Foreign Correspondent

TV News and Current Affairs ABC and SBS News
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Tasting Tokyo - Japan

Inside the kitchens of the world’s foodie capital

Tuesday 22 April at 8:00pm

Australian tourists are visiting Japan in record numbers, with one million travelers expected to arrive this year. In Tokyo visitors are increasingly attracted by the nation’s food – the city has become the number one destination for food lovers with more Michelin star restaurants than its nearest rival Paris.

On Foreign Correspondent the ABC’s north Asia correspondent James Oaten sets out to discover what’s driving this foodie obsession. He meets a world expert on tuna, one of the country’s best sushi chefs and a 96-year-old eel master to see first-hand what it takes to be the best. From the onigiri lunch shops to the world’s best ramen restaurant James goes in search of the secret to Japan’s culinary success.

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THE BODY HUNTERS: Inside Columbia’s real life CSI squad.

Tuesday 29 April at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

After more than half a century of armed conflict in Colombia more than a hundred thousand people are still missing, presumed dead. Decades of violence between leftist guerillas and right-wing paramilitary groups left large parts of the country lawless. The brutality of the notorious drug cartels only made the violence worse.

Now the Colombian government has made it it’s mission to find the bodies of the missing. On Foreign Correspondent reporter Natashya Gutierrez embeds with the CSI squad determined to find closure for the loved ones left behind. She visits the dig sites where searches are underway and meets the criminal forensic team using new technology to build replica images from skeletal remains. Natashya also talks to a former paramilitary soldier, forcibly recruited as a teenager, who admits his involvement in assassinations and murders.

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Hot Property - Greenland

Tuesday 6 May at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

It’s the world’s largest island and one of the most remote places on earth. And now the most famous global property developer wants to buy it. The Danish territory of Greenland has become a sought-after piece of real estate and US President Donald Trump has declared that one way or another America is going to own it.

On Foreign Correspondent the ABC’s North America Correspondent Lauren Day travels to the icy territory to find out why it’s become such hot property. It’s strategic location and abundance of rare minerals is driving US interest, but Denmark is adamant Greenland is not for sale. While most Greenlanders ultimately want to be independent, they know they can’t financially go it alone for now. But relations with their colonial ruler are far from ideal and some are wondering if this is the moment to strike a deal of their own.

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The Greenland episode will be the mid season final.

Nature documentary The Kimberley starts the following Tuesday (13 May) at 8pm.

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Returns Tuesday, 15 July 2025

Update:

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TUESDAY 15 JULY 8.00PM

Foreign Correspondent is back, capturing the complex international picture unfolding in 2025 with reporters around the world.

Foreign Correspondent is back, capturing the complex international picture unfolding in 2025 with reporters around the world.

This season, the program investigates Russia’s new Cold War in Europe, goes inside Mexico’s crack down on the fentanyl trade, and sees first hand the impact of mass tourism in Europe, and meets the last Japanese survivors of the world’s first atomic bombing who have a message for the world.

MAKING AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN?

The inside story of how the” wellness revolution” and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won the White House

Tuesday 15 July at 8:00pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

On Foreign Correspondent, an exclusive interview with Donald Trump’s former wife Marla Maples about the pivotal role she is playing in the wellness revolution now controversially reshaping America’s health system.

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a member of the famed Democrat dynasty and prominent vaccine sceptic, joined Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, many people were shocked. But in the online world of wellness, the partnership came as no surprise.

Reporter Naomi Selvaratnam reveals the back story to the movement, born out of pandemic-era distrust, which has now grown into a potent political force. Powered by mothers, wellness influencers and alternative health advocates, it’s challenging Big Pharma, the food industry and government regulation.

While America’s appalling health statistics tell a troubling story, not everyone believes Make America Healthy Again holds the answers. Naomi also meets the doctors and scientists who are worried the movement is cover for a growing anti- vax agenda and will do little to solve the real health problems the country faces.

RUSSIA’S SHADOW

Democracy in Georgia is on the brink, is Moscow to blame?

On Russia’s southern flank, the former Soviet republic of Georgia is fighting for its very existence as a democracy.

Until recently it was a darling of the West, on a fast track to EU membership, but then something dramatically changed. The pro-EU government did an extraordinary U-turn. It stands accused of winning re-election in a disputed ballot, crushing civil society, jailing dissenters and passing a raft of draconian laws eerily similar to those on the books in Russia. So what is going on?

Foreign Correspondent reporter Stephanie March travels to the nation wedged between Russia and Europe on the edge of the Black Sea to witness a democracy crumbling in real time. The atmosphere is tense with an ongoing crackdown and cyber surveillance. She meets protestors and opposition figures who believe Russia is pulling the strings, while senior government figures claim there’s a dark western backed conspiracy designed to push Georgia into war with Russia.

