US President Donald Trump spent almost two hours outlining what he believes to be a myriad of achievements on the economy and immigration. It’s the longest State of the Union address ever recorded. But has the US president convinced voters that his first year in office has been a raging success and can he turn his tanking popularity around before the mid-term elections in November. Today, Emma Shortis, a US politics expert at the progressive think tank, the Australia Institute, on Trump’s State ...
Feb 25, 2026•16 min
The possible return home of a group of so-called ‘ISIS brides’ from Syria has caused a political storm. But why? Given similar groups of women and children have been returned in the past by both the Albanese and Morrison governments? Today, Adam Harvey, reporter for the ABC’s 7.30 program, joins us to discuss his 2019 reporting as a foreign correspondent on the ground in the Syrian camp where the Australians were living. He spoke with some of the Australian women at the time. Adam also looks at ...
Feb 24, 2026•16 min
The US Supreme Court has ruled that most of Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal. So, will President Trump give back to Australian companies the millions of dollars they’ve already lost? What does the new 15 percent global tariff mean for the global economy? Today, chief business correspondent Ian Verrender on the latest tariff chaos. Featured: Ian Verrender, ABC chief business correspondent
Feb 23, 2026•15 min
They used to be known as personal assistants, now you can just get an AI agent to plan your day, answer your emails and organise your life. But what are the risks around handing over control of your data, messages and payment methods to the latest wave of artificial intelligence tools? Today, computer security expert at Melbourne University Shaanan Cohney on how AI agents work and how close we are to AI taking our jobs. Featured: Dr Shaanan Cohney, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security and Deputy He...
Feb 22, 2026•14 min
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has spent about 10 hours of his 66th birthday in police custody as they investigate whether the former prince shared government secrets with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. King Charles has tried to distance himself from the man who remains eighth in line to the throne. But can the royal family survive this scandal? Today, the ABC’s Annabel Crabb on what happens when the justice system comes for the King’s brother. Featured: Annabel Crabb, ABC writer and present...
Feb 20, 2026•21 min
It’s a case that’s captivated America and grabbed headlines around the world. The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Australian-born US Today show host Savannah Guthrie. The 84-year-old has been missing for more than three weeks and the mystery only deepened with the release of eerie doorbell footage showing a masked person at her door. Today, we speak to former FBI profiler, Mary Ellen O’Toole, who spent her career studying the criminal mind. She tells us why it’s not likely a burgla...
Feb 19, 2026•17 min
When Coles told you that prices were “Down Down”, were they really? That’s a matter now before the Federal Court with the competition watchdog, the ACCC, arguing consumers have been misled and it needs to end. Today, consumer affairs reporter Michael Atkin on what we’ve heard in the case so far and how Coles defends its practices. Featured: Michael Atkin, ABC consumer affairs reporter
Feb 18, 2026•14 min
Could we solve the housing crisis in Australia by increasing taxes on the extremely rich and targeting mining giants’ profits? Today, British economist, former trader and YouTube star Gary Stevenson on why a wealth tax could work to end growing inequality and fix our housing problem. He explains why rising inequality could lead to deteriorating living standards and leave Australians living in slums. Featured: Gary Stevenson, economist and host of Gary’s Economics...
Feb 17, 2026•16 min
Donald Trump says it’s a scam to say that climate change is a threat to public health. So, the US president has killed off a scientific finding that says it is. The so-called endangerment finding was the basis for nearly all climate laws in the US. Now it’s gone, the White House hopes dirty industries can flourish again, including America’s petrol car manufacturers. Today, ANU climate expert, Christian Downie on what happens when one of the world’s largest polluters gives up on reducing greenhou...
Feb 16, 2026•15 min
We know Donald Trump doesn’t like losing elections and the US president is still claiming that the 2020 poll was rigged and stolen. Now with the midterm elections just eight months away there’s concern he’s trying to fiddle with the voting system. Today, Professor Rick Hasen from UCLA on Trump’s tactics and whether he can get away with meddling with US democracy. Featured: Rick Hasen, Professor of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles and director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project...
