Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast

Census night is just two weeks away, and this year, Australians will have the opportunity to answer new questions on sexual orientation and gender. The Census will also allow for further detail on the cultural heritage of survey participants. Demographer Liz Allen explains why these small changes will make a big difference. Guest: Dr Liz Allen, demographer at ANU

Last month, after a nearly 30-year review, Australia's chemical regulator finally decided that the herbicide paraquat can continue to be used on Australian farms, with new precautions.That's despite bans on the chemical spreading around the world, amid concerns about the health impacts of repeated exposure. Why is Australia so dependent on the controversial weedkiller, and what are the supply chains for pesticides globally?Guest: Sarah Rogers, Associate Professor at the Asia Institute, University of MelbourneProducer: Jack Schmidt

LNL's US correspondent Bruce Shapiro looks at whether the latest pause in hostilities with Iran will lead to any outcome as the mid-terms approach and pressure on President Trump to end the war increases. But with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to arrive in the States for talks, pressure will be coming from Israel to keep pressure on Iran. Plus how will the Democrats recover from the scandal which saw progressive populist Graham Platner step down from the race in Maine? And will Trump's attempts to change the rules around voter registration work? Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine and Director of the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma. Producer: Catherine Zengerer

It's 100 years since America's fabled highway 'Route 66' was commissioned -  the road from Chicago to L.A celebrated in literature and song. But behind the neon-lit diners and sunny road trips, lies a grittier history of danger, death and racism. Guest: Dr Daniel Milowski, historian at Arizona State University, author of 'Route 66 and the Formation of a National Cultural Icon: Mother Road to Mythic American Byway'Producer: Jack Schmidt

The next great power struggle may not be won on the battlefield, but in semiconductor factories, AI labs and satellite networks. In Bytes and Bullets, Steve Feldstein explores how technology is transforming modern warfare and creating a new global arms race.Guest: Steve Feldstein, Senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. Author of,  Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Private Tech, and the New Shape of Modern WarfareProducer: Ali Benton

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has lost her appeal against a court ruling which found she racially discriminated against Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi. Plus, how did Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emerge from the recent national Labor conference? The conference avoided a debate on Israel-Gaza, after Ed Husic MP failed to secure support to debate an amendment to the Labor platform - to acknowledge a United Nations inquiry that determined Israeli authorities had 'deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide'.Guest: Anna Henderson, SBS World News Chief Political Correspondent | National Press Club Director

From tearing into the White House to make way for a 650-seat ballroom, to declaring war on modern architecture, Donald Trump is remaking America’s symbols of power, prestige and taste. Architecture critic Paul Goldberger has followed Trump’s rise for more than 40 years. The author of Why Architecture Matters explores what Trump’s buildings reveal about his ambitions, and his vision for America.Guest Paul Goldberger,  former architecture critic for The New York Times and The New Yorker, and the author of 'Why Architecture Matters.'Producer Ali Benton

In 1833, slavery in the British Empire was abolished, but not without a massive compensation scheme paid out to slave owners. Some of that money flowed to colonial Australia. Two-thirds of Australia's colonial governors had links to slavery. That money helped fuel vast pastoral enterprises and build prestigious institutions. A new book examines how our supposedly 'slavery-free' nation was shaped by this money. You can search the UCL Legacies of British Slavery Database hereGuest: Zoe Laidlaw, Professor of History at the University of Melbourne, co-editor, with Jane Lydon, of Legacies of British Slavery in Australia and New Zealand (Manchester University Press, 2026)Producer: Ann Arnold

Until the early 1900s men did their best to keep women out of parliaments around the world. But the social disruptions of the twentieth century, like war, revolutions and the de-colonisation movement, created the opening women needed – and they grasped it with both hands. The trailblazing, and sometimes gun-blazing, women who built democracy around the world were all fierce, all feminists, but not all of them were progressives. Guest: Paula Bartley, historian and author of 'Trailblazers, the first women elected to government’, published by Polity.Producer: Catherine Zengerer

One Nation is having the most success it's ever had, but to build on that, it is having to do some rapid re-organising and skill development behind the scenes. Guest: Jordan McSwiney, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy at the University of Canberra. Currently a Top 5 Humanities program participant at the ABC. Author of  'Far Right political parties in Australia: disorganisation and electoral failure' (Routledge, 2024)Producer: Ann Arnold

