Global Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald

Since the Cuban Missile Crisis of the 1960s brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, the Caribbean island has been a geopolitical plaything of the major global powers. Now, after US President Donald Trump's stunning Venezuela intervention, could Cuba be back in America's sights? Kylie Morris and Latika Burke (The Nightly) speak to Latin American correspondent Jon Bonfiglio about the mood in Cuba, and why US secretary of state Marco Rubio says Havana should be "worried".Guest: Jon Bonfiglio, Latin American correspondent based in Mexico

The cornerstone of NATO is that an attack on "one of us" is an attack on "all of us". But what happens when the alliance is threatened by one of it's own? As tensions over Greenland reach a breaking point, and Trump remains bitter about not winning a Nobel Prize, the US-Europe relationship is being tested to it's limit. Geraldine Doogue and Latika Burke (The Nightly) speak to former NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu about the cards Europe has yet to play when it comes to salvaging the broken relationship. Guest: Oana Lungescu, former spokesperson for NATO and distinguished fellow at RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute in London.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Myanmar's election ends this weekend, but there'll be no prizes for guessing the outcome. It's the first time the junta has held elections since the 2021 coup and Hamish Macdonald and Kylie Morris speak to democracy activist Mon Zin about what it means for the people of Myanmar, and the surprising connection between the Hunger Games and Myanmar's youth-led Spring Revolution. Plus, they explore why China's leader Xi Jinping is watching the outcome more closely than most... Guest: Mon Zin, Myanmar democracy activist based in AustraliaGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Even after weeks of protests, the Iranian regime looks like it has a firm grip on power and its unclear whether Trump will follow through on threats of American intervention. What is it that Iranians themselves want to happen next? And just how realistic is change? Plus, Global Roaming has changed in 2026. We give you a taste of what we have in store. Guest: Barbara Slavin - distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington and a lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University.  Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. In this final instalment, Michael Stutchbury - Former editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review and Executive director of the Centre for Independent Studies, says that Australia's economic luck is about to run out. He argues we need break the cycle of high spending and low growth if we want to retain anything like the prosperity we're accustomed to. Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. In this episode the Lowy Institute's Lydia Khalil shatters the perception that our geography alone is enough to protect us from the insidious new security threats that are already making their way to our shores, and she outlines how we can protect ourselves going forward. Lydia's recommendations:The Man in the High Castle - TV series on Amazon PrimeFor All Mankind - TV series on Apple TVGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. In this episode Australia's former Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel shares his thoughts on how Australia can feasibly get to net zero, and harness our potential as a clean energy superpower. Plus, he has a radical new idea to safeguard art against AI...Alan's recommendations:The Prince and the Pauper by Mark TwainSeascraper by Benjamin WoodProve It: A Scientific Guide for the Post-Truth Era by Elizabeth Finkel Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. In this episode former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese attempts to shake Australia out of our complacency and excite us about the potential of new foreign policy possibilities. Peter's recommendations:The Golden Road by William Dalrymple - you can find our conversation with William the link to his new book HEREWhy Great Powers Sleepwalk to War — A Masterclass with Hugh White - Joe Walker podcast Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

In this Global Roaming limited series, Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue are inviting big thinkers from different fields to consider how Australia can not just survive - but thrive - in a more challenging world. First up is Hannah Ferguson, the CEO of Cheek Media, who has disrupted Australia's traditional media landscape. She shares her ideas for re-connecting Australians to news and politics and to 'make caring cool again'. Hannah's recommendations:The Good Fight: What Does Labor Stand For? Quarterly Essay by Sean KellyCareless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

After Sunday's horrific terror shooting at Bondi Beach, Geraldine Doogue joined Hamish Macdonald at Bondi Pavilion to reflect on what this moment means for Australia. Together, they speak to Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku's granddaughter Danielle Jaku and hear from members of the Bondi community, Chief Executive Officer at Surf Life Saving NSW Steve Pearce and NSW's new Opposition leader Kellie Sloane who found herself in the thick of the traumatic events as they unfolded. 

From huge diplomatic fallouts, to political assassinations, to historic jewellery heists, 2025 has been a HUGE year for international news. Hamish and Geraldine reflect on the most shocking moments and are joined by Foreign Policy's Editor-in-Chief and host of FP Live Ravi Agrawal to discuss the trendlines that have defined the year. Plus, we announce some big news about Global Roaming in 2026... Recommendations: Geraldine Doogue: Ken Burns' The American Revolution on SBS on DemandRobert Manne - SubstackHamish Macdonald: Global Roaming's Summer Series: Getting Lucky... AgainGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

In this bonus episode of Global Roaming with Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue, one of Australia's most beloved actors Russell Crowe speaks about his new film Nuremberg and he gets philosophical about the need to speak to those we disagree with, in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

