Late Night Live — Full program podcast

The Australian government will halve the fuel excise for three months, as the energy crisis triggered by the Iran war looks set to drag on. UK journalist, commentator and self-identified communist Ash Sarkar offers her critique of the modern liberal-Left, and its tendency to fall into culture war traps that do not serve people's material needs. Plus, why has the Canadian province of British Columbia decided to ditch seasonal clock changes, and embrace daylight savings time year round? Guests: Anna Henderson, chief political correspondent, SBS NewsAsh Sarkar, journalist at Novara Media, author of Minority Rule: Adventures in the Culture WarMaurice Katz, video journalist with CBC, Vancouver

Millions have been made homeless by wars in the Middle East, but with access severely limited, humanitarian agencies are struggling to get aid into the region. Plus, the National Library of Australia's departing General-Director Marie-Louise Ayres reflects on a decades-long career at this cherished public institution, where she's overseen the digitisation of millions of precious Australian archives. Guests:Susanne Legena, CEO of Plan International AustraliaMat Tinkler, CEO Save the Children Australia Marie-Louise Ayres, departing Director-General, National Library of Australia

Bruce Shapiro on whether Trump now looking for a way-out of the war in Iran, and why the Pentagon has lost its defence of media shut-out rules. Plus the New York Times has investigated  Donald Trump’s private business footprint in the Gulf, and found luxury real estate, golf courses, and high-profile partnerships. And why we should celebrate failure. Guests:Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine and Director of the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma. Eric Lipton, Investigative reporter, New York TimesDr Samuel West, Clinical psychologist and founder, Museum of Failure

The South Australian election result has got the major parties elsewhere scrambling to understand what the One Nation phenomenon means for them. In tribute to the late Rhoda Roberts, we replay an interview she did with David Marr on the 'Welcome to country' backlash. Plus the downsides of pretty flowers, and what the industry is doing to clean up its act. 

Journalist and author William J. Kole examines how white evangelicals in the United States have fused the gospel and guns - and are standing in the way of reasonable restrictions on firearms. Plus, fresh scrutiny on the makers of the herbicide Roundup - and the widely-cited research used as evidence of its safety.Guests:William J. Kole, journalist and author of In Guns We Trust -The Unholy Trinity of White Evangelicals, Politics, and Firearms, published by Broadleaf books Naomi Oreskes, Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University

Pauline Hanson rose from Ipswich City Council in 1994, to win the federal seat of Oxley in 1996, as a disendorsed Liberal turned independent. Her maiden speech ignited national controversy, and after just two years in Canberra, and a string of failed comebacks, she’s now back at the centre of Australian politics — with One Nation now polling at 24% of the primary vote (Resolve Strategic). Some of Australia's finest political minds unpack Hanson's remarkable resurgence.Guests:Niki Savva, journalist, author and former political advisor to Peter CostelloPaul Kelly, Editor-at-large for The AustralianSimon Hunt and his alter ego Pauline PantsdownABC Election Analyst Emeritus, Antony GreenProducer: Ali Benton

Ian Dunt, UK politics commentator known for sharp takes on Westminster, discusses Keir Starmer’s cautious Middle East stance, Iran’s leverage and the politics of defensive operations. Geoffrey Watson SC, anti-corruption campaigner, critiques the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s secretive handling of Robodebt. Saikrishna Prakash, constitutional law professor, explores the politics, history and reform of US presidential pardons.

Our regular Canberra correspondent Anna Henderson on the new-look Nationals. Saudi Arabia is playing a quiet hand so far in the war. And a longtime radical feminist reflects on the need to keep protesting.Guests:Anna Henderson,  chief political correspondent, SBSSimon Mabon, Professor of International Politics at Lancaster University, specialising in Saudi-Iranian relationsMargaret 'Mag' Merrilees, author of 'Scared Angry Laughing - how to fix the world'

Antony Beevor, acclaimed historian and author of narrative military histories, on Rasputin’s rise from Siberian peasant to a scandal-haunted court figure and his role in the Romanovs’ collapse. Jo Bartosz, journalist and assistant editor who co-wrote Pornocracy, on AI-made porn, platform responsibility, and how synthetic sexual imagery reshapes society and regulation.

Simon Nasht, former ABC journalist turned documentary maker, and Anna Potter, QUT professor of screen policy, discuss the crisis in Australian TV funding and what counts as an Australian story. They tackle streamers, shrinking drama hours, public subsidies, foreign ownership and targeted support for uniquely Australian and First Nations drama. They also explore why conspiracy theories thrive in Ireland and how to counter them.