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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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. In this episode, Australia's former Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel shares his thoughts on how Australia can feasibly get to net zero, and harness our potential as a clean energy superpower. Plus, he has a radical new idea to safeguard art against AI...Alan's recommendations:The Prince and the Pauper by Mark TwainSeascraper by Benjamin WoodProve It: A Scientific Guide for the Post-Truth Era by Elizabeth Finkel 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. This episode was first broadcast on Friday 2 January 2026
In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. In this instalment, Michael Stutchbury - Former editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review and Executive director of the Centre for Independent Studies, says that Australia's economic luck is about to run out. He argues we need break the cycle of high spending and low growth if we want to retain anything like the prosperity we're accustomed to. 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. This episode was first broadcast on Friday 16 January 2026
In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. In this episode the Lowy Institute's Lydia Khalil shatters the perception that our geography alone is enough to protect us from the insidious new security threats that are already making their way to our shores, and she outlines how we can protect ourselves going forward. Lydia's recommendations:The Man in the High Castle - TV series on Amazon PrimeFor All Mankind - TV series on Apple TVGet 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. This program was first broadcast on Friday 9 January 2026
In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. In this episode former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese attempts to shake Australia out of our complacency and excite us about the potential of new foreign policy possibilities. Peter's recommendations:The Golden Road by William Dalrymple - you can find our conversation with William the link to his new book HEREWhy Great Powers Sleepwalk to War — A Masterclass with Hugh White - Joe Walker podcast 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. This episode was first broadcast on Friday 26 December 2025
In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. First up is Hannah Ferguson, the CEO of Cheek Media, who has disrupted Australia's traditional media landscape. She shares her ideas for re-connecting Australians to news and politics and to 'make caring cool again'. Hannah's recommendations:The Good Fight: What Does Labor Stand For? Quarterly Essay by Sean KellyCareless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams
Back in February despite uprisings, sanctions and the ongoing conflict with Israel negotiations were underway between the US and Iran over its nuclear ambitions. Those negotiations saw Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushing to Washington to influence any potential deal.Two weeks later Israel and US made their first military strikes.A vital question at the time was: how does Iran sit within the wider region? And what deal did the US really want? Today, despite ongoing negotiations for peace deal between Iran and the US those questions still stand.Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald are joined in studio by Vali Nasr, who advised the US State Department on Iran during the Obama era to talk about why Trump fell for his own saviour narrative, and how October 7 is still reshaping the region.
A Russian spy? Secret kompromat? The latest Epstein file drop, the most comprehensive since the notorious sex offender's death, has us questioning everything.
In part two of our conversation with one of the world's most respected living explorers, Terry Garcia, we take you to space.The ethics, exploration, archaeology and who should act as the guardians of space exploration.Is there a risk of exploitation by tech barons?Should the rules for ocean exploration be adapted for space?Terry Garcia helps us unlock the secrets of our planet beyond.Guest: Terry Garcia, President of Exploration Ventures and former Executive Vice President and Chief Science and Exploration Officer of the National Geographic Society and Deputy Administrator of NOAABook: The Future of Exploration
On this episode of Global Roaming's new 'On the Radar' series we are joined by the ABC's Asia editor, Karishma Vyas who gives us an inside track into the regime's tactics as the Iran and US peace deal is negotiated and an insight the scam centres popping up across Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia that she recently visited.In May Karishma was one of the only Western reporters allowed to report inside Iran giving her a rare glimpse into how the regime and Iranians feel as a peace deal is negotiated.Karishma says the regime is passing off the toll system for the ships passing the Strait of Hormuz as an 'administration fee'. Meanwhile, on the streets of Tehran she found women gathering to support the regime, the same regime that has been accused of violent suppression of its people months earlier.So what is real and what is propaganda?Guest presenter: Karishma Vyas, ABC Asia editorHosts: Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue
From violent anti-immigration riots in Belfast to a mass political movement of 'cockroaches' in India, what should we be paying attention to in the world this week?Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are joined by former Australian diplomat and managing editor of geopolitical news site International Intrigue to talk the hottest topics in global affairs - plus, you're AUKUS feedback from last week's interview with former Prime Minister and AUKUS architect Scott Morrison. Guest: Jeremy Dicker, former Australian diplomat and managing editor of International Intrigue.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 former President of Myanmar seems to have disappeared inside the country's prison system. Now her son has an impassioned plea, demanding 'proof' of life. Kim Aris, the son of detained Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, has not heard from his mother since 2023. Kim contests the international media's narrative that his mother betrayed the Rohingya so she could keep the military junta on side.Recently in Australia, he has launched a global fitness and solidarity campaign called the 81 for 81 challenge. It's part of the growing international demand for Myanmar to provide 'proof of life' that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate is still alive.Guest Kim Aris, son of Aung San Suu KyiGet 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.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has to call an election before October 27. But as war with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon drags on, his popularity is tanking. Even US President Donald Trump has reportedly called him "effing crazy" over his aggressive military stance.Israeli journalist and commentator Nadav Eyal joins Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke to talk about the domestic storm leading up to the "Fifty Shades of Right Wing" election; whether Netanyahu's two challengers, Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot, can dethrone him; and what it means for the future of the US relationship. Guests: Nadav Eyal, journalist and senior scholar at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.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.
Former Prime Minister Paul Keating has said of AUKUS that "we don't need to be a pair of shoes hanging out of America's backside". Is that a fair characterisation of Australia's position vis a vis AUKUS? Are we getting the short end of the stick with this deal, and sacrificing our sovereignty to boot? This episode originally broadcast on December 20, 2024 as part of our 6-part AUKUS Investigated series GUESTS:Sam Roggeveen - Director of the Lowy Institute's International Security Program. He is the author of The Echidna Strategy: Australia's Search for Power and PeaceMalcolm Turnbull - 29th Prime Minister of Australia 2015-2018.Richard Marles - the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Minister for Defence and the Federal Member for Corio.GET IN TOUCH: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au
Standing ovations are rare at Davos, the annual World Economic Forum conference. But Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney tore the roof down with a speech calling on the world's middle powers to forge a united path away from the hegemony of American power. And Trump isn't happy about it. Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke speak to former Canadian Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff about how much Australia and Canada have in common, and why Europe and Great Britain are the middle powers to watch. Guest: Michael Ignatieff, Professor at the Central European University in Vienna and former leader of the Liberal Party of CanadaGet 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. This episode originally aired on January 28, 2026
To mark the end of our popular 'Indonesia Rising' series, a special episode sharing your feedback and questions.Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue reflect on your thoughts about economic opportunity, big ideas for the future, and concerns over diplomatic blind spots. Oh, and there are some beautiful personal stories along the way.
Indonesia is one of Australia's nearest neighbours but the nature of its people, art and culture remain a mystery to many.In the fourth instalment of Global Roaming's Indonesia Rising, hosts Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue leave the politics behind for a deeply personal insight into Indonesian identity and the country's rich history of literature, poetry and art.Guest: Laksmi Pamuntiak, Indonesian poet and novelist.Reading recommendations:Hamish: The Question of Red by Laksmi Pamuntiak.Geraldine: The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher KochLaksmi: Indonesia, Etc. by Elizabeth Pisani, Race, Islam and Power by Andreas Harsono, Saman by Ayu Utami, the essays of Goenawan Mohamad in Tempo, Beauty Is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan, and the Buru Tetralogy and The Mute's Soliloquy Pramoedya Ananta Toer.Mentions: Global Roaming with David Van Reybrouck - Indonesia Rising: The struggle to reclaim historyGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.*Hamish is in Indonesia as the winner of the 2024 Elizabeth O'Neill Journalism Award.
From Ukraine to Iran, the rapid advancement of cheap and mass-produced drones is reshaping battlefields around the world.Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, only four militaries around the world were using small drones. Now, according to today's guest on Global Roaming, there are more than 40.Host Hamish Macdonald visits a counter-drone technology factory in an undisclosed location in Sydney to find out more.Guest: Terry Van Haren, vice president of DroneShield, an Australian military technology companyMentions: Global Roaming with Peter Pomerantsev: Is Russia's time as a dominant power coming to an end?Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.
