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.

Sarah Baartman’s body was used by European scientists to promote racist ideas that endured for generations. A new essay in Griffith Review revisits her extraordinary and tragic story — from her exploitation as a colonial spectacle in Europe, to the continuing debates over how she should be remembered today.

• Guest: Writer, Sisonke Msimang, author, Griffith Review Essay, Defending the dead: The many afterlives of Sarah Baartman
• Producer: Ali Benton and Ann Arnold

The Night Wolves are a Kremlin-linked, far-right Russian motorcycle club that has served as a paramilitary proxy and propaganda tool for the Russian state in Europe where they have been sanctioned. They are also operating in Australia, though they have not been outlawed here. But a disinformation expert says they are only one aspect of Russia’s propaganda campaign and their determination to sew discontent in the West. Olga Boichak is a media sociologist who explores how communities can build resilience when digital technologies are weaponised. And she's been tracking Russia's activities in Australia.

• Guest: Dr Olga Boichak, Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures, University of Sydney.
• Producer: Catherine Zengerer

Census night is just two weeks away, and this year, Australians will have the opportunity to answer new questions on sexual orientation and gender. The Census will also allow for further detail on the cultural heritage of survey participants. Demographer Liz Allen explains why these small changes will make a big difference. 

• Guest: Dr Liz Allen, demographer at ANU

Last month, after a nearly 30-year review, Australia's chemical regulator finally decided that the herbicide paraquat can continue to be used on Australian farms, with new precautions.That's despite bans on the chemical spreading around the world, amid concerns about the health impacts of repeated exposure. Why is Australia so dependent on the controversial weedkiller, and what are the supply chains for pesticides globally?

• Guest: Sarah Rogers, Associate Professor at the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne
• Producer: Jack Schmidt

LNL's US correspondent Bruce Shapiro looks at whether the latest pause in hostilities with Iran will lead to any outcome as the mid-terms approach and pressure on President Trump to end the war increases. But with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to arrive in the States for talks, pressure will be coming from Israel to keep pressure on Iran. Plus how will the Democrats recover from the scandal which saw progressive populist Graham Platner step down from the race in Maine? And will Trump's attempts to change the rules around voter registration work? 

• Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine and Director of the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma. 
• Producer: Catherine Zengerer

It's 100 years since America's fabled highway 'Route 66' was commissioned -  the road from Chicago to L.A celebrated in literature and song. But behind the neon-lit diners and sunny road trips, lies a grittier history of danger, death and racism. 

• Guest: Dr Daniel Milowski, historian at Arizona State University, author of 'Route 66 and the Formation of a National Cultural Icon: Mother Road to Mythic American Byway'
• Producer: Jack Schmidt

The next great power struggle may not be won on the battlefield, but in semiconductor factories, AI labs and satellite networks. In Bytes and Bullets, Steve Feldstein explores how technology is transforming modern warfare and creating a new global arms race.

• Guest: Steve Feldstein, Senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. Author of,  Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Private Tech, and the New Shape of Modern Warfare
• Producer: Ali Benton

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has lost her appeal against a court ruling which found she racially discriminated against Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi. Plus, how did Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emerge from the recent national Labor conference? The conference avoided a debate on Israel-Gaza, after Ed Husic MP failed to secure support to debate an amendment to the Labor platform - to acknowledge a United Nations inquiry that determined Israeli authorities had 'deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide'.

• Guest: Anna Henderson, SBS World News Chief Political Correspondent | National Press Club Director

From tearing into the White House to make way for a 650-seat ballroom, to declaring war on modern architecture, Donald Trump is remaking America’s symbols of power, prestige and taste. Architecture critic Paul Goldberger has followed Trump’s rise for more than 40 years. The author of Why Architecture Matters explores what Trump’s buildings reveal about his ambitions, and his vision for America.

• Guest Paul Goldberger,  former architecture critic for The New York Times and The New Yorker, and the author of 'Why Architecture Matters.'
• Producer Ali Benton

In 1833, slavery in the British Empire was abolished, but not without a massive compensation scheme paid out to slave owners. Some of that money flowed to colonial Australia. Two-thirds of Australia's colonial governors had links to slavery. That money helped fuel vast pastoral enterprises and build prestigious institutions. A new book examines how our supposedly 'slavery-free' nation was shaped by this money. 

You can search the UCL Legacies of British Slavery Database here

• Guest: Zoe Laidlaw, Professor of History at the University of Melbourne, co-editor, with Jane Lydon, of Legacies of British Slavery in Australia and New Zealand (Manchester University Press, 2026)
• Producer: Ann Arnold