The Lebanese Government has resigned in the wake of last week's deadly port explosion.

Ministers will limp on in caretaker mode but it will likely take months to form a new Government.

Geraldine and Eliza discuss what comes next for Lebanon? Geraldine wonders if the French can install an administrator to funnel aid money to rebuild Beirut. Eliza thinks that's unlikely. She says any political change must come from the ground up.

Also this week, Geraldine discusses the latest essay on the decline of America. Eliza finishes "Rodham". Geraldine is almost there with "Middlemarch".

Finally, why has World War 1 captured our imagination more than World War 2?

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The Unravelling of America

War of the Worlds – SBS on Demand

Middlemarch – audiobook

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld review – Hill minus Bill

Wind of Change podcast