Global Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald

Going into the summit in Beijing between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, the narrative from China is that President Trump is weak and distracted. Beijing sees the Iran war, and mid term elections on the horizon as weaknesses for President Trump, who last month postponed his planned meeting with President Xi on account of the war. President Trump arrives with his own agenda, with trade, tech and Taiwan high on the list.

In this over-stimulated moment in international affairs, observers have set a low bar for success for the summit this week scheduled between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.A lack of fireworks would be nice, they say.  In the Asia Pacific, there's hope for a summit where President Trump doesn't rile Beijing's emotions, and that instead ushers in a period of stability. What are the chances?Guest: Kirsty Needham, Australia and Pacific correspondent, AFP and former SMH Beijing correspondent

The UK's local council elections last week saw Labor lose Wales for the first time in 100 years. Reform UK and the Greens also made big strides in traditional Tory and Labor heartland. Old loyalties are breaking down, and with it Britain's traditional political system.What does this mean for the UK's first-past-the-post electoral system? What foundation does this lay for Scottish and Welsh independence? And if the UK isn't safe from populism, is Australia?Guest: Krishnan Guru-Murthy, British journalist and Channel 4 News presenter.-------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

Indonesia is one of Australia's nearest neighbours but the nature of its people, art and culture remain a mystery to many.In the fourth instalment of Global Roaming's Indonesia Rising, hosts Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue leave the politics behind for a deeply personal insight into Indonesian identity and the country's rich history of literature, poetry and art.Guest: Laksmi Pamuntiak, Indonesian poet and novelist.Reading recommendations:Hamish: The Question of Red by Laksmi Pamuntiak.Geraldine: The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher KochLaksmi: Indonesia, Etc. by Elizabeth Pisani, Race, Islam and Power by Andreas Harsono, Saman by Ayu Utami, the essays of Goenawan Mohamad in Tempo,  Beauty Is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan, and the Buru Tetralogy and The Mute’s Soliloquy Pramoedya Ananta Toer.Mentions: Global Roaming with David Van Reybrouck - Indonesia Rising: The struggle to reclaim historyGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.*Hamish is in Indonesia as the winner of the 2024 Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award.

From Ukraine to Iran, the rapid advancement of cheap and mass-produced drones is reshaping battlefields around the world.Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, only four militaries around the world were using small drones. Now, according to today's guest on Global Roaming, there are more than 40.Host Hamish Macdonald visits a counter-drone technology factory in an undisclosed location in Sydney to find out more.Guest: Terry Van Haren, vice president of DroneShield, an Australian military technology companyMentions: Global Roaming with Peter Pomerantsev: Is Russia's time as a dominant power coming to an end?Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

The war with Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent oil and gas prices through the roof.As countries scramble to secure energy supplies, sales of rooftop solar and electric vehicle sales are soaring. Is the war forcing the world to break its fossil fuel addiction? And how viable are alternative low-emissions fuels?   Guest: Dani Alexander, the chief executive of the University of New South Wales Energy InstituteGet in touch:We’d love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

On the frontline with Russia, Poland is now spending a massive $90 billion on defence, bolstered by a loan from the EU and multinational forces from Europe and the US stationed in the country. In Warsaw, the view is that the only way to stop Russia is deterrence.Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has condemned what he calls the disintegration of NATO from within, declaring the greatest threat is not its external enemies. And asked whether Poland can rely on US President Donald Trump to intervene if Russia attacks, Poland's deputy foreign minister suggests the answer lies closer to home.Guest: Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PolandGet in touch:We’d love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

Russia has crossed the threshold of losing more soldiers than it's able to mobilise. Some troops are paying their commanders to get a spot at the back of the Russian forces. Others are deserting entirely. And when soldiers do return home, they often bring the violence with them.President Putin controls a powerful pro-war narrative, which helped rationalise this war of choice to his people. But are the effects of this propaganda beginning to wane? And after a harsh winter, what has changed within Ukraine?As Russia fails to bring this war to a close, and the world moves to phase out fossil fuels, Russia's main export, how much longer can Russia hold on to the pretence of global superpower status?Guest: Peter Pomerantsev -- Kiev-born writer; political analyst; senior fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University; co-director of the Arena Initiative; co-founder of The Reckoning Project; author of Nothing is True and Everything is Possible and This Is Not Propaganda.Geraldine's further reading recommendations:The Closing of the Russian Mind: How Putin's Ideology Took the Nation Hostage, by Andrei Kolesnikov.Inside the belly of the beast, by Noonie Minogue.Russia Starts Here: Real Lives in the Ruins of Empire, by Howard Amos.Get in touch:We’d love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

