The Radio National Hour

Episode

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  Why America's allies in Asia are starting to sweat 17.08.2026 55mnt

  At a time when China is testing America's allies across the region, is Donald Trump easing back one of Washington's most important military partnerships? Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Melbourne, Dr Pradeep Taneja explores whether Asia is entering a new era of uncertainty about US power and commitment. Smart glasses can read signs, identify objects and help people with low vision navigate the world. But as cameras move from our pockets to our faces, University of Sydney law professor Kimberlee Weatherall asks whether we're giving up more privacy than we realise. One of President Donald Trump's longest-running political battles is his fight against the "deep state". Former CIA officer Steven Cash is now the executive director of an organisation called Steady State which argues the US is facing its gravest threat to constitutional democracy since the Civil War.
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  The Afghan women refusing to disappear 14.08.2026 54mnt

  Five years since the Taliban swept back into Kabul Afghan women have been erased from public life. One of Afghanistan’s first professional cricketers, Firooza Amiri, shares her story of exile, resilience and what she fears lies ahead for the country she still calls home. What’s it like to be Australia's representative when a crisis erupts? Former ambassador Amanda Gorley has had to deal with tragedies like the MH17 disaster and negotiations with strong man leaders like former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte. Award-winning film composer David Hirschfelder gives us a peek behind the scenes of composing Aussie classics like Strictly Ballroom. 
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  Porn without people: what happens when AI takes over fantasy? 13.08.2026 54mnt

  Fran Kelly brings you compelling conversations on issues that challenge,entertain and inspire us. 
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  Lost, found or still searching? The Democrats after Biden 12.08.2026 55mnt

  New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has  survived a second attempt to topple him in less than a year, but questions about his authority inside the National Party haven't gone away. Political commentator Trish Sherson examines whether this is a turning point for the Kiwi leader, or just a stay of execution? Donald Trump is branding Democratic candidates "jihadists" and "communists" as America's midterms start to take shape. As progressive Democrats notch up election wins and Trump's own numbers slide, veteran political commentator E.J. Dionne explores whether the party is finding its future, or opening a damaging new fault line? Scott Clayton has been an AFL recruiter for 35 years. He’s the man behind the scenes of some of the most successful teams and trades  in the game, so what's an AFL recruiter looking for when they’re talent scouting?
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  AI is already breaking the rules, how will a royal commission help? 11.08.2026 55mnt

    South Australia has announced a royal commission into Artificial Intelligence at a critical moment for the technology, with leaders of Big Tech calling on the US government to support an international effort to try and slow the pace of AI development, or risk it careening out of control. Victoria has been labelled the suppression order capital of the nation, but after the identities of two high profile rapists were concealed from the public, the state’s new premier is promising to ‘close every loophole’ if he’s re-elected in November. Associate Professor Jason Bosland, Director of the Centre for Media and Communications Law at Melbourne Law School says he's never seen the relationship between the courts and the media at such a low point.  Asbestos was once prized for its invincibility as a building material, elevating the ‘humble fibro shack’ to cult status in Australia. But now we know this magic mineral was the devil’s dust  - a toxic fibre that’s still killing hundreds of people every year. Historian James Watson joins Fran to talk about his new book, Asbestos Nation.
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  Across Australia signs of ecological collapse are piling up 10.08.2026 55mnt

  Every year thousands of giant cuttlefish put on a dazzling show in the freezing waters of South Australia’s Spencer Gulf. But this year the cuttlefish are missing in action and scientists and divers like Manny Katz say it will be very hard for the population to recover.  Giant cuttlefish numbers collapsing in South Australia’s algal soaked waters, fur seals with alopecia on a remote Victorian island, hundreds of dead pelican chicks found dead in the far  west of New South Wales. Our natural world is sick and in distress, but are we paying attention? Euan Ritchie, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at Deakin University says ecosystems across Australia are showing signs of collapse.  It’s the ultimate story of triumph over adversity, a black autistic academic becomes the youngest ever to be granted a professorship at the prestigious Cambridge University. The downfall of rockstar British scholar Jason Arday has critics of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives frothing but Daniel Engber, staff writer at The Atlantic says his story is unbelievable in so many respects. 
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  Introducing 'The Diplomats' — telling stories of the people power behind the scenes 07.08.2026 54mnt

