The Front

Prince Andrew has always denied participating in the sexual abuse of Virginia Giuffre - but her powerful memoir cost the former Duke of York everything. Today, our reporter Paige Taylor reflects on covering the last days of Giuffre’s troubled and too-short life.  This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Claire Harvey and edited by Jasper Leak, who also composed our music.  Our team includes Kristen Amiet, Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack and Joshua Burton.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did Yayoi Kusama - a recluse who lives in a psychiatric facility - become the world’s biggest-selling artist? Today we reflect on the most significant presentation of Kusama’s work, a blockbuster NGV show that drew 600,000 visitors - and what Kusama has planned next. Plus, Donald Trump reshapes the global order with the military capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.  This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Kristen Amiet and Claire Harvey and edited by Jasper Leak, who also composed our theme. Our team includes Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack and Joshua Burton.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A devilishly difficult New Year job awaits Israel: how to deal with a fractured, degraded - but still seriously dangerous Shia Muslim guerrilla movement in Yemen, just south of Saudi Arabia. It’s the Houthis - a deeply anti-Semitic terror movement with nothing to lose and the capacity to catastrophically disrupt international trade whenever they like. Cameron Stewart is here.  Read more about this story, plus see photos, videos and additional reporting, on the website or on The Australian’s app. This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Claire Harvey and edited by Joshua Burton. Our team includes Kristen Amiet, Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beloved cookbook author Nagi Maehashi accused cookie queen Brooke Bellamy (who denied the claim) of plagiarising her recipes for baklava and chocolate caramel slice, sparking a literary scandal and a conversation about big ideas: the worth of women’s work and the concept of courtesy. So - who won?  This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Claire Harvey and edited by Joshua Burton. Our team includes Kristen Amiet, Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We first met Robert Irwin when he was an adorable toddler. Now he’s sending women wild for very different reasons - because the 22-year-old wildlife activist also happens to be charming, sensitive, talented and a very smooth dancer. Today, Bianca Farmakis joins us to discuss - with only a few blushes - this remarkable young man’s global success.  This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Claire Harvey and edited by Joshua Burton. Our team includes Kristen Amiet, Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a dramatic year for the House of Windsor, our Europe correspondent (and royal expert) Jacquelin Magnay reflects on the King’s moves to go hard on Andrew and soft on Harry, as Charles II continues his own battle with cancer.  This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Claire Harvey with editing and sound design by Tiffany Dimmack. Our team includes Kristen Amiet, Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack, Joshua Burton and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new generation of cricket commentators is heralding the game into a new, high-tech – and sometimes hilarious – era. The Australian’s Media Editor James Madden steps up to the crease. Read more about this story, plus see photos, videos and additional reporting, on the website or on The Australian’s app. This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Kristen Amiet and edited by Joshua Burton. Our regular host is Claire Harvey and our team includes Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack, Stephanie Coombes and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Headlines: The former Duke of York denies any wrongdoing or knowledge of the child sex offending by his close friends Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, whose correspondence about girls and ‘inappropriate friends’ with someone called ‘A’, the Duke of York and ‘The Invisible Man’ are detailed in a new dump of documents from US authorities. Plus, the latest news relating to the Bondi Beach anti-Semitic terror attacks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Christmas Eve, we ask: is the Nativity story about real people, real events - or something else? Foreign editor Greg Sheridan is on assignment: back in time to the little town of Bethlehem.  This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Claire Harvey with sound design and editing by Tiffany Dimmack. Our team includes Kristen Amiet, Lia Tsamoglou, Joshua Burton, Stephanie Coombes and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music.  This episode includes small moments of exquisite Christmas music including Frank Sinatra’s Silent Night, The Beatles’ Let it Be and the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge performing Once In Royal David’s City.  Greg Sheridan’s book Christians is published by Allen & Unwin. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stubborn and unwilling to take personal responsibility: that’s the take from Political Editor Geoff Chambers, as Anthony Albanese backs himself into a corner of conditional apology and reluctance to call a Royal Commission.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.