Why has means-testing fallen out of favour in Australian public policymaking? The idea of means-testing is to direct government support to those who need it most. Increasingly however, governments are opting for universal spending programs - from energy rebates and EV concessions, to subsidies in childcare and aged care.  Professor Robert Breunig asks why, and makes the case for tighter means-testing. Guest: Professor Robert Bruenig, director of the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANUProducer: Jack SchmidtRelated reading: Home Truths: The case for rebalancing toward better means testing, Policy Institute Australia (June 2026)

Journalist Abby Martin and her husband Mike Prysner – a US war veteran -  have spent years drawing attention to the wrongdoings of the US military. But when they had kids they turned their attention towards climate change, and just how much pollution the Pentagon is pumping into the planet. The result is their latest film “Earth’s Greatest Enemy” and Abby Martin is in Australia for screenings around the country, and to take part in the national IPAN conference happening in Adelaide. The theme of the conference is Time to Break Free From the USA - Cancel AUKUS and the Force Posture Agreement.Guest: Abby Martin, journalist and Director Earth's Greatest EnemyProducer: Catherine Zengerer

Andy Burnham has become the UK's fifth Prime Minister in five years, promising to reset Labour and end the cycle of political turmoil. His first messages focused on the cost-of-living crisis, homelessness and giving more power to regions. Can his popularity deliver real change?Guest: Naomi Smith, CEO, Best for BritainProducer: Ali Benton

Today, the site of Hitler's bunker is little more than a car park. But nearby, another former Nazi bunker is facing demolition, reigniting debate over whether places linked to the Third Reich should be preserved as historical warnings or cleared for redevelopment.Guest: Dr Caroline Sharples, Senior Lecturer in history at the University of Roehampton. Author: The Long Death of Adolf Hitler: An Investigative History Producer: Ali Benton

An investigation by The Guardian has found that a US air strike in Somalia last November, killed and injured 12 civilians, including eight children. The attack was part of the Pentagon's campaign against the Islamist militant group Al Shabaab. The US denies responsibility for the civilian casualties and has not offered compensation or medical assistance.Guest: Mohamed Gabobe, freelance reporter in Mogadishu, who worked on this story for The Guardian. Mohamed has also worked with the Washington Post, the BBC, and othersProducer: Ann Arnold

Anna Henderson looks at the government's decision to go on the front foot with their AI policy, and whether the opposition has been able to prosecute a good argument against it. Plus what will be up for debate at the ALP's upcoming national conference. Guest: Anna Henderson, SBS World News Chief Political Correspondent | National Press Club DirectorProducer: Catherine Zengerer

Palestinians in the West Bank say that Israeli forces are razing olive trees at an unprecedented pace. Prominent writer and lawyer Raja Shehadeh describes a landscape of vanishing groves and expanding settler infrastructure. Guest: Raja Shehadeh, writer and lawyer, author of Palestinian Walks: Notes on a Vanishing LandscapeProducer: Kylie Morris

After a terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir in 2025, tensions between India and Pakistan exploded into a four-day war, with the threat of nuclear war prompting international intervention. In retaliation for the attack India suspended a key water treaty, threatening to cut Pakistan’s water supplies off by building a series of hydro-electric dams which can divert water away from Pakistan. Pakistan has threatened nuclear retaliation if it goes ahead. Meanwhile Australia has signed a new deal with India which allows Australia to start exporting uranium to the country. Indian PM Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Australia also secured increased cooperation on defence and security, including counter-terrorism measures.Guest: : Michael Kugelman, senior fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, and writer of Foreign Policy magazine’s weekly South Asia Brief. Producer: Catherine Zengerer

If Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have their way, the new space age will bring holidays in orbit, asteroid mining and human colonies on Mars. Musk says humanity must become a “multi-planetary species”. But philosopher Ben Bramble argues that vision is a dangerous fantasy. In his new book, Lunacy: Ten False Promises of the New Space Age he says our priority should be solving the problems here on Earth — not chasing the promise of another world.Guest: Ben Bramble, Lecturer in Philosophy, Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University Producer: Ali Benton

