This month, the US Justice Department unsealed an indictment of two Russian state media employees. It alleges that they were funnelling millions of dollars into the pockets of American YouTubers, known for their contrarian viewpoints and controversial takes on the war in Ukraine. The YouTubers say they are victims of a criminal scheme and did not know they were being paid by Russia. But it’s not the first time that something like this has happened. There’s a long history of foreign...

The massive infrastructure project NEOM sits in the Saudi Arabian desert, and the jewel in its crown is The Line, a futuristic city which looks insane. The AI-generated ads depict a car-free city, for 9 million people, housed between two mirrors. Despite promises of millions of residents by 2030, the project has been scaled back by 98 per cent. The Line will be more like a dot. So what the hell happened? And was it all just a scam? Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen...

Russia defends its enormous borders with the threat of nuclear war. It’s this threat that has long stopped Ukraine and its allies from attacking Russia on its home turf—there are ‘red lines’ that can’t be crossed without nuclear retaliation. Yet Ukraine just invaded Russian sovereign territory and still, no nukes. Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears to be calling Vladimir Putin’s bluff. It seems the ‘red lines’ were done in red pencil, not red pen. So how does this reshape the war, and what does it...

It’s a dangerous moment for the Middle East. Israel and Hezbollah exchanged heavy fire over the weekend, including attacks on a pretty unique pocket of farmland — an Israeli-annexed area called the Golan Heights. In 2019 then-President Donald Trump broke with the rest of the international community and recognised it as part of Israel. There’s even an Israeli settlement named after him. Now, the world is watching the Golan Heights closely, fearful that fighting there could escalate and become...

A shift is on display at the Democratic National Convention—from fear of Donald Trump to mocking him. After years of arguing Trump is dangerous, the Democratic pick for Vice President Tim Walz is changing the party’s attack strategy, calling their opponents 'weird'. This potential path to victory is not seen as very presidential. But could it work? Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GnsBdPelMus?si=5x6EbHdto2MTIbo- 

In the early hours of July 31 this year, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran. It's presumed Israel was behind the killing, with reports detailing a complex operation by its spy agency Mossad. So if it was Israel that did this, why did they do it in such an extraordinary manner, and in Iran of all places? The answer tells us a lot about the complex political situation Israel finds itself in, where it feels the need for revenge, but only in a way that...

Since Kamala Harris became his opponent in the race for US president, Donald Trump has argued that she is responsible for a migrant crisis. He says President Joe Biden named her the ‘border czar’, in charge of dealing with the unprecedented number of people attempting to cross the US-Mexico border. It’s a policy area that the Trump campaign hopes will win him the election in November. So what’s real, and what’s fake, when it comes to Kamala Harris and the US border? Subscribe to If You're...

Kamala Harris is the Democratic party’s presumptive nominee for President of the United States. But four years ago, she didn’t even make it to the first primary vote. They needed to pick someone who would beat Donald Trump, and Harris just wasn’t ‘electable’ enough. Whatever that means. So if she wasn’t electable then, is she electable now?  Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zaDnCZHrE_g?si=Gb5TMhlaP5VNSnw2 

After weeks of speculation and acrimony, President Joe Biden has abandoned his bid for re-election, and endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris to be his successor. This scenario has happened once before - late in the election cycle, a President bailed out and tried to hand over power to their Vice President. The subsequent chaos at the 1968 Democratic convention is legendary, and is something the party will be desperate to avoid in 2024.

When 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at former-President Donald Trump on July 13, the American public was ready with conspiracy theories explaining how and why he did it.  And that shouldn’t come as a shock. Most Americans think President John F Kennedy was assassinated as part of a conspiracy, either by the US Government, Cubans, or the Mafia.  They’re primed to believe their government is keeping secrets from them—because it is.  Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen...

Last week, the UK Labour Party won the general election in a landslide victory. In the past four episodes we've detailed the chaos, ineptitude and hubris of the Conservative Party during their time in office. So you might be thinking, what took the Labour Party so long to get elected? On the final episode of our Who Broke Britain series, how Labour went to war with itself — over policy, factions, personalities, Brexit, and anti-Semitism. Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen...

The UK election is being held today and polls indicate the Conservative Party will lose in a landslide. One of the key policies the government is running on is a version of Australia's offshore immigration detention policy, which was launched by prime minister John Howard in the lead-up to the 2001 election. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's two year fight over this policy has not only been a colossal failure, it will likely drag the Tories down with it. So as the UK decides on their next Prime...