Russia has crossed the threshold of losing more soldiers than it's able to mobilise. Some troops are paying their commanders to get a spot at the back of the Russian forces. Others are deserting entirely. And when soldiers do return home, they often bring the violence with them.President Putin controls a powerful pro-war narrative, which helped rationalise this war of choice to his people. But are the effects of this propaganda beginning to wane? And after a harsh winter, what has changed within Ukraine?As Russia fails to bring this war to a close, and the world moves to phase out fossil fuels, Russia's main export, how much longer can Russia hold on to the pretence of global superpower status?Guest: Peter Pomerantsev -- Kiev-born writer; political analyst; senior fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University; co-director of the Arena Initiative; co-founder of The Reckoning Project; author of Nothing is True and Everything is Possible and This Is Not Propaganda.Geraldine's further reading recommendations:The Closing of the Russian Mind: How Putin's Ideology Took the Nation Hostage, by Andrei Kolesnikov.Inside the belly of the beast, by Noonie Minogue.Russia Starts Here: Real Lives in the Ruins of Empire, by Howard Amos.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.
There's an important meeting in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's diary.On Monday, Japan's first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, will touch down in Australia for high‑level talks with the Albanese government, following Foreign Minister Penny Wong's trip to Tokyo to shore up fuel and fertiliser supplies.So, are friends in need friends indeed? Australia wants fuel from our friends in the north, but what will Japan's new prime minister want in return?Takaichi has been called the world's most powerful woman. So, how will Anthony Albanese approach the meeting? And as Japan bolsters its defences against China, does Tokyo expect Australia to do the same?Guest: Professor Shiro Armstrong, Director of the Australia‑Japan Research Centre and the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research, and Editor of the East Asia Forum at the Australian National University's Crawford School of Public Policy.Recommendations:Geraldine - Drops of God (TV series)Hamish - What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki MurakamiGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.
On Saturday evening a gunman attempted to storm the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington DC. The act of political violence - the third assassination attempt of US President Donald Trump - occurred just three days before the 30th anniversary of Australia's deadliest mass shooting, the Port Arthur massacre, which prompted sweeping gun reform.So why has one country been able to respond to gun violence decisively while another hasn't? And what comes next, an increasingly violent and polarised United States?On this episode of Global Roaming, hosts Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke turn their focus to Washington DC to find out.Guest: David Smith, Washington bureau chief for The GuardianGet in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all episodes of Global Roaming now via ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.
On the eve of Anzac Day, the Global Roaming team comes together to discuss war, peace and what Australia's national day of remembrance means as conflict rages around the globe. What's missing from daily coverage of conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and Europe? Does the way we talk about war need to change? And where are the peacemakers? Hosts: Latika Bourke, Kylie Morris, Hamish Macdonald, Geraldine DoogueRecommendations: Geraldine - Why Great Powers Sleepwalk to War — A Masterclass with Hugh WhiteGet in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all Global Roaming episodes via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is sending shock waves through the global economy. Supply chains are in disarray, inflation is surging and oil prices remain high. With no end in sight to the US-Iran war, is a global recession inevitable? And does that metric even matter? On this episode of Global Roaming, Latika and Geraldine examine how the US economy is holding up and what it could mean for Australia. Guest: Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan. Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au
Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting global headwinds and now the war in the Middle East have hit the British hard. So with some of the world's highest energy costs and a stretched defence force, what does the future hold? Can Britain's deeply unpopular prime minister, Keir Starmer, survive the upcoming elections? And will this fallen empire ever rise again? On this episode of Global Roaming, Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke (The Nightly) go the London. Guest: James Crabtree, geopolitical analyst and author.Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.
Geraldine Doogue AO delivers the 2025 Andrew Olle Media Lecture, held in honour of one of the ABC's iconic broadcasters, Andrew Olle. This annual event helps raise funds for Brain Cancer Australia.