Late Night Live - Full program podcast

A history of Cyprus that's equal parts epic and personal. Plus, Susan Casey on the life that thrives thousands of metres below the surface of the ocean.

Bruce Shapiro's take on a remarkable year in American politics - and what to expect in the year to come. What's next for Syria after the stunning fall of the Assad regime? Plus humanity's ancient fascination with the red planet.

Laura Tingle and Niki Savva bring their incisive analysis on the year in politics, why the world is looking at a compensation case playing out in Belgium over their actions in the Congo and then to Bulgaria where research is being done on how nature is overtaking the many abandoned villages. Is it good news for the environment?

Robert Manne is one of Australia’s foremost public intellectuals. His new memoir traces his intellectual roots, and his own political shifts over 40 years. And Oxford historian Diarmaid MacCulloch challenges what we know about sex and Christian morality.

The life of James Fairfax, philanthropist, art collector and heir to the Fairfax media dynasty, told through eleven objects, plus what Australia's ancient trees can tell us about our history.

Ian Dunt's final UK report for 2024 looks at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's pre-Christmas political re-set and the Irish election results. Historian Shannon Smith reveals the secret role Bob Hawke played in securing an inquiry into the deaths of the Balibo Five. And how Carlos Acutis went from gamer to saint.  Guest: Ian Dunt, columnist with the 'i' news.

Laura Tingle casts her eye over the last week in Parliament, and the Prime Minister's relationship with his Environment Minister. Why is North Korea sending troops to fight in Ukraine? And what is the current place of poetry in Australian popular culture.

Historian Philipp Blom deciphers why humans continue to believe they can subjugate the Earth, tracing ancient stories of dominion back to the Bronze Age. Plus, Australian writer Helen Garner on ageing, being a grandparent and her love of football.

Can an essay change a nation? Meanjin editor Esther Anatolitis believes that some of the essays published over the journal's long history have - including one from Michael Mohammed Ahmed. We also bust a few Christmas myths with Professor of Religion, Carole Cusack.

Bruce Shapiro on the dismissal of President-elect Donald Trump's federal cases. We revisit Andrew Fowler's study of Australia's "nuked" submarine deal, recently named the Walkley Book Award winner for 2024. And why Americans are adopting British and Australian vernacular.

Laura Tingle gives her analysis of Labor's plans for the last sitting week of 2024, while George Megalogenis looks forward to 2025, and what the parliament may look like after the next Federal election - and why.

Former federal MPs John Brumby and Cheryl Kernot discuss how Australia can make policy progress and find bipartisanship in a world of growing political division. And Lech Blaine shares the extraordinary story of his childhood, growing up in a Queensland pub, stalked by a pair of Christian fanatics.

Marcia Langton on the dashed hopes for truth telling in Australia and Sidney Nolan's paintings of Africa tell a deeper story about his concerns for the future of humanity, nature and its wildlife.

Ian Dunt on what the US election result means for security in the UK and Europe. Journalist Jamie Tahsin investigates the online "manosphere" and Trump's courtship of the "bro vote" with the help of son Barron. And the mysteries of the greenland shark, which lives for hundreds of years.

The Australian Greens have dropped their demand for a climate trigger in the Government's proposed environmental reforms. And British/American journalist and cultural commentator on the new power of conspiracy theorists, under Donald Trump.

Acclaimed historian Peter Stanley on how Australia writes its war histories, and our complicated relationship with memorialisation. And a new exhibition at the British library illuminates the lives of medieval women, in their own words.

China expert Geoff Raby says we are seeing a significant global power shift away from Russia and towards China - but how will Donald Trump handle it? In 1910, Virginia Woolf and her friends gained access to the pride of the British fleet, the HMS Dreadnought disguised as Abyssinian Princes, including blackface. Was this feminist and pacifist writer also racist?

Bruce Shapiro on why the Democrats lost last week's US presidential election. Veteran Al Jazeera reporter Drew Ambrose calls for a greater focus on Asia. And how the last witch killed in England may have dodged death.

Laura Tingle on how the Australian parliament is preparing for a second Trump presidency. Geoffrey Watson SC on the National Anti-Corruption Commission's handling of Robodebt. And UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese's latest report from the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

Archaeologist Ayman Warasnah on the damaged and destroyed cultural sites in Gaza. And a new biography of the the city of Madrid, in which Luke Stegemann argues that its value and cultural riches have been underrated.

