

Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast
ABC Australia
Incisive analysis, fearless debates and nightly surprises. Explore the serious, the strange and the profound with David Marr.
This LNL podcast contains the stories in separate episodes. Subscribe to the full podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
This LNL podcast contains the stories in separate episodes. Subscribe to the full podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 3, 2025 • 20min
Kids are about to be booted off social media
On 10 December, the government's new law banning under-16s from having social media accounts will be enforced. It's a world-first attempt to rein in the power of Big Tech, free kids from their phones, and prevent the harms of social media — but will the law actually achieve its aims?Guest: Cam Wilson is the associate editor of Crikey, where he writes about internet culture and techProducer: Alex Tighe

Nov 3, 2025 • 14min
Anna Henderson's Canberra: will the Libs follow the Nationals and abandon net zero?
Pressure is building inside the Liberal party to follow the Nationals' decision to abandon its commitment to net zero carbon emissions. Anna Henderson looks at the political implications for both parties. Guest: Anna Henderson, SBS World News Chief Political Correspondent | National Press Club Director

Oct 30, 2025 • 28min
How Australia’s politicians got hooked on gambling
Aussies love to gamble, whether it’s on the horses, down the pokies, at a fancy casino, or, increasingly, betting on their favourite sports team from the ease of our mobile phones. We love gambling so much we lose around $32 billion every year – more than any other country in the world. There’s long been support for putting the brakes on, but it seems our politicians are more addicted to the money than we are. Guest: Quentin Beresford, Adjunct Professor at Sunshine Coast University and author of 'Hooked - inside the murky world of Australia’s gambling industry', published by NewSouthProducer: Catherine Zengerer

Oct 30, 2025 • 24min
Francesca Albanese: genocide in Gaza would not be happening without the complicity of other countries
'The genocide in Gaza was not committed in isolation, but as part of a system of global complicity.' That's the conclusion of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese. Her most recent report, “Gaza Genocide: a collective crime” says that rather than ensuring that Israel respects the basic human rights and self-determination of the Palestinian people, Western states - including Australia - have provided, Israel with military, diplomatic, economic and ideological support, even as it weaponised famine and humanitarian aid. And this means we could be at risk of prosecution. Guest: Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967Producer: Catherine Zengerer

Oct 29, 2025 • 24min
Forgiveness: do we need more or less?
The Pope forgave the man who shot him in the stomach. Erika Kirk forgave the assassin who killed her husband, Charlie. But what, exactly, is forgiveness? When we forgive someone, what exactly are we doing?Guest: Professor Lucy Allais, a philosopher at both the University of the Witwatersrand and Johns Hopkins UniversityProducer: Alex Tighe

Oct 29, 2025 • 26min
Reflecting on the power Patrick White's prose still holds today
Patrick White was Australia's only Nobel Prize-winning author, renowned for novels like Voss, The Tree of Man, and The Vivisector. His work explored spiritual isolation, human cruelty, and the Australian landscape, often drawing from his own privileged but tormented life as a gay, asthmatic outsider. Now a new work has been written reflecting on White's startling use of language and his mythic depiction of the Australian landscape and the people who inhabit it. Guest: Professor Vrasidas Karalis, Sir Nicholas Laurantus Professor of Modern Greek, University of Sydney, author of "On Patrick White's Dilemmas", published by New South Books. Guest: Professor Vrasidas Karalis, Sir Nicholas Laurantus Professor of Modern Greek, University of Sydney

Oct 28, 2025 • 25min
One hundreds years of Australian anthropology: what have we learned?
Dr. Michael Edwards, a Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Sydney and organizer of the anthropology department's centenary, dives into the complex history of the discipline. He discusses anthropology's colonial roots and the ethical dilemmas arising from early research practices. Insightful topics include the legacy of Ralph Pittington's exposé on abuses and the impact of the Vietnam War on reevaluating ethics in the field. The conversation highlights modern responsibilities regarding Indigenous data sovereignty and the ongoing evolution of cultural understanding.

Oct 28, 2025 • 20min
Locals disrupt Trump's deportation blitz in Chicago
On the streets of Chicago, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are busy arresting, detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants as part of "Operation Midway Blitz". But communities are finding ways to resist.Guest: Evelyn Vargas, Organised Communities Against Deportation, ChicagoProducer: Jack Schmidt, Ali Benton

Oct 28, 2025 • 14min
Ian Dunt's UK: Prince Andrew fallout and British Labour loses big in Wales
King Charles wants Prince Andrew out of the Royal Lodge, as allegations against Andrew resurface in Virginia Giuffre's posthumous memoir. The Prince continues to deny those allegations. Meanwhile, the UK Conservatives launch an extreme immigration policy, and UK Labour has suffered its first parliamentary defeat in Caerphilly for 100 years, as Plaid Cymru claim victory in the Welsh Parliament by-election.GUEST: Ian Dunt: iNews columnist and regular LNL commentatorPRODUCER: Ali Benton Editor's note: the allegations referred to in this interview continue to be denied by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Oct 27, 2025 • 18min
Can AI help us talk to whales?
If AI language models can "learn" human languages, and translate between them, could AI also help us to decode what animals are saying? Off the coast of Dominica, a Caribbean island known for its sperm whale population, some ambitious scientists are trying to find out. Project CETI aims to use advanced robotics and AI to break the barrier of human-animal communication.Guest: Professor David Gruber, Project CETI President and Founder and National Geographic ExplorerProducers: Rebecca Metcalf and Alex Tighe


