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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:

Who Broke Britain 2: The Brexit gamble Jun 20, 2024

Show notes

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 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Who Broke Britain 1 A promise to cut everything Jun 13, 2024

Show notes

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 the largest city on Earth — capital of a global empire larger than any other in the history of the world.

Even as recently as 17 years ago, Britons were the richest people in any of the world's large economies.

Since then, they've gone backwards, more than any other large economy.

Britain feels broken. So, who broke it?

Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3IhkTK9-xs

Not Stupid: Trump's guilty. What does that mean? Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

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 week they're diving into Trump's guilty conviction and whether we should raise the minimum age for social media.

You can subscribe to it on the Listen app.

Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM7IYWahjGY

Why is China so obsessed with Taiwan? May 30, 2024

Show notes

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 the China, If You're Listening series.

If you want to listen to the whole series you can find it here, or scroll back in your podcast feed.

Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0_VTGzZj2U

The brutal and bloody career of Iranian President Raisi May 23, 2024

Show notes

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 other episodes about Iran:

Iran, Israel and the calculus of revenge The Ayatollah who dreamed of an Iranian caliphate How the Shah's cancer led to Iran's rift with the US

Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0_VTGzZj2U

Should we treat domestic violence like we treat terrorism? May 16, 2024

Show notes

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: This episode incorrectly states that Luke Batty was 14 years old at the time of his death. He was 11 years old when he died.

Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube.

The man who destroyed his life to try to put Trump in jail May 09, 2024

Show notes

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 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqPubAjtbc4

Is Brisbane repeating the Olympic mistakes of the past May 02, 2024

Show notes

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 app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VRUVQz-Dlw

Could Benjamin Netanyahu go to jail? Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

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 against Gaza and tensions with Iran rising, it could also change the fate of the war in the Middle East.

For more on Benjamin Netanyahu's history, check out this episode: Can Israel rescue the hostages?

Subscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25NndMbkhVE

Looking for Modi 07 | One billion voters Apr 23, 2024

Show notes

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 months searching for the truth.

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