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?

Ian Dunt on the UK Conservative party's new leader and the government's bold new budget. Japan recently elected a record number of female representatives, but a significant gender gap persists. And searching for the fragments of a famous printed bible.

Bernard Keane says unless we fix housing young people still face huge disadvantage in Australia, even with lower student debt. Plus Shaun Micallef on writing, retirement and when comedy is no longer funny.

Antonia Murphy recounts how she became the Madam of an escort agency in small town New Zealand. And historian Alexis Peri uncovers ten years of pen pal correspondence between the women of Truman's America and Stalin's Russia.

What truth is there to the mystical powers of absinthe both in the past and its current form? Is it more myth than magic? Evan Rail investigates. And Santilla Chingaipe tells the stories of the 15 convicts of African descent that came with the first fleet, and the hundreds that followed. How does their story fit in the story of the global slave trade?

Bruce Shapiro on Trump's Madison Square Garden rally and the final week of the campaign. Also in the US, a mother is suing a chatbot company for deceptive trade practices after her son committed suicide. But who is responsible for the way he interacted with the app? Plus why did our ancestors paint in deep, dark caves with little light?

Stephen Fry reflects on the power of story-telling, how to counter impostor syndrome and the things he absolutely can’t do.

Journalist and human rights advocate Tawakkol Karman Yemen must have self-determination, free of foreign interference, to achieve true democracy and freedom. Plus why the Snowy hydro scheme continues to fascinate historians, 75 years on.

Oxford theologian Nigel Biggar reckons with colonialism and the legacy of Empire. And journalist Anupreeta Das examines the life and power of the billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft founder, Bill Gates.

Journalist and former resident of Pennsylvania Sarah Smiles Persinger on why her old home town could decide the next President. Plus an update on the campaign from Bruce Shapiro, with two weeks to go. And journalist Antony Loewenstein on how Israel's arms industry profits from continual war.

Bernard Keane on the Teals latest win, and why Labor is yet to introduce political donation reform. Plus the government has been quietly sending asylum seekers back to Nauru, where the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre says they are reliant on charity to survive. And why has every generation from biblical times obsessed over the apocalypse?

Journalist Gareth Gore investigates the wealth, power and influence of the Catholic order Opus Dei. And Andrew Turbill and Dan Lyons decode the beautiful languages of birds.

Professor William Partlett uncovers the "constitutional dark arts" that have enabled Russian President Vladimir Putin to consolidate power. Plus, Scottish poet Jenny Lindsay on when debates over gender identity turn toxic.

Ian Dunt on the King's imminent visit to Australia. Why are a growing number of Māori in New Zealand finding faith in Islam? And how food and identity intertwine in the Balkans.

How will back-to-back hurricanes impact voter turnout in Florida?  Plus Julian Assange's lawyer Jennifer Robinson on his testimony to the European Parliamentary assembly, and how defamation laws are being used to silence women who speak out about sexual assault and misconduct.

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)

Will King Charles agree to finally release the Palace Letters about the dismissal of Gough Whitlam? Labor MP Andrew Leigh on increasing inequality in Australia. Plus the Moulin Rouge lives on, but has it lost its soul?

Bruce Shapiro on the latest from the US Presidential campaign trail. What is nature positivity and should Australia be legislating for it? Is AI a real threat to the future of Wikipedia?

Author Bengt Jangfeldt reveals the brilliance and resilience of the Swedish Nobel family. And Sonia Purnell recounts the astonishing life of Pamela Churchill Harriman - one of the most influential women in 20th Century politics.

Since the 1980s, lawyers have used copyright law to protect Indigenous Art, but is it fit for purpose? When India gained its independence, a huge part of the country was ruled by many local princes or Maharajas. How were they convinced to give up their power to join the new Independent India?

Sri Lanka has elected a new President who is not from one of the elite families who have ruled the country since independence, but who is he? America has a long history of fascination with dictators, but why? And how is there a herd of feral hippos roaming the Magdalena RIver basin in Colombia. All your questions answered on Late Night Live.

The battle for votes in ultra-marginal Georgia, USA. Anglican Bishop Michael Stead on freedom and discrimination in religious schools, and Dr Penny Olsen on why we've been so fascinated with the elusive night parrot.

Laura Tingle on the challenge for Labor in addressing the housing crisis. Israel has killed military leader Hassan Nasrallah, but will it mean the end of Hezbollah? And the world’s richest men might still be trying to outdo each other in space travel, but do the rest of us care anymore?

