Best Sascha O Podcasts (2025)

1
2023 wrapped: the 6 biggest business stories 18:48

1+ y ago18:48

18:48

We have reached our final episode of 2023. And what a year it was: inflation and interest rates, miracle drugs to record breaking sports contracts, AI to CZ, there was so much that happened. Today, we’re recapping the year that was. To do it, we’re bringing in the whole team at Equity Mates to share what they think are were the biggest business sto…

1
Fast 3: Is it really cheaper to buy than rent? | World’s first plastic waste treaty | Elon’s latest outburst 18:58

1+ y ago18:58

18:58

We’re back for another Fast 3. Where a collection of the team from the Equity Mates join me to cover 3 stories in less than 15 minutes. Today, we’re covering a range of topics today from a world-first global treaty on plastic waste to why Elon Musk told Disney CEO Bob Iger to go f- himself. Also, we’re looking at recent housing data that suggests i…

1
Are Kyle & Jackie-O worth $200 million? 16:45

1+ y ago16:45

16:45

Controversy sells. We learned that last week when we saw reports that Kyle and Jackie-O signed a 10 year contract extension with Australian Radio Network worth $200 million. Meaning, if that’s correct, Kyle and Jackie-O will be pocketing $10 million a year each, for 10 years. It’s probably the question you’re mulling over right now, and it was cert…

1
Happy Birthday ChatGPT! 12 months on, what's changed? 16:47

1+ y ago16:47

16:47

Happy Birthday ChatGPT! Since arriving in our lives this time last year, it’s made news headlines, had teachers, industries and governments worried, and on a more personal level, made many menial tasks - like writing shopping lists or building excel spreadsheets, much easier. It’s Friday the 1st of December and today Sascha is joined by Capital Bri…

1
Why Rugby League is in the middle of the US-China great power contest 18:06

1+ y ago18:06

18:06

If we were to say great power competition between China and the United States - what’s the first thing you think of? Whatever it was, I’d hazard a guess it wasn’t Rugby League. But Australia's National Rugby League competition has found itself right between China and the United States contest in the Pacific. And NRL executives are planning to cash …

1
5 things to know about migration and the property market 14:04

1+ y ago14:04

14:04

Overseas migration is frequently being called out as one of the primary factors influencing the housing market. As Core Logic writes - in the face of high interest rates, low consumer sentiment and stretched housing affordability, values and rents continue to rise and vacancy rates plummet as net overseas migration has hit record highs. Today, Sasc…

1
Money, power and time: Is the future of 50-over cricket on the line? 17:51

1+ y ago17:51

17:51

Australia are cricket world champions. In a brutal six months away from home, Australia’s men’s cricket team has won the World Test Championship, retained the Ashes against England and now won the One Day Cricket World Cup. But as the dust settles on the tournament, cricket powerhouse India wonders how they let it slip away, and Australian hero Tra…

1
OpenAI Saga: Sam Altman’s Wild Weekend 21:40

1+ y ago21:40

21:40

ChatGPT has taken the world by storm this year. That is the AI chatbot made by OpenAI. Sam Altman, the CEO and co-founder of OpenAI, has become one of the most recognisable faces in business this year. He’s travelled the world speaking to world leaders about the opportunities and the dangers of AI and the need for strong regulation. There are few p…

1
Aussie banks have just made record profits. What's going on? 16:21

1+ y ago16:21

16:21

Cost of living, inflation and interest rates have been the big economic story of the past 18 months. People and businesses are doing it tough. So when Australia’s Big 4 Banks reported their latest results, there was a fair bit of anger: Commonwealth Bank’s profit rose 5% to $10.2 billion NAB’s profit rose 9% to $7.7 billion ANZ rose 14% to $7.4 bil…

1
Does Australia have what it takes to be a hydrogen superpower? 14:37

1+ y ago14:37

14:37

Zero emissions hydrogen has the potential to supplant oil and gas as the fuel of the future — Australia is in a brilliant position to take advantage of this investing theme. But there are major hurdles to overcome. Today Sascha is joined by Kate Burgess, Climate, energy and resources correspondent at Capital Brief to ask: Does Australia have what i…

