Global Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald

Richard Walsh has spent decades publishing books. He thinks the physical book is surviving for a reason.As Radio National prepares to reveal Australia's Top 100 Books, Walsh joins Geraldine Doogue and Waleed Aly to explain why print continues to endure, even as reading habits decline and digital platforms dominate almost every other form of media. He argues that books offer a deeper reading experience than screens, helping readers remember, reason and engage with ideas in ways technology struggles to match.The conversation ranges from the changing economics of publishing to the rise of Amazon, book influencers, writers' festivals and book clubs. Walsh explains why individual book sales have fallen, why launching new authors has become harder, and why Australia remains one of the strongest book-reading nations in the world. Along the way, he reflects on some of the most influential books and authors he has worked with across a long career in Australian publishing.It's also a conversation about what books represent in a digital age. Are readers looking for authenticity? Why do physical books continue to matter? And what do we lose if reading moves entirely onto screens?Geraldine Doogue and Waleed Aly speak with veteran publisher Richard Walsh about the future of reading, publishing and the strange resilience of books.Guest: Richard Walsh, Australian publisherMentioned: Radio National's Top 100 Australian booksGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

The world's leaders are heading home from UN General Assembly week, and Donald Trump gave them plenty to talk about: a threat to annihilate Iran, and a line about "the spoils" of victory that Foreign Policy editor-in-chief Ravi Agrawal says shocked him more.Agrawal argues Trump's coercive power may have peaked, with US munitions depleted by the Iran war, an unpopular presidency and midterms looming.So who fills the gap? He tells Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke he sees no clear successor, but he does see countries de-risking from Washington through new defence pacts and trade deals.He also warns that Ukraine faces a brutal winter as Russia scales up jet-powered drones.Plus: Israel's isolation ahead of its October election, and a surprising reason for hope.Guest: Ravi Agrawal, editor in chief of Foreign PolicyGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Four years after Kabul fell, hundreds of Afghans who worked for the Australian Defence Force, diplomats and NGOs are still waiting on promised visas, while facing lethal risk. Waleed Aly and Hamish Macdonald speak to security consultant Dr Tony Murney and Azadi-e Zan's Susan Hutchinson, both of whom have spent years trying to get Australia's locally engaged employees to safety, about the human cost of a promise made by several successive governments and, they argue, broken by all of them.Plus, how Canada is leading the world in sponsoring refugees, and how Australia's current political climate is making it harder than ever to bring Australian allies homeGUEST: Dr Tony Murney, security consultant & Susan Hutchinson, executive director of women's rights organisation Azadi-e ZanGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

A month after catastrophic floods and glacial collapse swept through Nepal, thousands are still missing and entire mountain communities have been wiped off the map.The Australian's Asia Pacific correspondent Amanda Hodge, just back from the disaster zone, tells Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald what she saw on the ground — including a shelter where 70 children have lost every member of their family — and unpacks the stark contrast between Nepal's response and Beijing's heavily censored silence.Plus: a story that's had almost no coverage in Australia — how Sri Lanka's High Court has just convicted 14 men over the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, and why a former president now faces imminent arrest over explosive allegations regarding the attack. Guest: Amanda Hodge, Asia Pacific correspondent, The AustralianGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

Australian author Richard Flanagan joins Global Roaming to talk about his new essay collection Heresies. He tells Hamish Macdonald and Waleed Aly why he thinks Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter echoes the public punishment of heretics in the Spanish Inquisition, why he believes Australia is a uniquely conformist nation unable to reckon with its colonial history, and the extraordinary story of a plan to build a Jewish homeland in the wilderness of southwest Tasmania.Plus: why Flanagan says hope, not despair, is the truly heretical position in 2026.Guest: Richard Flanagan, author of HeresiesVote in Radio National's Top 100 Australian books hereGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

China controls as much as 95–99% of the world's heavy rare earth processing.Your phone, your car, the wind turbines on the horizon, the F-35 fighter jet; all of them run on permanent magnets made from a handful of obscure elements, and nearly every gram of it passes through Chinese hands before it reaches the rest of the world. Beijing didn't seize this position overnight. It's the result of three decades of Western capital and regulation walking away from an industry China chose to dominate. Now, with export freezes already hitting Japan and rattling European car makers, analyst and author Tomasz Nadrowski explains how deep the West's dependency really runs and whether Australia's own rare earth deposits can help close the gap before it's too late.Guest: Tomasz Nadrowski, author of Mineral War: China's Quest for Weapons of Mineral Destruction. Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Argentina's President Javier Milei is suffering in the polls. The Falkland Islands may help with that.Javier Milei's radical style of leadership has earned him more than just the nickname 'El Loco', it's engendered a serious turnaround in Argentina's economy, slashing inflation down from triple digits. However, with his approval rating dropping and an election approaching, Milei has returned to a long-standing issue to drum up some support - Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands.Hamish Macdonald and Waleed Aly are joined by Constanza Sanhueza, a senior lecturer in comparative politics at ANU, on why exactly the issue of the Falklands (or Malvinas) resonates so strongly with the Argentinian people, and whether there's any bite behind the president's bark.Plus, will Trump back Argentina's claim in order to punish the UK over the Iran conflict? and why is Argentina struggling with such a persistent poverty rate despite their economic turnaround?Guest: Constanza Sanhueza, senior lecturer in comparative politics, ANUGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

