Shows / The Radio National Hour
The Radio National Hour
A weekday magazine-style current affairs program hosted by one of Australia's pre-eminent and loved interviewers. Drawing on Fran's extensive current affairs and cultural knowledge, The Radio National Hour takes a thoughtful, deep dive into the important and challenging issues, and brings insightful and engaging conversations with big names in the arts, sport and culture.
Episodes
- The Radio National Hour
Sting takes us back to his childhood in new musical
Sting, the rock legend who fronted The Police, is now in Brisbane performing a musical he wrote based on his childhood experiences in a 1950s English…
- The Radio National Hour
The billionaire suing the Trump over crypto
'A very dark day' — that’s how people living with disability are describing the cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme unveiled today. The government…
- The Radio National Hour
The gruesome pact that sent Kakenya on the path to greatness
It's one of Labor’s crowning achievements but the world leading National Disability Insurance Scheme has become unwieldy and unaffordable. As the government…
- The Radio National Hour
Sir Keir prepares to face the bear pit over latest Mendelson revelations
British PM Keir Starmer’s leadership is hanging by a thread after revelations that disgraced former British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson failed a key…
- The Radio National Hour
The ceasefires are holding, but does the Trump administration have the patience for lasting peace?
A ceasefire has been declared in Lebanon as a fragile peace holds with Iran, is this enough to bring everyone back to the negotiating table? Former US diplomat…
- The Radio National Hour
Former fighter pilot Dan Duggan facing decades in US prison after losing extradition fight
A former US fighter pilot could be sent back to the country of his birth after the Federal Court rejected his bid to avoid extradition. Dan Duggan, who’s now…
- The Radio National Hour
Gina Rinehart claims victory in bitter court battle with children
Against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, the asymmetric conflict in the Middle East and a volatile US administration Australia’s Defence Minister Richard…
- The Radio National Hour
Calls for urgent action to stop 'catastrophic' AI hacking model
A blockade to end a blockade has begun in the Strait of Hormuz with the United States vowing to prevent ships coming to or from Iranian ports. According to…
- The Radio National Hour
Orban said he was 'bored', Hungarian voters have just given him more free time
US President Donald Trump threatened hell, fire and fury if Iran didn’t open the Strait of Hormuz - now he says the US is going to block the shipping lane…
- The Radio National Hour
Has NASA rolled the dice on the Artemis II heat shield?
Artemis II is hurtling back to earth - after a voyage that has awed the world - but the most risky part of the mission lies right at the end. Space scientist…
- The Radio National Hour
Israel accused of 'grave violation' after latest strikes on Lebanon
In an onslaught lasting just ten minutes, Israeli air strikes killed at least two-hundred and fifty people in Lebanon yesterday, prompting international…
- The Radio National Hour
Paddy Power founder says Govt has caved to the industry with advertising reforms
Stewart Kenny was one of the pioneers of modern sports betting but now says he wishes he’d done more to prevent gambling addiction. He says the government's…
- The Radio National Hour
Decorated war 'hero' Roberts-Smith charged with war crimes
Victoria Cross recipient and former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been charged with five counts of the war crime of murder. Chris Masters was one of two…
- The Radio National Hour
Pope Leo preaches peace in first Easter Mass
As President Donald Trump and his Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth continue to invoke God and promise to rain down hell in their war against Iran, Pope Leo has…
- The Radio National Hour
Mission 'almost' accomplished in Iran
The US President has delivered a baffling and bombastic address to the nation, declaring mission almost accomplished in Iran and calling on nations like…
- The Radio National Hour
'Grave violations' against children in war growing
As conflicts continue to rage in Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan and the middle-east, children are suffering in record numbers. With warring parties seemingly showing…
- The Radio National Hour
As ships pile up in the Strait of Hormuz, Russia cashes in
Russia suddenly finds itself awash with the profits of war, after the US partially lifted sanctions on its oil to help alleviate the energy crisis brought on…
- The Radio National Hour
Dogs were human's best friends back in the last ice age
Israel has announced an expansion of its invasion of Lebanon, declaring it will launch a Gaza style blitz in the country's south to create a buffer zone from…
- The Radio National Hour
Is Trump & Netanyahu's war of choice turning into a quagmire?
