Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast
From razor-sharp analysis of current events to the hottest debates in politics, science, philosophy and culture, Late Night Live puts you firmly in the big picture. This LNL podcast contains the stories in separate episodes.
Wed, April 30, 2025
Mexico's formidable president
Mexico's first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, is hugely popular in her country, and gaining global admiration for winning both Donald Trump’s respect, and his apparent cooperation with her over tariffs. Guest: Maya Averbuch, Bloomberg journalist based in Mexico City for the last 8 years, covering Mexico’s economy and politics Producer: Ann Arnold
Wed, April 30, 2025
Why are the major parties dodging serious tax reform?
Despite growing intergenerational inequality, and numerous tax reviews and recommendations, there's been no major reform to Australia's taxation system since the introduction of the GST in the year 2000. From capital gains tax discounts, to superannuation concessions, is Australia's tax system unusually generous to the wealthy? And why is tax reform so politically difficult? Guest: Chris Evans, Professor Emeritus at the University of New South Wales, former head of the Australian Taxation School Producer: Jack Schmidt
Tue, April 29, 2025
Australia's arts sector faces generational challenges
It's been a turbulent few years in Australia's arts sector - post-pandemic financial pain, to major leadership changes, shifting consumer tastes, and censorship over the war in Gaza. Brook Turner examines the drama inside some of Australia's oldest arts institutions. Guest: Brook Turner, freelance journalist, contributor to the Australian Financial Review, author of Turbulence and Transcendence: Biennale of Sydney: The First 50 Years Producer: Helen Pitt
Tue, April 29, 2025
John Lyons' Bunker in Kyiv
When Vladimir Putin launched his latest war on Ukraine in 2022 he thought it would take three days. To everyone's surprise Ukraine managed to maintain its resistance for three years. But with Trump now in power, can Ukraine continue to hold out? GUEST: John Lyons, ABC Global Affairs Editor, author of “ A bunker in Kyiv (with Sylvie le Clezio) ”, published by Harper Collins PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Tue, April 29, 2025
Ian Dunt's UK: gender wars escalate and House of Lords reform stalls
Ian Dunt looks at the fallout from the UK Supreme court ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, why Labour's push to remove hereditary peers from the House of Lords has stalled and the Ukraine peace talks are off track. GUEST: Ian Dunt, columnist with the “i”, co-host of the Origin Story podcast PRODUCER: Jack Schmidt
Mon, April 28, 2025
History from the ballot box
The National Library of Australia is asking people across the country to keep hold of materials from the 2025 election campaign to go towards its political ephemera collection. The collection contains over forty thousand items and stretches back to 1901. GUEST: Catherine Aldersey, Curator, National Library of Australia. PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Mon, April 28, 2025
1945: the bloody year that changed the world
Author and filmmaker Phil Craig recounts how the final, dramatic acts of the Second World War set Britain, her colonies and her dominions on a new course. Guest: Phil Craig, author of 1945, The Reckoning: War, Empire and the Struggle for a New World, published by Hachette Producer: Helen Pitt
Mon, April 28, 2025
Laura Tingle's Election: polls and culture wars in the final week
As Australia enters the final week of the election campaign, Laura Tingle looks at the latest polls and how culture wars around Welcome to Country ceremonies have entered the fray. GUEST: Laura Tingle, 7.30 Political Editor PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Thu, April 24, 2025
Whiskerology: the meaning of hair in colonial America
The thickness, colour and texture of facial and head hair showed character traits about men and women, it was believed in 19th century America. The assessments were imbued with judgements about race and gender. Guest: Sarah Gold McBride, author of 'Whiskerology: the culture of hair in 19th century America’ (Harvard University Press, due out in June 2025) Producer: Ann Arnold
Thu, April 24, 2025
The Australians who fought Franco
In the late 1930s, a small band of Australian men and women volunteered to fight Franco's fascism in the Spanish Civil War, defying Australian government orders. These International Brigade volunteers still have not been officially recognised for their service by the Australian government or War Memorial.
Wed, April 23, 2025
Feisty Beatrice Faust
Beatrice Faust founded the Women's Electoral Lobby in 1972. She campaigned for abortion law reform, and wrote, often controversially, about sex and feminism. A new biography canvasses her complex political and private lives. Guest: Judith Brett, political historian. Author of 'Fearless Beatrice Faust: Sex, Feminism & Body Politics’ (Text Publishing) Producer: Ann Arnold
Wed, April 23, 2025
Elon Musk's DOGE raids United States Institute of Peace
The US Institute of Peace (USIP) has filed a lawsuit against DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) after its Washington headquarters were raided in mid-March. There's an ongoing legal battle over whether President Trump has the authority to dismantle organisations created and funded by Congress. GUEST: South East Asian Expert and former employee of United States Institute of Peace PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Tue, April 22, 2025
Once revered, now reviled: how pigeons became 'pests'
Humans domesticated pigeons thousands of years ago. They have been cherished as pets, messengers, and food sources, and appear as holy symbols in ancient texts. Today, we curse pigeons as feral urban pests. Science writer Rosemary Mosco urges us to consider the hidden beauty of this humble bird. Guest: Rosemary Mosco, science writer and cartoonist, author of A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching
Tue, April 22, 2025
Does NATO have a future?
US President Donald Trump has made it clear that NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) member states can no longer take American military support for granted. Trump says these countries need to boost their defence spending to five per cent of their GDP. With this kind of pressure, what kind of future does NATO have? GUEST: David Reynolds, Emeritus Professor of International History at Cambridge University, and co-host of the Creating History podcast PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Tue, April 22, 2025
Laura Tingle's Election 2025: the pope's death, and another leader's debate
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton respond to the death of the pope, before meeting in Sydney for another televised leader's debate.
Mon, April 21, 2025
Taiwan and its chips: the colourful history of this strategically important nation
As Taiwan waits to hear what tariffs the Trump Government will impose on its world-leading computer chips and semi-conductors, we bring you a rollicking account of this strategically important small nation. This program was first broadcast on 10 October 2024. Guest: Jonathan Clements, author of 'Rebel Island: the incredible history of Taiwan' (Scribe) Producer: Ann Arnold
Thu, April 17, 2025
Philippe Sands on war crimes and impunity - from Pinochet to now
In 1998, the former Chilean head of state Augusto Pinochet was arrested on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide. Philippe Sands was called to advise Pinochet on his claim to immunity, but would instead represent a human rights organisation against him. Guest: Philippe Sands, author of 38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England and a Nazi in Patagonia, appearing at the Sydney Writers Festival, May 2025
Wed, April 16, 2025
The secret history of the rape kit
GUEST: Pagan Kennedy, Author, The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True-Crime story PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Wed, April 16, 2025
Disclosures: how much should our politicians tell us about their money?
Australian politicians are not always brought to account on declarations of interest, such as gifts and property ownership. A small band of federal politicians and other advocates have been pushing for transparency and disclosure rules to be toughened. Guest: Sean Johnson, a former Liberal party staffer at both NSW state and federal levels. Founder of Open Politics, a website which provides data on the private interests of federal parliamentarians and their families, including their investment properties, family trusts, shareholdings, debts, gifts, free travel and hospitality. Producer: Ann Arnold
Tue, April 15, 2025
The folklore of the Stawell Gift: Australia's oldest footrace
The small town of Stawell in regional Victoria is busy preparing for the 143rd running of the Stawell Gift - Australia's richest and oldest footrace. The history of th Gift is full of drama, intrigue, and occasional controversy. Guest: Robert Irvine, committee member, Stawell Athletic Club
Tue, April 15, 2025
Yanis Varoufakis on Trump's shock plan for the global economy
Economist Yanis Varoufakis says we shouldn't underestimate Trump - he has a plan to shock the global economy, force foreign countries to buy crypto-currency in return for a deal on tariffs, and ultimately pay down debt and keep the US dollar at the centre of the global financial system. But it's a high risk strategy that also paves the way for the "tech bros" to make a lot of money. GUEST: Yanis Varoufakis, Professor of Economics at the University of Athens, Co-Founder of the political movement DiEM25 and author of Technofeudalism - What Killed Capitalism. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Tue, April 15, 2025
Bruce Shapiro's America: Harvard will not 'yield' to Trump threats
Harvard University will not 'yield' to demands from the Trump administration to roll-back diversity initiatives and 'root out' activists, despite threats of $9bn USD in withdrawn federal grants. Meanwhile, another pro-Palestinian student from Columbia University has reportedly been detained by immigration authorities. Guest: Bruce Shapiro, Contributing Editor for the Nation, Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University
Mon, April 14, 2025
The power of hand gestures
Gestures such as a handshake, a finger to the lips to say 'quiet', or the shrug, are so widely understood that they are an assumed common language. Philosopher and author Damon Young has analysed the history and various meanings of thirteen gestures, for his book 'Immortal gestures: journeys in the unspoken’ (Scribe) Producer: Ann Arnold
Mon, April 14, 2025
LGBTQI rights in Australian schools
In 2024, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced he was shelving the religious discrimination bill, for fear of stoking societal tensions. The move left religious groups and equality advocates disappointed. So where is that bill now? And why have the major parties stayed quiet on the issue?
Mon, April 14, 2025
Laura Tingle's Election 2025: hope for first homebuyers?
As the major party campaigns officially get underway, Laura Tingle dissects Labor and the LNP's offerings on housing. Guest: Laura Tingle, Political Editor, 7.30
Thu, April 10, 2025
'Sorrow, grief, horror': Kate Grenville confronts her settler ancestry
20 years on from her famous novel The Secret River, writer Kate Grenville retraces the footsteps of her settler ancestors, and asks what it means to be on land taken from other people. Guest: Kate Grenville, author of Unsettled, published by Black Inc
Wed, April 09, 2025
From jihadist to statesman - can Syria's new leader unite the country?
Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, the man who now rules Syria, has gone by multiple names and led a variety of rebel groups to ultimately oust the Assad regime. But who is he? And, after being designated a terrorist, can he gain legitimacy on the international stage and unite the numerous tribal, ethnic and religious groups inside Syria? GUEST: Nicolas Pelham, The Economist’s Middle East correspondent PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer The great pretender: how Ahmed al-Sharaa won Syria
Wed, April 09, 2025
Last dance at the tallyboard: ABC election analyst Antony Green calls time on a legendary career
ABC election analyst Antony Green has decided that this federal election will be his last in an on-air role. For over thirty years, he's tallied the numbers on election night, live on ABC TV. So what lies ahead for Australia's favourite psephologist? Guest: Antony Green AO, ABC election analyst
Tue, April 08, 2025
Why has the theatre interval gone out of style?
For the past century the interval has been as much a part of the theatre experience as the curtain call and the standing ovation. So why is it disappearing? And how will our bladders cope? GUEST: John Shand, theatre critic, Sydney Morning Herald PRODUCER: Helen Pitt
Tue, April 08, 2025
How is the Gaza war playing out in Israel?
Eighteen months into the war in Gaza, veteran reporter Irris Makler looks at how the war is playing out inside Israel and for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and how he has responded to the killing of more aid workers. GUEST: Irris Makler, Jerusalem correspondent, France 24
Tue, April 08, 2025
Bruce Shapiro's Trumpland: who's getting rich from Trump's tariffs?
There's been a lot of attention on who is losing out from Trump's tariffs, but who is set to benefit - even get rich - from them? And why is it that the Democrats remain seemingly ineffective while people are protesting Trump's policies across America? Guest: Bruce Shapiro, Contributing Editor for The Nation; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University Producer: Jack Schmidt
Mon, April 07, 2025
Tariffs are as old as the Roman Empire
Global markets are reeling in response to US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, but the tariff itself is nothing new. The ancient Romans applied duties to imports from the East - including incense, spices and jewels - designed to generate vast amounts of government revenue. But Roman tariffs also created problems - from price inflation to the emergence of black markets. Guest: Peter Edwell, Associate Professor of Ancient History, Macquarie University
Mon, April 07, 2025
Should the UK review its relationship with the US as well as AUKUS?
None of the leaders who signed the AUKUS deal in 2021 are in power today, and US President Donald Trump seems not to have heard about it. Now the UK has announced it will review the agreement given the swiftly changing geopolitical environment. So what does this mean for the relationship between the three allies from the UK’s perspective? GUEST: Philip Collins is a former chief speechwriter to Tony Blair, he’s a weekly columnist for The Evening Standard and Writer-in-Chief at the writing agency The Draft. He is also a contributor to Prospect Magazine. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Mon, April 07, 2025
Laura Tingle's Election 2025: blunders and backtracks
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has acknowledged that his proposal to compel Canberra-based public servants working from home to return to the office was a mistake. But as past elections have shown, there is still plenty of time to recover from a blunder.
