Published by ABC Australia
Incisive analysis, fearless debates and nightly surprises. Explore the serious, the strange and the profound with David Marr.
Listen on Apple Podcasts54 min
In his new book, Crikey’s political editor, Bernard Keane, turns his eye not just to where Australia has gone wrong, but to how we can best position ourselves to navigate the triple threat of Trump, China and AI. Plus the eight thousand year history of wine - from Georgia to the present day. Guests: Bernard Keane, political editor, Crikey, and author of ‘ Seize the Moment - Australia’s real opportunities in an unstable world, ’ Kathleen Burk, Professor Emerita of Modern and Contemporary history at University College London and author of Wine, A global history
53 min
Ian Dunt on Nigel Farage's planned 'Operation Fortress', stopping all illegal boats. The Odyssey film-makers caused offence in an indigenous-owned region that Morocco claims as its own. And the push to rid Kangaroo Island of cats, both feral and pet. Guests: Ian Dunt, columnist with i-news, co-host of Origin Story podcast Sarah Yerkes, North Africa specialist and senior fellow with the Middle East program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peac Michael Pengilly, Mayor of Kangaroo Island
54 min
Anna Henderson recaps an eventful Garma festival in Arnhem Land, which included a blistering speech from Noel Pearson. Is there hope for a reunified Cyprus, amid planned UN talks? Plus, why butterfly collectors are a dying breed. Guests: Anna Henderson, chief political correspondent, SBS Dr. Erol Kaymak, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Eastern Mediterranean University Emil Leth Beiter, Danish writer and critic
54 min
The famous writer Oscar Wilde died alone in a French hotel in 1900. Since that time, so much has been written about the man - much of it rumour and speculation. In his new book, 'After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal', Oscar Wilde’s grandson Merlin Holland sets the record straight. The book is thirty years in the making and is an exploration of Wilde’s posthumous reputation and how his imprisonment for homosexuality affected Wilde's family, friends and literary legacy. Guest: Merlin Holland, Oscar Wilde's grandson and author, Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal Producer: Ali Benton Originally broadcast in January 2026.
54 min
Established in Moscow in 1989, the 'Night Wolves' motorcycle club continues to operate as a powerful propaganda arm of the Putin regime. Plus, the writer Sisonke Msimang defends the legacy of Sarah "Saartjie" Baartman, the African woman trafficked through early 19th Century Europe as a 'freak show' spectacle. Guests: Dr Olga Boichak, Senior Lecturer in digital cultures, Sydney University Sisonke Msimang, writer and activist, author of 'Defending the dead: the many afterlives of Sarah Baartman' in the latest Griffith Review
54 min
Our regular US commentator, Bruce Shapiro, looks at how President Trump is caught between pressure at home to get out of the Iran war, and pressure from Israel to stay in it. Plus why use of the agricultural weed killer Paraquat has just been allowed to continue in Australia, despite being banned in many other countries. And this year's Census is getting more personal. Guests: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine and Director of the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma Sarah Rogers, Associate Professor in Geography, University of Melbourne Liz Allen, demographer, ANU
54 min
Anna Henderson on Pauline Hanson's discrimination court loss, and Labor rejecting Ed Husic's genocide motion at their national conference. How technology is transforming modern warfare and creating a new global arms race. Plus, one hundred years on, LNL looks at the dark side of Route 66. Guests: Anna Henderson, SBS World News Chief Political Correspondent | National Press Club Director Steve Feldstein, author of Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Private Tech, and the New Shape of Modern Warfare Dr Daniel Milowski, author of 'Route 66 and the Formation of a National Cultural Icon: Mother Road to Mythic American Byway'
54 min
Australia likes to think it has no history of slavery, but two-thirds of Australia's colonial governors had links to the slave economy of the British Empire. A new book, Legacies of British Slavery in Australia and New Zealand reveals how slave money shaped the colonies. Plus, veteran architecture critic Paul Goldberger examines what Donald Trump's building agenda says about his politics, power and legacy. Guests: Professor Zoe Laidlaw, historian, University of Melbourne, co-editor with Sally Lydon of 'Legacies of British Slavery in Australia and NZ' Paul Goldberger, former architecture critic for The New York Times, and The New Yorker, and the author of ' Why Architecture Matters. '
54 min
One Nation is on a transformative mission, intent on professionalising its operation. But can they? Plus the trailblazing, and sometimes gun-blazing, women who built democracy around the world - they’re all fierce, all feminists, but not all of them were progressives. Guests: Jordan McSwiney, Senior Research Fellow, Canberra University, who specialises in right wing politics Paula Bartley, historian and author of ' Trailblazers, the first women elected to government ’, published by Polity.
