money and running. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Victoria has finally beaten NSW's daily case numbers, so James Schloeffel from The Shovel stops by to gloat in victory. Meanwhile Aleksa unpacks the latest Brexit debacle, and Dom and Gabbi try to understand the Covid roadmap. Plus Charles shares his latest entrepreneurial mishap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles has returned from his break, and in his time off has realised he would like another break. Nina Oyama shares her brand new influencer lifestyle, and Aleksa uncovers a CIA plot to assassinate Julian Assange. Plus Gabbi is not happy with the results of the Tony’s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While the rest of Australia eagerly anticipates freedom, Chris has grown accustomed to his lockdown lifestyle, and has some theories on placating the French. Plus, Aleksa on the drones that are coming to Toowoomba, and Gabbi and Dom discover the wonderful news that they’re allowed to drink in parks now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you've ever thought The Chaser Report didn't cover enough Canadian politics for you, Dylan Behan from News Fighters is here to solve all your problems with a depth analysis of the recent Canadian election. Lachlan gives Craig Kelly's latest UAP advertisement the Gruen treatment, and Dom and Gabbi give the France/Australia tension a new romantic analogy. Plus Bec brings you all the latest Chaser headlines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After riots and earthquakes Sami Shah believes he knows the cause for all Melbourne’s woes, and has found the perfect scapegoat. Meanwhile John takes a look at the unlikely partnership between Nicki Minaj and Tucker Carlson. Plus Gabbi and Dom travel to Byron for a star-studded Covid update. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aleksa discusses the protests in Melbourne and tries to understand if there's a bigger conspiracy behind the conspiracy, and Gabbi and Dom celebrate the new buddy bubble system for NSW children and its practical shortcomings. Plus, a promo for our extended interview with American musical comedian Nick Lutsko. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interns Zander and Gabbi interview musical comedian Nick Lutski about his musical and comedic influences. He discusses creating Alex Jones Rants as a Folk Song and what it was like for his music to explode during the 2020 Election.Check out Nick's music on Spotify, Youtube and Bandcamp! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With their bosses absent Gabbi and Lachlan host the podcast for the morning, and coincidentally Dom returns to share news of someone else running amok with their boss away: Barnaby Joyce. Meanwhile John has found an amazing new cooking show hosted by none other than Paris Hilton. Plus, it’s Charles Firth’s actual birthday! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sami dissects the Labor Party’s issues with finding diverse candidates, and Gabbi continues to suffer from noise pollution in her neighbourhood. Meanwhile Charles and Dom warn that the next global financial crisis is upon us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From out of nowhere, the US, UK, and – surprisingly – Australia announced a new security alignment that would, among other things, bring nuclear submarines to the Royal Australian Navy. Why this sudden, secret announcement, and who is it good for, us or the US? We asked Associate Professor David Smith of the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney – and couldn't resist examining the latest goings on in Trumpworld as well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gabbi goes back in time to find out what The Chaser team were like 25 years ago, by reviewing the 1996 documentary ‘Uni’. What was university like in the 90's? How did The Chaser come to be? And was Charles always the way he is? Answer all these questions and more in today’s episode. Plus Bec brings you all the latest Chaser news you can’t trust. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles tries to recruit Gabbi and Dom to judge his brand new short-film competition: The Christian Porter Film Festival, while Craig provides Christian Porter with some flawless legal solutions. Plus, Lachlan has accidentally begun a quest to become the most sponsored podcast host in Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fashion correspondent Vic Zerbst enlightens Dom and Charles with fashion news from the Met Gala, and also teaches them about pegging. The latest iPhone has been announced and Charles and Dom have mixed feelings, and Christian Porter provides full transparency on where his funding came from. Plus Aleksa has a depressing update on Afghanistan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nina skates onto the show with some totally tubular news from the radical world of skating with a hilarious personal anecdote, and Aleksa tries to convince Charles and Dom that North Korea are not planning on destroying the world - but can he be trusted? Plus Charles' completely accurate predictions for the next iPhone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Picnics are back - but while Charles and Dom are keen to get outside, Gabbi is anything but enthusiastic. Plus in honour of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 John shares some of his favourite pro-military propaganda aired by Disney, and Aleksa recounts a moment when a very special part of him died too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When is a cigarette not a cigarette? John Safran tells Charles and Dom about his latest book 'Puff Piece',, which looks at the clever language and new products that the cigarette-making behemoth Philip Morris is adopting to try and retain its profits while also convincing its global audience of smokers to give up their ciggies – but potentially replace them with another product where instead of smoking tobacco, you... heat it. In typical fashion, the story's funny, circuitous and thought-provoking – and involves multiple visits to Father Bob. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comedy legend John Safran comes on the podcast to talk about the story behind his new book 'Puff Piece'. Plus Dom is joined by the insightful Mark Pesce for a chat about what the near and far future of Australia will look like living with Covid. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comedian Bec Melrose joins the podcast to talk everything from Father’s Day flights, to Guy Sebastian, to swearing ducks. Sami and Dom rekindle the animosity between their states as Sami explains the Victorian Liberal party’s leadership spill. All that plus Charles and Dom attempt to contain their anger as they learn the latest news of the failed Pfizer rollout. