20 years on from her famous novel The Secret River, writer Kate Grenville retraces the footsteps of her settler ancestors, and asks what it means to be on land taken from other people.

• Guest: Kate Grenville, author of Unsettled, published by Black Inc

Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, the man who now rules Syria, has gone by multiple names and led a variety of rebel groups to ultimately oust the Assad regime. But who is he? And, after being designated a terrorist, can he gain legitimacy on the international stage and unite the numerous tribal, ethnic and religious groups inside Syria? 

• GUEST: Nicolas Pelham, The Economist’s Middle East correspondent
• PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
• The great pretender: how Ahmed al-Sharaa won Syria

ABC election analyst Antony Green has decided that this federal election will be his last in an on-air role. For over thirty years, he's tallied the numbers on election night, live on ABC TV. So what lies ahead for Australia's favourite psephologist? 

• Guest: Antony Green AO, ABC election analyst

For the past century the interval has been as much a part of the theatre experience as the curtain call and the standing ovation. So why is it disappearing? And how will our bladders cope?

• GUEST: John Shand, theatre critic, Sydney Morning Herald
• PRODUCER: Helen Pitt

Eighteen months into the war in Gaza, veteran reporter Irris Makler looks at how the war is playing out inside Israel and for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and how he has responded to the killing of more aid workers.

• GUEST: Irris Makler, Jerusalem correspondent, France 24

There's been a lot of attention on who is losing out from Trump's tariffs, but who is set to benefit - even get rich - from them? And why is it that the Democrats remain seemingly ineffective while people are protesting Trump's policies across America? 

• Guest: Bruce Shapiro, Contributing Editor for The Nation; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University
• Producer: Jack Schmidt

Global markets are reeling in response to US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, but the tariff itself is nothing new. The ancient Romans applied duties to imports from the East - including incense, spices and jewels - designed to generate vast amounts of government revenue. But Roman tariffs also created problems - from price inflation to the emergence of black markets. 

• Guest: Peter Edwell, Associate Professor of Ancient History, Macquarie University

None of the leaders who signed the AUKUS deal in 2021 are in power today, and US President Donald Trump seems not to have heard about it. Now the UK has announced it will review the agreement given the swiftly changing geopolitical environment. So what does this mean for the relationship between the three allies from the UK’s perspective? 

• GUEST: Philip Collins is a former chief speechwriter to Tony Blair, he’s a weekly columnist for The Evening Standard and Writer-in-Chief at the writing agency The Draft. He is also a contributor to Prospect Magazine.
• PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has acknowledged that his proposal to compel Canberra-based public servants working from home to return to the office was a mistake. But as past elections have shown, there is still plenty of time to recover from a blunder. 

After 24 years, the Australian Book Review's CEO and editor, Peter Rose, is stepping down. By the time he leaves, Peter will have edited close to 250 issues, worked with more than 1500 writers and helped shape the national conversation.

• GUEST: Peter Rose, Outgoing editor and CEO of the Australian Book Review
• PRODUCER: Ali Benton