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The Conditional Release Program

The Conditional Release Program

By: Jack the Insider and Joel Hill
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Welcome to The Conditional Release Program, a podcast that delves into the netherworld of cults, crims and con artists.

Who would have thought a spicy chest cough would turn everyone so completely mad?

Our weekly show covers the conspiracy theorists that created a 'shadow pandemic' of political idiocy and violent ideation within the fringe of politics.

From time to time we get our hands even dirtier with true crime deep dives. Jack is a seasoned expert in the true crime genre, having written and spoken extensively about Roger Rogerson, Stan 'the man' Smith and, of course, the Fine Cotton Fiasco. In various episodes he guides us through the dark underbelly of Australian crime in his trademark storytelling style.

The world is getting weird and we are getting weird with it. Let's watch as democracy crumbles into a smouldering heap - and take note of the kids carrying the matches and the metho.

Hosted by Jack the Insider and Joel Hill with an occasional rotation of guests that generally share our distaste toward the lunatic fringe.

All rights reserved. Political Science Politics & Government Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 193 - Milat - Age Checks - Gaetzy - Aug 31 - 4 corners - PETE!

    Episode 193 - Milat - Age Checks - Gaetzy - Aug 31 - 4 corners - PETE!
    Aug 24 2025

    It has been a busy time on the right wing fringe of politics with a lot of dickheads having tantrums for reasons we can't fathom and they can't articulate. It's been a lot!

    But first up we have the very much not right wing but still slightly fringe tale of Jeremy Buckingham's search for truth regarding Ivan Milat's actual body count. The problem is, he's gone a bit off track and started making some fairly baseless claims. These can do more harm than good - and it's a classic case of when a politician thinks he's a cop and ends up doing both jobs terribly. We love Jeremy but this one's not going well.

    Cookers are upset about the coming 'backdoor' to digital tyranny that will see us having to identify ourselves on the internet to get past age checks for naughty content. And while the proliferation of awful content online is something worth looking at, this response ain't it.

    AND we have Gaetzy who has a solution to the war in Ukraine. It's really dumb. No spoilers.

    Cooker update has a bit of a lead up to next weeks racist picnic in the park where a lot of people will unite for the cause of - uh - straya? It's vague. We don't really know who is organising it. But they put Bec Freedom out as the media scapegoat and wow she's copped a shellacking. I tell ya what though - if you want to distance this rally from the Nazis who endorsed it, maybe don't put people that endorse nazis in charge? Just a thought, guys.

    In SovCits we look at the 4 corners episode that recently had a crack at the Common Law folks who love a good mock trial and dashing custom printed polo shirt. It was a good effort, but worth a chat nonetheless.

    I also preview the first few pages of Pete's new book and it sucks so much more than expected. Like, I knew the premise was silly but WOW does this thing suck. And the price is insane.

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    As usual, if you have any money you must give it to us. Preferably all of it, but if you want to be a jerk you can keep some. Best way to do that is https://www.patreon.com/theconditionalreleaseprogram

    If you have money and you don't want to give us any of it - but you like beer - then go buy a case or three from https://cbco.beer/ - and use the coupon code CRP10 to get 10% off. It's genuinely good beer and their prices are properly decent.

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    1 hr and 38 mins
  • The Two Jacks - Episode 124 - Stadiums, Surface Wars, and the Cost of Cutting Corners

