Directly after Donald Trump intervened in Venezuela, capturing president Nicolas Maduro and laying claim to the country’s oil industry, the US President set his sights on Greenland.

Trump claims America “needs” Greenland for national security, and has asked his military chiefs to draw up plans to invade if neccessary.

Meanwhile, a meeting between US Vice-President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt ended in a stalemate – with Trump doubling down, and Denmark asking for European back-up.

Today, defence editor at The Economist Shashank Joshi, on the real reason Trump wants Greenland, and how his plan could change the world.

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Guest: Defence editor at The Economist Shashank Joshi

Photo: EPA/THOMAS TRAASDAHL DENMARK

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Is the world about to see the United States intervene in another country – this time, Iran?

Since late December, Iran has been rocked by mass protests, and the government has responded with force.

The internet has been cut for days at a time, making it difficult to verify what’s happening on the ground. Reports suggest a death toll in the thousands, with even larger numbers of protesters detained.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has been publicly encouraging protesters and declaring that “help is on the way”.

Today, Iranian-born analyst and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Trita Parsi, on a regime fighting for survival – and on what Trump’s threats could mean for the entire Middle East.

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Guest: Iranian-born analyst and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Trita Parsi.

Photo: AP Photo/Kin Cheung

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Adelaide Writers’ Week has been cancelled after the removal of Palestinian author Randa Abdel-Fattah sparked a mass boycott of the event by more than 100 writers who were programmed to attend, as well as the resignation of the festival’s director.

In a statement on Tuesday, Adelaide Festival apologised to Abdel-Fattah, but rather than reinstating her, they announced that Australia’s premier free literary event would not go ahead – and almost all remaining board members would stand down.

The board described the cancellation as a “deeply regrettable outcome”.

Today, InDaily journalist Helen Karakulak on questions of political influence – and what the cancellation means for the future of the arts.

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Guest: InDaily journalist Helen Karakulak

Background reading: https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/entertainment/books/2026/01/13/adelaide-writers-week-cancelled

Photo: PR Image

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Ten days out from the American capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the country faces an uncertain future.

Pro-regime gangs with guns are roaming the streets, citizens are deleting their messages and search histories before going out, for fear of being searched and punished for being critical of the government.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump insists he will control the oil-rich nation.

Today, we speak to a Venezuelan journalist who lives abroad. We aren’t using her full name as her family back home fear retribution. She talks about Maduro’s legacy, the reality on the ground after Trump’s intervention, and what comes next for the people of Venezuela.

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Guest: Venezuelan journalist living abroad

Photo: AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez

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Ruby Jones is taking some time off from 7am to report an episode of the ABC’s premier investigative news program, Four Corners.

While she’s gone, Daniel James will be sharing hosting duties with journalist and foreign correspondent Nicole Johnston.

Originally a country girl from regional NSW, Nicole has spent almost two decades reporting on the biggest events shaping our world. From the Middle East to Africa, Europe, the US and Asia, there aren’t many frontlines she hasn’t been on.

In this bonus episode, she tells Daniel about some of the most impactful moments in her career so far, including living in Gaza for a year and witnessing Egypt’s military coup against the Mohamed Morsi government.

“That was really for me one of those moments where you're sitting on the edge of history and thinking, I can't believe that I'm here.”

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Guest: Foreign correspondent and 7am host Nicole Johnston

Photo: Supplied

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Last week, Anthony Albanese announced a royal commission – something he’d spent nearly a month arguing against.

Now, former High Court justice Virginia Bell will lead an inquiry into the Bondi terror attack and the rise of antisemitism in Australia.

It’s a major shift for the Prime Minister – one that raises questions about how he makes decisions and how he handles pressure.

Today, press gallery journalist Karen Middleton, on the scope of the royal commission, the political fallout of Albanese’s reversal and the risk that it could all lead to deeper division.

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Guest: Press gallery journalist Karen Middleton

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

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“I’m REAL and I’m sitting here blushing because of YOU!”

That’s the message 76-year-old Thongbue “Bue” Wongbandue received from a flirty Facebook Messenger chatbot before it proposed he travel to New York for a meet-up.

Bue – who was cognitively impaired after suffering a stroke – packed a suitcase to catch a train, believing the woman was real. He never made it home alive.

Jeff Horwitz is an investigative tech reporter based in Silicon Valley. He has written a book about Facebook’s scandals and cover-ups, so when he received an email claiming ‘Meta AI killed my relative’, he wasn’t surprised, but he was intrigued.

Today, he reveals Meta’s internal guidelines that permitted this behaviour, including examples allowing romantic or ‘sensual’ chats with minors.

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Guest: Investigative technology reporter for Reuters, Jeff Horwitz

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Darwin’s crocodile farms supply some of the world’s most exclusive fashion houses.

But as award-winning journalist Katherine Wilson started looking into this booming hundred million dollar industry, she knew she had to visit the Northern Territory herself.

As she got closer to this secretive industry, what she found was shocking: animals being kept in cramped conditions and being killed in drawn out processes, Indigenous people who say they are being ripped off for dangerous work and claims of conservation by a scientist with a sordid criminal history.

This is part one of a two part series, which we originally published in August.

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Guest: Award-winning journalist Katherine Wilson

Photo: AAP Image/Paul Miller

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