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick Bryant joins the podcast to talk about his new book “When America Stopped Being Great” which unpacks recent US political history. Plus Aleksa takes it upon himself to find a new use for all the troops who just left Afghanistan, and Dom and Charles talk about what an amazing dad the Prime Minister is. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BONUS EPISODE – Former BBC Correspondent, Nick Bryant joins Dom and Charles to discuss his book When America Stopped Being Great. He portrays the broad sweep of American politics as it became increasingly more partisan, ideologically extreme, and unable to agree on anything – even facts – and explains how Ronald Reagan laid the groundwork for Donald Trump. An excerpt of the book features in today's regular episode as well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After receiving numerous texts from Craig Kelly, Sami Shah has realised his fondness for the UAP. Dom explains how NewsCorp have solved climate change, while Zander discusses the hottest gossip from their senate enquiry. Plus Charles has discovered a new favourite podcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nina joins the show today to share a truly disgusting cautionary tale of personal hygiene in lockdown. Gabbi is excited at ABBA's return, and Charles shares yet another hangover experience. Plus a Chaser Report first as John tells a story about sport! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Schloeffel of The Shovel drops in to make the podcast less depressing, a task which proves harder than he expected. American podcaster Joe Rogan has contracted Covid and Charles, Dom, and Gabbi are bewildered by his response. Plus Charles has a new story about his lockdown hairstyle conundrum Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Angelo Gavrielatos, NSW Teachers Federation president, joins us to examine a curious Coalition plan to hire chaplains to ease school kids’ fears about climate change. Also, Dom finds some allegedly good news on the lockdowns, Charles sells his AACTAs vote, and we play Fridge or No Fridge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Chaser takes credit for getting Harvey Norman to repay JobKeeper. Also, Zander and Lachlan are thinking of moving in together, John checks out Brexit, and Charles and Gabbi welcome Dom back with implausible sincerity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nina Oyama is double vaxxed up and has a hot tip on how to prevent the injection from making you feel sluggish, and Amanda Tattersall reports from the hottest hotspot in South Western Sydney. Plus Charles is unusually upbeat, which might be to do with the fact that Dom is back from tomorrow and this podcast will be saved Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Craig stops by to share some tips on parenting which are incredibly helpful for Charles, who thinks his own parental skills require vast improvement. Plus Aleksa uncovers the deep secrets surrounding the 5G network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zander and Charles talk to 'The Resilience Project' founder Hugh Van Cuylenburg about mental health, lockdown and the best way to stay afloat. Charles confesses that he can't meditate and Hugh tackles the big questions like 'what's number is too many lockdown beers'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Craig joins the show today to take his groundbreaking new segment for a test run, and Lachlan seeks help from his bosses with a personal problem. Plus Gabbi and Charles really really hate picnics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dylan Behan drops by to share his findings from listening to Christopher Pyne’s podcast, which is somehow more self indulgent than this one. Plus John takes a look at the poo that stopped a nation, and Zander and Lachlan reveal how they have been victimising an innocent member of the Chaser for years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dom is away for a week, and so Alex Jae and Bec Charlwood drop by to recommend all the best terrible movies you should watch once you get though the good ones. Plus Aleksa takes a look at Neo-Nazis in Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest today is Australian of the Year Grace Tame, who advocates for survivors of sexual assault, and for clearer, consistent definitions in our criminal law. We talked to her about how to achieve change, and what still stands in the way. (This episode includes an excerpt from a much longer chat with Grace, which we've also published in our feed.) Plus, we hack news.com.au, find a loophole in the mask mandate, and uncover a flaw in Qantas' big giveaway. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grace Tame is an advocate for sexual assault survivors, and this year's Australian of the Year. We asked her about the changes that she's fighting for, and how she's using her platform to make things happen – and discovered that optimism and humour are a very important part of how she operates. (An excerpt of this conversation appears in today's regular episode.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the weekend, NSW set a new daily record for COVID-19 cases anywhere in Australia – and then broke it 24 hours later! No longer the gold standard for managing outbreaks, NSW is now the gold standard for outbreaks! Plus, comedian Harry Jun tells us about teaching high school English over Zoom, we get an exclusive interview with Scott Morrison, and Donald Trump returns to rallies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conspiracy theories have always done the rounds, but it's unusual for them to be aired on the floor of federal parliament, and more unusual still for it to come from government members. Crikey's Webcam columnist talks us through why anti-vaxxers and QAnon types are finding so many followers these days. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For some months, comedian Sami Shah has maintained a fierce vendetta against the state of Queensland... until now. And that's not the only deeply-held view this freshly-vaccinated comedian is about to reverse. Also, counterinsurgency expert Dr David Kilcullen explains how the Taliban won – a 30-minute version of that interview can be found in a special episode that's also out today. Plus, Charles ponders gourmet takeaway, and it's Review Reading Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Taliban's swift capture of Kabul means that it now controls Afghanistan – how did they do it, and why didn't any of the experts see it coming? This is a longer version of today's interview with counterinsurgency expert, Dr David Kilcullen. His latest book is 'The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean – sure, he may be in favour of building a coalition to take action on climate, but can he convince Barnaby Joyce and George Christensen? Also, we apologise for New Zealand's snap lockdown, Lachlan looks at freebies for getting vaccinated, and Charles gets overly emotional about a sandwich. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.