
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

Mar 26, 2025 • 54min
Sexual violence perpetrators getting younger, and lost in the Amazon for forty days
Perpetrators of sexual violence are getting younger, and the messaging campaigns aimed at men are only causing a backlash. Jess Hill on why our prevention programs are failing. Plus the real story behind the tale of four children lost in the Amazon jungle after their plane crashed.

5 snips
Mar 25, 2025 • 54min
Bruce Shapiro's America, Poland digging trenches, and crime in the Antarctic
Bruce Shapiro on the pressure facing judges, law firms and institutions to either comply with - or resist - US President Donald Trump's executive orders. As Europe ramps up defence spending, Poland is already digging lines of defence. And what happens when human conflict - or even a crime - occurs in an Antarctic workplace?

Mar 24, 2025 • 54min
Laura Tingle's Canberra, mass protests in Turkiye and Australia's own vernacular
Laura Tingle on how the major parties have aligned to water down environmental protection laws in the face of further disasters in the Tasmanian salmon industry. Thousands protest the arrest of Turkiye's opposition leader. Plus the Australian-isms we love, and what they say about our history.

Mar 20, 2025 • 54min
The ethics of posthumous publishing plus the dark side of green cities
Questions are being asked about whether its ethical to publish author Joan Didion's personal diaries after her death - and without her consent. Plus the dark history of the green cities movement - with links to eugenics and ideas of making compliant workers.

Mar 19, 2025 • 54min
Radio propaganda wars in the Middle East, and the firebombing of Tokyo
Historian Margaret Peacock traces the history of radio propaganda in the Middle East from 1940-1960. From the BBC to Radio Moscow, all the big powers had their own Arabic language radio stations broadcasting across the region. Plus the ongoing trauma of the firebombing of Tokyo. The elderly survivors of the bombing are still fighting for recognition.

Mar 18, 2025 • 54min
Ian Dunt's UK, Russia's frozen assets, and Poland confronts its queer history
Ian Dunt reflects on the role of Britain in a Europe bolstering its defences. Sir William Browder says sanctioned Russian assets should be used to leverage a decent peace deal for Ukraine. And a new museum fills the silence of Poland's queer history.

Mar 17, 2025 • 54min
Laura Tingle's Canberra, Satyajit Das on how to survive a trade war, and trolling before the Internet
7.30 Political editor, Laura Tingle, asks whether Anthony Albanese ever had any chance of escaping Trump's tariffs. Economist and writer Satyajit Das, on how Australia should navigate this economic uncertainty. And a history of trolling before the internet.

Mar 13, 2025 • 54min
The most trusting nation on Earth, and the rise and fall of Trudeau
The Danes, alongside other Scandinavian nations, are the most trusting people on Earth - trusting of their neighbours, fellow citizens and public institutions. Why then, has trust in the Danish media collapsed? Plus, biographer Stephen Maher on the rise and fall of Justin Trudeau, the prince of Canadian politics.

Mar 12, 2025 • 54min
A new age of nuclear peril, and the Caribbean countries lining up to leave the monarchy
As alliances wobble, wars rage and world leaders talk of rearmament, are we on the precipice of a new nuclear age? Security expert Ankit Panda says our coexistence with the bomb is becoming more complicated and perilous. Plus, why are Caribbean nations lining up to leave the British monarchy?

Mar 11, 2025 • 54min
Bruce Shapiro's America, the potential of prison architecture, and Queensland's rebellious first female doctor
Bruce Shapiro is back as measles spreads in Texas, and Columbia University faces drastic defunding from the Trump administration. Criminologist Yvonne Jewkes on the myths and benefits of prisoner rehabilitation through building design. And playwright Katy Forde celebrates the life of Dr Lilian Cooper - Brisbane's first female doctor - with an award-winning musical.