Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast

As Europe looks to become much more self-sufficient on defence, how will the Starmer government find the funds? Plus, relationships sour within Nigel Farage's Reform party. 

Some of history's greatest trolls existed well before the Internet. Oscar Wilde, Lord Byron and even Shakespeare all loved provoking outrage. The desire to hurt or distract another with words goes back a very long way - and says a lot about the state of a culture.  GUEST: David Rudrum, Author of Trolling before the Internet, An Offline History of Insult, Provocation, and Public Humiliation in the Literary ClassicsPRODUCER: Ali Benton

Global finance markets slumped as the US heads towards a recession due to pressure on interest rates, Trump’s chaotic approach to imposing tariffs and the mass lay-offs cause by the DOGE cuts. So at what point do the BRICS countries decide to de-couple from the US dollar? And how should Australia respond in the context of the upcoming budget and the federal election? GUEST: Satyajit Das, former banker and global market analyst.PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer

After US President Donald Trump imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Australia, opposition leader Peter Dutton said his Coalition could have won a tariff exemption, if they'd been in government. Meanwhile Prime Minister Albanese has stepped up the language, describing Trump's move as 'entirely unjustified'.Guest: Laura Tingle, Political Editor, 7.30

When Justin Trudeau became Canadian Prime Minister in 2015, the world swooned. A young, unifying leader with a "sunny" vision for liberal democracy, following in the footsteps of his late father, Pierre. Nine years later, Justin Trudeau has stepped aside as PM at an inflection point for his country. Biographer Stephen Maher mulls the legacy of the mercurial Canadian leader: his achievements, his missteps, and what could've been. Guest: Stephen Maher, journalist and biographer, The Prince: The turbulent reign of Justin Trudeau

In Nordic countries trust in your fellow compatriots has always been high,  but that’s not the case for people who work in the media. So what’s going wrong? And what do Vikings have to do with the role of trust in Denmark?GUEST: Gert Tinggaard Svendsen, Professor in the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University, Denmark. He contributed the chapter “Trust and the Danish Experience” to the book Age of Doubt: Building Trust in a World of Misinformation, edited by Gavin Fang and Tracey Kirkland (ABC). Published by Monash University. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer

A number of Caribbean nations are voicing their desire to throw off the shackles of colonial rule. In December last year, Jamaica tabled a bill to become a republic and cut ties with the British Monarchy. The country's Prime Minister, Andrew Holness has promised a referendum by the end of 2025, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen any time soonGUEST: Tracy Robinson, Professor of Law, University of West IndiesPRODUCER: Ali Benton

Nuclear expert Ankit Panda says we have entered a new threat level, both from the major powers and from non-state actors. He says eighty years since Nagaski, policies of nuclear deterrence are no longer enough to deal with the increasing prospect of nuclear escalation, and that world leaders need to urgently re-focus their efforts on disarmament strategies. GUEST: Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of The New Nuclear Age: At the Precipice of Armageddon, published by Polity. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer

In 1891, 29 year old Lilian Cooper arrived in the city of Brisbane, recruited from London as Queensland's first female doctor. Alongside her life partner Josephine Bedford, the pair became beloved local figures. Lilian- a tall, smoking, no-nonsense practitioner - was fiercely independent, highly skilled and deeply admired by her patients. Her story is the subject of an award-winning musical, A Girl's Guide to World War, now on tour in regional Queensland. 

Should prison architecture be used for punishment, or could it be used to create hope, instead. Criminologist Yvonne Jewkes has helped design prisons in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. And visited others in Norway, Spain and  Japan.Guest: Professor Yvonne Jewkes, Bath University. Author of ‘An architecture of hope: reimagining the prison, restoring a house, rebuilding myself’ (Scribe)