It’s been described as a war of choice but as US President Donald Trump is discovering and the world is suffering through, the war in Iran won’t follow America…
- The Radio National Hour
Big Tech's 'big tobacco' moment
Two court judgements in the US this week have seen eta fined hundreds of millions dollars for enabling social media addiction and wilfully ignoring paedophiles…
- The Radio National Hour
Is Australia's trade deal with the EU as good as is gets?
Europe is open for business, that’s the message from the president of the EU commission Ursula von der Leyen as Australia finally seals the deal on a…
- The Radio National Hour
Should we all share in the profits of war?
You’re a victim of sexual assault or domestic violence, who do you turn to for help? Investigative journalist Nina Funnell has revealed through Freedom of…
- The Radio National Hour
Banksy fans bewidlered by decision to out him, again
The decision by Reuters news agency to expose the true identity of the British street artist Banksy has upset many of his fans and left critics scratching…
- The Radio National Hour
Cyclone Narelle packs a punch, scientists say we should get used to it
South Australians head to the polls this weekend in what will be the first big political test for the ascendant One Nation party. The ABC’s chief election…
- The Radio National Hour
Round hole, square peg — why are our universities struggling to come to grips with AI?
Australia’s productivity is at its lowest in 60 years, and if you believe the hype Artificial Intelligence will wipe out 50 per-cent of white collar jobs in…
- The Radio National Hour
'Ambitious Australia' — R&D report exposes the myth of the lucky country
The energy minister Chris Bowen says ‘panic buying’ is to blame for the surge in fuel prices and supply shortages. We’re told there’s enough to go around, for…
- The Radio National Hour
Next stop Cuba — how Trump is pushing the Caribbean nation to the brink
Hezbollah says it's locked in an existential battle against Israel, trapping the citizens of Lebanon in another brutal war it neither asked for nor started…
- The Radio National Hour
Anthropic and the Pentagon clash over warfare ethics
The clash between the Pentagon and AI giant Anthropic reflects a deeper fear about the future — could the AI tools built for defence and intelligence be used…
- The Radio National Hour
Bill Shorten has a plan for universities — a new tax
Bill Shorten took some big risks in his political career and he’s continued in that spirit in latest his role as Vice Chancellor of the University of Canberra…
- The Radio National Hour
The maths of missiles, does the US have enough?
With the US and the Gulf states being forced to use multi-million dollar interceptor missiles to combat Iran’s cheap and plentiful drone army, is the US in a…
- The Radio National Hour
Lionesses by name, lionesses by nature — Iran's footballers make a bid for freedom
In an act of incredible courage, five members of Iran’s women’s football team made a break for freedom last night, and were granted asylum in Australia. Now as…
- The Radio National Hour
With no obvious end to war, barrel price surges past US$100
'The worst oil shock in 50 years' - that’s how one former CIA officer has described the stranglehold on the world’s energy supply as the price of a barrel of…
- The Radio National Hour
'I still have hope, you should too' — lawyer Jen Robinson on the plight of the world
Human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson campaigns tirelessly for the rights of the oppressed and the abused. As we mark another International Women’s Day with so…
- The Radio National Hour
Can the Kurds lead the way in a ground war against the Iranian regime?
Australia has just five week’s supply of fuel in its reserves. The government says it's more than enough, but with Iran threatening to set any tanker in the…
- The Radio National Hour
Is Trump's way of war the final nail in the rules based order's coffin?
Rules were meant to be broken right? But what if they're the framework for a global order that’s endured for more than 80 years, preventing liberal democracies…
- The Radio National Hour
Iran counts on 'neutrality' posture as it pummels it's neighbours
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasts the war on Iran will be a gateway to peace and has laughed off suggestions that the war will drag on. The US…
- The Radio National Hour
Few tears for the Ayatollah but many fear what comes next
The deadly strike that killed Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday came without warning, reasoning or for that matter congressional…
- The Radio National Hour
The future of warfare
Another round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear enrichment program have wound up in Geneva with mediators claiming ‘significant progress’ has been made. It's…
- The Radio National Hour
Is AI coming for your job next?