    The Two Jacks - Episode 124 - Stadiums, Surface Wars, and the Cost of Cutting Corners
    Aug 22 2025
    As usual, AI slop shownotes for anyone who wants to read them. Enjoy!In this packed episode of The Two Jacks, Jack the Insider and Hong Kong Jack cut through a huge week in politics, policy, and sport. They kick off with life on the bike lanes and the four‑day work week debate before diving into Australia’s productivity roundtable: where progress might actually come from, why energy costs and regulation matter most, and how timid politics strangles reform. They spar over tax design, housing, stamp duty, and the red tape that inflates costs without improving quality.From there, the Jacks range across global flashpoints and US turbulence—Israel–Australia tit-for-tat visas, the Ukraine–Russia talks fallout, the limits of sanctions, and whether the West has the will for long wars. Stateside, they dissect rising US inflation pressures, Congress’s stock-trading problem, and the “picking winners” trap in industrial policy. Locally, they tackle the Greens in Tasmania, crime perception vs data, and Australia’s defense priorities in a drone-dominated future—before a big sports wrap: AFL finals implications from homophobic slur bans, NRL ladder-shaping clashes, cricket’s farewell to Bob Simpson, the Wallabies’ breakthrough at Ellis Park, and Sydney’s Allianz Stadium turf debacle.Timestamped segments and takeaways 00:00:01 – Cold open, weather and bike lanesBanter on soggy Sydney/Melbourne and bike lane hazards.Takeaway: Urban transport design vs pedestrian safety—light opener that foreshadows policy tradeoffs.00:02:23 – Four‑day work week and productivity roundtableJack the Insider outlines ACTU’s four‑day week ask; government quickly cools it.Hong Kong Jack: flexible, case-by-case four‑day arrangements can work well; blanket mandates don’t.Notable quote (Hong Kong Jack): “It really is a case-by-case basis… it can be done—it just can’t be done across the board.”00:04:26 – Housing, commuting, and productivity dragLong commutes as a hidden productivity killer; WFH rights expanding in Victoria but role-dependent.00:06:47 – AI regulation “light touch”Productivity Commission signals minimal regulation; Jack the Insider flags creator rights concerns.00:07:51 – Where productivity gains might come fromHong Kong Jack: “The two obvious areas to attack are regulation and energy costs.”00:08:17 – Energy transition, prices, and investmentJack the Insider: transition and decades of policy drift drove high prices; grid infrastructure is the bottleneck.Coal vs renewables economics; investment won’t return to coal due to horizon risk.00:12:00 – Cutting “red tape”: harmonization and tax settingsFederation frictions; harmonise state regs; stamp duty singled out as a worst tax.Building codes ballooning costs while quality supervision lags.00:14:24 – Build quality crises and supervision gapsMascot/Zetland examples; spate of vacated towers; cheap builds, high prices.00:15:40 – Political capital, timid reform, and election calculusIs Albanese Labor’s John Howard—few big-ticket reforms, focus on winning?Take reforms to an election (GST precedent), but reformers often punished at the polls.00:24:45 – Israel–Australia visa spatSimcha Rothman’s visa withdrawn; Israel responds by revoking visas for Australians to the Palestinian Authority; both sides flex sovereignty.Notable quote (Hong Kong Jack): “This is just how it works.”00:27:28 – Failed asylum seekers backlog nearing 100kProcessing delays create perverse incentives; most rejected claimants retain work/study rights—encourages low‑merit claims.Enforcement throughput is minimal; backlog self‑feeds.00:32:07 – Tasmania: Greens hold line on stabilityGreens won’t back Labor no-confidence; Premier continues; different cultures in Tas vs NSW Greens.00:36:32 – Vale Terence StampPersonal memories; Priscilla role noted; a prickly but great actor.00:38:00 – Ukraine–Russia: Alaska talks flop, semantics vs substanceOptics criticised; ceasefire vs peace semantics; limits of sanctions and Western will.Debate: Can Ukraine regain Crimea/Donbas? Is a negotiated end inevitable? Historical echoes (appeasement vs long war).00:49:05 – US inflation watch and tariffsProducer prices beat; risks of re‑acceleration; fuel prices helping headline but underlying pressures rising.Tariffs’ pass-through to consumers; political messaging vs data; Fed unlikely to cut on these numbers.00:54:24 – Crime, stats vs street realityDC deployments; media narratives vs lived experience; class/education divide shapes perceptions.00:58:26 – Drones, defense, and future warfareUS behind China on cheap drone swarms (DJI dominance); implications for Australia: missiles, subs, strike aircraft, drones, and a modern surface fleet.01:00:42 – Congressional stock trading and transparencyBipartisan enrichment via informational access; “broadcast trades in real-time” proposal; ban vs radical transparency.01:04:27 – ...
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    1 hr and 35 mins
  • The Two Jacks - Episode 123 - Patterson, Palestine & Pendlebury: Crime, War and the Business End of Footy

    The Two Jacks - Episode 123 - Patterson, Palestine & Pendlebury: Crime, War and the Business End of Footy
    Aug 22 2025
    As usual, AI slop shownotes for anyone who wants to read them. Enjoy! -----------------------------------------------Content warning: violent crime, child deaths, war, famine, and historical mass-casualty events.— Description — Jack the Insider and Hong Kong Jack cover a packed week: the Erin Patterson verdict and sentencing expectations; the Folbigg exoneration and compensation debate; AI’s promised productivity vs. creators’ rights; New Zealand politics and travel flows; Australia’s recognition of Palestine and the “day-after” security problem in Gaza; the 80th anniversary debate over Hiroshima/Nagasaki; U.S. housing, tariffs, and political incentives; food-stamp restrictions; Trump–Putin optics; pasta wars over cacio e pepe; plus NRL, AFL, cricket (Darwin’s case for a Test), and rugby’s Giteau Law change. They finish with an Iranian TV claim on “weather manipulation” and call it a week.Summary of key pointsCourts & media: Patterson likely long sentence; Folbigg’s payout criticized; cautionary tales of media rush-to-judgment.Tech & policy: AI productivity promises vs. creator consent; scraping controversies; children’s online safety beyond blunt bans.Geopolitics: Australia to recognize Palestine; post-war Gaza security unsolved; Hiroshima/Nagasaki debate reopened.Economics: U.S. housing pressures; tariffs as stealth consumption tax; political incentives realign.Sport: NRL finals picture tightening; AFL contenders wobble; cricket’s northern push; Wallabies selection flexibility returns.— Timestamped segments — 00:00:01 — Cold open & banterHong Kong heat, black short-sleeve “uniform,” bulk-buying Marks & Spencer basics.Light teasing about Melbourne’s love of black attire.00:01:22 — Erin Patterson: new disclosures, appeal posture, sentencingResurfaced material about alleged prior poison attempts on Simon Patterson (penne bolognese, chicken korma, vegetable wrap).Serious illness and surgery for Simon Patterson after the korma.Expectation of a long sentence for premeditated murder; talk of 35–45 years non-parole.Prison remand at Dame Phyllis Frost; media rumors inside; psychiatric assessments and caution about conflating autism with criminality.John Ferguson’s reporting; documentaries and books incoming; a true crime podcaster’s about-face post-disclosures.Confidence in trial thoroughness; appeal anticipated but unlikely to overturn on process.00:12:30 — Kathleen Folbigg: exoneration, “skinny” compensation, media reckoningNSW offers ~$2m after 20 years in prison; hosts call it low given Lindy Chamberlain’s historical payout and inflation.Books still in print labeling Folbigg a serial killer; calls for accountability among journalists.Comparison with Patterson media handling—less rush to judgment this time.00:19:19 — Productivity Commission on AI: 4.3% productivity vs. IP rightsLight-touch copyright reforms vs. creators’ consent/compensation.Corporate uptake (e.g., JPMorgan’s uplift) and the productivity juggernaut.Tech scraping (e.g., use of pirated libraries) and lawsuits (e.g., Sarah Silverman case).Social media harms and late-stage regulation; kids outmaneuvering adult-written rules.Data demands to verify age -> more privacy tradeoffs; grooming on gaming platforms; neurodivergent vulnerability.00:29:05 — New Zealand: travel flows, cost of living, politicsKiwis using Australia as a launchpad; departures muddying migration stats.Cost of living pressures; coalition under Chris Luxon trailing in polling.Dairy dependence on China moderated; Christchurch rebuild once boosted the economy, now cooled.00:33:32 — Australia to recognize Palestine: symbolism vs. securityPlanned announcements at the UNGA alongside France/UK/Canada.Netanyahu’s pushback; everyone says “no role for Hamas” in the day-after.Israeli protests against extended occupation; Arab League reluctance to police Gaza.A (half-flippant) British “mandate” idea vs. feasibility; Somalia as an example of regional peacekeeping success; current leadership gap to assemble an Arab-led force.00:43:05 — Hiroshima & Nagasaki at 80: necessity debate revisitedImmediate vs. long-tail casualties; cancer and birth defects; legal actions in Japan.Senior U.S. military figures (Eisenhower, Nimitz, others) cited as skeptical of necessity; Soviets’ late entry in the Pacific war as a factor.Recommendation to read widely; Paul Ham’s “Hiroshima Nagasaki” as a starting point.00:53:29 — U.S. housing and politics: who sets the agenda?First-home median age moving from ~28 to ~38; 2008’s lingering scars.Young men shifting toward Trump; Democrats’ reactive posture.Tariffs as a consumption tax; pass-through risks to inflation; corporate strain and loan-taking; watch upcoming indicators.01:01:50 — Food stamps & junk food limits12 U.S. states considering restrictions (especially sodas).Government paternalism vs. personal choice; cooking skills gap; case for basic food education over ...
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    1 hr and 38 mins
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