7am

Donald Trump says Cuba's next.

For decades, the United States has tried to isolate the country, but now the language is getting stronger, and a tightening of the oil blockade has brought the island to its knees.

President Trump has said taking the country would be an "honour", and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, says Cuba cannot fix its economy without changing its government.

In Havana, officials are now preparing for the possibility of a U.S. attack.

Today, Havana-based journalist Ruaridh Nicoll, on what people inside Cuba are living through – and fearing might come next.

 

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Guest: Havana-based journalist Ruaridh Nicoll.

Photo: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

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Jeffrey Hoffman grew up on Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. He was still a boy when the space age began – Sputnik, the first American astronauts, then Apollo. From early on, he knew he wanted to be part of it.

He was. Hoffman went on to fly five Space Shuttle missions, logging more than 1,200 hours in space. And today, he’ll be watching as NASA sends astronauts back around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

While Artemis II won't land on the moon – it's the next step in a plan to return humans to the lunar surface, and eventually establish a more permanent presence there.

And with China wanting to put astronauts on the moon before 2030, we're in the midst of a new space race.

Today, former NASA astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman, on why humanity is racing to the moon once again.

 

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Guest: Former NASA Astronaut and professor of Aerospace Engineering at MIT, Dr Jeffrey Hoffman.

Photo: Alex G Perez/AGPfoto/Sipa USA

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It’s now one month since the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran – and it looks like it may be entering a more dangerous phase.

Washington is sending thousands more troops into the Middle East – with President Trump saying he wants Iran’s oil and may seize the country’s Kharg island, adding he could take it “easily”.

Meanwhile, the diplomacy is confused, with Trump claiming negotiations are underway and Tehran stating there are no direct talks, while dismissing a potential U.S. proposal as one-sided and unfair.

Today, executive vice-president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Trita Parsi, on whether the U.S. is edging towards a ground war with Iran – and what it would actually take to get to a deal, if a deal is still possible at all.

 

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Guest: Iranian-born analyst and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Trita Parsi.

Photo: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

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Louis Theroux has spent years making television out of the people polite society prefers not to think about.

In his new documentary on the Manosphere, he turns that gaze on a world of male grievance, online swagger and old misogyny dressed up in the language of self-help.

In Australia, researchers and educators say that boys, women and girls are bearing the consequences of actions and attitudes turning up far beyond the screen – into classrooms, into harassment and intimidation, and in the growing sense among girls that school is becoming less and less safe.

Today, misogyny researcher at Monash University, Dr. Stephanie Westcott, on why Louis Theroux's documentary misses the real story, and what happens when we treat misogyny as fascinating instead of dangerous.

 

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Guest: Dr Stephanie Wescott, misogyny researcher at Monash University

Photo: Harriet Langford Studio/Dish/Waitrose/Cold Glass Productions/PA Wire

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In late 2023, Australia signed a landmark treaty with Tuvalu – a low-lying Pacific nation threatened by climate change – promising a special visa pathway, disaster support and closer security ties.

The deal is now in force. The first climate refugees have begun arriving in Australia, and this year, Tuvalu will help host key Pacific climate talks ahead of COP.

But the questions at the heart of this agreement have not gone away.

As rising seas threaten the future of one of our smallest neighbours, is Australia offering a genuine lifeline – or using the climate crisis to deepen its own influence in the Pacific?

Today, Mike Seccombe, on the agreement between Australia and Tuvalu – and whether Australia is helping them, or themselves.

This episode first aired in November 2023.

 

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Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Mike Seccombe

Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

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Last weekend’s South Australian election wasn’t just a wipeout for the Liberals and triumph for Labor, it was a sign that political discontent is beginning to find a new home in an old brand: One Nation.

Pauline Hanson’s party showed just how much room there is for anger on the right in a traditionally progressive state. But the rise in One Nation’s popularity isn’t just contained to SA. Nationally and in states like Victoria discontent is growing and the far right is capitalising. And with the war in Iran exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis, that frustration may only deepen. 

Today, Waleed Aly, on what the South Australian result says about the mood of the electorate, and where that mood could go next.

 

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Guest: Waleed Aly, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald columnist

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

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When Pete Hegseth faced the Senate to become Donald Trump’s defense secretary, he was grilled on everything from his lack of experience and his drinking to past controversial remarks – including that women should not serve in combat roles.

But the hearing also made something else clear: Hegseth wasn’t just being chosen to run the Pentagon in the ordinary sense. He was being chosen to wage a cultural and ideological battle inside it – to bring what he called “warrior culture” back to an institution he and Trump believed had gone “woke”.

Today, former chief national correspondent for Voice of America, Steve Herman, on the face of America’s new militarism and the role of Christian nationalism in the Trump administration.

 

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Guest: Former chief national correspondent for Voice of America, Steve Herman

Photo: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

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It’s been a rollercoaster ride on the global oil market, with wild swings in petrol prices at the bowser.

The war against Iran has caused panic buying in Australia and around the world.

Meanwhile, our government has been criticised for not having greater reserves of petrol, diesel and jet fuel.

And for not imposing higher taxes on giant gas companies, which are now raking in 

a fortune thanks to the war.

Today, Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen on how prepared Australia is for the worst energy crisis in more than 50 years – and the war: should we even be backing it?

 

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Guest: Energy Minister Chris Bowen

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

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Australia’s tobacco wars are fuelling violence, with fire bombings and arson attacks spanning across the east coast.

Now the federal government wants to treat these organised crime syndicates like ‘drug lords’ by going after them with wire tapping and seizing their assets.

And the tobacconists are in trouble too, with calls to ban tobacco stores and only sell cigarettes in supermarkets.

Today, Criminologist Dr James Martin, from Deakin University on how to reign in the multi billion dollar black market that’s created a gangsters paradise

 

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Guest: Criminologist Dr James Martin, Deakin University

Photo: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

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John Blackburn spent four decades in the Air Force, rising to Deputy Chief.

For more than decade he’s been warning that Australia is too reliant on imported fuel, too light on reserves, and too exposed if a global crisis – just like this one – disrupts supply.

Now, as more than hundred servos around the country run dry and a Trump ultimatum looms, threatening to make the fuel crisis worse, Australia is paying the price for our lack of preparedness.

Today, Chair of the Institute of Economic Research Australia, John Blackburn on how Australia botched our emergency fuel plan, what we should do next, and why the Iran war is shaping up to be a covid-level crisis.

 

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Guest: John Blackburn, Chair of the Institute of Economic Research Australia

Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

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