Britain's National Health Service was in crisis when COVID arrived in the UK. After years of increasing demand and flatlining funding, the NHS was deeply broken. One Chancellor called the NHS "the closest thing the English people have to a religion", so how was it left to fall into disrepair, on the edge of collapse, right as a catastrophic pandemic hit? This is part 3 of our series, Who Broke Britain. Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our Who Broke...

British Prime Minister David Cameron took a colossal gamble when he called for a referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union. Instead, he brought about Brexit and sent the country into three years of chaos. Cameron was certain his side — Remain — would win. How did he get it so wrong? Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Watch Who broke Britain, part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW2NSrzcrIQ  Check out our entire series on...

When the UK Conservative Party won the election in 2010, they took a butcher's knife to the budget. David Cameron's money-man George Osborne — the young heir to a wallpaper fortune — had a big plan called "austerity," but it put the country on a journey to total chaos. This is the first episode in a four-part series called Who Broke Britain. It's about the past 14 years of Conservative Party leadership, all the way up to the general election that's happening next month. London was once...

We're still on a break from our regularly scheduled programming but don't worry, we're hard at work. Next week we'll be launching a four-part series leading up to the UK election called Who Broke Britain? The country that was once the centre of the world's greatest empire now seems a lot smaller, and in many ways — broken. So — who broke it? Until then, check out the latest ABC podcast Not Stupid, from our colleagues in ABC News. It's hosted by Jeremy Fernandez and Julia Baird, and this...

The island of Taiwan, just off the coast of China, is shaping up as the most likely spark for the next global conflict. China's president Xi Jinping wants to claim all the territory he thinks belongs to China, without triggering a nuclear war. It's a century-old civil war, which has been frozen in place for decades. It's an almost unimaginably dangerous situation, and one mistake could lead to catastrophe. This is a repeat episode. It was first broadcast on the 6th July, 2021 as part of...

Earlier this week the President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in bad weather. Raisi was a phenomenally important figure in Middle Eastern politics — not just Iran's President, but the likely next Supreme Leader of Iran. He got there through acts of extreme brutality, showing his willingness to do anything to defend the Iranian status quo. How did Ebrahim Raisi become the heir-apparent to the Iranian Supreme Leadership, and what could happen now he's gone? Listen to our...

Australia's first domestic violence shelter Elsie opened in the 1970s, and researchers have been analysing the problem ever since. In the last three decades more than 1,500 women have been killed by intimate partners in Australia and we're still no closer to finding out why. Campaigner Rosie Batty has compared domestic violence to terrorism, and called for similar levels of funding. Is that comparison extreme, or is it the best way to get us closer to fixing the problem? *EDITOR'S NOTE:...

Michael Cohen is the star witness in the Trump 'hush-money' trial. He was once Trump's personal attorney and said he would "take a bullet" for his boss, but then everything changed. He has served years in prison for lying, tax fraud, bank fraud and campaign finance violations. But he thinks everything he's gone through will be worth it if he can take Trump down. Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on...

Plans for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics are not going well. It's a political quagmire, with plans for billion-dollar stadium upgrades or massive new venues being thrown around like confetti. There are concerns that Brisbane is going to blow its budget. Fifty years ago, the 1976 Montreal Olympics suffered a financial disaster so massive it nearly heralded the end of the Olympic Games. Is Brisbane repeating the mistakes of the past? Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He is doing everything he can to stay in office, because if he holds office, he can't be thrown in jail. Sound familiar? It's a bit like Donald Trump's situation in the United States. But Netanyahu's case has an old-school flavour. It's a fierce battle between media tycoons, and it even involves Australian media nepo baby James Packer. It's a rollicking tale. But with a military campaign...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He is doing everything he can to stay in office, because if he holds office, he can't be thrown in jail. Sound familiar? It's a bit like Donald Trump's situation in the United States. But Netanyahu's case has an old-school flavour. It's a fierce battle between media tycoons, and it even involves Australian media nepo baby James Packer. It's a rollicking tale. But with a military campaign...

Narenda Modi loves to promote India's status as the largest democracy in the world, and experts agree that the country's elections are free and fair for all. Modi is now an unbackable favourite to win a third term as Prime Minister in the weeks ahead, with polls suggesting he is heading for another  victory. So why is he so sensitive to criticism, and aggressive in pursuing his detractors? In this final episode, Avani learns of the consequences of her own reporting on Modi after so many...