With Donald Trump back in the White House early next year, there’s a real possibility he’ll ignite a trade war with Beijing.  Given Australia does so much trade with China, that could have big consequences for our economy. Today, we explore what could be in store for inflation, interest rates and our wider economy once Trump’s back in charge.  Featured:  Dr Susan Stone, Credit Union SA Chair of Economics at the University of South Australia

The government wants to ban under 16s from social media saying it’s harming children and parents need support.  It’s a move that has the support of the federal opposition and many parents, but does an outright ban risk cutting off important support and sources of information for young people?  Today, we explore some alternative ideas to help make social media safer with a cyber safety expert and an advocate for better mental health for young people.  Featured:  Kriti Gupta, youth mental...

Elon Musk played a huge role in Donald Trump’s campaign, throwing at least $130 million at it.  But what role will the richest man in the world really play when Trump steps into the White House next year? Today, political scientist Geoff Kabaservice from the Niskanen Centre in Washington DC on the people Trump will need if he wants to rule like a dictator, even for one day.  Featured:  Geoff Kabaservice, Vice President for political studies at the Niskanen Centre

Donald Trump won the election, so what should we expect once he’s in the oval office next year? Kim Hoggard, a former staffer during the Reagan and George H W Bush administrations, says presidents can feel ‘unleashed’ during their second term.  Today, she explains why voters chose to ignore all of Trump’s flaws and embrace his populist pitch.  She says Trump’s victory is a fundamental shift for America, driven by voters prioritising economic concerns.  Kim Hoggard also discusses Trump's...

In this update from Washington DC, Matt Bevan, host of If You’re Listening: America’s Last Election, brings you an update on all the events from overnight Australian time.  In a spectacular comeback, Donald Trump has won the US election to become the 47th President of the United States.  Matt is joined on the ground by Emma Shortis from The Australia Institute to explain where the Democrats went wrong and the Republicans went right - and what a more emboldened Trump with the support of the...

This is a Wednesday evening update on the US election.  Donald Trump is in a strong position as vote counting continues, he’s already won some swing states and is ahead in others.  ABC global affairs editor John Lyons joins Sam from Washington DC with the latest on the vote count. Featured:  John Lyons, ABC global affairs editor

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have made their final pitches to the American people and voting is finally underway in the United States after a tumultuous campaign.  So, when the polls close, how long will it take for the votes to be counted and a winner to be declared?  Today, the ABC’s US election analyst Casey Briggs explains how it could unfold, when to pay attention and what to watch out for.  Featured:  Casey Briggs, ABC US election analyst

With just hours until election day starts in America, we’ll just have to wait and see whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will win the presidency.  The opinion polls have been inconclusive, with the Democratic and Republican candidates neck and neck in the US states expected to be key.  Today, the ABC’s North America correspondents Barbara Miller and Carrington Clarke join me from Pennsylvania.  They’ve been travelling across the United States throughout this brutal campaign, meeting...

Big interest rate rises since May 2022 have finally seen house prices begin to drop in our most populous cities.  In the latest Corelogic data for October, Sydney home prices fell 0.1% in a month, while Melbourne was 0.2% down.  It’s still a mixed picture across the country, with national home values up 6% for the year, 1.9% down in Melbourne, 3.7% up in Sydney and a massive 22.6% rise in Perth.  With home price rises slowing in some cities, how long will that slump continue and what...

Michigan is a key swing state in the US election and there’s a big divide in voting intentions between its biggest city, Detroit, and much of the rest of the state.  Detroit is set to strongly back Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump has compared the city to a developing nation.  With just days until the US election, host of America’s Last Election podcast series Matt Bevan is in Michigan where he’s been gauging the mood of voters.  Today, he discusses hot dogs, a close-ish encounter with...

We’d all like to fly business class, but most of us end up at the back.  So, no wonder claims that the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arranged personal flight upgrades directly with the boss of Qantas has caused a furore. Today, Sean Johnson, founder of the Open Politics website and former lobbyist and Liberal party staffer on political gift giving and why it needs to end.  He explains the exclusive nature of the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge and its implications for political...

Donald Trump says he’s the opposite of a Nazi and his opponent Kamala Harris is a fascist, not him. But what do his own words and actions show us?   Today, Jennfier Mercieca, historian of political rhetoric from Texas A&M University on how Trump’s language can be likened to Hitler’s and how he uses it to win over his supporters.  She says Trump’s campaign strategy involves terrorising voters into supporting him by exploiting their fears.  She highlights how Trump’s rhetoric includes...