Thu, April 03, 2025
ABR's Peter Rose - the Exit Interview
After 24 years, the Australian Book Review's CEO and editor, Peter Rose, is stepping down. By the time he leaves, Peter will have edited close to 250 issues, worked with more than 1500 writers and helped shape the national conversation. GUEST: Peter Rose, Outgoing editor and CEO of the Australian Book Review PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Thu, April 03, 2025
Peter Rose departs the Australian Book Review after 24 years
After 24 years, the Australian Book Review's CEO and editor, Peter Rose, is stepping down. By the time he leaves, Peter will have edited close to 250 issues, worked with more than 1500 writers and helped shape the national conversation. GUEST: Peter Rose, Outgoing editor and CEO of the Australian Book Review PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Thu, April 03, 2025
Did John Howard approve the 1998 war on the waterfront?
In 1998 wharfies across the country were locked out by men in balaclavas with savage dogs. What followed was the most dramatic industrial confrontation of the age between the Maritime Union of Australia and Patrick Stevedores, led by CEO Chris Corrigan. The Howard government said they knew nothing about plans to sack the 1400 workers and train a new, non-union workforce in Dubai. But now ABC Radio National’s Rewind has uncovered new evidence that casts doubt on their claims. GUEST: Dr Geraldine Fela –Research Fellow in the School of Humanities at Macquarie University, and producer and series historian of Conspiracy - war on the waterfront PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Wed, April 02, 2025
The bliss and the perils of ignorance
Aristotle claimed that all humans want to know. But at the same time, we battle a competing desire to not know. Through history, humanity has been repeatedly compelled to ignore realities, seduced by irrational rumours, magical thinking and preposterous prophets. Are we living in a time of particular ignorance?
Wed, April 02, 2025
How First Nations resisted colonisation in the River Country
In his new book Uprising, Stephen Gapps reveals the story of frontier resistance, along a huge area of the Murray-Darling river system - a concerted defence of River Country.
Tue, April 01, 2025
Australia's rabbit invasion
Australia’s rabbit plague was the fastest colonisation rate for an introduced mammal ever recorded anywhere on Earth. Which is why reports of an emerging plague of rabbits in the Adelaide Hills have locals and scientists worried. GUEST: Mike Letnic, Professor of Conservation biology and Ecosystem restoration, University of New South Wales PRODUCER: Helen Pitt
Tue, April 01, 2025
Does Peter Dutton's gas policy stack up?
Peter Dutton has made gas policy a central plank of his election pitch, unveiling a plan to reserve domestic gas supply and reduce energy prices. But he’s yet to release the modelling to back up his claims. Mark Ogge says reserving gas for domestic use is important – but he says new gas projects don’t add to Australian supply, they just enable the export of more gas. And that’s a big problem for the climate. GUEST: Mark Ogge, Principal Advisor, The Australia Institute PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Tue, April 01, 2025
Ian Dunt's UK: why did London police arrest activists in a Quaker meeting house?
Questions remain as to why London police arrested six activists in a Quaker meeting house who were planning a protest. Meanwhile, the conviction of far-right French leader Marine Le Pen for graft in a Paris courtroom has sent shock waves through European politics. Guest: Ian Dunt, columnist with i news, co-host of Origin Story podcast
Mon, March 31, 2025
Defining antisemitism on university campuses
Amid ongoing campus protests, and in the wake of a federal inquiry, 39 Australian universities have agreed to a definition of antisemitism to be adopted on campuses nationwide. The definition declares that criticism of Israel can, under some circumstances, be seen as antisemitic. But what are those circumstances? That is being debated on campuses around the world, where definitions like this are seen on one hand as necessary to protect Jewish students, and on the other as a way silencing criticism of Israel.
Mon, March 31, 2025
Laura Tingle's Election 2025: Dutton falls behind
As the election campaign gets underway, Laura Tingle looks at the messaging, who is being effective and what role US President Donald Trump plays in it all. GUEST: Laura Tingle, 7.30 Political Editor PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Thu, March 27, 2025
Calls for law reform after High Court ruling that Catholic Church is not 'vicariously liable' for abuse
There are calls for law reform after the recent High Court ruling that the Catholic Church is not vicariously liable for the actions of a priest who allegedly sexually abused a child in the 1970s. The court ruled that a priest is not an employee of a church, and therefore the institution is not liable to compensate their victims. Lawyers and advocates say they will take up the issue with all states and territories. Guest: Judy Courtin, lawyer and advocate Full statement in response to the High Court judgement from Bishop Bird (December 2024)
Thu, March 27, 2025
Reckoning with the West
US-based writer Omar El Akkad has written a book of searing essays, asking, among other things, what it is that 'polite liberal progressives' actually stand for. Guest: Omar El Akkad, journalist, novelist, essayist. Book: ''One day, everyone will have always been against this’ (Text) Producer: Ann Arnold
Wed, March 26, 2025
Lost in the jungle
The indigenous underpinnings and contradictory accounts behind the incredible tale of four children lost after a plane crash in the Amazon jungle in Colombia, in 2023. Guest: Mat Youkee, author of 'Forty days in the jungle: behind the extraordinary survival and rescue of four children lost in the Amazon' (Scribe) Producer: Ann Arnold
Wed, March 26, 2025
Perpetrators of sexual violence are getting younger
Specialist reporter on family and sexual violence, Jess Hill, says perpetrators are getting younger, and the messaging campaigns aimed at men are only causing a backlash as they often create a sense of shame. In her latest Quarterly Essay, Hill looks back at the last fifteen years of policy on dealing with violence against women and children, and why it seems to be failing. GUEST: Jess Hill, journalist and author of the Quarterly Essay 'Losing It - Can we stop violence against women and children?' PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Tue, March 25, 2025
Crime in extreme places: from Antarctica to space
An alleged physical assault at the South African Antarctic research station SENAE IV has underlined how these extreme, isolated work environments can become hotbeds of stress and human conflict.
Tue, March 25, 2025
Poland prepares for war with Russia
As the US retreats from its NATO commitments Poland is looking at gaining access to nuclear weapons from France and ensuring that every man undergoes military training as part of an effort to build a 500,000-strong army to face off the threat of war from Russia. But how real is that threat? GUEST: Jan Cienski, Senior Policy Editor, Politico PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Tue, March 25, 2025
Bruce Shapiro's America: the prestigious law firm bowing to Trump
The prestigious American law firm Paul Weiss is under fire for negotiating a deal with the Trump administration to avoid losing lucrative federal contracts. Meanwhile, Columbia University is also negotiating with the administration to unfreeze $400 million worth of federal funding.
Mon, March 24, 2025
How Australia developed its own vernaculuar
Historian and Director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre Amanda Laugesen has chronicled the linguistic history of Australia, in 100 words. Guest: Amanda Laugesen, lexicographer, ANU Producer: Helen Pitt
Mon, March 24, 2025
Turkish president takes another step towards dictatorship
The largest protests in decades erupted across Turkiye following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor and Opposition Leader Ekrem İmamoğlu on corruption charges and allegations of ties with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Now there are fears the Turkish president will use the protests to extend his political reign – and take a further step towards dictatorship. GUEST: Ece Temelkuran, Turkish journalist and author of ‘ How to lose a country: the seven warning signs of Rising Populism ’, published by 4th Estate. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Mon, March 24, 2025
Laura Tingle's Canberra: major parties water down environment laws
Laura Tingle looks at how the two major parties have watered down environmental protection laws on the even of the federal budget, and in the face of yet another disaster in the Tasmanian salmon industry. GUEST: Laura Tingle, 7.30 Political Editor PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Thu, March 20, 2025
The dark side of the green cities movement
The green cities movement is based on the notion that green spaces are healthier for our bodies and our minds. But Des Fitzgerald says the movement hides a dark past - where these ideas were connected to eugenics, and where the inspiration for green cities was tied to making a more docile, compliant worker to feed the needs of industrial capital. GUEST: Des Fitzgerald, Professor of Medical Humanities at the Radical Humanities Laboratory, University College Cork; author of ‘ The City of Today Is a Dying Thing ’ published by Faber. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Thu, March 20, 2025
Is it ethical to publish a writer’s personal diary after they’ve died?
Three years since the great American writer Joan Didion died, her publishers are putting a new work on the market. It’s called Notes to John, a diary of her time in therapy with her husband. Her fans will soon be queuing to buy, but the ethics of publishing such private material are being questioned. GUEST: Andrew Biswell – the biographer of Anthony Burgess and now Professor of Modern Literature at Manchester University PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Wed, March 19, 2025
The forgotten firebombing of Tokyo, 80 years on
In the early hours of March 10th 1945, Tokyo became the target of the most destructive single air raid in history - a low-altitude US attack that set the city alight and claimed an estimated 100,000 civilian lives. Whilst the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be commemorated in Japan later this year, the firebombing of Tokyo holds a more complex place in Japan's war memory. The elderly survivors of that night continue their struggle to be heard, acknowledged and compensated. Guest: Adrian Francis, Australian filmmaker living in Tokyo, director of Paper City (2021)
Wed, March 19, 2025
Radio propaganda wars in the Middle East
Before the 1967 war, radio ruled the Middle East—TV was a rare luxury. For the people of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Israel, the airwaves buzzed with news, and more often than not, propaganda. Alongside the giants like the BBC, hundreds of smaller stations across the region churned out their own political messages. GUEST: Margaret Peacock, Professor of History, University of Alabama and Frequencies of Deceit: How Global Propaganda Wars Shaped the Middle East PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Tue, March 18, 2025
Poland's queer history
Poland has unveiled its first queer museum, which chronicles the history of the LGBTQ+ community from the 16th century to the present. The museum showcases nearly 150 artefacts, including letters, photographs and a pair of high heels from the country's oldest drag queen, Lulla La Polaca. GUEST: Milosz Przepiórkowski, Board President, Lambda Warsaw, Poland’s oldest LGBTQI + Association PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Tue, March 18, 2025
Will Donald Trump roll back the Magnitsky laws?
In 2012 US President Barack Obama introduced laws allowing them to sanction Russians involved in human rights violations and high-level corruption. Known as the Magnitsky laws, they have been enacted by numerous countries, including Australia. Now the man behind the global campaign is worried President Donald Trump will roll them back. GUEST: Sir William (Bill) Browder, CEO Hermitage Capital, Head of Global Magnitsky Justice campaign. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Mon, March 17, 2025
Ian Dunt's UK: how to fund increased defence spending?
As Europe looks to become much more self-sufficient on defence, how will the Starmer government find the funds? Plus, relationships sour within Nigel Farage's Reform party.
Mon, March 17, 2025
A history of trolling before the Internet
Some of history's greatest trolls existed well before the Internet. Oscar Wilde, Lord Byron and even Shakespeare all loved provoking outrage. The desire to hurt or distract another with words goes back a very long way - and says a lot about the state of a culture. GUEST: David Rudrum, Author of Trolling before the Internet, An Offline History of Insult, Provocation, and Public Humiliation in the Literary Classics PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Mon, March 17, 2025
Satyajit Das on how Australia should respond to Trump’s re-shaping the global economy
Global finance markets slumped as the US heads towards a recession due to pressure on interest rates, Trump’s chaotic approach to imposing tariffs and the mass lay-offs cause by the DOGE cuts. So at what point do the BRICS countries decide to de-couple from the US dollar? And how should Australia respond in the context of the upcoming budget and the federal election? GUEST: Satyajit Das, former banker and global market analyst. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Mon, March 17, 2025
Laura Tingle's Canberra: how to handle Trump
After US President Donald Trump imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Australia, opposition leader Peter Dutton said his Coalition could have won a tariff exemption, if they'd been in government. Meanwhile Prime Minister Albanese has stepped up the language, describing Trump's move as 'entirely unjustified'. Guest: Laura Tingle, Political Editor, 7.30
Thu, March 13, 2025
The end of the Trudeau era
When Justin Trudeau became Canadian Prime Minister in 2015, the world swooned. A young, unifying leader with a "sunny" vision for liberal democracy, following in the footsteps of his late father, Pierre. Nine years later, Justin Trudeau has stepped aside as PM at an inflection point for his country. Biographer Stephen Maher mulls the legacy of the mercurial Canadian leader: his achievements, his missteps, and what could've been. Guest: Stephen Maher, journalist and biographer, The Prince: The turbulent reign of Justin Trudeau
Thu, March 13, 2025
Why the Danish don't trust their media - and what Vikings have to do with it.
