ABC News Daily
News & Politics Podcasts
ABC News Daily is the podcast that helps you understand the issues affecting your world. Every episode, host Samantha Hawley walks through one story with the help of an ABC colleague or expert in under 15 minutes. When you want coverage you can trust,...
Location:
Australia
Genres:
News & Politics Podcasts
Description:
ABC News Daily is the podcast that helps you understand the issues affecting your world. Every episode, host Samantha Hawley walks through one story with the help of an ABC colleague or expert in under 15 minutes. When you want coverage you can trust, listen to ABC News Daily. From interest rates, real estate and the housing crisis, to scams and US politics, ABC News Daily brings you facts and analysis you need to understand the biggest news stories. The podcast covers news from America, with analysis of the Donald Trump administration in the White House. His actions, including threats of massive tariffs have big implications for global politics and the economy and US journalists and experts will explain what's at stake. As Australians battle a cost-of-living crisis, ABC News Daily looks at the causes of inflation, rising rental costs, house prices, insurance costs and the price of groceries. Key experts in business and finance join Samantha Hawley, explaining the state of the economy, the unemployment rate and the jobs market. Whether you rent, own an investment house or apartment, or are repaying a mortgage, ABC News Daily offers unique insights and analysis. When there are big moves from the Reserve Bank (RBA) on interest rates, or reactions in the ASX or the Australian dollar, guest experts, including economists, explain why. Look into ABC News Daily's archive to find episodes on electric vehicles (EVs), artificial intelligence (AI), politics, the big banks, supermarkets, Tesla, Elon Musk, education, schools, teachers and crime. Watch for episodes about federal politics and the leadership of Labor's Anthony Albanese. We look at policy areas that matter for voters, including education, health, housing and immigration and assess the proposals from the federal opposition. ABC News Daily follows developments in the Middle East and the war between Israel and Hamas, with insights into the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu. The podcast looks at the latest from Ukraine as Volodymyr Zelensky fights to repel the Russian invaders led by Russia's President Vladimir Putin. As China's Xi Jinping contemplates the future of Taiwan, ABC News Daily will sort fact from fiction. As climate change fuelled by greenhouse gas emissions increases the risk of natural disasters, including fires and floods, ABC News Daily brings you fact-based analysis. The podcast covers the future of renewable / green power generation, including the use of wind turbines, solar and hydro electric power. ABC experts including Ian Verrender, Alan Kohler, Laura Tingle, David Speers, and Annabel Crabb join Samantha Hawley to step through big issues and current affairs.
Language:
English
Episodes
How Donald Trump caught 'victory disease'
3/12/2026
Almost two weeks into the war in Iran, Donald Trump's endgame remains elusive.
He insists the US has won already, even as the bombs fall and Iran's drones cause havoc in the region.
Did the US president misjudge how a war with Iran would play out and how significant the ripple effects would be across the world?
Today, staff writer at the Atlantic magazine Tom Nichols on why the Trump administration is 'strategically incompetent' and why he thinks the president is suffering from 'victory disease'.
Featured:
Tom Nichols, The Atlantic magazine staff writer
Duration:00:16:34
Why Iran is just the beginning of AI warfare
3/11/2026
Artificial intelligence is playing a key role in the war in Iran, with AI tools suspected of being used to gather intelligence, pick targets and plan bombings.
At the same time, a battle has broken out between the Trump administration and one of the leading AI firms, Anthropic, over what limits should be placed on the use of AI by the military.
Today, Toby Walsh, the chief scientist at the AI Institute at the University of New South Wales on why guardrails are crucial to avoid a nightmare future of AI fuelled warfare.
Featured:
Toby Walsh, UNSW AI Institute chief scientist
Duration:00:16:10
The brave escape of the Iranian soccer players
3/10/2026
They stood on a field in the Gold Coast and bravely refused to sing their national anthem and they were condemned as traitors on Iranian state TV.
A week later, members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who competed in the Women’s Asian Cup have been offered asylum in Australia.
Today, lawyer and sport integrity expert Catherine Ordway on how it all unfolded.
Featured:
Catherine Ordway, sport integrity expert and a visiting scholar at the University of NSW School of Business based in Canberra
Duration:00:15:38
Is Iran’s new supreme leader looking for revenge?
3/9/2026
Donald Trump wanted regime change in Iran and to personally choose who the next leader would be.
