Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast

Jordan has been trying to maintain neutrality in the Middle East war, but with a pre-existing military agreement with the US, that is proving increasingly difficult. After Iran sent missile strikes into Jordan recently, prominent Jordanian citzens have been urging the government to shore up sovereignty and neutrality. Guest: Nabih Bulos, Middle East bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times Producer:...

SBS political correspondent Anna Henderson surveys a busy week ahead in federal parliament, with the government eager to broker a deal to reform the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Guest: Anna Henderson, chief political correspondent, SBS

The popularity of calming 'night' music to help people sleep is the latest iteration of compositions that reflect the coming of the night. It was composer John Field at the end of the 19th century, followed by Chopin and others, who first brought us the musical concept of 'nocturnes'. Guest: Susan Tomes is an award-winning pianist and writer,  'Nocturnes, and the fascination of night music' (Yale...

Late Night Live is sad to hear of the passing of Kris Short, who was one of LNL’s most enduring producers. She worked on the show between 1996-2015. Long before that Kris started at the ABC in the typing pool in 1976, becoming a clerk, production assistant, a broadcast production officer in Film Services and the ABC's Education department, where she was talent spotted by Wendy Mcleod to work on a...

What if your mortgage was illegal, your taxes were voluntary and you could simply opt out of the law? Sovereign citizens believe they’ve discovered a hidden legal system that can set them free from the state. Outlawed explores the strange world of pseudolaw, and what its rise tells us about trust, power and the law. Guest: Harry Hobbs, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law and Justice at the U...

James Baldwin’s writing was inseparable from the people he loved, mentored and collaborated with. A new biography explores the intimate relationships that shaped his novels, essays and plays, and his role in Black and queer literary history. From Harlem and Paris, to Istanbul and the American South, it reveals the private life behind one of the 20th century’s most influential writers. Guest: Nicho...

Born in 1712 without the fingers of her left hand, Agatha spent her life at the Venetian orphanage known as the Ospedale della Pietà. Her Cantata, ‘Ecce nunc‘, is the only surviving composition by an orphan from the Pietà music school, where Antonio Vivaldi famously taught. The discovery, reconstruction and premiere performance of her ‘lost’ work by the Australian Chamber Choir is the subject of a...

The last time a presidential election was held by the Palestinian Authority was in 2005, when Mahmoud Abbas was elected to a four-year term following Yasser Arafat’s death. He’s been in power ever since. Now aged 90, Abbas has called parliamentary elections for November 28, with a possible presidential election to follow. The man most likely to be elected to succeed Abbas is Fatah party leader, Ma...

A deep split is emerging inside the Democrats as yet another progressive populist wins in Michigan, while a more conservative group called The Third Way is pushing back. Support for Israel is at the centre of the split. Plus former  Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci faces a hostile Senate inquiry. Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine and Director of the Global Cente...

Punctuation marks have crept into the spaces between our words over thousands of years. But we rarely reflect on why they look the way they do or how they even got there. Florence Hazrat, who posts on social media as “the punctuation lady”, has written a fascinating new book that explores the history of the comma, the full stop and all their forgotten relatives.  Guest: Florence Hazrat, author, On...

Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan have just signed a new NATO-like defence pact. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement commits each country to respond in the event of an attack on the other. So what does this say about how they feel about the reliability of the US as a defence partner? What could it mean in the event of an Indian attack on Pakistan? And does it mean Saudi Arabia will have better cap...

Are the PM and the Opposition Leader on the verge of agreeing on gambling reform? Plus where Labor is heading on the issue of immigration. And the meanings of melons. Guest: Anna Henderson, SBS World News Chief Political Correspondent | National Press Club Director Producer: Catherine Zengerer

Decades after Britain abolished slavery in its colonies, an industry built on indentured labour from the Pacific quietly grew in Queensland. Workers were often duped into coming to Australia, and effectively held captive under poor conditions. Many died. A new book argues that Australian authorities turned a blind eye to this new form of slavery. Guest: Ryan Butta, writer of historical non-fiction...