Historian Lord Andrew Roberts, biographer of Churchill and Napoleon, sits down with Geraldine Doogue fresh from visiting the site of the Bondi Beach massacre, a visit he links directly to his work chairing the 7 October Parliamentary Commission Report, produced by the UK-Israel All-Party Parliamentary Group. He argues antisemitism's fastest growth is coming from elite universities, traces a "bridgehead" from fringe to mainstream politics in the UK and Europe, and gives his read on Trump's Iran gamble, Taiwan, and whether the postwar order can hold. Guest: Lord Andrew RobertsGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Tech giants from OpenAI, Anthropic, and X have all warned in the same week that AI could threaten humanity itself, as former employees go public with their concerns.Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald ask foreign correspondent Anna Fifield if calls for regulation are credible, and if Donald Trump is even listening.Plus, how does China feel about AI? Models like DeepSeek have grabbed media attention, but internal voices have been raising concerns that widespread AI use could undermine the party line.Meanwhile, China and the U.S. vie for allies in the Pacific islands. Can America be taken seriously as a diplomatic force when they haven't had a resident ambassador in a Pacific island nation for over a decade?And Russians have gone to the polls for the first parliamentary elections since the beginning of the Ukraine invasion. It doesn't take a fortune teller to predict that Putin's Russia United party would be successful, but is his political grip beginning to slip?Guest: Anna Fifield, Independent journalist and foreign affairs commentator. Author of the Between Giants Substack.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

After The Alliance mini-series drew a flood of listener mail, Hamish McDonald and Geraldine Doogue open the mailbag and bring in Guardian Australia's Ben Doherty to answer the hardest question listeners asked: how much control does Australia actually have over the US military presence on its own soil?Doherty's investigation found the US has access to roughly 110 of Australia's 150 defence installations, including Pine Gap, permanently commanded by a US soldier, and bases used by nuclear-capable bombers. From 2032, we could also see nuclear-armed submarines through HMAS Stirling in Perth.Doherty reveals that, under the US policy of "strategic ambiguity," Washington won't say whether nuclear weapons are on board, and Canberra wont ask.Plus, what are the "shared values" our alliance is based upon and what are the alternatives?Guest: Ben Doherty, senior reporter with Guardian Australia.You can read Ben's full investigation here.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Nine years after Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb, the businessman accused of arranging her assassination has walked free. A jury acquitted Yorgen Fenech of complicity and criminal association by an 8–1 vote, despite his own admission that he paid €50,000 to the middleman who recruited her killers and passed him confidential police information. Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke speak to Daphne's sister, Corinne Vella, about the verdict she calls "shocking," the political web the case exposed, reaching Malta's former prime ministerial chief of staff and energy minister, and why she believes prosecutors' promised appeal is the family's last real shot at justice.Guest: Corinne Vella, sister of Daphne Caruana GaliziaGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Much has been made of Trump dispatching his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for high-stakes diplomatic missions to solve conflicts across the world, but what do we know of the rest of the Kushner family?   Jared's father, Charles Kushner, is now ambassador to France, pardoned by Trump after a criminal conviction that included tax violations and witness tampering. And his younger brother, Josh Kushner, quietly bought an NBA team after a bruising, aborted deal to sell off pieces of the World Cup earlier this year.Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke go roaming through the Kushner story with investigative journalist and author Andrea Bernstein.She traces it from the family's escape from the Nazis in Poland, through Charles Kushner's spectacular fall, to Jared's current role as a "special government employee" operating with none of the disclosure obligations that usually apply in Washington.Bernstein's verdict: the US isn't drifting toward oligarchy anymore. It already is one. Guest: Andrew Bernstein, investigative journalist and author of American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Global debt has passed 300 per cent of world GDP, bond yields are climbing across the world, and the U.S. war with Iran is putting pressure on households.Could we be facing the beginning of another global financial crisis?Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke sit down with the Financial Times Asia and Australia editor Robin Harding to explain how the bond market works, why it has such an impact on the economy, and why U.S. interventions have been lambasted by high-profile economists.Plus - how Australia passing one trillion dollars in debt might actually put us in a pretty safe spot, and how AI companies creating their own funding system could blow up in their faces.Guest: Robin Harding, Asia editor at the Financial Times Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament the UK will ban trade with unlawful Israeli settlements days after publicly thanking Israel for sheltering his grandmother from the Nazis. Israel has shut the British consulate in East Jerusalem in response. Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are joined by former diplomat and Managing Editor of International Intrigue Jeremy Dicker to unpack the fallout.Plus, a bombshell Haaretz report claiming Netanyahu was warned five days before October 7 (a claim his office denies), Javier Milei's revived push on the Falklands, and the funeral for war criminal Ratko Mladic that's put Serbia's EU bid in jeopardy.Guest: Jeremy Dicker, former diplomat and Managing Editor International IntrigueMentioned in this episode: Revealed: Netanyahu Received an Explicit Warning Days Before Oct. 7. He Didn't Brief Israel's Security Chiefs - HaaretzGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

In the five years since the AUKUS agreement was announced, can we still rely on our British and American allies?While most debate on AUKUS focuses on the United States and the promised Virginia-class submarines, the ultimate goal is the British-designed vessels. So how confident should Australia be that the UK can actually deliver?Acting British High Commissioner to Australia Dr Brian Jones joins Hamish Macdonald and Waleed Aly to discuss defence budgets, shipyard capacity, and the timetable for Australia's most ambitious military acquisition.They also discuss Britain's new prime minister, and whether Andy Burnham can finally bring the UK into its post-Brexit place in the world.Plus - how does the UK feel about China's increasing forays into the Pacific?Guest: Dr Brian Jones, Acting British High Commissioner to Australia.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

