
Late Night Live — Full program podcast
Incisive analysis, fearless debates and nightly surprises. Explore the serious, the strange and the profound with David Marr.
Latest episodes

Jul 8, 2025 • 54min
Ian Dunt's UK, the strange world of biohacking and the flight of the bogong moth
UK Labour is facing an internal revolt after attempts to cut the welfare budget by more than £5 billion. Bio-hacking is touted as the new secret to longevity, but is it just snake oil? Plus the Taungurung people's efforts to find out why the deberra, or bogong moth, is disappearing.

Jul 7, 2025 • 54min
Telling the truth about Victoria's past, plus a US critique of 'woke' elites
ABC's Bridget Brennan surveys the process that lead to Victoria's Yoorrook Justice Commission's final truth-telling report, which found that the Indigenous people of Victoria were subject to a genocide. Plus, US sociologist Musa al-Gharbi contends that the so-called 'woke elites' of the West, are more concerned about self-promotion than actual social change.

Jul 3, 2025 • 54min
Tracing the trajectory of the Christchurch killer, and is AI a con?
The man who killed 51 people at two Christchurch mosques in 2019, was motivated by far-right extremism and white nationalist ideology. A new podcast traces the killer's digital footprint prior to the massacre. And the promise of AI (artificial intelligence). A linguistics professor warns that AI technologies, particularly large language models like ChatGPT, are often misrepresented as intelligent entities.

Jul 2, 2025 • 54min
The twins separated by foreign adoption, plus the ancient allure of isolationism
The world is experiencing a profound break from the orthodoxy of globalisation. President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement didn’t invent isolationism - the concept goes back to ancient Greece. So what's the appeal of self-sufficiency, from a nation-state level down to the individual? Plus, a story of changing polices and attitudes to children in China - a journalist tracks down a stolen child, and reunites twins who grew up separately in China and Texas.

Jul 1, 2025 • 54min
Could the world have two Dalai Lamas? And a marathon vote on Trump's 'big beautiful bill'
As the Dalai Lama turns 90, a struggle looms over his succession, with China insisting they will choose the next in line. Bruce Shapiro examines divisions amongst Republicans as Trump's 'big beautiful bill' faces a marathon debate in the Senate. And a sweeping 150 year history of test cricket - a story of race, class, money and empire.

Jun 30, 2025 • 54min
Albanese's second term ambitions, a new MI6 chief, and the forgotten Flinders brother
A look at Anthony Albanese's political agenda for his second term with Guardian Australia Political correspondent, Tom McIlroy and for the first time in history, the MI6 chief — codename C — will be a woman. Plus the life of the lesser known Flinders brother, Samuel, who is seems was overlooked because of a family feud.

Jun 26, 2025 • 54min
How to share resources in space, and the true crimes of Wiradjuri brothers Jimmy and Joe Governor
Space lawyer Steven Freeland is just back from UN meetings in Vienna, where his draft principles for accessing space resources were discussed. As chair of a working group, his job is to get all 107 member countries to agree on rules for who can do what. And the truths about Jimmy Governor, and his brother Joe, who inspired the book and film 'The chant of Jimmy Blacksmith'.

Jun 25, 2025 • 54min
What is France's role in the world? Plus, a trailblazing, rebellious Māori Professor
French President Emmanuel Macron's political fortunes may have turned against him at home, but in Europe, he now stands as one of the longest-serving leaders on the continent. What is the role of Macron's France in a tumultuous region and world? Plus, trailblazing Maori Professor Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku tells the wild, heartbreaking and beautiful stories of her life.

Jun 24, 2025 • 54min
Ian Dunt's UK, one year on from Julian Assange's release, and how classical statues lost their noses
Our regular UK correspondent Ian Dunt looks at how the surprise US attack on Iran is playing out in Europe. Journalist Andrew Fowler has the backstory on the politics of getting Julian Assange freed. And the great mystery you may never have thought of - why are the noses missing from so many classical statues?

Jun 23, 2025 • 54min
Will MAGA Republicans split over Iran strikes? And does Israel have its own nuclear weapons?
Late Night Live examines the political fallout from the US strikes on Iran, from Washington DC to Tel Aviv. Plus, as the US and Israel seek to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities, what sort of arsenal does Israel possess itself?