Best Natasha Wright Podcasts (2025)

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Judge Navi Pillay on the fight for human rights, justice and accountability 54:36

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3h ago54:36

54:36

Born in apartheid South Africa, she became the country's first female high court judge. She sat on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and helped to establish sexual violence and rape as war crimes in international law. At a time of global conflict and instability, the work and achievements of Navi Pillay are a reminder of what can be a…

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Musician Holly Rankin on why young Australians feel that politics isn't delivering for them 53:51

6m ago53:51

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Young Australians are losing faith that our politics, our civic institutions and the mainstream media are working for them. Why is this? And how can our democracy adapt to win back the trust and engagement of new generations? The 2025 Speaker's Lecture was recorded at Parliament House on 27 October 2025. Speakers Holly Rankin - Musician and recordi…

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Dan Tomlinson, Dame Harriett Baldwin, Paul Nowak & Fraser Nelson 51:00

2d ago51:00

51:00

Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question are the Exchequer secretary to the Treasury Dan Tomlinson, Shadow business minister Dame Harriett Baldwin, General secretary of the Trades Union Congress Paul Nowak and Columnist for The Times Fraser Nelson.

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What are universities for today? The usefulness of "useless" knowledge 54:36

9m ago54:36

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Are our universities facing an existential crisis by trying to be too many things? Places for learning, research, the production of new knowledge, the production of job-ready graduates, and profit-making enterprises? Does everything they do have to produce a tangible, measurable, practical, or profitable outcome? Should they also foster intellectua…

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Shevaun Haviland, Kezia Dugdale, Graham Stuart & Camilla Turner 53:46

1h ago53:46

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Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question are the British Chambers of Commerce's Director General Shevaun Haviland, former Scottish Labour Party leader Kezia Dugdale, Conservative MP Graham Stuart and the Sunday Telegraph's Political Editor Camilla Turner.

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Jane Caro — why Australia is failing our school system 59:27

7m ago59:27

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We often hear about "failing schools", but what if it is us, the Australian community, who are failing them? Public school advocate Jane Caro argues that Australia's pursuit of school choice, and the tax payer funding that enables it, has come at a huge cost to the school system, to children's education, and to our broader society. The 2025 Dymphna…

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Catherine Atkinson, Dr Luke Evans, Edward Morello & Angela Epstein 55:26

6m ago55:26

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Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question are MPs Catherine Atkinson from Labour, Dr Luke Evans from the Conservatives and Edward Morello from the Liberal Democrats, plus the journalist and broadcaster Angela Epstein.

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Coming Out and Inviting In — with Zoe Terakes, Nina Oyama, Mon Schafter, Atari Metcalf, Ji Wallace 54:35

9m ago54:35

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Join ABC's Mon Schafter and four incredible speakers as they share honest, powerful stories about revealing their identities on their own terms. From fear to freedom, isolation to community - this is a conversation about truth, courage, and connection. Held in recognition of 40 years of ACON, it celebrates every journey of coming out and shines a l…

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Searching for convivencia — philosopher AC Grayling makes peace in the culture wars 54:36

1h ago54:36

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If you're a feminist, or pro-civil or gay rights, does that make you "woke"? And if you're not, does that mean you should be cancelled, or abused online, or lose your job? So many of our public debates nowadays are divided along these lines, but is there a better way? This event was recorded at the 2025 Melbourne Writers Festival. To explore more M…

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Lucy Frazer, Jim Murphy, Charlotte Pickles & Liam O'Dell 53:33

1h ago53:33

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Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question are the former Conservative Cabinet ministers Lucy Frazer and former Labour Cabinet minister Jim Murphy, along with Re:Start think-tank director Charlotte Pickles and journalist and disability rights campaigner Liam O'Dell.

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The Sophia Club live philosophy — what are friends for? 1:10:05

20m ago1:10:05

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Friends are different from family. We choose them and they choose us. Philosophers long wondered about what makes friendship such a distinctive relationship in our lives. Is being a good friend a kind of moral virtue? Can friends help us find our true selves? What about the dark and difficult side of friendship — toxic friends and frenemies? How is…

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Alex Sobel, Sir John Hayes, Alys Denby & Mathew Hulbert 52:14

7d ago52:14

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Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question are the Labour MP Alex Sobel, Conservative MP Sir John Hayes, Alys Denby from the business newspaper City AM and the political commentator and Liberal Democrat activist Mathew Hulbert.

