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.

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.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

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.”

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Support independent Australian satire by joining Patreon.com/samishah. Your support helps fund weekly episodes covering politics, media, and global news with absolutely no corporate spin.

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 escalating Iran-Israel-US conflict, Australia’s latest interest rate hike, a Sydney Biennale DJ controversy, and the war in Afghanistan that no one seems to remember exists.

Sharp analysis, dark satire, and global chaos, all in one episode.

Top Stories of the Week

• Iran War Update – The US and Israel claim success, while Iran remains “intact but degraded” and the Strait of Hormuz crisis rattles global oil markets
• RBA Interest Rate Rise – Australia’s cash rate hits 4.1% as cost of living pressures continue to climb
• Sydney DJ Investigation – Police probe Biennale performance by DJ Haram over alleged hate speech
• Pakistan–Afghanistan Conflict – Civilian deaths rise in a war that barely registers in global attention

Episode Breakdown

Iran War: Strategy Without a Strategy

The war between Iran, Israel and the United States enters a phase where “winning” appears optional. Key Iranian leaders have been assassinated, oil markets are unstable, and even US intelligence admits Iran remains operational.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump treats foreign policy like a loyalty test, NATO allies hesitate, and civilian casualties continue to rise across Iran, Israel, and Lebanon.

Afghanistan: The War Everyone Forgot

A major strike in Afghanistan kills hundreds of civilians, reportedly at a drug rehabilitation centre. Pakistan claims it targeted militants.

Unlike other global conflicts, this war generates almost no outrage, no online campaigns, and no cultural backlash. The episode examines why some conflicts dominate attention while others disappear.

Sydney Biennale DJ Controversy

A performance by DJ Haram at the Biennale of Sydney sparks political backlash, police investigation, and visa scrutiny.

The reaction raises questions about free speech, artistic responsibility, and why a DJ saying something inflammatory is treated like a national security threat.

Meanwhile, corporate sponsors withdraw support, highlighting familiar contradictions in public morality.

RBA Interest Rate Hike Explained

The Reserve Bank of Australia raises interest rates to 4.1%, continuing its effort to curb inflation.

The episode breaks down why rate hikes are being used to fight a supply-driven inflation problem and what that means for mortgages, rent, and everyday Australians already under pressure.

Quote of the Week

“Intact but largely degraded is basically how we all feel these days.”

Support the Show

If you enjoy News Weakly, support the show on Patreon and help keep it independent:

http://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.

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

This week, I step away from the headlines to tell one of the most powerful stories in the Muslim world: the Battle of Karbala. The death of Husain ibn Ali in 680 CE shaped the split between Sunni and Shia Islam and created a moral narrative about power, justice, and martyrdom that still echoes through modern politics, from Karachi to Tehran.

It's a very different episode, but I feel like it's a central element missing from the analysis and understanding of Iran and the IRGC's self perception, global Shia empathy towards the Ayatollah, and how the Iranian government has become that which it purports to hate.

Shenanigans and tomfoolery will be back next week. 

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.

Episode Summary

Missiles fly, oil markets panic, reality television becomes a geopolitical framework, and Queensland decides the best way to fight hate is by outlawing metaphors about rivers.

This week, News Weakly explains the escalating Iran–Israel–US conflict using the only analytical tool Australians truly understand: Married At First Sight. Meanwhile, Australia may already be involved in the war in the most Australian way possible, Melbourne accidentally saves the nation from three more decades of commercial radio brain rot, the federal government discovers “social cohesion” is harder than it sounds, and Queensland enters the bold new frontier of criminalising specific slogans.

It’s geopolitics, media collapse, diaspora politics, and the strange ways governments try to regulate speech, all punched in the headlines weakly.

Top Stories of the Week

Married At First Strike: Iran, Israel, America and the Middle East Dinner Party

Missiles, air strikes, Khamenei’s death, regional militias circling, and oil markets panicking. Why the current escalation looks less like careful diplomacy and more like the most explosive MAFS dinner party ever broadcast.

Melbourne Saves Australia

After nearly three decades of scandal, humiliation and cultural decline on breakfast radio, the Kyle and Jackie O empire finally hits a wall. Not because of regulators, outrage or consequences. Because Melbourne changed the station.

Social Cohesion, Australian Style

The federal government cancels funding for a Shia community centre after reports it mourned Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The political logic might make sense in Canberra, but the way it will be heard across Muslim communities is another story entirely.

From the River to the Sea… or the Lake to the Bay?

Queensland passes sweeping hate speech laws banning specific protest slogans. A legal innovation that raises an important question: if metaphors about rivers are illegal, what exactly counts as a body of water?

Quote of the Week

“Nothing says ‘we’re not involved in the war’ quite like Australian sailors possibly helping fire the torpedo.”

Support the Show

If you enjoy News Weakly and want to support the show, head over to Patreon at patreon.com/samishah. Paying members get ad-free episodes and bonus content.

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.

Everything escalates, no one learns, and somehow the only consistent casualties are civilians.

