Global Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald

In a special series this week, Global Roaming is checking the use-by date on our relationship with the U.S.

Signed on 1st September 1951, the ANZUS treaty has been the lynch-pin of Australia's security and foreign policy.

As we approach the 75th anniversary of the alliance, it is perhaps more challenged and questioned than ever before; Can Australia trust the U.S? Is the U.S a good ally? Are our interests and values aligned?  

In the first episode of The Alliance, Hamish McDonald and Geraldine Doogue put these questions to John Howard, th...

At age nine, Kbora Ali arrived in Australia as an Afghan refugee after her family fled Taliban rule. Less than a decade later, she became the first Afghan woman to join the Australian Army.

In this deeply personal conversation, Kbora reflects on her journey from Afghanistan and Pakistan to suburban Adelaide, the challenges of growing up Hazara, and her determination to serve the country that gave her family safety and a future.

She speaks to Hamish Macdonald and Waleed Aly candidly about belonging, identity, military life, and the deeply difficult choice she made to remove...

Nobel Peace laureate and Rappler founder Maria Ressa sits down with Hamish McDonald at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney to make the case that the algorithms in your pocket, not any one leader, are manufacturing the conditions for authoritarian rule worldwide. 

Ressa says 74 per cent of the world now lives under authoritarian rule, that only a quarter of the open web is still open, and that most internet traffic is now non-human. 

She lays out an "authoritarian stack": Peter Thiel bankrolling Donald Trump and JD Vance, Palantir winning a US $10 billion military contract, an...

Helen Clark led New Zealand as Prime Minister for nearly nine years and she hasn't slowed down since.

Now the Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Clark spoke to Global Roaming at a moment when vaccines have become a genuine political battleground. 

Clark talks to Hamish Macdonald about Trump's executive order to cut the recommended childhood vaccine schedule, RFK Jr.'s rise at the top of US health policy, and why she thinks Anthony Fauci pleading the Fifth before a Senate committee isn't necessarily what it looks like.

She also raises a crisis th...

In April 2024, an Israeli strike hit a World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza, killing Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and and six of her colleagues. 

Two years later, on World Humanitarian Day, the Israeli military said that its commanders' decisions did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct and said it would not pursue a criminal case. 

In a joint statement, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom called the announcement "shameful".

It comes as the United States sanctions International Criminal Court (ICC) judges and Secretary of State Marco Rubio vows to dismantle the co...

As rebel forces grow in strength, and tensions rise their once-friendly neighbour Pakistan, how long can the Taliban rule?

The Australian's Asia-Pacific correspondent Amanda Hodge joins Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald to assess the Taliban's record in the 5 years since the last U.S. troop left Afghanistan. 

Plus, a so-called 'super El Niño' weather pattern is on its way. In Australia it's likely to bring dry conditions and a higher risk of fire, but across South-East Asia, the effects could be even more catastrophic. What are the consequences of weather that could serious slow or...

Has the world taken a wrong turn, or are we simply losing sight of how much progress has already been made?

In the second part of this conversation, former Justice of the High Court of Australia Michael Kirby reveals why, after years of working in the courts and in international aid, he is convinced that the world is moving in the right direction.

Pointing to progress made in the treatment of AIDS and other world pandemics, the growing acceptance and visibility of LGBTQIA+ people, and the spread of universal education, Michael Kirby says that there...

How do you begin mending one of the most destructive political divides in modern history?

That is the challenge that former High Court of Australia justice Michael Kirby faced when he led a UN inquiry into human rights abuses in North Korea in 2013.

Despite being confronted with brutal repression and repeated failures of negotiation, Kirby remains hopeful that progress can be made, and that the United Nations has an irreplaceable role in facilitating communication between either side of the Korean DMZ.

In this first part of an expansive two-part episode, Hamish Macdonald and...

When does political resistance become a moral obligation?

Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao and Chinese-American journalist Melissa Chan have both paid a personal price for criticising China's one-party system. Between them, they've faced expulsion, surveillance, harassment and intimidation.

Badiucao even found a man who had assumed his identity. 

Together, Chan and Badiucao have created the graphic novel You Must Take Part in Revolution, exploring a dystopian future in which a tech-authoritarian China locks horns with a fascistic United States, with Taiwan caught in the middle.

The book asks the question: how far should y...

What happens when a party's own voters start to rebel against the establishment?

The victories of New York mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democratic senate nominee for Michigan Abdul El-Sayed have brought a lot of attention to progressive candidates, but some in the centre are warning about 'insurgents' that may never reach mainstream electability. 

