This week, United States correspondent Jessica Gardner on Trump’s first year back in the White House and Mark Carney's viral speech.

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.

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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