Ce and Sky share their favourite picks of 2025. Movies mentioned includes Freaky Tales, KPop Demon Hunters, Twinless, Sirat, The Secret Agent, Sinners, One Battle After Another, and One of Them Days. Music mentioned includes Kathryn Joseph - We Were Made Prey, Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You; Perfume Genius - live & Glory; Billy Woods - Golliwog; Backxwash - Only Dust Remains; Abel Selaocoe - Hymns of Bantu; Ganavya; Jaime Martin & the SSO - Bolero. Theatre mentioned includes the Siegfried and Roy opera, Hadestown, Beetlejuice, and Scout Boxall's God's Favourite. And in poetry: Evelyn Araluen's The Rot and The Nightmare Sequence by Omar Sakr & Safdar Ahmed.

Rudi Bremer from Awaye joins the team to take us to the NGA where After The Rain, the fifth National Indigenous Art Triennial is bringing together a remarkable collection of work under the supervision of Artistic Director Tony Albert. And with Summer holidays ahead, we recommend our TV shows of the year for your binge-watching pleasure. Ce chooses Wayward, Sky picks The Lowdown, and Rudi argues for The Residence. Hidden Rivalry might not make the end of years list, but it has Ce and Rudi watching and fondly reminiscing about Yuri! On Ice!! Sky looks ahead at some of the most interesting art-house releases of the Summer season, including The History of Sound, Sentimental Value and No Other Choice. Ce is very unimpressed with Maggie Nelson's new book, which tries to compare and contrast the work and lives of Taylor Swift and Sylvia Plath. And the biggest hip-hop artist in the world, Kendrick Lamar, is currently on tour around the country.

Last week, the federal government passed legislation that will require video streaming services with more than 1 million Australian subscribers to invest 10 percent of their Australian expenditure or 7.5 percent of their gross Australian revenue into new Australian productions each year.  The bill passed with the support of the Greens, and as part of the negotiations, the ABC will also receive $50 million in additional funding over 3 years to spend on locally made children’s and drama content. Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, arts spokeswoman for The Greens, joins us to talk about the bills and about Federal arts priorities in 2026. And reports suggest that the State Library of Victoria will cut its reference librarians from 25 to 10, reduce its publicly available computers and remove their children’s and family engagement officers in a new round of reforms. The Library has pushed back against the reporting. Gideon Haigh, award-winning writer and passionate advocate for the library, shares his perspectives on the changes, the messages he's heard from current and former staff, and mounts the case for the importance of the state institution. Our track of the week is Evensong, part 1 by JJJJJerome Ellis

Three films in, at a point where most franchises have run out of ideas and started phoning it in, Knives Out has returned with its best episode yet in Wake Up Dead Man. With a star turn by Josh O'Connor and an exceptional ensemble, it's an examination of faith and belief, of the potential for good will and redemption, and of the negative power of anger, corruption, and hatred, all wrapped up in a fun and funny mystery. And speaking of examinations of corruption, power, and hatred: Disney’s Zootopia 2 is also out this week. Sky claims that its a delightful buddy comedy that continues the excellent world-building of the original and has more sight-gags and Easter eggs than you could possible notice in one sitting. Plus it manages to present a pro-community, pro-diversity, anti-racism, anti-corruption message without overdoing it. Evelyn Araluen, who won the Stella Prize for her poetry collection Dropbear, returns with her latest collection The Rot. The team are big fans with rave reviews, plus a reading of Change Agent by Evelyn. In music, Ce recommends the new single by Pulp, a cover of Johnny Cash's The Man Comes Around; and Sky looks back to Super Realm Park by Sleepmakeswaves ahead of the 15th birthday celebrations for Birds Robe. And two excellent Australian exhibitions at Heide Museum.