This week, News Weakly looks at the wars you are obsessing over, the wars you have forgotten, and the deeply online way Australians are processing both.

Top Stories of the Week

Pakistan vs Afghanistan: The War You Forgot Was Happening

Cross-border strikes, Taliban accusations, militant blowback and strategic depth coming home to roost. A conflict with decades of history that barely trends, even as both sides accuse the other of harbouring terrorists.

Iran, Israel, America and Everyone Having an Opinion

Khamenei is dead. Strikes escalate. American bases get hit. Diaspora celebrations clash with anti-war outrage. From Iranian expats to The Greens, Labor, pro-Israel hawks and The Australian’s columnists, everyone finds a way to cheer something while claiming the moral high ground.

Bad vs Bad: How We Turn Foreign Wars into Domestic Culture Wars

What happens when geopolitical catastrophe becomes suburb-specific moral panic? A look at how Australian political factions filter Middle East conflict through their own tribal lenses.

Quote of the Week

“You can oppose illegal wars and also oppose theocratic fascists. But that requires holding multiple uncomfortable truths at once.”

Support the Show

If you enjoy News Weakly and want to support the show, head over to Patreon at patreon.com/samishah. Paying members get ad-free episodes and bonus content.

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.

Episode title: Difficulty Level: National

Hello and welcome to News Weakly, where we punch the news in the headlines weakly. This week, the world is in multiple active spirals, but Australia has bravely chosen to centre a word association game like it is the Cuban Missile Crisis with better catering.

Top Stories of the Week

1) Things get difficult for Albo

Anthony Albanese describes Grace Tame as “difficult” during a Herald Sun conference word association game, and suddenly the nation discovers that adjectives can carry freight. The real story is not just the word, it is what the word has historically meant when men apply it to women, and how quickly a flimsy media moment becomes a full week of moral theatre. Then Tame responds on Instagram, politicians demand titles be stripped, commentators run their diagnostics, and Australia convinces itself it is doing political analysis while mostly doing a social media reading comprehension test.

2) Geneva Conventionally Insane

The US and Iran meet in Geneva for indirect nuclear talks, mediated by Oman, with messages passed back and forth like divorced parents refusing to make eye contact at a school recital. Everyone says they want to avoid war while moving military hardware around like it is a hobby. The argument is about enrichment and rebuilding, but the anxiety sits in the region, especially Lebanon, where Hezbollah and Israel both know how quickly “posturing” turns into “miscalculation.”

3) Can we ban all teenagers

NSW Police data records 197 incidents of anti LGBTQIA+ hate related violence since 2023, with a disturbing pattern of teenage boys luring victims on dating and hook up apps, then assaulting and robbing them, sometimes filming it. The ideology varies, the method does not. Extremism is a franchise model now. Different uniforms, same obsession, same fixation on queer bodies as a site for performance, humiliation, and cruelty.

Quote of the Week

“We are treating a throwaway word in a word game as if it were a constitutional crisis.”

Support the show

You can back the show on Patreon.com/samishah.

Credits

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: Australian values get workshopped into meaninglessness, Pauline Hanson re-releases her Greatest Bigots collection, ISIS brides become the nation’s worst dating story, and Victoria’s Big Build proves the only thing constructed efficiently is defensiveness.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

AUSTRALIAN VALUES GET DEVALUED!

Angus Taylor rediscovers the Liberal Party’s “centre of gravity,” which turns out to be immigration anxiety with better lighting. We revisit the official Australian Values Statement and ask the obvious question: why are migrants the only ones being tested on it?

PAULINE PAULINES!

Pauline Hanson declares there are no “good Muslims,” the ABC obliges, and the outrage machine spins up like it’s 2015 again. Is she a politician, or just a human push notification powered by grievance?

SWIPE RIGHT FOR THE CALIPHATE!

Anthony Albanese has “nothing but contempt” for Australian ISIS brides attempting to return. But if citizenship collapses under the weight of terrible romantic decisions, half the country is in trouble.

BIG BUILD, BIG TANTRUM!

Explosive allegations of corruption on Victoria’s Big Build projects meet a Premier more offended by tone analysis than by bikie infiltration. When the scandal costs $15 billion, the real emergency is apparently eye direction.

AND ENGLAND GETS ONE STEP CLOSER TO BEHEADING A ROYAL AGAIN!

We briefly consider the monarchy, remember Charles I, and decide unless limbs are involved, we simply do not care.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Citizenship is not a vibe-based subscription you cancel when someone makes a catastrophic life choice.”

SUPPORT THE SHOW

News Weakly is independent and powered by listeners who prefer their news punched gently but repeatedly.

If you’d like to support the show and keep it free of corporate chairmen’s lounges and vibe-based patriotism, join the Patreon:

patreon.com/samishah

You’ll get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and the warm glow of knowing you are funding sarcasm in dark times.

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.

