Late Night Live — Full program podcast

Peter Garrent discusses the testimonies being presented at the crowdfunded AUKUS public inquiry which has so far had over 500 submissions, including from former ministers Gareth Evans, Linda Reynolds and Christopher Pyne, with former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and former foreign minister Bob Carr set to present their testimonies next week. So far few are supporting the policy,  but will the government actually change course? Plus decades after Britain abolished slavery in its colonies, pacific island workers were often duped into coming to Australia, and effectively held captive. A new book argues that Australian authorities turned a blind eye to this form of slavery.
Guests:
Peter Garrett, Lead Commissioner, AUKUS public inquiry, former Labor Minister
Ryan Butta, author of 'Blackbirding: a reckoning with the Australian Slave Trade'

In his new book, Crikey’s political editor, Bernard Keane, turns his eye not just to where Australia has gone wrong, but to how we can best position ourselves to navigate the triple threat of Trump, China and AI. Plus the eight thousand year history of wine - from Georgia to the present day.
Guests: 
Bernard Keane, political editor, Crikey, and author of ‘Seize the Moment - Australia’s real opportunities in an unstable world,’
Kathleen Burk, Professor Emerita of Modern and Contemporary history at University College London and author of  Wine, A global history

Ian Dunt on Nigel Farage's planned 'Operation Fortress', stopping all illegal boats. The Odyssey film-makers caused offence in an indigenous-owned region that Morocco claims as its own. And the push to rid Kangaroo Island of cats, both feral and pet.
Guests: 
Ian Dunt, columnist with i-news, co-host of Origin Story podcast
Sarah Yerkes, North Africa specialist and senior fellow with the Middle East program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peac
Michael Pengilly, Mayor of Kangaroo Island

Anna Henderson recaps an eventful Garma festival in Arnhem Land, which included a blistering speech from Noel Pearson. Is there hope for a reunified Cyprus, amid planned UN talks? Plus, why butterfly collectors are a dying breed.
Guests:
Anna Henderson, chief political correspondent, SBS
Dr. Erol Kaymak, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Eastern Mediterranean University
Emil Leth Beiter, Danish writer and critic

The famous writer Oscar Wilde died alone in a French hotel in 1900. Since that time, so much has been written about the man - much of it rumour and speculation. In his new book, 'After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal', Oscar Wilde’s grandson Merlin Holland sets the record straight. The book is thirty years in the making and is an exploration of Wilde’s posthumous reputation and how his imprisonment for homosexuality affected Wilde's family, friends and literary legacy.
Guest: Merlin Holland, Oscar Wilde's grandson and author, Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal
Producer: Ali Benton
Originally broadcast in January 2026.