Nine years after more than a million Rohingya fled Myanmar, Bangladesh wants them to return. But return to what?As Myanmar's civil war intensifies, the Rohingya are caught between the military that drove them from their homes and the powerful Arakan Army now reshaping the battlefield in Rakhine State.Award-winning filmmaker and investigative journalist Ali Fowle joins Latika Bourke and Laura Tingle to unpack her new Al Jazeera documentary, Bloodshed on the Border. She explains how the Rohingya are being drawn into the conflict, why villages are being destroyed once again, and how a forgotten crisis has become even more dangerous.Plus: who is the Arakan Army, how did it become one of Myanmar's most effective rebel forces, and why does Bangladesh still hope to repatriate refugees despite the continuing war?Guest: Ali Fowle, documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist.You can watch Bloodshed on the Border hereGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

Giorgia Meloni has become Italy's longest continuously serving prime minister since Mussolini - no small feat in a country that usually burns through leaders in under a year. Once written off as a fringe far-right risk, she's since charmed Brussels and shared a book preface with Donald Trump. That was until Trump attacked the Pope and made a demeaning remark about her at the G7, and the honeymoon soured. At home, she's just lost a referendum, wages are among the lowest in Europe, and a more radical challenger, retired general Roberto Vannacci, polling at eight per cent and rising, is squeezing her from the right. Dr Marina Cino Pagliarello joins Global Roaming to unpack the split between Meloni's international and domestic image.Guest: Dr Marina Cino Pagliarello, senior visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and senior research fellow at the European University Institute.Mentioned in this episode: Giorgia Meloni Cuts the Hard Right a Path to Power, New York TimesGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

A far-right party is on the verge of forming a German state government for the first time since World War II.The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has surged in Saxony-Anhalt, raising questions that extend well beyond one regional election. Is this the latest chapter in a political shift that has been building across Europe for more than a decade? Or could it mark a deeper break with the post-war order that shaped modern Germany, the European Union and NATO?Hamish Macdonald and Waleed Aly examine the rise of the AfD, why eastern Germany has become its strongest base, and what reunification left unresolved.They trace the broader populist wave from the global financial crisis to Orbán, Brexit, Meloni, Le Pen and Trump, and ask whether Germany's political "firewall" against the far right is beginning to crack.Plus: Waleed reflects on the arguments behind his new Quarterly Essay, What Future for Liberalism? and why he believes the challenge facing liberal democracy runs deeper than any single election result. You can find Waleed's Quarterly Essay hereGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

China shock 2.0 has arrived and this time it's not the US rust belt in the firing line, it's Germany's beating industrial heart. Geraldine Doogue and Nick Bryant are joined by Jeremy Shapiro of the European Council on Foreign Relations to unpack how a flood of Chinese exports is hollowing out the car industry that Germany built its post-war identity on.With up to 1.1 million jobs exposed and the far-right AfD looking increasingly competitive, Chancellor Friedrich Merz is clinging to the lowest approval rating of any German leader in memory.Plus, the Pentagon has sent a leaked questionnaire asking NATO allies to prove their loyalty to Washington, including whether they backed the recent strikes on Iran, and Shapiro makes the contrarian case that Obama's much-mocked Syria "red line" retreat wasn't weakness at all, but one of the smartest diplomatic wins in modern US history.Guest: Jeremy Shapiro, European Council on Foreign RelationsGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

After a week examining the history, logic and limits of the ANZUS alliance, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue turn to the American perspective.Former Trump White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci joins the podcast to discuss how alliances are viewed in Washington, whether America's partners should trust Donald Trump, and why he believes the next few years could test the West's security architecture.Along the way, Hamish and Geraldine reflect on what they've learned from former prime ministers, historians and defence thinkers: Was ANZUS always driven more by interests than values? Is Australia more strategically important to the US than we realise? And in an increasingly uncertain world, can Canberra say no to Washington and still rely on the alliance when it matters most?It's the final chapter of The Alliance series and a conversation about the question at the heart of Australia's foreign policy: if the old assumptions no longer hold, where do we go from here?Guest: Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

Andrew Hastie, the Liberal MP for Canning and Shadow Minister for Industry and Sovereign Capability, joins Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald for the fourth instalment of The Alliance, marking 75 years of ANZUS. A former SAS soldier who deployed to Afghanistan and Middle East, Hastie traces his own path into the military back to a family story from World War II, and argues that Australia's deepening reliance on the US, from Pine Gap to AUKUS, has come at the cost of diminishing Australia's sovereignty. He makes the case for Australia investing in its own drone and AI capability, questions whether the public is being prepared for what the alliance might demand of them in a future conflict, and reflects on why he still sees the US as indispensable to Australia's security despite his reservations about the Trump administration.Guest: MP and former military officer, Andrew Hastie.Coming up on The Alliance: former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Fear of China and Japan has long defined Australia's foreign policy. Could there be a new way forward?In the third episode of The Alliance, Hamish McDonald and Geraldine Doogue put that question to Kevin Rudd: former prime minister, former foreign minister, and, until recently, Australia's ambassador to the United States.Rudd makes the case for what he calls "ANZUS Plus": not a straight bet on Washington, but a widening web of security arrangements layered on top of the US alliance rather than instead of it. He defends the joint facilities in the Northern Territory and Western Australia as genuinely different from US sovereign bases, arguing Australia retains the right to say no, as it did over Iraq.On China, Rudd draws on the doctorate he completed on Xi Jinping's worldview, arguing Xi has deliberately shifted Chinese politics further left on ideology, further left on economics, and further nationalist on foreign policy and warns against ever underestimating him. He also lays out the numbers behind the region's naval build-up: China's submarine fleet, its expanding surface fleet, and how the US calculates the "pacing challenge" against it.Plus, why Rudd calls Japan's military future 'a work in progress.'Guest: Kevin Rudd, former Australian prime minister, former foreign minister, former Ambassador to the U.S.Coming up on The Alliance: MP and former military officer Andrew Hastie; and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

