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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:

04 Black Swans | Countdown to Doomsday Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

In the midst of the Cold War, it was a very real fear that a nuclear winter would obliterate life as we know it. Now, fortunately, that never happened.

But ironically fast forward to 2026 and the sense of dread of a nuclear war has been replaced by the impending threat of climate change, or being overrun by our AI overlords. So are we destined to feel doomed?

This is the final episode of Black Swans a four-part series by If You're Listening.

67 years ago, the ABC recorded a collection of predictions about the future—the one we’re living in now, in 2026. Their forecasts are truly extraordinary - Intergalactic super speed travel, future pod houses, Nuclear fallout, but strangely all of them are wrong. In Black Swans, host Matt Bevan gets to the bottom of why we’ve always been so bad at predicting the future.

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

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

Did a 1981 book correctly predict the future? Jan 27, 2026

Show notes

Matt and Kara discuss the book that inspired the Black Swan series… but didn’t make it into the final cut! Can experts, soothsayers, and psychics really predict what’s going to happen?

This episode is connected to Black Swans, a four-part series by If You’re Listening

67 years ago, the ABC recorded a collection of predictions about the future—the one we’re living in now, in 2026. Their forecasts are truly extraordinary - Intergalactic super speed travel, future pod houses, Nuclear fallout, but strangely all of them are wrong. In Black Swans, host Matt Bevan gets to the bottom of why we’ve always been so bad at predicting the future.

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

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

03 Black Swans | Burning Hill Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

In 1959 a flight to London took days and cost half a year’s average salary. But things were changing rapidly. The invention of the Concorde meant that you could fly from Adelaide to London in just under seven hours. Travel was getting faster and many expected we’d be routinely zipping around the world and travelling to other planets in no time. But now, aside from planes, most of our transport is not much faster than it was back then, so why are we still so slow?

The city that ten beers built Jan 20, 2026

Show notes

Matt and Kara delve deeper into the story of town planner Alex Ramsay, and the bizarre deal he struck to purchase the land that would become Elizabeth, SA.

This episode is connected to episode two of the Black Swans series, all concerning predictions of Australia's future, and how we got it so wrong.

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

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

02 Black Swans | The Australian Dream Jan 15, 2026

Show notes

In the 1950s three quarters of Australians were homeowners, most lived on a quarter-acre block, with a mortgage that could be covered with one income while someone stayed at home to look after the children. Nowadays, house prices have sky rocketed and younger generations largely feel locked out. So where did it all go wrong?

01 Black Swans | The Population Bomb Jan 08, 2026

Show notes

Until recently people were scared our planet would be outstripped by the weight of a colossal population. Experts feared that by 2026, there would be so many people that we would be starved of resources, and eat ourselves to death. Ironically we now find ourselves in a world where we’re not scared about having too many babies, but rather too few. So what happened?

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

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

Matt got lost on his way to the costume department Jan 07, 2026

Show notes

Kara and Matt take you behind the scenes of putting the series together, and how hard it is to find an iron when you need one.

The Black Swans series kicks off this Thursday 8th January on podcast, and hits television on Saturday 10th January.

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

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

Trump’s playbook for Nicolás Maduro and Venezuela Jan 05, 2026

Show notes

In a post on Truth Social, US President Trump announced that he had captured the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and that the pair would face drug charges in New York. The legality of this seizure is certainly questionable, but surprisingly, an operation like this is not entirely unprecedented.

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

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

NEOM: The world's dumbest megaproject Jan 01, 2026

Show notes

The massive infrastructure project NEOM sits in the Saudi Arabian desert, and the jewel in its crown is The Line, a futuristic city which looks insane. The AI-generated ads depict a car-free city, for 9 million people housed between two mirrors, stretching along the desert. Despite promises of millions of residents by 2030, the project has been scaled back by 98 per cent. The Line will be more like a dot. So what the hell happened? And was it all just a scam?

This episode was originally broadcast in September 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

What's the deal with fluoride? Dec 25, 2025

Show notes

Putting fluoride in drinking water has often been called one of the most successful public health measures in human history. But since the very beginning of fluoridation programs in the 1940s, it’s been plagued by misinformation and furious opposition.

Now with Robert F Kennedy Jr at the helm of the US Department of Health, the Trump Administration is leading the charge to get states to ban the use of fluoride in water - and he’s succeeded in Utah and Florida. So when did this anti-fluoride scepticism kick off? And can it be stopped?

This episode was originally broadcast in June 2025

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

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

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