More than two and a half years into the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has gone to an ally for help.  Several thousand North Korean troops have arrived in Russia and are expected to join the fight.  Today, Russia expert Matthew Sussex from the Centre for European Studies at the ANU on what it means for the war. He explains that the North Korean troops are likely to be used in rear-area roles initially, freeing up Russian soldiers for front-line combat.  He highlights...

Artificial Intelligence chatbots have come such a long way in a really short time. Each release of ChatGPT brings new features, like voice chat, along with updates to the training data fed into the systems, supposed to make them smarter.  But are more leaps forward a sure thing? Or could the tools actually get dumber? Today, Aaron Snoswell from the generative AI lab at the Queensland University of Technology discusses the limitations of large language models like ChatGPT.  He explains why...

With less than two weeks until Americans vote, Donald Trump’s campaign keeps getting stranger.  From playing music instead of taking questions from supporters, to commenting on the genitalia of a dead golfer, and suggesting he’d deploy the military against his ‘enemy within’ the United States.  But still the polls are neck and neck.  Today, we talk to Rina Shah, a former Republican strategist, about the race to the finish line. She speaks about the importance of Pennsylvania in the...

In 2018, Queensland decriminalised abortion up to 22 weeks’ gestation without a doctor's permission.  Now, the prospect of repealing those laws has become a major issue ahead of this weekend’s state election. In South Australia too, the legality of abortion has been contested in the parliament.  So, why is abortion up for debate?  Today, Prudence Flowers from Flinders University on why what’s happening here can be linked to the United States.   Dr Flowers explains that the overturning of...

With the polls in the US neck and neck just a few weeks out from the election, money talks.  Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, is throwing it around for Donald Trump, even offering million-dollar cheques to voters who sign a petition set up by a Trump-friendly campaign group.  Today, Vittoria Elliot from WIRED on why Musk is so desperate for Trump to win.  Vittoria Elliot explains Musk’s shift from supporting Democrats to backing Trump, driven by business interests and regulatory...

The assassination of the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, the architect of the October 7 attack, might have been an opportunity for a ceasefire.  Instead, Israeli airstrikes have intensified in the north and there is no sign Hamas will agree to the return of hostages.  Today, international relations expert Rajan Menon on what Benjamin Netanyahu hopes to achieve.  Professor Menon says that despite Sinwar’s death, Hamas remains resilient and continues to pose a threat.  He says the...

The cost of toll roads for drivers and even rideshare passengers are hard to avoid and the price attached to each beep of the reader increases every year.  Transurban is the firm that dominates the industry on the east coast and in some states they can even use the criminal justice system to chase toll debts and fines.  The cost of toll roads is prohibitive for many drivers, forcing people to quit jobs across town and pushing truck drivers to use suburban roads instead.  Today, Four...

This week we learned that the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will soon be a new home owner.  He’s bought a multi-million-dollar house, featuring sweeping ocean views, on the New South Wales central coast. Some people think it’s a move from the PM that’s especially tone deaf, given the depths of the housing crisis, while others see the story as a complete beat up. Today, host of Radio National Breakfast and The Party Room podcast, Patricia Karvelas, on why it has become a big problem for...

When masked neo-Nazis turned up in a small New South Wales town to hold a rally on the weekend it shocked the locals. The men, part of a white supremacist group, were not from the area. So, why were they there? Today, extremism researcher Kaz Ross discusses how we should respond to the growing white supremacist movement in Australia.  Kaz Ross explains that the neo-Nazi group, the National Socialist Network, aims to intimidate and gain publicity through such rallies.  She says the group’s...

The Lebanese capital Beirut is a divided city, where life continues as normal for some, while not so far away Israeli air strikes are reducing buildings to rubble.  The sound of Israeli drones is constant as its forces hunt members of Hezbollah.  The militant group has been firing missiles into Israel since Hamas terrorists crossed from Gaza into Israel last year.  Today, we go to Beirut with the ABC’s global affairs editor John Lyons who explains why some Lebanese welcome the weakening of...

In just three weeks, Americans will choose whether they want Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in the White House and the contest is incredibly close.  More than a hundred thousand eligible voters are living here in Australia, although not all will cast a ballot.  Today, we meet an Australian-based Harris voter and a Trump voter, to talk about what’s driving their decision and what sort of America they hope will come from it.   We also discuss whether people with wildly different political...

Oasis is coming to Australia, but many fans will have already accepted they either won’t manage to get a ticket or if they do it’s going to cost a lot of money.   So, what goes on behind the scenes with the big ticketing companies that control our live music scene?  Today, Avani Dias on her Four Corners investigation into dynamic pricing and how Australian artists are allegedly being ripped off. Avani Dias reveals that while dynamic pricing won't be used for Oasis tickets in Australia,...