Charlie, Rachel and special guest host Esther Linder discuss the news of the week, from the Victorian government’s punitive youth crime plans to the announcement that young Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg is running for office…. despite having never held down a job. They are then joined by award-winning journalist and RMIT professor Alexandra Wake to discuss the resignation of two senior BBC figures over allegations of biased coverage, and what it means for public broadcasters and public confidence in public broadcasters more broadly.

Jess, Charlie and Rachel are joined by reporter, photographer, videographer and podcaster Preeshita Shah, who has just graduated from Melbourne Uni’s Centre for Advancing Journalism. Shah, who plans on becoming a war correspondent, shares the lessons she learnt from Chris Hedges during his recent visit, and reflects on the ways in which she and her Gen Z peers approach questions of “impartiality” and values. The team also takes some joy in the coverage of New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, over whom the mainstream media have lost their damn minds.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Chris Hedges joins Jess, Charlie and Rachel to discuss Israel’s occupation of Gaza and his cancelled address, 'The Betrayal of Palestinian Journalists.' Chris speaks about his seven years of reporting from the Middle East – much of it in Gaza – including being on the receiving end of Israeli firepower. Jess and Charlie also discuss Sussan Ley’s embarrassing attack on Anthony Albanese’s Joy Division t-shirt, and the politics of punk.

Canadian-Egyptian journalist and novelist Omar El Akkad, discusses his new book One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, which critiques what it means to live in the West, during a time of devastating world events occurring across the world. A journalist for ten years, Omar has reported on various pivotal political movements and events, and describes how this shaped his response to the crisis in Palestine. Omar delves into the 'moral fracture' of Western culture, and how this will influence the generations to come.

Jess, Charlie and Rachel invite freelance journalist and author of Slick, Royce Kurmelovs, to share some insights following the government’s announcement of its lacklustre 2035 emissions reduction target (or should we say range). The trio also discuss the moment the new Sky After Dark show, Freya Fires up, self-combusted after allowing UK Islamophobe for hire, Ryan Willams, to rant live to air while wearing bacon rashers on his shirt.

Rachel, Jess and Charlie have another Radiothon special, this time joined by friend of the show Natalie Feliks, as they discuss the importance of community radio and independent media. Natalie shares her thoughts on the ongoing attacks on the trans community following the shooting of American right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk, as well as her love for RRR, while the team try not to lose their collective minds over the accelerating rise of fascism in the US.

Poet and co-editor of Overland Evelyn Araluen joins Jess, Charlie and Rachel to discuss the sudden closure of Meanjin, after Melbourne University Publishing decided that the 85 year old literary journal was no longer financially viable. They discuss the lack of communication over the closure, whether removing the archives paywall will lead to AI scraping of decades of Australian literary culture, and whether literary work should be expected to produce profit in the first place.

Jess, Charlie and Rachel are joined by ABC reporter Nabil Al-Nashar followed by anti-fascist researcher Andy Fleming — aka Slack Bastard — to discuss the “March for Australia” rallies that took place in cities across Australia. Nabil shares his experience covering the rallies as a person of colour, including racist feedback on his social media, while Andy offers some perspective on the role the mainstream media has played in platforming the far-right. The team also discuss the abrupt closure of Meanjin, Labor’s attacks on FOIs, and the rejection of war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation appeal.

Rachel is back in the studio with Jess and Charlie, and they are joined by Esther Anatolitis. The four discuss the news stories of the week - including the productivity commission, the revelations about Iran’s involvement in anti-semitic attacks in Australia, Linda Reynolds’ defamation win against Brittany Higgins, and the media response to the police killings in Porepunkah. They also interview Nick Pickard from APRA AMCOS to discuss the real threat posed to Australian writers and creators if AI companies are given free reign to steal their work.

