Late Night Live — Full program podcast

ABC Australia

Incisive analysis, fearless debates and nightly surprises. Explore the serious, the strange and the profound with David Marr.

  1. 6 HR AGO

    Bruce Shapiro's USA, Chernobyl's wildlife thriving and the great convict escape on the Catalpa

    Trump contemplates his next move on Iran as the ceasefire deadline looms, while at home his administration is dealing with yet more scandal, this time in the FBI. 40 years since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster,  the Exclusion Zone has become a thriving wildlife refuge. Plus the story of Australians most daring convict escape on the whaling ship Catalpa, which sailed from America to pick up six Irish convicts in Fremantle.  Guests:  Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine and Director of the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma. Germán Orizaola, Associate Professor in Zoology, Department of Biology of Organisms and Systems, University of Oviedo.Tony Moore, Professor of Media and Communications, Monash University, and author of ‘Death or liberty: rebels and radicals transported to Australia 1788 – 1868'.

    55 min

  2. 1 DAY AGO

    Anna Henderson's Canberra, how best to commemorate war, plus Lake Eyre tourists need fuel

    Our regular Canberra correspondent on the latest polling, and Independent David Pocock's new focus on taxing gas. Historian Peter Stanley argues for a new way to do war commemoration, and the spectacle of a flooded Lake Eyre/Kathi-Thanda is alluring, but fuel anxiety may limit the number of visitors.  Guests Anna Henderson, SBS chief political correspondentPeter Stanley, former Australian War  Memorial historianTrevor Wright, owner of the William Creek pub and Wrightsair, which does Lake Eyre joy flights

    54 min

  3. 5 DAYS AGO

    A Jewish Australian lawyer reckons with state violence. Plus, can corporate scandals be good for the world?

    The Melbourne legal scholar Marika Sosnowski spent many years researching violence and the law in Syria. Now she reckons with her own family's proximity to state violence in 1950s Palestine. Plus, it's easy to be cynical about the impunity of corporations that commit great financial crimes. But political scientist Pepper Culpepper thinks that, in the long run, corporate scandals can help restore democracy.  Guests: Marika Sosnowski,  Melbourne University. Author of ‘58 facets – on law, violence and revolution’ (Melbourne University Publishing) Professor Pepper Culpepper, Oxford University. Co-author of Billionaire Backlash: The Age of Corporate Scandal and How It Could Save Democracy (Bloomsbury)

    55 min

  4. 6 DAYS AGO

    Ian Dunt's UK, the Colombo plan, and AI publishing scams

    Ian Dunt examines what Viktor Orban's loss in Hungary means for the EU and looks at questions around Donald Trump's mental capacity. There once was a plan that brought disparate countries together, to work for their common good, in Asia and the Pacific. And an author and scholar has been getting some very flattering emails from 'people' keen to promote his books. Guests:  Ian Dunt, iNews columnist and regular LNL commentatorProfessor David Lowe, Deakin University, author of 'The Colombo Plan: development internationalism in Cold War Asia' (Cambridge University Press) Dennis Altman, article on literary AI in the April issue of Australian Book Review

    55 min

  5. 14 APR

    Jon Lee Anderson on Trump's Cuba threats, plus how chokepoints like Hormuz have shaped history

    Cuba's leader is defiant in the face of the country's worst humanitarian crisis in decades, while President Trump hints at inflicting more pain. And the Strait of Hormuz is the latest of many maritime chokepoints which, in the past, have destroyed or saved civilisations.          Guests: Jon Lee Anderson, staff writer with The New YorkerDamien Valdez, historian from the University of Cambridge

    54 min

  6. 13 APR

    Australia's fuel import dependency, gay conservatives backing Trump, plus damaged treasures in Iran

    Professor Mark Kenny reflects on Australia's record fuel price hike and the Australian government's unfolding response. We meet the Log Cabin Republicans, a prominent organisation of gay conservatives that continues to support US President Donald Trump. Plus, amid reports of damage to cultural heritage sites in Iran, Australian archaeologist John Tidmarsh reflects on the beauty of damaged and destroyed sites across the Middle East region.  Professor Mark Kenny reflects on Australia's record fuel price hike and the Australian government's unfolding response. We meet the Log Cabin Republicans, a prominent organisation of gay conservatives that continues to support US President Donald Trump. Plus, amid reports of damage to cultural heritage sites in Iran, Australian archaeologist John Tidmarsh reflects on the beauty of damaged and destroyed sites across the Middle East region.  Prof. Mark Kenny, former national affairs journalist and Director of the Australian Studies Institute, ANUEd Williams, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, USADr John Tidmarsh, archaeologist and tour leader

    55 min

  7. 9 APR

    The making of poet A.D. Hope, Australian literary giant

    Alec Derwent Hope (1907–2000) was one of Australia's most acclaimed poets. His first collection was not published until he was 48 years old, but its release cemented his reputation as the pre-eminent Australian poet of his time. The literary scholar Susan Lever knew Hope, and has written the first biography of his life - from rural Tasmania, to the halls of Oxford, and the heights of Australia's literary scene. Guest: Susan Lever, author of A.D. Hope - A life, published by LaTrobeSusan's recommended reading: The Coast of CerigoMoschus Moschiferus. A Song for St Cecilia's DayAn Epistle: Edward Sackville to Venetia DigbyImperial AdamThe Death of the BirdInscription for a WarThe Return of Persephone

    55 min

  8. 8 APR

    Attacks on culture in the USA, plus the secret life of famous author Daniel Defoe

    Pulitzer prize-winning art critic Sebastian Smee, looks at the state of the arts in Trump's America, and the story of Daniel Defoe's secret life as a spy, against Scottish independence, in the early 1700s, before he became the author of the famous 'Robinson Crusoe'. Guests: Sebastian Smee, writer and art critic, formerly with The Washington PostMarc Mierowsky, author of 'A spy amongst us: Daniel Defoe's Secret Service and the plot to end Scottish Independence' (Yale University Press)

    55 min
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Ratings & Reviews

3.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Incisive analysis, fearless debates and nightly surprises. Explore the serious, the strange and the profound with David Marr.

Information

  • Creator
    ABC Australia
  • Years Active
    2005 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.1k
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All right reserved.
  • Show Website
    Late Night Live — Full program podcast

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