This month, the US Justice Department unsealed an indictment of two Russian state media employees. It alleges that they were funnelling millions of dollars into the pockets of American YouTubers, known for their contrarian viewpoints and controversial takes on the war in Ukraine. The YouTubers say they are victims of a criminal scheme and did not know they were being paid by Russia. But it’s not the first time that something like this has happened. There’s a long history of foreign adversaries covertly paying Americans to spread fake news to other Americans—it’s a move right out of Nazi Germany’s propaganda playbook.

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The massive infrastructure project NEOM sits in the Saudi Arabian desert, and the jewel in its crown is The Line, a futuristic city which looks insane. The AI-generated ads depict a car-free city, for 9 million people, housed between two mirrors. Despite promises of millions of residents by 2030, the project has been scaled back by 98 per cent. The Line will be more like a dot. So what the hell happened? And was it all just a scam?

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Last week, the UK Labour Party won the general election in a landslide victory.

In the past four episodes we've detailed the chaos, ineptitude and hubris of the Conservative Party during their time in office.

So you might be thinking, what took the Labour Party so long to get elected?

On the final episode of our Who Broke Britain series, how Labour went to war with itself — over policy, factions, personalities, Brexit, and anti-Semitism.

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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IpFHEvMWZM&list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

From almost complete obscurity, Nigel Farage rode a wave of British anger to take his idea of leaving the European Union from a fringe fantasy to a mainstream cause.

But as Farage rose from community hall meetings to primetime TV debates, he found himself increasingly allied with Vladimir Putin.

This is the story of how Mr Brexit came to recognise Putin's power and how it could help his cause.

German leader Angela Merkel was the most powerful woman in the world.

Which is why Putin was determined to take her down.

His campaign started by playing on her famous fear of dogs... and ended with the biggest migrant crisis the world had seen.

When is an invasion not an invasion? When Putin's propaganda machine is involved, sowing false narratives, confusion and fear. 

From Putin's motorcycle gang to his 'little green men' and his hip-hop loving head of misinformation, Russia tried everything to convince the West it wasn't invading Ukraine.

The propaganda push worked - sort of, and tells us a lot about the misinformation Russia has gone on to do in the West.

Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power declaring he would kill his terrorist enemies, even if they were in the toilet at the time.

His transition from spymaster to President came in the midst of apartment bombings, and brutal crackdowns on those he held responsible.

He learned that having an enemy to fight makes you a popular leader.

The turbulent first years of his Presidency tell us a lot about why he has picked a fight with the West.

The residents of the sleepy English town of Salisbury woke up one morning to find their town in chaos. 

Russian agents had attempted to assassinate a traitor with a terrifying weapon, in a brazen chemical attack on British soil. 

But the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal is only one step in a series of events which began five years ago and may help bring about Brexit, and the impeachment of a US President.

Season 3 of Russia, If You're Listening begins in Salisbury, to tell the whole story of Russian President Vladimir Putin's 5-year attack on the western world.

The Russian campaign to meddle in the 2016 US Election was only part of President Vladimir Putin's big plan.

Season 3 of Russia, If You're Listening looks at where the scheme to destroy western democracies began, the damage it's done, and where it might end.

It's the meeting at a fancy wine bar in London that sparked the Mueller investigation.

Some say it was a boozy, alcohol-fuelled drinking session where a clever spy tricked a Trump official into divulging information about Russia.

Others say it was a brief encounter where a Trump official naively blurted something to a senior diplomat.

So what is the truth?

For the first time, both people at the meeting - George Papadopoulos and Alexander Downer - reveal what really happened that night.

Here's one spoiler: they agree they both had a gin and tonic.

So pull up a chair and grab a drink, because this story gets weird.

Robert Mueller has investigated the relationship between former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska.

Deripaska is an aluminium tycoon with close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Manafort tried to funnel secret insider information about the Trump election strategy to him.

Was that information then used by Russia to influence the election?

The story behind the last remaining collusion question.

Lawyer Don McGahn was on the Trump train from the beginning.

