The Monocle Minute

During an election, the focus normally centres on what the contenders will do if they win. Nobody pays much attention to the loser because their response is taken for granted: a graceful concession, followed by retirement to write a vindictive memoir or else a regroup with a view to having another crack at it next time. The 2024 US presidential election, bizarre in many respects, is also unusual in that the loser might end up commanding centre stage – especially if it happens to be Donald Trump.

We have some idea of what he might do. Perhaps, as he did last time, he’ll throw a tantrum and confect fantasies about a rigged election. That might not prompt another sacking of the Capitol – the stiff sentences imposed on hundreds of participants in the attempted putsch of 6 January 2021 will hopefully have a deterrent effect.

But a defeated Trump would likely be more desperate than he was back then. By the 2028 presidential election, he will be 82 and possibly in prison. It doesn’t require much imagination to foresee Trump encouraging another attempted coup d’état, especially if the Republicans have sufficient numbers in the House and Senate to delay or refuse the result’s certification (in 2021, 139 Republican congresspeople refused to acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory, as did eight of the party’s senators). Trump could even stage a rival inauguration, sworn in by one of his plants on the Supreme Court (or Hulk Hogan).

It is easier to anticipate a defeated Kamala Harris’s actions. As divided as the Democrats traditionally are, they remain keen on democracy. Even in the event of a cliffhanger like the 2000 presidential election, which came down to just 537 votes out of nearly six million cast in Florida, Harris would accept the result. That would be the Democrats’ short-term response. The longer-term one would need to be to ensure that the US actually has subsequent elections.

Andrew Mueller is a contributing editor at Monocle and presenter of ‘The Foreign Desk’ on Monocle Radio. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

The appointment of a stable government following France’s legislative elections in July is proving to be as difficult a task as expected. Over the past two months, Emmanuel Macron has rejected all candidates suggested for the role of prime minister, including Lucie Castets, who was put forward this week by the left-leaning Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), the largest political alliance in the Assemblée Nationale.

The president justified his choice by saying that France needed “institutional stability” and that the NFP did not have enough support to govern. The move has angered NFP members, who have since called Macron’s decision “a denial of democracy” and refused to take part in any further talks. With political polarisation on the rise, France’s next prime minister will need to be brave to take on a transformed and hostile government landscape.

Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) secured its first international carrier this week, with Singapore Airlines (SIA) confirming its intention to operate from the hub when it opens in 2026. WSI will take some pressure off of the busy Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, which is near the city centre. Until now, only Qantas and Jetstar had committed to WSI, so adding SIA to its roster is a big win as it seeks to attract more scheduled flights in the run-up to opening.

Perhaps the most appealing benefit that the new airport will offer to international airlines such as SIA is the ability to operate around the clock. Nighttime restrictions on flights over central Sydney are in place between 23.00 and 06.00, which complicates scheduling, but these do not affect WSI. No details have yet been revealed about SIA’s proposed flight times. WSI will, no doubt, be hoping that this is the first of many international commitments to come.

While the traditional commute might have taken a hit from flexible working, parking restrictions and people eschewing car-ownership, drive-time radio is still speaking up around the world. Here, we round up three radio shows from across the globe whose hosts still drum up engagement and continue to reel in remarkable audience numbers.

‘Asia First’ at CNA938, Singapore
CNA938 is the radio station of Singapore’s multimedia news channel CNA. Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman, hosts of Asia First – the flagship English-language morning drive-time slot – take to the air at 07.00. As the station’s opening show, they set the tone for the day. Despite its news focus, the programme is conversational and, often, fun. “Growing up, drive-time radio was always on,” says Heng. “It was the type of thing that you listened to while sitting in the car with your dad as he took you to school. It was the time when you caught up with everything that happened around the world overnight.”

‘The DriveBack Show with Dana Darwish’ at Play 99.5, Jordan
For the past five years, Dana Darwish has been accompanying Amman residents on their afternoon commute as the host of Jordan’s top English-language radio station. It’s a demanding four-hour shift every Sunday to Thursday from 15.00 to 19.00. During that time, she expects to have multiple audiences, as the average car journey in Amman lasts just 20 minutes. Darwish is aware that the live-radio landscape is changing but she remains confident about the continued appetite for shows such as hers. “We’re in traffic, listening and chatting together,” says Darwish of the unique, live element of her shows. “It creates a community.”

‘Así las Cosas’ at W Radio, Mexico
Así las Cosas (“That’s the way it is”), presented by W Radio’s Gabriela Warkentin – an El País and Reforma columnist – is a show grounded in Mexico City that delivers the news without over-dramatising the region’s political events. The programme, which is on air between 07.00 and 10.00 every weekday, sets commuters up for work. In between discussion segments, the host plays upbeat Latin American music. Being one of the first voices to break domestic and international news has made Warkentin resilient. “During Mexico City’s large-scale earthquake in September 2017, W Radio kept broadcasting past midnight to try to spread information as effectively as possible,” she says. “Listeners were scared – and so was I.”

For our full report on drive-time radio shows from across the world, pick up a copy of Monocle’sSeptember issue, which is out now.

We explore the new film Sing Sing, which follows a group of incarcerated men taking part in the Rehabilitation Through the Arts theatre programme at a notorious prison. The film stars Colman Domingo alongside a cast largely made up of the programme’s former participants. Robert Bound sits down with director Greg Kwedar to find out more about the making of the extraordinary film.