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The Radio National Hour

The Radio National Hour

ABC Australia 218 Episodes Sep 11, 2026

A daily current affairs program from ABC Australia, hosted by one of the country's leading interviewers. The show takes a thoughtful approach to important and challenging issues, with in-depth conversations spanning politics, culture, arts, and sport. It features big names from these fields and offers a deep dive into the topics shaping the national conversation.

Episodes

Bill Bailey on reviving the lost art of vaudeville
Bill Bailey on reviving the lost art of vaudeville Sep 11, 2026 0:54:36 Tracey Holmes brings you compelling conversations on issues that challenge,entertain and inspire us. 
Will AI destroy us?
Will AI destroy us? Sep 10, 2026 0:55:08 At first blush, it was more naughty than scary: a few AI agents escaped their sandbox and hacked into a real world company. but we now know that there were hundreds of them, conniving and cheating to escape and then covering it up prompting fresh warnings that AI development is moving so fast it could soon pose an existential threat to humans. And as the US president makes his mi
Two weeks on from catastrophe, hope remains for trapped workers in Nepal
Two weeks on from catastrophe, hope remains for trapped workers in Nepal Sep 9, 2026 0:55:08 Recent headlines have painted a horrific picture of the levels of domestic and sexual violence afflicting Australia. Today the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin confirmed that despite committing billions to the fight against this scourge, we're going backwards as a nation. Two weeks on from the catastrophic flash flood in Nepal, rescuers remain hope
The Radio National Hour
The Radio National Hour Sep 8, 2026 0:54:15 A chance to prevent atrocities, that’s how one grieving father who lost a son to suicide has described the government’s proposed digital duty of care legislation, which - they say - will make Big Tech accountable for harmful content on its platforms and empower us to turn it off. The EU has had its own version for years now; Natali Helberger, Distinguished Professor of Law and Di
Germany's AfD edges closer to breaking the fabled 'firewall'
Germany's AfD edges closer to breaking the fabled 'firewall' Sep 7, 2026 0:55:06 A once unthinkable result the far-right party, Alternative for Germany has had a resounding victory in a state election, coming within a hair’s breath of being the first ultra right party to govern since the Nazi era. Historian and journalist Katja Hoyer, says the party may have come very, very close to breaking Germany's fabled firewall. Australia's home construction system is b
Three summits, three very different visions of the future
Three summits, three very different visions of the future Sep 4, 2026 0:54:38 Three summits, three very different visions of the future. From the Pacific Islands Forum to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the G20, we'll examine what this charged week of diplomacy reveals about the rapidly changing balance of global power.From North Korea to the Indo-Pacific, from Washington to ASEAN, Jane Hardy spent decades working on some of Australia's most impo
Israeli leaders sound alarm over 'ethnic cleansing' in the West Bank
Israeli leaders sound alarm over 'ethnic cleansing' in the West Bank Sep 3, 2026 0:55:08 A week on from the deadly floods in Nepal and Tibet the search continues for more than four thousand missing people including 38 Australians. The focus has shifted to retrieving and identifying the hundreds of bodies and body parts that have been washed downstream, but hope remains with officials today saying  there’s a good chance that 46 people could be alive, in a chamber in a
Disasters don't respect borders, and China's strict control of Tibet could make them worse
Disasters don't respect borders, and China's strict control of Tibet could make them worse Sep 2, 2026 0:53:37 Last week's disaster in the Himalayas did not respect borders, but information flows at a trickle between Nepal and China controlled Tibet and, critics like Dibyesh Anand, a professor of international relations at Westminster University, say has exposed a deeper problem when disaster strikes.More than seventy thousand hopeful African migrants swam to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta
First it was our data, now author Gil Duran says the Tech Bros are coming for democracy
First it was our data, now author Gil Duran says the Tech Bros are coming for democracy Sep 1, 2026 0:54:35 It’s D-Day for the collapsed New South Wales developer Bathla, which needs $20 million in cash to get to the end of the week, if not, the major property developer will be liquidated and with it, the dreams of hundreds of buyers who paid deposits for new apartments. AFR associate editor Primrose Riordan says the next few days will be critical.   The 2026 northern summer has driven
Sanjeev Gupta's Whyalla wipeout
Sanjeev Gupta's Whyalla wipeout Aug 31, 2026 0:54:38 The number of missing people in Nepal has risen sharply to more than 4,000, with least 900 confirmed dead. We speak to John Torpey who's leading the emergency response for World Central Kitchen. Computers powered by human brain organoids, grown from skin, blood or hair. That's the vision of a Dr Brett Kagan, chief scientist and CEO at Cortical Labs a Melbourne based company which
Why hostage negotiations just aren't like they used to be
Why hostage negotiations just aren't like they used to be Aug 28, 2026 0:54:59 The Chair of Universities Australia, Professor Carolyn Evans has spoken out this week about her concerns over creeping government regulation and how populist backlash over issues like migration is already harming higher education. For this week's edition of 'The Diplomats' Tracey spoke to one of the world's foremost most experienced and respected hostage negotiators, Suzanne Will
Devastation in Nepal as 'glacial tsunami' sweeps through pilgrim valley
Devastation in Nepal as 'glacial tsunami' sweeps through pilgrim valley Aug 27, 2026 0:55:08 Fran Kelly brings you compelling conversations on issues that challenge,entertain and inspire us. 

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