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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 | S06 E4 - The decade when climate change became a culture war Mar 16, 2022

Show notes

In 1997, the debate over climate change in Australia was relatively civil.

The question was not whether climate change was happening, but what should be done about it?

In the following decade, Australia’s mining industry polluted the debate with misinformation.

This is the story of how Australia's understanding of this vital issue went backwards.

AUSTRALIA | S06 E3 - How long will the world want our coal? Mar 09, 2022

Show notes

Australia intends to keep exporting coal for as long as there are countries willing to buy it.

Miners have grand dreams of establishing new coal regions in Queensland to supply coal to the power stations and steel mills of India.

But how much longer will India, and our other big coal customers, keep needing it?

Guests:

Neelima Jain, Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies

Mika Ohbayashi, Director of the Renewable Energy Institute, Tokyo

Mary Delahunty, Head of Impact at Hesta

Ian Macfarlane, Chief Executive of Queensland Resources Council & former federal resources minister

Dr Judith Brett - Emeritus Professor of Politics at La Trobe University, author of the Quarterly Essay The Coal Curse

AUSTRALIA | S06 E2 - How we became addicted to coal Mar 02, 2022

Show notes

Australia’s second-oldest city, Newcastle, was built around a single resource - coal.

Since then, Australia has come to rely on coal for its prosperity. Our industries grew around the cheap energy it provided, and our global trade balance relies on its export.

But now, that has to end. The question is - what will happen to Australia, and its coal communities - when it does?

Guests:

Professor John Maynard, Emeritus Professor, Indigenous Education and Research, University of Newcastle

Dr Judith Brett - Emeritus Professor of Politics at La Trobe University, author of the Quarterly Essay The Coal Curse

Julie Baird - Director of Newcastle Museum

Stephen Galilee - CEO of the NSW Minerals Council

Scott Hamilton, Australia-German Energy Transition Hub & former energy policy advisor to federal and Victorian governments

Wendy Farmer - Voices of the Valley

Darren Chester - Federal Nationals Member for Gippsland

AUSTRALIA | S06 E1 - The legacy of our first decisions on climate change Feb 23, 2022

Show notes

In 1987, scientists gathered in Melbourne for a landmark conference where they discussed, for the first time, the effects climate change might have on Australia.

In the decade after that, two decisions were made by federal governments - one Liberal, and one Labor - which have shaped the climate debate in this country ever since.

Australia, If You’re Listening will look at why Australia’s found it so hard to tackle climate change since then, and what that means for the future.

Guests:Dr Graeme Pearman - Former Chief of Atmospheric Research, CSIRO

Graham Richardson - former Federal Environment Minister

Ros Kelly - former Federal Environment Minister

Robert Hill - former Federal Environment Minister

INTRODUCING Season Six | Australia, If You're Listening Feb 17, 2022

Show notes

The sixth season of If You’re Listening tells the story of Australia’s turbulent history with climate change, and what that means for the future.

As we approach a federal election where climate and energy is a key battleground, this 8 episode series will examine how Australia wasted decades fighting change, instead of capitalising on it.

Episode 1 launches on February 23.

CHINA | S05 06 - Are the 'drums of war' beating over Taiwan? Jul 06, 2021

Show notes

For months commentators and politicians in Australia have been talking about one of the most frightening topics imaginable — a war between the United States and China over the island of Taiwan.

It's the last frozen remnant of a hundred year old Civil War — two governments both claiming to be the legitimate rulers of China, separated by 100 miles of ocean.

In this episode, we explain the bizarre story which led to the current tension, and look at what might happen next.

Guests:

Katherine Wei, Taiwan Correspondent, The Straits Times

Malcolm Turnbull, former Australian Prime Minister

Dr Helen Sham-ho OAM, first Chinese-born MP in an Australian parliament

CHINA | S05 05 - Chinese students: Commodity or opportunity? Jun 29, 2021

Show notes

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused the shutdown of travel from China, it shone a harsh light on the way Australia treats Chinese students who come here to study.

Some feel isolated and discriminated against, others feel they are being treated as "cash cows" by a university sector desperate for their fees.

Can we do better? And can we handle it when problems arise inside the bubble we have created around Chinese students?

Guests:

Dr Fran Martin, associate Professor & Reader in Cultural Studies, University of Melbourne

Catriona Jackson, CEO, Universities Australia

Yaqiu Wang, researcher, Human Rights Watch

'Yuki', former University of Adelaide student

Jane Poon, Australia-Hong Kong Link

CHINA | S05 04 - Huawei and the new technology cold war Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

From humble beginnings in a tiny town whose name means "deep drainage ditch", electrical engineer Ren Zhengfei grew his company Huawei into a global technology giant, delivering competitive telecommunications equipment at low prices.

But when Australia accused Huawei of being a security risk, a snowball began to roll which led to arrests, hostages being taken, and pure white hot fury in Beijing.

This is the story of how a decision made in the midst of a Prime Ministerial spill may lead to a new technology cold war.

Guests:

Sue-Lin Wong, China correspondent, The Economist and co-author of The Beijing Bureau: 25 Australian Correspondents Reporting China's Rise

Malcolm Turnbull, former Australian Prime Minister

CHINA | S05 03 - The iron chain between Australia and China Jun 15, 2021

Show notes

When China rolled out their trade sanctions regime against Australia to try and punish us for a litany of perceived insults, the trade of one commodity was conspicuously left untouched.

China's desperate need to stimulate economic growth through construction has left them with an insatiable appetite for Australian iron ore.

In this episode, we look at the incredible things they've built using our most valuable resource, and what might happen if they decide to stop buying it.

Guests:

Dinny McMahon, author of China's Great Wall of Debt: Shadow Banks, Ghost Cities, Massive Loans and the End of the Chinese Miracle

Dr Feng Chongyi, Associate Professor in China Studies, University of Technology, Sydney

Kevin Rudd, former Australian Prime Minister

CHINA | S05 Bonus episode - The story behind Bob Hawke’s mysterious Tiananmen Cable Jun 11, 2021

Show notes

In 1989, five days after tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square in Beijing and brutally ended weeks of protests, the then prime minister Bob Hawke gave a horrifying description of what Australia thought happened.

But where did the account come from? And what did it get wrong?

Over the past three months China, If You're Listening investigated the source of this description and found it was a previously undisclosed diplomatic cable from the Australian Embassy in Beijing, which subsequently had key details retracted.

This is a bonus episode, produced with our friends at The Signal — a daily ABC News podcast.

Guests:

Blanche d'Alpuget, biographer and wife of late former prime minister Bob Hawke

Richard Rigby, Emeritus Professor of the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra

Craig Emerson, former advisor to Bob Hawke, and cabinet minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments

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