Instead, Iran’s top clerics chose Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after he was killed in US-Israeli strikes.
Today, Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Centre on what this appointment means for the war.
Featured:
Barbara Slavin, distinguished fellow at the Stimson Centre in Washington D.C.
Duration:00:16:00
Why it’s finally time for high speed rail
3/8/2026
Can you believe the construction of a high speed rail network could start in just two years?
Scepticism is not unwarranted because we’ve been talking about fast train travel for decades, but it’s never happened because it basically costs too much.
Today, Joe Langley, an urban planner who worked on the Gillard government’s study of high speed rail and who is a member of the advocacy body the Australian High Speed Rail Association.
Featured:
Joe Langley, urban planner and member of the Australian High Speed Rail Association
Duration:00:16:00
How the Iran war increases the global nuclear threat
3/5/2026
One of Donald Trump’s stated reasons for going to war with Iran is to destroy the nuclear threat he says it poses.
But by starting the conflict has he made the world less safe?
There are concerns around what happens to Iran’s enriched nuclear material and the lessons other countries will take from Iran’s being hit while remaining at the threshold short of getting a bomb.
Today, Kelsey Davenport from the Arms Control Association on why it could all lead to more nuclear weapons around the world.
Featured:
Kelsey Davenport, Director for Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association
Duration:00:15:22
How the Iran war fuels inflation
3/4/2026
It’s been less than a week since the war in Iran began but it’s already having an economic impact here.
Oil and gas prices are rising and that has the Reserve Bank worried about inflation and analysts warn that could mean more interest rate hikes.
Today, chief business correspondent Ian Verrender on why we’re so economically vulnerable to a conflict so far away and what we can expect in the weeks ahead.
Featured:
Ian Verrender, ABC chief business correspondent
Duration:00:15:34
How long can Iran keep fighting?
3/3/2026
The Iran war is expanding and already having ripple effects across the globe.
How long will it last? US President Donald Trump says a month or longer, “whatever it takes”.
Today, we speak to Rana Dadpour who fled the brutal Iranian regime in 2012 and founded the group Australian United Solidarity for Iran.
We also speak with international relations expert Rajan Menon about why this could be a long war.
Featured:
Rana Dadpour, founder of Australian United Solidarity for Iran
Rajan Menon, professor emeritus of international relations at the City College of New York and a senior research fellow at the Saltzman Institute at Columbia University
Duration:00:20:09
Why Trump’s Iran gamble could end very badly
3/2/2026
Donald Trump says the war with Iran will continue until all his goals are achieved and he’s warned more US troops are likely to die.
But if one of the aims is regime change in Iran, can the US president achieve that without troops on the ground?
The war is escalating in the region with Israel beginning strikes on the Iran-linked militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon’s capital Beirut, after it launched missiles towards Israel.
Today, Hussein Ibish from the Arab Gulf States Institute on why the war is unlikely to go as Trump planned and the nightmare scenarios.
Featured:
Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute
Duration:00:14:27
What comes next in Trump’s war with Iran?
2/28/2026
For weeks Donald Trump threatened Iran with military strikes and on Saturday morning in Iran the bombing by US and Israeli forces began.
He says Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed.
In a social media video, the US president urged the Iranian people to rise up and topple the regime.
Iran has responded by targeting Israel and US military bases across the region with drones and missiles, hitting targets in Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar.
Today, Nate Swanson, Iran expert at the Atlantic Council on what could come next.
Featured:
Nate Swanson, senior fellow and director of the Iran Strategy Project at the Atlantic Council
Duration:00:20:09
Why Bill and Hillary Clinton are testifying about Epstein
2/26/2026
They tried to stop it happening, but Bill and Hillary Clinton had no choice in the end but to testify or face jail time.
The political power couple is being hauled before a US congressional investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Today, David Smith from the United States Studies Centre at Sydney University on what we can expect from their depositions.
Featured:
David Smith, associate professor at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney
Duration:00:15:34
Trump’s theatrics at the State of the Union
2/25/2026
US President Donald Trump spent almost two hours outlining what he believes to be a myriad of achievements on the economy and immigration.
It’s the longest State of the Union address ever recorded.
But has the US president convinced voters that his first year in office has been a raging success and can he turn his tanking popularity around before the mid-term elections in November.