In Nordic countries trust in your fellow compatriots has always been high, but that’s not the case for people who work in the media. So what’s going wrong? And what do Vikings have to do with the role of trust in Denmark? GUEST: Gert Tinggaard Svendsen, Professor in the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University, Denmark. He contributed the chapter “Trust and the Danish Experience” to the book Age of Doubt: Building Trust in a World of Misinformation, edited by Gavin Fang and Tracey Kirkland (ABC). Published by Monash University. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Wed, March 12, 2025
Ankit Panda on why we need to get serious about the catastrophic threat of nuclear weapons
Nuclear expert Ankit Panda says we have entered a new threat level, both from the major powers and from non-state actors. He says eighty years since Nagaski, policies of nuclear deterrence are no longer enough to deal with the increasing prospect of nuclear escalation, and that world leaders need to urgently re-focus their efforts on disarmament strategies. GUEST: Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of The New Nuclear Age: At the Precipice of Armageddon , published by Polity. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Wed, March 12, 2025
Caribbean countries lining up to dump the monarchy
A number of Caribbean nations are voicing their desire to throw off the shackles of colonial rule. In December last year, Jamaica tabled a bill to become a republic and cut ties with the British Monarchy. The country's Prime Minister, Andrew Holness has promised a referendum by the end of 2025, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen any time soon GUEST: Tracy Robinson, Professor of Law, University of West Indies PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Tue, March 11, 2025
Rebel, rev-head, trailblazer: Lilian Cooper, Queensland's first female doctor
In 1891, 29 year old Lilian Cooper arrived in the city of Brisbane, recruited from London as Queensland's first female doctor. Alongside her life partner Josephine Bedford, the pair became beloved local figures. Lilian- a tall, smoking, no-nonsense practitioner - was fiercely independent, highly skilled and deeply admired by her patients. Her story is the subject of an award-winning musical, A Girl's Guide to World War, now on tour in regional Queensland.
Tue, March 11, 2025
How prison architecture can change lives
Should prison architecture be used for punishment, or could it be used to create hope, instead. Criminologist Yvonne Jewkes has helped design prisons in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. And visited others in Norway, Spain and Japan. Guest: Professor Yvonne Jewkes, Bath University. Author of ‘An architecture of hope: reimagining the prison, restoring a house, rebuilding myself’ (Scribe)
Tue, March 11, 2025
Bruce Shapiro's America: minimising measles and defunding universities
A measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico has claimed at least two lives, according to reports. But Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has been accused of downplaying the situation. Plus, why has the Trump administration defunded Columbia University to the tune of $400 million?
Mon, March 10, 2025
Who really discovered gold in Australia?
History says that the first person to discover gold in Australia was Edward Hammond Hargraves. The truth, however, is a little murkier. In his new book, GOLD, historian Matt Murphy reveals that Hargraves was a charlatan and imposter who betrayed his fellow prospectors, GUEST: Author, Matt Murphy PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Mon, March 10, 2025
America's diversity, equity and inclusion wars
Less than two months after returning to the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump has abolished all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in federal agencies. The move dismantles decades of federal anti-discrimination policy in America. Advocates of these programs are now questioning where to go from here. GUEST: Shaun Harper, Provost Professor in the Rossier School of Education, and Founder of the Race and Equity Centre, University of Southern California PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Mon, March 10, 2025
Laura Tingle's Canberra: what does WA's election result mean for the federal contest?
Despite substantial swings, WA Labor was easily returned to government at the weekend. What does this mean for federal Labor as the election approaches?
Thu, March 06, 2025
Robert Dessaix's life reflections
Writer Robert Dessaix, now based in Hobart, was named Thomas Robert Jones by his adoptive parents. His name change, to reflect his French family heritage, is just one of many shifts Robert has made through his long life, around sexuality, friendships, appreciating art and travel, and facing the end of life. Guest: Robert Dessaix, author of 'Chameleon' (Text) Producers: Ann Arnold/David Marr
Wed, March 05, 2025
Former Guardian UK editor Alan Rusbridger on how the media should respond to Trump's threats
Veteran British journalist and editor Alan Rusbridger discusses Donald Trump’s attacks on the US press, Jeff Bezos’s editorial about-face at the Washington Post, the threats to the media in the West and how the industry should respond. Alan has been in Australia for events at Adelaide Writer’s Week and the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne. GUEST: Alan Rusbridger, Editor, Prospect Magazine PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Wed, March 05, 2025
The State of the World: the rise of Orbán, Trump and Netanyahu
Has the rise of leaders like Orbán, Trump and Netanyahu finally put paid to the liberal fantasy that fascism, ultra-nationalism and xenophobia were symptoms of a political malaise consigned to the 19th century? Authors Wesley Lowery and John Crace join David Marr in front of a live audience at Adelaide Writers' Week.
Tue, March 04, 2025
The State of the Self: Have we lost a sense of community in a post pandemic world?
Despite the promise that we were “all in it together”, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a flight from sociability. While that escape may have been a relief for some, has it intensified a culture of excessive individualism, narcissism, and disconnection from one another? Julia Baird, Geraldine Brooks and Rachel Kushner join David Marr in front of a live audience at Adelaide Writers' Week.
Tue, March 04, 2025
The State of the Self: Have we lost a sense of community in a post pandemic world?
Despite the promise that we were “all in it together”, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a flight from sociability. While that escape may have been a relief for some, has it intensified a culture of excessive individualism, narcissism, and disconnection from one another? Julia Baird, Geraldine Brooks and Rachel Kushner join David Marr in front of a live audience at Adelaide Writers Week
Mon, March 03, 2025
The State of the Nation: has the myth of the 'fair go' been broken?
Has the myth of the Australian fair-go finally been broken? Are social divides deepening and widening? And in a time of great uncertainty, how does Australia see itself in the world? Bob Carr, Rick Morton and Rebecca Huntley join David Marr in front of a live audience at Adelaide Writers' Week.
Thu, February 27, 2025
Alok Vaid-Menon tackles Trump, hyper-masculinity and the gender binary
One of US President Donald Trump's first executive orders was to declare there are only two genders and to ban transgender women from participating in female sports. Trans poet and comedian Alok Vaid-Menon says people need to not only have compassion for transgender people, but for the people who are trying to deny their existence. And they're getting their message out through humour. Alok's show Biology is on Youtube. GUEST: Alok Vaid-Menon - comedian, poet and performance artist PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Wed, February 26, 2025
The painter, the painting and the political controversy: Blue Poles revisited
In 1973, the highest price ever paid for a painting in the USA - US$2million - was offered by.. the Australian Government. The painting was Blue Poles, by Jackson Pollock. It created huge division in Australia, and would contribute to the downfall of the Whitlam Government. A new book revisits this important intersection of art and politics. Guest: Tom McIlroy, political correspondent and author. Producer: Ann Arnold
Wed, February 26, 2025
Russia through the eyes of Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has long maintained the stance that Ukraine is fundamentally a part of Russian territory—a belief that's at the heart of the ongoing conflict. It’s a view rooted in a complex web of historical narratives that date back centuries. GUEST: Historian and author, Orlando Figes PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Tue, February 25, 2025
The rehab centre for hummingbirds
A new documentary follows hummingbird rehabber Terry Masear as she cares for sick and injured birds from her LA home. GUEST: Sally Aitken, director " Every little thing " PRODUCER: Helen Pitt
Tue, February 25, 2025
NT communities face mining royalties cliff
A number of decades-old mining operations in the remote Northern Territory - including Rio Tinto's bauxite operation on the Gove peninsula - will cease operations in the next 5-10 years. Indigenous Elders and landowners are concerned about what happens when the mining royalties dry up. Guest: Matt Garrick, reporter, ABC Northern Territory Producer: Jack Schmidt
Tue, February 25, 2025
Ian Dunt's UK: Starmer 'ready' to put troops in Ukraine
As US President Donald Trump pressures Ukraine to make concessions for peace (and describes their President as a 'dictator') UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he is 'ready and willing' to put UK troops on the ground in Ukraine to help guarantee its security. Guest: Ian Dunt, columnist with i-news, co-host of the Origin Story podcast
Mon, February 24, 2025
Geologist and more: the multi-faceted genius who was loathed and revered in colonial Australia
Unearthing a mysterious figure from Australia's colonial times. Ferdinand von Sommer was Western Australia's first government geologist. He was also, in various parts of the world, a doctor, missionary, journalist, lecturer, naturalist and more. Was he a fraudster, or a genius? Guest: Professor Alexandra von Ludewig Producer: Ann Arnold
Mon, February 24, 2025
The big money media training young right-wing voices
In Britain, the US and the EU a fresh crop of young commentators are readily available for TV and radio interviews. They’re articulate, they’re polished and they’re clearly media trained. So who’s backing them? Answer: a talent agency backed by the ultra-conservative Koch think tank and the Atlas Network. GUEST: Olly Haynes, freelance journalist with the Byline Times and the Guardian PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Mon, February 24, 2025
Laura Tingle's Canberra: how accurate are the polls?
A new poll from AFR/Freshwater shows the Coalition has a 52-48 2PP lead, despite the recent interest rate cut. But other polls have a markedly different result. So which polls are reliable? And why doesn't Anthony Albanese seem too worried about them? GUEST: Laura Tingle, 7.30 Political Editor PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Thu, February 20, 2025
Can the global insurance industry survive weather whiplash?
Around the world last year, the cost of storms and cyclones alone was more than $400 billion US. In 2024 the planet was hit by 58 weather disasters with damages totalling more than a billion dollars. Not only are these events becoming more destructive and more expensive, they are increasingly happening back-to back in a phenomenon known as “weather whiplash”. And numerous insurance companies are either folding or limiting what they will insure. So who pays for the damage? GUEST: Paula Jarzabkowski, Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Queensland and as a Member of the OECD High Level Advisory Board for the Financial Management of Catastrophic Risks. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Thu, February 20, 2025
The pushback against Welcome to Country ceremonies
Welcomes to Country have become commonplace at all sorts of cultural and ceremonial events around Australia. But where did the modern ceremony begin? And why are some politicians pushing back against the custom? GUEST: Rhoda Roberts AO, Australian theatre and arts director, Widjabul woman of the Bundjalung nation
Wed, February 19, 2025
The feminist publishing house that launched Australia's best writers
In the early seventies two Melbourne feminists hatched an idea to set up their own publishing house. Diana Gribble was a socialite working in advertising and Hilary McPhee a novice editor. McPhee Gribble Publishing was born. And soon authors like Tim Winton, Dorothy Hewett and Helen Garner were knocking at their door. But in 1989 it all came to an end when they were swallowed up by Penguin. GUEST: Hilary McPhee, founder and former Publisher at McPhee Gribble and Chair of the Australia Council from 1993 – 96. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Wed, February 19, 2025
An American bishop takes a stand against Trump’s immigration crackdown
A growing number of Catholic Church leaders have criticised US President, Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Bishop Mark Seitz in El Paso, Texas, says that many of the changes go against the tenets of his religion GUEST: Bishop Mark Seitz, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration. PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Tue, February 18, 2025
'A Masterpiece!' Farewell to the book blurb
Are those written blurbs on the front of books more about an author's connections in the literary world than real praise? Simon and Schuster, a major publishing house have banned the practice claiming it's part of an " incestuous and unmeritocratic literary ecosystem". GUEST: Ross Wilson, Professor of History and Theory of Criticism, Faculty of English, University of Cambridge PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Tue, February 18, 2025
Vanuatu still rattled by biggest earthquake in memory
The earthquake that hit Vanuatu the week before Christmas has taken the disaster-prone nation to a new level of despair and anxiety, with ongoing aftershocks and cyclones rattling people’s nerves. For the local Red Cross, the disaster hit in the middle of a post-cyclone celebratory Christmas lunch. Guests: Dickinson Tevi, Secretary General of the Vanuatu Red Cross Society, Tess Newton Cain, Pacific analyst with the Pacific Hub at Griffith University, Brisbane Producer: Ann Arnold
Tue, February 18, 2025
Bruce Shapiro's America: can Trump ignore the courts?