The ANZUS treaty might be based more on cynical self-interest than a shared system of democratic values. In this episode of The Alliance mini-series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue trace the origins of Australia's most important strategic partnership and examine how it has evolved through the Cold War, Vietnam, the War on Terror and the rise of China.Historian Michael Wesley and U.S. politics scholar Timothy Lynch explore why ANZUS was created, why Washington wanted the deal in the first place, and whether the alliance has always been far less certain than Australians assume. They also examine the key tension between Australia's fear of being abandoned in a time of conflict, and the United States' fear of being entangled in a war it doesn't want or need. As Donald Trump forces allies around the world to question old assumptions, the discussion turns to whether Australia still needs to prove its value to Washington, or whether its geography, intelligence facilities and strategic position make it more important to the United States than many Australians realise.At 75, ANZUS remains a cornerstone of Australian foreign policy. But is the alliance stronger, more flexible and more durable than we think? Or is it time to rethink what it was designed to do in the first place?Guest: Prof. Michael Wesley & Prof. Timothy J. Lynch, University of Melbourne.Coming up on The Alliance: Former prime minister and US ambassador Kevin Rudd; MP and former military officer Andrew Hastie; and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

In a special series this week, Global Roaming is checking the use-by date on our relationship with the U.S.Signed on 1st September 1951, the ANZUS treaty has been the lynch-pin of Australia's security and foreign policy.As we approach the 75th anniversary of the alliance, it is perhaps more challenged and questioned than ever before; Can Australia trust the U.S? Is the U.S a good ally? Are our interests and values aligned?  In the first episode of The Alliance, Hamish McDonald and Geraldine Doogue put these questions to John Howard, the only Australian prime minister ever to invoke it.Howard explains how the decision to invoke ANZUS after the September 11 terror attacks came together on the flight home from Washington, defends AUKUS as a direct outgrowth of that loyalty, and repeats his on-the-record criticism of Donald Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 election.Plus, how much of the ANZUS treaty is based on fear of China? John Howard weighs in, comparing the China of Jiang Zemin with what he calls the more "aggressive and disruptive" China of Xi Jinping.Guest: former Australian prime minister John HowardComing up on The Alliance: Former prime minister and US ambassador Kevin Rudd; historians Timothy Lynch and Michael Wesley; MP and former military officer Andrew Hastie; and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

At age nine, Kbora Ali arrived in Australia as an Afghan refugee after her family fled Taliban rule. Less than a decade later, she became the first Afghan woman to join the Australian Army.In this deeply personal conversation, Kbora reflects on her journey from Afghanistan and Pakistan to suburban Adelaide, the challenges of growing up Hazara, and her determination to serve the country that gave her family safety and a future.She speaks to Hamish Macdonald and Waleed Aly candidly about belonging, identity, military life, and the deeply difficult choice she made to remove her headscarf when she first arrived at Kapooka. Now an Air Force flying officer, and co-author, along with her sister,  of her new memoir First of Her Kind, Kabora shares a story that sits at the intersection of migration, service, multicultural Australia and the enduring consequences of war.Guest: Kbora Ali, Air Force flying officer and co-author of First of Her Kind.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

Nobel Peace laureate and Rappler founder Maria Ressa sits down with Hamish McDonald at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney to make the case that the algorithms in your pocket, not any one leader, are manufacturing the conditions for authoritarian rule worldwide. Ressa says 74 per cent of the world now lives under authoritarian rule, that only a quarter of the open web is still open, and that most internet traffic is now non-human. She lays out an "authoritarian stack": Peter Thiel bankrolling Donald Trump and JD Vance, Palantir winning a US $10 billion military contract, and Silicon Valley firms wiring themselves into state power.Closer to home, Ressa questions Australia's push for so-called sovereign artificial intelligence, and asks whether the ABC should feed its audio archive to Anthropic to train American models, a deal she calls a "Faustian bargain". She also talks to press freedom, big tech starving newsrooms of revenue, and on whether journalism can survive at all. Guest: Maria Ressa, Rappler founder, Nobel Laureate and journalistMentioned in this Episode: Is a unified Korea a lost cause? Justice Michael Kirby has hope, Global RoamingHelen Clark defends Fauci pleading the fifth and says Trump's vaccine cuts could cost lives, Global RoamingGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Helen Clark led New Zealand as Prime Minister for nearly nine years and she hasn't slowed down since.Now the Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Clark spoke to Global Roaming at a moment when vaccines have become a genuine political battleground. Clark talks to Hamish Macdonald about Trump's executive order to cut the recommended childhood vaccine schedule, RFK Jr.'s rise at the top of US health policy, and why she thinks Anthony Fauci pleading the Fifth before a Senate committee isn't necessarily what it looks like.She also raises a crisis that's had almost no attention: a fast-growing HIV outbreak in Fiji, driven by drug use and a lack of harm-reduction infrastructure.Plus: the misogyny and threats faced by women in politics - including, she says, threats to Jacinda Ardern far beyond what she or Julia Gillard ever experienced - and the story of the Tampa refugees New Zealand took in, and the search to reunite them with their families.Guest: Helen Clark, Former Prime Minister of New Zealand & Board Chair, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

