Late Night Live — Full program podcast

Political reporter Tom McIlroy tells the story of Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles - the vast paint-splattered canvas, controversially acquired by the Whitlam government for Australia's new National Gallery in 1975. Plus, historian Sarah Gold McBride on 19th Century America's fixation on head and facial hair - believed to connote class and character.

David Marr is joined by Laura Tingle, Hannah Ferguson and Craig Reucassel to review the monumental year of 2025 - including its weirdest moments - and ask where Australia finds itself as another year looms. Guests:Laura Tingle, Global Affairs Editor, ABC (formerly Political Editor, 7.30)Hannah Ferguson, founder of Cheek Media, co host of Big Small TalkCraig Reucassel, presenter of ABC Radio Sydney 702 BreakfastProducer: Catherine Zengerer

Renowned human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson KC says the killing of two people who survived a US strike on a speed boat off the coast of Venezuela in September is a war crime. Plus, how Indigenous knowledge was used to develop a seasickness pill for the Allied D-Day invasion.

Late Night Live regulars Bruce Shapiro (USA) and Ian Dunt (UK) reflect on a turbulent, torrid and at times bizarre year in politics on both sides of the Atlantic: from Trump's America to Keir Starmer's Britain.

Anna Henderson looks at the government's control of defence budgets and the blossoming relationship between Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce. In India the Maoist guerillas have surrendered after a fifty-year insurgency and it's a windfall for the Modi government in more ways than one. Plus Australia's public swimming pools are being neglected as Council budgets tighten and fewer people learn to swim.

Author and journalist Gideon Haigh uncovers the intriguing tale of Australian man William Richard Wallace - the oldest prisoner in recorded history. Wallace was a convicted murderer and spent most of his life in the J Ward facility for the criminally insane in Ararat, Victoria. He died behind bars at 106, in 1989. And the story of the extraordinary Birrundudu drawings - a collection of some 800 crayon drawings on brown paper, created by 16 Aboriginal stockmen in the remote Northern Territory in 1945, during a three-month encounter with two German anthropologists. .

The veteran Canberra journalist Niki Savva dissects the monumental result of the 2025 federal election. Where has it left both the Coalition in opposition, and the Labor party in government? And what does the result says about the political attitudes of modern Australia?Guest: Niki Savva, author of Earthquake: the election that shook Australia, published by Scribe

Nauru briefly had one of the highest per-capita incomes on earth, thanks to phosphate mining - so where did all the money go? Transgender troops kicked out of the US army by Donald Trump take their fight to court. Plus, how ancient cultures made - and talked about - prosthetic limbs.

Pauline Hanson's burka stunt stymies the Senate while the Labor government is deep in negotiations with the Greens and the Coalition to get changes to environment laws through before the end of the year. Plus how Benjamin Netanyahu has survived politically in what Aluf Benn, editor in chief of Haaretz, argues is “perhaps the greatest break with the status quo of Israeli history.”

The acclaimed writer Simon Winchester turns his eye to the wind - the invisible force with the power to sustain, relieve, inspire, irritate and destroy us. From antiquity to today, we fear and revere the 'breath of the gods'. Plus, the bold Australian publication Quarterly Essay reaches its 100th edition.

Bruce Shapiro looks at why Donald Trump has finally agreed to release the Epstein files. After being devastated by yet another hurricane, Jamaica is seeking reparations for both climate havoc and the impact of slavery. And how foxes colonised Australia.

Author Helen Garner sat through the trial of Erin Patterson, who was convicted of murdering members of her family with deadly mushrooms. She reflects on coming face to face with a murderer, her love of the courts, her faith and what happens when people have to face the consequences of their actions. Guest: Helen Garner, co-author of The Mushroom Tapes: Conversations about a Triple Murder Trial, with Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein, published by Text. And How to end a story — collected diaries 1978 to 1998Note: Erin Patterson is appealing her convictions, claiming there was a "substantial miscarriage of justice" during her trial.

After the Liberal Party joined the Nationals in ditching net zero, what is the fate of remaining Liberal Party moderates in city seats? A new documentary reveals the brutality of Myanmar's civil war, as an election looms. Plus, with evermore man-made materials in orbit, how is traffic managed in space?

As Russia and the US both threaten resume nuclear testing and China has tripled its stock of nuclear arms, former foreign minister Gareth Evans says Australia should lead a new arms control push. Plus economist Joseph Stiglitz is warning we are facing an “inequality emergency.”

The writing of Australian history has tended to focus on the south-eastern corner of the continent, but the story of colonisation north of the Tropic of Capricorn paints a vastly different picture of this country, its people, politics and ambitions. Guest: Henry Reynolds, historian and author of Looking from the North: Australian History from the Top Down

What caused the latest drama at the BBC, and what does it say about the state of British media? Ian Dunt explains. As Brazil tries to present its best side to the world during COP30, unrest is stirring in Rio de Janeiro. Rio's governor is undertaking a violent crackdown on gangs in the city's favelas, with a death toll in the hundreds. Then, on a happier note, Australia owns the oldest surviving computer in the world, CSIRAC, and the University of Melbourne is celebrating 70 year since computing classes were first taught on the machine.

