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★★★★★

4.5

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194 reviews

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The world is on fire. There's a coup. Inflation is through the roof, and AI is taking our jobs. What does it all mean? Each week, Matt Bevan explains the biggest story in world news while hiding in his basement from assassins and authoritarian regimes. Recent episodes include an exploration of the relationship between India and China, a closer look at the Saudi Arabian city of NEOM, the conflict in the Middle East, the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, and Ukraine's incursions into Vladimir Putin's Russia. Matt Bevan draws connections between stories from the past and the events of the present to help listeners understand world news and international affairs. The podcast also features series about big moments in world news; previous series have focused on the United States presidential election, the United Kingdom's 14 years of Conservative Party leadership, Donald Trump's relationship with Russia, Donald Trump's presidency and promise to Make America Great Again, the Mueller Report, Vladimir Putin's scheme to destroy western democracies, how the relationship between Australia and China came to the verge of collapse, and Australia's turbulent history with climate change. There's a new episode of If You're Listening every Thursday.

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Will the US and Iran make a deal (again)?

2026/04/22

In the midst of bluffs, empty threats and broken promises, Trump has struggled to find any leverage over the Iranian regime he has declared war on, so why is he so confident he can make a better deal than Obama did back in 2015? Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

When will Australia run out of fuel?

2026/04/20

Until now, Australia has been relying on oil that passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the war began. But the last tankers to leave the Persian Gulf before the conflict are set to arrive in Australia this week. It’s not just the domestic situation that is making hair stand on end. The entire global energy market also seems to be losing its mind. To try and make sense of it all, Matt has enlisted the help of ABC Senior Business Correspondent Carrington Clarke. Carrington also hosts two of the ABC's newest podcasts, ABC Business Daily and Fuelcast. Follow ABC Business Daily on the ABC Listen app. Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

How the Iran war exposed Australia's energy mistakes

2026/04/15

When the Strait of Hormuz closed, global gas prices doubled seemingly overnight. As one of the world’s biggest gas exporters, the spike should have meant a big payday for Australia. Unfortunately, it hasn’t played out like that because Australia has a habit of locking in energy deals that look increasingly out of step with reality. Case in point: our long-term gas agreements with Japan. In an extremely volatile market, Australia continues to ship gas offshore at low, fixed rates, while Japan on-sells it at a profit. As domestic prices rise and supply tightens, the consequences of this not-so-great deal are landing at home. So how did one of the world’s largest gas exporters end up with so little flexibility? Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Trump’s on-again, off-again negotiations with Iran

2026/04/13

Matt spent a week camping entirely out of internet reception, so Kara does her best to get him up to speed on all the latest of the US-Iran war negotiations. Trump’s been doing most of his negotiation on Truth Social, and so every day is a new… more deranged revelation. Plus your questions about Iran, the price of petrol, and why there aren’t more oil pipelines answered! Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

The brutal scam compounds of Myanmar

2026/04/08

Over the past few years, industrial scam compounds have surged throughout Myanmar, buoyed by the resources of powerful criminal networks, and hidden by the chaos of civil war. Occasional raids have uncovered that these compounds are staffed with hundreds of thousands of trafficked workers, kept there by force. China has financially and militarily supported its neighbour Myanmar for years. But now, as Chinese citizens fall prey to scam kidnappers, China has forced a response. Will it be enough to stop the spread of these compounds? Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Growing up fighting apartheid

2026/04/06

Sisonke Msimang from the new ABC podcast Boycott! joins Matt to share her father’s journey as a revolutionary in the fight against apartheid. Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

What happened last time we ran out of oil

2026/04/01

Turn on the tv and you’ll see no shortage of concerned journalists standing at fuel bowsers, shaking their heads at the rising prices. For plenty of young people, the idea that we might have to seriously limit our fuel consumption is unprecedented… But for anyone who lived through the 1970s, it’s all too familiar. So why did Donald Trump start this war? Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

When Iraq accidentally bombed a U.S. warship

2026/03/30

In 1987 the USS Stark became the first U.S. ship sunk by missile fire since World War II. The missiles were fired by Iraq, America’s ally at the time, who claim they did it by mistake. Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

We were warned about the Strait of Hormuz

2026/03/26

While governments scramble to find a way around the Strait of Hormuz, a pipeline sits half-finished in the desert that would have solved the problem. So why was it never completed? Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Why Iran is building their own internet