In April 2024, an Israeli strike hit a World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza, killing Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and and six of her colleagues. Two years later, on World Humanitarian Day, the Israeli military said that its commanders' decisions did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct and said it would not pursue a criminal case. In a joint statement, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom called the announcement "shameful".It comes as the United States sanctions International Criminal Court (ICC) judges and Secretary of State Marco Rubio vows to dismantle the court "brick by brick", in retaliation for its arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Laura Tingle and Latika Bourke ask whether international law is collapsing, and what middle powers like Australia can still do about it. Their guest, Human Rights Watch Executive Director Philippe Bolopion, warns that impunity is back as democracy slides to its lowest levels since the late 1970s. He makes his case for a coalition of middle power democracies, including Australia, to push back.  Guest: Philippe Bolopion, Executive Director of Human Rights WatchGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

As rebel forces grow in strength, and tensions rise their once-friendly neighbour Pakistan, how long can the Taliban rule?The Australian's Asia-Pacific correspondent Amanda Hodge joins Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald to assess the Taliban's record in the 5 years since the last U.S. troop left Afghanistan. Plus, a so-called 'super El Niño' weather pattern is on its way. In Australia it's likely to bring dry conditions and a higher risk of fire, but across South-East Asia, the effects could be even more catastrophic. What are the consequences of weather that could serious slow or even reverse the explosive economic growth in the region?And a running club in Bali has come under fire for prioritising digital nomads and ex-pats over Indonesian residents, reviving debate on Indonesian's colonial past, and how to balance Bali's status as a tourist destination with the dignity of the local citizens.Plus, Amanda, Geraldine, and Hamish share what they've been reading and watching recently.Guest: Amanda Hodge, Asia-Pacific corresondent with The AustralianRecommendations: Amanda – Joe Strummer and the Legend of The Clash by Kris NeedsGeraldine – Greg Bearup's article on the death of Kumantjayi TjapaltjarriHamish - Tampa: The Turning Point available on ABC iviewGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

Has the world taken a wrong turn, or are we simply losing sight of how much progress has already been made?In the second part of this conversation, former Justice of the High Court of Australia Michael Kirby reveals why, after years of working in the courts and in international aid, he is convinced that the world is moving in the right direction.Pointing to progress made in the treatment of AIDS and other world pandemics, the growing acceptance and visibility of LGBTQIA+ people, and the spread of universal education, Michael Kirby says that there are reasons to be hopeful.But, he adds, we cannot remain complacent against threats of fascism, climate change, and allowing irrationality to return to the forefront. In this expansive chat, Hamish Macdoanld and Waleed Aly ask Michael Kirby whether public trust in law and experts has been irreparably harmed, and whether political upheavals across the world are a sign of temporary unrest, or a symptom of something much deeper. Plus - what role does the media have in fostering a sense of pessimism or fatalism in the public?Guest: Michael Kirby AC, former justice of the High Court of AustraliaGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

How do you begin mending one of the most destructive political divides in modern history?That is the challenge that former High Court of Australia justice Michael Kirby faced when he led a UN inquiry into human rights abuses in North Korea in 2013.Despite being confronted with brutal repression and repeated failures of negotiation, Kirby remains hopeful that progress can be made, and that the United Nations has an irreplaceable role in facilitating communication between either side of the Korean DMZ.In this first part of an expansive two-part episode, Hamish Macdonald and Waleed Aly join Justice Michael Kirby to discuss his history in international governance, his impressions of leaders like Donald Trump and George W. Bush, and how nuclear weapons have completely changed the future of the region.Plus: how a very stern teacher and his cane gave Michael his first taste of injustice. Guest: Michael Kirby AC, former justice of the High Court of AustraliaGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

When does political resistance become a moral obligation?Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao and Chinese-American journalist Melissa Chan have both paid a personal price for criticising China's one-party system. Between them, they've faced expulsion, surveillance, harassment and intimidation.Badiucao even found a man who had assumed his identity. Together, Chan and Badiucao have created the graphic novel You Must Take Part in Revolution, exploring a dystopian future in which a tech-authoritarian China locks horns with a fascistic United States, with Taiwan caught in the middle.The book asks the question: how far should you go in resisting an authoritarian regime?Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue speak with Chan and Badiucao about how the Hong Kong protests of 2019 brought their concerns about China to the forefront, the risks of AI supercharging the threat of surveillance, and why the individual right to liberty and freedom of expression is more important than simply siding with the United States or China. Guests: Melissa Chan, journalist & Badiucao, artist.Melissa Chan and Badiucao are speaking at Sydney's Festival of Dangerous Ideas.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

What happens when a party's own voters start to rebel against the establishment?The victories of New York mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democratic senate nominee for Michigan Abdul El-Sayed have brought a lot of attention to progressive candidates, but some in the centre are warning about 'insurgents' that may never reach mainstream electability. Asma Khalid is an American journalist who has spent years reporting from the White House - she says that this movement could represent a real shift for the future of the Democratic party when it comes to tax, healthcare, and America's relationship with Israel.On today's episode, Asma joins Hamish Macdonald and Waleed Aly to talk about the strengths, weaknesses, and goals of the new trend of progressivism that is taking the spotlight, and its roots in Bernie Sander's transformative 2016 presidential bid. Plus: who are the Democratic Socialists of America, are they socialist, communist, or something new? And will these internal divisions lead to a stronger or weaker Democratic party?Guest: Asma Khalid, journalist, co-host of The Global Story podcast, and former NPR White House correspondentGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

