The chaotic 12 days of the Israel-Iran war ended with the United States dropping bombs on Iran’s nuclear facilities, then quickly brokering a ceasefire. 

But there are still many questions about the conflict: Has Iran really been mere months away from building a bomb for the last fifteen years, as Israel claims? Did the US’s strikes bust all plans for an Iranian nuke? And what does an American bowling alley company have to do with Tehran’s nuclear program? That’s this week on If You’re Listening. 

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Israel recently bombed Iran’s notorious Evin prison, a place that Dr Kylie Moore Gilbert came to know all too well. The political scientist and author was imprisoned in Iran for 804 days and eventually released in a prisoner swap in November 2020.

In this chat with Matt Bevan, Kylie talks about solitary confinement, Iranian cheetahs, how her first cellmate was a spy, and why the regime is cracking down on dissidents right now. 

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For the last century, since the rise of mechanised and then nuclear warfare, defence budgets are designed to stop big existential attacks. Ships, planes, submarines.

But cheap, retail store level technology - drones - have changed the game in the conflicts involving Ukraine and Israel. There’s no real way to immunise against a drone swarm that’s been smuggled into your country and hidden in a truck. 

These covert attacks are relatively cheap to deploy and incredibly effective. Like the nuclear bomb, the machine gun, and the crossbow - drones mean the traditional way we fight wars is finished.

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The United States has dropped some very large bombs on Iran, inserting itself into what we are currently calling the Israel-Iran War, despite Donald Trump saying just days earlier that he was going to spend two weeks thinking about it. 

The bombs they dropped managed to destroy or at least severely damage a nuclear facility buried 90 metres underground. Which kind of makes Matt’s studio basement bunker superfluous. 

So what’s next? Matt is joined by Emma Shortis, Director of the Australia Institute’s International and Security Affairs Program and host of podcast and book After America to chat about what this means for the Middle East, and whether Australia will get pulled into the conflict. 

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There is violence on the streets of America as anti-ICE protesters push back hard against the Trump Administration’s immigration policies. 

In the early months of the Trump presidency it seemed like everything was going his way but now that’s changing and fast as his executive orders are challenged in the courts. 

When it comes to stopping mass deportations Americans are learning that protests can actually work. These protesters aren’t backing down… but neither is Trump so what does that mean for undocumented immigrants across the country and the future of the Trump Administration’s deportation plans? 

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It’s been a manic week in global politics. Trump and Musk have officially broken up, Americans have taken to the streets to protest ICE deportations… oh and we’re seemingly on the brink of a nuclear war in the Middle East! 

To take stock of these rapidly deteriorating news stories, Matt Bevan talks to Dr Emma Shortis, Director of the Australia Institute’s International Security Affairs Program, author and host of the podcast After America.

If you have a burning question for Emma or Matt send it to  [email protected] and we’ll answer it on next week’s show!

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In news that will surprise no one, the big beautiful bromance between Donald Trump and Elon Musk has finally come to an end. 

Over the last week, there's been a dramatic shift in Trump's presidency - he's publicly fighting with his former First buddy, judges are overruling his executive orders and there are protests in the streets of LA. 

As we pass 100 days of the Trump administration, everything is changing fast and understanding the gravity of this moment is vital. 

So for the next two episodes, we’re going to take a look at what led to this sudden shift - Trump's summer of discontent. How it started and what it means for the future of the administration.

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While investigating the history of fluoride, Matt Bevan stumbled upon a regional newspaper insert from the 1940s called Modern Weekly News Magazine. And let’s just say that the content was ... rather unique. 

In this bonus episode of If You’re Listening Matt swaps articles with supervising producer Kara Jensen-Mackinnon from the quirky pages of Modern Weekly News Magazine.

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Putting fluoride in drinking water has often been called one of the most successful public health measures in human history. But since the very beginning of fluoridation programs in the 1940s, it’s been plagued by misinformation and furious opposition.

Now with Robert F Kennedy Jr at the helm of the US Department of Health, the Trump Administration is leading the charge to get states to ban the use of fluoride in water - and he’s succeeded in Utah and Florida. So when did this anti-fluoride scepticism begin? And can it be stopped?

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A little trivia question for you... is Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi married?

He’s gotta be, right? World leaders do tend to be married, and someone like Modi probably is. But, picture him at a big rally does he have a spouse there with him? You can't can you?

Well, it turns out Narendra Modu is married and his carefully crafted image of a bachelor was up-ended when it emerged that he had a wife who had been kept secret for decades.

In this bonus episode of If You’re Listening Matt chats to Avani Dias who dove into this story as part of her work on the podcast series Looking for Modi.

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