<p>A weekly podcast from The Australian Financial Review that examines the biggest stories in business, markets and politics, and why they matter, explained by the best financial journalists in the country.</p> <p>Search The Fin and follow us wherever you get your podcasts.</p>
This week, resources reporter Peter Ker on the challenges ahead for Australia’s iron ore industry, why copper is booming and what miners are doing to ensure the country remains a resources powerhouse.
This podcast is sponsored by Aussie Broadband
Further reading:
Iron ore giants face billion-dollar hit from China-backed price switch
A new index for the country’s most lucrative export has been lower than the long-time benchmark for the vast majority of days since it was launched this year.
Size counts in mining’s game of relevance, but not that much Glencore
BHP and Rio shares are at record highs and their bosses are being courted at the White House. So how can Glencore boss Gary Nagle say they’re irrelevant?
Copper displaces iron ore as BHP’s best earner, supercharging profits
The Big Australian, like its rivals, pivoted towards commodities critical to the energy transition, with production of the red metal to grow 25 per cent by 2035.
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This week Technology editor Paul Smith and Chanticleer columnist James Thomson on why financial markets are suddenly spooked, which businesses are most at risk from AI disruption and whether the concern is overblown.
This podcast is sponsored by Vanta
Further reading:
WiseTech drops Australia’s first AI jobs bomb
Rapid, large-scale deployment of artificial intelligence is happening, with the companies most at risk of disruption leading the charge.
AI comes for the software giants, and Australia is no safe haven
One venture capitalist warns there will be “roadkill”. Another says the market is “schizoid”. Artificial intelligence is making tech increasingly turbulent.
Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei warns AI has the potential to tear society apart
Dario Amodei’s Anthropic is behind the most popular AI platform for businesses worldwide, but he has serious worries about the technology tearing society apart.
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Political editor Phillip Coorey and former Labor adviser and columnist Lidija Ivanovski on Angus Taylor’s big move, the threat from One Nation and why this might not be the last leadership contest before the next election.
This podcast is sponsored by Vanta
Further reading:
It’s Timmy v Jimmy, with CGT the first battleground
Jim Chalmers and Tim Wilson both harbour leadership ambitions. Treasury will be their sparring ring, and both will be determined not to come off second best.
Taylor’s big advantage could be 35pc of voters don’t know who he is
The new opposition leader is standing at the bottom of a mountain and there is doubt among many in his own party that he can climb it.
Jane Hume has become the Liberals’ woman problem by tearing down Ley
The new deputy leader might be able to charm some with her confidence and presentation, but her record does not look like that of a champion for working women.
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This week on The Fin podcast: journalist Lucy King on the global scam operators targeting Australian investors, how the brother of Olympic breakdancer Raygun came to be working for them and why they are so hard to shut down.
This podcast is sponsored by Vanta
Further reading:
Raygun’s brother linked to global scam network with nearly 40,000 Aussie victims
An AFR investigation unravels corporate registries to link Brendan Gunn, brother of “Raygun”, with a global network that has fleeced victims of millions.
‘Devastated’: How I lost $500k in a crypto ATM scam
Mary, 85, is one of thousands of victims of Australia’s boom in crypto ATM’s, which suck in $275 million a year, and are the “getaway cars” for scammers.
Modern money laundering explained: Inside a $2.2b crypto heist
The washing of money through digital tokens is fuelling global crime. We trace the funds from the robbery to its final “integration” and explain why Australia needs stronger international rules.
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This week, James Eyers on why key executive and eldest son Peter Fox has taken an unexpected break from the company, what it means for the Linfox succession plan and why handing over mult-billion dollar family fortunes is so hard to do.
This podcast is sponsored by Vanta
Further reading: Peter Fox’s long absence puts Linfox succession plan in the spotlight
For seven decades, billionaire businessman Lindsay Fox has loomed large over the empire he built from one truck. Who will succeed him is an open question.
Peter Fox on extended leave at Linfox as non-family directors step up
The son of the trucking magnate has been on sabbatical since December, with others outside the family appointed chairman of various logistics businesses.
‘We’re not going anywhere’: Peter Fox says Armaguard’s future assured
The Linfox boss hopes an independent pricing model is swiftly approved by the competition regulator, so a new enterprise deal can be struck with the union.
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This week, United States correspondent Jessica Gardner on Trump’s first year back in the White House and Mark Carney's viral speech.
