When Robert F Kennedy Jr was sworn in as Health and Human Services Secretary, his confirmation came off the back of a fiery questioning from Democrats and Republicans alike about RFK Jr’s record on vaccines. And under oath, RFK Jr denied he was against them. But now, Reuters reports he considered scrapping the entire childhood immunisation schedule, removing polio and MMR vaccines, and spending five billion dollars investigating the disproven link between vaccines and autism. Kennedy has spent two decades campaigning against vaccines, using his famous name to become one of the movement’s most prominent figures. Today, we return to our conversation with investigative journalist Brian Deer, on Kennedy’s anti-vaccine campaign – and the deadly consequences of vaccine misinformation in Samoa. This episode was originally published in February 2025.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Investigative journalist Brian Deer Photo: AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia is one of the world’s biggest exporters of liquefied natural gas. Over the past 25 years, the value of those exports has increased more than twentyfold. Yet revenue from the tax designed to capture the extraordinary profits made from petroleum resources has gone backwards. This week, at its national conference, the Labor Party formally acknowledged that Australians deserve a "fairer return" from the resources beneath their land and seas. But the party stopped short of backing the policy that forced the issue onto the agenda: a 25 per cent tax on gas exports that supporters say could raise up to $17 billion a year. Today, Australia Institute co-chief executive Richard Denniss, on the unlikely alliance pushing Labor to take on the gas industry – and whether the party’s carefully chosen words will ever become an actual tax.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Co-Chief Executive Officer at The Australia Institute, Dr Richard Denniss Photo: AAP Image/Joe CastroSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the East Room of the White House, Donald Trump made an extraordinary accusation of election interference: Beijing had illegally obtained the voter files of 220 million Americans. He also accused US intelligence agencies of hiding the extent of China’s activity.  Later, Trump claimed a Homeland Security review had found around 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote. Trump’s motivation, critics say, is to sow doubt ahead of the upcoming midterm elections – which he’s already made several attempts to reshape: from redrawing maps, to restricting voting, to firing the entire electoral commission. Today, staff writer at The Atlantic David A. Graham, on Trump’s campaign to tilt the midterms and what he could still do before, during and after election day.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Staff writer at The Atlantic David A. Graham Photo: Saul LOEB / POOL / AFPSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A blonde woman stands among smiling children holding lollipops. A foundation banner hangs behind them. She announces that a new orphanage has opened in Africa. But evidence collected during an ABC investigation suggests that the woman in the video isn’t real. Neither are the children or the banner behind them. The scene appears to have been generated using artificial intelligence. Millions of people have watched an Australian influencer promise food, shelter and hope to children in some of the world's most critical crisis zones.  Now, her foundation is facing questions about its humanitarian claims, the money it solicited, and the damage AI-generated appeals could do to public trust in charities. Today, ABC News Verify journalist, Matt Martino on the Lily Jay Foundation, and the tangled web behind its humanitarian work.    If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: ABC News Verify senior journalist Matt Martino Photo: @lilyjayofficial via XSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For more than a week, Donald Trump has unleashed strikes against Iran, in a worsening cycle of attacks, including on civilian infrastructure. Trump has defended the strikes as honouring the deaths of up to three American service members in an Iranian attack. But the real goal is to get the Strait of Hormuz open again – something that looks increasingly unlikely.  So, with the region once again on a knife’s edge, the US appears locked back into an escalating war, unless the interim ceasefire deal can be salvaged.  Today, diplomatic correspondent at NOTUS Akbar Shahid Ahmed on the threat of all-out war, and who is really in charge of what happens next.    If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Diplomatic correspondent at NOTUS and author of Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel’s War in Gaza, Akbar Shahid Ahmed Photo: US Central Command/ReutersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s the other racism inquiry running at the same time as the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion – the inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But while the royal commission has attracted rolling media coverage and government attention, the Aboriginal racism inquiry has been largely ignored. The inquiry was triggered by the alleged bombing of an Invasion Day rally – witnesses shining a light on the repeated inaction before, during and after the event as they testified about the fear still hanging over the Indigenous community. Today, National Indigenous Affairs Editor for NITV & SBS John Paul Janke, on how Australia treats different kinds of racism differently.  If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: National Indigenous Affairs Editor for NITV & SBS John Paul Janke Photo: AAP Image/Bianca De MarchiSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After more than two decades at Nine, Karl Stefanovic has left the building. For years, he was the face of the Today show – surviving ratings slumps, public scandals, internal criticism and a revolving door of female co-hosts. But after launching his own podcast, and then interviewing far-right British figure Tommy Robinson, Nine finally cut him loose. Now, people who worked with Stefanovic are speaking out. Crikey contributor and Fourth Estate host Tina Quinn has spoken to current and former Nine insiders about what he was really like behind the scenes and why the network backed him for so long. Today, Tina Quinn, on Karl Stefanovic’s rise, his fall from Nine, and whether he can survive without the network that built him.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest:  Host of Fourth Estate on 2SER and Crikey contributor, Tina Quinn Photo: AAP Image/Tracey NearmySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earlier this month, in the space of just three days, four women and girls in Australia were allegedly killed by men and boys known to them. Two months ago, the Prime Minister resisted calls for a royal commission into domestic violence. But women and girls continue to be killed – sometimes within hours of one another. Today, we’re bringing you an episode from 2024, where Ruby Jones speaks to Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Anna Cody, about why our domestic violence crisis is getting worse – and why years of plans, campaigns and promises have failed to stop it. This episode was originally published in July 2024.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Anna Cody Photo: AAP Image/Lukas CochSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Liberal Party has begun asking what it needs to do to modernise. Its answer, so far, appears to be Tony Abbott. As Angus Taylor tries to put some distance between the Coalition and One Nation, Pauline Hanson’s party has had a week that looks less like a political revolution and more like a holiday gone wrong. Away from the political theatre, do the Coalition’s proposed migration cuts stack up economically – at a time when one of the country’s most important systems is still failing the people it is meant to care for? Today, federal political correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald Natassia Chrysanthos, on the Liberal Party’s identity crisis, One Nation’s fortunes and an aged-care system still not fit for purpose.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Federal political correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Natassia Chrysanthos Photo: AAP Image/Dan HimbrechtsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Great Barrier Reef has avoided being placed on UNESCO’s “in danger” list – for now. But the warning hasn’t gone away. UNESCO says Australia still needs to do more to protect it, including on water quality. And one of those problems starts far inland: when bushland is cleared, soil can wash into rivers that flow out to the coral. The Australian Conservation Foundation says bulldozing for beef production is a major driver of that runoff. And now, Australia’s new national environment watchdog – the National Environmental Protection Agency – has opened its doors with more than 100 potentially unlawful land-clearing cases already on its books. Labor says its new nature laws will protect the environment and speed up approvals for housing, renewables and infrastructure. But will they actually stop the clearing – or just speed up a broken system? Today, CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation Adam Bandt, on the first test of Labor’s new nature laws – and whether they can make an impact before it’s too late.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Adam Bandt Photo: WWF AustraliaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.