Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast

As the mercury rises for another Summer, millions of Australians - in city suburbs and country towns - will flock to the local municipal pool: these blue chlorine dreams, surrounded by concrete and grass. There are some 1300 public pools across the country. They've produced cabinets full of Olympic medals, and generations of competent young swimmers. But all is not well for this great Australian institution. Many public pools are now well over 50 years old. Hundreds are at risk of closure in the next decade without major repairs, according to Royal Life Saving Australia. And council budgets are tight.  Guest: Dr. Liz Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design, Monash UniversityProducer: Ali Benton 

The government has taken much greater control of the defence budget and tries to marry defence land acquisitions with their housing targets; Prime Minister Albanese weds his long-time sweetheart and Pauline Hanson continues to woo Barnaby Joyce. Guest: Anna Henderson, SBS World News Chief Political Correspondent | National Press Club DirectorProducer: Catherine Zengerer

In the 1960s when counter-culture and unrest was peaking around the world, India's left-wing protest movement took the form of a group of militant Maoists, determined to bring an end to capitalism in the wake of British rule and partition. Now after more fifty years the Maoist insurgency has finally surrendered, and the surviving leaders have issued an historic public apology to India’s people for their long reign of violence. Guest: Rahul Pandita,  journalist and author of “Hello, Bastar: The Untold Story of India’s Maoist Movement.” Producer: Catherine Zengerer

In 1945, sixteen Aboriginal men working at Birrundudu Station created 810 crayon drawings, commissioned by anthropologists Ronald and Catherine Berndt. Using this unfamiliar medium, the men documented their extensive knowledge of Country, ancestral creation, history, and ceremonies of the region.GUEST: Dr John Carty, Professor of Museum and Curatorial Studies at the University of Adelaide ; Robert McKay, Djaru man, collaborator on the Birrundudu project.

In 1925 in Melbourne, two young men were having lunch in a cafe in King Street, Melbourne when one of them lit a cigarette. Another diner confronted them and a brawl ensued outside. The complainer, Bill Wallace, was set upon and bashed. He pulled out a pistol and shot one of the men. With no court appearance, Wallace was incarcerated for the rest of his extraordinarily long life in mental asylums. At 107, Bill made it into the Guiness Book of Records as the oldest prisoner in the world. But his schizophrenia was never treated. Guest: Gideon Haigh, journalist and author of Who is Wallace? The Enigma of the World’s Oldest Prisoner” published by the Archives Liberation Front.Producer: Catherine Zengerer

Niki Savva, a seasoned Canberra political journalist and author of 'Earthquake: the election that shook Australia,' dives into the seismic shifts following the 2025 federal election. She reveals why the Coalition's massive defeat was shocking yet predicted and how their cultural war focus alienated voters. Savva discusses Albanese's recovery post-referendum and critiques Dutton's missteps and alignment with Trump, which harmed the Coalition's credibility. Additionally, she highlights the evolving political landscape and the need for Labor to leverage its mandate for reform.

In ancient times, limb loss was not uncommon, and often deadly. For those that survived - and had money to spend - commissioning a bespoke prosthetic was an opportunity to display one's prestige, valour and stoicism. Guest: Dr Jane Draycott, historian and archaeologist, University of GlasgowProducer: Jack Schmidt

In January, US President Donald Trump passed an executive order that banned transgender troops from serving in the American military. Now, several of those service members are taking their fight to court, arguing that the ban is unconstitutional. Their lawyers say the order discriminates against people who have already proven their commitment and capability in uniform. Advocates warn it could also damage military readiness by pushing out trained personnel. For many of these troops, the legal battle is not just about policy — it’s about their right to serve the country openly and without fear.GUEST: Shannon Minter, Legal Director of the National Centre for LGBTQ Rights in the US.PRODUCER: Ali Benton

Nauru became rich because it sat on one of the world’s purest and most valuable phosphate deposits — the key ingredient in fertiliser. When Nauruans took control of the mines after independence, money poured in and the tiny island briefly had one of the highest per-capita incomes on earth. For a time, it funded free services, no taxes and lavish public spending — a remarkable, if short-lived, resource boomGUEST: Stewart Firth, Research fellow at the Australian National University and author of Globalisation and Governance in the Pacific IslandsPRODUCER: Ali Benton

Golda Meir fell after the Yom Kippur War. Menachem Begin quit after the disaster of the 1982 Lebanon invasion. But despite the trauma of October 7, Benjamin Netanyahu remains — still the dominant figure in Israeli politics. Aluf Benn, editor in chief of the left-leaning Haaretz, argues that Netanyahu’s survival is “perhaps the greatest break with the status quo of Israeli history.”GUEST: Aluf Benn, Editor in chief of Haaretz, Israel's newspaper of the left. PRODUCER: Ali Benton