Take Me To Your Leader!

He’s more ruthless than his father and more chilling than his grandfather, and his regime has been called a "model dictatorship". 

Meet North Korea's reclusive Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un, and enter his world of missiles, murders, oppression and secrecy. 

Guests: 

• Anna Fifield - Asia-Pacific editor for The Washington Post 

• Hyun-seung Lee - North Korean defector and former Army Special Forces soldier 

• In Bum Chun - Retired South Korean Army lieutenant general 

Producers: Zoe Ferguson and Linda Lopresti 

Executive Producer: Amruta Slee 

Sound Engineer: John Jacobs

Democracy is under threat more than ever right now. Around the world, we’re seeing populism and nationalism taking hold and strongman leaders grabbing power. 

So, is this the era of dictators and demagogues? Who are they and what makes them so appealing? Our third season dives into the lives and times of seven autocrats from North Korea to Gaza to Hungary.   

• Host: Hamish Macdonald

• Producers: Zoe Ferguson and Linda Lopresti 

• Executive Producer: Amruta Slee 

• Sound Engineer: John Jacobs

Ferdinand Marcos Jr, better known as “Bongbong”, is the president of the Philippines. His popularity skyrocketed in recent years, particularly among Gen Z, thanks to his stardom on tiktok. But it was almost 40 years ago that he fled the country as a young governor when his father’s authoritarian and corrupt government was overturned in a dramatic coup. 

Recep Tayip Erdoğan’s maintained power for over 20 years by being all things to all people. 

Turkey’s president is at once a Western ally and a close friend of Vladimir Putin, a hardline Islamist and a leader that evokes the golden age of the Ottoman Empire. He is adored by his supporters and feared by his critics. 

So who is he really and what future does he envision for Turkey?  

Guests:

• Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at  The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and author of, The New Sultan: Erdogan and the Crisis of Modern Turkey
• Meryem İlayda Atlas, journalist, founding editor of Daily Sabha and a board member of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT)
• Prof Ihsan Yilmaz, research chair in Islamic Studies and Intercultural Dialogue at the Alfred Deakin Institute

Emmanuel Macron is a straight-talking, ambitious global figure who wants France to help solve the challenges of our time. But at home, he’s a divisive leader who faces a wave of discontent.

So how did Emmanuel Macron start his own party and effectively come from nowhere to win two elections as the youngest president in French history. How will the charismatic centrist storming The Élysée Palace fare as far-right populism sweeps Europe?

Ursula von der Leyen is not easy to box. A mother of seven and medical doctor who once lived undercover, under a false identity in London before entering politics, has had a remarkable career. She rose through the ranks in the German parliament in the shadow of Angela Merkel, before being tapped on the shoulder for the president of the European Commission.

But according to foreign policy analyst Constanze Stelzenmüller, “heads of state elect commission presidents in the hope that they won't be too powerful in Europe”. So how did Ursula von der Leyen manage to transform the position and become one of the most powerful women in the world?

Guests:

• Constanze Stelzenmüller, director of the Center on the United States and Europe at The Brookings Institution 
• Jacek Rostowski, former Deputy PM of Poland
• Professor Claire Annesley, professor of politics and gender studies and Dean of UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture

Joe Biden is America’s oldest ever president. He wants to stay in the White House another four years and is now campaigning for a second term. If he wins that term, he’ll be 86-years-old by the time he leaves office.

Is he too out of touch as his Republican critics have said, or after 50 plus years in politics, is he far more astute than we think? 

Importantly, does he have what it takes to repair an increasingly divided America and a potential rematch against Donald Trump? 

Guests:

• Kim Hoggard, former White House official in the Reagan and Bush Administrations
• Susan Platt, former Chief of Staff to Biden
• Gabriel Debenedetti, national correspondent at New York Magazine

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy has captured the world’s attention and admiration like few leaders can.  When Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022, the comic actor turned wartime leader became the face of Ukraine’s resistance. He refused offers of evacuation, famously telling Joe Biden he needed ammunition, not a ride.

As the Russian bombs rained down, Zelenskyy went out into the streets of Kyiv using social media to talk directly to his people and the world. 

Rarely has the world seen a leader recording selfies from a city under attack. But his prolific online and social media messaging has helped galvanise widespread support for Ukraine. Now the man who played a president on TV, is in the role of his life.

We find out who the man behind the screen and the podium really is from those who know Zelenskyy best.  

Guests:

• Olga Boichak, Lecturer in digital cultures and the director of the Computational Social Science Lab at the University of Sydney 
• David Dodson, Film director and editor who worked with Zelensky for 14 years
• Oleh Rybachuk, Former Deputy PM of Ukraine and founder of the Centre of United Actions 

There’s a lot going on in the world right now; disruption, upheaval, and conflict. Long-running superpowers are teetering while others are emerging.

Yevgeny Prigozhin is becoming a figure of huge influence in the world right now. 

A former petty criminal, hotdog vendor and restaurateur from St Petersburg who went on to build a powerful private army. Prigozhin has been a loyal ally of Putin’s until he turned his sights on Moscow, sparking the biggest crisis in Vladamir Putin’s presidency.