Asma Khalid is an American journalist who has spent years reporting from the White House - she says that this movement could represent a real shift for the future of the Democratic party when it comes to tax, healthcare, and America's relationship w...

China fired a nuclear-capable missile into the South Pacific. Then its neighbours couldn't agree to condemn it. The missile came down in waters close to Tuvalu's exclusive economic zone a month before foreign ministers met at the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji. 

Australia's Penny Wong and New Zealand's Winston Peters pushed for a joint statement. Nauru and Kiribati refused to sign even the weakest version. 

Both have taken Chinese money and built closer ties with Beijing, and it showed. China is pressing south in other ways too: a security deal with the Cook Islands, co...

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has labelled AUKUS a bipartisan mistake. Is he right?

Peter Garrett, former Labor minister and rock superstar, is now leading a public inquiry into Australia's submarine pact with the U.S. and UK to answer a number of essential questions. 

Are the promised submarines likely to arrive? Why is Australia paying billions into US and UK submarine production? And does AUKUS strengthen Australia's security, or deepen our dependence on Washington at a time of growing uncertainty about America's role in the world?

In this episode, Peter Garrett joins G...

Is the abuse worth it?

A growing body of research suggests women in public life are facing a wave of online harassment that has been amplified by artificial intelligence, deepfakes and coordinated misinformation campaigns.

In this episode of Global Roaming, Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke examine the implications for democracy. If women are increasingly targeted with sexualised abuse, fake images and threats of violence, will fewer choose to enter public life?

Australian journalist and academic Dr Julie Posetti, who led a landmark UN study on online violence against women in public life, explains h...

Arash Azizi says Iran's rulers may be more afraid of peace than war.

While the world watches Donald Trump, the American-Iranian historian argues the real story is the stasis inside Tehran. 

A collective leadership built around a 13-member National Security Council, with parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf the strongest figure, now calling the shots. 

Azizi says they stepped away from the June memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Washington that would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz, partly because normal governance frightens them more than crisis. 

Now the new Mecca defence pact bet...

Antony Loewenstein says Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank has turned "almost apocalyptic".

The independent Australian journalist has reported from the territory for more than 20 years. On a trip to the area last month, Loewenstein says he witnessed near-daily attacks on a Palestinian family. It comes as the United Nations says Israeli settler violence has reached unprecedented levels.  

Loewenstein points to roughly 800,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, a prosecution rate for settler violence he puts close to zero, and the upcoming Israeli election as all contributing to the increased violence. 

He...

Labor MP Ed Husic has a blunt warning: a handful of US tech firms could switch off the AI tools Australia runs on.

On 15 July the Prime Minister used a national address to label artificial intelligence (AI) a national interest, announcing a new Office of AI inside his department, mandatory rules for large data centres, and a digital duty of care for big tech.

At the same time Sydney is being tipped as one of the world's data centre hotspots, with firms like Anthropic and OpenAI scouting sites and the build-out talked up as the...

Fresh from winning the 2026 Miles Franklin Award, writer and artist Omar Musa joins Global Roaming to take us into the rainforests of Borneo, a place where environmental destruction, colonial history, economic development and cultural identity collide.

Drawing on the themes of his award-winning novel Fierceland, Musa explores how palm oil transformed Malaysian Borneo: lifting many families out of poverty while accelerating the loss of rainforest, Indigenous lands, languages and traditions.

With Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue, he discusses the enduring legacy of colonialism in Southeast Asia, the tensions between multiculturalism and nationalism, Australia's relationship with...

Pauline Hanson sat down with Tommy Robinson, one of Britain's most notorious far-right figures. So why did the interview happen, and what does it say about the rise of right-wing populism globally? 

From Luton to Moscow, the money behind the far right has gone global. Journalist Daniel Trilling traces cash flowing from the United States and Canada to fund Islamophobic activists in the United Kingdom, Russia's long-running interest in stirring British politics, and Elon Musk using X to play kingmaker: backing Nigel Farage, cooling on him, then boosting Robinson and another breakaway rival. 

And Robinson hi...

Should the FIFA World Cup be sold to private investors?

That was the proposal by FIFA president Gianni Infantino that shocked the world and FIFA council members.

Though the proposal has been abandoned after a swift backlash, Infantino now faces a leadership crisis that could see him booted from the top position, with others already vying to take his place. 

But bigger questions remain. The 2026 FIFA World Cup was the most profitable in history and generated over $15 billion in revenue. So why was the proposal made in the first place? And is this r...

Australia has been offered a seat in space, but time is running out.

