After US Marines were mobilised against protesters on the streets of LA, President Trump is preparing for military fanfare in Washington. Is the new administration tapping into a tradition of authoritarianism?

Iran retaliates against Israel; and one of India's best chefs meets Tassie's finest produce for Dark MOFO's Winter Feast.

Will Elon Musk and Donald Trump kiss and make up after the billionaire bromance blew up so spectacularly this week? 

Plus, the future of warfare in the wake of those Ukrainian attacks on Russia, and why Australia marks the King's Birthday with a holiday (something that doesn't even happen in Britain).

The consequences of attacks on Harvard for Australia with Professor Brian Schmidt; the latest from Asia's annual security summit, the Shangri-la La Dialogue, and artist Leila Jeffreys, on The Last Thing.

Understand Australia and the world with Nick Bryant.

Nick Bryant and prominent New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman try to make sense of President Trump's motivations when it comes to foreign policy. 

Plus, historians Judith Brett and Frank Bongiorno discuss the trajectory of Australian politics now that the Liberal Party has its first female leader and the Albanese government has a female-majority cabinet. And, we get an update on the infamous mushroom trial in Victoria and the Eurovision Song Contest. 

Understand Australia and the world with Nick Bryant. 

Nick Bryant head to the marginal seat of Bennelong in Sydney and does a health check on the state of Australian democracy with the ANU's Dr Jill Sheppard and Iain Walker from NewDemocracy Foundation.

Plus, Australia's theatre community is buzzing after the Broadway production of The Picture of Dorian Gray received 6 Tony Award nominations, and political commentator and author Peter Beinart on his new book Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning.

Geraldine Doogue is in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, plus a nun in Papua New Guinea remembers his impact on her life.

The showdown between America's elite university and the Trump administration has begun... who will come out on top? 

Join Nick as well for an emotional interview with the widow of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi and extended discussion with Irish author Colum McCann about our reliance on undersea cables.

Plus, how might Indian and Chinese Australian voters shift the outcome of the federal election? We find out. 

Understand the world with Barbara Miller.