Australia has just signed new bilateral treaties with Fiji and Vanuatu, which is widely viewed as a diplomatic triumph. But what are the pro's and cons of such treaties, and how do they sit with Australia's very mixed history of attempted Pacific relationships? Guest: Joanne Wallis, Professor of International Security, and director of the Stretton Institute Security in the Pacific Islands Research Program at Adelaide University. Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Co-author, with Jack Corbett, of ‘Neighbours: Australia and the Pacific’ (La Trobe)Producer: Ann Arnold

Two historians throw open the archives and leave the dusty corridors of academia behind, hunting through the mess and intrigue of Australia’s past for the scandals, secrets and gossip that history books often leave outGuest: Alecia Simmonds, Professor of Law, UTS and co-host The Dead Can't Sue

Every second a tree is cut down to become an affordable IKEA product. The Swedish mega-company claims it's sustainable, but is that really the case? Investigative journalist, Tom Heinemann, visits IKEA's forests in Romania's Carpathian Mountains to discover how their production line is impacting the safety of the forest, wildlife and local biodiversity.Guest: Tom Heinemann, Investigative journalist and Director of 'Ikea Loves Wood'Producer: Catherine ZengererIn a statement to Tom Heinemann Ikea said: "We have a comprehensive wood control system in place to make sure the wood we use is responsibly sourced. We do not accept wood that fails to meet our strict requirements, such as wood from illegal harvests, non-commercial high conservation value forests, areas with social conflicts, or genetically modified tree plantations. If we discover irregularities, we take immediate action." Find out more information about Ikea's wood use here: https://www.ikea.com/global/en/our-business/sustainability/wood-we-use/

Bruce Shapiro looks at how the sudden death of US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham will affect the Senate, Trump's attack on several New York Times journalists over their reporting on security concerns with the new Qatari-donated Air Force One plane, and how the US's latest attacks on Iran are being seen ahead of the November primaries. Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine and Director of the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma. 

More of us are using subtitles while watching TV and movies  -  particularly amongst Gen Z and Millennials. Is this a sign of our shrinking attention spans, or are there technological factors at play in this era of digital streaming? Guest: Andrew Wright, Oscar-winning sound editor, based in Sydney

'Nitrogen hypoxia' has been used by the US state of Alabama at least seven times to execute prisoners on death row. Human rights experts say the method is akin to torture and should be banned permanently. Legal challenges are ongoing after two lower courts found the method likely violates the US Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. A subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court was denied. Guest: Deborah Denno, Arthur A. McGivney Professor of Law at the Fordham University School of Law, where she is also the founding director of the Neuroscience and Law CenterProducer: Ali Benton

Canberra columnist Professor Mark Kenny looks at why Liberal leader Angus Taylor has finally begun to criticise Pauline Hanson and One Nation. Plus a new poll from Resolve Political Monitor  has shown a marked difference between One Nation policies and what Australians want in terms of policies. Guest: Professor Mark Kenny, Director Australian Studies Institute, ANU; columnist, The Canberra TimesProducer: Catherine Zengerer

Uncle Roger Knox joins David Marr in the studio for an hour of stories and songs: from growing up on the mission, to making his name in Tamworth, surviving two plane crashes, and singing the truth about frontier violence. Guest: Uncle Roger Knox, Gomeroi Elder and musician; joined by collaborator Toby MartinProducer: Catherine ZengererSound Engineer: Tegan Nicholls, Harvey O'Sullivan

Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the USA, drafted the words 'all men are created equal', in the US Declaration of Independence. He wanted slavery to end, but mainly because he was deeply worried about slaves revolting against the white population.  He also thought the new nation would not be taken seriously if it was mixed race. He wanted to banish all black people from the US. Guest: Nicholas Guyatt, Professor of North American History at Cambridge University. Co-author, with Christa Dierksheide, of ‘Jefferson’s Wolf: a founding father’s troubling answer to the problem of slavery’  (Harvard University Press, May 2026)Producer: Ann Arnold

The rules have changed. Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman's Regime Change takes readers inside Donald Trump's second presidency, arguing it marks the most sweeping expansion of presidential power in generations.Guest:Jonathan Swan, Journalist with New York Times and co-author, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump 

In India, walking the streets can be a dangerous daily challenge. For decades, roads have been designed around cars and motorbikes, leaving pedestrians to navigate broken, blocked and unsafe footpaths. Now, India’s Supreme Court has stepped in, declaring safe access to footpaths a fundamental right. What does this mean for the future of India’s streets?Guest: Rishi Aggarwal, Founder and Director at Mumbai Sustainability CentreProducer: Ali Benton