Donald Trump has posted ‘he who saves his country does not violate any laws’ on Truth Social. Meanwhile his administration is being challenged by numerous court rulings on USAID funding, the DOGE's access to Treasury files and other information with national security implications and members of Congress are wondering whether the President will simply ignore the courts and and precipitate a constitutional crisis. GUEST: Bruce Shapiro, Contributing Editor for The Nation; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University PRODUCER: Jack Schmidt
Mon, February 17, 2025
"Every man a mourner": The shipwreck of the SS Gothenburg, 150 years on
150 years ago, the SS Gothenburg - a sturdy coastal steamship - left the Port of Darwin in the Northern Territory on its final tragic voyage. When the ship hit Old Reef off Townsville in cyclonic conditions, over 100 people died. Just 22 survived. The disaster devastated the fledgling community of Darwin (then called Palmerston). Judges, doctors, bureaucrats, prisoners, women and children were all lost. It was said that every house in the northern colony lost a loved one. Guest: Toni Massey, Senior Curator of Maritime Archaeology, Queensland Museum Producer: Jack Schmidt
Mon, February 17, 2025
Media freedom and EU membership at risk as USAID withdrawn from Georgia
The US has paused a significant amount of foreign assistance in the form of USAID to Georgia, putting media organisations and journalists critical of Russia at risk. Meanwhile mass protests in the capital Tbilisi continue as the ruling Georgian Dream party put talks of joining the European Union on ice. GUEST: Ivane Chkhikvadze, European Union (EU) Integration Program manager at Open Society Foundation Georgia. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Mon, February 17, 2025
Laura Tingle's Canberra: what role would independents play in a Coalition minority government
The latest polling shows the Coalition is best placed to form a government, though likely in minority, currently falling two seats short of a majority. Labor has teamed up with the Coalition to place caps on political spending, which cross-bench MPs and senators say is a "stitch up" to stifle competition. So what role could the independents play in a Coalition minority government? GUEST: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30 PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Thu, February 13, 2025
Poet Francis Webb: an under-appreciated genius?
Francis Webb is a relatively uncelebrated Australian poet, whose artistry was highly regarded by fellow poets. He was also the first significant poet in Australia to address mental health themes in his work. Guest: Toby Davidson, author of a tribute piece in the current Australian Book Review Producer: Ann Arnold
Thu, February 13, 2025
South Korea: A president's gamble
In the last six weeks, South Korea has seen a six hour declaration of martial law, protests on the streets and an impeachment of its president, Yoon Suk Yeol. What are the political repercussions of this recent unrest? GUEST: Kathleen Stephens, former US Ambassador to South Korea. PRODUCER: Ali Benton
Wed, February 12, 2025
How white nationalism infiltrated the wellness industry
A deep dive behind the scenes in the wellness industry in the United States and the UK has uncovered a strange connection between a number of soap, tea and other wellness products, and companies supporting white supremacy. The people behind them want to build a parallel economy, where white people support other white people to be pure, fit and strong. GUEST: Mark Hay, freelance journalist covering extremism and niche subcultures. His investigation for Al Jazeera is called Soap to supremacy: The rise of white wellness PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Wed, February 12, 2025
Life in Predappio – Italy’s fascist Disneyland
Predappio in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region is the birthplace and burial site of former Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. It’s also Italy’s premier neo-fascist tourist site, with hundreds of thousands of fascist sympathisers descending on the town annually. But what of the people who actually live there? What does “ordinary life” look like in the shadow of Mussolini’s grave? GUEST: Paolo Heywood, Associate Professor of Social Anthropology at Durham University (UK) and author o f Burying Mussolini - ordinary life in the shadows of fascism , published by Cornwell University Press PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Tue, February 11, 2025
Are the Oscars losing their relevance?
The Oscars are nearly one hundred years old: in early March the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will host its 97th awards ceremony. But viewership has collapsed and the Academy has yet to find a way to grapple with the move to streaming over cinema releases. So how relevant are the awards? And does Hollywood have anything new to offer? GUEST: Bill Wyman, journalist, arts editor, and columnist with the Sydney Morning Herald. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
Tue, February 11, 2025
Degrowth economics - future or fringe?
The degrowth movement seeks to challenge a central plank of global economic policy — that more is always better. Instead, to avoid future crises, advocates of degrowth say it is time to embrace a model that prioritises quality of life and sustainability over economic expansion Guests: Alvaro Alvarez, documentary maker, "Less is more: Can degrowth save the world?" Anitra Nelson, Associate Professor and Honorary Principal Fellow, University of Melbourne and co author of Exploring Degrowth: A Critical Guide
Tue, February 11, 2025
Ian Dunt's UK: Brexit, 5 years on
Ian Dunt gives his frank assessment of Britain after Brexit, five years since it became official. Plus calls to "stop the boats" have returned to British parliament, as thousands of migrants continue to attempt the dangerous English Channel crossing. GUEST: Ian Dunt, columnist with "i" news, co-host of the Origin Story podcast
Mon, February 10, 2025
Uncovering the artistry of Roman Britain - the mosaics that shaped an empire
Roman mosaics found in Britain are remarkable examples of ancient artistry, showcasing intricate designs and craftsmanship. A number of finds in the last fifty years have been described as the greatest archaeological discoveries in a century. Guest: Dr David Neal, former archaeologist with English Heritage and leading expert in Roman mosaics.
Mon, February 10, 2025
Is it time to decriminalise jaywalking?
In recent years, a number of states and cities in the US have decriminalised 'jaywalking', relaxing laws that campaigners argue have been disproportionately enforced on black and Latino residents. Jaywalking first emerged as a traffic offence in the US a century ago, when radical new ordinances gave priority to high-speed vehicles on the roads. Australia followed suit. A campaign of public ridicule shamed pedestrians into following the rules, but are (jay)walkers now reclaiming the streets? Guest: Peter Norton, Associate Professor of History at the University of Virginia, author of Street Rivals: Jaywalking and the Invention of the Motor Age Street
Mon, February 10, 2025
Laura Tingle's Canberra: shutting down Mark Dreyfus
Attorney-General and Jewish MP Mark Dreyfus has lashed out at the Opposition for politicising anti-Semitism, but there was outrage in parliament today when the Coalition's Manager of Opposition Business, Michael Sukkar, tried to shut him down while he was discussing his family history during the Holocaust. Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30
Thu, February 06, 2025
Rethinking privacy
The current preoccupations with privacy tend to focus on data and information, but this reduces us as human beings, political philosopher Lowry Pressly argues. True privacy is much deeper - and unknowable. Guest: Lowry Pressly, lecturer, Stanford University. 'The right to oblivion: privacy and the good life’ (Harvard University Press, hardback August 2024)
Thu, February 06, 2025
The tumultuous and celebrated life of poet Dorothy Porter
The late Australian poet Dorothy Porter is best known for her verse novel The Monkey's Mask. Her early life at home, with violence and bullying at the hands of her well-known barrister father, Chester Porter, is laid bare in a memoir written by Dorothy's sister Josie McSkimming. Guest: Josie McSkimming, psychotherapist. Author of 'Gutsy Girls: Love, poetry and sisterhood' (UQP)
Wed, February 05, 2025
Is it ethical to holiday in Antarctica?
One hundred and twenty five thousand people visited Antarctica last year. Can the region cope with an ever growing tourism industry? Guest: Anne Hardy, Professor of Tourism & Society at the University of Tasmania
Wed, February 05, 2025
Brazil takes on Big Tech
“Google and Microsoft are like salt. They are on every plate”. Cecilia Rikap is currently advising the Brazilian government on its strategy for digital sovereignty, which aims to equip the country with the tools to reduce its dependence on major tech corporations. Guest: Cecilia Rikap, Professor of Economics, University College London
Wed, February 05, 2025
Trump lays claim to Gaza
In an astonishing press conference, alongside Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump declared the US would 'take over' the Gaza Strip, and that Palestinians should be resettled elsewhere. The decades-old consensus on a two-state solution now appears to be out the window.
Tue, February 04, 2025
Cycling women- a moral panic
Women who rode bicycles in Victorian England challenged the ideals of femininity. It was thought that they would leave their husbands, neglect domestic chores and even be mistaken for a sex worker. Guest: Tamsin Johnson, Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University
Tue, February 04, 2025
Belarus’s secret role in funnelling migrants into the EU
Belarus’s President, Alexander Lukashenko, has just won another landside election in a result the EU is labelling a sham. The man known as Europe’s last dictator has been accused of trafficking Middle-Eastern migrants into neighbouring Poland and Lithuania, creating crises at the borders. Lukashenko has denied his government’s involvement, but an investigation by Politico has uncovered evidence which shows how the President has weaponised migration as a tool in his positioning between the EU and Russia. Guest: Tatsiana Ashurkevich, Political & war journalist, analyst (Eastern Europe). Freelance for Politico, The Guardian, Veridica, Tagesspiegel. Producer: Catherine Zengerer
Tue, February 04, 2025
Bruce Shapiro's America: Trump's tariff backtrack
US President Donald Trump has "paused' his announced 25% tariffs on Canadian and American imports, as America's neighbours pledge greater cooperation at the northern and southern borders. Guest: Bruce Shapiro, Contributing Editor at the Nation and Executive Director at the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University
Mon, February 03, 2025
Australia's love of cinema, indoors and outdoors
Australia has a surprisingly long history of cinema enjoyment. It takes many forms, and pops up in a wide range of settings. Guest: Ruari Elkington, Senior Lecturer in Creative Industries, QUT
Mon, February 03, 2025
What do Netanyahu and Trump have planned for the West Bank and Gaza?
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington to discuss phase two of the Gaza ceasefire deal. US President Donald Trump has suggested Jordan and Egypt should take in Palestinians from Gaza. Meanwhile Israel is running a major operation in the West Bank where at least 50 Palestinians have been killed in the last two weeks. So what will be on the table in these negotiations? Guest: David Hearst, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye. Producer: Catherine Zengerer
Mon, February 03, 2025
Laura Tingle's Canberra: Opposition hammers "weakness" message
The Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has been giving more interviews, but not revealing much about his policies. And the politics of division and antisemitism. Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30
Thu, January 30, 2025
The New Yorker's chief factchecker on the pursuit of truth
Many claim we are living in a "post-truth" era, where facts and objective reality are increasingly inconsequential. Fergus McIntosh - chief fact-checker at The New Yorker disagrees.
Thu, January 30, 2025
America's last big migrant roundup: Japanese-Americans in WWII
President Donald Trump’s threatened deportation of up to 20 million immigrants brings back tough memories for Japanese Americans who were deported in WW2, including Tim Kudo’s family.
Wed, January 29, 2025
The disappearing languages of Tibet
Tibet is one of the most linguistically diverse regions on the planet, but a number of minority languages are on shaky ground.
Wed, January 29, 2025
Has drug decriminalisation failed in Canada?
In 2023 Vancouver decriminalised the possession of small amounts of some illegal drugs for personal use. It was to be a three-year trial, a template for other cities looking to turn addiction from a criminal issue to a health issue. But 2023 was a record year for drug deaths with 2511 people dying from overdoses, many associated with the synthetic drug fentanyl. Now politicians are walking back some of the changes. So has the drug trial failed? Guest: Dr. Kora DeBeck - Research Scientist with the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use and Professor in the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University. Producer: Catherine Zengerer
Tue, January 28, 2025
What do Greenlanders really think of Trump's offer to buy the icy island?
From Erik the Red, to the battle for independence. A professor of Arctic law explores the complicated and fascinating history of Greenland. Guest: Rachael Lorna Johnstone, Professor of Law at the University of Greenland.
Tue, January 28, 2025
Ian Dunt's UK: the fall-out between Elon Musk and Nigel Farage
Elon Musk and Brexiteer and Reform party leader Nigel Farage have a falling out over Musk's support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson, but what does Keir Starmer have to say about it? Guest: Ian Dunt, columnist for inews and co-host of the Origin Story podcast.
Mon, January 27, 2025
A no-frills history of the Australian beach shack
Along the coast of Australia are hundreds of humble shacks, often with interesting stories to tell.
Mon, January 27, 2025
What makes Australians tick in 2025?
What does the data say about who we are? Social researcher Dr Rebecca Huntley and CEO of the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute, Anthea Hancocks look at Australian attitudes via the numbers.
Thu, January 23, 2025
April Ashley - the life of a glamorous model, and trans pioneer
April Ashley led the high life in London's glamour set of the 1960's. She was a model, gorgeous, and went to all the best parties. But then her secret was revealed: April Ashley started her life as a man. Her story became a scandal, and her divorce set a precedent in case law in Britain and Australia that would set the cause of trans rights back thirty years. Guest: Jacqueline Kent, author of “Bonjour, Mademoiselle! April Ashley and the pursuit of a lovely life, ” co-authored with Tom Roberts), published by Scribe.
