Late Night Live — Full program podcast

Archaeologist Ayman Warasnah on the damaged and destroyed cultural sites in Gaza. And a new biography of the the city of Madrid, in which Luke Stegemann argues that its value and cultural riches have been underrated.

Late Night Live's team of experts bring you their analysis of the US election 2024. What went right for Donald Trump? What went wrong for Kamala Harris? 

Ian Dunt on the UK Conservative party's new leader and the government's bold new budget. Japan recently elected a record number of female representatives, but a significant gender gap persists. And searching for the fragments of a famous printed bible. 

Bernard Keane says unless we fix housing young people still face huge disadvantage in Australia, even with lower student debt. Plus Shaun Micallef on writing, retirement and when comedy is no longer funny. 

Antonia Murphy recounts how she became the Madam of an escort agency in small town New Zealand. And historian Alexis Peri uncovers ten years of pen pal correspondence between the women of Truman's America and Stalin's Russia. 

What truth is there to the mystical powers of absinthe both in the past and its current form? Is it more myth than magic? Evan Rail investigates. And Santilla Chingaipe tells the stories of the 15 convicts of African descent that came with the first fleet, and the hundreds that followed. How does their story fit in the story of the global slave trade? 

Bruce Shapiro on Trump's Madison Square Garden rally and the final week of the campaign. Also in the US, a mother is suing a chatbot company for deceptive trade practices after her son committed suicide. But who is responsible for the way he interacted with the app? Plus why did our ancestors paint in deep, dark caves with little light?

Stephen Fry reflects on the power of story-telling, how to counter impostor syndrome and the things he absolutely can’t do. 

Journalist and human rights advocate Tawakkol Karman Yemen must have self-determination, free of foreign interference, to achieve true democracy and freedom. Plus why the Snowy hydro scheme continues to fascinate historians, 75 years on. 

Oxford theologian Nigel Biggar reckons with colonialism and the legacy of Empire. And journalist Anupreeta Das examines the life and power of the billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft founder, Bill Gates.