Politics with Michelle Grattan

Michelle Grattan discusses the new release book The Protest Years: The Official History of ASIO 1963-1975, with its author Dr John Blaxland. Among many controversies, they review the evidence supporting conspiracy theories surrounding the dismissal of the Whitlam government and the fractious relationship between the agency and Lionel Murphy, the Labor Attorney-General.

In this interview, Senator Hanson-Young calls upon the government to appoint an independent advocate to protect the interests of the Somali woman known as Abyan, who at the time of recording was being held in Nauru. Michelle also probes the Senator on the Greens electoral prospects following the ascension of Malcolm Turnbull to the prime ministership. 

In The Conversation's first live podcast, which took place in Canberra's Muse wine bar and bookstore, Labor's Sam Dastyari gives a candid insight into Labor's strategy to win back government, the threat of the Greens and much more.