1
Who cares about the US government shutdown? 16:14

1+ y ago16:14

16:14

America is once again nearing a financial crisis, where the government is unable to spend money and needs to shut down everything but the most essential services. Unless the US Congress agrees to pass a series of appropriations bills and allow the US government to spend, America’s federal government will shutdown on Friday 17 November. Alec and Sas…

1
Sam Bankman-Fried is guilty. What does this mean for crypto? 11:52

1+ y ago11:52

11:52

Sam Bankman-Fried. The founder of crypto exchange FTX was arrested last year and earlier this month was convicted by a jury of his peers in New York. Plenty has been written and said about the disgraced so-called crypto king. But as his reign comes to an end, we wanted to look at the wash up and what next for crypto. Sascha and Bryce break it down …

1
Will this interest rate rise finally take the heat off property prices? 13:35

1+ y ago13:35

13:35

On Melbourne Cup Day, there was one fairly safe bet. Michele Bullock would raise interest rates. And they did, by 25 basis points. The increase to 4.35% will be a bitter pill for borrowers to swallow, and in some ways it feels the economic stakes have never been so high. Today Sascha is joined by Jennifer Duke and they talk about why when so many o…

1
23andMe is selling access to customer's DNA 15:53

1+ y ago15:53

15:53

23andMe and Ancestory.com allow people to spit in a tube and have their DNA analysed to learn more about their ancestory and any health risks. To date, more than 14 million people have spit in tubes and sent it in to 23andMe. Now the company is selling access to an anonymised database of customer DNA to pharmaceutical giant GSK. In today's episode …

1
Driveless cars are driving headlines. Here's what you've missed 16:32

1+ y ago16:32

16:32

Waymo, Tesla, Cruise, Baidu. Some of the biggest names in the race to get driverless cars on the road have been in the headlines lately. In today's episode of The Dive, Sascha and Alec catch you up on what's been happening and ask, who's in poll poition in the race to commercialise self-driving technology? Want more Equity Mates? Click here. In the…

1
If Qantas is an indication, it’s going to be a fiery AGM season 17:27

1+ y ago17:27

17:27

Today, the Qantas board will be holding their annual general meeting. It’s a chance for shareholders to hold a mirror to the board and management after months of widespread anger - whether it be over former CEO Alan Joyce’s pay packet, regulatory investigation into cancelled flights, and lobbying the Australian government over competition from a co…

1
Meet your new North Korean colleagues 12:21

1+ y ago12:21

12:21

Turns out, large western companies accidently hired thousands of North Koreans. Now that is a headline that caught our interest. Seems like a big accident. So today Sascha and Alec dig into it. Want more Equity Mates? Click here. In the spirit of reconciliation, Equity Mates Media and the hosts of The Dive acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of …

1
How are Americans avoiding paying $688B in tax? 12:15

1+ y ago12:15

12:15

$688 billion. That is how much tax Americans avoided paying in 2021. With Australia’s tax deadline fast approaching - it is tomorrow, or 31 October 2023, so get your tax returns in - but today Sascha and Alec wanted to understand how Americans could avoid paying so much tax. Want more Equity Mates? Click here. In the spirit of reconciliation, Equit…

1
4x larger than Hollywood: Australia’s video game opportunity 13:49

1+ y ago13:49

13:49

Would it surprise you to know that the video game industry is worth $200 billion globally? Ok, numbers without context is always difficult, so here’s a comparison - that’s four times as big as Hollywood. Dan Van Boom, the technology reporter at Capital Brief, recently wrote that Australia is perfectly positioned to take advantage of this hidden gia…

1
The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried 19:47

1+ y ago19:47

19:47

Fallen Crypto King Sam Bankman Fried… once ‘king of the crypto world’, is now in the midst of one of the biggest fraud trials in American history, taking place in a New York courtroom. So, what’s this trial about? Rewind back to late 2022. The FTX crypto trading operation, and the closely related Alemeda research, both spectacularly collapsed. SBF …

