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If You’re Listening — News & Politics
If You’re Listening

The world is on fire. There’s a coup. Inflation is through the roof, and AI is taking our jobs. What does it all mean? Each week, Matt Bevan explains the biggest story in world news while hiding in his basement from assassins and authoritarian regimes.

Recent episodes include an exploration of the relationship between India and China, a closer look at the Saudi Arabian city of NEOM, the conflict in the Middle East, the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, and Ukraine’s incursions into Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Matt Bevan draws connections between stories from the past and the events of the present to help listeners understand world news and international affairs.

The podcast also features series about big moments in world news; previous series have focused on the United States presidential election, the United Kingdom’s 14 years of Conservative Party leadership, Donald Trump’s relationship with Russia, Donald Trump’s presidency and promise to Make America Great Again, the Mueller Report, Vladimir Putin’s scheme to destroy western democracies, how the relationship between Australia and China came to the verge of collapse, and Australia’s turbulent history with climate change.

There’s a new episode of If You’re Listening every Thursday.

Latest Episodes:

Australia vs the Internet: Misinformation overload May 01, 2025

Show notes

To scroll through social media during an election campaign in 2025 is to experience some of the worst misinformation. But an online soup of bots spouting partisan talking points wasn’t inevitable, even in recent years.

After the 2016 election of US President Donald Trump and UK vote for Brexit, it was clear that online platforms like Facebook and Twitter were used to target voters with misinformation and disrupt political discourse enough to sway elections. As a result, the social media giants really tried to crack down on harmful content spreading online…or at least they pretended to.

But in the last year or so, they’ve almost completely given up… and the vast digital sea of misinformation has become more dangerous than ever.

If you're around Newcastle on the 18th of May, come along to the live show of If You're Listening at the Young People's Theatre - tickets available here: https://yptninc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/149193

Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Australia vs the Internet: RIP your newsfeed Apr 24, 2025

Show notes

When US President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, the world’s three wealthiest people stood right behind him, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. All own massive online platforms. These tech billionaires are now major political players in their own right, but for the last 15 years the platforms they control have shaped political debate, changed how people feel about their governments and gathered information on voters that tells politicians which buttons to push.

The Australian government has attempted to force the social media giants to pay for the news that they profit from and that worked… for a little while. But in the last year the broligarchs have torn up those contracts and are embracing a brave new newsless world – which isn’t great news for Australia’s upcoming federal election.

Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

The secret weapon that changed war forever Apr 17, 2025

Show notes

In the middle of the 1800s, the Confederate army built a stealth vessel that could travel undetected underwater to give them the military edge over the Union...so did it work and how has it impacted military innovation since?

In this special episode of If You’re Listening, Matt Bevan sits down with Marc Fennell to talk about his new ABC RN show, “No One Saw It Coming”.

Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Australia vs the Internet Apr 15, 2025

Show notes

You’re not losing your mind, the internet is different now.

The 2025 Australian federal election will be the first in a decade where news isn’t readily available on social media, and there’s no effort to fact check or moderate what is there. The billionaires behind the major tech platforms aren’t just background characters in politics anymore; they’re centre stage, making decisions around misinformation, bankrolling candidates, generating content that aligns with their own ideology and broadcasting it to the masses.

Not only has the fight against misinformation online been lost, sometimes social media feels entirely divorced from reality. While the United States government has been incapable of regulating the tech giants, and now seems to have been taken over by them, Australia has made multiple attempts to push back.

In this series from If You’re Listening, Australia vs the Internet looks at Australia’s attempts to rein in big tech, and how it's shaping the Australian election.

First episode drops Thursday 24th April.

Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

How Japan dodged a global housing crisis Apr 10, 2025

Show notes

Australia’s housing market is in the midst of a crisis that feels like it will never be solved and now housing is one of the major battlefields of the upcoming federal election.

In this episode of If You’re Listening originally published last year we head to Japan, where 30 years ago, houses were the most expensive in the world.

Today home ownership in Tokyo is comparatively affordable with plenty of housing stock up for grabs – so how did they achieve this massive turnaround? And is it something we could do here in Australia?

This episode was originally published on the 28th March 2024

Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Can Tesla survive Trump and Elon's bromance? Apr 03, 2025

Show notes

It has not been a good year so far for Elon Musk’s car company Tesla. Stocks are plummeting and sales are falling even faster as people around the world who are opposed to his involvement in the Trump Administration boycott the company.

That’s been accompanied by arson and vandalism at Tesla dealerships around the world. But this isn’t the first time that a company has come under sustained attack for its connections to a Presidential administration.

For three decades, one of America’s biggest beer companies was subject to a boycott because of the conservative views of the family that owned it.

How did that turn out? And what does it tell us about what’s in store for Tesla?

Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Why is Trump suddenly obsessed with rare earths? Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

Donald Trump is talking about rare earth elements like they are magic rings with the power to unlock world domination.

The US President is on the brink of signing a multi-billion dollar deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that would give the US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals in exchange for financial security and continued military support in the war with Russia. Rare earths are critical for manufacturing electronics, batteries, magnets, and military weapons.

But are these rare earth elements actually as rare and valuable as Trump has been led to believe?

Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SkEn86RIsOk?si=-APXjdvpRF5RAeM0

And if you're a Newcastle fan come see If You're Listening live with Matt Bevan on Sunday 6th April at 4pm at the Conservatorium of music concert hall - Tickets are free! Find out more: https://www.newcastlewritersfestival.org.au/events/if-youre-listening-live/

Why France isn’t counting on Trump Mar 20, 2025

Show notes

Donald Trump’s sudden shift on Ukraine has come as a massive shock to most countries in America’s orbit. European leaders who have long banked their national security on US military protection are beginning to lose confidence in their most powerful ally. But there is one American ally that has been planning for this potential eventuality for decades.

France has long been sceptical of how much America can be trusted and now they may be the only safe refuge for countries looking for new security guarantees. So how did they see this about-face coming? And what capacity does Paris have to be the new security guarantor for global democracy?

Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SkEn86RIsOk?si=-APXjdvpRF5RAeM0

And if you're a Newcastle fan come see If You're Listening live with Matt Bevan on Sunday 6th April at 4pm at the Conservatorium of music concert hall - Tickets are free! Find out more: https://www.newcastlewritersfestival.org.au/events/if-youre-listening-live/

Russia, Trump is listening Mar 13, 2025

Show notes

Since he took office, Donald Trump has made a lot of decisions that fly in the face of traditional US foreign policy. He’s left Ukraine high and dry, he’s abandoning Europe, he’s slapped tariffs on America’s allies, and he’s floated the idea of seizing new territory in Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal.

And the big one: President Trump seems to have a great deal of time and respect for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

So what’s the deal with Putin and Trump - is what we’re witnessing now just the beginning of their grand plans for a new world order? And what hints can we get on how things might unfold from a conference that happened 80 years ago between US President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in a little town called Yalta?

This week on If You’re Listening, will Putin’s dream of an emboldened Soviet sphere come true?

Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Who will say no to President Trump this time? Mar 06, 2025

Show notes

In the United States, there are laws constraining the President’s power. The Attorney General and everyone who works at the Department of Justice aren’t meant to just do whatever the President tells them; they’re in charge of enforcing the law, whatever it is.

So what will they do when enforcing the law doesn’t align with Donald Trump’s policies?

In Trump’s first term, the Attorneys General and Justice Department staff prioritised the law over Trump’s desires, because that’s how democracies work. Is there any chance that will happen this time?

Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3iLKlAcMl4&list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq&index=1&t=6s

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