If You’re Listening: Declassified – Stories from history and current affairs told by the award-winning ABC podcaster by Matt Bevan

The world’s most important stories boldly explained by a man hiding in his basement

Matt Bevan, host of the wildly popular podcast If You’re Listening, takes readers on a fascinating journey through the murky waters of history, memory, and the stories we tell ourselves. From a decade-long dispute with his mother-in-law over a comment he may – or may not – have made, to unravelling the mysteries of world-shaping events like the Yalta Conference, the assassination of Julius Caesar, and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Matt explores how history is often a patchwork of conflicting accounts, misremembered details and outright myths.

With wit, curiosity and a knack for uncovering the unexpected, Matt dives into tales of lemon trees conjured by Stalin, Bob Hawke’s emotional misstep on Tiananmen Square, and the bizarre flight of a German teenager into Soviet airspace. Along the way, he examines how our biases, assumptions and even evolutionary quirks shape the way we interpret the past – and what that means for how we understand the present.

Perfect for history buffs, sceptics and current affairs addicts, If You’re Listening: Declassified will make you laugh, think and above all re-examine whether the things you think you know about the world are, in fact, true.

About the Author: Matt Bevan is the host and writer of the award-winning ABC News podcast If You’re Listening. He has been a journalist at the ABC since 2008, and spent six years as newsreader for Radio National Breakfast. In 2022 he was awarded Podcast Host of the Year by Radio Today. In 2023 he was nominated for a Walkley Award for Explanatory Journalism.

28 Apr 2026
 

If You’re Listening: Declassified – Stories from history and current affairs told by the award-winning ABC podcaster by Matt Bevan ISBN 9780733344282