Indonesia declared independence from Dutch rule in 1945, sparking a violent revolution. It was the first country to do so in the wake of World War II and a move that quietly shaped the Global South into what it is today. How did the revolution start? What effect did it have internationally? And why is it not marked as a significant moment of global history?Guest: David Van Reybrouck, Belgian historian and author of Revolusi.Mentioned: Geraldine and Hamish spoke about the Indonesia Calling (1946) documentary, at the end of the episode. It's a part of Australia's and Indonesia's shared history: Trade union seamen and waterside workers refused to service Dutch ships that contained weapons destined for use against Indonesia's independence movement.Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.*Hamish is in Indonesia as the winner of the 2024 Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award.

There’s an important meeting in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s diary.On Monday, Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, will touch down in Australia for high‑level talks with the Albanese government, following Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s trip to Tokyo to shore up fuel and fertiliser supplies.So, are friends in need friends indeed? Australia wants fuel from our friends in the north, but what will Japan’s new prime minister want in return?Takaichi has been called the world’s most powerful woman. So, how will Anthony Albanese approach the meeting? And as Japan bolsters its defences against China, does Tokyo expect Australia to do the same?Guest: Professor Shiro Armstrong, Director of the Australia‑Japan Research Centre and the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research, and Editor of the East Asia Forum at the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy.Recommendations:Geraldine - Drops of God (TV series)Hamish - What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki MurakamiGet in touch:We’d love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth denies Trump's war on Iran has hit a "quagmire", but the reality on the ground tells a different story. With an ongoing stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts yielding little progress, the war appears to have hit a stalemate. So what or who decides how this ends? And what does the United Arab Emirates' split from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) say about fracturing relations in the Middle East?Guest: Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder and chief executive of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation think tankGet in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

On Saturday evening a gunman attempted to storm the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington DC. The act of political violence -  the third assassination attempt of US President Donald Trump - occurred just three days before the 30th anniversary of Australia's deadliest mass shooting, the Port Arthur massacre, which prompted sweeping gun reform.So why has one country been able to respond to gun violence decisively while another hasn't? And what comes next, an increasingly violent and polarised United States?On this episode of Global Roaming, hosts Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke turn their focus to Washington DC to find out.Guest: David Smith, Washington bureau chief for The GuardianGet in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all episodes of Global Roaming now via ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping power, cyber security and geopolitics, but can anyone really control it? From the US-China AI arms race to Taiwan's chip power, hosts Kylie Morris and Waleed Aly dive into the rapidly changing world of AI and the limits of democratic powers to regulate it. What can we make of Anthropic's decision not to release its powerful Mythos model? And do we truly understand what we're building and who will control it?Guest: Rohit Krishnan, AI investor and operator and Substack essayist, The Strange Loop Canon.Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all episodes of Global Roaming now via ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

On this episode of Global Roaming's mini-series, Indonesia Rising, Hamish returns to Jakarta to speak to Indonesian communications minister Meutya Hafid.How effective has Indonesia's social media ban for children under 16 been? What can Australia learn from its approach? And does the minister support President Prabowo's plan for "bottom-up" economic growth?Meutya has a strong connection to Australia. She spent her university years in Sydney, working in a takeaway chicken shop while studying engineering. Guest: Meutya Hafid, Indonesia's Minister of Communications and Digital Affairs.Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.*Hamish is in Indonesia as the winner of the 2024 Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award.Indonesia Rising sound design by Samuel Phelps.