1
Fast 3: Gina v Albemarle | AI Deep Fakes | Is Amazon ripping off small businesses? 23:50

1+ y ago23:50

23:50

It’s a new week, and we’re hitting the decks with a fast three. The stories that have had us chatting in the Equity Mates office. Sascha is joined by her colleagues to talk them through. Alec is digging into the reporting coming out of the recent Amazon antitrust lawsuit, Alf is getting me up to speed on the AI Deep Fakes plaguing celebrities. But …

1
Why is Atlassian doubling down on WFH, when everyone is going back to the office? 11:14

1+ y ago11:14

11:14

Atlassian - the Australian software products maker - recently announced it had agreed to buy video messaging platform Loom. They paid US $975 million for the privilege - which accounted for a significant portion of their cash reserves. It also indicates a commitment to work from home, when many big companies this year are winding back on remote wor…

1
Why did Birkenstocks IPO get off on the wrong foot? 19:52

1+ y ago19:52

19:52

Birkenstock Holding plc is a German shoe manufacturer known for its sandals and other shoes notable for contoured cork footbeds (soles) made with layers of suede and jute, which conform to the shape of their wearers' feet. On September 2023, Birkenstock filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States stating that the company would b…

1
What does the future of money look like without cash? 19:00

1+ y ago19:00

19:00

It’s a two parter today! Digging into two stories that caught our attention at Equity Mates. The Nobel Prize for Economics has just been announced, and for the third time ever, it’s been awarded to a woman. Professor Claudia Golden has won for her extensive research and academic writing on historical trends in gender equality. Sascha is joined by J…

1
Endometriosis: Is there a breakthrough treatment coming for 176 million people? 8:20

1+ y ago8:20

8:20

Here’s some facts about endometriosis. According to the conditions’ official Australian website, more than 830 000 - or 1 in 7 - of Australian girls and women live with it at some point in their life. Symptoms are incredibly varied - fatigue, pain, bleeding - and can vary in severity as well, which means it takes an average Australian diagnosis 6.5…

1
What’s Lachlan Murdoch’s plans for News Corp & Fox? 19:39

1+ y ago19:39

19:39

Rupert Murdoch has stepped down from his media empire, handing over the reigns to his son Lachlan Murdoch. While a lot has been written about what Rupert Murdoch built, far less has been written about Lachlan’s thoughts on what to do with it. So we wanted to take a look. Today Sascha and Alec ask - what are Lachlan Murdoch’s plans for Fox Corp and …

1
What’s the latest in the Epic Games v Apple stoush? 14:17

1+ y ago14:17

14:17

Epic Games - maker of Fortnite - has been firmly embroiled in this stoush already for years. Epic sued Apple in 2020 after the game company introduced its own payment system into Fortnite, which broke Apple's rules and ultimately got the company banned from the App Store. A ruling in the US in April decided Epic had not shown that Apple has monopol…

1
Fast 3: Elon's one step closer to putting a chip in your brain 21:31

1+ y ago21:31

21:31

This episode, it’s another fast 3, as promised. What’s on the agenda? Well, Simon has an update about Elon Musk’s microchips that he plans to insert in our brains, Alec tells us why Audiobooks are at the centre of a stoush between Spotify and Apple, and also Bryce gets us up to speed with interest rates and what's coming down the pipeline for us. F…

1
1 in 5 houses on the market have been owned for less than 3 years. What does this mean? 15:32

1+ y ago15:32

15:32

Sascha is joined by Eliza Owen from Core Logic to chat about their latest data. Together they discuss the market’s remarkable rally, in spite of rising interest rates, our ever-present rental crisis, and the rise of short-term resales - a new data trend for 2023. Want more Equity Mates? Click here. In the spirit of reconciliation, Equity Mates Medi…

1
Who is Michele Bullock, the new RBA Governor? 19:16

1+ y ago19:16

19:16

On September 18, Michelle Bullock succeeded Dr. Phillip Lowe as the RBA Governor. Her term starts amid heightened national attention on the RBA's interest rate decisions. Add to this the fact the federal government is restructuring the RBA, and Bullock herself has noted emerging pressures on the financial system. This episode Sascha welcomes Jennif…