Many fear the winds of a new Cold War are blowing through Tbilisi as Moscow tests new strategies to gain influence and control across Europe. As Georgia’s last democratically elected President warns *“*if it can happen here, it can happen anywhere”.

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CHILDREN OF THE TALIBAN

Tuesday 12 August at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

Four years since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Foreign Correspondent looks at the lives of children living under Taliban rule. This is a generation whose entire lives have been upended and who are being forced to grow up quickly to survive. With rare access to the children of high-ranking Taliban members, this film captures the daily life of two boys who talk openly about their desire to be Mujahid fighters and who are already involved in standing guard for their fathers.

By contrast the film also documents the much tougher lives of two girls who have both lost their fathers to war and who spend their days working to support their families. They are among the hundreds of thousands of children in the country who do this. The difference between the lives of the girls and boys in this film is stark but they have one thing in common: they still have a glimmer of hope that one day life for the children of Afghanistan will be brighter.

CHILDREN OF THE TALIBAN

Tuesday 12 August at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

Four years since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Foreign Correspondent looks at the lives of children living under Taliban rule. This is a generation whose entire lives have been upended and who are being forced to grow up quickly to survive. With rare access to the children of high-ranking Taliban members, this film captures the daily life of two boys who talk openly about their desire to be Mujahid fighters and who are already involved in standing guard for their fathers.

By contrast the film also documents the much tougher lives of two girls who have both lost their fathers to war and who spend their days working to support their families. They are among the hundreds of thousands of children in the country who do this. The difference between the lives of the girls and boys in this film is stark but they have one thing in common: they still have a glimmer of hope that one day life for the children of Afghanistan will be brighter.

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CHILDREN OF THE TALIBAN

Tuesday 12 August at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

Four years since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Foreign Correspondent looks at the lives of children living under Taliban rule. This is a generation whose entire lives have been upended and who are being forced to grow up quickly to survive. With rare access to the children of high-ranking Taliban members, this film captures the daily life of two boys who talk openly about their desire to be Mujahid fighters and who are already involved in standing guard for their fathers.

By contrast the film also documents the much tougher lives of two girls who have both lost their fathers to war and who spend their days working to support their families. They are among the hundreds of thousands of children in the country who do this. The difference between the lives of the girls and boys in this film is stark but they have one thing in common: they still have a glimmer of hope that one day life for the children of Afghanistan will be brighter.

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SPAIN’S TOXIC TOURISM

Tuesday 19 August at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

If you’re dreaming of a summer in Spain, you’re not alone. The nation is on track to overtake France as the world’s most visited country with around one hundred million international visitors expected this year. But you may be met with a hostile reception.

Protests and blockades against mass tourism have sprung up across the country with furious locals demanding action to quell the massive hordes of tourists taking over their cities and homes.

On Foreign Correspondent Europe Bureau Chief Mazoe Ford travels to two of the major hotspots - Barcelona and Ibiza. She finds a housing crisis, that many blame on Airbnb and other holiday rentals. She meets essential workers and people servicing the tourism industry who have been priced out of their homes. Others lament their very way of life is being destroyed by the tourists wanting a slice of Spanish life. For them, tourists are loving Spain to death.

While tourism is critical to the Spanish economy, employing more than three million people, many are asking is the cost of such success too high?

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BANGLADESH 2.0

Tuesday 26 August at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

Can you remake a country?

One year ago, student protestors led an uprising in Bangladesh to overthrow a brutal dictator. Sheikh Hasina ruled for 15 years by murdering and jailing political rivals and ruthlessly cracking down on dissent. She fled the country after a violent crackdown on protesters where 1,400 people were killed. Now the student leaders have emerged as a new political force as Bangladesh prepares to hold its first free and fair elections in almost two decades.

On Foreign Correspondent reporter Ellie Grounds travels to the capital Dhaka where election season has begun in earnest. She meets students who put everything on the line to overthrow Hasina and who are determined to remake Bangladesh from a dictatorship to a democracy. But their path won’t be easy – established political parties who had effectively been sidelined during Hasina’s reign are coming back strong. Conservative religious groups suppressed under the Hasina regime have also re-emerged, and are loudly protesting plans for progressive reforms, in particular changes that would give equal rights to women. The dream for the ‘new Bangladesh’ is radical, but is it realistic?

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Ellie Grounds has written a feature article on ABC News website related to tonight’s episode on Bangladesh.

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TRUMP’S AMERICA THROUGH AUSTRALIAN EYES

Tuesday 2 September at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

Donald Trump’s second term as president has taken off with breathtaking speed. Over several drama filled months he’s pursued his agenda, implementing radical changes in foreign policy, immigration enforcement and the economy. He’s left his opponents struggling to keep up. In the US around a hundred thousand Australians call America home and they’re not immune to the new era of Trump rule.

