Hi there, I’m Samantha Selinger-Morris the host of The Morning Edition, the daily news podcast from The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.

We’re bringing you the best episodes of 2024, before your Morning Edition team returns in early January.

Today, we’re bringing you an episode that was a deep-dive into the oldest fraternal organisation in the world, the Freemasons.

Investigative journalist Charlotte Grieve entered the secret world of the Freemasons, in which it’s against the rules to speak publicly about what happens in this order.

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If things are supposed to be slowing down for Christmas, well, nobody told our federal politicians. This week we had a mid-year economic update and a contentious debate about the Coalition’s nuclear energy plans.

Today, chief political correspondent David Crowe joins Jacqueline Maley to look back at the political year and explore some of its themes.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.

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We found out, earlier this week, that Buruli ulcer, caused by a flesh-eating bacteria has settled into a coastal town in NSW. Experts say there’s a significant risk that the bacteria could spread to Sydney, and beyond.

Today, health editor Kate Aubusson on how we can stay safe from this disease, which has already gained a foothold in Victoria.

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You’ve seen all the headlines. And squinted at the figures. But for god’s sake, what do they actually mean? We are, of course, talking about Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy plan. Is it really as radical as some analysts say, relying on “fairly heroic assumptions” about what it will cost? And what will it actually do to the environment?

Today, climate and energy correspondent Mike Foley on how the Opposition’s plan compares with the government’s energy strategy. And the straight facts that will help you sound like you know what you’re talking about, at your next dinner party.

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On the weekend, four Australians were rushed to hospital in Fiji with suspected alcohol poisoning, after drinking cocktails at a resort.

This follows the mass drink poisoning in Laos last month, which claimed the lives of six tourists, including Australian teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles.

What’s happening to people’s drinks overseas? And is it all poisoning from methanol, like what happened in Laos?

Today, breaking news reporter Jessica McSweeney and Dr David Ranson, a former forensic pathologist, on the latest poisonings.

Audio credit to:

• Australians hospitalised in Fiji after suspected alcohol poisoning, ABC News
• Father opens up on daughter’s condition after suspected alcohol poisoning in Fiji, Sky News

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It reads like a script from a movie. A small-town boy from coastal new south wales who grew up to rub shoulders with the rich and the powerful and, if all the stories are true, cheating them out of a whole lot of money.

Timothy John Alford is accused of being a serial swindler, cheating dozens of people in Australia and in the United States of an estimated $50 million.

He has allegedly left a trail of ruin behind him. All while authorities both here, and overseas have been on his case.

Today, chief investigative reporter Kate McClymont and investigative reporter Harriet Alexander on following the trail of an alleged con artist.

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This week was dominated by the appalling anti-Semitic attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea in Melbourne’s south-east. There followed more attacks in Sydney - A car was torched in the Eastern suburbs, where there is a strong Jewish community, and houses there were graffitied with anti-Israel slogans.

The violence was followed by political conflict. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was accused of not doing enough to quell anti-Semitism and make Jewish Australians safe. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was accused of politicising the whole issue.

So could the PM have handled the week better? And what did his handling of the firebombing tell us about his powers of leadership? Will Dutton get any blowback for his lack of bipartisanship over the issue?

Plus, Peter Dutton’s rejection of the Aboriginal flag, and Labor’s childcare policy.

Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss is chief political correspondent David Crowe and political correspondent Paul Sakkal.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.

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The Australian government is expected to announce, today, that it will drop $600 million to help create a rugby league team for Papua New Guinea.

Has Prime Minister Anthony Albanese let his love of rugby league go to his head? Announcing this sort of spend during a cost of living crisis? Or is this an uncanny political move?

Today, foreign affairs and national security correspondent Matthew Knott, on the soft diplomacy that will land with the hard thud of a crash tackle. And how effective it might be at combatting the influence of China in the Pacific.

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