The European Space Agency has invited Australia to send its first government astronaut, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, to the International Space Station (ISS).

The catch? The ticket likely costs about $100 million and the ISS is set to deorbit around 2030. The offer stands for a few months longer, at most.

Deputy Director of the International Space Centre at the University of Western Australia, Larissa Wiese, calls it a once-in-a-generation shot at an Australian seat at the global space table, backing an industry that a...

What does the war in Gaza mean for the future of Israel, Zionism and Jewish identity?

Peter Beinart has become one of the most prominent and controversial Jewish voices challenging Israel's political direction. Once a supporter of a two-state solution, he now argues that lasting peace can only come through equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians, regardless of religion or ethnicity.

In this conversation with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald, Beinart explains his struggle with the idea of a Jewish state, how his South African upbringing shaped his views on nationalism and democracy, and why...

Christopher Nolan's blockbuster adaptation of The Odyssey has become far more than a film. It's sparked fierce arguments about race, masculinity, Western civilisation, Christianity, leadership, and the culture wars.

Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald are joined by Quillette founder Claire Lehmann to unpack why Nolan's retelling has generated such intense debate. From Elon Musk's criticism of the film to disputes over casting choices, they explore what today's political battles are revealing about how we interpret ancient stories.

Is Nolan preserving a foundational text of the Western canon for a new generation, or reshaping it through m...

Reform party leader Nigel Farage has survived scandals, electoral defeats, and years of attacks from Britain's political establishment.

But could he be unseated by a man dressed as a Darth Vader rip-off, in a by-election he called himself?

Michael Crick is a veteran UK broadcaster, and author of One Party After Another: The Disruptive Life of Nigel Farage. He claims that even a Farage victory doesn't leave the Reform party in an enviable position.

Nigel Farage still has to face down a parliamentary inquiry, coordinated voting campaigns, and continued questions about millions of...

AI is everywhere. Governments are racing to regulate it, companies are pouring hundreds of billions into it, and workers are wondering what it means for their jobs.

But what if the AI revolution isn't inevitable?

Technology commentator and science fiction writer Cory Doctorow joins Global Roaming to argue that today's AI boom looks a lot like a financial bubble, and the world could look very different once it pops.

Despite the massive amounts of money pumped into companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, the question remains whether or not these companies can deliver consistent...

A prominent Russian billionaire has publicly raised concerns about the direction of the war in Ukraine. Some observers see it as evidence that support for Vladimir Putin is beginning to crack.

But the West is misreading the situation, according to veteran Russian journalist and political analyst Konstantin von Eggert.

He argues Russia's problems run far deeper than Putin himself, that oligarchs wield far less power than outsiders imagine, and that signs of frustration inside the country do not amount to a meaningful challenge to the Kremlin.

And a post-Putin Russia may not be...

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega has declared there will be no more elections. The frail 80 year-old former Sandinista guerrilla seized power in 1979, was voted out, clawed his way back in 2006, then jailed opponents, banned parties and had security forces shoot dead hundreds of protesters. He has since installed his wife Rosario as co-president and moved to scrap the vote for good.

Former Australian diplomat and Managing Editor of International Intrigue, Jeremy Dicker,  joins hosts Hamish McDonald and Geraldine Doogue to explain why Ortega is betting Washington won't bother stopping him.

Plus, Is Australia trapped between two art...

Britain is on its seventh prime minister in a decade, and the new one has inherited a fractured union. Can Andy Burnham govern a country many now call ungovernable?

Burnham replaces Keir Starmer, who resigned in June after barely two years, worn down by policy reversals, poor local election results, and slipping public confidence. 

He arrives promising a "circuit breaker": a new economic model, reindustrialisation, and the kind of regional devolution he championed as mayor of Greater Manchester. 

But Britain's troubles run deeper than any single leader. An unelected House of Lords, uneven de...

Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni won't use the word "lie" when referring to Donald Trump, telling Global Roaming he instead "says things that are not true."

It's a careful answer from the woman running one of the world's biggest and most trusted news agencies.

Founded 175 years ago, Reuters has thousands of journalists stationed in over 165 countries and supplies the original reporting that fills newspapers and bulletins worldwide.

Galloni told Hamish Macdonald and Laura Tingle that trust and access were at the core of the organisation's success.

In this wide-ranging interview about media...

Sudan's war has entered its fourth year.

Drones are now striking schools, hospitals and fuel stations, and the world's largest humanitarian crisis keeps falling off the radar. 