Thu, January 23, 2025
Child soldiers as adults now
In Sierra Leone in the 1990s thousands of children were captured by the Revolutionary United Front – the RUF. The children were forced to endure violence and trauma of every kind. Those children are now adults and many of them have children of their own. Professor Theresa Betancourt from Boston College has studied 500 of the former child soldiers. Book: 'Shadows into Light: a generation of child soldiers comes of age' (Harvard University Press, 2025)
Wed, January 22, 2025
How Coca-Cola shapes health policy in China
In recent decades, as rates of obesity have soared around the world, beverage giant Coca-Cola and its industry peers have sought to insulate themselves from regulatory interventions by investing in corporate "product defence" science. This science contends that it is a lack of exercise - not sugary drinks and junk food - driving the problem. Whilst this science has been increasingly challenged and exposed in the United States, it continues to prevail in China, where obesity rates have skyrocketed.
Wed, January 22, 2025
Being Jewish after the destruction of Gaza
While anti-Semitic attacks in Australia and America appear to be on the rise, Jewish journalism professor and author Peter Beinart argues that Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank have made Jews around the world a target. Guest: Peter Beinart, author of, “ Being Jewish after the destruction of Gaza ” published by Atlantic Books. Peter is also Professor of journalism and political science at City University New York. Producer: Catherine Zengerer
Tue, January 21, 2025
Return to Damascus
After more than a decade in exile, Syrian-Palestinian journalist Dima Khatib returns home to Damascus, where she says it would take a year to document the horrors of just one street. Dima revisits the places of her childhood, her grandmother's home and explores what a new Syria could look like, beyond the Assad regime. Guest: Dima Khatib, Syrian/Palestinian journalist, Managing Director of Al Jazeera Plus
Tue, January 21, 2025
Bruce Shapiro's America: Trump's inauguration
In an extended segment, Bruce Shapiro dissects President Trump's Inauguration Day, his promise of a 'Golden Age', and some likely impacts of the Trump regime on global politics.
Mon, January 20, 2025
How gum trees went global
The eucalyptus tree - in particular the Southern Blue Gum - has been caught up in the blame game for Los Angeles' catastrophic fires, due to its oily combustible foliage. Scientists dispute these claims, but how did these Australian trees spread to California (and beyond) in the first place?
Mon, January 20, 2025
Game changer for exploited tuna fishermen in the Pacific
A new agreement sets minimum working conditions for underpaid and poorly treated Pacific fishing crews. The agreement is the first of its kind, in the world. Guest: Ed Cavanaugh, CEO, McKell Institute Pacific specialist
Mon, January 20, 2025
Laura Tingle's Canberra: the shadow election campaign is in full swing
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have spent summer on the hustings as they prepare for the 2025 election campaign. So where are the major parties positioned for the year ahead? And who are the challengers? Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30
Thu, January 16, 2025
LNL Summer: Stephen Fry on life, last words and the things he can't do
Stephen Fry reflects on the power of story-telling, how to counter impostor syndrome and the things he absolutely can’t do. Guest: Stephen Fry Originally broadcast: 28 October 2024
Wed, January 15, 2025
The downfall of the Maharajas
When India gained its independence, the rulers of the princely states - the Maharajas - had to be convinced to give up control of their territories to create the nation of India. It was a difficult negotiation for Lord Mountbatten as each prince wanted something different in return for giving up land, power and armies. Guest: John Zubrzycki, former diplomat and author of Dethroned: the downfall of India's princely states (Hurst/NewSouth) This story originally aired on 03 October 2024.
Wed, January 15, 2025
LNL Summer: The great Australian art theft
Until the late 1980s Indigenous art was being ripped off left right and centre. It was open slather. First at the cheap end of the market on T-shirts and then on fancy carpets made in Vietnam. The rip-off merchants maintained black artists were just painting old patterns, so their work was for the taking. The lawyer who proved them wrong was Colin Golvan AM, and his new book shares historical stories of Indigenous copyright infringement and his experiences travelling around, often to remote communities, to work with artists to fight for their rights. Bronwyn Bancroft is one of Australia's most recognised First Nation artists and when she stumbled across the theft of her work, Colin took up the legal fight and they settled out of court. Bronwyn now mentors other Aboriginal artists to assert their copyright. Guests: Colin Golvan AM is a lawyer, QC and author of new book, Protecting Indigenous Art Bronwyn Bancroft AM is a Bundjalung woman, artist and author of 45 books This story originally aired on 03 October 2024.
Tue, January 14, 2025
LNL Summer: New Zealand's ethical escort agency
Upon discovering that sex work is decriminalised in New Zealand, Antonia Murphy decided to build her own business: an ethical escort agency called The Bach.
Mon, January 13, 2025
LNL Summer: Learning the language of birds
Learning how birds communicate could help us to better understand the health of our natural ecosystems. This story originally aired on 17 October 2024.
Mon, January 13, 2025
LNL Summer:The money and influence of Opus Dei
Journalist Gareth Gore investigates the finances and political influence of the conservative Catholic order, Opus Dei. This story originally aired on 17 October 2024.
Thu, January 09, 2025
LNL Summer: Wy the Dreyfus Affair still matters
Alfred Dreyfus was an officer in the French Army when he was arrested 130 years ago for treason, convicted and sent to Devils Island for 5 years in solitary confinement. His battle for justice divided the population of France and fascinated people across the globe.
Wed, January 08, 2025
LNL Summer: The great absinthe con
Journalist Evan Rail investigates the lucrative market for vintage "pre ban" bottles of absinthe, from before WWI. Most bottles are genuine, but some are fake. This story originally aired on 30 October 2024.
Wed, January 08, 2025
LNL Summer: The story of Australia's Black convicts
In 1788 there were at least fifteen convicts of African descent on board the First Fleet, and hundreds more followed. Who were they, and how were the Black convicts transported to Australia linked to the slave trade? Guest: Santilla Chingaipe, author of Black Convicts: How slavery shaped Australia. This story originally aired on 30 October 2024.
Tue, January 07, 2025
LNL Summer: Meeting Medieval women
From requesting cross bows to fight invaders in Norfolk, to a southern Italian cosmetic recipe for removing hair dye: a British Library exhibition reveals the worlds of women in the Middle Ages.
Tue, January 07, 2025
LNL Summer: A biography of Madrid
Madrid, the Spanish capital in the centre of the country, has long lived under the shadow of coastal Barcelona, with its spectacular Gaudi architecture. But Australian author Luke Stegemann, who has lived in Madrid on and off for many years, is passionate about the place and its significance.
Mon, January 06, 2025
LNL Summer: Houdini's Visit to Australia
‘To do a Houdini’ is still used to describe remarkable feats of escapes, yet the great escapologist Harry Houdini was born 150 years ago. In 1910, Houdini visited Australia for a 3 month sell-out tour. He also claimed the title of the first person to successfully fly a powered aircraft in Australia. GUEST: Leann Richards, author of 'Houdini's Tour of Australia'. This story originally aired on 24 September 2024.
Mon, January 06, 2025
LNL Summer: The power of passports
The passport - if you can get one - gives freedom, but it also means state surveillance. This is one of the many passport paradoxes observed by author Patrick Bixby, in an account that ranges from indigenous passports to literary references to passport 'rankings'. Guest: Patrick Bixby, Professor of English at Arizona State University Author of ‘License to Travel: A Cultural History of th Passport’ (University of California Press) This story originally aired on 18 July 2024.
Thu, January 02, 2025
LNL Summer: The race to save the world's islands - with stunning results
Islands are the location of two extremes: they hold the greatest concentration on earth of both biodiversity and species extinctions. The challenge to save them and their inhabitants from the triple threat threat of invasive species, sea level rises and global heating seems immense, But the results when rescue teams are sent in are remarkably quick - a gecko thought be extinct reappears. Giant tortoises thriving in the wild once again. Now the not-for-profit organisation Island Conservation is running a challenge to begin restoring at least 40 globally significant island-ocean ecosystems by 2030 . Guest: Cameron Diver, Vice-President, Island Conservation. This story originally aired on 22 August 2024.
Thu, January 02, 2025
LNL Summer: The misadventures of John Lang - Australia’s trail-blazing first novelist
Author Henry Savery is credited with being Australia's first novelist, for his work 'Quintus Servinton', but author and historian Sean Doyle says in fact the first Autralian-born novelist was John Lang. Lang was born in a Parramatta pub in 1816 and his 1836 novel called 'Violet; Or, the Danseuse: A Portraiture of Human Passion and Character' was published anonymously in London. It was quite a feat for a twenty-year old. Lang went on to write twenty novels, a number of serials, a travelogue of India and to run a newspaper that would eventually hire a young Rudyard Kipling. Now his extraordinary life has been chronicled in a new biography. Guest: Sean Doyle, author of ‘Australia’s trail-blazing first novelist - John Lang”, published by Big Sky publishing. This story originally aired on 15 August 2024.
Wed, January 01, 2025
The secret world of cattle
A rookie farmer, who happens to be a neuroscientist who has specialised in studying dogs, gets a few cows to eat the grass down. He learns about their lives and personalities, and soon considers them friends. Guest Gregory Berns
Tue, December 31, 2024
LNL Summer: The mythic status of the night parrot
The largest known population of the Australian night parrot was recently discovered in the Great Sandy Desert in WA. Ornithologist Dr Penny Olsen recounts our long fascination with this elusive nocturnal bird. Guest: Dr Penny Olsen, ornithologist and Honorary Professor at ANU
Tue, December 31, 2024
LNL Summer: UK poet laureate Simon Armitage on the power of poems
Simon Armitage was a sleepy ten-year old kid in West Yorkshire when he was awakened by poetry.
Mon, December 30, 2024
LNL Summer: Who was Kosciuszko?
With changing the name of Australia's highest peak still undecided, Mount Kosciuszko remains named after a Polish revolutionary. Who was this man, and why was he so revered — not only in his native Poland, but across continents? This story originally aired on 26 September 2024.
Mon, December 30, 2024
LNL Summer: A pilgrimage to Ambon
A war historian accompanies a group on a pilgrimage to the Indonesian island of Ambon, where hundreds of Australian soldiers died in WWll. Joan Beaumont ponders the meaning of memory, and connection to past war traumas. Guest: Joan Beaumont, Emerita Professor in the ANU's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. Author of 'I never knew my uncle', an article in the July edition of Australian Book Review This story originally aired on 17 July 2024.
Thu, December 26, 2024
LNL Summer: The divisive anchovy - a brief history
It seems that people either love or hate the humble anchovy. But it has been flavouring our food for millennia although in many different forms - from the Roman sauce 'garum' to various pastes and preserved forms to the centrepiece of a pizza, tapas or caesar salad. Guest: Christopher Beckman, author of A Twist in the Tail – How the Humble Anchovy Flavoured Western Cuisine published by Hurst This story originally aired on 26 August 2024.
Thu, December 26, 2024
Beautiful paintings from a terrible year
In 1870, Paris was surrounded by German troops, cut off from the world, and a bitter, ugly place of chaos. It's known as 'The Terrible Year', and the 'Siege of Paris'. Out of this arose the Impressionists, whose paintings shone with light and beauty. Guest: Sebastian Smee, art critic at The Washington Post and author of ‘Paris in Ruins: Love, war and the birth of Impressionism’ (Text Publishing) This story originally aired on 11 September 2024.
Wed, December 25, 2024
LNL Summer: Ern Malley, the greatest Australian poet who never lived
80 years ago, an exciting new poet by the name of Ern Malley burst onto the Australian literary scene. As it turned out, Ern was a hoax, concocted by two conservative poets intent on humiliating the country’s literary avante garde. This story originally aired on 20 August 2024.
Wed, December 25, 2024
LNL Summer: Frontline nurses in the AIDS crisis
In the early years of AIDS, men and women with the HIV virus were widely seen as untouchables. The nurses who elected to care for them were stigmatised along with their patients. But until now, their story has not been told. Guests: Geraldine Fela, author of ‘Critical care: Nurses on the frontline of Australia’s AIDS crisis’ (NewSouth), Historian, postdoctoral research fellow in Macquarie University’s Department of History and Archaeology Marilyn Beaumont, Federal Secretary of the Nurses Union through the critical years of the AIDS epidemic This story originally aired on 16 July 2024.