On the eve of Anzac Day, the Global Roaming team comes together to discuss war, peace and what Australia's national day of remembrance means as conflict rages around the globe.  What's missing from daily coverage of conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and Europe? Does the way we talk about war need to change? And where are the peacemakers? Hosts: Latika Bourke, Kylie Morris, Hamish Macdonald, Geraldine DoogueRecommendations: Geraldine - Why Great Powers Sleepwalk to War — A Masterclass with Hugh WhiteGet in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all Global Roaming episodes via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes. But since then, he's visited the US and Hungary and news of the ICC case has grown quiet. So what's happened to the proceedings? What plays are being made behind the scenes? And is the "breakdown" of multilateral organisations like the United Nations having a impact?Guest: Kenneth Roth, former federal prosecutor for New York and the Iran-Contra investigation; former executive director of Human Rights Watch; author of Righting Wrongs.Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all Global Roaming episodes via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is sending shock waves through the global economy. Supply chains are in disarray, inflation is surging and oil prices remain high. With no end in sight to the US-Iran war, is a global recession inevitable? And does that metric even matter?  On this episode of Global Roaming, Latika and Geraldine examine how the US economy is holding up and what it could mean for Australia.  Guest: Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan. Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Trump's AI-generated image of himself as the Pope has drawn harsh criticism. He also called the Pope “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” in a Truth Social post. What does Trump gain from these bizarre allusions to Christianity?Are MAGA’s Christian nationalists tearing open long held wounds between the Catholic and Protestant faith in the United States?Hamish Macdonald and guest presenter Waleed Aly dive into whether Trump's antics are driving away Catholics as the the mid-term elections approach.Guest: Elizabeth Bruenig, staff writer at The Atlantic.------------Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Australia's close neighbour is changing before our eyes. By mid-century, Indonesia is forecast to become the world’s fourth largest economy – imagine that!So how is Indonesia's economy really performing? Is democracy making a difference? And how will President Prabowo Subianto tackle the challenge of building infrastructure across an archipelago?In the first episode of Global Roaming's Indonesia Rising series, Hamish speaks with economist Dr Mari Pangestu to learn how the country is weathering global economic shocks and what's at stake in its partnership with Australia.Guest: Dr Mari Pangestu, economist, Indonesia's former Minister of Trade (2004-2011) and Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (2011-2014), and the former World Bank managing director (2020-2023). ------------Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.--------------Indonesia Rising sound design by Samuel Phelps.*Hamish is in Indonesia as the winner of the 2024 Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award.

Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting global headwinds and now the war in the Middle East have hit the British hard. So with some of the world's highest energy costs and a stretched defence force,  what does the future hold? Can Britain's deeply unpopular prime minister, Keir Starmer, survive the upcoming elections? And will this fallen empire ever rise again? On this episode of Global Roaming, Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke (The Nightly) go the London. Guest: James Crabtree, geopolitical analyst and author.Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Péter Magyar has beaten Viktor Orbán in Hungary's election, ending 16 years of autocratic rule. Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians celebrated in the streets of Budapest as the results were announced.Maygar won in a landslide, meaning his government has the power to enact significant reform, including bringing Hungary back into the EU fold.Hungarians voted for change of government and they got it. Does this signal the end of strongman politics? And what will America and Russia do now they've lost their man in Europe?Guest: Gergő Papp, Hungarian political campaigns consultant and author of 'The Fall of Orbán: How a Political Outsider Toppled Europe’s Trump'. The book will be available in English in a few months.------------Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

The war in the Middle East is sending shock waves through global supply chains, so where does this leave economic superpower China? Will it emerge as a genuine global leader or merely make a profit from global disorder?Does Beijing see the US and the President Trump's instability as a threat or opportunity?In this episode, Geraldine and Latika go roaming to find out if China wants the global power but not the global responsibility.The article Geraldine references from Foreign Affairs, written by Zongyuan Zoe Liu is here.Guest: Rana Mitter, ST Lee Chair in US Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School and author of 'Forgotten Ally, China’s World War II'.Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

The ink hadn't even dried on the initial US-Iran ceasefire last week when Israel launched an unprecedented bombardment on Lebanon's capital, Beirut. Latika Bourke and Laura Tingle speak to a seasoned analyst from the International Crisis Group in Lebanon, who gives a unique insight into the fissures in Lebanese society. Is Hezbollah putting Iran's interests over Lebanon's? Will their most recent support of Iran continue a cycle of perpetual warfare? And is fermenting internal division a tactic employed by Israel to weaken the country?Guest: Heiko Wimmen, overseer of the International Crisis Group's Iraq, Syria and Lebanon project.--------------Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Is Wikipedia a relic of a more utopian version of the internet? Or is it the citizen-led antidote that we need?In the final episode of Global Roaming's Matter of Facts mini-series, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales joins Hamish and Geraldine to discuss how much we should value freedom of speech over stifling active disinformation.This episode is part of a companion series to Hamish's three-part TV documentary, The Matter of Facts.Guest: Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia and author of The Seven Rules of Trust.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Middle East conflict has triggered a reckoning in global energy supplies. So as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese touches down in Singapore for talks to shore up fuel supplies, are there opportunities amidst the disruption? Could Australia work with South East Asia to develop more resilient energy supply chains? In this episode, Hamish and Geraldine travel to Jakarta, Indonesia's capital and now the most populous city in the world, to find out. Guest: Dr Kao Kim Hourn,  Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.*Hamish is in Indonesia as the winner of the 2024 Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award. The award provides for a visit to Indonesia supported by the Australia-Indonesia Institute (All) within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

