Foreign Correspondent - Season 19 / Year 2026

Foreign Correspondent returns for 2026 with an episode from Denmark as NATO countries face their biggest security crisis since World War II.

For months the ABC's Europe correspondent Bridget Rollason has been tracking events in Denmark as it navigates security concerns over a "hybrid war" with Russia while at the same time dealing with the shocking threats made by one of its key allies – the United States.

For much of 2025 NATO member states experienced a wave of "hybrid" attacks creating havoc and fear, which have been pinned on Russia. NATO nations warned this was no Cold War, and that citizens should brace for conflict with Russia. Then, Donald Trump shook the alliance to its core with his renewed and aggressive demand for the Danish territory of Greenland, tearing up the rule book that has kept the alliance together. In this report Bridget has embedded with NATO exercises in the Baltic Sea where Russian submarines are active, visited army training camps in Denmark at a time when all women must register for possible combat when they turn 18 and spoken to high level interviewees in the defence and intelligence world to capture this profoundly consequential moment in history.

Switzerland's iconic mountains are truly one of the wonders of the world, famous for their dramatic snow-capped peaks. But the Swiss Alps are under threat, and in turn putting centuries old villages below them in grave danger.

The Alps are warming at twice the global average, placing them on Europe's frontline of climate change. Dozens of towns have been damaged, and one completely destroyed in catastrophic landslides. Foreign Correspondent travels through the Alps and up the glaciers with reporter Naomi Selvaratnam to see the problem first hand. The growing danger and mounting costs are producing climate refugees in one of the richest nations on earth. The question now for Swiss authorities is who gets to stay in the mountains, and at what cost.

Foreign Correspondent looks to Indonesia and the first year of President Prabowo Subianto in power.

A revolution is taking place in a key Australian ally and neighbour. Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has clocked up his first year in power and with incredible speed, he's nationalising and militarising his nation's economy to deliver on his promise of a self-reliant future for his nation.

On Foreign Correspondent Indonesia reporter Tim Swanston reports on the scale and cost of Prabowo's ambitious program. But there are some who are warning that in the process Indonesia is losing the democratic freedoms that were hard fought with the fall of the corrupt dictatorship of the former President Suharto.

Foreign Correspondent journalist Sandra Gathmann has teamed up with a Venezuelan crew to document how Venezuelans are reacting to the US is effectively running their economy.

When US President Donald Trump sent American troops to capture Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro and his wife, it quickly became clear the country's vast oil reserves were a major part of the strategy. Venezuela used to be one of the richest countries in the world, but decades of mismanagement damaged its oil industry and left most of the population living in poverty.

Now the US is effectively running the Venezuelan economy and is focused on reviving the country's oil industry. But who will be the beneficiaries?

On Foreign Correspondent, London-based Venezuelan journalist Sandra Gathmann has teamed up with a local Venezuelan crew to document how Venezuelans are reacting to these unprecedented events. Sandra also examines whether Donald Trump can deliver on his oil promise, who stands to gain, and what role Venezuela will play at a time of global oil turmoil.

Foreign Correspondent this week heads to Greece for a rather concerning problem...

Greece is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations – more than 30 million visitors travel there every year. But extraordinarily, Greece itself is in danger of running out of Greeks. The population is in freefall with predictions it will drop by twenty percent by 2050.

On Foreign Correspondent reporter Rhiannon Shine travels to the birthplace of her grandparents to see the problem first hand. Right across the country, ghost towns are becoming all too common. There are far more deaths than births, young people have left in droves and migration is deeply unpopular. If modern Greece can't solve its population problem, it's at risk of joining its ancient ancestors as a living museum.

When you think of big wave surfing, Hawaii, Portugal or Tahiti might come to mind. Very few would name Ireland as one of the world's hottest surfing destinations, let alone the sleepy seaside town of Mullaghmore. But in the depths of the Irish winter adventurous surfers from around the globe descend on this little village, braving the freezing North Atlantic swells to take on waves as big as multi-story buildings.

Foreign Correspondent's Sean Murphy is on a quest to capture the breathtaking and unique world of Irish surfing. There he explores how Ireland's identity is being reimagined through the rise of surf culture where the only religion that matters is sea and the waves have to be seen to be believed.

When a young Muslim American who called himself a democratic socialist was elected Mayor of New York City the world took notice. Zohran Mamdani is America's newest political star with an agenda to make his city affordable again.

Fiji is ground zero in the Pacific's drug crisis. Huge quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine are being trafficked through Fiji and on to Australia, fuelling a wave of addiction and corruption in the Fijian community.

From South America to the Solomon Islands, Foreign Correspondent reveals the tactics used by cartels to send eye-watering quantities of drugs across the Pacific. We go on the hunt for the "narco subs" used by drug lords.

On Foreign Correspondent Matthew Doran reports that Saudi Arabia's plans for the future have been thrown into jeopardy by war.

When the US and Israel decided to wage war against Iran, the Gulf States were caught unawares. As Iran launched unprecedented attacks on its neighbours, a period of regional stability and economic security came to an end. For Saudi Arabia, currently undergoing a major economic and social transformation, the war could not have come at a worse time.

On Foreign Correspondent, the ABC's Middle East reporter Matthew Doran has travelled to the Kingdom to see first-hand how Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is remaking itself. His plan is called Vision 2030 — a multi-trillion-dollar agenda to transform the Kingdom from a petrostate into an international powerhouse for tourism, technology, culture and trade.

Matthew made his first visit to the country before the war. He returned during an uneasy ceasefire to see whether Saudi Arabia's grand plans for the future have been thrown into jeopardy.

In India, marriage has become a $100 billion industry with families spending more on weddings than ever. But for many the pressure to spend big is becoming a financial burden as they grapple with the true price of love.