Madeleine Grummet

With the global space race heating up and becoming an increasingly contested and competitive frontier, Australia's first female astronaut says it's time Australia steps up in the global space renaissance. GUEST: Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Australian Astronaut and Space Systems Engineer

A growing phenomenon known as “Dark Tourism” is seeing thousands of people travel to the sites of atrocities, massacres, war zones and disasters for guided tours. GUEST: Juliet Rogers, Associate Professor Criminology, The University of Melbourne

More than two million Australians delay or avoid dental care because of high costs. The Grattan Institute says patients pay much more of the cost of dental care than they do for other kinds of health care and are calling for urgent Medicare policy reforms and government-funded universal dental coverage. Guest: Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute Producer: Madeleine Hanger

Rob Waters, Gomeroi poet and storyteller told RN Breakfast poetry is "one of the essences of history". The Australian Poetry Slam Champion shared a special live performance of his poem 'Writers Block.' August is Poetry Month with celebrations and workshops happening right across Australia, including the 'Contains Strong Language' performance festival, and National Poetry Gala showcase, so to shine a light on verse in all its forms, RN Breakfast brings you a brand new poem every Friday, commissioned by Red Room Poetry. Guest: Rob Waters, Gomeroi poet and storyteller, 2023 Australian Poetry Slam Champion Producer: Madeleine Hanger 

Last week the Albanese Government released draft legislation to reform Australia's merger rules and grant new powers to the ACCC. The government says the new reforms will make the merger approval system "faster, stronger, simpler, more targeted and more transparent". But multiple leading Australian venture capitalists alongside competition lawyers, corporate investors and local startups have criticised the bill, saying the government did not consult widely enough, and they will stifle innovation and competition in Australia. Guest: Paul Naphtali, Co-founder and CEO, Australian venture capital firm Rampersand

In new research out today, Human Rights Watch has revealed that personal photos of Australian children are being used to create powerful artificial intelligence (AI) tools without the knowledge or consent of the children or their families. One hundred and ninety photos of Australian children scraped from the internet have been included in the datasets used by several AI image-generating tools including Stable Diffusion creator Stability AI and Midjourney, which in turn can be used to create mal…

Her Excellency Zin Mar Aung has spent her life campaigning for justice for the people of Myanmar, and at times paid a high price for her political pursuits. Guest: Her Excellency Zin Mar Aung, Union Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Unity Government, Myanmar

Online so-called ‘Skinfluencers’ are fuelling huge demands for luxury products with hype skincare routines on TikTok and Instagram, Mecca hooks in tweens and teens with loyalty and rewards programs, and international brands such as Dior now offer expensive skincare packages for newborn babies.

Formation Bio, a startup with backing from Open AI CEO Sam Altman, has announced a raise of $372 million to boost drug development using artificial intelligence. But what are the potential ethical and legal risks associated with this? GUEST: Emily Casey, self-described Medicine Defector, Head of Community at Tenmile and Founder of ‘What the Health’

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has just announced $3.2 million dollars in funding to Amber Electric in an Australia-first trial of car-powered homes. If proved successful at scale, it it may have the potential to be one of the most groundbreaking technologies to enter the Australian energy sector. GUEST: Chris Thompson, Co-CEO, Amber Electric

What actually shapes young men's ideas of masculinity in the current world and the so-called 'status bro', and how can we bring them to the table? Dr Zac Seidler told RN Breakfast we need to move away from "the alarmist language of a crisis of masculinity" which isn't helping.  He says young men are struggling and we need to find a way forward and a way to connect with them - and is calling on men to step up to "do the work"  and provide healthy role models. Guest: Dr Zac Seidler, Global Director, Men's Health Research, Movember

This week a teenager was arrested and released pending further inquiries for allegedly circulating explicit deepfake nude images of more than 50 students from Bacchus Marsh Grammar in Melbourne. While the eSafety Commissioner is calling for better digital safeguards in AI technology design and deployment to prevent misuse, questions are also being asked about the legal rights of deepfake victims in Australia. Guest: Melissa Wingard, Special Counsel, FAL Lawyers

News Corp Australasia’s Executive Chairman Michael Miller says social media companies should make payments to support mental health services and take responsibility for content spread on their platforms.

Internationally renowned Sydney chef Neil Perry took out the coveted World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 Icon Award at the ‘Oscars of the food world’ in Las Vegas. It’s the first time an Australian chef has received the prestigious Award. Guest: Neil Perry, Chef and Winner of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 ‘Icon’ Award

Politicians and the media pack have descended on Canberra for the Federal Budget announcements on Tuesday night. Over recent weeks lobbyists have walked the corridors of Parliament House, knocking on doors or attending private events and closed door meetings to put their funding case to ministers.

A new global study called the ‘ABC of Mobility’ has just been released and shows the world just can’t seem to kick the driving habit.

A tragic attack at Bondi Junction’s Westfield shopping centre has ended with six people dead and eight people still in hospital, after a 40-year-old Queensland man went on a stabbing rampage on Saturday afternoon. While details of the incident are still emerging and NSW police continue their investigation, in a statement to Queensland Police the family of the man said he has “battled mental health issues since he was a teenager”. So how do we address gaps in Australia’s mental heath system? G…

Will continued monopolisation of markets by big tech companies have implications for Australian startups with aggressive growth strategies?

Woolworths has been offering free 15-minute “discovery” phone calls with naturopaths through its HealthyLife subsidiary