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Understanding China's history is crucial for Australia 44:48

23m ago44:48

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To deal with China as a major trading partner, and also a national security threat requires understanding the history that made China what it is today. That history is shaped by resistance and different waves of uprising. How have governments dealt with these movements? How do they influence politics today? China: Past, Present, Future was recorded…

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Business Special: Gina Miller, Steve Perez, Kiki McDonough and Richard Browning 51:32

7d ago51:32

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Joining Iain Dale for a business-themed special edition of Cross Question are the wealth manager Gina Miller, drinks producer boss and hotelier Steve Perez, fine jeweller Kiki McDonough and the inventor and entrepreneur Richard Browning.

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Universities and other antidotes to authoritarianism 55:15

9d ago55:15

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The United States has long been famous for its world leading universities. But in the face of research funding cuts, government attacks on free speech, DEI and the right to protest, and the persecution of foreign students, could all that be changing? The speech, Poison Ideas: Universities and other Antidotes to Authoritarianism, was recorded at the…

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One day, everyone will have always been against this — Omar El Akkad and Peter Greste reckon with Western hypocrisy over Israel's war on Gaza 54:36

26m ago54:36

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The Western world is supposed to stand for values like freedom, justice and human rights, a commitment to meet wrongdoing with consequence, guided by rules and obligations. How then, do we reconcile that with Western governments' and media's support of and complicity in the horrors in Gaza? How do we witness the bloodshed and destruction, and yet l…

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Stephen Kinnock, James Reed, Sir Ranil Jayawardena & Zoe Williams 54:01

16d ago54:01

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Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question are the Labour Health Minister Stephen Kinnock, James Reed of the employment agency Reed, former Conservative Cabinet minister Sir Ranil Jayawardena and The Guardian columnist Zoe Williams.

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Fixing Australia's housing crisis — is increasing supply really a silver bullet? 1:03:07

22m ago1:03:07

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Build more houses. That'll fix Australia's housing crisis won't it? If you listen to governments, you'd sure think so. Under the National Housing Accord, all governments have agreed to support a target of building 1.2 million new, well-located dwellings in 5 years. But will that increase housing affordability, availability, quality, security of ten…

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Tom Slater, Rachel Cunliffe, Natasha Irons & Sir Alec Shelbrooke 52:40

1h ago52:40

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Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question are the Spiked Online editor Tom Slater, the New Statesman's associate political editor Rachel Cunliffe, Labour MP Natasha Irons and the Conservative MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke.

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Gough Whitlam's dismissal — why is it still relevant today? 54:35

8d ago54:35

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Whitlam's dismissal and following double dissolution 50 years ago, was arguably the most tumultuous period in Australia's political and constitutional history. This political crisis raises key questions about constitutional change and the robustness of Australia's current democracy. What are the lessons? And could it happen again? Presented at the …

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Siân Berry, Lord James Bethell, Lucy Harris & Matthew Stadlen 51:47

15d ago51:47

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Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question are the Green Party MP Siân Berry, Conservative peer Lord James Bethell, former Brexit Party and Conservative MEP Lucy Harris and the political commentator Matthew Stadlen.

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An intriguing story of art and espionage — how a classical scholar turned codebreaker during World War 2 54:36

8d ago54:36

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In the 1930s, New Zealand-born, Cambridge educated Arthur Dale Trendall carved a niche for himself as the world's foremost expert in the study of ancient South Italian vase painting. How then, did he end up leading a crack team of code-breakers working in Melbourne to decipher Japanese messages for the Allies during the Second World War? This lectu…

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Empire of AI — Karen Hao goes inside the reckless race for total world domination 53:59

7d ago53:59

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When it was founded in 2015, openai — the company behind Chat GPT — had a mission to develop artificial intelligence tools that would benefit humanity. But somewhere along the way, that mission changed. While the use of AI in our daily lives is increasingly pervasive, the technology's toll on the environment, human rights, copyright, privacy and wo…

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Rosie Wrighting, Bradley Thomas, Steve Wright & Kirsty Buchanan 53:13

13d ago53:13

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Joining Ali Miraj on Cross Question are the Labour MP Rosie Wrighting, Conservative MP Bradley Thomas, the Fire Brigades Union's General Secretary Steve Wright and the political commentator Kirsty Buchanan.

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Danny Sriskandarajah, Alex Wilson, Ann Davies & Lauren McEvatt 51:00

1d ago51:00

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Joining Ali Miraj on Cross Question are the New Economics Foundation think-tank's chief executive Danny Sriskandarajah, Reform UK London Assembly member Alex Wilson, Plaid Cymru MP Ann Davies and the former Conservative political adviser Lauren McEvatt.