China fired a nuclear-capable missile into the South Pacific. Then its neighbours couldn't agree to condemn it. The missile came down in waters close to Tuvalu's exclusive economic zone a month before foreign ministers met at the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji. Australia's Penny Wong and New Zealand's Winston Peters pushed for a joint statement. Nauru and Kiribati refused to sign even the weakest version. Both have taken Chinese money and built closer ties with Beijing, and it showed. China is pressing south in other ways too: a security deal with the Cook Islands, coast guard vessels probing deeper into the region, and a clear interest in the minerals under the seabed.Journalist Anna Fifield, who reported across Asia and the Middle East for the Washington Post and the Financial Times, asks whether Australia's much-praised Pacific reset is as solid as Canberra claims. She also takes on New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon surviving a second leadership challenge before the 7 November election, Vietnamese President To Lam's charm offensive in Australia and New Zealand, and Kim Jongn's apparent grooming of his teenage daughter to inherit North Korea. Hosts Geraldine Doogue and Hamish McDonald steer a tour of a neighbourhood that suddenly matters far more.Guest: Anna Fifield, Independent journalist and foreign affairs commentator. Author of the Between Giants Substack.Recommendations: Anna – All Her Lives by Ingrid HorrocksGeraldine – World War II With Tom HanksHamish - Unsettled by Kate GrenvilleGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has labelled AUKUS a bipartisan mistake. Is he right?Peter Garrett, former Labor minister and rock superstar, is now leading a public inquiry into Australia's submarine pact with the U.S. and UK to answer a number of essential questions. Are the promised submarines likely to arrive? Why is Australia paying billions into US and UK submarine production? And does AUKUS strengthen Australia's security, or deepen our dependence on Washington at a time of growing uncertainty about America's role in the world?In this episode, Peter Garrett joins Global Roaming to explain why the inquiry believes Australians have been largely excluded from one of the biggest defence decisions in the nation's history.Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue also test the arguments around China's military rise, Taiwan, interoperability with US forces, and whether Australia has ever had the national conversation that a project of this scale demands.Guest: Peter Garrett, leading commissioner of the public inquiry into AUKUS

Is the abuse worth it?A growing body of research suggests women in public life are facing a wave of online harassment that has been amplified by artificial intelligence, deepfakes and coordinated misinformation campaigns.In this episode of Global Roaming, Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke examine the implications for democracy. If women are increasingly targeted with sexualised abuse, fake images and threats of violence, will fewer choose to enter public life?Australian journalist and academic Dr Julie Posetti, who led a landmark UN study on online violence against women in public life, explains how AI is changing the threat landscape and why research is drawing links between online abuse and real-world harm.Former NSW minister Bronnie Taylor reflects on her own experience of abuse in politics and why she fears the problem could deter women from putting their hands up for elected office.Could online misogyny be reshaping democracy itself? And what can governments, regulators and technology companies do about it?Guests:Dr Julie Posetti, journalist, academic and UN researcherBronnie Taylor, former NSW Nationals minister and Women for Election advisory board memberGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Arash Azizi says Iran's rulers may be more afraid of peace than war.While the world watches Donald Trump, the American-Iranian historian argues the real story is the stasis inside Tehran. A collective leadership built around a 13-member National Security Council, with parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf the strongest figure, now calling the shots. Azizi says they stepped away from the June memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Washington that would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz, partly because normal governance frightens them more than crisis. Now the new Mecca defence pact between Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, a throwback to the 1955 Baghdad Pact, is leaving Iran more isolated than ever.Azizi's sharpest claim is that the biggest threat to the regime is its own people. The ideological Khomeini era is over, he says, and the state has quietly lost its war on the hijab, with women now in tank tops on the streets of Tehran. So who breaks the deadlock? Latika Burke and Geraldine Doogue ask whether Iran can find its own Deng Xiaoping, or whether it just hobbles on like Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the 1990s.Guest: Arash Azizi, author of What Iranians WantGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. Mentioned in this episode:These are Iran's emerging power players, Azizi's previous appearance on Global Roaming

Antony Loewenstein says Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank has turned "almost apocalyptic".The independent Australian journalist has reported from the territory for more than 20 years. On a trip to the area last month, Loewenstein says he witnessed near-daily attacks on a Palestinian family. It comes as the United Nations says Israeli settler violence has reached unprecedented levels.  Loewenstein points to roughly 800,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, a prosecution rate for settler violence he puts close to zero, and the upcoming Israeli election as all contributing to the increased violence. He tells hosts Kylie Morris and Latika Bourke that, while he welcomes Foreign Minister Penny Wong's sanctioning of West Bank settlers and some Israeli ministers who openly advocate for the displacement of Palestinians, the move is merely "tinkering at the edges" should Australia keep exporting weapons parts to Israel. And, as a Jewish Australian, he warns the Antisemitism Royal Commission risks conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Guest: Antony Loewenstein, independent journalist and author of The Palestine LaboratoryGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. Mentioned in this episode: Global Roaming: Should Israel remain a Jewish state? A look at Gaza's future.

