Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast

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 cha...

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 th...

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 Myth...

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. A...

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 acknowle...

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. Gu...

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 b...

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...

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: disor...

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-test...

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 Britain Producer: Ali Benton

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 ar...

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 Inv...

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 i...

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 Director Producer: 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 Landscape Producer: 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 ha...

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 —...

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 Researc...

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 out Guest: 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 journali...

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 m...

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...

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 Times...