Human rights lawyer Petra Molnar investigates the growing use of artifiicial intelligence at the world's borders. And Anthony Sharwood on the man behind Australia's highest mountain - the Polish general Tadeusz Kosciuszko.

Ian Dunt reflects on UK Labour's Party Conference, while Jeremy Corbyn forms a new party of his own. Plus, Fintan O'Toole on how populists are weaponising victimhood and self-pity to undermine democracy.

What are the Democrat and Republican ground game strategies in the lead up to election day? How Hong Kong is silencing the pro-democracy movement. And Houdini's visit to Australia.

Karen Middleton, political editor of The Guardian Australia, on Peter Dutton's nuclear power speech today, and the new populism of the Greens. There are nine people vying the top job in Japan. And acclaimed journalist and author Elizabeth Kolbert on how much is real in the world of plant 'intelligence'.

Why are rates of suicide in the Australian veteran community so persistently high? And what did the CIA learn from Nazi Germany about psychedelics.

While Wisconsin only provides 10 electoral votes in the US Presidential race, it is one of the key swing states in the upcoming election - how can it be won? There are high hopes for hydrogen in Australia's green energy future, but is it all hype? And could some of the abandoned mass transit systems of North America be revived?

The Public Service Commission is very sorry on behalf of the public service. Journalist Rick Morton updates on the Robodebt findings of the commission, plus more of what he has unearthed. Plus tea - with our without opium - has played a big role in the history and geopolitics of Iran.

Political analyst Niki Savva says if it doesn't change course, Labor is set to lose its majority and become the first one term government since 1931. Two year's on from Mahsa Amini's killing for not wearing her hijab correctly, a new book argues the feminist uprising it sparked in Iran speaks of a significant cultural and generational shift in acceptance of the theocratic state. Plus the precarious world of outback opal mining.

Eric Beecher looks back at some of the media dynasties through history including the Murdochs, how they use and abuse their power. And on Flinders Island in the Bass Strait, restoration work on the Aboriginal settlement Wybalenna has stalled. It is a significant cultural site where many Tasmanian Aboriginal people were sent in 1831. Only 47 survived.

Bruce Shapiro dissects the US presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. And art critic Sebastian Smee on how the dazzling light of Impressionism emerged from the darkness of 1870s France.

A six year long inquiry has found that the reasons for London's Grenfell Tower block fire were developing over a 25 year period. Analyst Anatol Lieven argues that recent attacks by both Russia and Ukraine have achieved little. And it's 100 years since the birth of New Zealand writer Janet Frame..

Political correspondent Laura Tingle on Australia's slow economic growth. Journalist Paola Totaro asks why those convicted of financial crimes in the Vatican are not yet behind bars. And Benjamin Law on the power and politics of portrait painting.

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.  How much of his persecution can be put down to antisemitism and why is this case still so relevant? Guest: Maurice Samuels, author of Alfred Dreyfus: The man at the centre of the affair (Yale University Press)

Mass protests in Israel indicate a clear dissatisfaction with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his handling of the hostage situation, but polls show support for the war on Gaza remains high. Plus the Aussie women who fell in love with America and the freedom it offered them, a century ago.

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) For information about WIlliam Dalrymple's tour to Australia in October please click here.

Analysis of current events to the hottest debates in politics, science, philosophy and culture.

In response to the lack of justice for murdered and 'disappeared' Indigenous women, a new grassroots network of specialist family violence organisations has formed - and they're on a mission to make a difference. Should Mount Kosciuszko be renamed?

Journalist Joerg Schmitt solves the mystery of who blew up the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea. Dr Elizabeth Cham on how Australia's trustee companies became large, market-listed entities - and what that means for philanthropy. Plus neuroscientist Gregory Berns on the secret life of cows.

What role is the Arab American vote playing in the US Presidential election so far, particularly in the swing state of Michigan? Plus the Yorkshire lad who became the UK's poet laureate - Simon Armitage.

Laura Tingle on the government's deal to pass CFMEU administration laws, plus changes to the NDIS and aged care. Why Malaysia wants to join the BRICS alliance of middle-power nations. And, the long history of the divisive anchovy.

How did we come to live in a world ruled by - mostly - idiots? And can we fix our struggling democracies by enfranchising children as young as six? Political philosopher David Runciman attempts to pump some adrenaline into our limp and languishing systems. Plus, the staggering beauty and fragility of island ecosystems.

