Is the Islamic Republic of Iran on the brink of regime change?

The Islamic Republic of Iran finds itself, again, on the brink of conflict with the West, with the United States sending an armada to the region. 

The latest tension follows mass demonstrations – and the mass killings of protesters – across Iran and raises the question of just how long the 47-year-old theocratic regime can survive. 

Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert of Macquarie University specialises in Iran and the Middle East and spent almost three years as a political prisoner in the regime’s jails.

The world’s 85 million Anglicans have a new spiritual leader, as Dame Sarah Mullally officially begins her term as Archbishop of Canterbury. She’s first woman to hold the position. But her historic appointment has highlighted divisions in the Anglican world, including in Australia, where some conservatives have rejected her leadership. 

Bishop Mark Short of the Canberra-Goulburn diocese is the new primate of the Anglican Church of Australia. It’s his job to try to reconcile a fractious church.

John Allen Jr., a longtime Vaticanista and editor-in-chief of the Catholic publication Crux, died Jan. 22, 2026, at age 61.

GUESTS: 

• Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert -  Research Fellow in Security Studies at Macquarie University. Kylie is a political scientist specialising in the Middle East

• Bishop Mark Short of the Canberra-Goulburn diocese is the new primate of the Anglican Church of Australia.