  We have a brand new segment called 'The Diplomats', turning the spotlight on the peacemakers in our world: the people working, mostly out of sight and under real pressure, to ease the globe's sharpest tensions. Our first guest is Lachlan Strahan, who’s 30 year career in the foreign service took him to North Korea at the height of its nuclear enrichment stand-off.  The mea culpa and pleas for unity from the FIFA boss Gianni Infantino have failed to placate powerful football associations, like Uefa which is still threatening to boycott the next World Cup, But would Infantino’s resignation really fix the world’s most political sports governing body? Lorin Parys is the CEO of the Belgian Pro League of football.    Australia’s first orchestral performance for deaf people. It's called Across Silence, a multi-sensory experience that treats Auslan not as translation but as an art form in its own right.
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  How do conspiracy theories like the '15-minute city' take hold? 06.08.2026 57mnt

  The Iran war is now in its sixth month ‌and yet again, the US President is doing his best to suggest everything is hunky-dory and the two sides are getting along. But Iran has labelled reports of negotiations with the US as ‘false’ and is instead trumpeting an imminent agreement with its neighbour Oman. Nada Al Taher a senior foreign reporter with The National, an English language newspaper based in Abu Dhabi, joins Fran to make sense of the latest deal or no deal. One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts has been out and about talking Chemtrails, and he’s got company; the party’s new Victorian State leader, Warren Pickering, who has espoused another well trod conspiracy theory about 15 minute cities. And it’s got us asking, what drives people to adopt these beliefs and who starts them in the first place? Matthew Marques, a senior lecturer in Psychology at LaTrobe University and Dr Kaz Ross, an independent researcher into the far right, extremism and conspiracy theories says at their core conspiracy theories tend to lead back to the same, age-old tropes.   And it's national Poetry Month — we explore the life and work of Tasmanian poet, Gwen Harwood, regarded as one of Australia's finest poets.
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  'I'm definitely more cautious' — Coogee shark hero Charlie Verco on returning to the water 05.08.2026 55mnt

  When a shark viciously attacked Coogee mum Leah Stewart back in June, Charlie Verco didn’t flinch, he paddled straight towards danger. He joined Fran in the studio fresh from his victory in the Paddleboard World Championships in Hawaii. It’s been a record breaking summer across Europe with deadly heat waves, raging bushfires, droughts and major rivers at all time lows, so low that WW2 Nazi ships and woolly mammoth remains have been exposed in the dried out Danube river. Australian, Dr Samantha Burgess is Deputy Director of the EU based, Copernicus Climate Change Service, she says it’s too early to tell, but there's a chance 2026 could be the hottest year on record, making the reality of climate change impossible to ignore for Europe's leaders.  The National Census takes place next Tuesday night, and we’ve been reading your questions on the text line and from across the ABC, Jenny Telford, the General Manager of the Census has the answers. 
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  Howzat? Merv Hughes biography among books suspected to have been fed to AI 04.08.2026 55mnt

  A folksy Congresswoman is taking on a progressive Muslim dubbed the Mamdani of the Midwest in the high stakes Democratic primary in the US state of Michigan — which is being seen as a referendum on the future direction of the party still licking its wounds from the brutal 2024 presidential election defeat. Emily Lawler, the State Government and Politics Editor for the Detroit Free Press, previews the race.  We know Artificial Intelligence has a huge appetite for all the good things that make us human, like music and art, now it seems it’s coming for our rare and out of print books. Emanuel Maiberg from independent online journal 404 Media explains how a sudden and unexplained surge in demand tipped booksellers off to this strategy, whilst Australian bookseller Karl Slotte says he's had some curious requests of his own lately. 
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  Why is AstraZeneca giving away a life saving cancer drug for free? 30.07.2026 55mnt

  Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme has provided access to affordable medicines for nearly 80 years, but recently our tough talking government has met with some fierce resistance. That's partly because US President Donald Trump is insisting that American's pay the same for their drugs as other countries, like Australia which subsidises medicines. Dr Elizabeth Deveny, CEO of Consumers Health Forum of Australia and Philip Clarke, Professor in Health Economics at Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne say Australia needs to hold the line with Big Pharma but reform of the PBS is long overdue.  A University degree was long considered a ticket to career success and prosperity .. but with the cost of degrees soaring and AI transforming the way students learn, academics like Dr Kylie Moore Gilbert say the experience may not be worth the money or brain rot. 
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  The growing power of psychedelics in mental health 29.07.2026 55mnt

  Psychedelics were used to treat mental health disorders like depression long before peace, love and rock n roll. Now decades on, scientists are reclaiming them as therapies to treat  conditions like PTSD with remarkable results. Dr Paul Liknaitzky is head of Monash University's Clinical Psychedelic Lab and 'Andrea' is one of his patients.  For 14 years Louise Herron has been in charge of one of our most important public institutions - The Sydney Opera House. She made peace with the Utzons after a famous falling out over its design and saw off a campaign by Alan Jones to have her fired. Now she’s stepping down on her terms.  It’s one of Mount Everest's most ghoulish landmarks. For thirty years the body of a climber known as ‘green boots’ has been a frozen reminder of the perils facing mountaineers as they enter the death zone above 8 thousand meters. Now authorities are planning to bring him down from the roof of the world. Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa has spent years guiding on Everest and leading body recovery missions, giving him a rare insight into one of mountaineering's most challenging tasks.
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  'A love story to Qantas' — Alan Joyce makes his defence in a new memoir 28.07.2026 55mnt

  Alan Joyce is the man Australia came to hate; notorious for firing baggage handlers and and, in the eyes of many, trashing a beloved national icon. When he quit as CEO of Qantas, much of the country cheered. Three years on he’s back with a memoir to sell and a reputation to restore. They’re the happy snaps that parents love to see but now the e-Safety commissioner warning teachers and parents to reconsider posting images of students on social media amid a spike in sexualised AI content targeting children and teachers. UNSW Professor of Criminology Michael Salter says children in uniforms are particularly vulnerable to some of the internet's worst offenders.   It's been one year since Palestinian community leader Owdah Hathaleen was shot and killed by an extremist Israeli settler in the Hebron Hills. His friend and fellow peace activist, Israeli American Elly Oltersdorf says the violence and displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank is only intensifying. 
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  Edmund Rice Education Australia does 'the right thing' by abuse survivors 27.07.2026 54mnt

  With pressure mounting over their billion dollar property holdings, Edmund Rice Education Australia has caved to public pressure, announcing it will pay all outstanding financial claims for victims of sexual abuse by Christian Brothers and sparing survivors another legal battle. Dean Paatsch, director of Ownership Matters says its a stunning victory for abuse survivors.  Another seven suspected cases of bird flu have been detected in South Australia, including on one of Adelaide’s most popular beaches. Dr Carol Booth from The Invasive Species Council is warning that the deadly virus could now be spreading within native bird populations.  And out of the kitchen and into the frying pan; Oz Harvest is getting ready to host its annual CEO CookOff, where the big bosses get down and dirty for a great cause.  
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  Is AI forcing women into early retirement? 23.07.2026 54mnt

  Stacey Duguid spent two decades building a career as a fashion editor which took her to the couture houses of Prada and Paul Smith, but 16 months ago that career stalled. Since then the 52-year old has submitted hundreds of job applications, and almost all were met with silence. After posting online about here suspicions that her resume is being screened by and AI and filtered out because she's tool old, she was inundated with similar stories from women all over the world. Now she's on a crusade against AI ageism. Alysia Blackham is a professor at Melbourne Law School and an expert on age discrimination law, she says experiences like Stacey's aren't unique but recruiters aren't transparent about how they're using AI to screen candidates.  Technology has dramatically changed modern warfare and in Ukraine it’s also enabling civilian participation - from fundraising for equipment on the frontline to applications that warn of incoming drones, it turns out when your country needs you, you just pick up your phone. This phenomenon is the focus of Dr Olga Boichak's work at the University of Sydney. She's one of the ABC’s Top 5 residents - a group of early career scholars who are given an opportunity to become the best communicators in their specialist research areas. 
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  The Tate brothers' manosphere could be about to shrink dramatically 22.07.2026 54mnt

