Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Mackenzie Arnold shot to fame in August of 2023 after the Matildas beat France 7-6 in the World Cup quarter final. She was the goal keeper during the nail-biting penalty shoot-out.

Daphne Caruana Galizia was car bombed in 2017. At the time, she was working on the Panama Papers, following a trail of corruption through high profile people in Malta.

History professor Kate Fullagar will present the 36th James Jervis Memorial Lecture for the Royal Australian Historical Society.

As kids across Australia prepare for their end of year exams having access to a laptop and the internet is key to success. But not all technology is created equal. Now there are moves to encourage Australian companies to donate their technology for free to students who are digitally disadvantaged.

Latinos are projected to make up 15% of voters in the US election, could they prove decisive in choosing the next President?

Since Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon on October 1st, UNIFIL claims that the IDF has fired on its positions on multiple occasions. 

This week's mystery caller gathers seeds from the ground in every state and territory – the Common Bronzewing.

Universally beloved UK comedian Bill Bailey shares anecdotes of his many interactions with animals from his new memoir and why 2003 was a turning point in his career. 

The Yolngu of north-east Arnhem Land created the Yirrkala Bark Petitions in 1963 in response to the Menzies government allowing bauxite mining on traditional lands.

Dr Jeffrey Kuhlman worked with former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama during his 13-year tenure in the White House. 

Children can react in unpredictable ways to anaesthesia used during surgery and some will suffer breathing problems. Anaesthetist Professor Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg has been recognised for her work in developing guidelines to identify children at risk.

It's been a rocky three months in power for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. 

This week's mystery caller makes a curious 'electric' sound across open country – the Brown Songlark.

Heather Ewart has been a familiar face and voice on the ABC for almost 50 years and in September she announced that she would be stepping back in 2025. 

In his best-selling books, veteran political analyst Jeff Greenfield considers how history, and the world today, would be different had historical events transpired in ways other than what really took place.

We speak with author and illustrator Sami Bayly to discuss the most fascinating, extinct and critically endangered animals in the natural world. 

Two major figures underpin our understanding of randomised clinical trials for the testing of new medicines: Thomas Bayes and Doug Altman.

Former Chief of Defence of the Netherlands, Tom Middendorp - AKA The Climate General - believes climate change is worsening global security issues. 

For many years, the United States was the only country that could bring constructive pressure to bear on both Israel and Arab states for peace. 

Can you guess this month's croaker?

John Silvester is one of Australia's best known crime reporters. He writes the Naked City column at The Age and hosts a podcast of the same name.

From a record-breaking wing-suit jump to hot air balloons in Myanmar and a young jet pilot, author Kathy Mexted tells the stories of Australian women who have taken to the skies in all sorts of different ways.

The long-held theory that the inhabitants of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) committed 'ecological suicide' has been debunked through genetic testing. 

A rare copy of the United States Constitution has been found in the U.S. An original ratification copy of the document from 237 years ago was discovered at a property in North Carolina by antiques appraiser, Ken Farmer.

Israeli journalist Amir Tibon tells the story of his family’s survival from the October 7 attack by Hamas on their community bordering Gaza, and of the deep public anger with the Netanyahu government over the failure to bring all the hostages home. 

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Louise Sauvage grew up in Western Australia and went on to be a nine-time Paralympic gold medallist. She was one of the first full time athletes for wheelchair racing.

Australian architects FJC Studio are shortlisted for a prestigious international award for their design of a new public library in Sydney. FJC Studio specialise in the design of public libraries, big and small.

Australia has a long and varied history of prison newspapers dating by to 1912 when The Compendium was established. 

Tech journalist Evan Ratliff creates an AI voice replica to use in everyday life.

One of England’s oldest football clubs, current champions Manchester City are facing more than a hundred charges for breaching Premier League financial regulations, in a behind-closed-doors inquiry. At worst they could be expelled from the Premier League. 

Counting is underway in Sri Lanka and results are expected on Sunday to decide who will take over the as the next president.

This week's mystery caller is one of Australia's most elusive birds – the Princess Parrot.

Samah Sabawi was the last member of her family to be born in Palestine. Days after her birth her father was exiled from the country. 

Gundungurra traditional owner Kazan Brown has won the 2024 History Council of NSW, First Nations History Award for her submission opposing the raising of the Warragamba Dam wall. The judges said Kazan went deep into her family history and demonstrated her family’s unbroken connection with the Burragorang Valley in the Blue Mountains, mobilising archaeological and environmental reports to support her claims. 

American voice over artists Paul Skye Lehrman and Linnea Sage were shocked to discover that their voices had been cloned and sold by an A.I. business without their knowledge and consent. 

The new footage will feature in an upcoming documentary about the secret service agent Clint Hill, who shielded the first couple en route to Parkland Memorial Hospital. 

China, the U.S. and Japan are all striving to rival the dominance of Taiwan and South Korea in one of the most critical industries of the 21st century.

How did the virus re-emerge 25 years after it was last seen in Gaza? 

Amid the 2024 super-cycle election year, there’s a global trend of dissatisfaction with elections. 

This week's mystery caller is found in diverse habitats across the south of Australia – the Grey Currawong.

Inspiring individuals talk about a pivotal moment in their personal histories. This week,  Phillip Thompson, Shadow Minister for Defence and Defence Personnel talks about an IED explosion that nearly killed him in Afghanistan in 2009. 

With the price of gold surging, interest in searching for nuggets and gold tourism has grown, helped by a series of prospecting shows on television

The United States has a long history of association between politicians and celebrities of all kinds, including many instances of celebrities becoming politicians. 

The Northern Bald Ibis, known as Waldrapp was hunted to the point of extinction hundreds of years ago. Now this migratory bird species is in recovery, with a breeding program for chicks, who are hand raised and taught their migration route by following human foster parents in an ultralight aircraft. 

Last week, over 3200 South Africans received free medical treatment on a Chinese military boat.

The move is widely seen as a way of distracting the public from an increasingly harsh crackdown on dissent following a disputed election in July in which Nicolas Maduro has claimed victory.

The Nobel Peace Conference in Oslo this week, with the theme of ‘Woman Life Freedom’, took place just days after the Taliban issued a ban on women in Afghanistan showing their faces in public, or singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public. 

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Thomas Mayo, one of the faces of the Yes campaign during The Voice referendum, started his career as a crane operator on a wharf. 

World renowned neuroscientist, writer and broadcaster, Baroness Susan Greenfield is giving a keynote address on 5 Sept at International Governance Leadership Conference 2024 in Melbourne, on the subject of Mind Change. She also discusses a potential early detection and treatment model for Alzheimers.

NASA’s planetary systems chief, Dr Luke Sollitt develops instrumentation for use on the Moon and other planets for future robotic missions, and he will be talking about mining in the coming space age at the “International Future Mining Conference” in Sydney.

Pennsylvania is the major prize for both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump as they campaign to be the next President of the United States. Ten of the past 12 presidential winners clinched Pennsylvania, which is the largest of the so-called swing states with almost 7 million voters and 19 electoral college votes. 

The outgoing Indonesian president’s attempt to position his sons in high office threatens to tarnish his reputation and his political legacy. 

Ukraine’s President will be taking a plan to Washington DC on how to end the war by forcing Russia to pursue a diplomatic solution. Kyiv Independent reporter Francis Farrell has been to the Russian area of Kursk, now occupied by Ukrainian forces, and has first-hand knowledge of the entrenched battles in the east of Ukraine. 

Elizabeth Lee is the first Asian Australian to lead a major political party in Australia. Born in South Korea, Elizabeth grew up in Western Sydney after migrating as a 7 year old. 

The Country Liberal Party has achieved a landslide victory in the Northern Territory overnight.

In 1972 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black candidate for a major-party to seek nomination for President of the United States. 

This week's tweeters are making a noise to celebrate ten years of Tweet of the Week.

Dr Helen Wolfenden is one of the scholars responsible for the creation of Australia's first autism-friendly TV and radio journalism course. The course built the foundation for the ABC's new series, 'The Assembly'. Guest: Helen Wolfenden, lecturer of radio and journalism at Macquarie University.

The aftershocks of a political fundraising scandal in Japan has disintegrated some of the most powerful factions within the ruling LDP party, which will have serious ramifications for the next election. Guest: Michael Cucek, adjunct professor of Asian Studies at Temple University in Japan.

NATO is transforming to respond to a range of growing threats and new challenges, including from Russia and its partnership with China, cyber and grey-zone attacks, climate change and energy transition. NATO is also growing its relationship with Australia, which faces a similar set of challenges. 

A rapid rise in the number of Mpox cases  and deaths in Africa has prompted the WHO to declare a public health emergency of  international concern. Is the international community underprepared to deal with this epidemic? 

This week's mystery caller displays its aerobatic skills right across Australia – the Tree Martin.

Ceu Lopes was part of the East Timorese resistance to Indonesian military rule and she set up the NGO Timor Aid, which has working on development projects in Timor Leste for the past 25 years.

American writer and podcaster Coleman Hughes argues the case for a colourblind approach to politics and culture, warning that the so-called ‘anti-racist’ movement is driving us toward a new kind of racism. 

The first major Australian documentary to chronicle the journey of the Voice referendum in 2023, as young Indigenous people embark on a 3,000 kilometre cross-country road trip to gather support for the Australian Indigenous Voice referendum. Guest: Semara Jose, co-founder and chair of Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good (DIYDG) and co-director of Voice.

Australian citizens were at the front of the push for humanitarian aid to what became Bangladesh in 1971 during it's independence war.

The long standing mystery of how Mars lost all of its water has been solved, with scientific research uncovering evidence of an enormous reservoir of water locked away deep in the planet’s crust. The discovery means there is fresh hope of finding some form of alien life on Mars. Guest: Dr Vashan Wright - Associate Professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego

Elon Musk’s interview with Donald Trump highlights his willingness to use his X platform to meddle in the politics of a number of countries including the U.S., the U.K., Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela.Guest: John Lee Anderson, journalist and author of 'Elon Musk’s Surging Political Activism'.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Amongst the laundry list of careers he's had - teacher, editor, farmer, fisherman, barman, archaeological site worker and fencing contractor - Bruce Pascoe has published 38 books.In 2014, his book Dark Emu made headlines for suggesting Australia’s Indigenous food cultures went beyond merely hunter-gathering. The media storm that followed brought chaos to both his professional and personal life.Guest: Bruce Pascoe, author and enterprise professor at the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystems at University of Melbourne.

In 2021, Andrew Hamilton was the owner of a pizza restaurant and engaged to be married, when he was arrested on drug trafficking charges and sent to prison. 

Afghanistan is experiencing a mini tourism boom with tourist numbers growing since the Taliban regained control in 2021. One company is arranging women-only tours to Afghanistan. 

The US has removed its military forces from its two surveillance bases in Niger after the breakdown of their 11-year military agreement. The bases served to monitor terrorism activity in the area. Guest: Olayinka Ajala, lecturer in politics and international relations at Leeds Beckett University, consultant trainer for the UK Ministry of Defence and lead panel analyst on ‘Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa’.

Christian nationalism has emerged as a foundation of Donald Trump’s support base as he seeks to re-enter the White House. Christian nationalists believe that Christians are the only true Americans and that the Church should be involved in government. 

The Olympic Games are fast approaching the finishing line with focus in Paris turning to the closing ceremony. What does it take - other than Tom Cruise - to stage a memorable farewell to the Olympics? 

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Kerryn Phelp's life has been marked by many firsts: first person in her family to complete high school, first female doctor reporting on health issues on Australian TV, first same-sex couple to publicly talk about marriage equality and same sex parenting in Australia. But for Kerryn, the year she became the first woman and LBGTQIA+ person to be elected President of the Australian Medical Association held special significance. Guest: Dr Kerryn Phelps, former AMA president, former federal MP, GP, and health communicator.

Landscape architect Richard Weller, author of To The Ends of the Earth: A Grand Tour for the 21st Century, reflects on the idea that humanity is the first species in evolutionary history to self-consciously design a planet. Guest: Professor Richard Weller, former Chair of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania.

Aussie baseballer Travis Bazzana has made history, becoming the first Australian to be the number one draft pick in U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB). 

Democratic Party attacks have prompted Donald Trump to distance himself from the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation and its controversial Project 2025 “Mandate for Leadership 2025”, much of it written by former Trump administration officials.Guest: Zachary Albert is Assistant Professor of Politics at Brandeis University and the author of a forthcoming book 'Partisan Policy Networks' which looks at trends in America’s think tank ecosystem. 

As the Middle East teeters on the brink of another war between Israel and Lebanon, new research by Arab Barometer reveals relatively few Lebanese people support Hezbollah, despite its significant influence throughout the country.  

A parliamentary inquiry into the events during the floods in 2022 in Victoria has found that not all the damage done was caused by nature alone. 73 findings and 90 recommendations have been made regarding planning systems and the effects of the built environment, as well as community resilience. Guest: Dr Margaret Moreton, executive director of Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience.

Instead of a tweeter, can you guess this week's croaker?

Richard Gosling went from being a public servant who didn’t really like his job, to a funeral director, a job he loves and has written about in his memoir.

Inspiring individuals talk about a pivotal moment in their personal histories. This week, the first Indigenous woman to be elected to the federal House of representatives, Linda Burney

Julian Eltinge was one of the highest paid vaudeville performers of the 1920s.With his naturalistic style of drag performance he was called the greatest female impersonator in theatrical history. Guest: Andrew Erdman documents the life of Eltinge in his latest book 'Beautiful: The Story of Julian Eltinge, America’s Greatest Female Impersonator'. The links to Andy's website and Instagram are here.

The Centre for Women and Politics says women have out numbered and out voted men in the US for over 40 years and they tend to vote Democrat.

In 2014 the Islamic State group, ISIS, tried to wipe out the Yazidi population of Sinjar, selling women and girls as slaves. 

Australian screen legend and First Nations advocate, Jack Thompson will deliver the 23rd Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture at Charles Darwin University next month.

Baroness Louise Casey led the 2023 review into the standards of behaviour and internal culture at the Metropolitan Police Service in the UK. 

A surge of enthusiasm and fund raising has boosted the morale of the Democratic Party campaign but the critical tests for Kamala Harris will be in a handful of critical swing states. 

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

81 year old Ruth Wilson recently received a Kings Birthday honour for services to hot air ballooning. 

A delegation of Australian officials is heading to the Paris Olympics to brief the IOC on preparations for the 2032 Games which will be held across south east Queensland. 

Professor Tamas Wells has a PhD in Burmese politics, and works at Melbourne University’s School of Social and Political Sciences.

 Peter Magyar was a prominent member of the ruling Fidesz Party for many years, but he jumped ship in order to contest the European Parliament elections in June, where his party won 30% of the vote in Hungary, putting Viktor Orban on notice. 

Refugee Roundup :  

Following the attempted assassination of Republican candidate Donald Trump, conservative media commentators have criticised Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and female secret service agents assigned to Mr Trump, for not doing enough to protect him.

The world’s largest conference on HIV/AIDS is being held in Munich Germany this week.  While AIDS deaths have declined worldwide there’s been an increase in the number of people living with HIV, around 39 million people and more than half are women and girls.

Fresh from surviving an assassin's bullet, Donald Trump has triumphed at the Republican National Convention with his selection of JD Vance as his running mate and heir apparent and the adoption of a new party platform, which has been heavily influenced by Make America Great Again ideology and policy. Is the Trump takeover of the Republican party now complete?

Can you guess this week's tweeter? 

At the age of 28 Stephanie Smith became one of this country’s trade leaders, when she was appointed Australia's Trade and Investment Commissioner and head of education for Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In June she was named as the winner of the Young Leader category in the AFR’s Women in Leadership awards. This young diplomat credits two love stories for her rise at such a young age, her love for China, and her childhood sweetheart.

More women are having children later in life or not at all, according to the latest OECD Society at a Glance report.  

One in three women in Australia will experience anxiety during their lifetime, and women are twice as likely as men to experience depression and four times as likely to experience anxiety. The Hush Foundation brought together women mental health patients, and renowned Australian composers, to inspire an album of piano compositions, called Seeking Solace.

The giant monitor lizards are scavengers and help get rid of any dead animals which leads to some interesting benefits for other species in the area. But the number of heath goannas is declining and there’s hope they will benefit from a project to restore southern Yorke Peninsula’s landscape by returning locally-extinct species. Guest: Tom Jameson, lead author of a paper on heath goannas and carcass removal.

Thailand's newly elected senate has been approved by the country's electoral commission, after being delayed due to an investigation into complaints of an undemocratic process. The outgoing military-appointed senate reached the end of its five-year term in May 2024. The courts in Thailand have also set the next hearing dates for several cases involving high-profile politicians.Guest: Kevin Hewison, the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Contemporary Asia and Professor of Asian Studies at the University of North Carolina

In a victory for peoples’ power, the Kenyan President William Ruto has sacked his Cabinet in the face of ongoing nationwide anti corruption protests that have left more than 40 people dead.

He is shut off from the outside world. Locked inside a makeshift jail in north Syria for the past five years, Hamza doesn’t even know who the Prime Minister is. This Australian citizen is one of thousands of suspected ISIS members imprisoned with no charges. 

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

The latest research and clinical developments for people with Downs Syndrome will be discussed at the World Down Syndrome Congress in Brisbane from July 9-11. Emily Caska also discusses the situation in Australia for people with disability who need an organ transplant.

Charlotte Woodward is a young woman with Down syndrome who has had four open-heart surgeries and a lifesaving heart transplant. 

Dr Billy Garvey has spent his 20-year career working with children - from newborn babies to 17-year-olds - addressing mental health issues and behavioural problems. He says he's never met a child in his clinic who has been too difficult to help. As it becomes increasingly hard to find available paediatricians, Dr Billy has consolidated a list of things he wishes parents knew about addressing these mental health issues at home. Guest: Dr Billy Garvey, developmental paediatrician and author of 'Ten things I wish you knew about your child's mental health'. You can find his podcast here. His social enterprise is called Guiding Growing Minds.

Imagine attending a funeral, and right in the middle of the eulogy, a well dressed 6ft tall, stranger interrupts and says he has a message from the person in the coffin. 

Of all the death and destruction in Ukraine caused by Russia’s bombing, the story of the eastern city of Mariupol stands out. Human Rights Watch conducted a 2 year investigation into the siege of the city, to gather evidence of war crimes and to capture as much as possible of what was destroyed. It estimated eight thousand people were killed in Mariupol. 

NATO’s 75th anniversary summit this week comes as political upheaval in Europe and the United States could affect the NATO alliance support for Ukraine. Some want to move on bringing Ukraine into the NATO. 

The US Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity has thrown all the prosecutions against Donald Trump and others involved in the January 6 insurrection into doubt, and it has exposed the depth of the divide on the Supreme Court bench. 

Sometimes they’re armed with a chainsaw, sometimes a bottle of poison, and often they’re operating in broad daylight. So why is it so hard to catch Sydney’s tree killers?

Over the past 20 years Jessica Brown has changed the course of hundreds of young women’s lives for the better. The charities she founded, SISTER2sister and Warrior Woman Foundation, support young women at risk through pairing with older, successful women role models.

Instead of a tweeter, can you guess this week's croaker?

Zak Grieve spent more than 12 years in a Northern Territory prison, convicted and sentenced for a murder he wasn’t there for. 

Analysis of 7 million speeches shows politicians’ language is less complex on hot days. Scientists at the Max Planck institute for demographic research have been researching the impact that warmer weather can have on our cognitive abilities, using an interesting metric: parliamentary speeches.

The Maryborough Mary Poppins festival started as an annual high tea held by the Proud Mary's - a group formed in 1999 of women from around the world, all called Mary. 

As co-host of the T20 World Cup, USA made cricket history, and then what the BBC called “one of the biggest shocks in cricket history” by beating the traditional cricket powerhouse Pakistan. And it was an Australian, Stuart Law, who coached TeamUSA to its best ever cricketing performance. 

Danielle Wood is the overall winner of The Australian Financial Review Women in Leadership Awards for her contributions to economic policy and a preparedness to take an unpopular position in key national debates.

The first coercive control laws in Australia come into force in NSW from Monday, July 1st.

Daniel Duggan’s career was spent pushing warplanes to their limits. Now the United States wants him extradited from Australia and prosecuted for conspiracy. The Australian pilot says he innocent, and believes he’s a pawn in the geopolitical contest between the US and China.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Born into a war and forced to spend her childhood in refugee camps, our guest this week reflects on what it felt like to finally return to her country, South Sudan. Yolanda earned a scholarship and was able to move to Canada where she obtained a degree in psychology and a masters in conflict analysis and management before returning to assist with South Sudan's first election in 2011.   Now the Minister for Health, she is determined to improve outcomes in the world’s youngest country. 

A new book investigates the experience of seeking an abortion after the fall of Roe v. Wade, and the life-threatening consequences for some people.

Peter McIndoe and Connor Gaydos are the people behind the conspiracy 'Birds Aren't Real'. 

The upcoming election is set to be one of the most significant elections in the Mongolia's history. 

A RIBA award is one of the highest accolades a building can receive, and at 23 years in the making this mosque in the Sydney suburb of punchbowl has waited a long time for recognition. We hear from the Greek orthodox architect who wasn’t even sure he'd take on the project in the first place. 

As cases of bird flu in mammals surge, and central Africa experiences an outbreak of Mpox, a new report for the WHO says the lack of preparation has left the world vulnerable to a devastating new pandemic. 

Olivia went on Australia’s biggest show to find love. She came out as Australia's "most hated" reality TV star, and lost almost everything.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Srdja is the executive director of the Centre for Applied Non-Violent Actions and Strategies which trains pro-democracy activists from all over the world. In 2000, he led the Serbian non-violent organisation Otpor! that helped overthrow President Slobodan Milošević.Guest: Srdja Popovic, author of Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World.

How many people can say that they’ve called in the marines to help carry out their scientific research? 13 volunteer Marines from the Hellenic Armed Forces donned 3500-year-old armour and ran drills and simulated battles inspired by Homer’s Iliad, to solve a mystery that's been puzzling archaeologists for decades. 

The explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on 28 January 1986 is an event seared into the memory of people all over the world. In a new book,  Adam Higginbotham gives a compelling account of how, in his words, America’s “smartest minds … unwittingly sent seven men and women to their deaths.” One of those women, famously, was Christa McAuliffe who was supposed to become the first Teacher in Space. 

In the past two weeks a tit-for-tat balloon offensive has broken out on the Korean peninsula. Activists in the south are sending balloons with anti-Pyongyang messages, and the North is responding with balloons carrying garbage and animal faeces. 

 Healthy democracies need viable opposition parties, to hold governments to account and to offer alternative policy and intellectual positions. But opposition can also be a thankless task. New book, ‘The Art of Opposition’ studies Australian oppositions across all federal and state jurisdictions. 

It was the infamous Royal prank call that shattered lives. One woman took her own life; another is haunted to this day. Reporter Rachael Cusick investigates - how did a joke go so wrong?

Hungarian filmmaker Gábor Reisz's new film 'Explanation for Everything' explores the cultural cracks in Hungarian society exacerbated by polarisation and nationalism.He tells the story of a complicated teenage love triangle: Abel, a high school student hopelessly in love with his best friend Janka. But she has her own unrequited love with married history teacher Jakab, who has had previous confrontation with Abel's conservative father. The tensions of a polarisedsociety come unexpectedly to the surface when Abel’s history graduationexam turns into a national scandal.Guest: Gábor Reisz, director of 'Explanation for Everything' (2024).

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Because of his sexuality, Brian Aliganyira - a Ugandan man - lost his media career. He’s been attacked, run off the road, and had his health clinic raided. 

A new documentary directed by Ron Howard features the life and work of Muppet mastermind, Jim Henson. As part of 'Idea Man' , the Wilkins and Wontkins commercials that were previously thought to be lost have been recovered.

The resilience of Ukrainian art and culture, past and present, is on display at Monash University, in an exhibition called ‘Hoping Against Hope’, featuring the work of major Ukrainian poets and artists.Guest: Emeritus Professor Marko Pavlyshyn & Monash curator Dr Anne Holloway

The resilience of Ukrainian art and culture, past and present, is on display at Monash University, in an exhibition called ‘Hoping Against Hope’, featuring the work of major Ukrainian poets and artists.Guest: Emeritus Professor Marko Pavlyshyn & Monash curator Dr Anne Holloway

Indonesia has the highest crocodile attack rate in the world, largely due to the proliferation of illegal tin mines. But a lack of a data for remote areas means many attacks go undocumented.Guest: Brandon Sideleau, wildlife biologist and founder of CrocAttack - a worldwide database tracking incidents between humans and crocs.

As China extends its influence in the Pacific, Papua New Guinea finds itself in a uniquely challenging position; caught between allies and desperate to avoid further conflict. 

Sebastien Lai, son of pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, tells the story of his father's extraordinary life.

On the outskirts of Dubai there is a secret scam factory, where hundreds of employees smoke, eat, and pretend to be glamorous women — but one has a secret plan to shut it all down.

