When New York based, Queer thriller writer Andrea Bartz, discovered the AI company Anthropic, had pirated her book to train its AI large language models, she decided to sue. Alongside two other authors, a class action suit was filed. In a landmark settlement, Anthropic agreed to pay 2.28 billion dollars to five hundred thousand authors. It’s the largest payout in the history of U.S copyright cases. GUEST: Queer thriller writer Andrea Bartz, author of The Last Ferry Out PRODUCER: Ali Benton  

After a stunning ascent, Zohran Mamdani is the youngest mayor of New York in more than a century. Mamdani is a fierce critic of Donald Trump, and Trump had endorsed an alternative candidate. But New York wasn't the only anti-Trump election result; Democratic governors were elected in New Jersey and Virginia, and Californian voters approved a measure designed to bolster the number of Democrats in the House. What do all of these results mean for Donald Trump's second presidency? Guest: Bruce Shapiro, Contributing Editor at The Nation and Executive Director of the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma

The emergence of commercial photography technology in the mid-19th Century coincided with the rise of imperial control in the Pacific, including the British colony of Australia. A new book offers a comprehensive study of photography's arrival in Australia, and its implication in the colonial project.  Guest: Elisa DeCourcy, writer and curator, author of Early Photography in Colonial Australia, Melbourne University Press Producer: Jack Schmidt

During his decade as UN Secretary-General, U Thant played a pivotal role in resolving some of the most dangerous international crises of his time. From defusing the Cuban Missile stand-off, and preventing nuclear war, to mediating conflicts in India and Pakistan, and the Middle East, he consistently worked to maintain global peace. He also challenged U.S. policies during the Vietnam War, demonstrating a commitment to diplomacy over confrontation. Despite these critical interventions, history rarely remembers him as the peacemaker he truly was, and his legacy remains largely overlooked. GUEST: Thant Myint U, historian, academic and author of The Peacemaker:  U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World PRODUCER: Ali Benton

When the CIA was building its new headquarters, they commissioned a statue designed to pay homage to the spy agency. 'Krytpos' was both a sculpture and a mystery: the artwork contains encrypted messages, one of which — known as K4 — has never been decrypted. But just this year, as the artist was preparing to auction the solution, two journalists found K4's answer written in plain English in the Smithsonian archives. But have they really solved the K4 mystery? Guest: Dr Sam Blake, the Australian mathematician and cryptographer who solved the Zodiac Killer cipher Z340 Producer: Alex Tighe, Catherine Zengerer

On 10 December, the government's new law banning under-16s from having social media accounts will be enforced. It's a world-first attempt to rein in the power of Big Tech, free kids from their phones, and prevent the harms of social media — but will the law actually achieve its aims? Guest: Cam Wilson is the associate editor of Crikey, where he writes about internet culture and tech Producer: Alex Tighe

Pressure is building inside the Liberal party to follow the Nationals' decision to abandon its commitment to net zero carbon emissions. Anna Henderson looks at the political implications for both parties.  Guest: Anna Henderson, SBS World News Chief Political Correspondent | National Press Club Director  

Aussies love to gamble, whether it’s on the horses, down the pokies, at a fancy casino, or, increasingly, betting on their favourite sports team from the ease of our mobile phones. We love gambling so much we lose around $32 billion every year – more than any other country in the world. There’s long been support for putting the brakes on, but it seems our politicians are more addicted to the money than we are.  Guest: Quentin Beresford, Adjunct Professor at Sunshine Coast University and author of 'Hooked - inside the murky world of Australia’s gambling industry', published by NewSouth Producer: Catherine Zengerer

'The genocide in Gaza was not committed in isolation, but as part of a system of global complicity.' That's the conclusion of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese. Her most recent report, “Gaza Genocide: a collective crime”  says that rather than ensuring that Israel respects the basic human rights and self-determination of the Palestinian people, Western states - including Australia - have provided, Israel with military, diplomatic, economic and ideological support, even as it weaponised famine and humanitarian aid. And this means we could be at risk of prosecution.  Guest: Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 Producer: Catherine Zengerer

The Pope forgave the man who shot him in the stomach. Erika Kirk forgave the assassin who killed her husband, Charlie. But what, exactly, is forgiveness? When we forgive someone, what exactly are we doing? Guest: Professor Lucy Allais, a philosopher at both the University of the Witwatersrand and Johns Hopkins University Producer: Alex Tighe