But the dream job of White House Counsel quickly turned into a nightmare, as he slowly fell out of favour with the President.

Then one night McGahn was forced to make a choice of historic proportions: help Trump potentially commit a crime or resign.

McGahn has found himself the centre of attention, as his testimony to Robert Mueller implicates the President in possible obstruction of justice.

When Julian Assange was arrested last week, the only camera to capture it was Russian broadcaster RT.

It's the latest event in a long relationship between the Wikileaks founder and the state-sponsored network.

Assange has denied working with Russian military hackers to influence the US election.

But what does Robert Mueller know about Assange’s links to Russia?

The UK election is being held today and polls indicate the Conservative Party will lose in a landslide.

One of the key policies the government is running on is a version of Australia's offshore immigration detention policy, which was launched by prime minister John Howard in the lead-up to the 2001 election.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's two year fight over this policy has not only been a colossal failure, it will likely drag the Tories down with it.

So as the UK decides on their next Prime Minister, we're asking, who really broke Britain?

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Everyone who meets Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak ends up in deep trouble. But what if that was the point?

Robert Mueller seems to have found no evidence that the Trump campaign were willing participants in the criminal Russian effort to disrupt the 2016 election.

But what if the Trump campaign were unwitting targets of a spy operation, led from the Russian Embassy

Were they tricked into taking pointless but suspicious-looking meetings - which the media and FBI would discover and investigate?

Affable Englishman Rob Goldstone was literally in the room for the infamous Trump Tower Meeting, and he was with Donald Trump the weekend of the mythical "pee tape".

But when you look at the rest of the characters involved in the Trump/Russia saga - Republican operatives, Trump family members and Russian spies - Rob Goldstone seems like the odd man out.

He puts a lot of his story down to accidents and misunderstandings, but is that all there is to it?

You can get a link to the full interview on our website.

An undercover Australian journalist from Al Jazeera spent three years inside the National Rifle Association of America.

He wasn't the only one trying figure it out. Simultaneously, a Russian secret agent was trying to infiltrate the NRA.

She is now the only Russian secret agent behind bars for Russia's meddling in the election, and could hold the key to understanding Putin's plans.

After 22 months Mueller's report has dropped. But it hasn't been made public - yet.

US Attorney General Bill Barr has the report in his hot hands - and according to him - Mueller found no evidence of collusion.

But who is Bill Barr?

And can we trust his summary of Mueller's findings?

We end the season with the head of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election - Robert Mueller.

He's been taking down key players, circling closer and closer to Donald Trump.

But can he finish before the President shuts him down?

This is our last deep dive into a key character in the Russia investigation for this season, but we'll keep you updated with Trumpdates every time an important development in the story breaks.

Keep an eye on your feed.

Want to get in touch? Email russia@abc.net.au.

Michael Cohen is called Donald Trump's personal lawyer, but really he's a "fixer" - a man who solves problems for the boss.

It all came unstuck when investigators probed into hush money payments he made to a model and a porn star.

He pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts, and announced he was happy to tell the truth to anyone who asked for it.

So what information will he give up and should Trump be worried?

Want to get in touch? Email russia@abc.net.au.

Felix Sater's life is a mystery.

He went to jail for stabbing a guy in the face, he was involved with the Russian Mafia, and was an informant for the CIA.

He also helped Donald Trump build his property empire. So are there any secrets? And what does he know?

Britain's National Health Service was in crisis when COVID arrived in the UK.

After years of increasing demand and flatlining funding, the NHS was deeply broken.

One Chancellor called the NHS "the closest thing the English people have to a religion", so how was it left to fall into disrepair, on the edge of collapse, right as a catastrophic pandemic hit?

This is part 3 of our series, Who Broke Britain.

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British Prime Minister David Cameron took a colossal gamble when he called for a referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union.

Instead, he brought about Brexit and sent the country into three years of chaos.

Cameron was certain his side — Remain — would win. How did he get it so wrong?

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Watch Who broke Britain, part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW2NSrzcrIQ

Check out our entire series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

When the UK Conservative Party won the election in 2010, they took a butcher's knife to the budget.