There's a saying that every good story needs a bad guy. 

Andy McConnell has been the glass specialist for the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow for the better part of two decades

"A prolific writer and essayist”, Charmian Clift was a household name in the 1960s

Designing spaces with the end-of-life journey in mind facilitates connection and community for those in palliative care. Melbourne Design Week's 'Design + Death Symposium' explores how we can live a good life, right up until we die. 

To most, Lin Rui-siang appeared to be a hardworking early career programmer and cyber security expert working for the Taiwanese embassy in St Lucia. But on May 18th he was arrested at JFK by US homeland security. The 23-year-old is thought to be the mastermind king pin ‘Pharaoh’, the creator and operator of one of the dark web's most notorious online drug marketplaces. Over the past few years Lin is accused of overseeing the sale of millions of dollars’ worth of illicit substances and eventually even using the site to steal from and extort his clientele.  But who is this mysterious alleged cyber-criminal, and how was he able to present such a respectable face to the world? 

Rwandan  President Paul Kagame is determined to silence his critics, anywhere in the world.

Since it's debut in Sydney back in 2019, Suzie Miller's play Prima Facie has gone on to scoop Olivier and Tony awards alike after sold-out runs in the West End and on Broadway. But the impact of the piece hasn't stopped there, we spoke to Suzie about how her work is inspiring tangible changes in the ways that sexual assault cases are handled. 

How the Commonwealth Bank tried to stop a royal commission by using dirt files, intimidation, threats and surveillance against whistleblowers and journalists. Reporter Adele Ferguson investigates.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Australian trailblazer Rebecca Johnson is chief scientist at the Smithsonian Museum and before that she made history as the first female science director at the Australian Museum’s since it was founded in 1827.  But to find out about the year that made her, we go back to Johnson’s teenage years, and her dreams of being a dancer.

Digital rights non-profit Access Now have released their annual report on global internet shutdowns, reporting the worst year on record. Incidences of shutdowns combined with human rights abuses and violence are on the rise, we ask what can be done to curb this growing concern.

Mavis Ripper was once hailed as Australia’s first woman of fashion, designing costumes for Australian films, and pioneering the use of Australian wool for her designs. So why is it that not one of Ripper’s designs or costumes is known to exist today? Social archivist and curator Tom McEvoy is still searching and will give an address about Mavis Ripper to the Sydney Fair antique next weekend.

British writer and former US correspondent Matt Frei will explore the question, Can America be saved from itself? in this year’s Christopher Hitchens Lecture at the Hay Festival.

Why is Georgia's new "foreign agents" transparency bill cause for concern?The President of Georgia has vetoed the bill, but the ruling Georgian Dream party are planning to overrule her decision in a final parliamentary vote.The bill has been called "inherently Russian".Guest: Eka Gigauri, executive director at Transparency International Georgia.

Dr Thuli Madonsela is the woman who drafted South Africa's constitution in 1994, and headed the investigation into then-President Jacob Zuma's alleged corruption.With South Africa's elections coming up on May 29th, Madonsela weighs in on how far the country has come since 1994.Guest: Dr Thuli Madonsela, former Public Protector of South Africa, and current Chair of Social Justice at Stellenbosch University.

This week marks 25 years since the restoration of a Scottish Parliament and the devolution of limited powers from Westminster. But with the ruling Scottish Nationalist Party engulfed in leadership chaos, the country  - and the push by many Scots for full independence - stands at a crossroads. 

Three dead dolphins turn up in an oil spill.

Ro Allen is Victoria’s Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner . 

Tracey Slaughter's latest prize-winning personal essay is told from her perspective growing up on the floor of her mother's hair salon, listening to the stories of women.

A.J. Jacobs has made a career out of experimenting on himself and one of the regular results of his experiments is long stints in the New York Times bestseller list.

Ecologists are calling for a re-evaluation of the purpose of the dingo fence that sits on the Queensland / New South Wales / South Australia border.

-A British government inquiry is looking into the “unspeakable and unimaginable brutality and sadism” of Nazi concentration camps during the German occupation of the Channel Island of Alderney in WW2.

Deep in the jungles of Indonesian Borneo live a group of critically endangered Orangutans. Though their populations are threatened,  their booming ‘long calls’ can still be heard for kilometres. But what exactly are they saying? Orangutan calls are exceptionally variable and notoriously difficult to de-code, but that hasn’t stopped a team of researchers from Cornell university from trying.

The images and reporting from inside Gaza are almost exclusively the work of local journalists

"Simone" arrived on a remote island to help asylum seekers. But she witnessed something there that convinced her to leak over 2000 documents. Reporters Paul Farrell and Maddison Conaughton investigate what happened.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

The 2023 Ocean Photographer of the Year grew up in a family completely disconnected from nature. She was raised in inland China. Her parents are both lawyers who enjoy Mahjong as their main hobby, rather than adventuring into the wilderness.

As Eurovision maintains its apolitical alignment amid the Gaza conflict, viewers are turning to forms of micro-boycotting to express their displeasure.

Tamsin Mather has been studying volcanoes for over 20 years, her work as a professor of Earth sciences at the University of Oxford has taken her across the globe chasing eruptions and monitoring gas plumes to study their impacts on the earth’s atmosphere. Her new book Adventures in Volcanoland: What Volcanoes Tell Us About the World and Ourselves takes us along with her, exploring humanity's complex relationship with these fiery giants through history, art and science. The book charts a course from the rock beneath our feet to the atmosphere above us and even beyond to extraterrestrial volcanoes on distant exoplanets.

Indonesia has an estimated 700 shipwrecks submerged in its waters, some dating back as far as the 9th century, and many have ben plundered over the years by commercial salvagers and treasure hunters. The “Reuniting Orphaned Cargos” project sees archaeologists in Australia and Indonesia trying to get to the bottom of what happened these thousands of artefacts retrieved from the bottom of the ocean, by trying to trace them back to specific shipwrecks. 

Raoul Wallenberg and Per Anger saved thousands of Hungarian Jews by issuing them fake Swedish identification papers and established safe houses under protection of Swedish legation in Budapest. This year, on the 80th anniversary of the deportations in Hungary, Per Anger’s son Jan Anger spoke about the story at a Yom Hashoah event “Behind the Swedish rescue of Budapest’s Jews” at an event at Sydney Jewish Museum.

On the final day of the Melbourne Writers festival 2024, Leslie Jamison tells us about her unflinching memoir Splinters.  Exploring motherhood, art and new love, she deploys the powerful thinking, scorching honesty and magnetic prose that made The Empathy Exams and The Recovering instant classics.

Paul Pritchard suffered a catastrophic accident while rock climbing in Tasmania 26 years ago.

When patients start unexpectedly dying at a regional hospital, nurse Toni Hoffman takes a big risk to blow the whistle on a negligent surgeon. But years later, it's still unclear why she was ignored for so long. Reporter Brigid Andersen investigates.

Can you identify this week's tweeter? 

Marco Renai's work mentoring at risk young men has seen him recognised as Queensland’s Australian of the Year 2024. His secondary school provides free meals, emotional support and education to boys who are struggling to engage in mainstream schools.

As conflicts rage on across the globe, we’re seeing an alarming number of unchecked innovations in modern warfare. Should we be concerned that it isn't always a human finger on the trigger?  This week at the Vienna Conference on Autonomous Weapons Systems experts came together to assess the need for tighter constraints.

Drawing from 8 years working in education, interviews with dealers, users, police, ex students and teachers Author Murray Middleton paints a vivid picture of Melbourne’s inner west. No Church in the Wild is the latest novel by the award-winning author and lauded chronicler of Australian life.

In 2017 Grace Karskens stumbled across an extraordinary manuscript: a handwritten list created in 1829 of 178 Aboriginal place names for Dyarubbin and Ganangdayi, also known as the Hawkesbury and Macdonald Rivers in New South Wales. A team of Darug researchers, educators, linguists, artists, geologists and archaeologists have successfully relocated many of these names and produced a Story Map.

Frogs are often considered 'canaries in the coalmine' for ecosystems. In winter of 2021, Australia's frogs began dying in alarmingly high numbers. In a world first, new research has found rodenticide in frogs. The research was the culmination of a large citizen science project.

Kathy Jackson was once heralded as a revolutionary who shone a bright spotlight on union corruption but she too was later found to be a fraudster who had misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars in union members' money. So who was the man responsible for blowing the whistle on her? Reporter Annika Blau investigates.

When an electoral officer helps police arrest a popular politician, her life begins to unravel. Her boss would spend more than a decade in prison, but she loses her job, and is even eventually admitted to a mental health institution. Now she’s asking: could he have been stopped earlier? Reporter Tynan King investigates.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Since Michael Brosowski launched it 21 years ago, the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation in Vietnam has rescued around two-and-a-half thousand people who’d been trafficked into forced labour, brothels and more recently scamming operations.

In 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French military, was falsely accused of selling secrets to Germany.  Over the next five years, Dreyfus languished in prison on Devil’s Island while his wife and brother waged a battle to clear his name that divided France and riveted the world. A new biography of the central figure in the Dreyfus Affair is focused on the man himself and based on newly accessible documents.

There's been an unexpected intersection of AI ethics and a feud between rappers. It's happened in the latest outbreak of a long-running dispute between two of the biggest names in rap, Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

Bird flu or H5N1 has expanded its reach across new species and regions over the last 2 years and scientists are concerned about the implications of infections in dairy cows, seals, and humans. Australia is the only region not yet affected by the strain, but could it reach our shores if things continue on this trajectory?

The election in the Solomon Islands did not determine a governing party, so there will be an extended period of horse trading between parties and  individuals, viewed by many as a corrupt process, to decide the next government.

In the lead-up to the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28, the International Labour Organisation has released a global report on the impact of climate change on worker safety. The report offers what’s described as “critical evidence” about “six key impacts of climate change” on worker safety.

What happens when a person blows the whistle on wrongdoing? 

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Recognised as Victoria’s Senior Australian of the Year 2024 for her work in animal advocacy, Glenys Oogjes shares her journey from Animal’s Australia’s first employee all the way to becoming the organisation’s CEO. 

In the late 7th century, silver coinage started to be used in north-west Europe, transforming the economies of the time.But where did the silver in the coins come from? New research says the answer is Byzantine silver treasure and a mine in France.

In his latest book, Engineers of Human Souls: Four Writers Who Changed Twentieth Century Minds, author and former arts editor of New Scientist magazine, Simon Ings has focused on four writers: French nationalist Maurice Barre; Italian poet and muse for Mussolini’s fascism, Gabriele D’Annunzio; Maxim Gorky who was very close to Stalin; and Maoist writer Ding Ling.

The International Society for Humor Studies held its annual conference in Texas and one of the papers that caught the eye was, “How funny is ChatGPT?”. The answer seems to be, funnier than people, at least according Drew Gorenz, a PhD student at the University of Southern California and the man behind the data on whether artificial intelligence comes up with better jokes than folks. 

What does 30 years of satellite data from Antarctica and the Arctic sound like? Japanese composer and Geoscientist Hiroto Nagai combined his two passions to create a moving ‘musification’ of recordings that plot a changing climate at the poles. 

25 April 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the water crisis in the US city of Flint, Michigan.The health emergency still has ramifications to this day.But what was the cause? And has justice been done?Guest: Dr Benjamin Pauli, associate professor of social science at Kettering University and author of Flint Fights Back: Environmental Justice and Democracy in the Flint Water Crisis.

At this week’s World Energy Congress in Rotterdam, one of the themes will be  clean energy security for First Nations communities. Communities in Canada  have been adversely affected over many years by fossil fuel industry projects, while remote communities in Australia deal with unreliable and often dirty power sources. They’re all feeling the effects of climate change.

A woman has lost the ability to speak and is forced to communicate by blinking. From her hospital bed she tries to blink out a request, but hospital staff refuse to help.Background Briefing can reveal that similar situations are playing out in many public health facilities across Australia, as patients pursue their legal right to die, and healthcare workers say "no".

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Queensland sheep farmer David Elliott's dinosaur bones discoveries have  reinvigorated Australian palaeontology.

Six universities in China have jumped into the top 10 rankings of world universities in terms of scientific impact, and it happened without those institutions changing what they do.

An antidote to your digital diet, Deyan Sudjic’s book The Analogue Field Guide takes the reader on a tour of forgotten treasures of the analogue world. Exploring how technological advances have shaped society and culture and why some beloved inventions stand the test of time.

The State library of Western Australia next week launches its new exhibition uncovering the forgotten history of the cameleers in the state. Often referred to as 'the Afghan Cameleers', this incredibly diverse community, their stories and nationalities have at times been simplified into 'fake' stereotypes.