Wicked: For Good has launched to a big opening weekend, taking in $226 million US in worldwide box office revenue, a substantial improvement on the already successful first film. But that makes it something of an outlier for Hollywood this year. Industry experts have pointed out that - accounting for inflation - the Summer tentpole season in the US had lower numbers than we’ve seen in decades. Is this just an off year? Or the sign of a bigger problem for an industry already grappling with the rise of streaming and the after-effects of Covid? Scott Mendelson from The Outside Scoop explains what it all means. And Peyton Reed, who has been part of the Marvel cinematic universe in recent years, is in Australia for the Brisbane International Film Festival, where he’ll be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Bring It On. Our track of the week is Obscure Things by Will Hearn

Everyone in the world has come together in a single voice: shared perspective, shared understanding, shared goals - harmony.  That's both the plot of Pluribus and a rough summary of how critics have reacted to the show. But Ce and Sky aren't entirely won over and share their concerns about the hive mind. Wicked: For Good looks set to be one of the biggest releases of the year and, despite some structural challenges inherent to the musical, manages to stay propulsively fun, with some of the best costume and set design of the year and remarkable performances from the two leads and the full ensemble. Ce's excited about Undead, a new album by Jessica O’Donoghue and Jack Symonds, which embraces contemporary Australian opera. And Sky shouts out Sharon Van Etten's 2025 album with The Attachment Theory, ahead of her Australian tour dates. Plus: thoughts about the ARIAs, Last Samurai Standing, Sisu 2, and the latest exhibition at Buxton Contemporary.

Arts degrees are expected to cost $55,000 next year, but despite the rising cost to students, we’re seeing restructures, closures, and redundancies at one university after another. And the strain between the tertiary sector and the arts has been a consistent theme throughout 2025, with Meanjin, the Bendigo Writers Festival and MUMA all making headlines. What’s gone wrong? What’s the impact for both universities and the arts? And is there a path back to better news? Distinguished Professor George Williams, vice-chancellor and president, Western Sydney University, and Professor Clare Wright, historian, author, and academic at La Trobe University share their perspectives. Our track of the week is Watch Over Me by Bernard Fanning (feat Kasey Chambers & Clare Bowditch).

Rose Byrne puts in an award-winning performance as a woman under pressure in the excellent If I Had Legs I'd Kick You. Glen Powell takes on an all-powerful media company in a dystopian future for the sake of his sick daughter in The Running Man. And Sergei Loznitsa returns to tragic flaws of the Stalin-era legal system in Two Prosecutors. Jason di Rosso from The Screen Show joins the team to talk through a film heavy week.  In music, Ce gives a full-throated endorsement for Rosalia's Lux, which features collaborations with everyone from Björk and Yves Tumor to Caroline Shaw and the London Symphony Orchestra. And Sky is excited for both the new Mountain Goats album, Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan, and the release of one of the band's rarities, Moon Colony Bloodbath. Plus the Australian Chamber Orchestra takes on Cocteau's Circle and Loznitsa's earlier documentary State Funeral on Mubi.

The Federal Government has announced plans for a local content quota for streaming video services in Australia. Any service with more than one million subscribers will be required to spend a percentage of their revenue on Australian content. Julianne Schultz and Guy Morrow take us through the details and consider whether the policy goes far enough. And Hungarian-British author David Szalay has won the 2025 Booker Prize for his latest novel, Flesh. We speak with The Book Show's Sarah L’Estrange about the novel and hear some of her conversation with Szalay. Our track of the week is Drawbacks by Dust

There’s a simple pleasure in seeing competent people doing their job well, which is one of the draws of The Diplomat, a show that follows in the tradition of the West Wing in balancing high stakes political drama with chaotic personal drama to great affect. As it enters season 3, and the chaos begins to overwhelm the competence, the team discuss whether it manages to keep meeting audience expectations. Ce and Hannah Story head to Dangerously Modern at the Art Gallery of NSW and are thrilled at this exploration of Australian women artists who went to Europe to find their acclaim and brought modernism, surrealism, and cubism back home with them. (For more, check out the Dangerously Modern podcast by Radio National's Rosa Ellen) Sky's enthusiastic about Jennifer Lawrence's performance in Die, My Love, but a little more muted about the film itself, and suggests that Predator: Badlands will appeal to action fans, even if some purists may take exception with the direction of the franchise. And in music, Ce shares Feel It Change by Stella Donelly, and Sky pitches The Ladder by The Veils.