Summary

A suicide bombing in a Shia mosque barely registers before the algorithm moves on, and that erasure opens the door to something darker. This episode looks at why conspiracy thinking no longer lives on the fringes, but feels increasingly rational in a world where intelligence agencies really do assassinate, destabilise, and lie, and institutions keep getting caught doing exactly what they deny. From Pakistan to Australia, from foreign policy to arts boards and police crackdowns, the show unpacks how incompetence, cowardice, and risk-aversion get misread as secret coordination, and why that misunderstanding doesn’t challenge power but lets it off the hook. When everything feels orchestrated, accountability disappears. And once reality becomes optional, nothing democratic survives for long.

Credits

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 199 – 07 Feb 2026

This week on News Weakly:

Australia discovers its newest national value, which mostly means everyone should stop talking while the government imports a global conflict and acts surprised when it doesn’t calm anyone down.

The Epstein Files, News Now…

Three million pages confirm the problem was never just Epstein, it was the elite ecosystem that kept letting him back into respectable rooms, plus Deepak Chopra turns out to be exactly who you thought he was.

Everything Is Fine, News Now…

The media panics over One Nation polling, Cori Bernardi returns from irrelevance, and Australian democracy once again proves it prefers furniture to fascism.

Oman Is the New Geneva, News Now…

The US and Iran meet in Oman to not start a war yet, with Trump threatening bombing as a confidence-building exercise and everyone pretending this is diplomacy.

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:

• Scott Morrison resurfaces to reform Islam, Western civilisation, and reality itself, proposing authoritarian religious controls while insisting this is what freedom looks like.

• A bomb is thrown into a First Nations gathering in Perth, and Australia carefully waits to see who did it before deciding whether terrorism is the correct word.

• Iran may have killed tens of thousands of protesters in weeks, but struggles to compete with America for global attention, airtime, and moral urgency.

• The world watches state violence selectively, proving outrage is less about scale and more about proximity to English-speaking cable news.

• Why I’ve stopped following American politics altogether, while people drown quietly in the Mediterranean and the global order reshapes itself off-screen.

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:

• George R. R. Martin gives an interview that finally, definitively kills The Winds of Winter and with it the last surviving shard of millennial optimism.

• The Coalition explodes over hate-speech laws it demanded, negotiated, diluted, then rage-quit anyway, proving opposition is harder than outrage.

• Australia passes its “strongest ever” hate laws, handing vast discretionary power to the state and asking everyone to trust the vibes.

• Davos assembles the world’s elites to solve distrust, only for Donald Trump to confuse allies, geography, and colonialism with branding.

• Gaza is reimagined as a luxury real estate opportunity, because nothing ends mass trauma like a PowerPoint and a beachfront casino.

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.

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.

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

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

This week on News Weakly, the empire stops pretending, the internet gets unplugged, a royal commission settles in for the long haul, and a writers’ festival demonstrates once again that its strongest literary skill is drafting a press release explaining why someone has been quietly uninvited.

ALSO IN THIS EPISODE

• Trump abandons subtlety entirely, floats Greenland acquisition, and introduces the Donroe Document, which sounds less like foreign policy and more like a hostile takeover clause.

• Iran responds to nationwide protests by pulling the internet plug, proving once again that authoritarian crisis management always starts with “have you tried turning the country off and on again?”

• A long, uncomfortable look at how free speech gets hollowed out not by ideology, but by boards, risk assessments, and the quiet terror of a bad headline.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Trump didn’t end the international order. He ended the bedtime story version of it.”

SUPPORT THE SHOW

If you enjoy long arguments disguised as comedy, consider supporting the show on Patreon: 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.

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

03 January 2026

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

• A terror hero meets Australian media ethics

• Humanitarian aid fails an ideological compliance test

• Iran’s economy collapses again

• Australia’s regulator regulates itself

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“You don’t pay for interviews. Not in cash. Not in gifts. Definitely not in hotel suites.”

SUPPORT THE SHOW

News Weakly is listener-supported and ad-light by choice.

If you’d like to support the show and keep it independent, you can join the Patreon at:

http://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

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

Temporary Democracy, Permanent Consequences

This week on News Weakly, grief turns into legislation at speed, history offers an inconvenient warning, and Australia tests whether banning protest actually makes anyone safer.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“You don’t delete anger by banning protest. You just move it somewhere else.”

SUPPORT THE SHOW

If you value sharp analysis without billionaire backing or emergency legislation energy, consider supporting the show on Patreon.

👉 https://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.

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

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

A national tragedy becomes a political talking point

Also, why the antisemitism plan didn’t come with a time machine

All that, and more, on News Weakly.

Quote of the Week

“You can’t spend a decade attacking the fire brigade and then act shocked when the hose pressure isn’t what you wanted.”

Support the Show

If you value independent satire that takes the news seriously without treating it gently, you can support News Weakly on Patreon.

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.

Conditional Condolences

17th December, 2025

This week on News Weakly, Sami Shah delivers a long-form editorial on the Bondi attack and the reaction that followed, focusing not on the crime itself but on the way grief gets filtered, qualified, and politically managed online.

Support the show

If you value independent, listener-supported satire, you can support News Weakly on Patreon.

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.