Tue, December 24, 2024
Balkan food and nationalism
A Macedonian-British food writer celebrates the foods from the region she was born in, while also noting the misplaced nationalism attached to foods there - and everywhere. Guest: Irina Janakievska, food writer This story originally aired on 15 October 2024.
Tue, December 24, 2024
Seduction, intrigue and influence: the legacy of Pamela Churchill Harriman
Writer Sonia Purnell reveals the astonishing life of Pamela Churchill Harriman, one of the most significant women in 20th century politics. From Winston Churchill to Bill Clinton, Mandela, Sinatra and the Kennedys, her power and influence spanned generations and continents. This story originally aired on 07 October 2024.
Mon, December 23, 2024
LNL Summer: How to honour those that lived and died at Wybalenna on Flinders Island
In 1831 British colonists offered the Tasmanian Aboriginal people protection and freedom if they agreed to temporarily go to a place they called Wybalenna on Flinders Island in Bass Strait. That promise was never kept and most perished, lying today in unmarked graves. Now a project is underway to tell the stories of the people who strove to maintain their culture in that isolated place. It’s a crucial part of a truth-telling process that Aboriginal people hope will culminate in a treaty, nearly two hundred years later. Guests: Rebecca Digney, Manager, Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania and Greg Lehman, Professorial Fellow, Indigenous Research and UNESCO Chair on Communication, Environment and Heritage at the University of Tasmania. Producer: Catherine Zengerer
Mon, December 23, 2024
LNL Summer: The Guatemalan baby trade
The small Central American country of Guatemala has the dubious record of sending nearly as many babies and children overseas as China was. The whole adoption 'industry' was privatised, with little government oversight. Guest: Rachel Nolan, Contributing Editor at Harper’s Magazine, Assistant Professor of International History at Boston University and author of ‘Until I find you: Disappeared Children and Coercive Adoptions in Guatemala’ (Harvard University Press) Originally broadcast on 8 August 2024
Thu, December 19, 2024
LNL Summer: Searching for the soul
What is the soul? Is it a substance, your conscience or simply a creation of the mind? Most societies and religions have some concept of the soul. Historian Paul Ham has looked at how the idea has changed through history and across cultures. Guest: Paul Ham, author of The Soul: A History of the Human Mind (Penguin Random House) Originally broadcast on 1 August 2024
Wed, December 18, 2024
How the humble notebook contributes to creativity
Popularised by accountants in Renaissance Florence, the paper notebook has a rich cultural history. Prolific notebook users include master doodler Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Darwin, Agatha Christie and Bruce Chatwin who unwittingly inspired the Moleskine. Guest: Roland Allen, author of ‘The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper’ (Profile Books) Originally broadcast on 25 July 2024.
Wed, December 18, 2024
Academic publishing is big business - but does it have to be?
Frustrated academics are finding new models for publishing academic research that bypasses the big academic publishers who are making millions from their research. And it is the universities that are paying for it - usually twice. Guest: Arash Abizadeh, professor of political science at McGill University and author of the article in the Guardian titled: Academic journals are a lucrative scam and we're determined to change that Originally broadcast on 25 July 2024
Wed, December 18, 2024
Des Ball's long history with Pine Gap
A new documentary looks at the important career of military analyst Des Ball who kept Australia informed for over 50 years about the changing role of the US military and intelligence facility at Pine Gap. Guests: John Hughes, director of the documentary Twilight Time: Des Ball the man who saved the world. Richard Tanter: Senior Research Associate, Nautilus Institute and former President of the Australian board of the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons ( ICAN ) Originally broadcast on 25 July 2024
Tue, December 17, 2024
LNL Summer: The final days of Captain James Cook
A new book suggests that Captain James Cook, while previously known as a man with a distinct knowledge of and respect for Indigenous peoples and with his crew, on his last voyage, misjudged and miscommunicated his way to his death at the hands of once friendly Hawaiians. GUEST: author and historian Hampton Sides author of The Wide Wide Sea - Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook. (Random House) Originally broadcast on 30 July 2024
Tue, December 17, 2024
LNL Summer: The US lobbyists of K-Street
The very lucrative practise of lobbying has moved beyond the corridors or Washington. Lobbyists now focus on shaping the opinion of constituents back home in their districts, cozying up to PR gurus, social media experts, pollsters, and grassroots organisers to further the interests of big US Corporations, and reshaping how both major political parties operate. Guest: Brody Mullins, author of The Wolves of K Street: The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over Big Government (Simon and Schuster) Originally broadcast on 30 July 2024.
Mon, December 16, 2024
LNL Summer: William Dalrymple on India's Golden Road
For more than 1000 years, India was a trading powerhouse across the globe - not only of spices, wild animals and gemstones but also of language, philosophy, religion, mathematics and astronomy. But why is this part of India's history not so well known, and why did its dominance wane about 1200 AD? Guest: William Dalrymple, historian, podcaster and author of The Golden Road How Ancient India Transformed the World (Bloomsbury) Originally broadcast on 3 September 2024
Thu, December 12, 2024
2024 Year in Review
Chas Licciardello, Sashi Perera and First Dog on the Moon - aka Andrew Marlton - join David Marr to survey the profound and the ridiculous from the year we've just had.
Wed, December 11, 2024
The beauty and strangeness of the deep sea
Journalist Susan Casey is one of a few souls on Earth who's ventured into the deepest reaches of the ocean, beyond 5000 metres below sea level.
Wed, December 11, 2024
A deeply personal history of Cyprus
Trying to trace the history of a place as old as Cyprus is like trying to write the history of human civilisation itself, from the primordial swamp and the frothy sea that spewed forth the mythic goddess Aphrodite to the epic battle between the Greeks and the Turks. For English-Cyprian writer Alex Christofi, the task of writing the history of the island was both epic and personal. Guest: Alex Christofi, author of “ Cypria - A Journey to the Heart of the Mediterranean” published by Bloomsbury. Producer: Catherine Zengerer
Tue, December 10, 2024
Humanity's long obsession with Mars
Mars captured humanity's imagination even when it was just a wandering red dot in the night sky. Over history it has been blamed for plagues, the home to invading Martians, and even a possible refuge when our own planet becomes uninhabitable. What can we still learn from the current explorations taking place there and with Trump and Musk in the Whitehouse, will humans set foot there one day soon? Guest: Dr Matthew Shindell, Curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and author of For the Love of Mars (University of Chicago Press)
Tue, December 10, 2024
Syria after Assad
After half a century, the Assad regime in Syria is suddenly over, but what comes next for this complex nation, its disparate warring groups, and their regional allies - remains unclear. Guest: Nanar Hawach, Crisis Group Senior Analyst, Syria
Tue, December 10, 2024
Bruce Shapiro's America: what happens next?
Late Night Live's Bruce Shapiro reflects on a remarkable year in American politics, and looks ahead to a new year under a second Trump presidency. Guest: Bruce Shapiro, Contribution Editor with The Nation; Executive Director at the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University
Mon, December 09, 2024
The disappearing villages of Bulgaria
As more and more people move from rural to urban areas, does there need to be more intervention in how nature is allowed to reclaim the villages of the world that have been abandoned? Research in Bulgaria indicates that sometimes humans helped maintain diversity. Guest: Tess McClure, Commissioning Editor, The Guardian
Mon, December 09, 2024
Belgium guilty of colonial crimes against humanity
Until the 1960’s, children born of relationships between white fathers and black mothers in the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi were systematically kidnapped from their families, had their identities changed, and sent to live on Catholic missions. Many were sexually abused. Now in a landmark case, a Belgian court has agreed this was a crime against humanity. Guest: Nicolas Angelet, counsel for the Metis women at the Brussels Court of Appeal, attorney at the Brussels Bar, associate tenant of Doughty Street Chambers in London, and professor of international law at Ghent University and Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium. Producer: Catherine Zengerer
Mon, December 09, 2024
Laura Tingle and Niki Savva on the politics of 2024
Laura Tingle and Niki Savva look back on the political highs and lows of 2024, and the ramifications for the election in 2025. Guests: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30 Niki Savva, author and columnist with the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Thu, December 05, 2024
Diarmaid MacCulloch's history of morality and sex
Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch's traces the complex and contradictory origins of Christian moral attitudes to sex and sexuality, from 3000 years ago, to now. Guest: Diarmaid MacCulloch, Emeritus Professor of the history of the church at Oxford University, author of Lower than the Angels: A history of Sex and Christianity
Thu, December 05, 2024
From the Cold War to the culture wars: Robert Manne's fight for reason
The Australian public intellectual Robert Manne has always believed that in the clash of ideas, reason might triumph. He admits that may be naive, but decades on, the struggle continues. Guest: Robert Manne's new book is A Political Memoir: Intellectual Combat in the Cold War and the Culture Wars
Wed, December 04, 2024
The tree whisperer
Australia's ancient trees make England look quite young. Writer Dave Witty was amazed when he moved here from England and discovered the diversity of species and the age of our forests. Dave has written an evocative account of particular trees he encountered around Australia and the textured histories he found when he dug around their roots. Dave shares the stories gathered under and around these trees, and the role of different species and why they played these roles in our history. He writes that the very old grand trees that have survived in urban areas remind us that “elegance can be found not just in human architecture but in nature as well. They bear the scars of quiet endurance”. Yet somehow, “they have gone unnoticed by our collective gaze.” Dave hopes that all might change. And he argues trees are great facilitators of empathy. Guest: Dave Witty, author of What the Trees See : A Wander Through Millennia of Natural History in Australia, published by Monash.
Wed, December 04, 2024
James Fairfax and the dynasty's last hurrah
Never a gung ho corporate player, James Fairfax nonetheless played a significant role in the fortunes of the Fairfax newspaper company, during a time of great turmoil. And so did his mother Betty, whose impact has not been revealed before. Guest: Alexander (Alex) Edward Gilly, biographer and nephew of James Fairfax
Tue, December 03, 2024
Who is God's influencer?
Carlo Acutis was a devout young man who tried to go to mass daily from the time he was seven years old. He died suddenly aged 15 from acute leukaemia. Now the Pope has announced he will be canonised next April. How did this young gamer and programmer meet the requirements for sainthood? Guest: Dr Liam Temple, Capuchin Fellow in the History of Catholicism in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University
Tue, December 03, 2024
Bob Hawke's role in the Balibo Five inquiry
Historian Shannon Smith has unveiled a new episode in the history of the Balibo Five: the role Bob Hawke in securing an inquiry into their deaths, not when he was Prime Minister, but when he was Secretary of the ACTU. Guest: Dr Shannon Smith - author of “ No Bullshit!: Balibo 1976 and Bob Hawke’s Diplomatic Masterclass, ” the Australian Journal of Politics and History: 2024. Producer: Catherine Zengerer
Tue, December 03, 2024
Ian Dunt's UK: Starmer's budget re-set, and the conservatives lead in Ireland's election
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer attempts a political re-set ahead of Christmas, and Ireland goes to the polls, with the conservative centre-right party Fianna Fáil taking the lead. Guest: Ian Dunt, columnist with the 'i' news.
Mon, December 02, 2024
Poetry in popular culture
Poetry remains embedded in popular culture, from slam nights to music lyrics. And it is valuable whether it is 'elite', or not, our guest argues. Guest: poet and author Peter Kirkpatrick
Mon, December 02, 2024
North Korea and Russia's closening ties
North Korea and Russia are getting closer and closer - sharing troops, weapons, oil and other big ticket items. So what do both countries get out of this flourishing friendship? There are potentially a number of benefits but security is probably the most crucial for North Korea. For Russia it's about shoring up an ally and getting a bit of backup on the ground with its war with Ukraine, in the form of about 12000 North Korean troops. Meanwhile, South Korea is doing some of Ukraine's bidding, trying to use North Korea's involvement in the war to motivate more support from the west. Our guest says Seoul is helping out with this 'info warfare' to buy some time before Trump returns to the White House. South Korea needs to be careful not to put the incoming US administration offside by getting too involved with the Ukraine and Russia war. Guest: Jeongmin Kim is the Lead Correspondent at NK News and Editorial Director at KOREA PRO, based in Seoul. Jeongmin covers inter-Korean relations and North and South Korean foreign and military affairs.
Mon, December 02, 2024
Laura Tingle's Canberra - the final week in Parliament
The Prime Minister had a mixed final week in Parliament, but his late decision not to push through Tanya Plibersek's nature positive laws has raised concerns about their working relationship. Meanwhile Peter Dutton is still reluctant to release the Coalition's election promises. Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30
Thu, November 28, 2024
Why writer Helen Garner spent a season on the sidelines of a suburban football oval
Surpassing the age of 80, Australian literary icon Helen Garner felt she was just about done with writing. Then she started driving her teenage grandson to local football training, and sticking around on the sidelines to watch. Her new book The Season is a love letter to the game of Australian Rules Football, and a tender observation of young men coming of age.
