Late Night Live — Full program podcast

When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was elected he promised to address a gap in federal anti-discrimination law which allowed faith-based schools to sack gay kids and teachers, but he has thus far failed to do so. Now Independent MP for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, has introduced a bill to end the right of religious schools and universities to punish gay and trans pupils and staff. Plus, as AI reshapes society, what does it mean to be human? Father Paolo Benanti, advisor to the Holy Sea on AI Ethics is in Australia to examine the moral questions posed by artificial intelligence.Guests:Allegra Spencer, Member for WentworthFather Paolo Benanti, Professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University, in Rome, and advisor to the Holy Sea on AI Ethics

The Lord of the Rings made J.R.R. Tolkien one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. But who was the obsessive, conservative and often difficult man behind Middle-earth? And Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, has a new and equally remarkable true story to tell. In 1942 in Nazi-occupied Paris, the Nazis arrest a Jewish family, but their 11-year-old daughter escapes to her piano teacher, AndrĂŠe Levallois. AndrĂŠe is secretly a French Resistance operative who risks everything, including her own family, to hide the child. Â Guests:Â DJ Taylor, author of The King under the MountainHeather Morris, author of The Piano teacher of MontparnasseGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

We revisit two memorable LNL conversations from recent times: Simon Winchester's cultural history of the wind, and Australian writer Lech Blaine's astonishing account of his beautiful, terrifying childhood - growing up in Queensland pubs stalked by Christian fanatics. Guests: Simon Winchester, journalist and author of The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the WindLech Blaine, author of Australian Gospel

The German Peasants' War was the greatest popular uprising in Western Europe before the French Revolution. In 1524 and 1525, it swept across Germany with astonishing speed as thousands of people massed in armed bands to demand a new and more egalitarian order. The response from feudal overlords was brutal, but while the rebellion was suppressed, it would continue to influence subsequent revolts, contribute to the emergence of peasant and worker movements in the following centuries and serve as a precursor to larger social and political transformations in Europe. Guest: Professor Lyndal Roper, Regius Professor of History at Oriel College, Oxford University and author of Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants' War, published by Hachette Producer: Catherine Zengerer

Mark Kenny reviews PM Anthony Albanese's week at the United Nations in New York, and asks whether the Australian leader should be more assertive in rebuking the US President, on issues like the regulation of AI. Volkswagon is cutting jobs, considering factory closures, and even turning one car plant towards defence production. Can the company reinvent itself before its glory days become history? And David Marr takes you to the outback, to see Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre in flood. GuestsMark Kenny, Director of the Australian Studies Institute, host of Democracy Sausage podcast;Jack Ewing, Journalist, New York TimesDavid Marr, Late Night Live presenter

Australia is a nation built by migrants, but immigration has always been politically contested. A new history traces how we came to decide who belongs, who gets in and who is kept out, right back to the early days of the colony. Plus, historian James Crawford explores what happens when the resources that underpin modern life become harder to find, harder to extract and harder to replace.GuestsMark Cully, author of Waves of Plenty: Immigration and the Making of Australia, published by Black IncJames Crawford, author of The Vanishing Earth: A journey through the last days of AbundanceAustralia is a nation built by migrants, but immigration has always been politically contested. A new history traces how we came to decide who belongs, who gets in and who is kept out, right back to the early days of the colony. Plus, historian James Crawford explores what happens when the resources that underpin modern life become harder to find, harder to extract and harder to replace.GuestsMark Cully, author of Waves of Plenty: Immigration and the Making of Australia, published by Black IncJames Crawford, author of The Vanishing Earth: A journey through the last days of Abundance

Anna Henderson is travelling with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as he launches Australia's bid for a seat at the UN security council, does the United Nations have a future? And why bandicoots are doing your garden a fantastic service. Guests:Anna Henderson, Chief Political Correspondent, SBSRichard Gowan, Director of Global Issues and Institutions at the International Crisis GroupAnnabel Ellis, PhD candidate at the University of Sydney in the Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Lab

The U.S.A.I.D program was established by President John F Kennedy in 1961, at the peak of Cold War tensions, but researcher Luke Fletcher says its roots date back to WWII, and a desire by the US to greatly expand its economic and military power. Plus, a tribute to Mary Gaudron, Australia's first female High Court judge.Guests: Luke Fletcher, Executive Director, Jubilee Australia Research Centre and author of America and the Birth of Global Aid, published by RoutledgeJohn Basten AO KC, former judge of the NSW Court of Appeal

Anna Henderson on One Nation’s migration policy, the response to Pauline Hanson's 'derogatory' remarks about Aboriginal people on a podcast, and the government’s increasingly aggressive approach to big tech. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on what Benjamin Netanyahu was told before October 7, and why Netanyahu is threatening to sue Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Plus the hidden meanings in wine labels. Guests:Anna Henderson, Chief Political Correspondent, SBSFormer Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud OlmertKatie Spain, freelance wine writer