We're living in unusual times, with political history being made every week and the seemingly imminent collapse of a certain global super power on the horizon. "Once you pull on the thread of collapse, the entire tapestry of history begins to unravel," writes Luke Kemp. What can we learn from looking at the collapse of past societies?

• Guest: Luke Kemp, research affiliate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge. His first book is 'Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse'.

Originally broadcast on 21 May, 2025

A new history of the union movement in Australia says marginalised groups like migrants, women, Indigenous Australians and LGBTQIA+ people were often left to run their own grassroots campaigns, and were only embraced by the broader union movement once their campaigns had gained momentum. But the approach of unions reflected the broader attitudes of the Australia of the day. 

• GUEST: Dr Liam Byrne, author of ‘No Power Greater - A History of Union Action in Australia’  published by Melbourne University Press. 

Originally broadcast on 21 May, 2025

Before the 1967 war, radio ruled the Middle East—TV was a rare luxury. For the people of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Israel, the airwaves buzzed with news, and more often than not, propaganda. Alongside the giants like the BBC, hundreds of smaller stations across the region churned out their own political messages.

• GUEST: Margaret Peacock, Professor of History, University of Alabama and author of Frequencies of Deceit: How Global Propaganda Wars Shaped the Middle East
• PRODUCER: Ali Benton

Originally broadcast on March 19, 2025

'One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.' That tweet, by Omar El Akkad, in October 2023, three weeks after Israel invaded Gaza, has been viewed over ten million times. Its author, Omar El Akkad, has now written a book of searing essays, asking, among other things, what it is that 'polite liberal progressives' actually stand for.

• Guest: Omar El Akkad, US-based journalist, novelist, author of ‘One day, everyone will have always been against this’ (Text) 
• Producer: Ann Arnold

Originally broadcast March 27, 2025

The thickness, colour and texture of facial and head hair showed character traits about men and women, it was believed in 19th century America. The assessments were imbued with judgements about race and gender. 

• Guest: Sarah Gold McBride, author of 'Whiskerology: the culture of hair in 19th century America’ (Harvard University Press, due out in June 2025). Sarah is an historian, and lecturer in the Program in American Studies, University of California, Berkely 
• Producer: Ann Arnold

Originally broadcast April 24, 2025

In 1973, the Australian government acquired the painting Blue Poles by Jackson Pollock for $1.3 million AUD. It created huge division in Australia, and arguably contributed to the downfall of the Whitlam Government. A new book revisits this important intersection of art and politics. 

• Guest: Tom McIlroy, political editor at Guardian Australia, Author of 'Blue Poles: Jackson Pollock, Gough Whitlam and the Painting that Changed a Nation’ (Hachette)
• Producer: Ann Arnold

Originally broadcast February 26, 2025

David Marr is joined by Laura Tingle, Hannah Ferguson and Craig Reucassel to review the monumental year of 2025 - including its weirdest moments - and ask where Australia finds itself as another year looms. 

Guests:

• Laura Tingle, Global Affairs Editor, ABC (formerly Political Editor, 7.30)
• Hannah Ferguson, founder of Cheek Media, co host of Big Small Talk
• Craig Reucassel, presenter of ABC Radio Sydney 702 Breakfast

Producer: Catherine Zengerer

A new exhibition at the University of Melbourne's Medical History Museum, Cultural Medicine: The Art of Indigenous Healing celebrates 65,000 years of First Nations medical knowledge and practice from across the continent. It reveals fascinating stories of medical practice, including when Indigenous knowledge of the corkwood plant was used to develop a seasickness pill for the Allied D-Day invasion. 

• Guest: Jacqueline Healy, Curator and Director of Museums, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
• Producer: Jack Schmidt

Renowned human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson KC says the killing of two people who survived a US strike on a speed boat off the coast of Venezuela on 2nd September 2025, constitutes a war crime, as does the initial strike on the boat. In his new book, Robertson says we need a clearer definition of war crimes and genocide to inform military rules of engagement and to give journalists and diplomats the confidence to describe crimes. He also argues the UN Security Council is ineffective and we need a new global method to effectively prevent and prosecute perpetrators. 

• Guest: Geoffrey Robertson KC, Founder of Doughty St Chambers and author of World of War Crimes, published by Penguin.
• Producer: Catherine Zengerer

This year in British politics was defined by constant upheaval: leaders under pressure, parties fractured over strategy, major policies overturned or delayed, and a public increasingly frustrated by the gap between promises and delivery. Every month brought a new confrontation, a new resignation threat, or a new crisis to manage—leaving the political system looking exposed, tired, and in urgent need of clarity. Ian Dunt examines the political landscape of 2025, and sets out what next year looks like in UK politics.

• Guest: Ian Dunt: iNews columnist and regular LNL commentator
• Producer: Ali Benton