The Taliban is settling back into power in Afghanistan, a month after their victory.

Since then, the militant group has named an interim cabinet and ministry that's entirely male and mostly Pashtun, and in the latest gruesome display of their approach to justice, they hung a dead body from a crane at a busy roundabout in the city of Herat over the weekend.

But despite the brutality and the lack of female representation, talk that the Taliban is different from the 90s persists.

So what is the evidence for that so far?

Today on The Signal we speak with the Chief of the Associated Press bureau in Afghanistan, Kathy Gannon.

We ask her what daily life has been like under the Taliban already, 20 years after they last ruled one of the world's poorest countries, and what may lie ahead.

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Kathy Gannon, Afghanistan and Pakistan Bureau Chief, Associated Press, Kabul

It's been seven years since Virginia Giuffre first made allegations against the Queen's son, Prince Andrew.

The Prince has always emphatically denied the allegations, which include that he knew Giuffre was being trafficked by the now-deceased American financier Jeffrey Epstein when she was a teenager, and that he allegedly had sex with her anyway on three separate occasions.

After an earlier criminal investigation into the allegations was wound up, Giuffre's lawyers have initiated a civil case against him in a court in New York.

But it could be a drawn out affair, with even just getting the legal papers in front of the Prince proving to be tricky.

Today on The Signal, what is Virginia Giuffre alleging?

And if the case does get to trial in America, what will it mean for Giuffre, for Prince Andrew, and for the royal family itself?

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Mark Stephen, Media lawyer and Partner, Howard Kennedy, London

Nazi cry babies, fascist morons, drunks, opportunists, or just really frustrated construction workers?

There are a lot of opinions getting around about exactly who's been protesting on the streets of Melbourne this week.

So after several days of clashes with police, what do we know about the real composition of the crowd that stormed the CFMEU headquarters on Monday?

And what's driven people to show up every day since?

Today on The Signal, Australia's ugliest moment so far in the fight against COVID-19 vaccines.

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Ben Schneiders, investigative reporter, The Age

Michael Byrne, Partner & workplace relations lawyer, Swaab

In many parts of Australia, Aboriginal community leaders want more control over local decision-making.

They say it's a race against time to start reversing decades-old crises of substance abuse, incarceration, crime and joblessness.

Often, community leaders point to existing examples of self-determination.

So what are those models delivering?

Today on The Signal, we travel to the communities on Groote Eylandt, off the east coast of Arnhem Land.

How does self-determination work there?

And could the same strategies be adapted elsewhere too?

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Jane Bardon, ABC reporter

Tony Wurramarrba, Chairman, Anindilyakwa Land Council

Glen Smith, General Manager, Gebie Civil and Construction

Nesman Bara, Board-member, Aminjarrinja Enterprises

Daniel Ngurruwuthun, Artist

Constantine Mamarika, Traditional owner

Ida Mamarika, Umbakumba Elder

Fabian Lalara, Senior Mentor Supervisor, Gebie Gang

Donovan Wurramara, Gebie Gang participant

Jasmine Hastings, Leadership officer, Milyakburra Strong Women's Group

If you're locked down right now, you're probably spending quite a lot of your time imagining how much better 2022 will be.

NSW and Victoria both have roadmaps out of lockdown that project a significant re-opening once 80% of the population older than 16 is fully vaccinated later this year.

The national COVID plan sets out something similar for other parts of the country too.

The reality though is that next year is far from certain.

The rise and fall of case numbers, the death rate, and time spent in lockdown really depend on what we do next.

Today on The Signal, we're looking at three different models for how 2022 could look in Australia, and what it'll take to pull off the best case scenario.

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Professor Tony Blakely, Epidemiologist, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne

Things were looking shaky for Christian Porter for days before he resigned from the frontbench.

In less than a year, the man formerly described as one of the most promising members of the Coalition's cabinet, has had a dramatic tumble from Attorney General to the backbenches.

He maintains he's done nothing wrong, in spite of sharp criticism over an anonymous donation to help cover the cost of suing the ABC.

Despite that, he's leaving Cabinet in the name of avoiding further distraction from the Government's efforts to govern.

So is that the end of the matter?

Today on The Signal, the reasons behind Christian Porter's resignation from the frontbench, and what happens next to the Member for Pearce.

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Patricia Karvelas, Host, RN Drive and ABC News Afternoon Briefing

It's the most significant defence announcement in Australia in decades.

After months of secret talks, the US and UK will help Australia develop a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

It allows Australia access to one of the world's most exclusive weaponry clubs, and everyone knows the unspoken motivation is to try to contain a rising China.

So will this make us safer?

Today on The Signal, we explore what Australia's agreed to, and where it might lead.

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Stephen Dziedzic, ABC Foreign Affairs Reporter

Federal election season is fast approaching, and lately Labor has been trying to get itself into shape.

While much of the party's policy platform remains a work in progress, personnel dilemmas have been the focus in the past few weeks.

And there've been quite a few, with the retirement of the backbencher Joel Fitzgibbon, an unseemly jostle about who would make the cut for Labor's NSW Senate ticket, and the awkward parachuting of the party's Deputy Senate Leader Kristina Keneally into a likely safe Labor seat in Sydney's South West.

So what's behind all the untidiness?

And given the Labor Party seems to believe the election isn't far off, what do we know about when it will be?

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David Speers, Host, ABC TV Insiders

If you thought Australia's vaccine rollout was on the slow side, then spare a thought for Ethiopia, Nigeria or Kenya, where vaccination rates are still in the low single digit percentage points.

Many argue it's proof the system designed to level the vaccine playing field between rich and poor countries is failing dismally.

So what went wrong with COVAX? And is it too late to turn it around?

Today on The Signal, the yawning gap between countries like Australia and the world's poorest when it comes to vaccination, and what happens if that gap isn't closed.

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Andrea Taylor, Assistant Director of Programs, Duke Global Health Innovation Centre, Duke University, US

Back in April, the Australian Government welcomed the findings of landmark report into workplace sexual harassment.

The report followed an inquiry conducted by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, and it contained 55 recommendations which the Government said it accepted 'in full, in part or in principle'.

But this month, when the Parliament finally legislated the Government's response, several key recommendations didn't make it.

So what's gone missing?

And what happens now?

Today on The Signal, how Australia's workplace sexual harassment laws are changing, what business leaders are saying about it, and what might happen next.

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Rhiana Whitson, ABC Business Reporter

Kate Jenkins, Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner

Sam Schreuder, Cafe owner, St Kilda, Melbourne

James Fazzino, Champions of Change Coalition