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ABC's CITIZEN JURY — Fixing salmon farming's environmental harms in Tasmania 1:11:15

27d ago1:11:15

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ABC Radio National's CITIZEN JURY takes hard, hot-button issues affecting a community — and places citizens at the centre of finding solutions. It's citizen-driven democracy in action! Tasmanian salmon is on dinner plates across Australia. It's a 1.4 billion-dollar industry producing jobs for Tasmanians, and more than 70, 000 tonnes of fish annuall…

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Anne Summers — 50 Years of Damned Whores and God’s Police 54:35

27d ago54:35

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In 1975, aged just 29, she wrote a bestselling book that changed Australia. Since then, she's courted controversy and acclaim, but Anne Summers has never given up the fight for gender equality. This conversation was recorded live at the 2025 Sydney Writers' Festival. Speakers Dr Anne SummersAuthor, Damned Whores and God's Police, Ducks on the Pond:…

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Greg Hands, James Frith, Baroness Claire Fox & John Crace 51:21

3d ago51:21

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Joining Ali Miraj on Cross Question are the former Conservative MP and minister Greg Hands, Labour MP James Frith, non-affiliated peer Baroness Claire Fox and The Guardian's parliamentary sketch writer John Crace.

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Why we need to cancel cancel culture — with defamation barrister Sue Chrysanthou 54:34

28d ago54:34

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When people say or do the wrong thing, we have laws and a legal system that should be able to deliver consequences and, hopefully justice. But in this digital age, the human instinct to inflict punishment in the court of public opinion has reached fever pitch. So do we want to live by mob rule, or the rule of law? The 2025 James Merralls Fellowship…

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Episode 31: They Were Loved. They Were Brilliant. And They Were Betrayed: A Double Murder and Suicide near Wright-Patterson AFB 23:28

22d ago23:28

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TWTDNH is a truth-telling podcast on domestic violence, trauma, and systemic injustice. If you’ve survived abuse, loss, or institutional neglect—or work in these spaces—we’re seeking collaborators and experts to help amplify unheard voices. 📧 [email protected] Jaymee Prichard was a devoted mother of three. Jaime Sue Gustitus was a decorated…

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Write On: 'Hedda' Writer/Director Nia DaCosta 35:49

25d ago35:49

35:49

"I love adaptations. The beauty of adaptation, especially a classic, like Shakespeare and Chekhov or Ibsen, they're such a gift because they give you this beautiful framework, and it's almost like they're begging you to take it and make it your own," says writer/director Nia DaCosta about adapting Henrik Ibsen's 1891 play Hedda Gabler into her new …

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Out of this world — with Booker Prize winning author Samantha Harvey 54:09

1M ago54:09

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For all of human history, space has been a place of mystery, awe and fascination. But unless you're an astronaut, a billionaire, or a pop star, most of us will never have the opportunity to travel there — except in our minds. This conversation features two writers who've used the perspective of space to explore our humanity, Earth's place in the un…

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Chris Murray, Greg Smith, Timandra Harkness & Aggie Chambré 53:26

29d ago53:26

53:26

Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question are MPs Chris Murray from Labour and Greg Smith from the Conservatives, writer and comedian Timandra Harkness and LBC's political correspondent Aggie Chambré.

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What Artists See? Critic Quentin Sprague helps you get to the messy human heart of art 54:34

1M ago54:34

54:34

Have you ever visited an art gallery full of wonder, ready to be inspired, only to leave feeling like it was all a bit over your head? You're about to meet one writer whose new book of essays rejects the over-complication and gets to the messy, human heart of art. What Artists See is a collection of essays from award-winning arts writer and critic …

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Claire Coutinho, Peter Swallow, Theresa Bischoff & Connie Shaw 50:46

1M ago50:46

50:46

Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question are the Conservative Shadow Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho, Labour MP Peter Swallow, the Good Growth Foundation's Theresa Bischoff and the Free Speech Union's Connie Shaw.

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Matrescence — on the metamorphosis of motherhood 54:58

1M ago54:58

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When a child is born, so too is a mother. This idea, known as "matrescence", was first conceived in the 1970s by American medical anthropologist Dana Raphael. Parenting in 2025 looks very different in many ways, the scientific evidence now supports the theory that women undergo radical physiological, psychological and social changes during pregnanc…