Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast

It’s been ten years since the Panama Papers exposed a global network of hidden offshore accounts used by politicians, celebrities, and corporations to avoid taxes and hide wealth. The leak sparked investigations in dozens of countries, led to high-profile resignations, and debates over financial transparency and accountability. A decade later, the Panama Papers remain a landmark in investigative journalism, showing both the scale of global tax avoidance and the ongoing challenges in regulating offshore finance.Guest: Gerard Ryle, Executive Director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)Producer: Ali Benton 

In October 1994 then US Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote his old friend and now boss, Bill Clinton, a letter with an urgent warning. “We’re in danger of losing Congress” he said. “Polls show that the voters who are most alienated from the administration are adults without college degrees, whose incomes have dropped the most. Many are (so-called) “Reagan Democrats,” who were slowest to rally to you in 1992, are still distrustful of government, and are most likely to desert the Democrats this November.”  His warning fell on deaf ears and thirty years later those disaffected American voters turned in droves to Donald Trump. Now Robert Reich has traced how the Democrats lost the working class in his memoir. Guest: Robert B. Reich former Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Former Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, author of ‘Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America’,  published by Penguin Australia. Producer: Catherine Zengerer

The division and deep discontent in Iran gave Israel and the US a public rationale for attacking its brutal leadership. How did this nation become so divided in the first place, and which of its extreme leadership models, the Shahs or the Ayatollahs, have served Iran best?Guest: Robert Templar, author of 'The Shah's last party, and the Iranian Revolution that followed' (Hurst)Former journalist, and former policy analyst with the International Crisis Group.Producer: Ann Arnold 

Just one hour after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed the nation about oil supply issues, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer gave a press conference with his plan. But unlike Australia's response, UK Labour has a plan to address fuel prices. Guest: Ian Dunt: iNews columnist and regular LNL commentatorProducer: Ali Benton 

An environmental scientist and his colleagues have just finished mapping Australia's remaining wilderness areas - the first time it has been done in 40 years. The project shows that true wilderness areas have declined in area by at least 20%, and raises questions about how wilderness is defined. Guest: James Watson, Professor of Environmental Science, University of QLD . Australian mapping commissioned by the Wilderness Society in 2024.Producer: Ann Arnold

Israel's parliament has passed a law that makes the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank who have been found guilty of killing Israelis. The law effectively enshrines capital punishment for Palestinians alone, as it explicitly excludes Israeli citizens or residents who are tried in civilian courts. The UN Human Rights Office in Palestine has called on Israel to immediately repeal the law which they say violates the country’s obligations under international law. Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative has described the law and "unjust and inhuman" and is calling on the international community to take punitive measures against it. Guest: Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National InitiativeProducer: Ali Benton  

Shane Wright, senior economics correspondent covering federal-state finance, explains the WA GST carve-up. He outlines why the 2018 capped-GST deal was struck, how iron-ore shocks and falling receipts created budget gaps, and why costs have ballooned to roughly $60 billion. He also discusses political influence, who ends up paying, opaque rules like a $200m reclassification, and possible reform via the Productivity Commission.

The province of British Columbia, Canada has officially ditched its biannual seasonal clock changes, embracing daylight savings time forever - renamed Pacific time.  It's a seemingly popular decision locally, likely fast-tracked in response to Donald Trump's unfriendly rhetoric, but challenges await when the province falls out of sync with its neighbouring US states. Guest: Maurice Katz, video journalist, CBC

In her book, Minority Rule, Ash Sarkar argues that parts of the modern left have drifted away from focusing on material issues like wages, housing, and public services, and have instead become overly focused on identity, language, and symbolic actions. While she acknowledges the importance of struggles around race and gender, she believes these issues are sometimes treated separately from class and economic power, which can weaken solidarity. Sarkar also criticises a tendency toward moralism and internal conflict within left-wing spaces, where people prioritise calling each other out over building collective movements.Guest: Ash Sarkar, Senior Editor at Novara Media and author, Minority RuleProducer: Ali Benton 

The Albanese government will halve the fuel excise for three months at a cost of $2.5b, to provide some petrol and diesel price relief to consumers. The PM is urging calm and encouraging Easter travel, but how will the current crisis shape the political landscape, and Jim Chalmers' looming budget? Guest: Anna Henderson, chief political correspondent, SBS