The war in Iran has aroused worldwide fears: what happens if a country runs out of oil? Because of severe US restrictions, Cuba has faced that reality, having been without oil for three months.Latika and Kylie speak to correspondent Ruaridh Nicoll who has been travelling across the country to find out how the Cubans are surviving.Guest: Ruaridh Nicoll, journalist, freelancer, and author. He has worked with The Guardian, The Telegraph UK, and Al Jazeera, among others.-------------Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

A ceasefire is declared after Donald Trump agrees to a two-week pause in attacks on Iran, contingent on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. But is this a genuine de-escalation or a strategic pause? A reprieve that the world has been desperate to see or statecraft in action? In this episode of Global Roaming Geraldine and Latika speak to one of the UK's leading war and military specialists to better understand where the Middle East conflict is headed. Guest: Dr Jack Watling, Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare at the Royal United Services Institute in London.Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Australia's education system is one of our most successful export industries, worth an estimated 54 billion dollars. But as perceptions that our universities are "mediocre and overpriced" rise, is the opportunity to use education as a way to build stronger relationships with south east Asia passing Australia by? This episode Hamish Macdonald and Kylie Morris go to Ho Chi Minh City to speak with Damien Cave from the New York Times, who argues Australian universities are failing as a frontline of Australian foreign policy.Guest: New York Times' Vietnam bureau chief, Damien Cave. Read his story for ABC's Long Read here: Is Australia's university empire losing global appeal?Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.*Hamish is in Indonesia as the winner of the 2024 Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award. The award provides for a visit to Indonesia supported by the Australia-Indonesia Institute (All) within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

In our previous Matter of Facts mini-series episodes, we covered why our brains are vulnerable to misinformation, and how disinformation is affecting democracies. Today, we examine the public's trust (or lack thereof) in mainstream media.For decades, news outlets functioned to bridge the gap between the public and those in power. So, how did faith in traditional journalism erode, and what needs to change in how the media operates to start fixing the mess?Guest: Ulrik Haagerup, founder and CEO of Constructive Institute.-----------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Today, a special episode recorded at the Manly Writer's Festival 2026 where Geraldine speaks to three highly experienced diplomats -- Ian Kemish AM, Dr Robert Bowker, Dr Lachlan Straun. They talk about the challenges they faced in foreign negotiating rooms, how accurate the media representations of diplomats are, and whether there is a distinctly Australian style of diplomacy.Guests:Ian Kemish AM -- former Australian ambassador to Germany, former Australian high commissioner to Papua New Guinea and former international adviser to the prime minister. Author of The Consul: an insider account from Australia's diplomatic frontline and Two Islands.Dr Robert Bowker -- Australian ambassador to Jordan (1989-1992), Australian ambassador to Egypt (2005-2008) and former non-resident Australian ambassador to Syria, Libya, Tunisia and Sudan. Author of Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots: An Australian Diplomat in the Arab World.Dr Lachlan Strahan -- former High Commissioner to the Solomon Islands, First Assistant Secretary of the DFAT Multilateral Policy Division, and Australia’s former Acting United Nations Ambassador in Geneva. Author of The Curious Diplomat: A memoir from the frontlines of diplomacy. Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

As the war in the Middle East rages, Israel is waging offensives on multiple fronts. The state is pounding Iran and Beirut with missiles and drones. Ground troops are pushing deep into southern Lebanon and occupy half of Gaza. The expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank has become "unconstrained" and increasingly violent. Is this Benjamin Netanyahu pursuing his expansionist dream of "Greater Israel"? And how do ordinary Israelis feel about the conflict? On this episode of Global Roaming Kylie and Latika go to Israel to find out. Guest: Daliah Scheindlin, public opinion researcher, political advisor and policy fellow at The Century Foundation. She is the author of The Crooked Timber of Democracy in Israel: Promise UnfulfilledGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Iran has withstood US and Israel's offensive more effectively than those who attacked it had expected. They've made the most of geography - and shown just how vulnerable the global economy is.Despite this, Iran's allies, Moscow and Beijing, have been keeping their distance. But what about Yemen's Houthis? What difference could they make in this war?And at what point will the Gulf countries step in?Guest: Neil Quilliam, energy policy, geopolitics and foreign affairs specialist.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

