Global Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald

Japan has entered a new political era after the election of Sanae Takaichi who is poised to become the country’s first female prime minister. A protege of the late Shinzo Abe and a fan of Margaret Thatcher, she styles herself as Japan's 'Iron Lady' and she could be one of its most right-wing and nationalistic leaders since the Second World War.  Asia editor of The Times and The Sunday Times Richard Lloyd Parry has lived in Japan and covered it for 30 years. He joins Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue to discuss what Takaichi's leadership might mean for Japan, and for Australia.  Recommendations: China's middle class rides migration wave to Tokyo [https://www.afr.com/world/asia/how-tokyo-became-an-unexpected-haven-for-china-s-middle-class-20250908-p5mtf4] - AFR In The Time Of Madness [https://www.penguin.com.au/books/in-the-time-of-madness-9780099481454] - Richard Lloyd Parry Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au [Global.Roaming@your.abc.net.au] Find all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Geraldine and Hamish were live on air on ABC Sydney when Donald Trump broke the news this morning that a deal had been reached on the 'first phase' of a Gaza ceasefire deal. They raced into another studio to record a bonus episode of Global Roaming about this enormous development in the Middle East.  Here's everything you need to know about what's just happened, what's still to come and whether peace might really be within reach.  Recommended reading and listening: Northern Ireland, Gaza and the Road to Peace [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/opinion/northern-ireland-war-gaza-resolution.html] - The New York Times  ABC Rear Vision  [https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/rearvision] Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au [Global.Roaming@your.abc.net.au] Find all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hamas has responded to Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza saying it is prepared to release all Israeli hostages - dead or alive. However it did not signal that it was completely prepared to lay down its arms or step away from negotiations... So is this the crucial turning point in the conflict that we've all been waiting for? What happens next from here?  From the streets of Vietnam and an airport in Melbourne, Hamish and Geraldine got in touch to unpack the latest breaking developments.  Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au [Global.Roaming@your.abc.net.au] Find all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Fears that the United States might be headed towards civil war feel slightly less overblown than they did just weeks ago... With the US government shutdown, Republicans and Democrats in deadlock, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth 'unleashing' federal troops into cities like Memphis, America increasingly looks like a dangerous and divided nation.  In a rare face-to-face conversation in Sydney, Geraldine Doogue sat down with veteran journalists Peter Baker (chief White House correspondent for The New York Times) and Susan Glasser (New Yorker correspondent and Lowy Institute board member) to discuss the psychology behind Donald Trump's war on 'the enemy within' and why a country like Australia should see this as a cautionary tale.  Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au [Global.Roaming@your.abc.net.au] Find all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

The anti-science crusade in the United States extends beyond President Trump's flourishing statements about climate change being a 'con job' and a 'hoax' and claiming links between Tylenol (or paracetamol) and autism. Under the second Trump administration and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, long-standing medical and scientific institutions are being hollowed out and misinformation and disinformation is rife. There are a number of actors who stand to capitalise on this trend, from foreign states like Russia, to big pharma companies and 'wellness' influencers. And experts say it poses an existential threat not just for America, but for the world.  In this episode Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald speak to Radio National's Science Editor Jonathan Webb and prominent vaccine scientist Dr Peter Hotez (co-author with Michael Mann of Science Under Siege) about the forces at play in the global war on science and Dr. Hotez also reveals what it's like to be personally targeted by RFK Jr, Joe Rogan and Elon Musk.  Recommendations: Geraldine: Good Night, and Good Luck - 2005 film  Hamish: Australian Story - The River (Part 1 and 2) [https://iview.abc.net.au/show/australian-story/series/2025/video/NC2502Q019S00]- ABC iView Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au [Global.Roaming@your.abc.net.au] Find all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.