Lithuania's Deputy Minister of National Defence, Greta Monika Tučkutė, was a keynote speaker at the tenth Cybertech Global Conference during the week, where she spoke about "Building Virtual Fortresses".

Since the start of the year, Belarusian security forces have arrested and detained hundreds of people for expressing opposition to the Lukashenko regime in various ways, including donations to help the 1400 political prisoners in jail, which include 171 women

This week reporter and Dharawal woman Brooke Fryer goes inside a program that's helping violent men turn their lives around.

Recognised as WA’s Australian of the Year 2024, Mechelle Turvey represents a truly inspirational response to the cruellest of circumstances. Mechelle called for calm and unity in the wake of her 15-year-old son Cassius’ death, which stirred an outpouring of grief and anger from the indigenous community and beyond.  She now works with the police department in Perth to stamp out ‘robo-cop attitudes’ and to prevent other parents from ever experiencing what she’s been through.

Multi-award-winner, legally deaf and master story-teller Lara Ricote brings her comedy show to the Melbourne festival

Financial abuse is experienced by a striking 16% of Australian women and 7% of men. This kind of controlling and coercive behaviour often hides in the shadow of other types of domestic or family abuse  but can have devastating and long lasting impacts on victims lives. 

Can you guess this week's Tweeter? 

Data linking fasting diets to increased cardiovascular death have raised eyebrows across the research community and caught the attention of the media. But is this alarming research or simple an alarming headline? Clare Collins, laureate professor of nutrition and dietetics at the University of Newcastle, joins us to explore the research and the science behind intermittent fasting.

No longer limited to highly-paid executives, non-compete provisions have recently affected a diverse array of workers including breakdancing instructors, carers, and boilermakers.

The president of Argentina has promised  to close the country’s central bank, replace the peso with the US dollar, and take a chainsaw to public spending by cutting tens of thousands of public service jobs.

The first 6 months of the war in Gaza has seen an unprecedented number of local aid workers killed

He left a trail of defect-riddled apartment buildings across Sydney and debts exceeding $600m to his creditors.

Can you guess this week's Tweeter? 

Methodist minister Jim Colville set up Colony 47 in a vacant church, to provide for those in need who were shunned by the church

Four men have been charged with terrorism by a Russian court, after allegedly attacking a Moscow Concert Hall, and killing 137 people.

Elon Musk's Neuralink is in the headlines again as newly released footage shows quadriplegic participant using the device to play a game on online chess. But is the company as ahead of the curve as their marketing suggests? We check in on the Australian Neurotechnology scene.

The National Gallery of Australia has started sharing iconic pieces from its national collection, with regional art galleries.

Geneticist Marlena Fejzo lost a baby due to extreme morning sickness during her pregnancy, so she set out to find the gene behind HG

On 14 March, Bassirou Diomaye Faye was released after almost a year in prison - then on 24 March he was elected President of Senegal - the day before his 44th birthday.

Ruby's barely a teenager, and already she's become a champion bull rider. She's also had eight concussions and multiple brain bleeds. Reporter Tynan King investigates how this extreme sport became her obsession — even as it threatens her life.

Inspiring individuals talk about a pivotal moment in their personal histories. This week, SBS football journalist Lucy Zelić.

Ashley Kalagian Blunt is a Canadian-Australian author who literally wrote the book on How to be Australian, as well as writing a crime fiction novel and a book about the Armenian genocide.

As a child growing up in rural Nepal, Som Tamang experienced poverty and child slavery. Today, as an adult he has provided the opportunity for other rural children in Nepal, especially girls, to go to school

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

The federal and Northern Territory governments have announced an extra $1 billion for public schools in the state.

'Portraiture. Power. Influence.' is the title of Ralph Heimans' first major exhibition in his home country and it’s just opened at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. The Australian painter reflects on his time captured the likeness and telling the stories of National treasures and international royalty alike. 

Berlin's Techno Culture has just been added to UNESCO’s Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage

The Amazon forests are drying out year by year and this year there's a record number of wildfires

Frances Haugen exposed the fact that Facebook knew from its own internal research that it amplifies hate, misinformation and political unrest.

There are only two witnesses to Brad Balzan's final moments: the two officers who chased him into his backyard. But their accounts of what happened don't match up.

Can you guess this week's Tweeter? 

After 7 years in a Thai jail and another 5 years in a WA jail, Holly Deane Johns has turned her life around in a remarkable way.

A "coven of hilarious badass feminists who use humor" to bring the conversation about women's reproductive rights into unexpected places.

The UN WHO rates Antimicrobial Resistance — or AMR — as "one of the top global public health threats facing humanity".

What happened, who it happened to, and the question of why there aren't more stories about it are addressed in a new BBC podcast.

Should Australia be concerned about Directive 24? 

More than 300 people, largely women and children are missing in northern Nigeria, after being abducted.

As the investigation into Bradley Balzan's death continues, serious questions are raised about how the country’s largest police force uses its search powers.

Sam Bailey, a then-19-year-old jackaroo, became a quadriplegic as a result of a car crash in the Northern Territory in 1987.

In September 2023, comedian Nathasha Edirisooriya received 39 days in jail for a joke about Buddhism at a gig.

Tasmania was the destination for hundreds of people deported from mainland Australia as criminals in the country's convict era.

Die Redaktion is a unique collaboration between Vienna's  Volkstheatre and Austrian investigative start-up, Dossier

Fred Cobbo, Wakka Wakka Traditional Owner tells the story of the co-design process that brought the community closer together.

Robotically enhanced jellyfish could be the answer to our unexplored oceans

Around one million Russians left their country because of opposition to the war in Ukraine. How are they doing? 

Portugal is holding its second election in two years, after the Prime Minister stepped down amid corruption allegations.

If you've been wondering where we've been – Ockham's Razor is going on hiatus for a little while.But don't worry, we've got your pod needs covered with Tegan Taylor's other excellent and informative shows, Quick Smart and What's That Rash?Find more episodes of Tegan's podcasts here:Quick SmartWhat's That Rash?Presenter:Tegan TaylorProducer:Tegan Taylor, Rose KerrSound engineer:Bethany Stewart

Brad Balzan is shot dead in his own backyard after a police encounter goes wrong. In episode two of Stop and Search, a new mini-series by Background Briefing, reporter Paul Farrell asks why was he running away, and why did the officers chase him down?

Inspiring individuals talk about a pivotal moment in their personal histories.

Can you guess this week's Tweeter? 

Journalist and literary critic Helen Elliott has written a memoir about the years that made her, growing up in the suburbs of Melbourne.

First Nations actor Chenoa Deemal has won a Matilda Award for 'Best Performance in a Leading Role’

David Bellos and Alex Montagu take on the history and future of copyright in their new book 'Who Owns This Sentence?'.

After Aussie researcher takes home the trophy this year, we speak to the founder of the Dance your PhD Competition. 

Australian's are paying more out of pocket than ever before to see a GP,  where did things go wrong? 

Julian speaks to Indian poet, writer and activist Meena Kandasamy

What precedent does the Queensland judgement set for other lawsuits, and for the imposition of future vaccine mandates?

A 20-year-old is chased by four plain-clothes police officers into his western Sydney backyard.

Nigerian journalist Fisayo Soyombo is a 'seeker, digger & teller of hidden stories; a three-time winner of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting  

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Nigerian journalist Philip Obaji’s fearless investigations shone a light on the crimes of Boko Haram and the Russian Wagner mercenaries in Africa

Nigerian journalist Philip Obaji’s fearless investigations shone a light on the crimes of Boko Haram and the Russian Wagner mercenaries in Africa

Mines and unexploded ordnance have contaminated much of Ukraine's grain growing areas

As a well known third place, libraries are having to handle an increasingly complex variety of patrons. This is a trend occurring across the country, but it’s presenting additional challenges for rural and regional libraries.

Around the world there are 10 million stateless people. In 2014 the UN launched a campaign to end statelessness by 2024, so what has been done in the past 10 years?

Earlier this week a massacre in Papua New Guinea's Highland region resulting in the death of about 50 people — making it one of the largest massacres in the country's recent history.

As the war in Gaza continues, Egypt faces a dilemma over how to deal with the humanitarian disaster, and the pressure to accept Palestinians fleeing the fighting.

As Iran prepares for the first elections since the mass protests over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, the majority of Iranians have indicated they intend to boycott the vote, according to a survey by the Gamaan Institute.

There are women choosing to “freebirth” completely outside the medical system.

Here's another guest who chose 2007 for The Year That Made Me

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

From apprentice carpenter to general manager, Jo Farrell has had to build her own path in the very blokey world of construction.So, in 2020 Jo set up ‘Build Like a Girl’ to help girls and women get an easier start in trades than she had.Guest: Jo Farrell, General Manager of Kane Constructions ACT, and the ACT’s Australian of the Year for 2024Producer: Margie Smithurst 

Forbidden Stories is a network of journalists who pursue and publish the work of other journalists facing threats, prison, or murder

Indigenous school students Aroha Parkinson and Reuben Simpson are this year's winners of the 'If I was Prime Minister' competition

Since the International Court of Justice was created in 1945, only five women have ever served on its judging bench

Shahnaz Habib’s book 'Airplane Mode: An Irreverent History of Travel' is billed as a “witty personal and cultural history of travel from the perspective of a Third World-raised woman of color”.Guest: Shahnaz Habib, author

What do whistleblowing protection authorities look like overseas, and what can Australia learn from them?

There are concerns that emissions from badly managed landfills could exacerbate climate change.

They have anonymous leaders, manifestos, and even a flag with a snake on it. 

The camera lens of William Yang captured one of the most pivotal cultural moments in Australian history while also breaking photography norms - the gay liberation movement in Sydney during the 1970s and 80s.

Surviving Australia's biggest ever rail accident set this fashion designer on a creative journey she never expected to take.

This week's mystery callers occupy three distinct regions – the Western, Northern and Eastern Shrike-tits.

Lindy Lee is one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists. A painter and sculptor, her distinctive polished-steel and bronze spherical sculptures are prominent in public places around Australia.Coming from a Chinese family and growing up in Brisbane during the White Australia Policy, she has grappled with the idea of belonging throughout her art career. Guest: Lindy Lee, artist Producer: Margie Smithurst     

Bendigo in Victoria has been home to a wealth of Chinese heritage and culture since the gold rush in the 1850s. This year, the city brings out it's internationally historic 'Sun Loong' Chinese dragon to celebrate the year of the wood dragon.

Ugandan opposition leader, activist and musician Bobi Wine lost a rigged election in 2021 against the 35 year regime of Yoweri Museveni. The documentary about that election campaign is nominated for an Oscar in 2024.

The host of the RadioLab podcast, Latif Nasser came across a ‘moon’ of the plant Venus named 2002VE on his child’s bedroom wall chart. He tells the story of how after a huge effort by himself, his podcast team and a group of others, it was officially named Zoozve by the International Astronomical Union.Guest: Latif Nasser, RadioLab podcast host 

Is the sentencing of Chinese Australian pro-democracy advocate Yang Hengjun another example of ‘hostage diplomacy’?

Amidst a flood of 'constitutional coups' within the African continent, a new generation of politicians are emerging who are interested in restoring the rule of law.

‘Cities’ are popping up across Bali’s spiritual heartland. Can villagers from Ubud hold back a tsunami of foreign money and preserve the island's culture?

Can you guess this week's Tweeter? 

Our guest Bonnie Hancock decided during Covid that she wanted to circumnavigate mainland Australia on an ocean surf ski and beat the current world record. That decision, with the logistical, physical and environmental challenges it involved, would push the professional athlete to her limits.It was a remarkable journey of perseverance and determination, now told in her new book ‘The Girl Who Touched The Stars’. Guest: Bonnie Hancock, athlete and author.

Malaysia's Chinese-built 'Forest City' remains almost uninhabited

A deluge of digital records is creating a record keeping crisis for the public service

Johannes Lichtman was invited to lead a creative writing group... at the CIA.

Financial Times data journalist John Burn-Murdoch is reporting that a large ideological divide is opening up between men and women of Generation Z.

Financial Times data journalist John Burn-Murdoch is reporting that a large ideological divide is opening up between men and women of Generation Z.

Slovenia is hosting the 2nd Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. It's considered one of the only truly global discussions on the topic.

Pakistan, a muslim-majority country of 241 million people, heads to the polls on the 8th of February.

Background Briefing returns to your pod feeds next week.

This week's mystery caller is a familiar sight in all states and territories – the Galah.