Since the war in Gaza broke out there has been a crisis of censorship in the arts sector around the world, in what the not-for-profit group Freemuse is calling a most alarming moment for freedom of expression. Here in Australia pianist Jayson Gillham had his concerts cancelled after speaking about the killing of journalists in Gaza, and arts organisations have lost millions in funding from donors. So what rights do artists have to express political views? And what should the consequences be?

President Biden has spoken at the Democratic Convention. Who's fuelling the atrocities in the Sudan? And it's 80 years since the fictitious 'Ern Malley' dazzled with his poetry.

Laura Tingle on Peter Dutton's calls for a Gaza visa ban. Constitutional lawyer Shireen Morris on why the Voice referendum failed. Plus, what's it really like to buy a 1 Euro house in rural Italy?

Cuba is still on the USA's State Sponsors of Terrorism list and the cost to its economy is huge. Plus the true identity of Australia's first novelist revealed in a new biography - including how he ruined his own brilliant career.

Cultural critic Roxane Gay on dissent, anger, and why despair is a luxury. Plus 200 years after martial law was declared against the Wiradjuri people of the Bathurst region, elders gather to reflect on this pivotal moment in Australia's history.

Journalist Haggai Matar considers what Israelis aren't hearing about the war in Gaza and Carol Rosenberg takes us inside 'Gitmo' to reveal why chances of it closing anytime soon are slim. Plus, 'weird' has become the word of the US election, but where did the word come from, and why is it such an effective insult?

Australia has signed up to a revamped AUKUS agreement, which will allow the submarine deal to be cancelled with as little as a year's notice. Plus, an extraordinary effort to map Australia's First Nations langauges.

Maori rights are being whittled away by the new conservative government in New Zealand and in Guatemala private adoption agencies sent huge numbers of babies overseas - with many of them indigenous.

Bruce Shapiro on whether Tim Walz is the right pick for Kamala Harriss's running mate, the epic Murdoch court battle for the succession of the empire, and the mammoth task of writing women and Indigenous Australians into our official Dictionary of Biography.

Ian Dunt says the term 'anti-immigration protests' is woefully insufficient to describe the outbreak of violence in the UK. He says what occurred was a pogrom, an attempt to attack, and in some cases murder, people with black and brown skin.  The US military has revealed soldiers subjected to blasts have the highest suicide rates. And the 17th century Olympic Games - for poets.

At the annual Garma Festival, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he remained committed to Makarrata. But what exactly does that mean? Laura Tingle and David Marr discuss. Then, we get an update on what's happening in Senator Linda Reynolds' defamation trial against Brittany Higgins with Richard Ackland. And finally, Ulbe Bosma tells us why the history of sugar is anything but sweet...

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)

Venezuelan election of Maduro prompts violent protests, what the oil and gas industry really knew about global warming and celebrating James Baldwin's writings on politics, Black America and sexuality.

.Brody Mullins investigates how lobbyists have changed politics and society in America and Hamilton Sides tells the story of how and why James Cook's last voyage ended up in violence - from the Hawaiian perspective.

Laura Tingle on Anthony Albanese's cabinet re-shuffle, Robert Fisk's widow Nelofer on Western interference in the Middle-East and how language around it is being used by the Western media, plus the myths and misconceptions about the Olympics past and present.

A new documentary examines the life of military analyst Des Ball and his role in our understanding of Pine Gap, the big bucks that are being made in academic publishing and how notebooks have been a tool for creativity through history.

Saree Makdisi questions the perceptions by the West of Israel as a liberal democracy and Will Tosh questions whether William Shakespeare was gay, and does it really matter.

Bruce Shapiro on how Kamala Harris can turn the Trump campaign on its head, theoretical physicist Paul Davies says there's a lot to be gained from artificial intelligence - if we're mindful about how we use it and Simon Cleary on his walk down the Brisbane River.

Laura Tingle on the Opposition's renewed focus on Howard's battlers, Richard Ackland on whether Linda Reynolds should be suing Brittany Higgins over social media comments, and Antoni Gaudi - a bad-tempered genius, but was he a saint?

How much reform can we expect from the President of Iran while the Ayatollah Khomeini is still the Supreme Leader. How many countries can your passport get you access to? Passports provide freedom to cross borders but that freedom comes at a price.