Labor MP Ed Husic has a blunt warning: a handful of US tech firms could switch off the AI tools Australia runs on.On 15 July the Prime Minister used a national address to label artificial intelligence (AI) a national interest, announcing a new Office of AI inside his department, mandatory rules for large data centres, and a digital duty of care for big tech.At the same time Sydney is being tipped as one of the world's data centre hotspots, with firms like Anthropic and OpenAI scouting sites and the build-out talked up as the next mining boom.The catch: Australia has no frontier AI model of its own, so we store the data without controlling the technology.Digital Rights Watch founder Lizzie O'Shea and the McKinnon Institute's Tom Mooney, once chief of staff to Foreign Minister Penny Wong, argue Australia holds more cards than it thinks: a stable democracy, cheap renewables and a strong bargaining position.They make the case for shaping big tech rather than receiving it and explain why Australians rank among the world's most sceptical about AI even as heavy users. In this episode Hamish Macdonald presses them on jobs, sovereignty, and whether any government can force these companies to care.Guest:Lizzie O'Shea - Digital Rights WatchTom Mooney - McKinnon InstituteGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Fresh from winning the 2026 Miles Franklin Award, writer and artist Omar Musa joins Global Roaming to take us into the rainforests of Borneo, a place where environmental destruction, colonial history, economic development and cultural identity collide.Drawing on the themes of his award-winning novel Fierceland, Musa explores how palm oil transformed Malaysian Borneo: lifting many families out of poverty while accelerating the loss of rainforest, Indigenous lands, languages and traditions.With Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue, he discusses the enduring legacy of colonialism in Southeast Asia, the tensions between multiculturalism and nationalism, Australia's relationship with the region, and his own journey growing up between Queensland and Borneo.It's a conversation about memory, belonging, faith, identity and one of the world's most remarkable forests.Guest: Omar Musa, Author of 2026 Miles Franklin award winning novel FiercelandGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Pauline Hanson sat down with Tommy Robinson, one of Britain's most notorious far-right figures. So why did the interview happen, and what does it say about the rise of right-wing populism globally? From Luton to Moscow, the money behind the far right has gone global. Journalist Daniel Trilling traces cash flowing from the United States and Canada to fund Islamophobic activists in the United Kingdom, Russia's long-running interest in stirring British politics, and Elon Musk using X to play kingmaker: backing Nigel Farage, cooling on him, then boosting Robinson and another breakaway rival. And Robinson himself has been courted by Israel and photographed in Moscow alongside Errol Musk. So how connected are far-right movements around the world? Trilling argues these movements, supercharged by a fragmented media landscape and the failures of neoliberalism, share a style and a pool of funders but are not formally coordinated.He also explains to hosts Latika Bourke and Kylie Morris why the political centre keeps ceding ground on immigration, why Reform UK is suddenly in real trouble, and what can eventually make these movements come unstuck.Guest: Daniel Trilling, journalist and author of If We Tolerate This: How the British Establishment Made the Far Right Respectable.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Should the FIFA World Cup be sold to private investors?That was the proposal by FIFA president Gianni Infantino that shocked the world and FIFA council members.Though the proposal has been abandoned after a swift backlash, Infantino now faces a leadership crisis that could see him booted from the top position, with others already vying to take his place. But bigger questions remain. The 2026 FIFA World Cup was the most profitable in history and generated over $15 billion in revenue. So why was the proposal made in the first place? And is this really the end of the idea, or just the beginning?Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke speak with veteran football broadcaster Simon Hill about the plan to create FIFA Forward Enterprise, the governance crisis now facing FIFA, the growing influence of money in the game, and why selling part of the World Cup crossed a line that even many football insiders found unacceptable.They also explore whether this was a geo-political victory for Europe, what Donald Trump's orbit has to do with the controversy, and if the plan could have some unappreciated merit. Guest: Simon Hill, football commentator and broadcaster.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Australia has been offered a seat in space, but time is running out.The European Space Agency has invited Australia to send its first government astronaut, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, to the International Space Station (ISS).The catch? The ticket likely costs about $100 million and the ISS is set to deorbit around 2030. The offer stands for a few months longer, at most.Deputy Director of the International Space Centre at the University of Western Australia, Larissa Wiese, calls it a once-in-a-generation shot at an Australian seat at the global space table, backing an industry that already turns over $4.6 billion and employs 17,000 people. Miss it, she warns, and we may never catch up.But as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stares down a tight budget and a cost-of-living crisis, is a $100 million space ticket smart nation-building, or an easy political target? Hosts Waleed Aly and Hamish Macdonald dig into the money, the potential stakes for AUKUS and advanced manufacturing, and whether Australia is happy to remain a space "consumer" as other countries reach for the stars.Guest: Larissa Wiese, the deputy director of the International Space Centre at the University of Western Australia. Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. Mentioned in this episode:Global Roaming: Prof Brian Cox on whether Elon Musk owns the moonFlykatherine.com.au

What does the war in Gaza mean for the future of Israel, Zionism and Jewish identity?Peter Beinart has become one of the most prominent and controversial Jewish voices challenging Israel's political direction. Once a supporter of a two-state solution, he now argues that lasting peace can only come through equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians, regardless of religion or ethnicity.In this conversation with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald, Beinart explains his struggle with the idea of a Jewish state, how his South African upbringing shaped his views on nationalism and democracy, and why he believes Israel is becoming increasingly isolated internationally.Beinart also asks: how can you make a plan for the future when there is no clear way for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to make their voice heard? Without elected representatives, how can decision-makers know what the Palestinian people want for themselves?Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Christopher Nolan's blockbuster adaptation of The Odyssey has become far more than a film. It's sparked fierce arguments about race, masculinity, Western civilisation, Christianity, leadership, and the culture wars.Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald are joined by Quillette founder Claire Lehmann to unpack why Nolan's retelling has generated such intense debate. From Elon Musk's criticism of the film to disputes over casting choices, they explore what today's political battles are revealing about how we interpret ancient stories.Is Nolan preserving a foundational text of the Western canon for a new generation, or reshaping it through modern values? And why has a 3,000-year-old myth suddenly become a flashpoint in 2026?Along the way, they debate whether Odysseus has been stripped of his complexity, whether the film reflects Christian ideas of guilt rather than ancient Greek values, and what the story may tell us about leadership, social cohesion, and fears of civilisational decline.Guests: Claire Lehmann, founder of QuilletteGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Reform party leader Nigel Farage has survived scandals, electoral defeats, and years of attacks from Britain's political establishment.But could he be unseated by a man dressed as a Darth Vader rip-off, in a by-election he called himself?Michael Crick is a veteran UK broadcaster, and author of One Party After Another: The Disruptive Life of Nigel Farage. He claims that even a Farage victory doesn't leave the Reform party in an enviable position.Nigel Farage still has to face down a parliamentary inquiry, coordinated voting campaigns, and continued questions about millions of pounds received as gifts from wealthy political donors. Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke join Michael Crick to examine what's really happening inside Reform UK, why Count Binface has become an unexpected factor in the contest, and whether Britain's voters are becoming more resistant to populist leaders.Plus, will the newly crowned Prime Minister Andy Burnham be able to curb Nigel Farage's rise? And what does it mean for the future of the UK when parties all across the political sphere are relying on nostalgia for their messaging?Guest: Michael Crick, author of One Party After Another: The Disruptive Life of Nigel Farage.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