The criminalising of homosexuality is being either adopted, or strengthened, in one country after another in Africa. That continent has the biggest cluster of countries with anti-gay laws - more than 30, out of 54 African countries, have made it illegal to have homosexual relationships, and in some cases, to support those who do.Guest: Larissa Kojoue, African human rights researcher with Human Rights Watch, with a focus on LGBTQI+ rights. Queer feminist from Cameroon, based in Lyon, FranceProducer: Ann Arnold 

Ian Dunt joins David Marr moments before Reform UK's Nigel Farage announces his resignation as MP.  Farage is under investigation from Parliament's standards commissioner after not declaring a £5m gift he received in 2024 - before his election - from billionaire donor Christopher Harbornen. He is also facing questions about 'gifts' received from another supporter, convicted criminal George Cottrell. Farage denies any wrongdoing, and has vowed to win back his seat in a by-election. Guest: Ian Dunt: iNews columnist and regular Late Night Live commentatorProducer: Ali Benton 

Australia is home to one of the world's premier collections of ancient coins, held at The Australian Centre for Ancient Numismatic Studies (ACANS), part of Macquarie University. Its new director celebrates its treasures, currently being digitised for the world. Guest: Associate Professor in History and Archaeology at Macquarie University, Director of ACANS

Where authoritarian leaders once coerced their citizens with brute force, they increasingly rely on public support through manipulation. Misinformation, conspiracy theories and exploiting existing fears are among the tools of trade.Guest: Assaf Sharon, Professor of Philosophy at Tel Aviv University. Co-founder and Senior Fellow at Molad: The Center for the Renewal of Israeli Democracy. Co-author, with Avishai Margalit, of ‘Captive minds: a study of manipulation’ (Harvard University Press, May 2026)Producer: Ann Arnold

Liberal frontbenchers say a coalition with One Nation is not part of party discussions, amid a rise in the minor party's popularity. MPs are distancing themselves from remarks by Liberal Party president Tony Abbott, who linked migration to the "diluting" of Anglo-Celtic culture.Guest: Professor Mark Kenny, Australian Studies Institute, ANU

As the United States celebrates 250 years of Independence, what were the driving motivations of America's revolutionary leader - and first president - George Washington? Professor Colin G. Calloway details Washington's intense interest in land speculation, in the vast native territories west of the Appalachian mountains.Guest: Colin G Calloway, Professor of history at Dartmouth College, author of The Indian World of George Washington 

Even before the North American colonies declared independence 250 years ago this week, they refused to take Britain's convicts. After losing America, the UK turned instead to Botany Bay. That's the story many of us grew up with. But a new generation of historians argues Australia wasn't founded simply to solve a prison crisis—it was the first expression of a more ruthless British Empire after the American Revolution.Guest: Kate Fullagar, Professor of history at the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University

In the 1800s, 5,000 French farmers working in tiny urban courtyards grew enough food to feed two million Parisians with enough surplus left over to send to London. How did they do it? Why were farmers in the countryside starving, while Parisians could grow an excess of food on small lots in a crowded city? Kate Brown's book Tiny Gardens Everywhere looks at how small gardens often trumped large scale agriculture on farms using nitrogen fertilisers made from fossil fuels, in feeding people, en masse. And with a third of the world's fertilisers held up in the Strait of Hormuz, and global heating accelerating, re-thinking how we grow our food might be just the thing we need right now. Guest: Kate Brown, Distinguished Professor in the History of Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of Tiny gardens everywhere, a history of urban resilience  - published by PenguinProducer: Catherine Zengerer

30 years ago (July 1, 1996) the Northern Territory became the first place in the world where eligible terminally-ill patients could access a medically-assisted death. Four people accessed the laws, before the legislation was scuttled at the federal level just nine months later. Today, the NT is the last remaining jurisdiction in the country yet to legislate on voluntary assisted dying.Guest: Marshall Perron, former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, 1988-1995; tabled Rights of the Terminally Ill Act as a private member's bill