1
How the AFL & NRL Grand Finals could break one bookie 20:56

1+ y ago20:56

20:56

Sport is big business. That is something we’ve covered over and over again on this podcast. From lucrative TV rights deals to oil-states funding rival leagues, it is impossible to escape the headlines of the amount of money flowing into sport. In Australia this reaches a fever pitch this weekend as our two biggest domestic competitions - the AFL an…

1
Unhappy Hour: How UK pubs are using dynamic pricing 17:15

1+ y ago17:15

17:15

On the weekend, a friend of the pod was sitting in a pub owned by Britain's biggest pub company, Stonegate Group. If you have ever drunk in a pub in the UK there is a good chance it may have been Stonegate Group - their brands include Yates’s, Be at one, and the Slug & Lettuce, they have over 800 venues. Recently, they’ve introduced a ‘dynamic pric…

1
We can’t build our way out of a housing crisis 23:38

1+ y ago23:38

23:38

Build, build and build some more. That sums up our government’s approach to our current housing crisis. Just this month we’ve seen it from all levels of government. At a Federal Level, we’ve seen the government pass the Housing Australia Future Fund. At a state level, we’ve seen Australia’s biggest state - New South Wales - pass a budget with housi…

1
Fast 3: The US has discovered the largest lithium deposit in history 18:53

1+ y ago18:53

18:53

It’s another Fast 3 - the three stories that we thought you needed to hear this Friday. Today we’ll be talking about why Rotten Tomatoes scores aren’t so fresh, a massive discovery of lithium in the crater of a US volcano, and we’ve an update on those BMW heated seats. Sascha is joined by three of her Equity Mates colleagues to unpack these stories…

1
Apple’s new iPhone - Does anyone care? 18:18

1+ y ago18:18

18:18

Last week we saw the biggest news on Apple’s calendar - Apple’s announcement of the new iPhone. There was a time when the world sat up and marvelled at what Steve Jobs and his team had managed to squeeze into the palm of our hand, but now it is a pretty routine update - new colour, better camera, faster chip - then they wave us all goodbye and set …

1
Is Airbnb facing an existential crisis? 14:01

1+ y ago14:01

14:01

If you’ve booked an AirBnB recently, it seems like we're drowning in a sea of house rules: no parties, quiet hours after 10 pm, laundry duties before departure, and the stern warnings to meticulously follow instructions or risk facing fines. But that’s not the only issue they’re facing. Major cities from New York to London to basically everywhere i…

1
Is Rugby Union on the brink of a new golden age? 21:28

1+ y ago21:28

21:28

2003 was the most recent high water mark for Australian Rugby. We were hosting a World Cupt on our shores, and we very close to winning it all, before losing to England in the grand final. In the following two decades, it was besieged by scandals, pandemics, and public court cases, resulting in Rugby Australia facing the brink of bankruptcy. Today …

1
What's the concrete crisis gripping the UK? 21:18

1+ y ago21:18

21:18

It’s another favourite of The Dive fans - 3 stories in 15 minutes. We’ve gone around the office and asked for the stories that are grabbing our attention. We’re chatting about the new music deal Universal have arranged with a French music streamer, the concrete crisis that’s the main conversation in the UK, and a battle that’s bringing two major st…

1
Ronaldo’s $313m contract shows why it’s time to worry about oil 11:53

1+ y ago11:53

11:53

The extension of oil production cuts by Saudi Arabia is driven by its geopolitical and economic ambitions. Last week the Australian Financial Review wrote a Chanticleer column about these ambitions connect to the massive contract that Cristiano Ronado has recently inked. Sascha is joined by AFR journalist James Thomson to talk about this today. Wan…

1
Lab Grown Diamonds are forever 19:34

1+ y ago19:34

19:34

It turns out that fake diamonds are having a moment. As a new threshold has been reached - Last year, lab-grown diamond jewellery surpassed 10% of the world’s total diamond jewellery sales for the first time. Today Sascha and Alec ask - what is happening in the diamond industry? And how is the traditional diamond industry responding to this surge? …