In a broad-ranging conversation, Hamish Macdonald speaks to historian and host of the hit podcast Empire William Dalrymple about the pitfalls of trying to understand the contemporary world without a firm grasp of the past, whether India can replicate its success as an ancient superpower and how countries like Australia and Britain deal with uncomfortable truths from their past. Recommendations:Geraldine: Murder House: Zhong Na on the Silicon Valley Tragedy That Exposed the Cracks in China's Meritocracy - Sinica Podcast.Hamish: The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World by William Dalrymple.Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

What began as targeted strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats has now turned into the largest military build-up in the Caribbean since the 1989 invasion of Panama. It's all part of a campaign to place pressure on Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, but to what end? Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald speak to Latin American correspondent Jon Bonfiglio about the deeper, darker motivations that could be driving the Trump administration's gunboat diplomacy in their own 'backyard'.Recommendations:Geraldine: Hurricaines From Above, SBS on Demand Hamish: ABC news clip about Helene Chung - ABC Facebook Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Australia does elections pretty well - in fact, we might be the world's hottest ambassador for democracy. But according to former Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers we need to be wary of 'the curse of the sausage'; the idea that our own success makes us vulnerable. In this discussion with Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue he offers a simple idea to protect our elections against growing threats, both at home and abroad. Recommendations:Hamish and Geraldine: Annabel Crabb's Civic Duty : ABC iviewGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

If you thought Netflix's hit series The Diplomat was pure fiction, think again…According to creator Deborah Cahn the show was inspired by a real-life diplomat that she has described as "a superhero in a pant suit" — Ambassador Beth Jones.We tracked down Ambassador Jones and her husband Don to ask what it's really like to work in places like Kabul, Cairo, Baghdad and Kazakhstan and it turns out the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.Recommendations:Hamish: "Anchored in the region" — What the new Australia–Indonesia security treaty really means, article by Natalie SambhiGeraldine: Saturday Extra's Diplomacy mini-series from 2021, featuring interview with former diplomats:John McCarthySue BoydGeoff RabyUS Consul General Sharon Hudson Dean (Kylie Morris hosted)The late Martin IndykGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

Geraldine has returned from London where she had a front row seat as the BBC was engulfed in it's biggest crisis in decades. She joins Hamish for a conversation about how the BBC got here, what the various forces are at play and why the BBC might need to get "down and dirty" to combat Donald Trump's threats. Plus, we unpack some fascinating listener feedback on our recent China episodes, which has sparked quite a debate in the Global Roaming planning room... Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

This week democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani became New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian Mayor, beating former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. At a time when faith in the Democratic Party is at an all-time low, Mamdani found a way to reach – and win over – disaffected voters, becoming a household name not just in New York, but all over the world.  Hamish Macdonald and special guest host Amelia Lester (Foreign Policy) ask whether there is more to Mamdani than just 'rizz'? Are there lessons in his campaign for a flailing Democratic Party? Or is it simply a distraction from the real work required to win back voters?Then they speak to Timothy Shenk, a historian of modern American politics at George Washington University to discuss some of the ideas he's put forward in a thought-provoking essay for The New York Times entitled Democrats Are in Crisis. Eat-the-Rich Populism Is the Only Answer. Recommendations:Amelia: Equator magazine and article ‘He’s an African Leader’: Why my Ethiopian relatives voted for Trump by Adom Getachew.Hamish: Amelia Lester's Boyer Lecture: AI on Australia's termsGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

It may have been the most significant hour and forty minutes in global geopolitics this year...If the highly anticipated summit between Presidents Xi and Trump in South Korea was about putting out the fires of a great power trade war, the flames seem to be under control... for now. But was it a win-win for everyone? Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald discuss which cans made it onto the negotiating table and were kicked down the road. Then they have a frank conversation with the former Singaporean diplomat Bilahari Kausikan about how South-east Asian countries responded to Trump's whirlwind tour through Asia and why they might be uniquely positioned to deal with a character like Donald Trump. Recommendations:Geraldine: The Myth of the Asian Century | A Lowy Institute Paper: Penguin Special by Bilahari KausikanHamish: Aiming Higher: Universities and Australia's Future by George WilliamsGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. 

If you thought we'd never see a repeat of the GFC or even the dotcom bubble, think again... So far financial markets have proved remarkably resilient to the geopolitical shocks and uncertainty brought about by Trump 2.0, but economists are warning that this could be largely thanks to an AI bubble that is artificially propping up the US economy. Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald discuss the growing fears of what happens if and when this bubble bursts and how Australia is particularly exposed to a downturn through our superannuation system. Then Geraldine sits down with the acclaimed Irish economist and author David McWilliams to put this moment in historical perspective and get his frank assessment of what comes next.   Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.