He’s back. Donald J Trump has been sworn in as US president for a second term, and if you’ve been reading the news, the prospect may well fill you with dread.

He’s been likened to a fascist and a dictator by those who used to work for him. He plans to abandon world climate targets, target transgender women in sport, impose vast tariffs and carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants.

But what about the things Trump might do… well?

Today, North America correspondent Farrah Tomazin on why we may not only survive Trump 2.0, but the parts of his presidency and policy agenda that could be an objective success.

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Novak Djokovic, the 24-time tennis grand slam champion from Serbia, is embroiled in yet another off-court stoush.

This time, it’s with a TV broadcaster over an apparent on-air joke with Serbian fans during the Australian Open, which is currently on in Melbourne.

An offended Djokovic boycotted a post-match interview in response, and the debacle has - surprisingly - drawn in the likes of billionaire Elon Musk, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

So what is the big deal? And who is in the right?

Today, city editor Cara Waters on Australia’s complicated relationship with a once beloved Novak Djokovic.

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Just how powerful are you feeling right now? I ask, as it just might be less than you have the right to feel. Because recent movements by both the government and the Coalition suggest that they have a heightened sense of the importance of each and every vote.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton have started pushing their campaign pitches onto us- unusually early, according to experts. Even before an election has been called.

Today, federal politics reporter Natassia Chrysanthos, on which party’s slogan has the better chance of winning us over. And the political catchphrases that have made - and broken - candidates’ bids for office in the past.

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Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire and hostage deal, in an announcement that has been met with jubilation, and also grief and anxiety over the immense consequences of the war and what the future holds.

Because now the questions tumble out. How vulnerable is this deal? When will the hostages be released? And what kind of world will Palestinians be returning to in Gaza? 

Today, foreign affairs and national security correspondent Matthew Knott on what part American president Joe Biden and president-elect Donald Trump played in brokering this deal. And what still stands in the way between a temporary cessation of fighting and a permanent end to this war.

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Hi there, I’m Jacqueline Maley, the host of Inside Politics, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald’s weekly politics podcast. 

We’re bringing you the best episodes of 2024, before we return in early February for the election year.

In February last year, the identities of hundreds of Jewish academics and creatives who were members of a Whatsapp group were leaked by pro-Palestinian activists in the wake of the October 7 attack and war in Gaza.

In this episode, Australian National University’s Dr Simon Copland and chief political correspondent David Crowe discuss whether this leak can be classified as “doxxing” and whether such a practice should be outlawed. 

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.

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Australians woke, on Wednesday morning, to the news that Oscar Jenkins, a former teacher from Melbourne, was feared to have been killed in Ukraine, after being captured by Russian forces.

Jenkins had been fighting to help combat Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. And now, he’s believed to be the first Australian to have been held as a prisoner of war, during this conflict.

Today, foreign affairs and national security correspondent Matthew Knott, on whether Oscar Jenkins was the victim of a war crime. And what this means for Australia.

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The Sydney funnel web spider is the deadliest spider on earth. Actually, let me correct that. It was, until a new species of the Sydney funnel web was recently discovered.

The original wasn’t exactly a species to be toyed with. Just last month, a so-called miracle baby - born from a transplanted uterus - was left in critical condition after being bitten by one. But the new species is - and here I’ll quote our science reporter, Angus Dalton -  “a certified monster.”

Today, Angus joins me to discuss how deadly this new funnel web is. And why we don’t know exactly where it is.

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Exhausted firefighters are making slow progress against three fires raging in Los Angeles. The fires have claimed at least 24 lives and displaced over 100,000 residents. 

The world watched on in horror as the elderly were evacuated in wheelchairs against a fiery backdrop, Hollywood’s biggest stars’ mourned their scorched homes on social media, and abandoned cars were bulldozed in a heap to clear roads.

But the worst may not be over, with extreme wind conditions forecast over coming days and no sign of significant rainfall. 

Today, national environment and climate editor Nick O’Malley on the unique and frightening weather patterns caused by a warming climate, and whether or not Australia is prepared.

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So, Donald Trump wants to expand the United States - in a big way. But why is he considering seizing Greenland, of all places - and by military force, no less? And why does he want to reclaim the Panama Canal, and absorb Canada?

Trump’s comments aren’t just, as one commentator put it, “untethered from international law”. They’ve also angered many world leaders. And made others laugh. One president responded with a troll of her own.

Today, North America correspondent Farrah Tomazin, on what this all means, for the next four years. And what the history of American domination over other parts of the globe can teach us.

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When opposition leader Peter Dutton proposed nuclear energy reactors on almost every mainland state in June last year, he reignited divisive public debate. 

It’s a debate Indigenous Australians are unwillingly at the heart of. A story that starts in the 1950s, when radioactive fallout from bomb tests caused illness among Aboriginal communities that were not adequately protected by the government of the day. 

Today, audio producer Julia Carr-Catzel brings us a special edition of The Morning Edition on the resistance in Aboriginal communities to a potential nuclear energy industry in Australia.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that this podcast contains names of people who have died.

Read the full story on our website: https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/there-s-a-gaping-hole-in-dutton-s-nuclear-plan-he-says-it-s-albanese-s-problem-to-solve-20241113-p5kqe4.html 

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Hi there, I’m Jacqueline Maley, the host of Inside Politics, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald’s weekly politics podcast. 

We’re bringing you the best episodes of 2024, before we return in early February for the election year.

Last year was a big one for the Greens, often called the third party of Australian politics.

They took what was seen as a hardline stance backing Palestinians in the war with Israel, owned the issue of affordable housing, and controversially came to the defence of the CFMEU in the wake of revelations the union had been infiltrated by criminals.

National affairs editor James Massola and federal political correspondent Paul Sakkal bring you this episode today, on January 10. 

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.

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