So it’s that time of year again, the Olympics, when we all become armchair experts in sports like gymnastics, diving, and the 100-metre sprint.

But who to focus your sights on, when you can’t watch every event? Is it Simone Biles, who will be competing this year, after dropping out of the last summer games, amid enormous personal stress? Or, perhaps Matildas midfielder Katrina Gorry, competing after welcoming her second child only six weeks ago?

Today, in a bonus episode, senior sports reporter Emma Kemp on what excites her about the Olympics, after so many years covering the event. And which Australians to watch out for.

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The cost of energy generation went up over winter.

That doesn’t mean power bills are about to spike however - retail prices are set once a year by a regulator, which means that households aren’t about to see a change in the cost of their electricity any time soon. 

But the increased cost of generating power could have big impacts on the economy, politics and households.

Also, two long-serving Labor ministers are retiring from politics, ahead of the next federal election. Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney, and Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Conner will leave parliament at the election, and the Prime Minister will use their retirements to reshuffle his cabinet this weekend.

Today, climate and energy correspondent Mike Foley and national affairs editor James Massola on what government’s are doing to fix our energy market and what a reshuffle means for Labor.

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Kamala Harris has yet to officially secure her party’s nomination to vie for the American presidency. But her campaign is well and truly underway.

Visiting her new campaign headquarters the other day, Harris invoked her early career as a prosecutor, and said that she knows how to fight Donald Trump, because she'd so often seen his "type" in the courtroom. By which she meant: predators, fraudsters, and cheaters.

Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher, on whether Harris' plan to sell herself as a huge step forward, socially, might work with voters across the political spectrum. And if the character trait that foiled her presidential campaign in 2020, might now be one of her greatest assets.

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For more than 45 years, John Silvester has been reporting on Australia’s criminal underworld. 

Some notable figures, like Mick Gatto, a key player in the gangland wars that were immortalised in the popular TV series, Underbelly, are now implicated in an investigation that has rocked the highest offices in the country. That of alleged corruption in the CFMEU, one of the most powerful unions in the country. 

Why have so many of our politicians allegedly turned a blind eye to underworld figures running a cartel-like operation in the union?

Today, John Silvester gives us an inside look into the psychology of the underworld figures who have managed to charm and intimidate the rich and the powerful.

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Joe Biden has finally stepped down after weeks of pressure, to contest the U.S presidential election. And he has endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to run in his place.

But who is she? And what does she stand for?

Today, North America correspondent Farrah Tomazin, on Kamala Harris’ strengths, and weaknesses, as a presidential candidate. And what history tells us might happen next, after a sitting president pulls out of a re-election campaign.

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The Paris Olympics begin this Friday, and France is contending with what security experts have described as the most volatile geopolitical environment in decades.

Among the worries keeping the French government up at night are the looming threats of nuclear conflict with Russia, potential sabotage by foreign agents, the war in the Middle East, widespread protests and terrorism plots.

Meanwhile, blocking cyber attacks on the Games has almost become an Olympic sport in itself. 

Today, crime reporter Marta Pascual Juanola on what security measures are in place, to keep civilians and athletes alike, safe. And whether tension at the games could spill over into a wider European conflict.

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Unions and Labor are intertwined. The oldest Labor Party in the world traces its roots to the shearers strike of the 1890s. 

At that time, powerless workers decided to band together to create a political party and take on big business.

The aims of unions underpins a lot of what Labor does when it holds power. Many of its MPs worked for unions. But what happens when one misbehaves? Misbehaves badly.

There have long been suggestions and reports of bully-boy tactics in the rough world that is the building industry. But reports in The Age and SMH revealed so much more than the odd bad apple.

Labor is already sagging in the polls. A new union scandal now threatens to derail the government’s winter agenda and opens it up to the long-standing charge of being too close to trade unions.

Today, chief political correspondent David Crowe and political reporter Angus Thompson join Paul Sakkal to discuss the CFMEU scandal and what it means for the government.

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Who is JD Vance? And why has Donald Trump chosen him as his preferred vice president?

Vance is, famously, a former 'Never-Trumper'. The junior senator from Ohio was once so violently opposed to Trump, that he likened him to Hitler.

Today, political and international editor, Peter Hartcher, reporting from Washington DC, on the wider message Trump is sending to the world, with his choice of running mate. And why the United States has a long history of presidential assassinations and assassination attempts (hint: it’s not just about the guns).

Audio credits:

• Rachel Maddow on MSNBC

Further reading:

• Assassination in the USA: Why does America take aim at its leaders?
• Trump anoints his heir in a bid to extend his influence for decades to come

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Opposition leader Peter Dutton says nuclear energy is the cheapest, most consistent and cleanest energy around. 

But if that’s the case, then what to make of the dirty history of 'Nukey Poo', a little-known nuclear reactor that was built in our region in the 1960s? 

Today, climate and energy correspondent Mike Foley fact checks the Opposition’s claims about nuclear energy, and delves into the latest poll about what voters want and how this might impact the Coalition's desire to usher in nuclear energy,

And later, national environment and climate editor Nick O’Malley on what happened at ‘Nukey Poo’, and the cancer cases linked to it.

Credits:

• The Federal File and U.S Navy/Atomic Energy Commission on the installation of 'Nukey Poo'.
• PeriScope Film and the Antartic nuclear reactor at McMurdo Station.

Further reading:

• Mike Foley's 'Nuclear debate is getting heated, but whose energy plan stacks up?'
• Nick O'Malley and 'The dirty history of Nukey Poo, the reactor that soiled the Antartic.'

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It is one of the most powerful unions in the country. And has long barracked for rights that are at the core of the Australian Labor Party: decent pay and working conditions.But now, an investigation by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes has revealed that underworld figures and bikies have infiltrated the union, and major building projects in Victoria and NSW.

Today, investigative reporter Nick McKenzie on the sudden resignation of controversial CFMEU boss John Setka, in the wake of these allegations. And whether it’s possible to rid the union of corruption, and a culture of standover tactics and bullying.

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On Sunday morning, Australian time, we woke to the news that Donald Trump was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania. 

We saw the images of him with blood streaming down his face, and shortly after, his fist raised in a seeming show of triumph. 

It’s the first time an American president, or presidential candidate, has been shot at in 43 years.

That was then-American president Ronald Reagan. He nearly died. Afterwards, commentators speculated that his grace under fire helped him solidify the support and affection of the American people. 

Today, in a special episode, North American correspondent Farrah Tomazin, on what happened in Pennsylvania. And how this might impact the presidential election.

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