This podcast is sponsored by Acenda
Further reading:
Rudd’s replacement is no political animal. That’s a good thing
Many believe the role of US ambassador requires a sharp politician, but Greg Moriarty is the technocrat that Australia needs to meet the challenges of the times.
Trump softens on Minneapolis, but Dalio warns of slide to civil war
The US president has signalled a shift in strategy on immigration after the deadly chaos, but global investor Ray Dalio says the “United States is now a tinderbox”.
Carney declares rules-based order dead as Greenland row escalates
The Canadian prime minister warned the world order was breaking, and French President Emmanuel Macron vowed not to give in to “bullies”.
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This week, health editor Michael Smith on why baby-making is such big business and how private equity firms are reshaping the IVF sector.
This podcast is sponsored by Acenda
Further reading:
Ill-conceived: Inside Australia’s IVF money-making machine
The commercialisation of the industry as private equity owners take over from pioneering doctors has many people very worried.
Monash IVF rejects $300m takeover bid from Genesis Capital as too low
Shares in the fertility group have fallen more than 40 per cent since mistakes were disclosed earlier this year, prompting the PE-led consortium to swoop.
Monash IVF says market share, patients down since embryo mix-ups
Stiff competition and pricing pressure in Victoria has hurt the fertility group’s performance so far this fiscal year.
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Rear Window columnists Mark Di Stefano and Hannah Wootton look back on the action-packed year that was and ahead to what 2026 might bring.
This podcast is sponsored by Acenda
Further reading:
Cannon-Brookes now travels by private jet Mike Cannon-Brookes, Atlassian co-founder and leading climate change crusader, has recently picked up a private jet.
Dutton left ‘very serious’ cyclone area for Hemmes’ Sydney mansion The opposition leader said people wanted the prime minister “governing, not campaigning” as Queensland braced for Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Billionaires, boardrooms and office romances: Rear Window’s 2025 year-in-review
There was no shortage of hypocrites in corporate and political life in 2025, and a veritable surfeit of illicit office romances.
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This week on The Fin podcast political editor Phillip Coorey and NSW political correspondent Paul Karp on the carnage at Bondi, what is being done to make sure it never happens again and whether it’s enough.
This podcast is sponsored by Acenda
Further reading:
‘When is the shooting gonna stop?’ 9 minutes of terror on Bondi Beach
At first, the crowd thought it was fireworks; but as the bloodied bodies dropped around them, they realised this was a shooting and they were the targets.
Minns wants new laws to block protests after terror attacks
The NSW government has recalled parliament to legislate caps on gun ownership and new protest restrictions, despite federal Nationals rejecting a gun crackdown.
Just like that, the nation grew accustomed to antisemitism
The government did act to ward off “the long shadows of the past” for Jews, but not enough. And for that, it is exposed.
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This week on The Fin podcast: Greg Bearup and Carrie LaFrenz on what’s behind Australia’s retail crime wave, why Victoria is ground zero and whether facial recognition technology is the answer.
This podcast is sponsored by Acenda
Further reading:
We met a professional shoplifter to understand this crime’s popularity
Retailers are contending with a new type of player in their industry. Here’s how such offenders became a nationwide phenomenon and scourge of the country.
Facial recognition tech vital to protect staff and shoppers: retailers
Business leaders are ramping up efforts to combat surging crime rates, but their use of new tech is running up against privacy concerns.
Victoria accounts for half the rise in crime at Woolworths stores
The supermarket giant is the latest retailer to use profit season to highlight an increase in crime and aggression against staff.
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Chanticleer columnist James Thomson and technology editor Paul Smith on the multi-trillion dollar AI investment boom, where the opportunities are for Australia and what happens if it goes wrong.
This podcast is sponsored by Acenda
Further reading:
OpenAI in Australian blitz as it woos start-ups, corporates
The Silicon Valley giant behind ChatGPT will offer free services to major venture capital-backed tech companies as it attempts to steal a march on rivals.
Burry, Buffett and boomers: How markets drive our ugly generation gap
While investors love the contrarian wisdom of Michael Burry and Warren Buffett, capital-soaked markets mean the world they won in is gone, creating deep societal problems.
Reasons the AI bubble doesn’t look like the dotcom crash (yet)It’s the biggest spending spree in history. Is the AI boom a bubble, and what does it mean for investors and the Australian economy if it bursts?
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