Saturday Extra - Full program podcast

Understand Australia and the world with Nick Bryant.

The Pentagon is sending more US Marines to the Middle East as the war with Iran escalates and widens  -  Professor Robert Pape explains how the US is falling into an "escalation trap".Economist Stephen Koukoulas on how the oil shock is hitting the Australian economy and whether the government may use the crisis to bring forward economic reform.Andrew Day from The American Conservative, on how the decision to go to war is dividing President Trump's MAGA support base. How weight loss drugs are changing the world and might they become available to adolescents?Plus the ABC's Annabel Crabb on the South Australian election.

Understand Australia and the world with Nick Bryant.

Yalda Hakim joins Nick Bryant from Qatar, as Iran continues strikes against Gulf states. Ed Luce, from the Financial Times discusses  how Donald Trump has moved from a "peacemaker" to the pursuit of Iranian regime change.The discovery of a possum and a glider in the forests of West Papua that were thought to be extinct with Professor Tim Flannery. Magda Szubanski reflects on the life of Ted Emery, a much loved comedy director who died this week who was behind many Australian hit shows, such as Kath and Kim.Plus, Rick Ardon and Susannah Carr - the world's longest-serving television news anchor duo from Perth in Western Australia.

Understand Australia and the world with Nick Bryant.

Australian economist Justin Wolfers reacts to the bombshell US Supreme Court ruling which deemed Donald Trump's tariffs illegal. Cricketing legend Greg Chappell discusses the imprisonment of former rival-turned-mate Imran Khan.BBC News royal correspondent Jonny Dymond unpacks the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The New York Times' Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks about her powerful interview with Gisele Pelicot, the French rape survivor. And what is Chinamaxxing? Writer Zara Wong explains. 

Understand Australia and the world with Nick Bryant.

Katty Kay from The Rest is Politics US dissects the latest in US politics including the reaction to a now deleted racist post of the Obamas. Plus, the Epstein files political fallout in the UK with Jon Sopel from The News Agents.How is the Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Australia being reported in Israel?And former National Party leader John Anderson on the surge in One Nation support.

The latest on Iran from BBC Persian's Bahman Kalbasi as Tehran faces the threat of US military action in response to the killing of peaceful demonstrators and mass executions.The downfall of China's top military general Zhang Youxia as Xi Jinping escalates his purge of the People's Liberation Army elite with Richard McGregor from the Lowy Institute.Plus, is the Trump administration  de-escalating controversial deportation tactics in Minnesota?

Charles Kupchan and Malcolm Turnbull assess the week of diplomacy at Davos in Switzerland this week, the implications of Trump's America first approach and the remarkable speech made by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who described the end of the era underpinned by United States.Plus Niki Savva on the "inevitable" split of the Coalition and the future of Sussan Ley's leadership of the Liberal Party.