More than 13 million people have been displaced since fighting broke out between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Last year the RSF was accused of genocidal violence in the city of El Fasher. Now it is encircling El Obeid in North Kordofan, and aid workers fear a repeat.

Kylie Morris and Latika Bourke speak with Noah Taylor, an Australian who heads the No...

Indonesian language teaching will be extinct in Australia by 2031, warns a parliamentary inquiry into Australia's Asian capability.

Australia talks constantly about the importance of Asia, but is failing to build the skills needed to understand our closest neighbours.

At the same time, Indonesia is on track to become one of the world's largest economies and an increasingly influential power in the region.

So how did Australia get here? And what does it mean for trade, diplomacy, defence and our future relationship with Southeast Asia?

And with China testing missiles in the...

For decades, there were some things Democrats and Republicans agreed on. 

America should lead the world, NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) matters, and the US-Israel alliance is untouchable. As Trump rips up international alliances, inside the Democratic Party anger over Israel's war in Gaza has ruptured the old pro-Israel consensus.

Last week 103 House Democrats, nearly half the caucus, voted to end military aid to Israel. The amendment failed, but marked decreasing support for Israel within the Democrats. 

Jeremy Shapiro from the European Council on Foreign Relations argues the change is real but th...

Just a year ago, the leader of France's far-right National Rally party appeared finished after being convicted in an embezzlement case and barred from seeking office. 

Now, Marine Le Pen is back in the race, after a Paris appeals court upheld her conviction but shortened her ban from seeking public office, paving the way for her 2027 presidential bid. 

With the National Rally party currenty standing as one of France's most popular parties, it's an election that could reshape Europe. 

So how did the French far-right move from the political fringe to the verge of...

Is Donald Trump trapped in a war with Iran he cannot end? The ceasefire has collapsed, and the warships are back.

Chicago University's Professor Robert Pape has been modelling conflict for over 20 years and says both sides look to be caught in an escalation trap: a long war neither can walk away from. 

Pape tells Global Roaming's Latika Burke and Steve Canane why every off-ramp has closed, why he believes Iran is rising into a new centre of world power, and why the next few weeks could be the most dangerous of the entire war. 

China is pushing harder for influence across the Pacific. Australia is responding with defence agreements, new security partnerships and rugby league.

As Pacific leaders gathered in Brisbane for State of Origin, Canberra was expanding its regional diplomacy through sport, including the multi-million-dollar PNG Chiefs NRL deal. At the same time, China's rare intercontinental ballistic missile test sent a fresh signal about the changing security environment facing Pacific nations.

So can footy really shape geopolitics?

Hamish Macdonald speaks with ABC Pacific's  Sam Wykes about rugby league's cultural power across the Pacific, and with Lowy I...

Every night in Israel, one TV channel stands out.

Channel 13 is among the few major outlets willing to challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Now, a dispute over the channel’s ownership has become a flashpoint in a wider battle over press freedom, judicial independence and the future of Israeli democracy. 

Anat Saragusti, Director of press freedom at the Union of Journalists in Israel, tells Global Roaming the Channel 13 dispute is just one part of a broader effort to weaken independent journalism.

From attempts to reshape media regulators to pressure on pu...

Indonesia's next capital was supposed to showcase the country's future: a purpose-built city in the jungles of Borneo designed to ease pressure on Jakarta and signal Indonesia's ambitions on the world stage.

But Nusantara now faces a critical political test. Former president Joko Widodo pushed the project past the point of no return, yet his successor, Prabowo Subianto, appears far less committed. So is Indonesia's new capital actually becoming the capital — or could one of the most ambitious nation-building projects in Asia stall before it's finished?

Then, after months of conflict involving Iran, the US an...

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. 

In this episode, Australia's former Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel shares his thoughts on how Australia can feasibly get to net zero, and harness our potential as a clean energy superpower. Plus, he has a radical new idea to safeguard art against AI...

Alan's recommendations:

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. 

In this  instalment, Michael Stutchbury - Former editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review and Executive director of the Centre for Independent Studies, says that Australia's economic luck is about to run out. He argues we need break the cycle of high spending and low growth if we want to retain anything like the prosperity we're accustomed to. 

Get in touch:

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. 

In this episode the Lowy Institute's Lydia Khalil shatters the perception that our geography alone is enough to protect us from the insidious new security threats that are already making their way to our shores, and she outlines how we can protect ourselves going forward. 

Lydia's recommendations:

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. 

In this episode former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese attempts to shake Australia out of our complacency and excite us about the potential of new foreign policy possibilities. 

Peter's recommendations: