Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast

The Epstein files are so immense that if printed out they would equal two Eiffel towers of paper. So how, exactly, are journalists making sense of the 3 million Epstein documents that were recently published by the US Department of Justice? And what are they really telling us about the scale of abuse of power by those in Epstein's orbit? Guest: Stephen Fowler, data journalist and political reporter with NPR’s Washington DeskProducer: Catherine Zengerer and Alex Tighe

The actions of NSW police are being questioned after videos emerge showing violent scenes at the Sydney protest against Israel's President, Isaac Herzog. Video footage depicts police beating protesters and forcibly removing Muslims praying at the event. Crikey's reporter Daanyal Saeed was there, and describes being hemmed in by police at both ends of the protest. He tells David Marr, "It feels like Muslims are fair game. There are no other religious groups who would be treated like this."  Guest: Daanyal Saeed, Crikey’s media reporterProducers: Catherine Zengerer and David Marr

Cane toads (Rhinella marina) are an invasive species introduced to Australia in 1935 to control agricultural pests. The species spread rapidly and now poses a significant ecological threat due to its toxic defences, which harm native predators. Their presence has led to widespread disruption of ecosystems across northern Australia.Guest: Professor Rick Shine, School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University and author of Cane Toad Wars, published by University of California Press.Producer: Ali Benton

We're now even closer with Indonesia. On 6 February Anthony Albanese signed a security pact with Indonesia's president, Prabowo Subianto, agreeing to consider joint responses to any threats. Albanese called the agreement a "watershed moment" that created a "new era" with Indonesia. The new pact is Albanese's latest move to build friends in the Indo-Pacific... is the strategy working?Guest: Susannah Patton, Director of the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia ProgramProducer: Catherine Zengerer

Parliament returns for the second half of the sitting fortnight, with the Liberal Party and The Nationals reunited, again. But all is not calm. Liberal senator Jane Hume warned that her party risked "non-existence" if it doesn't adjust. And: what exactly is social cohesion?Guest: Bernard Keane, politics editor of Crikey

Winnie-the-Pooh, the Bear of Very Little Brain, has been entertaining children for a century this year, but for Pooh's creator, A. A. Milne, the character brought a complicated joy. Milne's real-life son, Christopher Robin, became estranged from his father partly because of the burden of Pooh's fame, and Milne also came to resent how his children's literature obscured the rest of his professional writing. Guest: Gyles Brandreth, broadcaster, former politician, and author of Somewhere, A Boy And A Bear: A Biography of A. A. Milne and Winnie-The-PoohProducer: Alex Tighe

The US commentator Tucker Carlson began his working life as a respected and brilliant writer on a small conservative magazine. He moved to television commentary, then cable television, and now spreads his controversial views far and wide on streaming services. Biographer Jason Zengerle says one of Carlson's great skills is taking the messaging of far right extremists and making it seem more palatable to a wider audience.Guest: Jason Zengerle, writer with the New Yorker.  Author of 'Hated by all the right people: Tucker Carlson and the unravelling of the conservative mind' (Scribe) Producer: Ann Arnold

Australian filmmaker Abraham Joffe pulls back the curtain on a reality most people don’t realise: Polar Bears are still legally hunted and sold around the world. The documentary "Trade Secret" goes undercover to show chilling scenes of warehouses and showrooms filled to the brim with polar bear skins.Guest: Abraham Joffe, Director, Producer, Trade Secret at the Antenna Documentary Film FestivalProducer: Ali Benton

After twenty years of negotiations, the European Union has suddenly managed to cut a trade deal with India. Not to be out-done, US President Donald Trump quickly followed suit, with he and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi having seemingly patched up their differences and declared their deeply held friendship for each other. “Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most,” declared Trump on Truth Social. So what’s the rush to get India across the line? And is a new deal with Australia on the cards?Guest: Ravinder Kaur, Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Copenhagen.Producer: Catherine Zengerer

Former UK Labour powerbroker Peter Mandelson is retiring from the House of Lords amid intense scrutiny over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The move follows the release of documents suggesting Mandelson exchanged emails with Epstein and, at times, shared sensitive political information with him. British police have launched a criminal investigation into whether Mandelson may have committed misconduct in public office connected to those communications. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned Mandelson’s actions as “disgraceful” and pushed for political reforms to allow peers to be removed more easily. And the by-election that's going to squeeze UK Labour from the left and the right.Guest: Ian Dunt, columnist with i-news; co-host of the Origin Story podcast  Producer: Ali Benton