Three young Australians of the Year talk about their work and their motivations

Dr Graham Grant began his career as an engineer of medical equipment and went on to study medicine, but continued inventing medical devices. One of the earliest of his many  inventions was a portable incubator for premature babies, which saved them from dying in freezing winter temperatures during transportation to hospitals in the UK. He has received an Order of Australia in this year’s Australia Day Honours for his contributions to biomedical engineering and medicine.  Now 90, he still plays jazz piano.Guest: Dr Graham Grant, anaesthetist, engineer and inventor. Producer: Margie Smithurst

Masty o Rasty (The Drunken Truth) is a Persian podcast created by Iranian émigré Raam Emami, which explores everything from psychedelics and depression to sex and identity in Iran.Guest: Raam Emami, podcaster 

On January 8th, 2024 a space mission launched headed for the moon. It held 66 'capsules' of personal mementos people had paid to send on the mission, including human ashes.

AI is being used to recreate lost memories

Documentary maker reflects on right win stirrer and Trump ally, Roger Stone  

The outgoing Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, is wrapping up his 12 years in office, unable to run for a third term.

Former military lawyer David McBride sought whistleblower protection after leaking defence documents, in relation to the conduct of some Australian service personnel in Afghanistan.

Described as an “ultramodern multi-media theatre piece”, Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World received rave reviews in the UK and the US and is coming to Australia for the Sydney Festival in January 2024.

An award-winning documentary follows the perilous political campaign of Ugandan presidential hopeful Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known Bobi Wine."Bobi Wine: The People's President" was the recent winner of Best Feature at the 2023 International Documentary Association Awards.The film depicts the transformation of Bobi Wine from music star into politician, member of Parliament, presidential candidate, and victim of political repression.Guest:  Moses Bwayo, journalist and filmmaker 

What role could you play in the fight against space junk?This week, Mars shares her thoughts on the role of citizen science in space research.

The former President of Latvia is in Australia for a series of public talks, on the challenges of regulating AI.

After an electoral officer helped police arrest a popular state minister, her life began to unravel.

From humble beginnings, Fahad faced hurdles entering medical school. Now, he fights for equal access to medical education. Marty Smiley reports.

"Simone" arrived on a remote island to help asylum seekers. But she witnessed something there that convinced her to leak over 2000 documents. Reporters Paul Farrell and Maddison Conaughton investigate what happened.

When two infants die after being left inside a hot car, their family seek answers to how this could have happened. Reporter Alexandra Blucher tracks down a child safety officer involved in their case, and hears why she believes the girls' deaths could have been prevented.

Queensland authorities failed to heed multiple serious warnings that a young pair of sisters were in danger, before it was too late. Their grieving family is now desperate to understand why. Reporter Alexandra Blucher investigates.

Reporter Heidi Davoren provides an extraordinary insight into a parenting dispute, where a mother and father come together after a Family Court psychologist harmed their family.

As a teenager, Remy learnt to survive by hustling on the streets of Parramatta. Then she hit the bigtime. Reporter Mahmood Fazal investigates what life is like on the other side of the war on drugs.

In a nursing home lives an elderly man who is being held against his will. We can’t tell you his name. We can’t tell you his age. We can’t even use his real voice, or the voice of anyone involved in his case. Reporter Anne Connolly investigates what happens when the state rules you're incapable of looking after yourself.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

The Kyiv Independent was established three months before Russia’s invasion and is now one of the most trusted sources of news on the war in Ukraine

Gary Mason grew up in 1960s Belfast at the beginning of "the Troubles"; three decades of bloody sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. But what can a life lived at the heart of conflict teach someone about building peace?

Scientists have lots of different ideas about how to conserve our native species. One of these ways is rewilding. 

Tens of thousands of Aboriginal objects exist in museum collections overseas.Palawa woman Professor Gaye Sculthorpe located a wrongly labelled Tasmanian Aboriginal water carrier in a Paris museum while researching her family's history. Her research,  whilst working on Tasmanian Aboriginal collections in the United Kingdom and France, also looks at other misidentified or improperly labelled object, and is the subject of  the 2023 Eldershaw Memorial LectureGuest: Professor Gaye Sculthorpe, Deakin University. 

Each year Mitch McTaggart produces a snack-sized compilation of the year on Australian television, The Last Year of Television, which streams on New Year’s Eve on Binge. 2023 is his fifth year of reviewing Australian TV, so expect highlights of the good, the bad and the cringeworthy. Guest: Mitch McTaggart

A war veteran who was once shot (and reported dead) at Gallipoli, William Roy Hodgson would go on to play a key role in drafting one of the United Nation's most historic documents. But his unvarnished approach to diplomacy would see much of that legacy forgotten.

Father-of-three Ayman Dhlan started a WhatsApp group to help Australians and their families get out of war-torn Gaza. Now he can barely put his phone down.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Award-winning poet Gavin Yuan Gao lost their beloved mother at five years of age. Through writing, Gavin found a way to maintain a connection to her. 

Think you can tell whether that expensive wine you’re drinking is fake? Or if the vintage wine you’ve bought at auction is the real thing?Wine fraud is as old as wine itself, says Master of Wine and author Rebecca Gibb, whose new book Vintage Crime: A Short History of Wine Fraud charts key episodes in history, including the glut of fake champagne that led to the Champagne riots in 1911, and the fake Burgundy concoctions of notorious wine fraudster, Rudy Kurniawan.  Guest: Rebecca Gibb, author of Vintage Crime: A Short History of Wine Fraud

Razia Zakarya is an epigeneticist. But what does an epigeneticist do exactly? Razia is here to explain! Today, why DNA and epigenetics is important for chronic disease research.

American Jake Adelstein, whose book Tokyo Vice detailed his time as a crime reporter on the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun and was the basis of the TV series of the same name, has spent his career dealing with the infamous yakuza of Japan.His latest book is a history (of sorts) of the organised crime groups --The Last Yakuza: Life and Death in the Japanese Underworld. Guest: Jake Adelstein, writer

Russia continues to cast its shadow over Georgia's hopes to join the EU and NATO.

The ‘missing’ Yirrkala Bark Petition – one of four sent by the Yolngu people of Northeast Arnhem Land to the Commonwealth Parliament in 1963 – will be repatriated to country in a community ceremony on December 7.  Typed on paper and framed by traditional bark paintings, the petitions called for consultation with the local Yolngu clans before any mining proceeded.Guest: Clare Wright,  Professor of History and Public Engagement at La Trobe University

It might surprise you to learn that the names of pop stars and fascist dictators have been passed down to generations of Indigenous Australians. Reporter Erin Parke heads to the remote Kimberley to meet a man named Bing Crosby, and find out how it happened.

There's a gripping new series by our friends across the ditch at RNZ.

This week's mystery caller hunts insects in Australia's southern forests – the Scarlet Robin.

The Melbourne singer's second album is a deeply personal account of the lasting impact of a fundamentalist religious upbringing, and her effort as an adult to make sense of it.

Developing nations have secured a bigger international tax compliance role for the UN in a 'historic' vote at the UN General Assembly, which voted overwhelmingly in support of a resolution tabled by African member states. The prospect of a new UN convention threatens the OECD’s ability to set the global tax agenda. 

Almost sixty years after his life threatening encounter with a great white shark off Aldinga Beach in South Australia, shark conservationist Rodney Fox reflects on the day that changed "everything that came afterwards"

Science doesn't have to be restricted to old white men in lab coats. Maddie reckons it's time to make science fun! Without losing it's important messages.

Frank van Vree is the new Cleveringa Professor at Leiden University in Holland. The position is named after Rudolph Cleveringa, who became famous after a speech denouncing the invading Nazis' measures to remove all Jewish academics from their posts.In van Vree’s inaugural Cleveringa Lecture, he will talk about the tensions between learning from the past and remembering the past.Guest: Frank van Vree, Emeritus Professor of War, Conflict and Memory Studies at the University of Amsterdam, and the new Cleveringa Professor at Leiden University

“The best science for the most neglected” is a phrase that defines the mission of international non-profit medical research organisation DNDi - the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, which is marking the twentieth anniversary of its founding this week.After Médecins Sans Frontières won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, it pledged the approximately $1 million USD in prize money to setting up a Neglected Diseases Fund.  Guest: Dr Luis Pizarro, Executive Director of DNDi

Award winning investigative journalist Bethany Allen reveals how China has used its economic weight to coerce nations, corporations and multilateral bodies to play by its rules. From punitive sanctions, to covert intelligence gathering, and suppression of dissent, Allen describes how China has sought to expand its influence.

You might think that all students stand equal at the doorstep of Australia’s universities.

This week's tweeter is heard across the south and east of the country – the Fan-tailed Cuckoo.

After a promising start to her career was impacted by injury and selection heartbreak, Amy Sayer took a less-trodden path for a professional footballer, enrolling at Stanford University and discovering a love of philosophy.

Transgender Australia: A History Since 1910 is the first book that charts the history of transgender people in Australia from the Twentieth Century onwards.Julian speaks to the author, a cis-gender man, and an older transgender activist, who has seen the language of trans definitions change over time.Guests: Prof Noah Riseman, author of Transgender Australia: A History Since 1910Jenny Scott, transgender activist

First Nations people were the first scientists in Australia. But they don't just stay in the past tense – they're still here, and still actively contributing to science.Today's speaker Maggie Walter is Palawa and she's here to talk about how we think about First Nations science.

100 years ago, on November 23rd, 1923 Sydney radio station 2SB (now ABC Radio Sydney) was the first licensed station to broadcast over the airwaves. It was the beginning of a new era of news and entertainment in the home, transforming Australian cultural life.  Guest: Bruce Carty, former broadcaster, historian and author of “Australian Radio History” 

The global statistics on forced migration are stark. At the end of 2022, 108 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution and conflict -- an increase of 19 million on the year before.Aarathi Krishnan discusses the future of forced migration and what the impending catalysts are ahead of her keynote to the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law conference.Guest: Aarathi Krishnan, Senior Advisor for Strategic Foresight for UNDP

Marine biologist Professor Richard Thompson was the first to identify microplastics on an Isle of Man beach 30 years ago. This week, he’s been at the UN Environment Programme headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, where delegates from around the world are working towards an international treaty on plastic pollution. But are policymakers listening to the scientists?Guest: Richard Thompson, Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Plymouth

Natalia had a job at a prestigious university, $120,000 in the bank, a loving partner, and shared custody of her two sons.Then one day, a little over a year later, she woke up in a psychiatric hospital, where doctors told her she was experiencing what’s known as stimulant-induced psychosis.

This week's mystery caller picks at grass seeds in the north of Australia – the Long-tailed Finch.

In 1993 Mark and Judy Evans bought a dilapidated theme park in northern Queensland, and over the past thirty years they’ve re-made it into one of the state’s most unique tourist attractions. It’s a story of devotion to the project, and devotion to the vision of the man who first built Paranella Park in the 1930’s, Spanish immigrant, Jose Paranella.

The celebrated author on what a cancer diagnosis taught her about life and art.

Today's speaker Chelsea explores the extreme cold in Antarctica to bring home something important... Ice cores!  These ice cores can be used to uncover clues about Australia's past. 

The Ukrainian rock band Antytila is in Australia as part of a global tour, showcasing their music and gathering support for Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia. The band has taken time out from serving in the Ukrainian territorial defence force to engage in some cultural diplomacy. Guest: Taras Topolia, band member 

The criminal trial of Afghan war crimes whistleblower David McBride begins in Canberra this week. The former army lawyer who leaked classified information to the ABC that revealed allegations of war crimes by special forces in Afghanistan, faces a life sentence if found guilty. Guest: Kieren Pender, senior lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre’s Whistleblower Project

How the Commonwealth Bank tried to stop a royal commission by using dirt files, intimidation, threats and surveillance against whistleblowers and journalists.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

This week's mystery callers were sent in by our wonderful listeners – listen in to guess each one.

For much of the past 50 years Bryan Brown has starred in a wide range of Australian and international films - titles like The Thorn Birds , A Town Like Alice, Breaker Morant (1980), Cocktail (1988), Gorillas in the Mist (1988) to name just a few. More recently he has added author to his list of accomplishments. His first book, Sweet Jimmy - a collection of short stories - was shortlisted for Best Debut Crime Fiction, Ned Kelly Awards last year. And in 2023 Bryan Brown is releasing his first novel, The Drowning … also in the crime genre

Julia is a retelling of the dystopian classic1984 from the point of view of Julia, the lover of George Orwell's protagonist, Winston Smith.

Today's speaker works with radio of a slightly different sort – radio astronomy! Dr Laura Driessen explains what radio is… and isn't.

Solomon Islands National University is offering the country’s first bachelor of science degree

Telegram’s minimal moderation enables extreme content and ideas to be more widely disseminated.