54 min
Britain has its seventh Prime Minister in ten years as Andy Burnham moves into 10 Downing Street. A new documentary counts the staggering emissions of US military operations globally. Plus, is Australia becoming a nation of handouts for the rich? A leading economist makes the case for tighter means-testing. Guests: Naomi Smith, commentator and CEO of Best for Britain Abby Martin, journalist and director of Earth's Greatest Enemy Professor Robert Breunig, director of the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU
54 min
Anna Henderson looks at the government's decision to go on the front foot with their AI policy and how it will play out at Labor's upcoming national conference. The Guardian investigates a US air strike in Somalia which killed and injured 12 civilians, including children. Plus the Nazi bunker that could be destroyed to make way for a block of flats in Berlin. Guests: Anna Henderson, chief political correspondent with SBS Mohamed Gabobe, freelance reporter in Mogadishu. Dr. Caroline Sharples, Senior Lecturer in history at the University of Roehampton, UK.
54 min
After a terror attack in Kashmir in 2025, India suspended a key water treaty between the nations, threatening to cut Pakistan’s water supplies off by building a series of hydro-electric dams which can divert water away from Pakistan. Pakistan has threatened nuclear retaliation if it goes ahead. Plus in the West Bank Israel has stepped up the bulldozing of olive groves, which the IDF claims is a security measure. Guests: Michael Kugelman, senior fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, and writer of Foreign Policy magazine’s weekly South Asia Brief. Raja Shehadeh, Palestinian author, poet and human rights lawyer
54 min
Australia's new treaties with Fiji and Vanuatu are being hailed as a diplomatic triumph. But how meaningful are they, and are they in the best interests of the wider Pacific? And a philosopher's take on why the push for the New Space Age, when humans will someday be living, working, and vacationing in space, is a mistake. Guests: Joanne Wallis, Professor of International Security, Adelaide University. Co-author, with Jack Corbett, of ‘Neighbours: Australia and the Pacific’ (La Trobe) Ben Bramble, lecturer in philosophy at the Australian National University and a mission specialist at ANU’s Institute for Space. Author of ‘Lunacy - Ten False promises of the New Space age’ (NewSouth)
54 min
US commentator Bruce Shapiro looks at the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump's attack on New York Times journalists over their Air Force One reporting, and how the US's latest attacks on Iran are being seen ahead of the November primaries. Plus a new documentary by Danish journalist Tom Heinemann investigates Ikea's claims that it's wood from a Romanian forest is sustainable. And 'The dead can't sue', a cheeky new ABC podcast about the scandals and gossip from Australia's past.
54 min
Canberra columnist Professor Mark Kenny examines Liberal leader Angus Taylor's fresh criticism of One Nation. In Alabama, there's debate over the use of nitrous oxide as a method to execute death row prisoners. And why are more and more of us watching TV and film with the subtitles on? Guests: Professor Mark Kenny, columnist with the Canberra Times; Director of the Australian Studies Institute at ANU Deborah Denno, criminologist and Professor at the Fordham University School of Law, New York Andy Wright, Oscar-winning sound editor
54 min
Uncle Roger Knox joins David Marr in the studio for an hour of stories and songs: from growing up on the mission, to making his name in Tamworth, surviving two plane crashes, and singing the truth about frontier violence. Guest: Uncle Roger Knox, Gomeroi Elder and musician; joined by collaborator Toby Martin Producer: Catherine Zengerer Sound Engineer: Tegan Nicholls, Harvey O'Sullivan
54 min
The hit new book Regime Change offers staggering insights into Donald Trump's second presidency, revealed by New York Times journalists Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman. Plus, historian Nicholas Guyatt exposes the paradox of founding father and early US president Thomas Jefferson - who opposed slavery politically, yet enslaved more than 600 people. A new book explores his vision of abolition — and racial exclusion. Guests: Jonathan Swan, journalist with New York Times and co-author, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump Nicholas Guyatt, Professor of North American History, Cambridge University
54 min
UK commentator Ian Dunt joins Late Night Live moments before Reform leader Nigel Farage's fiery resignation as MP. Human rights researcher Larissa Kojoue says many African leaders are outlawing homosexuality because they don't want to seem 'Western'. And an Indian Supreme Court ruling establishes that is a human right to walk safely on a footpath Guests: Ian Dunt, columnist with i-news, co-host of Origin Story podcast Larissa Kojoue, African human rights researcher with Human Rights Watch Rishi Aggarwal, activist and founder of the Mumbai Walking Project
54 min
Prof Mark Kenny surveys the Coalition's ongoing struggles to handle the surging popularity of Pauline Hanson's One Nation. Israeli philosopher Assaf Sharon studies how states coerce and manipulate their citizens. Plus, a look inside one of Australia's premier ancient coin collections. Guests: Professor Mark Kenny, Director of the Australian Studies Institute at ANU, host of the Democracy Sausage podcast Assaf Sharon, Israeli philosopher. Co-author of 'Captive minds: a study of manipulation' (Harvard Uni Press) Peter Edwell, Deputy Director of the Australian Centre for Ancient Numismatic Studies at Macquarie University
54 min
As the US celebrates 250 years since its Declaration of Independence, what links can we draw between America's Revolution and Australia's colonisation? Plus, the 'Indian' world of George Washington: founding father and aggressive land speculator. Guests: Professor Kate Fullagar, historian at ACU Professor Colin G. Calloway, historian at Dartmouth College, author of The Indian World of George Washington