To many in the West, Paul Kagame is Rwanda’s saviour, the man who restored the country after its recent genocide. But those who have dealt with him inside and outside the country paint a very different and much darker picture.   Guests: Noel Zihabamwe - Survivor of 1994 genocide, now a leading member of Sydney's Rwandan community  Phil Clarke - Professor of International Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London  Michela Wrong - British journalist...

Make Argentina Great Again. That's the catchcry Javier Milei has borrowed from his friend, Donald Trump.  Wildly brash (like Trump) deliberately unkempt (like Boris Johnson), Milei has made his way to the top job with no government experience and a whole lot of chutzpah.  And you won’t believe who – or what – set him on this path...   Guests: Dr Constanza Sanhueza - Lecturer in Political Science, Australian National University  Vera Bergengruen - TIME Washington DC reporter ...

He’s leader for life, his word is final in the highly factionalised theocratic regime of Iran and his influence extends across the flashpoints of the Middle East. Yet we know almost nothing about the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  And as you’ll hear, his loyalists defend him as stridently as his critics attack him.   Guests:  John Limbert – One of the 55 American hostages held in captivity in Iran in 1979  Arash Azizi - Iranian writer and Historian. Senior lecturer in political science and...

At just 35 Viktor Orban, then a fiery radical, became Europe's youngest prime minister. Since then, his political brand has undergone an astonishing change.  So how did the student dissident become a 21st Century demagogue?   Guests: Zsuzsanna Szelenyi - Program director at the CEU Democracy Institute, former Hungarian politician and author, Tainted Democracy Viktor Orban and the Subversion of Hungary  Nick Thorpe - The BBC's Central Europe correspondent  Ben Wellings - Associate...

He’s Indonesia’s hard man of politics - Prabowo Subianto is a former military leader who stands accused of human rights abuses. But in the latest election campaign he pitched himself as a cute, dancing Grandpa. Now he’s the country’s newest president. So, what kind of leader will he be?   Guests: Yoes Kenawas - Research Fellow at the Atma Jaya Catholic University in Jakarta  Dr Jemma Purdey - Fellow at the Australia-Indonesia Centre at Monash University  Geoff Thompson - Former ABC...

Believed to be ‘the mastermind’ behind the October 7th attack on southern Israel, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in an IDF attack in Gaza in October 2024. So who was he and how did he rise to power? Three observers, including one who has met Sinwar, grapple with the factors that led to the man and the leader he became. This episode was recorded before Yahya Sinwar was killed.   Guests: Ben Wedeman - CNN senior international correspondent  Khaled Hroub - Professor of Middle Eastern...

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...

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...

A weekly examination of world affairs with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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

Heads up another terrific ABC Listen podcast is If You're Listening and it's back, and better than ever. Same espionage, same corruptions, same scandals, but more often.

We've been going through all the suggestions for leaders to discuss as well as keeping across the massive geopolitical shifts going on right now and am stoked to announce we're currently in production for the second season of Take Me To Your Leader.

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. 

If you enjoyed our episode on Giorgia Meloni and the rise of her brand of right-wing politics, then check out this episode from our friends at CBC Podcasts in Canada, and the series Nothing is Foreign. This excerpt is from the episode, Visiting Mussolini's Hometown As Italy Veers Right, and takes you to Mussolini's birthplace, Predappio, which, to this day, is home to souvenir shops and shrines honouring the dictator.  Nothing is Foreign tells international stories from where they are...

How did Narendra Modi go from selling tea on railway platforms rise to becoming the leader of almost 1.4 billion people?  He’s a man with big ideas and an even bigger ambition for his country. But with a backstory full of both mythology and secrets, how much do we really know about his plans?

Sanna Marin became Finland’s third female prime minister at just 34. Her coalition of women-led parties suggest that another kind of politics might be possible. Leading a country with a 1300km border with Russia, Marin finds herself navigating choppy diplomatic and economic waters for Finland, and making the case to other world leaders on taking a tougher line against autocrats.

Rishi Sunak is a man of many firsts. He’s the first person of colour to become British PM, the first born to immigrant parents and the first practising Hindu to lead the country and at the age of 42, he’s also the youngest person to take office in more than 200 years. Following a chaotic few years at the top of UK politics, Sunak's appeal may well be him playing the "calm, cool, competent card." 

Israel's veteran leader, Benjamin Netanyahu has served as the country's prime minister longer than anyone else. He's governed on and off for 15 years and has now made a dramatic return to power for a record third time. This time with the help of Israel's ultra-nationalists. He now heads one of the most right-wing governments in Israeli history. What has made King 'Bibi' politically invincible and what does his return aided by the religious far right mean for Israel and the Middle East?