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• The real J.R.R. Tolkien and the piano teacher of Montparnasse

  October 7, 2026 · 55 min

  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…

• Bruce Shapiro's US politics, and the stories told by tree rings

  October 6, 2026 · 54 min

  Our regular US political commentator on the Cornell University sexual assault case, the failed execution of Christa Pike, and the dire outlook for the Republicans, four weeks before the midterms. Valerie Trouet, a paleo-climate scientist…

• Simon Winchester reads the wind, plus Lech Blaine's wild childhood

  October 5, 2026 · 54 min

  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…

• Naomi Klein's urgent AI warning plus a tour of Indian breakfasts

  October 1, 2026 · 55 min

  Confronted with a series of existential threats, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor argue in their new book that wealthy billionaires, including the so-called "tech bros", have become focused not on how we can deal with those threats,  but who…

• How German history has been shaped by the peasant revolution of 1525

  September 30, 2026 · 55 min

  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…

• The race for deep sea riches, plus when trauma is weaponised

  September 29, 2026 · 54 min

  A host of new companies are rushing to apply for seabed exploration licences promised by the Trump administration - but are they equipped for this venture? Plus, trauma has gone from the clinic to the culture wars, but is a politics built…

• Mark Kenny's Canberra, Volkswagen's huge restructure, and David Marr at Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre

  September 28, 2026 · 55 min

  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…

• Australian doctors in Gaza, plus how vanilla went global

  September 24, 2026 · 54 min

  Doctors work long hours in hospitals around the world, but visiting doctors in Gaza have to endure just some of what their local peers do: military attack, inadequate resources, inadequate food, and a starving, distressed…