Podcasts · The Radio National Hour

Benjamin Netanyahu's fight for political survival

26 Oct 2026 · 55 min

Israelis head to the polls tomorrow in an election that’s being described as ‘existential’. After nearly 20 years in power, strongman Benjamin Netanyahu is pitching for the security vote, but his rivals say he’s a threat to democracy. Mairav Zonszein, an Israel analyst with the International Crisis Group, says Israelis want change but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is unlikely to go quietly into the night.

Only two months ago, a group called Compassion in Politics Australia gained the first signatory to its "Civility Pledge" - Helen Haines. The organisation, based on a similar foundation in the United Kingdom, aims to turn the tide of toxic debate and build a better politics. Josie Gibson is the group's co-director.

Nearly two hundred years ago a rebellion broke out at the Parramatta Female Factory; over sugar. In her new book Unravelled, historian and author Heather Garnsey tells this rollicking tale of Australia’s early colonial history through the eyes of a pioneering woman and her distant relative Elizabeth Fulloon.

The episode on the publisher’s site ↗ (opens in a new tab)