Writer Charlie McCann takes us into the booming global trade in rare succulents and cacti, and the unusual subculture of people who hunt them. Travelling with a California plant collector and his companions, McCann joins a road trip deep into remote parts of Mexico in search of prized species like Agaves and Dudleyas, plants that can fetch extraordinary prices on the international market. Some collectors describe themselves as “ethical poachers,” arguing that taking and propagating wild plants can support conservation, while critics see it as illegal harvesting that may be pushing fragile species closer to extinction.Guest: Charlie McCann, Features Writer, the Economist 's long-reads section, 1843Producer: Ali Benton 

Japan's ageing population and declining birth rate have left its Self-Defence Forces facing a growing recruitment crisis. As security tensions rise across East Asia, the country is grappling with a widening gap between its defence ambitions and the shrinking pool of young people willing to serve.Guest: Tom Le, Associate Professor of Politics at Pomona College, California, “Japan’s Aging Peace: Pacifism and Militarism in the Twenty-First Century”Producer: Ali Benton 

Bruce Shapiro looks back at key points in the last 250 years of the USA's history ahead of its birthday celebration on July4. Plus a new Supreme Court decision means US President Donald Trump will have even more power to say 'you're fired!' Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine and Director of the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma. Producer: Catherine Zengerer

Bruce Shapiro looks back at key points in the last 250 years of the USA's history ahead of its birthday celebration on July4. Plus a new Supreme Court decision means US President Donald Trump will have even more power to say 'you're fired!' Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine and Director of the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma. Producer: Catherine Zengerer

Both France and Germany are switching from US tech surveillance company, Palantir to French firm ChapsVision, citing a need for digital sovereignty amid security concerns over sensitive data being easily accessed by the US govt. France is also moving away from all Microsoft platforms, preferring to use software they have developed and can control. The push to divest from Microsoft was accelerated after the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor lost access to his Microsoft email account after the Trump administration sanctioned him for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes.Guest: Océane Herrero, reporter for POLITICO in Paris.Producer: Catherine Zengerer

Italy’s countryside is like a giant garden, one that’s been carefully cultivated for thousands of years. But now a third of Italy is covered by forests – the most since the Middle Ages. But it’s no environmental win; much of the land being reclaimed by nature was once fruitful farms, abandoned as people left either for the cities or to start a new life abroad, including Australia. Guest: Antonio Brunori, Secretary General of PEFC Italy (Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes) and editor of “Ecodelleforeste.it”  magazine.Producer: Catherine Zengerer

Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh says her party needs a rebrand after support for the Coalition hit a new low in the latest opinion polls. The opposition's primary vote in the latest Newspoll dropped to 17 per cent, after a week in which party struggled to respond to attacks on multiculturalism by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. Guest: Anna Henderson, chief political correspondent, SBS

An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is once again drawing attention to the threat of infectious diseases. But a new report from the non-profit group, Resolve to Save Lives focuses on a different story: the outbreaks that never became major health emergencies. The Epidemics That Didn't Happen 2026 report, examines how countries were able to detect and contain diseases including Ebola, cholera, mpox and malaria before they spread widely. Guest: Amanda McClelland, Chief Program Officer at Resolve to Save Lives.Producer: Ali Benton

For many decades, Rupert Murdoch's global media empire has wielded immense power and political influence in Australia and abroad. A new book examines their tactics. Guests:Matthew Ricketson, Professor of Communication, Deakin UniversityAndrew Dodd, Professor in the School of Culture and Communication, University of MelbourneCo-authors of Getting Murdoched: How Murdoch’s Media Wields Power and Punishment

Last month a company in Texas announced it had made an artificial egg, with the hope of bringing back to life extinct birds like the dodo. But there are perils with this new scientific realm of ‘de-extinction’, or reverse extinction. One is a concern it shifts the focus from protecting living species now. Guest: Sadiah Qureshi, Chair of Modern British History, University of Manchester, UK. Writer and historian of science, race, and empire.  Author of Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction (Penguin, 2025)And an article this year in Aeon magazine, titled ‘Reversing extinction’Producer: Ann Arnold

After nearly five decades, United Nations peacekeepers are preparing to leave Lebanon, bringing one of the organisation's longest-running missions to a close. Established in 1978 following Israel's invasion of the country, the force has monitored hostilities, supported security efforts and helped protect civilians Who will fill the vacuum once the peacekeepers are gone?Guest: Ray Murphy – a former United Nations peacekeeper in Lebanon and Professor with the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the University of Galway Producer: Ali Benton