If You're Listening ABC News
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Who Broke Britain? This special four-part series from If You're Listening digs through 14 controversial years of Conservative Party leadership, from their win back in 2010 all the way up to the upcoming election in July. Major political figures like David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have delivered staggering change, but how much do we really understand about their legacy?
This series will revisit a series of chaotic, monumental, hilarious, depressing, and often absolutely farcical moments. What were the big decisions that led to this, and who were the people that made them?
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Who Broke Britain 1 A promise to cut everything
When the UK Conservative Party won the election in 2010, they took a butcher's knife to the budget.
David Cameron's money-man George Osborne — the young heir to a wallpaper fortune — had a big plan called "austerity," but it put the country on a journey to total chaos.
This is the first episode in a four-part series called Who Broke Britain.
It's about the past 14 years of Conservative Party leadership, all the way up to the general election that's happening next month.
London was once the largest city on Earth — capital of a global empire larger than any other in the history of the world.
Even as recently as 17 years ago, Britons were the richest people in any of the world's large economies.
Since then, they've gone backwards, more than any other large economy.
Britain feels broken. So, who broke it?
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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3IhkTK9-xs -
Not Stupid: Trump's guilty. What does that mean?
We're still on a break from our regularly scheduled programming but don't worry, we're hard at work.
Next week we'll be launching a four-part series leading up to the UK election called Who Broke Britain?
The country that was once the centre of the world's greatest empire now seems a lot smaller, and in many ways — broken.
So — who broke it?
Until then, check out the latest ABC podcast Not Stupid, from our colleagues in ABC News.
It's hosted by Jeremy Fernandez and Julia Baird, and this week they're diving into Trump's guilty conviction and whether we should raise the minimum age for social media.
You can subscribe to it on the Listen app.
Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.
Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM7IYWahjGY -
Why is China so obsessed with Taiwan?
The island of Taiwan, just off the coast of China, is shaping up as the most likely spark for the next global conflict.
China's president Xi Jinping wants to claim all the territory he thinks belongs to China, without triggering a nuclear war.
It's a century-old civil war, which has been frozen in place for decades.
It's an almost unimaginably dangerous situation, and one mistake could lead to catastrophe.
This is a repeat episode. It was first broadcast on the 6th July, 2021 as part of the China, If You're Listening series.
If you want to listen to the whole series you can find it here, or scroll back in your podcast feed.
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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0_VTGzZj2U -
The brutal and bloody career of Iranian President Raisi
Earlier this week the President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in bad weather.
Raisi was a phenomenally important figure in Middle Eastern politics — not just Iran's President, but the likely next Supreme Leader of Iran.
He got there through acts of extreme brutality, showing his willingness to do anything to defend the Iranian status quo.
How did Ebrahim Raisi become the heir-apparent to the Iranian Supreme Leadership, and what could happen now he's gone?
Listen to our other episodes about Iran:
Iran, Israel and the calculus of revenge
The Ayatollah who dreamed of an Iranian caliphate
How the Shah's cancer led to Iran's rift with the US
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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0_VTGzZj2U -
Should we treat domestic violence like we treat terrorism?
Australia's first domestic violence shelter Elsie opened in the 1970s, and researchers have been analysing the problem ever since.
In the last three decades more than 1,500 women have been killed by intimate partners in Australia and we're still no closer to finding out why.
Campaigner Rosie Batty has compared domestic violence to terrorism, and called for similar levels of funding.
Is that comparison extreme, or is it the best way to get us closer to fixing the problem?
*EDITOR'S NOTE: This episode incorrectly states that Luke Batty was 14 years old at the time of his death. He was 11 years old when he died.
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Check out our series on YouTube.
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The man who destroyed his life to try to put Trump in jail
Michael Cohen is the star witness in the Trump 'hush-money' trial.
He was once Trump's personal attorney and said he would "take a bullet" for his boss, but then everything changed.
He has served years in prison for lying, tax fraud, bank fraud and campaign finance violations.
But he thinks everything he's gone through will be worth it if he can take Trump down.
Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.
Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqPubAjtbc4
Customer Reviews
Keep up your great work
Thanks Matt and you team!
You have covered so many important global topics and provided thorough and detailed research which find mind boggling. There does seem to be a trend or theme through your briefings that the current group of dictators are changing the world in their image, spreading fear and anguish and is democracy up to the challenge?
Your calm presentation style while calamity is happening all around us is a bonus!
Thank you
Addicted
Having withdrawals every time Matt and staff takes a well deserved break.
Need my Are You Listening fix
Succinct, Satirical & Smart
This podcast is like a bite sized, much more palatable version of a wise old Aunty. Extremely well researched topics presented in a very relatable and engaging way.
The 16/05/24 episode on domestic violence is a great example of how such a tough subject can be boiled down to a duration our younger generations can handle. A brief podcast ep will not conquer the problem but it provide the beginnings of an understand, open the door to further thought and start a conversation.
On the flip side, any ep on a Trump or Putin problem is a masterclass in turning the boring and bizarre into factual entertainment. The coverage of important events is delivered not as news but as well rounded discussion. Worth a listen!