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Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast examines the US president’s moves to build a US$300m ballroom at the same time as a government shutdown leaves millions of poor Americans facing a possible freeze on their food stamps. The Guardian’s Washington bureau chief, David Smith, speaks to Reged Ahmad about how the construction project is revealing a stark wealth divide and whether the Democrats can seize the moment

Guardian US writer Adam Gabbatt and columnist Mehdi Hasan explore how Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani has come from nowhere to the brink of becoming mayor of New York City

Protests on an outback road in the Northern Territory have refocused attention on Pine Gap, the secretive US satellite base near Alice Springs. The protesters have tried to block workers from accessing the facility, which they claim is aiding Israel’s genocide in Gaza.Nour Haydar speaks with senior reporter Ben Doherty about the rising resistance to Pine Gap, and the questions the spy base raises about Australia’s complicity in alleged crimes abroad

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair gave hand-me-down shirts to his chief of staff Jonathan Powell, Jacinda Ardern’s chief of staff reveals the former New Zealand PM loves crime TV, and Arthur Sinodinos still can’t call John Howard by his first name. These are just some of the personal revelations to come out of a new book called The Right Hand: Conversations with Chiefs of Staff to the World’s Most Powerful People. Its author, Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks, speaks with Reged Ahmad about the influential and unelected powerbrokers who have had a front-row seat to history

The Guardian talks to protesters in Nepal, Madagascar and Morocco – as well as Chatham House fellow Dr Nayana Prakash – about the gen Z movements toppling governments across the world

Less than an hour before Donald Trump met the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to discuss a deal that could end the trade war between the two superpowers, the US president posted on Truth Social that he had directed the Pentagon to match Russia and China in nuclear weapons testing. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Jonathan Czin, the former director for China at the National Security Council, about why Trump did this and whether he or Xi left South Korea feeling the strongest

A report by the Centre for Public Integrity has accused the Albanese government of ‘leaning into a culture of secrecy’. Labor’s record on transparency also featured in parliament this week after independent ACT senator David Pocock led a revolt against the government for failing to produce a key report into ‘jobs for mates’.Bridie Jabour talks to the editor, Lenore Taylor, and the head of newsroom, Mike Ticher, about whether the Albanese government is failing to live up to its own expectations on transparency

In the age of streaming and playlists, it’s rare for an album to make global headlines, but Lily Allen’s latest release has done just that. West End Girl by the English singer-songwriter appears to concern her divorce from US actor David Harbour, with its detailed description of an open marriage destroyed by an affair with a woman called Madeline. YouTube Shorts host Rafqa Touma talks to deputy culture editor Sian Cain about the power of the breakup album, the rise of non-monogamy and why West End Girl has hit a nerve

Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast examines why more people are falling prey to cults and whether the current laws are strong enough to help vulnerable people who might be lured in. Victoria correspondent Benita Kolovos speaks to Reged Ahmad about why more ‘modern’ cults are using new methods to recruit and promising ‘simple answers to complex problems’

Parliament is back and the political fight over long-awaited legislation updating the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act is expected to dominate debate. Political reporter Dan Jervis-Bardy tells Nour Haydar why the government is racing to negotiate a deal with either the Coalition or the Greens to fix Australia’s broken nature laws