Feb 15, 2026•15 min
Sussan Ley has lost the Liberal leadership. The partyroom voted to dump its first female leader after she’s been in the role for just nine months. Angus Taylor now has the mammoth task of turning around some of the worst polling in the Liberal Party’s history and stopping One Nation from stealing more of its voters. Today, Niki Savva, political commentator and author and former advisor to Prime Minister John Howard, on the leadership spill and whether the Coalition has any chance of returning to...
Feb 13, 2026•19 min
Donald Trump was Jeffrey Epstein’s one time friend and his name appears countless times in the Epstein files. But it’s not the US president who’s currently fighting for his political survival. Instead, it’s the British leader Keir Starmer who’s on very shaky ground, even though he’s not in the documents. Today, professor of politics at Deakin University, Simon Tormey, on how he became so deeply embroiled in the controversy. Featured: Simon Tormey, Executive Dean of Arts and Education and Profess...
Feb 12, 2026•14 min
Six years ago, ASIO had the Bondi shooter Naveed Akram under investigation. So why did the spy agency determine in 2020 that the alleged terrorist didn’t pose a serious threat and was that an intelligence failure? The spy boss Mike Burgess stands by his agency’s assessment. But a former spy has told the ABC he met the father and son years ago and had concerns they were radicalised. Today, Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop on his Four Corners investigation into what was known about Naveed Akram and his fat...
Feb 11, 2026•15 min
The protesters came in force, but what began peacefully descended into chaos. Around 6,000 people had gathered to condemn the visit to Sydney by the Israeli president but there were violent clashes with police after they were ordered to disperse. Today, law professor Luke McNamara from the University of New South Wales on the new protest laws brought in after the Bondi attack and why he thinks the Labor government has gone too far. Featured: Luke McNamara, Professor in the Faculty of Law and Jus...
Feb 10, 2026•16 min
After the horrific Bondi terrorist attack Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited the Israeli president to come to Australia. It’s a visit welcomed by prominent Jewish groups, but President Isaac Herzog is a controversial figure. Opponents, including some pro-Palestinian and human rights activists take issue with his past comments about Gaza and his role in representing the state of Israel. New South Wales authorities are trying to block any marches through Sydney, but protesters are vowing to p...
Feb 09, 2026•15 min
Demand for home batteries in Australia has taken off, with a generous government subsidy prompting more people to add power storage to their solar panel set up. More people installed a battery in the second half of last year than during the previous five years. Renewable power generation also made up half of the nation’s power supply last quarter. Today, Tony Wood from the Grattan Institute on what the surge in home batteries and renewables in the grid means for everyone’s power bills now and in...
Feb 08, 2026•15 min
The Canadian prime minister wants us to give up on the international rules based order, which he bluntly says is fiction and he’s urged middle power countries to unite. As Donald Trump continues to up-end US foreign policy, what does Mark Carney mean and where does Australia fit in? Today, Samir Puri, the author of Westlessness: The Great Global Rebalancing, on the significance of Carney’s words and why, even when Trump is gone, the world will have changed forever. Featured: Samir Puri, author o...
Feb 05, 2026•17 min
Ever since Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs were announced in April last year, the price of gold has been rising. Its price is about 80 percent higher than it was a year ago and it’s still near its all time record after a recent sell off. So, what’s been moving the price of gold and what does it say about investor’s faith in the US and global economy? Today, business correspondent David Taylor on why Australians have been queuing to buy the shiny metal and where the price could go next. Fea...
Feb 04, 2026•13 min
The Reserve Bank cut the cash rate target three times last year, but already there’s a U-turn. The RBA board is so concerned about inflation sticking around that it has increased interest rates for the first time since 2023. Today, the ABC’s finance expert Alan Kohler on the RBAs failure to bring inflation down to its target and the mistakes it made in 2025. Featured: Alan Kohler, ABC finance expert
Feb 03, 2026•15 min
There are three million files and thousands of mentions of Donald Trump. But the US president says the latest batch of the Epstein files clears him, while the US Department of Justice says there’s no need for any further investigation. But is that really the end of it? Today, David Smith from the United States Studies Centre at Sydney University on what the latest files mean for Trump and others and why millions of documents are still hidden. Featured: David Smith, associate professor at the Uni...
Feb 02, 2026•15 min
There’s turmoil at the top of the Chinese military with President Xi Jinping removing some of his most experienced generals. He sacked two key figures, accusing them of corruption, raising questions about the timeline for his ambition to take over Taiwan. Today, China expert Neil Thomas from the Asia Society Policy Institute on what Xi Jinping is up to. Featured: Neil Thomas, fellow on Chinese Politics at the Center for China Analysis at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington DC...
Feb 01, 2026•14 min
We know he loves McDonald’s but why is Donald Trump so passionate about full cream milk? Whole milk has become an obsession for the US president and his health secretary RFK Jr who thinks everyone should be drinking it. Today, Yasmin Tayag from The Atlantic on milk and why the Trump administration has turned the food pyramid on its head. Featured: Yasmin Tayag, staff writer at The Atlantic
Jan 29, 2026•16 min
One Nation’s support is surging. That’s according to successive opinion polls this year which have Pauline Hanson’s party with a primary vote higher than it’s ever been. Today, Tony Barry, director at the Redbridge Group and former Liberal Party strategist on the voters expressing support for One Nation, whether it will translate into actual votes and why the major parties need to take notice. Featured: Tony Barry, director at RedBridge Group
Jan 28, 2026•16 min
Donald Trump is finally trying to temper the ICE crackdown in Minneapolis which has seen the shooting deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents. But why did he let it go so far in the first place? Today, Claire Finkelstein, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania on what Trump’s really trying to achieve and why the events mirror the lead up to a civil war. Featured: Claire Finkelstein, professor of law and professor of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania...
Jan 27, 2026•16 min
Donald Trump says he needs Greenland. He’s suggested he could buy it and he threatened tariffs on nations that didn’t support his quest to take it. Now he’s dropped the tariff threat after negotiations and he’s ruled out using military force. The US president’s approach to Greenland might be erratic but it’s all in line with his foreign policy aim to reorder the world. Today, Monica Duffy Toft from the Fletcher School at Tufts University on Trump’s bid to control the Western Hemisphere. Featured...
Jan 26, 2026•15 min
Elon Musk’s AI tool, Grok, has caused global outrage after it made it really easy to virtually undress people via AI image editing. Musk’s competitor to ChatGPT is integrated into the social media platform X and earlier this month users started asking it to do some pretty gross things. X was flooded with images of semi-naked women, with users able to reply to anyone’s perfectly innocent picture and ask it to put them in a bikini, for example. While Musk initially downplayed the scandal and was s...
Jan 25, 2026•15 min
For a second time since the election the Coalition has split. The Nationals walked out after a number of its senators crossed the floor to vote against hate speech laws this week. The Liberals and opposition leader Sussan Ley sided with the government to pass the legislation, but key Nationals raises concerns about the rushed process and the impact on free speech. So, is this a moment of real change in conservative politics and could One Nation pick up a few more members? Today, David Speers, th...
Jan 22, 2026•15 min
Jessica Chapnik Kahn was there at Bondi on December 14th, shielding her daughter as shots were fired into a Jewish festival, killing 15 people. More than a month later, she’s trying to find a way to live with what she went through and she says it's her heart that’s guiding her. Today, on this National Day of Mourning for the victims of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack, we hear Jessica’s story and speak with Michael Visontay, a Sydney resident and commissioning editor of the Jewish Independent, a...
Jan 21, 2026•15 min
It’s a busy time of the year at Australian beaches, but a stretch of the NSW coast has been shut down after a surge in shark attacks. A cluster of shark bites in Sydney has been linked to a surge in bacteria and faecal matter washed into the harbour and the ocean by recent rain. Today, Chris Pepin-Neff, an expert in shark policy from Sydney University on what led to the uptick in shark activity and what we can do to improve safety for swimmers and surfers. Featured: Chris Pepin-Neff, Associate P...
Jan 20, 2026•16 min
Greenland is one of Donald Trump’s biggest obsessions right now. If you don’t like his dream of the US taking over the self-governed island, which is part of Denmark, then you’ll be punished. The president is now slapping tariffs on European nations pushing back against the idea. Today, the ABC’s global affairs editor Laura Tingle on how the UK and Europe will respond and what it means for the future of NATO. Featured: Laura Tingle, ABC global affairs editor...
Jan 19, 2026•15 min