  The Tate brothers are blamed for promoting and monetising a culture of often violent misogyny and now Britain is seeking their extradition from the US to face multiple charges of rape and human trafficking. The New Yorker’s Heidi Blake has interviewed them both - her account of their exploits will shock you.  The countdown is on to Australia’s national Census and this year there’s an expanded list of questions, like whether you ride an e-bike to work, your sexual orientation and ancestry. Jenny Telford is the general manager responsible for this massive record keeping exercise. In the age of AI and algorithms - is there still a role for music critics? Sosefina Fuamoli has been at it for 15 years and says she's not giving up yet. 
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  Helen Clark says 'Palestine will disappear before our eyes' if Israeli settlements continue 21.07.2026 55mnt

  Britain's new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham wants to bring back hope to Britain. He arrived at Number 10 Downing Street promising to end rough sleeping and offering immediate cost of living relief. Anne McElvoy, host of Politics at Sam & Anne’s podcast says his cabinet appointments show he's determined to tread a middle path.   Former UN head of the UN Development Program and member of The Elders, Helen Clark has just returned from a tour of the West Bank where she says the prospect of a two-state solution is rapidly slipping away. She says Palestinian towns are being encircled by barbed wire and Israeli settlements. And she’s the most brilliant 18th century composer you’ve never heard of, Marianna Martinez was top of the pops in the court of Austria’s empress Maria Theresa. 250 years on, her work is being newly discovered and performed by contemporary musicologists like Dr. Judith Valerie Engel.  
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  WA police nab dozens of wanted people with new facial recognition technology 20.07.2026 55mnt

  Police in Western Australia are claiming success following the rollout of controversial facial recognition technology that's already identified dozens of wanted people, by scanning them in real time. Professor Ed Santow, Co-Director of the Human Technology Institute at University of Technology Sydney says this technology will be rolled out across Australia very quickly and now is the time to ensure it has guardrails.       More than four hundred and forty thousand Australians are believed to be living with dementia, a disease that kills more of us than any other. But according to the latest guidelines published by the World Health Organisation our risk of developing it could be nearly halved by taking action now. Scientia Professor Kaarin Anstey is Director of the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute and Principal Senior Research Scientist at Neuroscience Research Australia, she’s also the only Australian researcher on the World Health Organisation’s dementia panel. Spain have lifted the football world cup, defeating Argentina, meanwhile US president Donald Trump reckons it was the best tournament ever - by a factor of four, maybe even five - SBS Sport’s lead commentator David Basheer says he might just be right.  
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  Jennifer Westacott: Australian Jews have been let down by all our leaders 17.07.2026 54mnt

  This week it was the turn of University leaders to front up at the Antisemitism Royal Commission.They were challenged and chastened over their failure to protect Jewish students and academics in the protests that followed October 7. Jennifer Westacott, Chancellor of Western Sydney University says too many institutions hid behind the defence of free speech. Do you struggle with the shorter days during the winter months? Well in Antarctica the sun doesn’t rise at all for six long weeks, and when it finally peaks over the horizon, it's only there for 24 minutes. Davis Station leader Jenny Bonser talks about what it's like living in the dark for so long.  And a musical collaboration that crosses borders and cultures. Australian-British pianist Jayson Gillham and Palestinian pianist Iyad Sughayer get ready to tour their new show, The Keys of Life 
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  US mandates testosterone tests to keep troops on the 'leading edge of lethality' 16.07.2026 55mnt

  First he came for the beards, now he wants their bloods. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has unleashed a brave new policy for restoring the American defence forces: mandatory testosterone checks. Professor Bu Yeap is an endocrinologist  in the school of medicine at the University of Western Australia, he’s also the author of one of the world’s largest ever studies on the factors influencing testosterone levels in men.  More than one thousand home batteries are installed in Australia everyday. EVERY DAY. It’s a green energy success story, placing us third in the world for battery storage capacity. But it's also changing the economics of the grid. Could virtual power plants be the answer and would you give your energy provider the keys?