AI is everywhere. Governments are racing to regulate it, companies are pouring hundreds of billions into it, and workers are wondering what it means for their jobs.But what if the AI revolution isn't inevitable?Technology commentator and science fiction writer Cory Doctorow joins Global Roaming to argue that today's AI boom looks a lot like a financial bubble, and the world could look very different once it pops.Despite the massive amounts of money pumped into companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, the question remains whether or not these companies can deliver consistent profit, especially when undercut by Chinese AI models made for a fraction of the price. So if these companies collapse, what would that do to a technology that claims to change the face of the earth?In this conversation with Kylie Morris and Latika Bourke, Cory Doctorow provides an image of what a more equitable AI future might look like, a future in which the AI giants are gone, but the investment into data centres and Large Language Models remain. Plus: what Australia's push into AI means for digital sovereignty, and why dependence on foreign technology could become a bigger national challenge than AI itself.

A prominent Russian billionaire has publicly raised concerns about the direction of the war in Ukraine. Some observers see it as evidence that support for Vladimir Putin is beginning to crack.But the West is misreading the situation, according to veteran Russian journalist and political analyst Konstantin von Eggert.He argues Russia's problems run far deeper than Putin himself, that oligarchs wield far less power than outsiders imagine, and that signs of frustration inside the country do not amount to a meaningful challenge to the Kremlin.And a post-Putin Russia may not be any better, as the collapse of Putin's corrupt regime could simply pave the way for another nationalist, expansionist regime.What's needed, according to Eggert, is a serious re-evaluation from the Russian people. One that may not come unless Russia suffers a resounding, sudden military defeat. In this conversation with Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke, Eggert explains why he believes Russia faces a profound moral crisis, what it would actually take to threaten Putin's grip on power, whether Donald Trump's evolving position on Ukraine matters, and why a post-Putin Russia may not look the way many in the West hope.Featured: Konstantin von Eggert, journalist and political analyst, Deutsche Welle.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega has declared there will be no more elections. The frail 80 year-old former Sandinista guerrilla seized power in 1979, was voted out, clawed his way back in 2006, then jailed opponents, banned parties and had security forces shoot dead hundreds of protesters. He has since installed his wife Rosario as co-president and moved to scrap the vote for good.Former Australian diplomat and Managing Editor of International Intrigue, Jeremy Dicker,  joins hosts Hamish McDonald and Geraldine Doogue to explain why Ortega is betting Washington won't bother stopping him.Plus, Is Australia trapped between two artificial-intelligence superpowers? A cheap new Chinese system, Kimi K3, is reportedly matching the best American models at a fraction of the cost.Have American export controls on advanced chips backfired, forcing China to build faster and cheaper artificial intelligence? Guest: Jeremy Dicker, Managing Editor of International Intrigue and former diplomatGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Britain is on its seventh prime minister in a decade, and the new one has inherited a fractured union. Can Andy Burnham govern a country many now call ungovernable?Burnham replaces Keir Starmer, who resigned in June after barely two years, worn down by policy reversals, poor local election results, and slipping public confidence. He arrives promising a "circuit breaker": a new economic model, reindustrialisation, and the kind of regional devolution he championed as mayor of Greater Manchester. But Britain's troubles run deeper than any single leader. An unelected House of Lords, uneven devolution across Scotland, Wales and the English regions, the slow economic drag of Brexit, and a north left behind after Cameron-era promises on rail and investment went unmet all point to something structural. Meanwhile Nigel Farage and the populist right are gaining ground, testing whether Burnham can win back the disaffected voters Labour has been losing.Presented by Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald, this episode puts these questions to Ben Wellings of Monash University, author of English Nationalism and British Disintegration. They weigh whether Britain has quietly become the new Italy, chronically unstable and unsure of its place in the world, and whether Burnham's bet on hope and a "Downing Street of the North" can hold a fracturing country together. And they ask what it all means from an Australian vantage point: if Britain really is the leading edge of Western decline, is Australia paying close enough attention?Guest: Ben Wellings, Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at Monash University.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni won't use the word "lie" when referring to Donald Trump, telling Global Roaming he instead "says things that are not true."It's a careful answer from the woman running one of the world's biggest and most trusted news agencies.Founded 175 years ago, Reuters has thousands of journalists stationed in over 165 countries and supplies the original reporting that fills newspapers and bulletins worldwide.Galloni told Hamish Macdonald and Laura Tingle that trust and access were at the core of the organisation's success.In this wide-ranging interview about media, the impact of AI and journalistic ethics, Galloni argues that the news industry has never been more important or more fraught for those on the ground. Guest: Alessandra Galloni, Reuters Editor-in-Chief Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.