1
The 3 QANTAS controversies explained 20:31

1+ y ago20:31

20:31

QANTAS has had an interesting time of late. Everything started well, reporting a recording $2.5 billion dollar pre-tax profit. But since that announcement it’s gone downhill. Australia’s national airline is now mired in multiple scandals, their CEO is getting grilled at Parliamentary hearings, and the Australian government is being accused of prior…

1
China's kids are not alright: Youth unemployment tops 20% 19:47

1+ y ago19:47

19:47

China has too much debt, has over-built infrastructure, has youth unemployment north of 20% and is facing a slow moving economic crisis as its years of unproductive spending are coming home to roost. That is a sentence you could’ve read in an economic publication at any time over the past 5 years. China’s collapse has been called before, and over t…

1
Parmesan producers are microchipping their cheese 15:09

1+ y ago15:09

15:09

EU food producers are incredibly protective of their products and the history that surrounds them - that’s why there’s such specific rules around who can make a Champagne, or Burgandy, when we’re really drinking a sparking wine or a glass of light pinot. But it’s one thing to want to call your product by that name to get the accolades, and another …

1
Just how affordable is space travel becoming? 18:54

1+ y ago18:54

18:54

There’s two big space stories that have happened recently that we wanted to talk about. The world’s leading space company Space X had their financials leaked, and India has just landed on the moon - just the fourth country to do so. Today Alec and Sascha chat about how these stories show how much cheaper space travel is becoming. Want more Equity M…

1
Why does no one want to host the Commonwealth Games anymore? 16:06

1+ y ago16:06

16:06

The Commonwealth Games has not been having a great time of late. Here in Australia you couldn’t miss the headlines last month, when Victorian Premier Dan Andrews cancelled the event, citing a huge blowout in the budget as the reason behind the decision. This isn’t the first time the games has been without a home - last year, Birmingham stepped up t…

1
Canada is rolling out childcare for $10 a day. Could it work in Australia? 18:59

1+ y ago18:59

18:59

In July, the Australian government put a huge stimulus into the childcare system - increasing Child Care Subsidy payments for many families. In Australia, over one million households used childcare last year. That’s 1.275 million children - and there are two broad reviews currently underway. Still, even with significant funding - childcare is still…

1
Once valued at $47 billion, WeWork is now on its knees 18:03

1+ y ago18:03

18:03

Bryce is back from holidays! While we’ve all been chained to our desks, covering multiple stories in detail, Bryce has been swanning about in Europe. Ok, that’s a little harsh, but he’s brought us a few topics to chat about today. So, what’s the agenda? A company that was once valued at $47 billion dollars is now on its knees, Saudi Arabia seemingl…

1
How Dave Portnoy bought back his $840M company for just $1 14:54

1+ y ago14:54

14:54

You may have recently seen the headlines that the founder of Barstool Sports recently bought his media company back for $1 after selling it for $840 million. That sounds like a pretty good deal… We knew there was more of a story there. Today, Sascha is joined by Equity Mates colleague Alf Eddy to discuss how Dave Portnoy regained control of the mas…

1
Ghost Planes: A clever business strategy? Or a waste of time and resources? 16:58

1+ y ago16:58

16:58

Earlier this week, we read that the skies above Melbourne and Adelaide have ghost planes flying overhead every day. No, it’s not planes piloted by poltergeists, it’s just near-empty planes, operating every day. The Guardian has reported that Qatar Airways has been exploiting a legal loophole, operating these "ghost flights" to run extra services to…

1
It's a bird, it's a plane... No, it's a flying car! 16:11

1+ y ago16:11

16:11

Here’s a sentence we thought we'd never write - there's multiple stories about flying cars in the news. Not one story, but several! We’ve got multiple companies getting regulatory approval to start testing their flying cars and we’ve got the world’s first flying taxi service slated to kick off in 2024. That's next year. Today, Simon and Sascha disc…

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