Late Night Live — Full program podcast

For more than 1000 years, India was a trading powerhouse across the globe - not only of spices, wild animals and gemstones but also of language, philosophy, religion, mathematics and astronomy. But why is this part of India's history not so well known, and why did its dominance wane about 1200 AD?

Guest: William Dalrymple, historian, podcaster and author of The Golden Road How Ancient India Transformed the World (Bloomsbury)

For information about WIlliam Dalrymple's tour to Australia in October please click here.

Analysis of current events to the hottest debates in politics, science, philosophy and culture.

In response to the lack of justice for murdered and 'disappeared' Indigenous women, a new grassroots network of specialist family violence organisations has formed - and they're on a mission to make a difference. Should Mount Kosciuszko be renamed? 

Journalist Joerg Schmitt solves the mystery of who blew up the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea. Dr Elizabeth Cham on how Australia's trustee companies became large, market-listed entities - and what that means for philanthropy. Plus neuroscientist Gregory Berns on the secret life of cows.  

What role is the Arab American vote playing in the US Presidential election so far, particularly in the swing state of Michigan? Plus the Yorkshire lad who became the UK's poet laureate - Simon Armitage. 

Laura Tingle on the government's deal to pass CFMEU administration laws, plus changes to the NDIS and aged care. Why Malaysia wants to join the BRICS alliance of middle-power nations. And, the long history of the divisive anchovy. 

How did we come to live in a world ruled by - mostly - idiots? And can we fix our struggling democracies by enfranchising children as young as six? Political philosopher David Runciman attempts to pump some adrenaline into our limp and languishing systems. Plus, the staggering beauty and fragility of island ecosystems. 

Since the war in Gaza broke out there has been a crisis of censorship in the arts sector around the world, in what the not-for-profit group Freemuse is calling a most alarming moment for freedom of expression. Here in Australia pianist Jayson Gillham had his concerts cancelled after speaking about the killing of journalists in Gaza, and arts organisations have lost millions in funding from donors. So what rights do artists have to express political views? And what should the consequences be? 

President Biden has spoken at the Democratic Convention. Who's fuelling the atrocities in the Sudan? And it's 80 years since the fictitious 'Ern Malley' dazzled with his poetry.

Laura Tingle on Peter Dutton's calls for a Gaza visa ban. Constitutional lawyer Shireen Morris on why the Voice referendum failed. Plus, what's it really like to buy a 1 Euro house in rural Italy?