Patrick White was Australia's only Nobel Prize-winning author, renowned for novels like Voss, The Tree of Man, and The Vivisector. His work explored spiritual isolation, human cruelty, and the Australian landscape, often drawing from his own privileged but tormented life as a gay, asthmatic outsider. Now a new work has been written reflecting on White's startling use of language and his mythic depiction of the Australian landscape and the people who inhabit it.  Guest: Professor Vrasidas Karalis, Sir Nicholas Laurantus Professor of Modern Greek, University of Sydney, author of "On Patrick White's Dillemmas", published by New South Books.    Guest: Professor Vrasidas Karalis, Sir Nicholas Laurantus Professor of Modern Greek, University of Sydney  

Anthropology is the study of human cultures, with a strained culture of its own: its practitioners have often been involved in colonial control of native populations. Australia's first anthropology department was founded 100 years ago, at the University of Sydney. A century on, can an academic discipline that has followed in the footsteps of colonisation still shed light on the world? Guest: Dr Michael Edwards, Lecturer in Anthropology at The University of Sydney Producer: Alex Tighe

On the streets of Chicago, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are busy arresting, detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants as part of "Operation Midway Blitz". But communities are finding ways to resist. Guest: Evelyn Vargas, Organised Communities Against Deportation, Chicago Producer: Jack Schmidt, Ali Benton 

King Charles wants Prince Andrew out of the Royal Lodge, UK Conservatives launch an extreme immigration policy and Labour has suffered its first parliamentary defeat in Caerphilly for 100 years, as Plaid Cymru claim victory in the Welsh Parliament by-election. GUEST: Ian Dunt: iNews columnist and regular LNL commentator PRODUCER: Ali Benton 

If AI language models can "learn" human languages, and translate between them, could AI also help us to decode what animals are saying? Off the coast of Dominica, a Caribbean island known for its sperm whale population, some ambitious scientists are trying to find out. Project CETI aims to use advanced robotics and AI to break the barrier of human-animal communication. Guest: Professor David Gruber, Project CETI President and Founder and National Geographic Explorer Producers: Rebecca Metcalf and Alex Tighe

International investigative journalism outfit ‘Lighthouse Reporter’ found a vast archive of data on the deep web containing thousands of phone numbers, emails and locations of people all over the world. The data came from a little-known surveillance company called First Wap. Headquartered in Jakarta, but run by a group of European executives, First Wap has quietly built a global phone tracking empire for its Altamides program, which has tracked journalists, environmental activists and political dissidents. Guest: Gabriel Geiger, lead reporter for Lighthouse Reports' "Surveillance Secrets' investigation. Producer: Catherine Zengerer

As parliament resumes, Labor has a big bill to push through: changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, which has been widely criticised as no longer fit for purpose and hindering productivity. The bill will establish Australia;s first National Environemnt Protection Agency, but the Greens say they won't support it if it doesn't contain a so-called "climate trigger', which would give the federal Environment Minister more power to scrutinise and control high-polluting projects based on their climate effects. The Coalition wats the bill split in two, with the more contentious parts around environmental controls moved into a separate bill.   Guest: Anna Henderson, SBS World News Chief Political Correspondent | National Press Club Director Producer: Catherine Zengerer

Josef Stalin left this earthly realm on March 5, 1953. The circumstances of his death were deeply chaotic – his guards and inner circle were too afraid to open the door to his room, and he was found days later lying on the floor. Stalin’s ghost however, still haunts modern day Russia – from tea-leaf readers to mediums on the internet, there's no shortage of people trying to contact the Soviet dictator on the other side. GUEST: Sheila Fitzpatrick, Emeritus professor at the Australian Catholic University and Author, The Death of Stalin PRODUCER: Ali Benton

It was 1974 and Canberra was in turmoil. A young Paul Kelly was the chief political correspondent for The Australian newspaper, and covered the mounting scandals and intrigues. As we near the 50th anniversary of 11 November, 1975, Paul and David look back at the political environment that led to The Dismissal. Guest: Paul Kelly, Editor-at-Large, The Australian

Love is the big emotion, the one that drives our literature and our lives. It has done since antiquity. But when the Greeks and Romans wrote about love, did they mean the same things we do today? Is love eternal, or has the concept evolved over time? Guest: Marguerite Johnson, Honorary Professor in Classics at The University of Queensland Producer: Alex Tighe