In the lead up to last year’s Presidential election Foreign Correspondent spoke to a number of those Australians about their views on America’s future. It was Foreign Correspondent’s most watched story of the year. Given how momentous these first months have been, we’ve decided to find out how people are feeling now. Along with some we talked to last time, we’ve met others along the way to explore how they feel about living in Trump’s America. From New York to Texas, from the sidelines of amateur AFL games to picnics in Philly and Aussie get togethers in Central Park to rodeo training grounds, everyone has a view.

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CHINA’S ABANDONED DAUGHTERS

Tuesday 9 September at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

In regional provinces in China tens of thousands of women are looking for their families. They are the legacy of China’s strict one-child policy aimed at controlling population growth. They were abandoned by their parents who wanted their only child to be a son. Many of these unwanted girls were given away to foster families. But their foster parents weren’t acting out of kindness. Instead, they had a clear goal: one day the girls were to marry their sons.

On Foreign Correspondent, a film by Channel News Asia captures the stories of these women who are now trying to reclaim their lives. Many have struggled due to lack of education and social stigma and have never adjusted to being married to their foster brothers. As they search for clues to their past, DNA programs are helping them reunite with their biological families.

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NOT WELCOME: Northern Ireland’s race riots

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Tuesday 16 September at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

Throughout the northern summer anti-immigration protests have taken place across the United Kingdom. But while angry crowds have scuffled with police outside hotels housing asylum seekers, the most shocking confrontations have occurred in Northern Ireland. It’s the least diverse region of the UK and racial hate crime is at record levels. This week Foreign Correspondent reporter Barbara Miller travels to the town of Ballymena where some locals are waging a war on migrants, attacking their homes and cars and running them out of town.

Ballymena is no stranger to violence. During the conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics known as the Troubles, Ballymena saw violent attacks on Catholic homes, schools and churches. Now attention has turned to the Roma community who have moved there in large numbers. In Ballymena there’s speculation paramilitary groups active during the Troubles are behind the mob violence as hit lists of migrants’ addresses circulate throughout the community.

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GAZA’S CHILDREN OF WAR

Tuesday 23 September at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

For the one million children of Gaza growing up isn’t guaranteed. Since the war began nearly two years ago, more than 18,000 Palestinian children have been killed. With no reliable source of nutritious food and water, life is a day-to-day prospect. Even trying to find food can be a deadly proposition.

On Foreign Correspondent reporter Stephanie March and a team of Gazan journalists deliver an intimate, heart wrenching insight into the toll this war is taking on Gaza’s littlest. Because independent access to Gaza for reporters is banned by the Israeli Defence Forces, Stephanie has been working with local journalists to film with families willing to share their day to day lives. Over months they’ve documented life from different parts of Gaza.

We meet a 10-year-old boy who shelters in a tent with his parents and two siblings in an existence that’s become boring, uncomfortable and very dangerous. The sound of bombs and drones are ever present. Another teenager has an infected knee that isn’t getting better. If it doesn’t heal, there are fears he could lose his leg to amputation. Simple injuries can spiral into dangerous medical conditions in Gaza because of malnutrition, filthy conditions and a lack of medical supplies. And we spend time with a 9-year-old girl who weighs half what she should amid famine in Gaza City. She’s one of thousands who are desperately hoping to get treatment in other countries at a time when few western countries are willing to take them.

All these children just want the war to end so they can live their lives. In the words of a 10-year-old: “There’s no childhood left in Gaza”.

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SEASON FINAL

ISRAEL VS IRAN: Unfinished Business

Tuesday 30 September at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

In Iran’s capital Tehran an uneasy calm has returned to the streets. For 12 days in June the world held its breath as Israel and Iran - two mortal enemies - traded blows. Israel’s main targets were Iran’s nuclear facilities, key Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists. The US joined in, dropping bunker bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.

On Foreign Correspondent reporter Jonathan Miller has been granted rare access to the Islamic Republic to find out whether Israel, the region and the world is any safer. He visits the places bombed by the Israelis and meets family members and neighbours of those killed in the attacks. The accuracy of Israel’s targets inside Iran were evidence of what Iranian authorities called “unprecedented infiltration” by the Israelis. Now the regime is relentlessly hunting for spies with trials and executions being fast tracked. The Foreign Ministry spokesman tells Jonathan the executions are justifiable because “no nation allows betrayal.”

Jonathan also travels to Israel where a former senior Mossad chief explains how Israel’s intelligence operates on the ground in Iran. It’s not deep cover agents, he says, but “expendable” people who are willing to work for money.

What becomes clear as Jonathan travels between the two nations is that no-one believes this war is over.