President Trump’s campaign to pull allies like Australia and Japan into defending the Strait of Hormuz is growing more urgent by the day. Japan's pacifist constitution is seemingly at odds with the US calling for them to send warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz. Former Japanese ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, insists there are ways the country can contribute without directly going against their constitutional prerogative. But how far will they be pulled into US interests?And will it influence Australia to do the same?Guest: Shingo Yamagami, former Japanese ambassador to Australia.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Disinformation accelerated by AI is affecting democracies worldwide at an extraordinary pace. Governments overseas are wielding it against their own citizens. Meanwhile closer to home, perceptions of AI interference in elections have us questioning everything. It's an information war being fought on several fronts.We finally have some empirical data on this new phenomena. So, how do we safeguard our democracies from digital interference?------------GUEST: Dr Constanza Sanhueza, researcher and senior lecturer in political science at ANU.This is the second of Global Roaming's mini series on misinformation and disinformation. Hamish's documentary is called A Matter of Facts, and will be released on iView on Tuesday 24th March 2026.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

With a rogue United States causing havoc in the Middle East, is it time for Australia to abandon its 'good doggy' approach to US foreign policy?In the final instalment of Global Roaming's three-part series, The World Reordered, hosts Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are joined by one of Australia's most respected military thinkers, who argues Australia needs to 'grow up'.Guest: David Kilcullen, Professor of Practice in the Center on the Future of War and the School of Politics and Global Studies, former Australian Army lieutenant colonel, counterinsurgency expert and author.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

How much do we Australians really understand South East Asia? Australia has long prioritised neighbours further north when it comes to our strategic alliances, but as China rises as a great power, have our blind spots become our greatest weakness? Michael Wesley joins Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke (The Nightly) to make the case for appraising South East Asia as more than a holiday destination, and in particular, why we should be doing more to partner with Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Guest: Michael Wesley, author of Quarterly essay Blindspot: Southeast Asia and Australia’s FutureGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

In a broad-ranging conversation, Hamish Macdonald speaks to historian and host of the hit podcast Empire William Dalrymple about the pitfalls of trying to understand the contemporary world without a firm grasp of the past, whether India can replicate its success as an ancient superpower and how countries like Australia and Britain deal with uncomfortable truths from their past. 

The world is getting more dangerous. The closure of the Straight of Hormuz has sent shock waves around the world. The price of oil has skyrocketed and with fuel shortages now reaching Asia, Australia faces 'crunch time' on its energy security.So how vulnerable are we right now? And how do our perceptions shape our foreign policy? Rory Medcalf from the ANU's National Security College has been studying how our security expectations match up our reality. He joins Hamish Macdonald and Kylie Morris to talk about why public opinion matters. Guest: Professor Rory Medcalf, Director of the ANU's National Security College. Further reading: Report - No worries? Australian attitudes to national security, risk and resilienceGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

To celebrate Hamish Macdonald's new television series The Matter of Facts, we'll be taking a deep dive into the global ramifications of mis- and disinformation. First up is the world of AI deepfakes. Generative artificial intelligence has us questioning our own eyes and ears, and the rapid pace at which we're consuming information is quite literally changing our brains. How do we navigate this world without falling prey to manipulation?In this episode, “deep reading” expert Maryanne Wolf joins Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue to unpack what it means to engage critically with information.-----------Guest: Maryanne Wolf -- Director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. And author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain.This is the first of Global Roaming's mini series on misinformation and disinformation. Hamish's documentary is called The Matter of Facts, and will be released on iView on Tuesday 24th March 2026.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

With Ali Larijani killed, and the whereabouts of the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei unknown, who is calling the shots in Iran? Iranian-American historian Arash Azizi joins Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald to talk through the emerging power players, like Mohammad Bagher Ghabliaf and Saeed Jalili, and how much would genuinely change under their potential leadership. Guest: Arash Azizi, author of What Iranians WantGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

With thousands dead and millions displaced in Iran, the humanitarian price of the US-Israel war will be steep. But there's another priceless casualty of war: art. With multiple UNESCO World Heritage sites in Iran sustaining damage, how do you protect a nation's cultural heritage during war time? Latika Bourke and Kylie Morris are joined by Basia Solokowska, who served as Defence and Crisis Management Officer at the Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, Poland. She lifts the lid on how museums and art galleries prepare their collections for war, and the surprising role drones play in preserving our heritage.Guest: Basia Sokolowska, Polish-Australian artistGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