David Cameron's money-man George Osborne — the young heir to a wallpaper fortune — had a big plan called "austerity," but it put the country on a journey to total chaos.

This is the first episode in a four-part series called Who Broke Britain.

It's about the past 14 years of Conservative Party leadership, all the way up to the general election that's happening next month.

London was once the largest city on Earth — capital of a global empire larger than any other in the history of the world.

Even as recently as 17 years ago, Britons were the richest people in any of the world's large economies.

Since then, they've gone backwards, more than any other large economy.

Britain feels broken. So, who broke it?

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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3IhkTK9-xs

We're still on a break from our regularly scheduled programming but don't worry, we're hard at work.

Next week we'll be launching a four-part series leading up to the UK election called Who Broke Britain?

The country that was once the centre of the world's greatest empire now seems a lot smaller, and in many ways — broken.

So — who broke it?

Until then, check out the latest ABC podcast Not Stupid, from our colleagues in ABC News.

It's hosted by Jeremy Fernandez and Julia Baird, and this week they're diving into Trump's guilty conviction and whether we should raise the minimum age for social media.

You can subscribe to it on the Listen app.

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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM7IYWahjGY

The island of Taiwan, just off the coast of China, is shaping up as the most likely spark for the next global conflict.

China's president Xi Jinping wants to claim all the territory he thinks belongs to China, without triggering a nuclear war.

It's a century-old civil war, which has been frozen in place for decades.

It's an almost unimaginably dangerous situation, and one mistake could lead to catastrophe.

This is a repeat episode. It was first broadcast on the 6th July, 2021 as part of the China, If You're Listening series.

If you want to listen to the whole series you can find it here, or scroll back in your podcast feed.

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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0_VTGzZj2U

Earlier this week the President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in bad weather.

Raisi was a phenomenally important figure in Middle Eastern politics — not just Iran's President, but the likely next Supreme Leader of Iran.

He got there through acts of extreme brutality, showing his willingness to do anything to defend the Iranian status quo.

How did Ebrahim Raisi become the heir-apparent to the Iranian Supreme Leadership, and what could happen now he's gone?

Listen to our other episodes about Iran:

Iran, Israel and the calculus of revenge

The Ayatollah who dreamed of an Iranian caliphate

How the Shah's cancer led to Iran's rift with the US

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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0_VTGzZj2U

Australia's first domestic violence shelter Elsie opened in the 1970s, and researchers have been analysing the problem ever since.

In the last three decades more than 1,500 women have been killed by intimate partners in Australia and we're still no closer to finding out why.

Campaigner Rosie Batty has compared domestic violence to terrorism, and called for similar levels of funding.

Is that comparison extreme, or is it the best way to get us closer to fixing the problem?

*EDITOR'S NOTE: This episode incorrectly states that Luke Batty was 14 years old at the time of his death. He was 11 years old when he died.

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Michael Cohen is the star witness in the Trump 'hush-money' trial.

He was once Trump's personal attorney and said he would "take a bullet" for his boss, but then everything changed.

He has served years in prison for lying, tax fraud, bank fraud and campaign finance violations.

But he thinks everything he's gone through will be worth it if he can take Trump down.

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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqPubAjtbc4

Russia defends its enormous borders with the threat of nuclear war. It’s this threat that has long stopped Ukraine and its allies from attacking Russia on its home turf—there are ‘red lines’ that can’t be crossed without nuclear retaliation. Yet Ukraine just invaded Russian sovereign territory and still, no nukes. Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears to be calling Vladimir Putin’s bluff. It seems the ‘red lines’ were done in red pencil, not red pen. So how does this reshape the war, and what does it mean for Putin?

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Check out our series on YouTube: https://youtu.be/j08l1rGSdK4?si=6fW29sO97EPL991u

Plans for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics are not going well.

It's a political quagmire, with plans for billion-dollar stadium upgrades or massive new venues being thrown around like confetti.

There are concerns that Brisbane is going to blow its budget.