NSW Police will discontinue a policing program that targets people, including children, who police predict may commit crimes

Three dead dolphins turn up in an oil spill.

This week's tweeter climbs straight up tree trunks in search of food – the Brown Treecreeper.

Akuch Kuol Anyieth is working to free her community from the traumas of their past

A prominent American scientist warns of "anti-science aggression" that he says threatens both individual lives and our collective future. 

A citizen science project is working to protect the common wombat from various threats, including cats, cars and a skin disease known as sarcoptic mange.

As cities grow, nature becomes more and more fragmented.  So how can we protect native species without big areas to conserve? Brendan Wintle says we need look into smaller places, like your own backyard or the bushland down the street.

A new report says the NSW Police is failing to honour its obligation to reduce Aboriginal over-representation in the criminal justice system   

-When Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, many filmed their atrocities with some live streamed on a social media platform. The live streaming of extremist violence is a problem the social media platforms have struggled to counter, and Hamas has further threaten to broadcast the execution of Israeli hostages. So what is being done to try to prevent the live broadcast of terrorist acts?

"Simone" arrived on a remote island to help asylum seekers.

Can you guess this week's Tweeter? 

One of Australia’s greatest biographers has turned his spotlight onto his own family and discovered some dark and difficult secrets. Marr’s great-great-grandfather was a professional killer of Aboriginals in the Native Police, and he chronicles that and the broader picture of an earlier, brutal Australia in his latest book Killing for Country: A Family Story. Marr joins us to talk about writing the book, but also about his life and how he became such a forensic, unflinching biographer. Guest: David Marr, writer, essayist

What is a proportionate response in war? It's a complex and highly contested concept

Guess what happens when art and science collide?

Judith Stutchbury and Donna Buckley won the 2023 Prime Minister's Awards for Science Teaching

A unique Israeli-Palestinian collaboration is under threat in the latest conflict

The former Labor leader and Governor General, Bill Hayden has died at the age of 90. His Labor colleague and former fellow cabinet minister Kim Beazley, reflects on the life and political career of the man who establish universal health care in Australia.  

When patients start unexpectedly dying at a regional hospital, nurse Toni Hoffman takes a big risk to blow the whistle on a negligent surgeon.

This week's mystery caller appears to be extending its range down the east coast – the Tawny Grassbird.

Shivshankar Menon continued a long and distinguished family tradition of foreign service for India

Seaweeds are the odorous, often-overlooked cousins of terrestrial plants. But do they deserve greater appreciation?

Fire has been fundamental for human development - but have you ever stopped to think about how it might be causing us harm?  Fay Johnston wants us to rethink our relationship with fire, through a retelling of a story.

In an era of extremes when moderation seems an increasingly remote concept, and balance even more rarely practised, Professor Aurelian Craiutu has tripled down on moderation in a new book called Why Not Moderation? Letters to Young Radicals. It aims to present moderation as both a “radical virtue” and, interestingly, “a fighting creed.” Guest: Aurelian Craiutu, Professor of Political Science at Indiana University

Australians have voted overwhelmingly to reject an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.  Professor Matt Qvortrup has been described by the BBC as “the world’s leading expert on referendums”, so what does he think the factors are behind this result? Guest: Matt Qvortrup, Visiting Professor of constitutional law at the ANU College of Law.

After the Referendum for a Voice to Parliament, what should happen next?

70 years after the first mainland nuclear test on Australian soil, the descendants of Indigenous people wounded are fighting for an end to nuclear weapons. 

Kathy Jackson was once heralded as a revolutionary who shone a bright spotlight on union corruption but she too was later found to be a fraudster who had misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars in union members' money. So who was the man responsible for blowing the whistle on her?  Reporter Annika Blau investigates.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Elizabeth Evatt is a towering figure of the Australian legal profession. Her distinguished and trailblazing career has been marked by a series of firsts – among them her appointment as the first Chief Justice of the Family Court, a position she held for 12 years. Elizabeth’s career has also been devoted to law reform, the rights of women, and international human rights advocacy.  Guest: Elizabeth Evatt, AC

The stunning advance of generative AI technology appears to present an existential threat to human authors. Can the law protect them?

Bread... Beer... Bioengineering? Yeast really can do it all. Today's speaker Jason Whitfield wants us to consider what our world could look like with emerging bioengineering tech. 

A new book traces the lives of thousands of contributors who helped create the Oxford English Dictionary  

New Zealanders will vote in their national elections next Saturday and the incumbent Labour government is predicted to lose to a conservative coalition, with minor parties are expected to take a significant proportion of votes from Labour and the Nationals. The NZ vote will occur on the same day as the referendum in Australia for an Indigenous Voice to parliament, and there are some parallels when it comes to political sentiment around indigenous/race issues. Guest: Luke Malpass, Political Editor, Stuff.co.nz

Hamas carried out a coordinated attack on Israel, firing rockets and with armed fighters infiltrating Israeli towns

After an electoral officer helped police arrest a popular state minister, her life began to unravel.

In this 6-part series presented by Adele Ferguson, the Background Briefing team brings you the untold stories of ordinary Australians who helped bring some of Australia’s biggest and dirtiest scandals to light.

This week's mystery caller sports a boldly striped face and head – the aptly-named Striped Honeyeater.

The final report of the four year Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability has been released. Julian Morrow speaks to human rights lawyer and disability rights activist, Rosemary Kayess.

Eric Philips has been to the very top and very bottom of the planet some thirty times, most recently in January this year, becoming one of only two people over 60 to have skied unsupported to the South Pole. Over more than 30 years of polar trekking Eric has written a book and produced four documentary films about his expeditions, including the Emmy Award-winning ‘Chasing the Midnight Sun’, filmed in Greenland.

There are fewer than 1800 Quakers in Australia, according to the last census. But despite their small numbers globally , Quakers — also known as the Religious Society of Friends — have played no small part in peace and social justice movements in Australia and around the world. Guest: Nelson File, Quaker and Principal of The Friends' School, Hobart

A "living legend" of Australian music recounts her personal and artistic coming-of-age

Diving into the "twilight zone", there's some amazing aquatic creatures.  These fish fascinate today's speaker Yi-Kai Tea. He's even named a few. 

A senate inquiry is looking into funding challenges and operational decisions at the Australian Antarctic Division following revelations the organisation’s scientific research may be compromised at a time of unprecedented reductions in Antarctic sea ice levels. Guest: Senator Jonathon Duniam, joint leader of the Senate Inquiry into Australian Antarctic Division Funding

Background Briefing will return to your feeds next week. 

Can you guess this week's Tweeter? 

A former Ambassador to China, Geoff Raby has revelled in travel since he set off to Europe backpacking at aged 21.  His academic path as an economist led to a serendipitous career in diplomacy, which took him to China in 1986 for his first diplomatic posting. While there, Geoff developed an appreciation for the contemporary Chinese art of the time, which grew into a significant collection. He also witnessed the dramatic events of Tiananmen Square and absorbed some pertinent geo-political lessons. Guest: Geoff Raby, AO. Former Ambassador to China 2007 – 2011.

Remi Guiffre's biannual curation of snack-sized facts, stories and ideas is called Remorandom

Do you have a favourite mineral? Maybe you love the gleam of a tiger's eye or the sparkle of an amethyst. 

A new musical, The Dismissal - An Extremely Serious Musical Comedy, features the performance of actor Matthew Whittet as Norman Gunston, with permission from the character’s creator Garry McDonald. Matt’s Gunston 2.0 is the narrator of the Dismissal musical, and amidst all the narration of political and personal backstory, Matt revives the genius of the Gunston character as a comic device.

As climate change increases the frequency and severity of floods, at-risk communities around the world, like the US city of New Orleans, are rebuilding differently 

Canada claims it has intelligence linking the Indian government to the murder of a Sikh activist in Vancouver

This week's tweeter breeds in the Arctic Circle and migrates annually to our shores – the Common Greenshank.

Sean Turnell spent 650 days in prison in Myanmar before he was given amnesty and released in November 2022.

Passengers and crew from British Airways flight 149 who were taken hostage in Kuwait in 1990 are suing the British government and the airline

Flora Hui's hope for the future is that blindness from glaucoma no longer exists. And as an optometrist and researcher, she's at the forefront of finding better treatments. 

As transnational criminal networks become increasingly advanced and more deeply entrenched in governments and institutions, how can investigative journalists stay on the story?

Nathasha Edirisooriya is a standup comedian whose most recent gig got her a huge round of applause and 39 days in jail. She was accused of insulting the majority Sinhalese population. We discussed her case on Sunday Extra back in June when she was still in custody in Sri Lanka. Nathasha was eventually granted bail and spoke to Sunday Extra

In 2018, Ireland voted to remove the ban on abortion, and in that referendum, the Yes case started out well ahead in the polls, but the No case gained ground during the campaign. Then, in the last days of the Irish campaign, support for the Yes campaign surged back and 66% of Ireland’s 2.1 million voters said Yes. So what were the secrets of the successful Yes campaign, and might they translate to the current situation in Australia?  Guest: Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland and Co-Director of Together for Yes

Can you guess this week's Tweeter? 

Lorin Clarke has written a book about life with her late father, comedian John Clarke

How a vibrating tech used in gaming and mobile phones is translating sound into physical sensations for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.       

Microfluidics is an exciting field of science that has the potential to change the way we do drug trials.  Today's speaker Susi Seibt is keen to explore the future applications of this teeny tiny science. 

In the early 1970s (in the final flagging years of US involvement in the Vietnam War) a race was underway throughout the Indonesian archipelago of young Western surfers seeking to discover new surf breaks.

Woke is a concept that, whether used as a badge of honour or a slur, feels in some ways like it defines the times while also being itself hard to define. Philosopher Susan Neiman has braved the ideological minefield by tackling the subject in her new book, ‘Left is Not Woke’. Guest: Susan Neiman, philosopher, author, and Director of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam.

Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of micro credit banking for the poorest people, Muhammad Yunus is facing a criminal trial in Bangladesh

The veteran ABC investigative journalist talks about his year, 1987, and his most influential reports for 4 Corners including The Moonlight State.

This week's mystery caller soars across our deep southern waters – the Black-browed Albatross.

In 1955, the first digital computer arrived in Australia in Melbourne, called CSIRAC. It is the world's oldest surviving first-generation electronic computer and the first computer to produce digital music. Our guest was the former Head of the Dept of Computer Science at the Uni of Melbourne and explains how CSIRAC led to the rapid adoption of computing at the university and fostered the discipline. Guest: Dr Peter Thorne, former Head of the Department of Computer Science, University of Melbourne, Chair, Heritage Committee, The Pearcey Foundation

How Kafka, Covid and bushfires inspired the Ghanaian-Australian artist's highly anticipated second album 

What do you love about that first sip of beer? Maybe it's the bitterness, the fizz or the fruitiness?

The 2023 Intergenerational Report identifies “population ageing” as one of the major forces shaping Australia’s future. In several Asian nations, the same demographic changes are more advanced and forcing a rethink, and there may be lessons for Australia.

The Belarus opposition in exile has given evidence the the ICC of Ukrainian children being taken from their families and sent to Belarus, with the approval of Belarus dictator, Alexander Lukashenko.

Can you guess this week's sound?

Inspiring individuals talk about a pivotal moment in their personal histories. This week,

The British museum theft scandal has raised the question: just how many museum collections might be at risk from the very people charged with taking care of them?

Mathematical or scientific modelling is used widely, from manufacturing design, to economic and weather forecasting, and in recent years it has become more critical and controversial, with modelling being used to drive government policy on climate change and the COVID 19 pandemic. That puts the modellers in a powerful position and unfortunately, many of the models built to predict the pandemic were wrong. How should the way models are designed change?

Beneath the cold ice sheets of Antarctica lies the dynamic deep earth. So what happens when the two interact? Today's speaker Niam is eager to find out. 

India’s successful landing on the south pole of the Moon, days after Russia crashed  on one of its own attempts, has put India firmly in the top tier of the space race. It’s the first time a country has landed on the Moon’s south pole, and India is one of only four countries to manage a landing feat at all. So what does this indicate about India’s space aspirations, and how do their space achievements fit in with in the geopolitics back on earth? Guest: Dr Rajeswari (Raji) Pillai, Director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology (CSST) at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi

Imran Khan’s elevation to prime minister was the culmination of a long political campaign with the help of advantages conferred upon him as the favoured candidate of the military establishment. As Pakistan’s traditional political parties join the generals in cornering Khan, there is no major force calling for full democracy. Guest: Ayesha Jalal, Mary Richardson Professor, History, Arts and Sciences at Tufts University

Whistleblowers play an important role in holding power to account, by speaking up about human rights abuses, government wrongdoing and corporate misfeasance, but all too often it is the whistleblower who faces reprisal. The Human Rights Law Centre’s Whistleblower Project is Australia’s first dedicated legal service to protect and empower whistleblowers who want to speak up about wrongdoing.