The board of the Australian Design Centre has announced that the centre will close on June 30, 2026, unless additional funding can be secured. The call comes after the centre lost out on significant ongoing funding from both Federal and State governments. CEO Lisa Cahill discusses the ADC’s options going forward. Ahead of International Day for People With A Disability, we’re looking at accessibility in the arts - not just for audiences, but for performers and crew. How have things changed, what’s working, what isn’t, why oes it matter, and what exciting projects are on the horizon? Chaos Fae and Frankie Dyson Reilly from Vulcana Circus and Genevieve Clay-Smith from Bus Stop Films share their experience. Our track of the week is Rocking Horse by Lauren Tsamouras and Tom Avgenicos.

It's Halloween, so Ce and Sky are diving into horror films and exploring what they love about the genre alongside a few picks - some famous and some a little more niche. One horror film that's out this week is Bugonia, by Yorgos Lanthimos. It's a remake of the South Korean film Save The Green Planet, which is, if anything, better than the original and marks another chapter in the Lanthimos-Emma Stone-Jesse Plemons era. It's not for everyone, but Sky gives it his full-throated endorsement. Twinless, a comedy that traces the friendship between two men who meet in a support group for people whose twin has died gets two thumbs. And Sky rates Happyend, a new Japanese film by Neo Sora, as one of his favourites of the year so far. In music recommendations, Ce thinks West End Girl by Lily Allen is the perfect Halloween trick - at least for David Harbour, and Sky picks the remix version of A Fragile Geography by Rafael Anton Irisarri. And in quick notes, the team are looking forward to a condensed Melbourne season by Opera Australia, and the ACO's Cocteau’s Circle.

The Federal Government has announced that it won't institute a Text and Data Mining exception on copyright, an idea raised as a possibility in the Productivity Commission's recent report. Arts organisations across Australia are hailing the decision, and Nicholas Pickard from APRA-AMCOS discusses the implications of the announcement for the music sector. A number of prominent Australian artists have expressed their dismay at their songs being used as part of recent anti-immigration rallies. Bob Brown, co-author of Give Me A Home Among the Gum Trees, shares his perspective. And Hector Aristizabal endured torture at the hands of the regime at a young age. He lost his brothers young, one to HIV/AIDS and one to the paramilitary, and left Colombia for his own safety. But rather than hiding away, Hector turned to theatre to tell his story and help other people tell theirs as part of the Theatre of the Oppressed. Hector takes us into that practice, a community based form of education that uses theatre as a form of healing and conflict resolution ahead of workshops across the country. Our track of the week is New Age by Sleepazoid

It’s 1982 and Bruce Springsteen is on the verge of super-stardom, but the Boss, unready to leave the past behind, holes up in a house in New Jersey and records Nebraska on a four-track tape deck. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is a new biopic charts the making of this classic album, but the team have some serious concerns, beginning with the choice of this time period. Guillermo Del Toro has finally completed his long-term passion project, an adaptation of Frankenstein. It's a beautifully shot film that plays more in the register of fairy tale than horror, with excellent physical performances by Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi. There are some minor complaints, but this may be the ultimate screen adaptation (so far). Tender Comrade, at White Rabbit Gallery, is a great mixed-media exhibition, focused on queer Chinese art, and some stand-out video works. And in music, Sky recommends Hiromi, who's currently on tour, with a headline show at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival; and Ce is surprisingly taken by Keli Holiday's version of I'm On Fire for Like A Version.

After a three-year pilot program, Ireland has made a basic income scheme for artists a permanent policy, citing not only increased productivity and mental health, but a positive return on investment for the money spent. Moira Fleming, from Ireland's National Campaign for the Arts shares details about the scheme and Dr Jo Caust looks at the Australian context and why a basic income is worth considering, but remains unlikely here. And over the last decade, there's been an increasing demand on arts organisations to take a stand on matters of cultural policy, with several finding their way to the front line of the culture wars for reasons that have little to do with their actual artistic output. So how should these institutions handle this responsibility? Samuel Cairnduff shares lessons from his new book, Harmonising Cultural Leadership in Professional Orchestras. Our track of the week is Take Me To The River by Emma Donovan