France remains in limbo while deciding on a new Prime Minister and historian Joan Beaumont takes us to the war graves on the island of Ambon and asks how should we commemorate those that died in war now and into the future.

Will British PM Keir Starmer be able to restore faith in politics in the UK? And who will the Tories choose as their next leader? Plus the little told story of the nurses who cared for, and advocated for, AIDS patients, when most people were afraid of them.

Laura Tingle on which laws the Albanese government hasn't been able to get through parliament, Bruce Shapiro on the impact of the Trump assassination attempt on the upcoming election, plus the secret plan to unravel the French submarine deal.

The young Rupert Murdoch was a radical who espoused socialism, kept a bust of Lenin in his uni accommodation and then went on to build his empire from 1950s Adelaide.  Walter Marsh is a journalist and author of Young Rupert - the making of the Murdoch empire,  published by Scribe.

Lara Marlowe reflects on the life and work of her late partner, the great English writer and journalist Robert Fisk in her memoir Love In A Time Of War: My Years with Robert Fisk.  And Azar Nafisi, Iranian-American writer and professor of English literature believes we need to read dangerously in order to resist the populist and polarising impulses of contemporary politics. Her book is called Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times

The brilliance of Elena Kats-Chernin was first discovered when she was only four years old and from that moment she has been unable to imagine a life without composing music. She's since forged an international career as a composer across a huge range of genres. Elena even scored our LNL opening theme! In 2019 she was awarded an Order of Australia for her distinguished service to music as a composer. First broadcast in 2019.

One of Australia's most beloved performers, Magda Szubanski, star of Kath & Kim, Fast Forward and films including Babe and Goddess, talks to Phillip about her life and her extraordinary 'mongrel family history', which includes Irish, Polish, Italian and Scottish backgrounds.  This was first broadcast in 2013.

'The Big Fella', Jack Lang, twice premier of NSW, was one of Australia's most controversial politicians and loved and hated with a visceral intensity. During the Great Depression he was dismissed from office by the NSW Governor for refusing to repay interest on Commonwealth loans. He was expelled from the Labor party in 1942 and re-admitted in 1971 with the support of his young protégé, Paul Keating.  Paul Keating, former Labor prime minister, and Frank Cain, historian. First broadcast on November 17, 2005.

The Whitlam era saw a great leap forward for women's rights in Australia, driven by Women’s Adviser Elizabeth Reid and a host of female activists, backed by a grass roots movement across the country. Their work is recognised in a book released to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Reid’s appointment.  Guests: - Dr Elizabeth Reid, former Women's Adviser to Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, feminist development worker, academic and writer. - Michelle Arrow, Professor in Modern History at Macquarie University and editor of 'Women and Whitlam: Revisiting the Revolution,' published by New South Books. - Ranuka Tandan from the Whitlam Institute's Public Affairs Team. First broadcast in 2023.

Phillip and best-selling Chilean author Isabel Allende explores how feminism has shaped her life over the past seven decades. Originally broadcast in 2021. Mathematician Keith Devlin from Stanford University is on a crusade to get the world to recognise Fibonacci as the man who introduced Hindu-Arabic numbers to the West. Originally broadcast in 2017.

In Phillip Adams' last Late Night Live, Laura Tingle turns the tables and interviews Phillip. They discuss how the political conversations and media landscape has changed since Phillip started at the ABC back in 1991, and what his hopes are for Australia. You can also watch this interview on I-View by clicking here. Host: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30 Guest: Phillip Adams, host of Late Night Live

Naomi Klein on doppelgangers, conspiracy theories and getting mistaken for Naomi Wolf. Plus Philosopher Peter Singer's advice on how we can make our lives worth living by making the right choices.

In Phillip's last show with his regular contributors, Laura Tingle, Bruce Shapiro and Ian Dunt look at the release of Julian Assange,  the importance of the AUKUS alliance, and the big stories they have covered over their many years on the little wireless program.  Guests:  Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30 Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University Ian Dunt, Columnist with the “I” newspaper.

Phillip Adams is joined by comrades Frank Bongiorno, Jon Piccini and Meredith Burgmann for a romp through the history of the political left in Australia and an assessment of what's left of the left today.

Simon Winchester has appeared on Late Night Live many times over the years to discuss his bestselling books. Now he and Phillip discuss Simon's own phenomenal life - from entering boarding school in England at the age of 4 to having his beehives in Massachusetts raided by bears.