In what's been heralded as a watershed climate change lawsuit, earlier this week an American district court judge ruled in favour of a group of young environmental activists who had sued their home state of Montana. In what was the first constitutional climate trial in US history, the Held vs Montana lawsuit was filed in 2020 by 16 young Montana residents who argued that state agencies were violating their constitutional right to a "clean and healthful environment" by permitting fossil fuel development without considering its effect on the climate. The Montana attorney general's office said it will appeal what it called an "absurd" ruling. But just what might this win mean for future climate litigation brewing elsewhere around the world? Guest: Zoe Bush, Senior Solicitor in the Environmental Defenders Office

In one of the most remarkable stories of art theft in history, a Frenchman named Stephane Breitwieser stole hundreds of artworks and valuable objects from around 170 European museums between 1995 and 2001.   But unlike other notorious art thieves, he didn’t steal the works to sell them or make a profit, despite their value being estimated at more than a billion US dollars.  Instead, he kept them, carefully looked after,  in the bedroom and attic of the house he shared with his girlfriend and mother. Guest: Mike Finkel, author of The Art Thief

Let's go on a space adventure! Gomeroi woman and astrophysics honours student Krystal explores the scale of our universe.

Historian Mark Edele's new book explains why and how the war in Ukraine came about.

That’s the question that Antarctic ecologist Dr Dana Bergstrom tackled when she gave the 2023 Allan Sefton Memorial Lecture at the University of Wollongong. Dr Bergstrom works for the Australian Antarctic Division, studying and identifying risks to Antarctic ecosystems … and she’s been pondering the extent to which one of the risks to Antarctic ecosystems is scientists like her.  Guest: Dr Dana Bergstrom, Senior Researcher, Australian Antarctic Division and Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Wollongong

Record crowds and viewing numbers have made the 2023 Women's World Cup the biggest women's sporting event ever.

The charity Peter Baines set up has helped underprivileged kids in Thailand with homes, food, education and future pathways.  

The charity Peter Baines set up has helped underprivileged kids in Thailand with homes, food, education and future pathways.  

The FIFA Women's World Cup has transfixed Australian audiences in a way that few sporting events in this country have come close. 

The FIFA Women's World Cup has transfixed Australian audiences in a way that few sporting events in this country have come close. 

Yasmin Arkinstall's one-women opera tells the story of living with OCD

Yasmin Arkinstall's one-women opera tells the story of living with OCD

If we had a time machine, we could go back and fix the mistakes we've made. But that probably isn't the best way to prevent mistakes before they happen... Trish Kerin believes everyone has a right to be safe at work and has a creative way to encourage us to spot warning signs early, saving us from mistakes ahead of time.

If we had a time machine, we could go back and fix the mistakes we've made. But that probably isn't the best way to prevent mistakes before they happen... Trish Kerin believes everyone has a right to be safe at work and has a creative way to encourage us to spot warning signs early, saving us from mistakes ahead of time.

The Dartmouth Institute has an interesting mission: to “improve the communication of medical evidence to physicians, journalists, policymakers, and the public … to help them see through excessive fear and hope created by exaggerated and selective reporting in medical journals, advertising, and the news.” Dr Steven Woloshin is Professor of Medicine and co-director at the Institute, and about to attend the Preventing Overdiagnosis conference in Copenhagen, where he’ll chair a session on communicating about overdiagnosis in mainstream journalism and on social media. Guest: Dr Steven Woloshin, Professor of Medicine and co-director at The Dartmouth Institute.

The Dartmouth Institute has an interesting mission: to “improve the communication of medical evidence to physicians, journalists, policymakers, and the public … to help them see through excessive fear and hope created by exaggerated and selective reporting in medical journals, advertising, and the news.” Dr Steven Woloshin is Professor of Medicine and co-director at the Institute, and about to attend the Preventing Overdiagnosis conference in Copenhagen, where he’ll chair a session on communicating about overdiagnosis in mainstream journalism and on social media. Guest: Dr Steven Woloshin, Professor of Medicine and co-director at The Dartmouth Institute.

Even Zoom wants its workers back in the office. So what does this mean for the future of remote work?

Even Zoom wants its workers back in the office. So what does this mean for the future of remote work?

Cambodia's prime minister Hun Sen will hand power to his son, Hun Manet, on August 22 

Cambodia's prime minister Hun Sen will hand power to his son, Hun Manet, on August 22 

Two years ago, Meagan complained to the ABC that our coverage of sexual assault cases was too negative, and it didn't reflect her personal experience.

Two years ago, Meagan complained to the ABC that our coverage of sexual assault cases was too negative, and it didn't reflect her personal experience.

One of Australia’s most lauded poets, Sarah Holland-Batt spent her teenage years in the US, and had dreams of another career. But that was all up-ended by the diagnosis of her father with Parkinson's and her family’s move back to Australia. His experience in aged care led Sarah to become a vocal advocate for better conditions in aged care facilities, and her latest book of poetry, The Jaguar, is dedicated to her father and won the Stella Prize in 2023. Guest: Sarah Holland-Batt, Professor of Creative Writing, QUT

One of Australia’s most lauded poets, Sarah Holland-Batt spent her teenage years in the US, and had dreams of another career. But that was all up-ended by the diagnosis of her father with Parkinson's and her family’s move back to Australia. His experience in aged care led Sarah to become a vocal advocate for better conditions in aged care facilities, and her latest book of poetry, The Jaguar, is dedicated to her father and won the Stella Prize in 2023. Guest: Sarah Holland-Batt, Professor of Creative Writing, QUT

Emerging football nations are aspiring to compete in the Women's World Cup

Emerging football nations are aspiring to compete in the Women's World Cup

We're getting pretty familiar with hearing people talk about AI and what it could mean for our future. Luckily we humans still have the power to shape how that will look. Rashina Hoda is one of those humans and she's hoping to make sure AI is used in an ethical way. 

We're getting pretty familiar with hearing people talk about AI and what it could mean for our future. Luckily we humans still have the power to shape how that will look. Rashina Hoda is one of those humans and she's hoping to make sure AI is used in an ethical way. 

Magabala Books is Australia's oldest independent Indigenous publishing house.

Magabala Books is Australia's oldest independent Indigenous publishing house.

The US congress last week heard remarkable testimonies by former military officers on the existence of UFOs, or what are now referred to as UAP’s, ‘unidentified anomalous phenomena’. 

The US congress last week heard remarkable testimonies by former military officers on the existence of UFOs, or what are now referred to as UAP’s, ‘unidentified anomalous phenomena’. 

The Move Forward Party won the most votes in the Thailand elections but will be excluded from a governing coalition

The Move Forward Party won the most votes in the Thailand elections but will be excluded from a governing coalition

Just after midnight, Marty woke to find three young intruders in his bedroom.

Just after midnight, Marty woke to find three young intruders in his bedroom. Then they started talking to him. He’d now become one of the hundreds of victims of crime in Mount Isa each year. This is the final episode looking at the youth justice system in Queensland - the state with the highest number of children behind bars.

Just after midnight, Marty woke to find three young intruders in his bedroom. Then they started talking to him. He'd now become one of the hundreds of victims of crime in Mount Isa each year. This is the final episode looking at the youth justice system in Queensland — the state with the highest number of children behind bars.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

After a horrific accident and subsequent brain injury ended his medical career, Dr Bruce Powell had to reimagine his life and the meaning of care and recovery. 

After a horrific accident and subsequent brain injury ended his medical career, Dr Bruce Powell had to reimagine his life and the meaning of care and recovery. 

A new study warns of the forthcoming collapse of critical Atlantic ocean currents

A new study warns of the forthcoming collapse of critical Atlantic ocean currents

When is depression just ‘sadness’? Why are so many children being diagnosed with ADHD and autism? How much access to care are the seriously mentally ill getting? Dr Allen Frances is one of the leading global voices in the discussion about overdiagnosis and mislabelling of mental illnesses. He was also the head of the taskforce that wrote the ‘bible’ of psychiatric disorders in 1994, the DSM-4, and openly regrets the expansion of certain disorders in that edition, which led to a much wider expansion in the next edition Guest: Dr Allen Frances, Professor and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Duke University.

When is depression just ‘sadness’? Why are so many children being diagnosed with ADHD and autism? How much access to care are the seriously mentally ill getting? Dr Allen Frances is one of the leading global voices in the discussion about overdiagnosis and mislabelling of mental illnesses. He was also the head of the taskforce that wrote the ‘bible’ of psychiatric disorders in 1994, the DSM-4, and openly regrets the expansion of certain disorders in that edition, which led to a much wider expansion in the next edition Guest: Dr Allen Frances, Professor and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Duke University.

Researchers have a lot of unanswered questions about female reproductive health. Today's speaker has a story of a discovery that will hopefully advance this area of science, but found in a very unlikely place. We have some live shows coming up, and we'd love to see you there! Get your tickets here. 

Researchers have a lot of unanswered questions about female reproductive health. Today's speaker has a story of a discovery that will hopefully advance this area of science, but found in a very unlikely place. We have some live shows coming up, and we'd love to see you there! Get your tickets here. 

Is it time for Aung San Suu Kyi to make way for a new generation of leaders of the democracy movement in Myanmar.

Is it time for Aung San Suu Kyi to make way for a new generation of leaders of the democracy movement in Myanmar.

Despite 30 weeks of ongoing protests against the proposal, Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government this week passed the first part of a plan for judicial reform, which would curb the influence of the country’s top court over government decisions. Detractors say this will erode democracy and lead to more corruption, but the government says the judiciary has been using its powers politically. Guest:  Eliad Shraga, chair of Movement for Quality Government, Israel

Despite 30 weeks of ongoing protests against the proposal, Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government this week passed the first part of a plan for judicial reform, which would curb the influence of the country’s top court over government decisions. Detractors say this will erode democracy and lead to more corruption, but the government says the judiciary has been using its powers politically. Guest:  Eliad Shraga, chair of Movement for Quality Government, Israel

Australian women and children are among 50,000 people held in detention camps in Syria 

Australian women and children are among 50,000 people held in detention camps in Syria 

‘Locked down for hours and hours’: Jaxon explains what life is like inside a juvenile detention centre. 

"Locked down for hours and hours": Jaxon explains what life is like inside a juvenile detention centre. 

This week's tweeter forms large, noisy flocks in the cooler months – the Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo.

This week's tweeter forms large, noisy flocks in the cooler months – the Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo.

'Love Lies Here', about the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos, is the first Broadway musical with an all-Filipino cast

'Love Lies Here', about the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos, is the first Broadway musical with an all-Filipino cast

Lindy Morrison is back on the drums full time, more than 30 years after the Go-Betweens  

Lindy Morrison is back on the drums full time, more than 30 years after the Go-Betweens  

How are your knees feeling? There's a pretty good chance one or both of them are sore — after all, knee osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability globally, and Australia's no exception. Trouble is, we don't really have any way of treating it. But never fear — this week we're hearing from someone who's bringing her engineering background to take a peek inside dodgy knees and see what it might take to fix them. We have some live shows coming up! We're heading to Sydney and the Huon Valley in Tasmania. Check out details here.  This episode was first broadcast in 2022.

How are your knees feeling? There's a pretty good chance one or both of them are sore — after all, knee osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability globally, and Australia's no exception. Trouble is, we don't really have any way of treating it. But never fear — this week we're hearing from someone who's bringing her engineering background to take a peek inside dodgy knees and see what it might take to fix them. We have some live shows coming up! We're heading to Sydney and the Huon Valley in Tasmania. Check out details here.  This episode was first broadcast in 2022.

As climate change and habitat loss increasingly pushes human and non-human animals up against each other, how might humans and apex predators learn to co-exist?

As climate change and habitat loss increasingly pushes human and non-human animals up against each other, how might humans and apex predators learn to co-exist?