The so-called Operation Epic Fury isn't working according to Trump's plan, if he has one at all. Now, as Iran's blockade Strait of Hormuz threatens the global economy, will Trump's allies in NATO and Asia answer his calls for military assistance? Latika Bourke and Geraldine Doogue speak to Richard Haass, a foreign policy stalwart who has sat in US negotiations with Northern Ireland and Iran. They talk about why the US gave up on diplomacy, if Netanyahu would agree to a US brokered ceasefire, and why so many foreign policy experts in the States are deeply concerned about what happens next. Guest: Richard Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

There's no way Australia could possibly be supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, right? According to Ukrainian MP Anastasia Radina, think again. During a visit to Australia to rally support for her besieged country, this episode the Ukranian MP sits down with Hamish Macdonald and Kylie Morris to argue the case for Australia to stop buying refined oil from India because of its links to Russia.Guest: Anastasia Radina MP, Chair of the Ukrainian Committee on Anti-Corruption PolicyGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Our inbox at Global Roaming is chockers with requests to take a closer look at China's history. So this episode, we're sharing a Sydney Writer's Festival panel recorded at the State Library of NSW with Frank Dikötter, pre-eminent China historian. Hear Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue speak to Dikötter about rummaging through smuggled archives to challenge CCP narratives of China's modern history, and what it tells us about Xi Jinping's power today.Guest: Frank Dikötter, author of Red Dawn Over ChinaFurther listening: The underground historians of China trying to preserve truth - Saturday ExtraGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

The Baltic nation of Estonia knows a little about what Russia is like. One of Russia's closest neighbours, they were part of the Soviet Union until gaining independence in 1991. But is its independence being threatened? Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald speak to the Minister about Putin's "master plan" and his message for Australia's leaders.Guest: Estonia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Margus TsahknaGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Last year's Gen Z protests in Nepal saw the Parliament building set ablaze, and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli step down. In the first election since, it looks like the 35-year-old rapping former Mayor of Kathmandu could be next leader of the Himalayan nation. But with impacts of the war reverberating through Nepal's massive migrant diaspora, can Balendra Shah fulfil his promise of economic stability? Latika Bourke and Kylie Morris are joined by South Asia bureau chief Meghna Bali to look at "Balen" Shah's promise to the people, and how Nepal's closest neighbours, India and Pakistan, are having their allegiances tested by the fallout of war in Iran. Guest: Meghna Bali, South Asia bureau chief for the ABC based in New DelhiGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Could the war in the Middle East be over in a little over a week, or is that wishful thinking? With global oil markets in unprecedented territory as they react to Trump's ever-changing timeline on the US-Israel war on Iran, the prospect of peace seems a distant reality. The New York Times chief diplomatic correspondent, Steven Erlanger, however, offers a more hopeful view. He speaks to Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke about the far-reaching ramifications of the war, why Albanese was quicker to support Trump than Europe, and why the upcoming mid-terms may prompt Trump to walk away from the conflict sooner than we think.Guest: Steven Erlanger, the chief diplomatic correspondent for the New York Times based in BerlinGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

The Iran football team's decision not to sing the national anthem during the AFC Women's Asian Cup was an act of silent protest. Now, after days of rallies, and a phone call from US President Donald Trump, five of the players have been granted humanitarian visas by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. What could happen to the remaining players?Hamish Macdonald and Kylie Morris are joined by former Socceroos captain Craig Foster to unpack the human rights obligations of Australia towards the players, as well as allegations players are under watch by the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), and whether football's governing bodies are doing enough to protect female athletes. Guest: Craig Foster, former Socceroo captain and human rights advocateGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Geraldine Doogue and Kylie Morris are joined by regional expert and former army officer Rodger Shanahn to answer your questions about the situation unfolding in the Middle East. Is the bombing of Shajareh Tayyebeh girl's school a war crime? What does Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu want from Iran? Guest: Rodger ShanahanGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

In just twenty four hours, a US submarine has torpedoed an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. Turkey, a NATO member state, has shot down an Iranian ballistic missile. And while Israel hammered Tehran and southern Lebanon with fresh rounds of strikes, Trump is considering arming Kurdish forces. The death toll is climbing into the thousands.In less than a week, has the US and Israel's military campaign against Iran spiralled into a war beyond anyone's control? Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue return to Beirut to speak with Kim Ghattas about the rapidly escalating war in the Middle East, and whether Iran has already been caught in a self-perpetuating 'escalation trap'.Guest: Kim Ghattas, Lebanese-born journalist and Middle East expert based in Beirut, and author of Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle EastGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.