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In less than a year, millions of football fans will descend on Qatar to cheer on their favourite teams in the 2022 World Cup. They’ll be greeted by dozens of shiny new hotels, restaurants, roadways, and seven glistening new football stadiums. It will be a proud moment for Qatar, and for the entire region, which has never previously hosted a World Cup. Pete Pattisson, who has been reporting on the preparations for nearly a decade, says this new infrastructure has come at a cost. Pattisson’s reporting shows 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have died in the course of World Cup preparations – many from sudden, unexplained causes. Pattison tells Michael Safi about some of the workers who have lost their lives, and why the wage and labour changes recently introduced by Qatar’s government fall short

After Adele got Spotify to hide their album shuffle button, Alyx Gorman, Michael Sun and Steph Harmon called up Aria-winner Georgia Mooney, of All Our Exes Live In Texas, to talk about writing music for the world of streaming – and trying to make a buck from it. Later, Alyx quizzes Michael and Steph on Macquarie Dictionary’s new contenders for Word of the Year

As military tensions heat up between Taiwan and China, defence minister Peter Dutton says it would be ‘inconceivable’ that Australia would not join military action if the US defended Taiwan. Labor has accused the Coalition of warmongering ahead of an upcoming election. Gabrielle Jackson talks to Lenore Taylor and Daniel Hurst about the threat of war, and the trouble with politicising foreign policy

Ahead of the next federal election, both major parties have promised to fix the problem-plagued national broadband network after widespread complaints about its performance, especially in regional areas. Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to Guardian Australia reporter Josh Taylor about the competing plans for the NBN, and the secret figures that show the true scale of the NBN cost blowout over the past eight years

From next week, Australian borders will open to international students with valid visas. But after nearly two years of uncertainty, experts say some students won’t be returning, and the impact to broader Australian society will be felt for a long time. Audio producer Karishma Luthria speaks to international students about their life during the pandemic and whether they will return.

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai’s recent allegations that she was sexually assaulted by a former vice premier, has shone an international spotlight on the #MeToo movement in China. One of China’s first high profile cases involved a young woman, Xianzi, alleging sexual harassment against a famous Chinese state TV host, which sent shockwaves around the country. Jane Lee and Guardian’s Taiwan correspondent Helen Davidson speak to activists Xianzi and Lu Pin about feminists’ ongoing struggle to overcome China’s state censors and closed courts.

Trump’s attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 US election was ultimately thwarted, but through efforts at state level to elect loyalists to key positions, the stage is set for a repeat showing in 2024

In Guardian Australia’s podcast about the internet, Michael Sun, Alyx Gorman and Steph Harmon bring in pop culture expert and Directioner Brodie Lancaster to pore over the easter eggs of Red (Taylor’s Version) – and discuss the pros and cons of stan culture. Then, we set out on our stupid little daily walk with Maggie Zhou, who goes deep on a new TikTok trend that’s shifting the way we talk about wellness

A new pandemic bill introduced to Victorian parliament by the Andrews government was criticised by some legal and civil liberties groups for its broad powers and a lack of checks and balances. But while independent MPs worked with the government and legal advocates to improve the bill, some protesters – including members of far-right groups – co-opted the debate to inflame anti-government sentiment, at times egged on by politicians and commentators. In this episode, Gabrielle Jackson talks to Lenore Taylor and Mike Ticher about the need to separate legitimate criticism from the extreme views of a minority – and what extreme anti-government rhetoric means for democracy

Cop26 brought together 190 countries in the hope they would finally agree to bring the climate crisis under control. But despite the urgency, Australia’s status as a climate laggard was on full display. With the Glasgow pact in place, will the government do anything it has agreed to?