2026/03/23

As we’ve been looking into Iran over this month, we’ve had a lot of trouble finding out what is really happening on the ground. That’s due to the concerted and deliberate internet shutdowns carried out by the Iranian regime. And this isn’t the first time the internet has been shut down for Iranian users. It’s happened many times before. Today, Matt speaks with Deakin University PhD candidate Amin Naeeni, who has not only spent years researching Iran’s system of digital control — but has also experienced it firsthand. Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Iran is running out of water

2026/03/18

Water is the lifeblood of all civilisations. In Iran, the water is drying up. That disappearance is becoming impossible to ignore, and after decades of mismanagement, the country’s water system is approaching a breaking point. Rivers that once crossed the Iranian plateau are drying to threads; aquifers are collapsing; lakes have retreated into salt flats. The roots of the crisis stretch from the modernisation projects of the Shah to the Islamic Republic’s own industrial ambitions: dams, steel plants, and the cultivation of water-thirsty crops, all of which aren’t ideal pursuits for a country that is largely arid. The result is a slow-moving environmental emergency now pressing into politics, daily life, and the stability of the regime itself. Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Life inside the Iranian Revolution

2026/03/16

Author Saeed Fassaie shares his story of witnessing the Iranian revolutionary first-hand, from being a political fugitive, to a soldier, to building a new life in Australia. Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Who is Trump really fighting in Iran?

2026/03/11

There’s a persistent fantasy in Washington that regimes are like light bulbs: smash the fixture, screw in a new one, problem solved. The reality in Iran is closer to a tangled electrical grid that’s been growing since 1979. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps isn’t just a military unit; it’s a sprawling ecosystem. It runs companies, shapes politics, and embeds itself deep in the economic and social life of the country. Which is why the idea that Trump could simply bomb the leadership and “decapitate” the regime misunderstands what the system actually is. It isn’t a pyramid with a single point at the top, take out one commander and another steps forward. For nearly half a century, the Islamic Republic has been preparing its successors. So what’s Trump’s plan for long-term stability? Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Kylie Moore-Gilbert says Trump might be stuck in Iran

2026/03/09

Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert spent over 800 days in an Iranian prison interrogated by the Revolutionary Guard, and got into plenty of arguments while she was there. Kylie returns to the pod to share with Matt what she learnt about the group, what she makes of the latest in the Iran war, and where Australia should go from here. Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Trump thinks he can switch off the Iran War

2026/03/04

Donald Trump once warned against endless wars. Now, he’s launched a strike killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and many Iranian leadership figures, so what’s changed? Has Trump decided the Iranian regime’s threats are all talk? Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app. Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Podcast reviews

Read If You're Listening podcast reviews

4.5 out of 5

194 reviews

★★★★★

Zorgor 2026/04/16

Excellent show!

I love this show! As an American, I am in equal parts baffled and delighted that you take such an interest in American news and events. This gives me ...

★★★★★

I love anime 99 2026/03/01

Love it!

As an American who finds that most media outlets and news channels are biased towards conservative propaganda this podcast truly is amazing. Matt can ...

★★★★★

AllyL96 2025/08/04

A different perspective

As a Brit living in the US, it is refreshing to hear things from a different point of view and to listen to good and entertaining journalism. I’m gl...

★☆☆☆☆

Neb8047 2026/02/23

Headache

Podcast deleted Phone yeeted Holy water needed

★★★★★

Oaktown_Rocco! 2025/06/05

Stories that need to be heard

Really enjoy this podcast. Aussies genuinely working on making America great again

★★★★★

🌺Hibiscus 2025/04/30

Amazing!

This series is amazing! Easy to understand AND talks about the real deal! 100% recommend! You should definitely listen! FINALLY, Matt Bevan makes a bu...

★★★★★

sciencepyar 2024/10/19

Great host, great content

Very enjoyable, informative podcast

★☆☆☆☆

paddymats 2025/03/21

If YOU’RE listening.

Pathetic You’re a long way away to be so knowledgeable about Trump and US politics. Nothing original just mouthing the party line. I don’t think you’...

★☆☆☆☆

Original_Owl 2024/11/12

FAR Left Rhetoric

I consider myself left of center and even for me this podcast is so far left, rationality is questioned. I’m also not American but even I’m taken abac...

★★★★★

Geoff MV 2022/05/09

A great time to review past episodes

If you're struggling to work out how the world got to the mess in Ukraine : go and listen to Russia if you're listening. It is quickly apparent that i...

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