Thu, November 28, 2024
Our never-ending desire to subjugate the earth
Historian Phillip Blom argues that the human need to dominate and subdue the natural world can trace its origins to ancient Mesopotamia. This was perpetuated through the Judeo-Christian notion that God charged man to be fruitful, fill the earth and subdue it. The Enlightenment age reinforced the notion of human dominance over all creatures. Blom says this idea was relatively harmless until technology developed to the point where we are now destroying the planet. So we now need to urgently change our thinking - or perish. Guest: Phillip Blom, author of ‘Subjugate the Earth: The Beginning and End of Human Domination of Nature’ published by Polity.
Wed, November 27, 2024
The Christmas creep
Over the past few decades, Christmas has come earlier and earlier. By November there are decorations and festive fare everywhere. How has the 'Christmas creep' evolved? Guest: Carole Cusack, Professor of religious studies at the University of Sydney
Wed, November 27, 2024
Whiteness, race and Australian culture
'White fragility' and definitions of 'whiteness' are tackled in a raw and challenging discussion about race and cultural assumptions. Guests: Esther Anatolitis, editor of 'Essays that changed Australia: Meanjin 1940 to today' (MUP) And Michael Mohammed Ahmad, contributor
Tue, November 26, 2024
Why Americans are increasingly fond of British English
Australians and Brits like to complain about the "Americanisation" of the English language, but Professor Ben Yagoda says that language has in fact been flowing more obviously the other way. In recent decades, Americans have adopted countless British (and Australian) expressions, from "gobsmacked" to "gone missing", and "dodgy" to "done and dusted".
Tue, November 26, 2024
The secret plan to unravel the French submarine deal
The ink had barely dried on the deal for the French subs that then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had signed when a group of people behind the scenes started the campaign to get out of it. They had concerns that the subs would not meet the requirements that the Americans had for Australia in their role in the Indo-Pacific. Particularly in relation to China.
Tue, November 26, 2024
Bruce Shapiro's America
Bruce Shapiro on Trump's legal triumphs and Cabinet nominees.
Mon, November 25, 2024
George Megalogenis on what a Labor minority government might look like
As the major parties continue to lose votes in Australia, political analyst George Megalogenis considers what a Labor minority government might look like in 2025 - and who the cross- benchers will be. Guest: George Megalogenis, journalist, writer and author of the Quarterly Essay Minority Report - The New Shape of Australian Politics Producer: Catherine Zengerer
Mon, November 25, 2024
Laura Tingle's Canberra: The last sitting week of 2024
Prime Minister Albanese is facing the last sitting week with much of his hoped for legislation being shelved. How can he build momentum again in 2025? Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30
Thu, November 21, 2024
Pub bedrooms, one-liners and Christian fanatics: Lech Blaine's extraordinary childhood
Australian writer Lech Blaine shares the stranger-than-fiction story of his childhood, growing up in a loving foster family in rural Queensland, haunted by two fanatical Christian kidnappers.
Thu, November 21, 2024
In a world of partisanship and populism, how can Australia achieve lasting policy reform?
What does successful public policy look like in Australia in 2024? Can parliaments overcome petty partisanship, narrow self-interest and the populism of our times to serve Australians into the future? John Brumby AO and Cheryl Kernot discuss the pursuit of better government.
Wed, November 20, 2024
Sidney Nolan's forgotten African collection
In 1962, Sidney Nolan made two journeys that had a huge impact on his life and work - to Auschwitz and Africa. The paintings from his trip to Africa invoke both his fears for humanity and the extinction of Africa's wildlife. The works were exhibited back in 1963, but a new book brings them all back together again. Guest: Andrew Turley, author of Nolan's Africa (Miegunyah Press)
Wed, November 20, 2024
Marcia Langton on the defeat of truth telling
Plans around the country for public truth-telling forums are falling away. Professor Marcia Langton analyses what's going on.
Tue, November 19, 2024
How Barron Trump helped his father court the "bro vote" online
In the recent US election, Donald Trump made significant gains amongst young male voters aged 18-29. Some 56% of this cohort voted for Trump, compared with 41% in 2020. Journalist Jamie Tahsin, who has spent years investigating a part of the Internet known as the "manosphere", believes Mr Trump's media appearances with various young male online influencers boosted his campaign. And his 18 year old son Barron may have been a useful advisor.
Tue, November 19, 2024
Ian Dunt's UK: is America a reliable security partner in Europe?
Ian Dunt fears for the security of Europe and the future of NATO as Donald Trump prepares to return to White House.
Tue, November 19, 2024
A dive into the long life of the Greenland shark
Scientists have been fascinated by the lifespan of the Greenland shark which can live for centuries. Now new research may have found the key to why it's the longest living vertebrate on Earth. Guest: Dr. Brynn Devine, Arctic Fisheries Scientist at Oceans North
Mon, November 18, 2024
Jon Ronson on why conspiracy theorists are now running America
Journalist, writer and podcaster Jon Ronson has spent years doing stories about psychopaths, conspiracy theorists and the behaviour of the mob, who love to indulge in a social media pile-on. He's a cultural critic of both the left and the right who questions the culture wars on both sides. He reflects on how conspiracy theorists have found their way into such positions of power, and why people love to follow them. Guest: Jon Ronson, writer, film-maker podcaster. He is touring Australia and New Zealand with his show Jon Ronson's Psychopath Night. Producer: Catherine Zengerer
Mon, November 18, 2024
Laura Tingle's Canberra: political donations and the Greens compromise
The Greens have dropped their demand for a climate trigger to be incorporated into the Federal Government's stalled environmental protection reforms, in the interests of getting the legislation through the Senate this year. And the Government has reached agreement with the Opposition on political donations. Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30
Thu, November 14, 2024
Meeting Medieval women
From requesting cross bows to fight invaders in Norfolk, to a southern Italian cosmetic recipe for removing hair dye: a British Library exhibition reveals the worlds of women in the Middle Ages. Guest: Professor Diane Watt
Thu, November 14, 2024
Writing Australia's military history
Over a thousand books have been written about Australian involvement in foreign and domestic wars. Military historian Peter Stanley delves into Australia's complicated relationship with conflict and memorialisation. Guest: Peter Stanley, historian and author. His latest book is 'Beyond the Broken Years, Australian Military History in one thousand books'
Wed, November 13, 2024
Virginia Woolf's brilliant hoax that caught the world's attention
In 1910 Virginia Woolf and her friends pulled off the 'hoax of the century' when they donned wigs, costumes and black face to successfully convince the British Navy to give them a guided tour of the pride of the fleet - HMS Dreadnought. They were decked out as Abyssinian Princes. But what were race relations like in Britain at the time and could the prank be seen as racist? Guest: Danell Jones, author of The Girl Prince: Virginia Woolf, race and the Dreadnought hoax (Hurst)
Wed, November 13, 2024
Why was the US Afghanistan withdrawal a history-changing moment for China?
While the US is embroiled in wars in Ukraine and Gaza, China has been quietly getting on with the business of becoming the dominant global super-power. It’s belt and road initiative now has more than 150 sign-ups, and the BRICS-plus group is positioning itself to abandon any connection to the US dollar. China expert Geoff Raby says the US's withdrawal from Afghanistan was a pivotal moment for China, allowing it to establish its power in Central Asia and leaving it free to turn its attention to dominating the sea. So how will the US respond to this new threat from China, with Donald Trump at the helm? Guest: Geoff Raby, Australia’s former ambassador to China and author of: “ Great Game On - The contest for Central Asia and Global Supremacy,’ Published by Melbourne University Press.
Tue, November 12, 2024
The Last Witch of England?
100 wordThe last woman executed for witchcraft in England in 1685 may have survived. New research shows Alice Molland, sentenced to death for bewitching her neighbours, could have misnamed in history due to a spelling mistake in a court ledger. Guest: Professor Mark Stoyle, Department of History, University of Southamptons plus Guests name & book
Tue, November 12, 2024
Why aren’t we reporting more from Asia?
Al Jazeera investigative reporter Drew Ambrose says Australia is missing out on key major news stories happening across Asia because our newsrooms are disproportionately focused on the stories from the UK and the US. Studies of the Australian media landscape have found that awareness of issues in Asia seems to be almost non-existent in the minds of news executives, yet over a quarter of Australians were born overseas, predominantly in Asian countries. So why are we ignoring our nearest neighbours? Guest: Drew Ambrose, Senior Producer, 101 East, for Al Jazeera International.
Tue, November 12, 2024
Bruce Shapiro's America: why the Democrats lost
Bruce Shapiro on the Democrats' struggle to drive turnout across the nation in last week's US presidential election. Plus, Trump begins appointing his White House staff.
Mon, November 11, 2024
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese: Gaza rendered unfit for human life
The UN's Special Rapporteur for Palestinian Human Rights, Francesca Albanese, has released her latest report on the situation in Gaza, which she describes as "unfit for human life." She has called on the international community to consider suspending Israel as a member state of the United Nations and to ensure that Israel adheres to its obligations under the Genocide Convention, including immediately halting arms transfers to Israel. Guest: Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 You can find her latest report here .
Mon, November 11, 2024
What's next for the NACC after robodebt backtrack?
Geoffrey Watson SC is concerned about public faith in the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), following a recent review of the NACC's decision not to investigate robodebt corruption referrals. The NACC is now reconsidering this decision.
Mon, November 11, 2024
Laura Tingle: What will the Trump Presidency mean for Australian politics
Laura Tingle discusses the ways that the political discourse in Australia will likely change now that Donald Trump will be the 47th President of America. Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30
Thu, November 07, 2024
Madrid: biography of a city
Madrid, the Spanish capital in the centre of the country, has long lived under the shadow of coastal Barcelona, with its spectacular Gaudi architecture. But Australian author Luke Stegemann, who has lived in Madrid on and off for many years, is passionate about the place and its significance.
Thu, November 07, 2024
Damaged cultural heritage in Gaza
Palestinian archaeologist Ayman Warasnah says Israeli strikes in Gaza have damaged or destroyed hundreds of heritage sites and monuments dating back millennia - as far back as Roman, Byzantine and Bronze Age times. Plans are in place to restore and protect the sites that remain. Guest: Ayman Warasnah - Head of Department of Tourism and Antiquities Security, Al-Istiqlal University, Jericho
Wed, November 06, 2024
Trump has won the US election - so how did he do it?
Late Night Live's team of experts bring you their analysis of the US election 2024. What went right for Donald Trump? What went wrong for Kamala Harris? And will Trump Make America Great Again? Guests: Bruce Shapiro - Contribution Editor with The Nation, Executive Director with the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia Chas Licciardello - Co-host of Planet America on ABC TV Clare Corbould - Associate Head of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University Jacob Heilbrunn - Editor of The National Interest, author of America Last: The Right’s Century Long Fascination with Foreign Dictators
Tue, November 05, 2024
Searching for the Noble Fragments
When journalist Michael Visontay was going through his parents papers during COVID, he found a document that sent him on a journey back to his parents homeland of Hungary and to the heady world of rare book selling in 1920s New York looking for the Noble Fragments - pages from the highly valuable Gutenberg bibles. Guest: Michael Visontay, journalist and author of Noble Fragments (Scribe)
Tue, November 05, 2024
What's behind Japan's gender gap
After Japan's recent election, there are now 73 women in the lower house of parliament. While this is the highest number yet, it still is only 15%. Japan ranks 118 out of 146 countries when it comes to gender equality. Why do women in such a wealthy and highly educated country still struggle to get into positions of power in Japan? Guest: Freelance journalist and activist, Chie Matsumoto
Tue, November 05, 2024
Ian Dunt's UK: Who is Kemi Badenoch?
The Conservative Party has elected its new leader, the combative 44 year old MP Kemi Badenoch. Meanwhile, the government's latest budget indicates a significant shift in approach to tax and revenue. Guest: Ian Dunt, Columnist for “i” news and co-host of the Origin Story podcast.
Mon, November 04, 2024
Shaun Micallef on writing, retirement and when comedy is no longer funny
Since announcing his retirement in 2022 Shaun Micallef has made two new television series and written a new book of short stories and poetry. So when will he really retire? And when does he think comedy is no longer funny? Guest: Shaun Micallef, comedian and author of “ Slivers, shards and skerricks – a one man anthology by Australia’s most intelligent and handsome renaissance man, ” published by Affirm press.