Charlie and Jess are joined by OG Spin Cycler, Najma Sambul, and junior Spinner, Donnie, to celebrate Triple R’s radiothon festival. They discuss all the reasons why it is more important than ever to support independent media right now, reflecting on the guests of the show over the last 12 months. Subscribe at rrr.org.au to keep Spin Cycle broadcasting.

Jess and Charlie begin the show discussing the media’s failure to report Israel’s targeted attacks on journalists accurately. They talk to freelance photojournalists Alex Zucco and Jay Kogler about their experience photographing a neo-Nazi gathering in Bacchus Marsh, how they responded when they came under attack, and what it’s like working as an independent photojournalist in Australia. Charlie and Jess also remember the life and work of film critic, David Stratton.

Jess and Charlie discuss the search for offence in the media's coverage of the March for Humanity in Sydney over the weekend, and discuss conservative media's coverage of protests more generally. They are then joined by Guardian reporters Sarah Collard and Ella Archibald-Binge to discuss their incredible investigative series with Lorena Allam, The Descendants, that draws direct lines between frontier massacres of Aboriginal people and the Australia we exist in today.

In this week' Spin Cycle, Charlie and Jess discuss mushroom robots, and the media’s shift in reporting on Gaza. In particular they focus on the use of the image of toddler Muhammad al-Matouq and the heartless debate around its context. The team then share Jess's interview with Palestinian journalist, Plestia Alaqad, about the reality of reporting on the ground in Gaza, and her book, The Eyes of Gaza: a diary of resilience. The Spin Cycle team’s reference to Israel committing genocide in Gaza is based on findings from both genocide scholars and human rights organisations, including the below: Genocide scholars unanimous Israel is committing genocide United Nations Amnesty International Medecins Sans Frontieres Israeli humanitarian orgs accuse Israel of genocide

Crikey reporter Daany Saeed joins Jess and Charlie to talk about Trump, Murdoch and Epstein - what are the differences between defamation in Australia and the US, and is this finally a turning point for Trump's unravelling? Jess and Charlie also cover the continuing misinformation around Israel's War on Gaza and some of the imbalanced censuring of MPs upon Parliament's return.

Donnie joins Jess to discuss a new record-breaking Roblox game 'Grow a Garden', and the Moo Deng celebration in Thailand raising awareness for the conservation of pigmy hippos. They are then joined by Nick Feik to talk on the history of Jillian Segal, in light of her new plan to combat anti semitism in Australia. They discuss what the plan is about and how the media has contributed to the conflation of anti-semitism with genuine criticisms of Israel.

Joey Watson joins Jess and Charlie to discuss online radicalisation in light of his new Listnr investigative podcast ‘Lone Actor’, which delves into the background of the Christchurch shootings. Jess and Charlie also talk about the mushroom murder convictions, and the government’s conflation of the purpose of protests in the name of broader regulation.

Investigative reporter for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, Eryk Bagshaw, joins the Spin Cycle team to review his recent exposure of hospitality giant Merivale’s exploitation of migrant workers. Together they discuss the background of the story, and how the series of articles came together with the work of multiple journalists.

In Spin Cycle this week, Charlie and Jess recap the success of Antoinette Lattouf in her case against the ABC, and the larger ramifications of the verdict. They are also joined by writer and photographer Alistair Kitchen,  to share details on his deportation from the US, and discuss the threat against journalism abroad.

Investigative journalist and documentary photographer, Ben Camacho, joins Charlie and guest host Natalie Feliks on this week’s episode of Spin Cycle. Together they discuss the violent treatment of journalists in the LA protests of ICE, and in particular, whether or not it is intentional. They ask what the consequences of silencing the media are, and what the end of programs like Q+A and The Project mean about how Australia’s media consumption is shifting.

Friend of Spin Cycle, Natalie Feliks joins Charlie on the show to talk about the Australian media’s coverage of climate policy, in light of the extension of Woodside’s North Shelf gas project in WA. Together they also take a look at the media training of political candidates, including revisiting some classic “gotcha” moments.