Fifty years ago, the 1976 Montreal Olympics suffered a financial disaster so massive it nearly heralded the end of the Olympic Games.

Is Brisbane repeating the mistakes of the past?

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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VRUVQz-Dlw

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

He is doing everything he can to stay in office, because if he holds office, he can't be thrown in jail.

Sound familiar? It's a bit like Donald Trump's situation in the United States.

But Netanyahu's case has an old-school flavour. It's a fierce battle between media tycoons, and it even involves Australian media nepo baby James Packer.

It's a rollicking tale. But with a military campaign against Gaza and tensions with Iran rising, it could also change the fate of the war in the Middle East.

For more on Benjamin Netanyahu's history, check out this episode: Can Israel rescue the hostages?

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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25NndMbkhVE

Narenda Modi loves to promote India's status as the largest democracy in the world, and experts agree that the country's elections are free and fair for all. Modi is now an unbackable favourite to win a third term as Prime Minister in the weeks ahead, with polls suggesting he is heading for another  victory. So why is he so sensitive to criticism, and aggressive in pursuing his detractors? In this final episode, Avani learns of the consequences of her own reporting on Modi after so many months searching for the truth.

Iran and Israel are caught in a cycle of revenge.

On April Fools' Day, there was a huge escalation in the conflict when an Israeli air strike killed 16 people, including two Iranian Generals.

Two weeks later, the skies over Israel lit up with a counterattack.

It might seem like in this conflict, anything goes, but each response and retaliation is a calculated move.

Israel knew the attack was coming and almost every drone and missile was intercepted.

So, when the game of chess begins, how does it end?

Last time the revenge cycle started to turn, Donald Trump was in the White House, and the wheel only stopped because of a tragic mistake.

This time, Israel's response could change the trajectory of the conflict in the Middle East.

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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_dbh10orQc

Lifting Indians out of poverty lies at the core of Narendra Modi's wildly popular political strategy. And it's worked: during his Prime Ministership, India has risen from the tenth largest economy in the world to the fifth. But this rising tide has also widened the gap between the rich and the poor in India, and has raised questions about Modi's ties to business leaders who have turned the nation's rise to their own advantage.

People don't like wind farms. They say they're bad for wildlife, they affect property values and they create pollution.

But are any of these claims true?

Today, the wind farm debate and how it nearly tore the small Australian community of King Island apart.

This episode of If You're Listening is a live recording from the Newcastle Writers Festival.

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In 2002, Narendra Modi's carefully crafted political story was rocked by a series of deadly attacks in his home state of Gujarat, where he was the highly popular Chief Minister. Thousands were killed in a wave of riots that lasted for three days and became a major national scandal.

Modi's role in the violence has been heavily contested in the decades since, but he has never been able to shake the association in the minds of some Indians. How did he manage to survive such a high-profile catastrophe, and what is the legacy of those terrifying riots today?

The Duterte and Marcos families are the Montagues and Capulets of the Philippines.

They are, depending on who you ask, the country's most famous statesmen, thieves, murderers or heroes.

They have tussled for power for nearly 60 years, and now there are talks of secession splitting the country in two.

Could this family feud literally tear the Philippines apart?

Want to watch Matt present If You're Listening live from the Newcastle Writers Festival this Sunday, April 7? A stream will be posted to this channel on YouTube

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In January 2024, Narendra Modi travelled to the northern Indian town of Ayodhya to attend the consecration of a Hindu temple with a very contested history. The site had previously been occupied by a 500-year-old mosque, and had become a focal point of broader disputes between India's Hindu and Muslim communities.

That fight over one hill in Ayodhya resulted in a demolition, mass protests and deadly retaliations across India. It also gave Modi a cause he could champion throughout his rapid political rise.

Australia’s housing market is, like many places in the Western world, in the midst of a crisis that feels like it will never be solved. Owning a property in an Australian city has only drifted further out of reach for most Australians in the last decade, and there are very few practical solutions on offer. Is it possible to actually unpick this situation?