Featuring troubled children in a small American town, an outsider who can sense that something is wrong, and hints of the supernatural, Wayward seems influenced by the work of Stephen King, but Ce argues that the new Netflix series fares a lot better than most of King's actual adaptations. The new Luca Guadagnino film, After the Hunt, is aiming for ambiguity, but lacks the strength of its convictions, with Sky calling it one of the worst prestige scripts of the year. In apology, he offers up The Beast, the latest film by Bertrand Bonello, which is new to streaming.  The Key's Under the Mat, the new Mick Hewson exhibition at The Tank in Sydney is a delight that shares its pleasures in person, rather than on social media. And Heide's combination of Man Ray and Max Dupain is a cleverly curated combination of surrealist photography and history. In music, Sky offers up Blight, the new album by The Antlers, while Ce is excited about Sam Fender taking out the Mercury Prize. And bonus offerings include Lesbian Space Princess, Bleak Squad's live tour, and Opera Australia's production of Rent.

A “compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.” That’s how the jury for the Nobel Prize for Literature described the work of Hungary’s László Krasznahorkai, who was awarded the 2025 prize. For those of us who haven’t had a chance to dive into the novels, Julian Murphet, Jury Chair of English Language and Literature at the University of Adelaide, is here to give us the cliff notes.  And from funding decisions to censorship, we report a lot about how politics impacts the arts. This week, we turn our gaze the other way. How do the arts impact policy, politics, and the way we see the world. Freyja Gillard from the Environmental Film Festival, Claire G Coleman from The Centre for Reworlding, and Angharad Wynne-Jones from Creative Climate share how artists are working to change our perspective on the environment. Our track of the week is Track 3 from Gift - Our Breath of Life by William Barton and Omega Ensemble. Headlines include: Tasmanian government cuts funding to TAFE arts courses Human Rights Watch refuses donations from Riyadh Comedy Festival performers Creative Australia announces $1.6 million in new commissions Julia Gillard to chair the jury of the 2026 Prize for Women's Fiction Largest ever international touring exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art delayed by US Government shutdown Diane Keaton dies at age 78

Taylor Swift's twelfth album, Life of a Showgirl, has broken sales records and immediately jumped to the top of the charts across the world, but critical praise has been in shorter supply. Has a return to the production team of Max Martin and Shellback led to a reinvigorated pop star? Or are the lyrics to Wood a sign of things to come? Sky makes a pitch for The Invocations, a great YA novel that just won the PM's Literary Awards. And why does it seem so hard to make a successful mid-budget caper movie this year? The team take on one last job as they catch Play Dirty, Caught Stealing, and Eenie Meanie, but find their best laid plans don't lead to much of a payoff.

The Riyadh Comedy festival continues this week and while comedians like Louis CK and Bill Burr defended their decision to perform, many of their colleagues and fans have been forthright in their critiques.  The festival is one small part of a major investment in the arts by Saudi Arabia as part of their Vision 2030 strategy. Andrew Leber, assistant professor of Political Science at Tulane University explains the background behind Vision 2030 and explores whether the initial international response matters or whether the Saudi regime is playing a longer game. And, as part of mental health week, Beci Orpin and Maria Bradshaw talk about the workshop and series of murals at the Women's Recovery Network, a mental health ward in Melbourne. Our track of the week is Beautiful Strangers by Mavis Staples.

Bad Bunny is one of the biggest musicians of the 2020s, with multiple hit records and a massive worldwide fanbase. With the recent announcement that he'll be headlining the Super Bowl half-time show, we look back at his 2025 album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, and discuss why the announcement has raised the ire of some people on the far right of American politics.  Sky explains why The Lowdown, a Southern noir with a healthy dose of humour and a standout lead performance by Ethan Hawke, is making a play for best TV show of the year.  Ce sells the comforts of Sherlock & Co, a podcast adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic mysteries. Dwayne Johnson is getting serious praise for his performance in The Smashing Machine, a biopic about the MMA fighter Mark Kerr, but is the film visceral enough to support the acting, or does it pull its punches? Plus a stunning new jazz album from precocious Australian saxophonist Tessie Overmyer, and a tour from the Luminescence Chamber Singers, inspired by Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights.