Radio National Breakfast

If you've ever been swimming or diving along the south coast of Australia, you might be familiar with the stunning array of colours and textures that make up our native seagrass meadows.

But did you know these seagrasses also form flowers, fruits and seeds, just like their land-dwelling relatives?

This summer, scientists at the University of New South Wales are calling on swimmers, fishers and beach walkers to keep an eye out for seagrass flowers, in a bid to save them from extinction. 

• Guest: Natalie Coy, PhD candidate at UNSW Sydney and lead for the Seeds of the Sea project
• Producer: Grace Stranger

When a former Prime Minister announces a book, it's usually an autobiography looking back at their life.

But Tony Abbott has chosen to venture beyond his own history, and explore how democracy took shape in Australia. 

• Guest: Tony Abbott, Australia's 28th Prime Minister and author of "Australia: A History" 
• Producers: Eddy Diamond, Eleni Psaltis, Lexie Jeuniewic 

US President Donald Trump claimed he had found a way to pay military troops despite the ongoing federal government shutdown which is heading into its third week.

Posting on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said he had instructed his defence secretary Pete Hegseth to release the funds.

Meanwhile, an appeals court ruled that the national guard troops Mr Trump sent to Illinois can remain in the state and under federal control but cannot be deployed.

• Guest: Will Sommer, Senior Reporter, The Bulwark
• Producers: Oscar Coleman and Teodora Agarici

US President Donald Trump will co-chair an international peace summit later today in Egypt in a bid to finalise the agreement to end the war in Gaza.

Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of people held a rally in Tel Aviv ahead of the expected release of Israeli hostages by Hamas.

• Guest: Gershon Baskin, veteran hostage negotiator, Israeli peace activist who was involved in back-channel discussions over US President Donald Trump's Gaza deal
• Producers: Teodora Agarici and Jason Whittaker

The Israeli government has approved Gaza's ceasefire and hostage deal, the first phase of the US plan already agreed to by Hamas. 

Today we'll hear from the former US Middle East Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs about what the deal means for all sides, and from a former US AID official on how it will impact aid delivery in Gaza. Will it now ramp up?

Then, we learn details of an Israeli journalists conversations with Donald Trump, and what Palestinians think about other parts of the President's plan. 

We'll also wrap a big week in federal politics. 

And you'll meet Australia's most decorated Winter Paralympian... hoping to return to the slopes after nearly two decades. 

Recap the morning's news, politics and global affairs with the Breakfast Wrap

The government felt the heat this week in federal parliament over the recent deadly Optus network outages. While the Coalition was consumed by leaks and in-fighting.The Friday political panel broke it all down.

• Guests: Mark Kenny (Professor at ANU's Australian Studies Institute), Katina Curtis (Canberra Bureau Chief at The West Australian), Brett Worthington (Radio National Breakfast political correspondent).
• Producer: Jason Whittaker

Global pop superstar Taylor Swift's new album The Life of a Showgirl is breaking records and redefining the music industry.

The record has already sold three-and-a-half million copies in its first week of release, setting a new opening-week benchmark, surpassing Adele's album 25.

• Guest: Adrian Horton, arts writer, Guardian US
• Producer: Eddy Diamond

Qantas is among 40 major corporations that have been threatened by hackers who are vowing to leak sensitive passenger data unless ransoms are paid by today.

The airline is still cleaning up a massive data breach in June that saw cybercriminals access nearly 6 million accounts.

• Guest: Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness, Australia's Cyber Security Coordinator
• Producer: Grace Stranger

The federal government's plan to increase taxes on super balances above $3 million has returned to the spotlight. 

The Israeli cabinet is meeting to approve a Gaza ceasefire, paving the way for the release of hostages and Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. 

Speaking at his own cabinet meeting in Washington, US President Donald Trump says he expects the remaining hostages will be released on Monday or Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis continues in Gaza. 

• Guests: 

  David Satterfield, former US Middle East Envoy for Humanitarian issues and former US Ambassador to Türkiye, now Director of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy in the US

  Jeremy Konyndyk, President of Refugees International and former USAID official in the Biden and Obama administrations  

• Producer: Eleni Psaltis, Teodora Agarici