
Late Night Live - Full program podcast
From razor-sharp analysis of current events to the hottest debates in politics, science, philosophy and culture, Late Night Live puts you firmly in the big picture.
Latest episodes

Dec 17, 2024 • 54min
LNL Summer: Lobbying in the US and Captain Cooks last voyage
Brody Mullins investigates how lobbyists have changed politics and society in America and Hamilton Sides tells the story of how and why James Cook's last voyage ended up in violence - from the Hawaiian perspective.

Dec 16, 2024 • 54min
LNL Summer: William Dalrymple on India's Golden Road
For more than 1000 years, India was a trading powerhouse across the globe - not only of spices, wild animals and gemstones but also of language, philosophy, religion, mathematics and astronomy. But why is this part of India's history not so well known, and why did its dominance wane about 1200 AD?Guest: William Dalrymple, historian, podcaster and author of The Golden Road How Ancient India Transformed the World (Bloomsbury)Originally broadcast on 3 September 2024

Dec 12, 2024 • 54min
2024 Year in Review
Chas Licciardello, Sashi Perera and First Dog on the Moon - aka Andrew Marlton - join David Marr to survey the profound and the ridiculous from the year we've just had.

Dec 11, 2024 • 54min
What made Cyprus rich, and the secrets of the deep oceans
A history of Cyprus that's equal parts epic and personal. Plus, Susan Casey on the life that thrives thousands of metres below the surface of the ocean.

Dec 10, 2024 • 54min
Bruce Shapiro's America, Syria's uncertain future, and our love of Mars
Bruce Shapiro's take on a remarkable year in American politics - and what to expect in the year to come. What's next for Syria after the stunning fall of the Assad regime? Plus humanity's ancient fascination with the red planet.

Dec 9, 2024 • 54min
Canberra Politics, Belgium compensation & Bulgarian villages
Laura Tingle and Niki Savva bring their incisive analysis on the year in politics, why the world is looking at a compensation case playing out in Belgium over their actions in the Congo and then to Bulgaria where research is being done on how nature is overtaking the many abandoned villages. Is it good news for the environment?

Dec 5, 2024 • 53min
Robert Manne's intellectual combat, and a history of sex and Christianity
Robert Manne is one of Australia’s foremost public intellectuals. His new memoir traces his intellectual roots, and his own political shifts over 40 years. And Oxford historian Diarmaid MacCulloch challenges what we know about sex and Christian morality.

Dec 4, 2024 • 54min
The Fairfax dynasty's last hurrah plus what Australia's trees can tell us
The life of James Fairfax, philanthropist, art collector and heir to the Fairfax media dynasty, told through eleven objects, plus what Australia's ancient trees can tell us about our history.

Dec 3, 2024 • 54min
Ian Dunt's UK, Bob Hawke and the Balibo Five, and the patron saint of the Internet
Ian Dunt's final UK report for 2024 looks at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's pre-Christmas political re-set and the Irish election results. Historian Shannon Smith reveals the secret role Bob Hawke played in securing an inquiry into the deaths of the Balibo Five. And how Carlos Acutis went from gamer to saint. Guest: Ian Dunt, columnist with the 'i' news.

Dec 2, 2024 • 54min
Laura Tingle's Canberra, North Korean troops in Russia, and poetry's place in Australia
Laura Tingle casts her eye over the last week in Parliament, and the Prime Minister's relationship with his Environment Minister. Why is North Korea sending troops to fight in Ukraine? And what is the current place of poetry in Australian popular culture.