Global Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald

Myanmar's election ends this weekend, but there'll be no prizes for guessing the outcome. It's the first time the junta has held elections since the 2021 coup and Hamish Macdonald and Kylie Morris speak to democracy activist Mon Zin about what it means for the people of Myanmar, and the surprising connection between the Hunger Games and Myanmar's youth-led Spring Revolution.  Plus, they explore wh...

Even after weeks of protests, the Iranian regime looks like it has a firm grip on power and its unclear whether Trump will follow through on threats of American intervention. What is it that Iranians themselves want to happen next? And just how realistic is change?  Plus, Global Roaming has changed in 2026. We give you a taste of what we have in store.  Guest: Barbara Slavin - distinguished fellow...

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world.  In this final instalment, Michael Stutchbury - Former editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review and Executive director of the Centre for Independent Studies, says that Austra...

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world.  In this episode the Lowy Institute's Lydia Khalil shatters the perception that our geography alone is enough to protect us from the insidious new security threats that are already mak...

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world.  In this episode Australia's former Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel shares his thoughts on how Australia can feasibly get to net zero, and harness our potential as a clean energy superp...

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world.  In this episode former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese attempts to shake Australia out of our complacency and excite us about the potential of...

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world.  First up is Hannah Ferguson, the CEO of Cheek Media, who has disrupted Australia's traditional media landscape. She shares her ideas for re-connecting Australians to news and politics...

After Sunday's horrific terror shooting at Bondi Beach, Geraldine Doogue joined Hamish Macdonald at Bondi Pavilion to reflect on what this moment means for Australia.  Together, they speak to Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku's granddaughter Danielle Jaku and hear from members of the Bondi community, Chief Executive Officer at Surf Life Saving NSW Steve Pearce and NSW's new Opposition leader Kellie Sl...

From huge diplomatic fallouts, to political assassinations, to historic jewellery heists, 2025 has been a HUGE year for international news. Hamish and Geraldine reflect on the most shocking moments and are joined by Foreign Policy's Editor-in-Chief and host of FP Live Ravi Agrawal to discuss the trendlines that have defined the year.  Plus, we announce some big news about Global Roaming in 2026......

In this bonus episode of Global Roaming with Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue, one of Australia's most beloved actors Russell Crowe speaks about his new film Nuremberg and he gets philosophical about the need to speak to those we disagree with, in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.  Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au Find all the ep...

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.  Recommendations: G...

What began as targeted strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats has now turned into the largest military build-up in the Caribbean since the 1989 invasion of Panama. It's all part of a campaign to place pressure on Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, but to what end?  Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald speak to Latin American correspondent Jon Bonfiglio about the deeper, darker motivation...

Australia does elections pretty well - in fact, we might be the world's hottest ambassador for democracy. But according to former Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers we need to be wary of 'the curse of the sausage'; the idea that our own success makes us vulnerable. In this discussion with Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue he offers a simple idea to protect our elections against growi...

If you thought Netflix's hit series The Diplomat was pure fiction, think again… According to creator Deborah Cahn the show was inspired by a real-life diplomat that she has described as "a superhero in a pant suit" — Ambassador Beth Jones. We tracked down Ambassador Jones and her husband Don to ask what it's really like to work in places like Kabul, Cairo, Baghdad and Kazakhstan and it turns out t...

Geraldine has returned from London where she had a front row seat as the BBC was engulfed in it's biggest crisis in decades. She joins Hamish for a conversation about how the BBC got here, what the various forces are at play and why the BBC might need to get "down and dirty" to combat Donald Trump's threats.  Plus, we unpack some fascinating listener feedback on our recent China episodes, which ha...

This week democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani became New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian Mayor, beating former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. At a time when faith in the Democratic Party is at an all-time low, Mamdani found a way to reach – and win over – disaffected voters, becoming a household name not just in New York, but all over the world.   Hamish Macdonald and special guest host...

It may have been the most significant hour and forty minutes in global geopolitics this year... If the highly anticipated summit between Presidents Xi and Trump in South Korea was about putting out the fires of a great power trade war, the flames seem to be under control... for now. But was it a win-win for everyone?  Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald discuss which cans made it onto the negoti...

If you thought we'd never see a repeat of the GFC or even the dotcom bubble, think again...  So far financial markets have proved remarkably resilient to the geopolitical shocks and uncertainty brought about by Trump 2.0, but economists are warning that this could be largely thanks to an AI bubble that is artificially propping up the US economy.  Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald discuss the g...

While we were all preoccupied with Prime Minister Albanese's meeting with Donald Trump, another hugely important meeting was taking place behind closed doors in Beijing. At the highly anticipated Fourth Plenum there were political purges, hints at succession, and clues about what one of the world's great superpowers is planning to achieve over the next five years. Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdo...

One week on from the ceasefire deal and the commencement of the first phase of Trump’s peace plan, things look fragile. At this point, peace seems to be very much in the hands of one man: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has a reputation as a wily political player, and the personal and political stakes for him are sky high. So, what are the calculations he’s making? Can he, and will h...

Japan has entered a new political era after the election of Sanae Takaichi who is poised to become the country’s first female prime minister. A protege of the late Shinzo Abe and a fan of Margaret Thatcher, she styles herself as Japan's 'Iron Lady' and she could be one of its most right-wing and nationalistic leaders since the Second World War.  Asia editor of The Times and The Sunday Times Richar...

Geraldine and Hamish were live on air on ABC Sydney when Donald Trump broke the news this morning that a deal had been reached on the 'first phase' of a Gaza ceasefire deal. They raced into another studio to record a bonus episode of Global Roaming about this enormous development in the Middle East.  Here's everything you need to know about what's just happened, what's still to come and whether pe...

Hamas has responded to Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza saying it is prepared to release all Israeli hostages - dead or alive. However it did not signal that it was completely prepared to lay down its arms or step away from negotiations... So is this the crucial turning point in the conflict that we've all been waiting for? What happens next from here?  From the streets of Vietnam and a...

Fears that the United States might be headed towards civil war feel slightly less overblown than they did just weeks ago... With the US government shutdown, Republicans and Democrats in deadlock, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth 'unleashing' federal troops into cities like Memphis, America increasingly looks like a dangerous and divided nation....

The anti-science crusade in the United States extends beyond President Trump's flourishing statements about climate change being a 'con job' and a 'hoax' and claiming links between Tylenol (or paracetamol) and autism. Under the second Trump administration and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, long-standing medical and scientific institutions are being hollowed out and misin...