Today, Emma Shortis, a US politics expert at the progressive think tank, the Australia Institute, on Trump’s State of the Union address.
Featured:
Emma Shortis, Director of the Australia Institute's International & Security Affairs Program
Duration:00:16:23
The secrecy surrounding the 'ISIS brides'
2/24/2026
The possible return home of a group of so-called ‘ISIS brides’ from Syria has caused a political storm.
But why? Given similar groups of women and children have been returned in the past by both the Albanese and Morrison governments?
Today, Adam Harvey, reporter for the ABC’s 7.30 program, joins us to discuss his 2019 reporting as a foreign correspondent on the ground in the Syrian camp where the Australians were living.
He spoke with some of the Australian women at the time.
Adam also looks at the current debate and what happens if the group is successful in getting home.
Featured:
Adam Harvey, 7.30 reporter
Duration:00:16:15
Will anyone get a refund for Trump’s illegal tariffs?
2/23/2026
The US Supreme Court has ruled that most of Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal.
So, will President Trump give back to Australian companies the millions of dollars they’ve already lost?
What does the new 15 percent global tariff mean for the global economy?
Today, chief business correspondent Ian Verrender on the latest tariff chaos.
Featured:
Ian Verrender, ABC chief business correspondent
Duration:00:15:25
What are AI agents and can they be trusted?
2/22/2026
They used to be known as personal assistants, now you can just get an AI agent to plan your day, answer your emails and organise your life.
But what are the risks around handing over control of your data, messages and payment methods to the latest wave of artificial intelligence tools?
Today, computer security expert at Melbourne University Shaanan Cohney on how AI agents work and how close we are to AI taking our jobs.
Featured:
Dr Shaanan Cohney, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security and Deputy Head for the School of Computing and Information Systems at the University of Melbourne
Duration:00:14:21
Annabel Crabb on Andrew’s arrest
2/19/2026
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has spent about 10 hours of his 66th birthday in police custody as they investigate whether the former prince shared government secrets with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
King Charles has tried to distance himself from the man who remains eighth in line to the throne. But can the royal family survive this scandal?
Today, the ABC’s Annabel Crabb on what happens when the justice system comes for the King’s brother.
Featured:
Annabel Crabb, ABC writer and presenter
Duration:00:21:02
A former FBI profiler on the Nancy Guthrie case
2/19/2026
It’s a case that’s captivated America and grabbed headlines around the world. The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Australian-born US Today show host Savannah Guthrie.
The 84-year-old has been missing for more than three weeks and the mystery only deepened with the release of eerie doorbell footage showing a masked person at her door.
Today, we speak to former FBI profiler, Mary Ellen O’Toole, who spent her career studying the criminal mind.
She tells us why it’s not likely a burglary gone wrong and what she sees in the demeanour of the masked figure.
Featured:
Mary Ellen O’Toole, former FBI profiler and currently director of the forensic science program at George Mason University
Duration:00:17:15
Will Coles go ‘Down Down’ in court?
2/18/2026
When Coles told you that prices were “Down Down”, were they really?
That’s a matter now before the Federal Court with the competition watchdog, the ACCC, arguing consumers have been misled and it needs to end.
Today, consumer affairs reporter Michael Atkin on what we’ve heard in the case so far and how Coles defends its practices.
Featured:
Michael Atkin, ABC consumer affairs reporter
Duration:00:14:27
How a wealth tax could fix the housing crisis
2/17/2026
Could we solve the housing crisis in Australia by increasing taxes on the extremely rich and targeting mining giants’ profits?
Today, British economist, former trader and YouTube star Gary Stevenson on why a wealth tax could work to end growing inequality and fix our housing problem.
He explains why rising inequality could lead to deteriorating living standards and leave Australians living in slums.
Featured:
Gary Stevenson, economist and host of Gary’s Economics
Duration:00:15:34
Trump’s latest attack on climate science
2/16/2026
Donald Trump says it’s a scam to say that climate change is a threat to public health. So, the US president has killed off a scientific finding that says it is.
The so-called endangerment finding was the basis for nearly all climate laws in the US.
Now it’s gone, the White House hopes dirty industries can flourish again, including America’s petrol car manufacturers.
Today, ANU climate expert, Christian Downie on what happens when one of the world’s largest polluters gives up on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Featured:
Christian Downie, professor in the school of regulation and global governance at the Australian National University
Duration:00:15:21