Straight Talk with Anthony Albanese

Anthony Albanese has said that his mother raised him in three great faiths: the Catholic Church, the South Sydney Football Club and the Australian Labor Party.

Despite these solid foundations, there was a missing piece to the puzzle of Albanese’s identity. His mother, Maryanne, raised him as a single parent and as the new book, Albanese: Telling It Straight by political journalist Karen Middleton details, Albanese did not meet his father until he was almost 50.

In the intervening years, the boy from working-class Sydney had risen to the top of Australian federal politics. The three great faiths – and the struggles of his early life – have left an indelible impression on Albanese as a politician. Principles of social justice and a commitment to progressive policy guided Albanese as a senior minister, and ultimately Deputy Prime Minister, in the tumultuous Rudd/Gillard era. He’s emerged from that bruising period of Labor history as one of the party’s most popular figures.

Hosted by Sally Warhaft, join Anthony Albanese for a conversation about family, foundations and the political future.