For years now the peddlers of Artifical Intelligence have told us that the technology will free us from the drudgery of work, but is this really what humanity…
- The Radio National Hour
Rethinking the mythology around Little Johnny Howard
After four years fighting off Russia’s advance Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has warned Europe that world war 3 is already at its doorstep. And according to…
- The Radio National Hour
The Tourette's outburst that's sparked a fierce debate about disibility
The Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has begun in Sydney with a clear mandate and a tight deadline, but as the Jewish community reckons…
- The Radio National Hour
The stupid things we do with tax
The Coalition wants to slam the door shut on 34 Australian women and children stuck in a Syrian detention camp for relatives of ISIS fighters proposing jail…
- The Radio National Hour
The poison dart frog lives in the jungles of Equador, how was it's toxin used on AlexI Navalny?
Lurking in the soggy undergrowth of the rainforests in South America is one of earth’s most poisonous species. With its lurid, exotic patterned skin, the…
- The Radio National Hour
Meeting the challenge of superbugs with a subscription service
Around the world infections once easily treated are becoming harder — sometimes impossible — to treat, often necessitating drastic surgical interventions. In…
- The Radio National Hour
Why Jesse Jackson's rainbow coalition is the Democrats pathway back to the White House
The leading voice and light of the civil rights movement for generations of Americans, Jesse Jackson has died at the age of 84. His death comes at a critical…
- The Radio National Hour
Illicit tobacco is a wicked problem, will cutting taxes fix it?
Nearly a year ago Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, was awarded an Oscar for best documentary, in recognition of his film ‘No Other Land’. It tells the…
- The Radio National Hour
New York flaneur Fran Lebowitz on Epstein, Trump and getting old
With the surging popularity of One Nation, the debate over immigration is heating up. With talk of a tougher values tests, a ban on migrants from certain…
- The Radio National Hour
Has Sussan Ley laid a trap for Angus Taylor with her resignation?
It's curtains for Sussan Ley and the party she loves after Angus Taylor successfully challenged her for the Liberal leadership. But will changing horses…
- The Radio National Hour
'Don't cry for me' - how AI griefbots are short circuiting loss
Could the path to peace in Ukraine be via an election? The country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is reportedly under pressure from the US to call a poll for…
- The Radio National Hour
'Admit you got it wrong' - Islamophobia envoy calls for police apology to protestors in prayer
Sydney’s Muslim community is demanding an apology from the New South Wales Premier alleging that police used force to move on moved people in prayer at…
- The Radio National Hour
Master of the bum joke, Andy Griffiths appointed Australia's Children's Laureate
The 20-year sentence handed down to Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai has reverberated around the world, with his family warning…
- The Radio National Hour
Comedian Jimmy Carr takes aim at costume dramas with first film foray
Thailand’s snap election has delivered an emphatic win for the conservative incumbent Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the third leader in as many years…
- The Radio National Hour
Climate change threatening the viability of winter games
The Winter Olympics kick off tonight in Italy, a celebration of human athleticism and death defying feats on snow and ice. But there's growing concern that…
- The Radio National Hour
Medical specialists accused of behaving like 'cartels' with fee schedule
With the end of the New START treaty the doomsday clock has moved a little closer to midnight and the Kremlin is warning that the world is in a more dangerous…
- The Radio National Hour
Herzog visit to honour Bondi victims divides Jewish Australians
Israel’s President Issac Herzog flies to Australia on Sunday to honour and remember the victims of the Bondi terrorist attack, but the visit is dividing Jewish…
- The Radio National Hour
'Silence is violence' - Indigenous leaders call for proper recognition of Perth attack
Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe has lashed out over the nation’s response to a potentially devastating bomb attack on First Nations people at an Invasion Day…
- The Radio National Hour
Has One Nation's moment finally come?
More Australians now prefer Pauline Hanson as an alternative Prime Minister to both Sussan Ley and Anthony Albanese. Is the surge in popularity of One Nation…
- The Radio National Hour
Australia's ice comeback at the winter games
You might be savouring the long languid nights of tennis but from next week your diet of daily sport will have a snowy backdrop, the winter Olympics kick off…
- The Radio National Hour
Its getting hot in here - why dismal town planning makes heatwaves more deadly
US President Donald Trump has renewed his threats to strike Iran, deploying what he calls a ‘massive Armada’ to the region. But is he really willing to take…
- The Radio National Hour
Rose Byrne's on-screen flex, playing a loathsome mother
Five years ago lawyer Antonio Romanucci helped George Floyd’s family seek justice for his murder at the hands of police in Minneapolis, now he’s representing…