The Liberal Party looks likely to drop their net zero policy this week, but what will that do for their base? At the heart of the genocide in Sudan is a fight for control of the country's gold mines, which is making the leader of the rebel forces very rich. Plus the mystery of the missing footage of the Whitlam government dismissal in 1975.

50 years since the Governor-General sacked sitting Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, do modern Liberal MPs still back the Dismissal? Plus, Peter Fitzsimons pays tribute to the heroic war surgeon, Ernest 'Weary' Dunlop.

New Yorkers have shaken the United States's political establishment and delivered 34-year-old socialist Zohran Mamdani a thumping victory in the city's contentious mayoral election. Bruce Shapiro breaks down the early results. And US President Donald Trump said he wouldn't touch the East Wing of the White House. It's now been flattened, and there are plans for a new ballroom to be built. Plus Andrea Bartz, the Queer thriller writer who took on an AI company and won.

U Thant went from being a Buddhist teacher to playing a pivotal role in resolving some of the most dangerous international crises of his time as UN Secretary-General, so why has his legacy been over-looked? Plus what Australia's first photographs can tell us about early colonial life - and what they left out.

Anna Henderson looks at the political implications for both the Nationals and the Liberals of the Nats' decision to abandon its net zero policy. Can banning kids from social media really work, and will the big tech companies comply anyway? Plus the strange story of the CIA Kryptos code and why the answer is being auctioned off.

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese says that rather than ensuring Israel respects the basic human rights and self-determination of the Palestinian people, Western states - including Australia - have provided Israel with military, diplomatic, economic and ideological support. And investigative journalist Quentin Beresford examines the deep connections between the Labor party and the gambling industry in Australia.

A new book looks at author Patrick White's startling use of language, his mythic depiction of the Australian landscape and the people who inhabit it, and the power his prose still holds today. Plus philosopher Lucy Allais reflects on the nature of forgiveness.

What does Ian Dunt think of the King's attempt to eject Prince Andrew from his royal lodgings? Then, in America, Chicagoans have been organising against ICE agents who are attempting to implement Trump's aggressive deportation agenda. Here at home, anthropology has turned 100 years old. Can the academic discipline escape from its colonial roots?

Anna Henderson looks at what changes the government is trying to make to environment protection laws and why the Coalition wants to split the bill. How an Indonesia-based surveillance company tracked journalists, activists and dissidents all over the world, and the scientists using artificial intelligence to understand whale language.

Today, we look backwards. Gough Whitlam's dismissal didn't come out of nowhere; 1974 and 1975 were years of intense political turmoil and scandal. Paul Kelly was there, in his late-20s, as The Australian newspaper's chief political correspondent, and has become one of the chief chroniclers of the dynamics that led to The Dismissal. Political ghosts haunt Russia, as well. But there's a very specific belief, held by some Russian occultists, that the ghost of Stalin is haunting their country and can be contacted through the internet.

The famous Benin bronzes, looted by the British in 1897, are gradually being returned home to Nigeria. But they won't be on display at Benin City's new Museum of West African Art when it opens next month. Plus, classicist Professor Marguerite Johnson on understandings and expressions of love in antiquity.

Bruce Shapiro looks at Anthony Albanese's first meeting with US President Donald Trump and whether the critical minerals deal will see Australia become America's quarry. The little Dutch-speaking country of Suriname in South America has been ruled by a despot for years. But now it has elected its first female president who is promising to turn its fortunes around, and save its rainforests at the same time. Plus, why is the world running out of sand, and what can be done about it?

Crikey's Bernard Keane on Barnaby Joyce's decision to quit the Nationals. There's speculation the New England MP may join the One Nation party. Pulitzer prize winning journalist Chris Hedges slams the Western media's reporting of Gaza and the power of the Israel lobby. And why epidemiologist Professor Fiona Stanley, considered asking the Perth hospital named after her, to remove her name.

Tim Minchin turned fifty this year and just ran a marathon for the first time. He's returned home to Australia, with his new album Time Machine, and his tour 'Songs the World Will Never Hear'. In this special one hour conversation, David speaks to Tim about the joys of running, quitting social media and worrying less.GUEST: Tim MinchinPRODUCER: Ali Benton

Historian and former intelligence officer Clinton Fernandes says there's method to the apparent madness of the second Trump administration's approach to foreign policy. Plus as hostages are returned and a ceasefire holds, historian Ilan Pappe considers the uncertain future of Israel.

Ian Dunt examines the role that the UK played in the Gaza ceasefire, and Keir Starmer crosses a personal Rubicon: he's criticising Brexit in public. In Madagascar, youth protesters have taken cues from the Gen Z uprising in Nepal and chased their president from the country. Then: the gender revolution in the sky, with the rise of the air hostess.

Political editor at Guardian Australia, Tom Mcllroy, on why the government has watered down its superannuation tax plan, the wonders of cloud-watching, and why aren't more people speaking Esperanto?

One of the 51 men convicted men of raping French woman Gisele Pelicot is appealing his conviction, arguing he didn’t know that she hadn’t given her consent. While French feminists argue consent should be explicitly included in French law, philosopher and author Manon Garcia says cultural understandings of consent, addressing patterns of violence and shoring up support in our criminal and civil courts are more important. Plus, why are our cities and towns devoid of any shade?