Mon, November 04, 2024
Bernard Keane's Canberra - cutting student debt will make the housing issue worse
As Labor heads into election campaigning mode Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced Labor will cut student debt, but Bernard Keane says unless we fix housing young people still face huge disadvantage in Australia. Guest: Bernard Keane, political editor, Crikey
Thu, October 31, 2024
Writing across the Cold War: Soviet and American women pen pals
A trove of letters discovered in Moscow shows that dialogue between warring populations, and even civil disagreement, are possible. Guest: historian Alexis Peri
Thu, October 31, 2024
New Zealand's ethical escort agency
Upon discovering that sex work is decriminalised in New Zealand, Antonia Murphy decided to build her own business: an ethical escort agency called The Bach.
Wed, October 30, 2024
The great absinthe con
Journalist Evan Rail investigates the lucrative market for vintage "pre ban" bottles of absinthe, from before WWI. Most bottles are genuine, but some are fake.
Wed, October 30, 2024
The story of Australia's Black convicts
In 1788 there were at least fifteen convicts of African descent on board the First Fleet, and hundreds more followed. Who were they, and how were the Black convicts transported to Australia linked to the slave trade? Guest: Santilla Chingaipe, author of Black Convicts: How slavery shaped Australia.
Tue, October 29, 2024
Painting in the dark
Why would some of our 'Old Stone Age' ancestors have climbed into deep, black caves in Northern Spain, about 18,000 years ago, and created art in the dark? Guest: Izzy (Isobel) Wisher, palaeolithic cave art researcher, Aarhus University, Copenhagen
Tue, October 29, 2024
Is a chatbot responsible for a boy’s suicide?
A lawsuit has been filed in the US federal courts alleging negligence, wrongful death and deceptive trade practices by a tech company after a teenage boy committed suicide. The boy had developed an online relationship with a “chatbot” character he had created via an app called Character.AI. His mother believes the company abused and preyed on her son, but the company’s founder says it is up to individuals to figure out what provides value for them – they just provide the products. Guests: Meetali Jain, Director & Founder, Tech Justice Law Project Casey Mock, Chief Policy Officer at the Centre for Humane Technology
Tue, October 29, 2024
Bruce Shapiro's America: one week to go
Bruce Shapiro previews the final week of the US presidential campaign.
Mon, October 28, 2024
Stephen Fry on life, last words and the things he can't do
Stephen Fry has had an extraordinary life. From being a teenage runaway, ending up in prison, to going to Cambridge and meeting Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson, discovering he was bi-polar and digging up his Jewish history. Throughout it all his love of language and writing have been his constants. Stephen reflects on the power of story-telling, how to counter impostor syndrome and the things he absolutely can’t do. Guest: Stephen Fry. Stephen is touring Australia for his show "An evening with Stephen Fry".
Thu, October 24, 2024
75 years since the Snowy Hydro - the scheme that changed Australia
75 years ago, on 17 October 1949, Australia's Governor General Sir William McKell lit the first stick of dynamite for the Snowy Hyrdo scheme.
Thu, October 24, 2024
Tawakkol Karman, Yemen’s "mother of the revolution", on democracy and freedom.
After nine years of war between an American and Saudi-backed government and the Houthis backed by Iran, Yemen is a disaster zone with twenty million people facing starvation. Tawakkol Karman is a Yemini journalist and human rights advocate who led hundreds of protests against Yemen’s dictatorial regime and whose work was recognised with a Nobel Peace Prize. She says Yemen must have self-determination, free of foreign interference. Guest: Tawakkol Karman, journalist and human rights advocate.
Wed, October 23, 2024
Bill Gates - from computer nerd to philanthropic billionaire
Bill Gates, the boy-genius who dropped out of Harvard to start a technology company, became the world’s richest man and is now the world’s most prominent philanthropist. What kind of man is he and what influence does he hold? Guest: Anupreeta Das, author of Billionaire, Nerd, Saviour, King, The Hidden Truth about Bill Gates and his Power to Shape our World
Wed, October 23, 2024
Nigel Biggar's moral reckoning with Empire
Oxford theologian Nigel Biggar reckons with the history and legacy of the British Empire, in Australia and around the world.
Tue, October 22, 2024
The Palestine Laboratory - how Israel exports the technology of occupation around the world
As the US sends its Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Middle East envoy, Amos Hochstein, to try to gain a ceasefire agreement, it seems Israel has no intentions of stopping the bombing of Northern Gaza and Southern Lebanon. Journalist Antony Loewenstein says Israel has a strong motivation for an endless war – it’s one of the world’s biggest arms manufacturers and dealers. And he says for those companies selling military weapons, Gaza and the West Bank are their proof of concept. Guest: Antony Loewenstein, freelance journalist and author of: “ The Palestine Laboratory, How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation around the World” published by Scribe. Antony is also host of The Palestine Laboratory podcast.
Tue, October 22, 2024
The Swing States: Pennsylvania
Presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have spent much of the campaign in Pennsylvania - the most prized swing state of all.
Mon, October 21, 2024
Apocalypse now and then: a history of end-of-the-world thought
Why has every generation from biblical times onwards thought it would be the one to witness the end of the world? Dorian Lynskey explores how apocalyptic thought has evolved through the ages, looking at how our obsession with Armageddon has played out in fiction and film. Guest: Dorian Lynskey, author, journalist and podcaster His new book is ‘Everything Must Go: The Stories We Tell About The End of the World’ (Picador)
Mon, October 21, 2024
There are still refugees on Nauru. And they are struggling to eat.
In June last Australia moved what was then the last refugee from offshore processing on Nauru. But since then Australia has been quietly sending people back, and they are struggling to put food in their mouths. The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre says the people there are reliant on charity to survive, where the cost of fruit and vegetables is around four times the average cost in Australia, and drinking water costs $70 per fortnight. Guest: Jana Favero, Deputy CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
Mon, October 21, 2024
Bernard Keane's Canberra: The Liberals have to work hard to win back Teal seats
Bernard Keane says the election of the first "teal" to the NSW state parliament shows the Liberal party has a lot of work to do to win these seats back at the federal level. Guest: Bernard Keane, political editor, Crikey
Thu, October 17, 2024
Learning the language of birds
Learning how birds communicate could help us to better understand the health of our natural ecosystems.
Thu, October 17, 2024
The money and influence of Opus Dei
Journalist Gareth Gore investigates the finances and political influence of the conservative Catholic order, Opus Dei.
Wed, October 16, 2024
The women who've been hounded for asking questions about gender identity
In 2019 Scottish poet and feminist Jenny Lindsay spoke up on Twitter about a post that called for violence against women at a pride march in London. The tweet had been written by a trans activist and was directed at so-called “TERFS” (trans-exclusionary radical feminists). Lindsay says she, and other women who have raised questions about gender identity, have been hounded out of their jobs, and sometimes even out of their cities. But trans activists say their actions are causing harm to the trans community. Guest: Jenny Lindsay, poet and author of “ Hounded. Women, Harms and the Gender Wars, ” published by Polity.
Wed, October 16, 2024
Why "strongman" leaders look to Russia's Constitution
Why the Russian Constitution matters for the world's democracies.
Tue, October 15, 2024
Balkan food and nationalism
A Macedonian-British food writer celebrates the foods from the region she was born in, while also noting the misplaced nationalism attached to foods there - and everywhere. Guest: Irina Janakievska, food writer
Tue, October 15, 2024
Māori Muslims
Since the Christchurch mosque terror attacks in 2019, conversion to Islam, especially among Maori, has skyrocketed. But Maori interest in Islam has been building for a few years. The Qur’an was translated into Te Reo Māori in 2008, the culmination of a long project. What connects Maori and Muslims, what's the attraction and what happens when Islam and Maori customs collide? Guests: Ayca Arkilic – Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics at Victoria University of Wellington. Current research with a project grant from Royal Society of NZ: Embracing Islam: Conversion, Identity, and Belonging in Aotearoa New Zealand Noeleen van de Lisdonk – Co-founder of Ōu Mātou Reo (nation-wide network of Māori Muslims) and was a Kāpuia Ministerial Advisory Member to the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Terrorist Attack on Christchurch Mosques
Tue, October 15, 2024
Ian Dunt's UK: the King's visit to Australia
Columnist Ian Dunt on the King's imminent visit to Australia, and the Conservative Party's leadership race.
Mon, October 14, 2024
Jennifer Robinson on Julian Assange, Brittany Higgins and the state of Australian Justice
High profile lawyer of Julian Assange, Jennifer Robinson, reflects on Assange's recent testimony to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The Assembly criticised the role of both the US and the UK in Assange's imprisonment and called on member states to improve protections for whistleblowers and journalists. Robinson is also in Australia to discuss the release of the now uncensored and unredacted version of her book which discusses how defamation law is being used to silence women who speak out about sexual abuse and misconduct. Guest: Jennifer Robinson, barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London and co-author of ‘ How many more women - how the law silences women,’ with Dr Keina Yoshida, published by Allen and Unwin.
Mon, October 14, 2024
The Swing States: Florida
Aside from the Obama years, the state of Florida has reliably voted for Republican presidential candidates this century, including for Donald Trump in 2020. How might recent hurricanes impact turnout? And will a vote on state abortion rights attract new voters to the polls? Guest: Sharon Wright Austin, Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida
Thu, October 10, 2024
Taiwan's kaleidoscopic story
Taiwan is much more than the debate about whether it's a province of China. Its past is a colourful one, full of visitors and invaders from multiple cultures. And that creates a complex identity today. Guest: Jonathan Clements, author of 'Rebel Island: the incredible history of Taiwan' (Scribe)
Wed, October 09, 2024
The Moulin Rouge has survived scandal, fires and Nazis, but did it make a Faustian pact?
The Moulin Rouge was the heart of La Belle Époque in Paris, a place where eccentrics, artists and performers rubbed shoulders with aristocrats, socialites and working girls. In its 135 years it has survived multiple scandals, being burned to the ground and being occupied by Nazis and is now more popular than ever. But these days the spectacle is more Las Vegas than Paris, a polished performance for a conveyer belt of tourists from across the globe. So has the Paris icon lost its soul? Guest: Will Visconti, Italian lecturer at the School of International Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Wed, October 09, 2024
Does the perception of Australia as egalitarian hide a society that is spiralling into inequality?
Australia has always thought of itself as a country that prides itself on its egalitarian nature – stories from how prisoners of war treated each other as equals and shared resources regardless of rank. But does this perception of egalitarianism hide a society that is spiralling into inequality? Guest: Andrew Leigh, Labor Member for Fenner in the ACT, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, Treasury and Employment and author of Battlers and Billionaires , published by Back Inc.
Wed, October 09, 2024
King Charles is on his way back to Australia - but will he release the Palace letters about the dismissal?
King Charles is set to visit Australia for his first tour as Sovereign. The visit throws into light the role of the monarchy in Australia and its representative, the Governor-General. King Charles may say he's not involved in politics, but why is Buckingham Palace still refusing to release the so-called “Palace letters” about the dismissal of Gough Whitlam in 1975? Guest: Jenny Hocking, biographer, Emeritus Professor of History at Monash Uni and author of The Dismissal Dossier: Everything you were Never Meant to Know about November 1975 – the Palace Connection (2017).
Tue, October 08, 2024
Why we need nature positive laws - urgently
The Australian government is hosting the world’s inaugural nature positive summit where it is hoped the world will take a big step towards agreeing on how we can not just halt the alarmingly rapid loss of nature, but actively restore it and improve it. The goal is to have nature in a visibly and measurably better state by 2030 with the introduction of "nature positive laws". But there are concerns the Nature Positive bill currently being debated in the Australian senate won't meet the promises we made as part of the international Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Guests: Marco Lambertini, Convener, Nature Positive Initiative Rachel Walmsley, Head of Policy and Law Reform, Environmental Defenders Office
Tue, October 08, 2024
Bruce Shapiro's America: one month to go
The "October surprises" keep coming, as another hurricane bears down on Florida. Meanwhile, Republican Liz Cheney has appeared alongside Democrat Kamala Harris on the campaign trail. Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University
Mon, October 07, 2024
AI's threat to Wikipedia
Just as Wikipedia replaced encyclopedias, it is feared that AI will either replace, or weaken, Wikipedia’s content. Guest: writer Richard Cooke
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