{"podcast":{"title":"If You're Listening","slug":"if-you-re-listening-232515","podcast_index_feed_id":232515,"rss_url":"https://www.abc.net.au/feeds/9593214/podcast.xml","website_url":"https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/if-youre-listening/","image_url":"https://live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au/0b00910f69470533fe28ab472d099166.jpg?src","author":"ABC Australia","episode_count":250,"summary":"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 clima…","last_synced_at":"2026-09-12T04:23:07.571960+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/if-you-re-listening-232515"},"episode":{"title":"Is the Secret Service too broken to protect Trump?","slug":"is-the-secret-service-too-broken-to-protect-trump","published_at":"2026-08-19T15:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/if-you-re-listening-232515/is-the-secret-service-too-broken-to-protect-trump","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/if-you-re-listening-232515","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/if-youre-listening/is-the-secret-service-too-broken-to-protect-trump/107055126","audio_url":"https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/nl/Z/fd.mp3","summary":"The Secret Service was created to hunt counterfeit money, and only started guarding presidents after three assassinations forced Congress's hand in 1901. More than a century later, agents still split their careers between protecting the President and investigating fake twenties. The agency is understaffed by over 20 percent, and burnt-out staff are hitting mandated overtime pay caps by the thousands. It's already led to scandal, security lapses, and a botched response to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the threats are multiplying and becoming even more complex; domestic militia plots and foreign intelligence operatives are becoming more common. So can an agency stretched this thin actually keep up? Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app . Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq","meta_description":"The Secret Service was created to hunt counterfeit money, and only started guarding presidents after three assassinations forced Congress's hand in 1901.…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1640,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/if-you-re-listening-232515/episodes/is-the-secret-service-too-broken-to-protect-trump/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/if-you-re-listening-232515/is-the-secret-service-too-broken-to-protect-trump.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}