Japan offers a useful example. Thirty years ago, property in Tokyo was the most expensive in the world. Today, home ownership in that same city is comparatively affordable, with plenty of available stock on the market. How was this massive turnaround achieved, and how can other countries learn from the Japanese model?

It’s a dangerous moment for the Middle East. Israel and Hezbollah exchanged heavy fire over the weekend, including attacks on a pretty unique pocket of farmland — an Israeli-annexed area called the Golan Heights. In 2019 then-President Donald Trump broke with the rest of the international community and recognised it as part of Israel. There’s even an Israeli settlement named after him. Now, the world is watching the Golan Heights closely, fearful that fighting there could escalate and become a massive regional conflict.

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When Narendra Modi left home, it wasn't to begin a career in politics. He wanted to be a monk. Modi's teenaged pilgrimage would take him across India, following the trail of his country's most influential religious leader. It was a journey that would ultimately steer him towards politics, and lay the foundation for some of his most popular and controversial philosophies.

The Princess of Wales has barely been seen since Christmas and everyone is asking, where is Kate?

The Royal Family released a photo meant to squash the rumours, but when it became obvious it had been photoshopped, the speculation just got worse.

Fake photos are everywhere, and there's a long history of people doctoring them, from photocopying to photoshopping, to straight up AI.

But is there a time coming where we won't be able to tell the difference between what's real and what's fake?

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For most politicians, the image of a stable marriage and a happy family is a crucial part of their pitch to voters. But in India, being single is a selling point: leaders want to show that they are dedicated only to their country. Narendra Modi's carefully crafted image of a bachelor was up-ended when it emerged that he had a wife who had been kept secret for decades.

Since this scandal broke, Modi's estranged wife has barely been seen or spoken to the media. In this episode, we're going to find her.

Russia is in the midst of an election, but we already know Vladimir Putin will win. He always wins.

So why does Russia bother holding elections? What’s the point?

Putin learned a lesson many years ago about the illusion of democracy, and it’s one he has never forgotten.

Every Tuesday for the next seven weeks, we'll be dropping an extra episode from a new ABC podcast into the If You're Listening feed. Looking for Modi, hosted by the ABC's South Asia correspondent Avani Dias, examines the life and political career of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. It's a fascinating show that we think you might enjoy. Matt will be back with another episode on Thursday.

Narendra Modi's rise from poverty-stricken childhood has been a major appeal throughout his political career. He tells ordinary Indians that he is just like them, and that his life is proof of India's egalitarian democracy. But in truth, some of the central elements of his own biography are disputed. What do we really know about his origin story, and how did his time spent with a volunteer right wing organisation many view as a paramilitary group influence his politics?

The police arrested and interrogated Andrew after he was set up by hackers.

Now we know how Chinese spies pull it off.

An unprecedented leak of data from Chinese company i-Soon has cracked open the black box, revealing the secrets of China's cyber espionage operations.

Correction: When Andrew Phelan was taken in for questioning by Victoria Police, he was never chargedSubscribe to If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.

Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c58XyP6Bx1E

Donald Trump was ordered to pay a $463.9 million fine for lying to banks about how rich he is.

He's also facing at least five other cases that could cost him millions more in legal fees and fines.

And this is all happening as he tries to run for president again — and political campaigns ain't cheap.

So the question is: Can Donald Trump make it to election day without running out of money?

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Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzEp-Vr4Oao

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was a revolutionary leader with a revolutionary idea.

In just 10 years as Supreme Leader, Iran became a global pariah; virtually friendless in the international community.

Yet when he died, millions of Iranians hysterically grieved his death.

In today's episode, how Ayatollah Khomeini changed the course of Middle Eastern history, and how his ideas are still affecting us today.

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In 1974, the Shah of Iran was diagnosed with cancer.

It led to a Shakespearean tragedy that brought about the end of the Iranian monarchy and shaped the Middle East conflict we're seeing today.

As open warfare between the US and Iran becomes more and more likely by the day, it's worth remembering that it all started with something tiny — a small lump in the spleen of one man.

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