It’s sometimes called the ‘forgotten war’ because it has been overshadowed by the Vietnam War and the previous World Wars.  But despite lasting just three years, the Korean War is also called the longest war, because no peace deal was ever signed, just an armistice agreement 70 years ago, on July 27, 1953.  That truce might have ended the fighting on the Korean Peninsula, but it didn’t end the hostilities between the two Koreas. Guest: Jongwoo Han, founder and president of the Korean War Legacy Foundation

It’s sometimes called the ‘forgotten war’ because it has been overshadowed by the Vietnam War and the previous World Wars.  But despite lasting just three years, the Korean War is also called the longest war, because no peace deal was ever signed, just an armistice agreement 70 years ago, on July 27, 1953.  That truce might have ended the fighting on the Korean Peninsula, but it didn’t end the hostilities between the two Koreas. Guest: Jongwoo Han, founder and president of the Korean War Legacy Foundation

With the eyes of the world on the war in Ukraine, less attention is being paid to the atrocities carried out by the military regime in Myanmar against its people. More than 2 years after the coup, the military is facing growing armed and civil resistance and the exiled Minister of Foreign Affairs in the National Unity Government says there is a revolution underway for a new Myanmar.

With the eyes of the world on the war in Ukraine, less attention is being paid to the atrocities carried out by the military regime in Myanmar against its people. More than 2 years after the coup, the military is facing growing armed and civil resistance and the exiled Minister of Foreign Affairs in the National Unity Government says there is a revolution underway for a new Myanmar.

Jaxon stole a car at age ten. Six years later, the Mount Isa teen has a decision to make.

Jaxon stole a car at age 10. Six years later, the Mount Isa teen has a decision to make.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

The annual Boulia Camel Cup is the richest camel race in Australia

The annual Boulia Camel Cup is the richest camel race in Australia

Deep space experts say they've proved Elon Musk's Starlink satellites are leaking enough radiation to interfere with important radio astronomy.

Deep space experts say they've proved Elon Musk's Starlink satellites are leaking enough radiation to interfere with important radio astronomy.

Do you think we're alone in the universe? Could there be other life out there? And, whether there is or isn't, how does life come to be, anyway? (Is this sounding a little like your mate on a camping trip getting a bit too deep while looking up at all those stars?) Well, this time we're hearing from someone who's trying to unpick the origins of life — here on Earth, and maybe other places too. We've got a bunch of live shows coming up! You can find more details here.  

Do you think we're alone in the universe? Could there be other life out there? And, whether there is or isn't, how does life come to be, anyway? (Is this sounding a little like your mate on a camping trip getting a bit too deep while looking up at all those stars?) Well, this time we're hearing from someone who's trying to unpick the origins of life — here on Earth, and maybe other places too. We've got a bunch of live shows coming up! You can find more details here.  

Taiwan’s political drama series ‘Wave Makers’ and its #MeToo plot line has triggered actual allegations about Taiwan’s political officials and others.  

Taiwan’s political drama series ‘Wave Makers’ and its #MeToo plot line has triggered actual allegations about Taiwan’s political officials and others.  

'The world’s leading expert on referendums' discusses the challenges the referendum for the Voice faces to be successful.

'The world’s leading expert on referendums' discusses the challenges the referendum for the Voice faces to be successful.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General of Ukraine is overseeing the investigation of tens of thousands of war crimes.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General of Ukraine is overseeing the investigation of tens of thousands of war crimes.

A growing number of AI industry insiders are guessing at the probability that Artificial Intelligence will lead to a catastrophic scenario for humanity, and calculating their ‘p(doom)’.

A growing number of AI industry insiders are guessing at the probability that Artificial Intelligence will lead to a catastrophic scenario for humanity, and calculating their ‘p(doom)’.

This week's tweeter moves in small groups from tree to tree as it searches for nectar, fruit and insects – the Silvereye.

This week's tweeter moves in small groups from tree to tree as it searches for nectar, fruit and insects – the Silvereye.

From 2003 to 2007, United States Marine Corp officer Michael ‘Dan’ Mori was the person appointed by the US military to represent Australian citizen and Guantánamo Bay detainee David Hicks

From 2003 to 2007, United States Marine Corp officer Michael ‘Dan’ Mori was the person appointed by the US military to represent Australian citizen and Guantánamo Bay detainee David Hicks

From golf, to tennis, to football – nation states are increasingly using sportswashing to improve their country's image and distract from dubious human rights records. But does this process of reputation laundering actually work? And why has it reached 'fever pitch' in 2023?

From golf, to tennis, to football – nation states are increasingly using sportswashing to improve their country's image and distract from dubious human rights records. But does this process of reputation laundering actually work? And why has it reached 'fever pitch' in 2023?

What does it take to survive on the driest inhabited continent on Earth? Indigenous people have tens of thousands of years of knowledge about this, but their place in the conversations about water planning and management are often tokenistic at best, or worse, completely absent. Bradley Moggridge wants to change that. He's a Kamilaroi man and hydrogeologist, and he knows Indigenous knowledge needs to be central to Australia's water future. Want to join the audience at our next live show? We're heading to Melbourne, Tassie and Sydney. Check out details here. 

What does it take to survive on the driest inhabited continent on Earth? Indigenous people have tens of thousands of years of knowledge about this, but their place in the conversations about water planning and management are often tokenistic at best, or worse, completely absent. Bradley Moggridge wants to change that. He's a Kamilaroi man and hydrogeologist, and he knows Indigenous knowledge needs to be central to Australia's water future. Want to join the audience at our next live show? We're heading to Melbourne, Tassie and Sydney. Check out details here. 

In a recent Australian Book Review essay titled ‘A Referendum in Trouble’, history professor Bain Attwood compares the 1967 referendum, when Australians overwhelmingly voted to support Indigenous rights, with the forthcoming referendum to change the constitution and establish a First Nations Voice - where polls indicate the ‘yes’ vote will struggle to even get a bare majority. Attwood says the huge changes in Australians’ views on race, rights and history since 1967 are a factor.   Guest: Bain Attwood, Professor of History, Monash University  

In a recent Australian Book Review essay titled ‘A Referendum in Trouble’, history professor Bain Attwood compares the 1967 referendum, when Australians overwhelmingly voted to support Indigenous rights, with the forthcoming referendum to change the constitution and establish a First Nations Voice - where polls indicate the ‘yes’ vote will struggle to even get a bare majority. Attwood says the huge changes in Australians’ views on race, rights and history since 1967 are a factor.   Guest: Bain Attwood, Professor of History, Monash University  

A stem cell conference in Boston attracted so many scientists to a talk on rejuvenation technology that police had to be called to clear the aisles.

A stem cell conference in Boston attracted so many scientists to a talk on rejuvenation technology that police had to be called to clear the aisles.

The Robodebt Royal Commission report exposes the failure of government oversight of the debt recovery scheme despite it being shown to be unfair and unlawful  

The Robodebt Royal Commission report exposes the failure of government oversight of the debt recovery scheme despite it being shown to be unfair and unlawful  

Did you know that some of Australia’s largest public hospitals are run according to a religious code of ethics? 

Did you know that some of Australia’s largest public hospitals are run according to a religious code of ethics? 

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

This week's mystery caller sweeps across inland skies in search of insect prey – the White-backed Swallow.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

This week's mystery caller sweeps across inland skies in search of insect prey – the White-backed Swallow.

This week's tweeter is a familiar voice of our woodlands and open forests – the Peaceful Dove.

These common pain killing medications are taken for similar reasons but work in slightly different ways.

These common pain killing medications are taken for similar reasons but work in slightly different ways.

A Vietnamese poet and author of novels in both Vietnamese and English, Nguyen Phan Que Mai has received critical acclaim for her stories that draw on recent Vietnamese history.

A Vietnamese poet and author of novels in both Vietnamese and English, Nguyen Phan Que Mai has received critical acclaim for her stories that draw on recent Vietnamese history.

To protect our heads in a crash or collision, we wear a helmet. But what about if we need to protect a building? That's probably too big for a helmet… Engineer Tatheer explores creative solutions to these big problems. We have some upcoming live Ockham's Razor shows! We're heading to Melbourne, Huon Valley and Sydney. Check them out and join the audience here. 

To protect our heads in a crash or collision, we wear a helmet. But what about if we need to protect a building? That's probably too big for a helmet… Engineer Tatheer explores creative solutions to these big problems. We have some upcoming live Ockham's Razor shows! We're heading to Melbourne, Huon Valley and Sydney. Check them out and join the audience here. 

New York writer and reviewer Ann Manov has reviewed the London Review of Books

New York writer and reviewer Ann Manov has reviewed the London Review of Books

Medical science institutes that hosted rogue surgeon Paolo Macchiarini won't take responsibility for his work 

Medical science institutes that hosted rogue surgeon Paolo Macchiarini won't take responsibility for his work 

UN Special Rapporteur, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin has called on the United States to apologise for the torture of Guantanamo Bay prison inmates

UN Special Rapporteur, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin has called on the United States to apologise for the torture of Guantanamo Bay prison inmates

Kym Ellery, the founder of collapsed Australian fashion label Ellery Land, tells reporter Rachael Brown that business collapses are sometimes the price of working in the fashion industry.

Kym Ellery, the founder of collapsed Australian fashion label Ellery Land, tells reporter Rachael Brown that business collapses are sometimes the price of working in the fashion industry.

This week's mystery caller is a colourful inhabitant of the rainforest canopy – the Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove.

This week's mystery caller is a colourful inhabitant of the rainforest canopy – the Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove.

Inspiring individuals talk about a pivotal moment in their personal histories. This week,

Inspiring individuals talk about a pivotal moment in their personal histories. This week,

Rachael Mead has written a novel inspired by the true story of the first Australian woman to set foot on Antarctica.

Rachael Mead has written a novel inspired by the true story of the first Australian woman to set foot on Antarctica.

In a thought provoking piece for The Guardian, journalist Eleanor De Jong wrote a deeply personal article under the heading, “Nobody I’ve been locked up with in a psychiatric hospital felt ‘proud’ of their illness”.  Former Australian of the Year Pat McGorry’s tweet called the piece “brilliant”, adding “It’s a scandal that despite all the “awareness” of mental illness in recent years that severe mental illness like schizophrenia and bipolar are so neglected still.”  Guest: Eleanor De Jong 

In a thought provoking piece for The Guardian, journalist Eleanor De Jong wrote a deeply personal article under the heading, “Nobody I’ve been locked up with in a psychiatric hospital felt ‘proud’ of their illness”.  Former Australian of the Year Pat McGorry’s tweet called the piece “brilliant”, adding “It’s a scandal that despite all the “awareness” of mental illness in recent years that severe mental illness like schizophrenia and bipolar are so neglected still.”  Guest: Eleanor De Jong 

When it comes to conservation, it's easy to get excited about protecting creatures that make you go "aww". Like, "aww, what a fluffy koala!", or "aww, what a cute lizard!"

When it comes to conservation, it's easy to get excited about protecting creatures that make you go "aww". Like, "aww, what a fluffy koala!", or "aww, what a cute lizard!"

With tens of thousands of Russian soldiers dying or being injured in the country’s war on Ukraine, Putin has offered immigrants money and citizenship if they enlist. There are reports Cuban immigrants are now joining the army to fight with Russia in Ukraine.  But our guest believes that the Cubans enlisting may not be doing so voluntarily, and that the government in Havana will keep the majority of the money.  Guest: Javier Larrondo, President, Prisoners Defenders

With tens of thousands of Russian soldiers dying or being injured in the country’s war on Ukraine, Putin has offered immigrants money and citizenship if they enlist. There are reports Cuban immigrants are now joining the army to fight with Russia in Ukraine.  But our guest believes that the Cubans enlisting may not be doing so voluntarily, and that the government in Havana will keep the majority of the money.  Guest: Javier Larrondo, President, Prisoners Defenders

Iranian Baha'i poet Mahvesh Sabet has been jailed and tortured for a third time 

Iranian Baha'i poet Mahvesh Sabet has been jailed and tortured for a third time 

As Australia seeks ways to address its housing crisis, and rapidly rising rents in particular, an inner-west Sydney council suggested a vacancy tax on the one in 10 empty homes in the area. We look at British Columbia to see how their ‘Speculation and Vacancy Tax’ has worked over there. Guest: Professor Tsur Somerville, Sauder School of Business, Uni of British Columbia

As Australia seeks ways to address its housing crisis, and rapidly rising rents in particular, an inner-west Sydney council suggested a vacancy tax on the one in 10 empty homes in the area. We look at British Columbia to see how their ‘Speculation and Vacancy Tax’ has worked over there. Guest: Professor Tsur Somerville, Sauder School of Business, Uni of British Columbia

Reporters Ty King and Mayeta Clark are granted a behind-the-scenes look at the dangerous game of cat and mouse played by cops and cartels.

Reporters Ty King and Mayeta Clark are granted a behind-the-scenes look at the dangerous game of cat and mouse played by cops and cartels.

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

Wiradjuri woman Denni Francisco is the founder of fashion brand Ngali, and winner of the Fashion Designer Award at the National Indigenous Fashion Awards