The Iran trap: No peace no war

If Australia can't trust the US, can it trust Japan?

There’s an important meeting in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s diary. On Monday, Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, will touch down in Australia for high‑level talks with the Albanese government, following Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s trip to Tokyo to shore up fuel and fertiliser supplies. So, are friends in need friends indeed? Australia wants fuel from our friends in the north, but what will Japan’s new prime minister want in return? Takaichi has been called the world’s most powerful woman. So, how will Anthony Albanese approach the meeting? And as Japan bolsters its defences against China, does Tokyo expect Australia to do the same? Guest: Professor Shiro Armstrong, Director of the Australia‑Japan Research Centre and the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research, and Editor of the East Asia Forum at the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy. Recommendations:Geraldine - Drops of God (TV series)Hamish - What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami Get in touch:We’d love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au Find all the episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Iran trap: No peace no war

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth denies Trump's war on Iran has hit a "quagmire", but the reality on the ground tells a different story. With an ongoing stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts yielding little progress, the war appears to have hit a stalemate.  So what or who decides how this ends? And what does the United Arab Emirates' split from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) say about fracturing relations in the Middle East? Guest: Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder and chief executive of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation think tank Get in touch:  We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au [global.roaming@abc.net.au] Find all episodes of Global Roaming on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

Why is the US so prone to political violence?

On Saturday evening a gunman attempted to storm the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington DC.  The act of political violence -  the third assassination attempt of US President Donald Trump - occurred just three days before the 30th anniversary of Australia's deadliest mass shooting, the Port Arthur massacre, which prompted sweeping gun reform. So why has one country been able to respond to gun violence decisively while another hasn't? And what comes next, an increasingly violent and polarised United States? On this episode of Global Roaming, hosts Geraldine Doogue and Latika Bourke turn their focus to Washington DC to find out. Guest: David Smith, Washington bureau chief for The Guardian Get in touch:  We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au [global.roaming@abc.net.au] Find all episodes of Global Roaming now via ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

The AI arms race: How the US and China are fighting for the future

Artificial intelligence is reshaping power, cyber security and geopolitics, but can anyone really control it? From the US-China AI arms race to Taiwan's chip power, hosts Kylie Morris and Waleed Aly dive into the rapidly changing world of AI and the limits of democratic powers to regulate it.  What can we make of Anthropic's decision not to release its powerful Mythos model? And do we truly understand what we're building and who will control it? Guest: Rohit Krishnan, AI investor and operator and Substack essayist, The Strange Loop Canon. Get in touch:  We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au [global.roaming@abc.net.au] Find all episodes of Global Roaming now via ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

Indonesia Rising: How do you ban social media on an archipelago?

On this episode of Global Roaming's mini-series, Indonesia Rising, Hamish returns to Jakarta to speak to Indonesian communications minister Meutya Hafid. How effective has Indonesia's social media ban for children under 16 been? What can Australia learn from its approach? And does the minister support President Prabowo's plan for "bottom-up" economic growth? Meutya has a strong connection to Australia. She spent her university years in Sydney, working in a takeaway chicken shop while studying engineering.  Guest: Meutya Hafid, Indonesia's Minister of Communications and Digital Affairs. Get in touch:  We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au [global.roaming@abc.net.au] Find all episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. *Hamish is in Indonesia as the winner of the 2024 Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award. Indonesia Rising sound design by Samuel Phelps.