Albanese’s attempts to talk to everyone bears bitter fruit when he goes off script

August 11, 2026 — 4:38pm

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It might have been simpler to just own the mistake of hosting a bawdy podcast in The Lodge and move on, but that just isn’t Anthony Albanese’s style.

Now the Coalition is ramping up its attacks on the prime minister for playing along with the host’s joke about the Japanese prime minister smuggling in melons under her shirt “like Pamela Anderson”.

The Japanese government does not want to make a meal out of this, but the blowback does raise questions about Labor’s “embrace all audiences” strategy that gives podcasters extraordinary access to Albanese.

The prime minister has long embraced a media strategy that has seen him sit down regularly with everyone from Sydney shock jock Kyle Sandilands to conservative columnist Andrew Bolt through to high-minded interviews on the ABC’s 730.

It was a natural step to include podcasters and YouTubers, even the slightly more risque ones, as these interviews tend to be longer form and allow Albanese, or any politician, to showcase their “real” selves.

Some of the loosest interviews can work well because they let a politician sound authentic – but they are also higher risk. It is all too easy to overstep the mark.

Albanese’s appearance on the bawdy Bush Deep podcast on July 3 with host Nikki........

© The Age