Hollywood actress Merle Oberon was born in poverty in India. To make it in the movies, first in London and then Hollywood, she had to invent a new life story that concealed her race. Her advisors came up with Tasmania as her birth place. Guest: Mayukh Sen, New York-based journalism teacher and film writer.  Author of ‘Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood’s first South Asian star’ (WW Norton) Producer: Ann Arnold

It was Franklin Roosevelt who came up with the notion of national security, to persuade Americans to get involved in World War ll. His pitch was that Americans had social security, domestically, under the New Deal. But to keep the world's instability at bay, and protect the 'American way of life', participation in world affairs was necessary. Guest: Professor Andrew Preston, author of 'Total Defense: The New Deal, and the invention of national security’ (Harvard University Press) Producer: Ann Arnold

In 2016, Spanish civil engineer and avid scuba diver, Carlos Mallo Molina quit his job to protest the plans for a huge recreational boat and ferry terminal in Tenerife. Thanks to his relentless efforts, the project was scrapped in 2021. Now, in 2025, Carlos has been honoured with the Goldman Prize — the environmental world’s equivalent of a Nobel.

• GUEST: Carlos Mallo Molina, civil engineer, environmental activist and CEO of global marine conservation organisation, Innoceania
• PRODUCER: Ali Benton

100 words plus Guests name & book 

One of the world's oldest surviving cookbooks is a collection of recipes from ancient Rome called De Re Coquinaria (“On the Topic of Cooking”). Whether it be braised flamingos, stuffed door mouse or roast parrot, Roman elites spared no expense when it came to fine dining.

• GUEST: Christopher D Parkinson, PhD Candidate in Classics at the University of Melbourne
• PRODUCER: Ali Benton

In May 2026, a resort in Las Vegas will host the inaugural Enhanced Games, where athletes will be free to use performance enhancing drugs. The controversial event is the brainchild of Australian businessman Aron D'Souza, and has gained support from the likes of billionaire Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr.

Guest: Josh Gabert-Doyon, journalist and podcast producer for Financial Times

The Trump administration wants to send a group of migrants to war torn South Sudan. Some say it's to instil fear into would-be US immigrants. Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor for The Nation magazine and executive director for the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University  Producer: Jack Schmidt

After 30 years of appearances on Late Night Live - spanning nine Australian Prime Ministers - Laura Tingle bids farewell to LNL as its political correspondent in Canberra, before commencing her ABC Global Affairs role. In a sprawling conversation, Laura recounts her early beginnings in journalism, the ebbs and flows of Canberra politics through the decades, and what she's come to admire in our representatives.

Terressa Kollat is a New Zealand hunter, diver, fisher and gatherer of wild food, with many millions of views on Tik Tok. She grew up looking after lighthouses and learned from her Māori mum and her Scottish dad how to be self-sufficient. Terressa's son killed his first wild pig when he was four. Word spread about the family's skills, and now Terressa donates her time to teach troubled teens, ex-gang members, people with trauma and curious citizens to hunt, fish and gather their own food. 

• Guest: Terressa Kollat 
• Producer: Sarah Allely

This interview contains descriptions of hunting wild animals. 

May 31 is the due date for a Federal Government decision on granting another 40 years to Woodside's controversial Northwest Shelf gas operations on the Burrup Peninsular in WA. Critics say over 1 million pieces of world-famous rock art could be damaged. Guest: Marian Wilkinson, celebrated investigative journalist, writing a Quarterly Essay on Woodside and its Kimberley operations. Producer: Ann Arnold