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It’s election season: the US midterms are just days away and Israel, Brazil and Serbia have all had consequential elections this week. Alastair Campbell from The Rest is Politics podcast co-host speaks with political editor Tom McIlroy about our ‘high-octane political environment’ and why he argues that populist politics began in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Following last week’s alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines, Campbell also reflects on how the UK responded to violence towards its own politicians – including Jo Cox, David Amess and Ann Widdecombe. The former journalist and staffer to Tony Blair has just released his 22nd book Persevilience: The Word the World Needs Now, and will be touring Australia next month

In this episode of Guardian Australia’s US politics podcast, co-hosts Reged Ahmad and Jonathan Yerushalmy talk about Barack Obama’s war of words with Donald Trump, after the former president spoke at a campaign rally in Ohio and compared Trump’s White House changes to the Cheesecake Factory. But how effective is Obama on the Democratic party campaign trail? What are the risks around personal attacks? And how much does Obama’s legacy help or hinder when it comes to the midterms? Reged and Jonathan also look at the backlash over an attack ad from the campaign of Republican nominee for governor of Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy, and why some are saying it’s a new low for US politics. Finally, how has the perception of corruption in government become such a key issue for voters on both sides of the aisle?

As consequential elections around the world make global headlines, another election closer to home is flying under the radar. New Zealand’s election on 7 November could define the hopes of a country desperate to change its future, where young citizens are crossing the Tasman in droves due to dwindling opportunities in their home country. The Guardian’s New Zealand correspondent, Eva Corlett, speaks to Matilda Boseley about the minor parties that could hold all the power, and what it could tell us about Australia’s political direction

Back in 2017 the then prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, announced an ambitious expansion of Australia’s towering public infrastructure project, Snowy Hydro 2.0. Estimated at a cost of about $2bn, Turnbull had made the decision after the closure of a number of coal-fired power plants and a political fight over major blackouts in South Australia. But nearly 10 years later, the project is still not finished and now the price tag has ballooned to $25bn. The climate and environment editor, Adam Morton, speaks to Reged Ahmad about the long, expensive wait for Snowy Hydro 2.0

Israeli citizens are about to vote in what’s being seen as elections that are almost existential when it comes to the future identity of the country. That’s because since the October 7 attack by Hamas in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed, and the resulting war in Gaza that a UN commission of inquiry has described as a genocide, some say the country’s politics and views have shifted profoundly to the right. These political events have ricocheted around the world, impacting communities, politics and governments, including here in Australia. Chief Middle East correspondent Emma Graham-Harrison tells Reged Ahmad why this is Israel’s most consequential election in history and if it could be the end of Netanyahu’s leadership