NEWS WEAKLY 197 – 24th January 2026
This week on News Weakly:

• George R. R. Martin gives an interview that finally, definitively kills The Winds of Winter and with it the last surviving shard of millennial optimism.

• The Coalition explodes over hate-speech laws it demanded, negotiated, diluted, then rage-quit anyway, proving opposition is harder than outrage.

• Australia passes its “strongest ever” hate laws, handing vast discretionary power to the state and asking everyone to trust the vibes.

• Davos assembles the world’s elites to solve distrust, only for Donald Trump to confuse allies, geography, and colonialism with branding.

• Gaza is reimagined as a luxury real estate opportunity, because nothing ends mass trauma like a PowerPoint and a beachfront casino.

Sami Shah is a multi-award-winning comedian, writer, journalist, and broadcaster.

For more: http://thesamishah.com

Theme music Historic Anticipation by Paul Mottram

This podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Sami Shah.

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