The crowdfunded AUKUS public inquiry has so far had over 500 submissions, including from former ministers Gareth Evans, Linda Reynolds and Christopher Pyne in Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle.  The Sydney hearings are about take place, with former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and former foreign minister Bob Carr set to present their testimonies. So far few are supporting the policy,  but will...

Across 8,000 years, wine has shaped religion, power, trade and culture. Wine is more than a drink — it’s a story of civilisation itself. Historian Kathleen Burk traces its journey from the ancient vineyards of Georgia to the global wine industry of today. Guest: Kathleen Burk, Professor Emerita of Modern and Contemporary history at University College London.   Wine, A global history published in A...

In his new book, Crikey’s political editor, Bernard Keane, turns his eye not just to where Australia has gone wrong, but to how we can best position ourselves to navigate the triple threat of Trump, China and AI. And he’s surprisingly up-beat, writing that Australia’s success so far this century “compared with the United States and other countries like the United Kingdom, surely gives us cause for...

Kangaroo Island could soon achieve its goal of feral cat eradication, with approximately 150 cats left to catch. Feral cats have devastated wildlife populations for decades. New Commonwealth funding has been secured for the final push. Local government is also discussing the possibility of a "last cat" policy for the island's residents, to phase out household pet cats.  Guest: Michael Pengilly, Ma...

The Odyssey blockbuster makes clear the colonisation and exploitation of Homer's time, but it was partly filmed in an indigenous area which Morocco occupies, but does not, according to international law, own. No consent was sought from the Sahrawi people, whose region it is, and they have received no material benefit.  Guest: Sarah Yerkes, North Africa specialist, Senior Fellow, Middle East Progra...

Nigel Farage's call to adopt Australia’s 'stop the boats' policy has divided opinion, while new Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces the challenge of restoring trust in Labour after years of turmoil. Ian Dunt also examines the devastating effects of the UK’s hot, dry summer. Guest: Ian Dunt: iNews columnist and regular LNL commentator Producer: Ali Benton 

Butterfly populations have been declining since the 1960s. Butterfly collectors are also declining in number, because the practice is discouraged and in some countries illegal.  Guest: Emil Leth Beiter, Danish writer and critic. Author of an essay about butterfly collecting for the Los Angeles Review of Books. Forthcoming book about collectors of various things Producer: Ann Arnold

Nearly ten years after they last collapsed, UN Secretary António Guterres has been in Cyprus, pressing for reunification talks to recommence.  Cyprus has been divided between Turkish and Greek Cypriots for over fifty years, with both sides unable to agree on terms for reunification. But the pressure is on to resolve the so-called 'Cypress problem' because the island is becoming an increasingly imp...

Three years since the defeat of the Voice referendum, Noel Pearson returned to the Garma festival to deliver a blistering speech, which included a proposal to dismantle state Aboriginal affairs departments in favour of Commonwealth oversight. Garma also saw the surprise announcement of a breakaway Land Council, to represent northeast Arnhem Land.  Guest: Anna Henderson, chief political corresponde...

The famous writer Oscar Wilde died alone in a French hotel in 1900. Since that time, so much has been written about the man - much of it rumour and speculation. In his new book, 'After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal', Oscar Wilde’s grandson Merlin Holland sets the record straight. The book is thirty years in the making and is an exploration of Wilde’s posthumous reputation and how his imprisonment...

Sarah Baartman’s body was used by European scientists to promote racist ideas that endured for generations. A new essay in Griffith Review revisits her extraordinary and tragic story — from her exploitation as a colonial spectacle in Europe, to the continuing debates over how she should be remembered today. Guest: Writer, Sisonke Msimang, author, Griffith Review Essay , Defending the dead: The man...

The Night Wolves are a Kremlin-linked, far-right Russian motorcycle club that has served as a paramilitary proxy and propaganda tool for the Russian state in Europe where they have been sanctioned. They are also operating in Australia, though they have not been outlawed here. But a disinformation expert says they are only one aspect of Russia’s propaganda campaign and their determination to sew di...