After attacks from Israel and the United States bombing of a nuclear facility, Iran is cracking down on dissent, while dealing with reimposed sanctions from western powers. Could these sanctions bring Iran closer to China? Plus, a new history of the Australian physicist Mark Oliphant, who made possible Oppenheimer's atomic bomb.

Bruce Shapiro discusses how long the U.S. government shutdown might last, and why ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents are causing turmoil on American streets. Veteran journalist Irris Makler, reports on the two years since the October 7 Hamas attacks and examines Donald Trump’s proposed plan to end the war in Gaza. Plus, a look at New Zealand’s bold mission to eliminate all invasive predators by 2050.

The Dutch historian Rutger Bregman is calling on the world's best and brightest to quit their corporate jobs and show some more 'moral ambition', to build a better world. And botanical hysteria in Victorian England. How wealthy orchid fanatics sent hunters around the world in search of the ultimate bloom.*This show originally aired on 08 May 2025.

Doc Evatt, an influential Australian politician and jurist, played a notable role in shaping Israel’s early international standing. As President of the UN General Assembly in 1948, he was a strong advocate for the UN partition plan that led to the creation of the State of Israel. Plus sailor and author Tim Queeney examines the fundamental role that rope has played in shaping human civilisation, from enabling the construction of the Egyptian pyramids to facilitating Magellan’s historic circumnavigation and the building of iconic structures like the Brooklyn Bridge.

A new documentary recounts the 15-year struggle of three sisters from Melbourne's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community to bring their abuser and former-headmistress Malka Leifer to justice. Plus, science writer David Baron transports us to 1890s America, when many were convinced there was intelligent life on the planet Mars.

UK columnist Ian Dunt surveys the strange world of political party conferences in the UK, plus the emerging role of former PM Tony Blair in plans for Gaza. The young Hazara activist Nila Ibrahimi shares her story of fleeing the Taliban, and her fight for the rights of girls and women in Afghanistan. Plus, the mad colonial experiment to bring Atlantic salmon from the northern hemisphere, to Tasmania.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has wrapped up his three-day visit to the UK, including an appearance at the UK Labour Party conference. He's told the British party faithful that he has an "absolute resolve to stand together and defend democracy itself". The ANU's Mark Kenny wraps up the visit. And what is Stablecoin, the cryptocurrency that financial regulator ASIC has licensed? Plus author Dorothy Armstrong uncovers the remarkable relationship between carpets and power.

It's been 70 years since 29 nations of Africa and Asia gathered in Bandung Indonesia in 1955 to forge a path beyond Empire, and lay the foundations for the non-aligned movement during the Cold War. Plus, the life of the pioneering South Australian policewoman Kate Cocks - a formidable figure, with a complex legacy.

Many assumptions are made about the politics and voting habits of young Australians, but what does the data actually say about generational political shifts? Plus, why have NGOs (non-government organisations) lost so much power and influence since their heyday in the 1990s?

The fallout of the Charlie Kirk assassination continues, with dozens of academics fired for their comments and Jimmy Kimmel returning to the air. Kirk was memorialised in a huge public event, in which Trump declared "hate" for his political opponents. In Nepal, the country is rebuilding its politics after a flash "Gen Z revolution" toppled the government and caused its aged leader to flee. Will Nepal be ready for elections by March? Here at home, the cost of suing for defamation can be prohibitive — and a new Australian tort of privacy came into effect in June.

The ANU's Mark Kenny on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's performance at the UN General Assembly, how US President Donald Trump is going easy on white collar criminals, and the world's first collection of Muslim-Australian poetry.

The Australian War Memorial has overruled a decision to award a military history literary prize to Chris Masters’ book, Flawed Hero: Truth, Lies and War Crimes about the alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith. According to the memorial chair, the rules prevent established authors from being considered. And the troubled history of the CIA since 9/11.

Australian anthropologist Hassan Gage makes the case that humiliation and its counterpart, dignity, are overlooked motivators of politics, both locally and globally. Plus why billionaire founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, gave his fortune away to save the planet.

Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, according to a report by a United Nations Commision of Inquiry. One of the key authors of that report, Australian human rights lawyer Chris Sidoti, joins Late Night Live just hours after its release. Meanwhile, the United Kindgom is preparing for a visit from Donald Trump. But America has already affected UK politics, with the sacking of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US over his connections with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Last, to Anguilla, where their domain name .ai has turned into a digital jackpot thanks to the frenzy around artificial intelligence.

Anna Henderson on why both Labor and the Coalition are still grappling with climate targets when our first risk assessment shows urgent action is needed. Bruce Shapiro looks at the fall-out from the Charlie Kirk killing and why we keep the QWERTY keyboard, when other layouts are so much more efficient.

A new film investigates how Germany's desire to never to repeat the horrendous anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust has resulted in the suppression of any criticism of Israel and its actions in Gaza. Plus how an ornithologist helped solve murders and hate crimes, with her expert knowledge of feathers.