Late Night Live
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Life and work of Gillian Mears (video)
An intimate, program length interview with Gillian Mears, award-winning Australian novelist. She discusses life, death, her work, living with Multiple Sclerosis, and of course, horses - her great passion, and a theme in much of her writing. This was pre-recorded one week ago. You can also read Gillian’s accompanying article on the RN website.
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The revolt against the West
In his latest book From the Ruins of Empire, Pankaj Mishra focuses mainly on the stories of a number of late nineteenth, early twentieth century Asian thinkers, intellectuals who were the early resisters of Western colonialism and imperialism.
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Misogyny Factor
Australian women have enjoyed the fruits of much progress towards equality over the past decades, however this doesn’t equate to success. One of Australia’s leading feminist thinkers, Anne Summers, takes a good hard look at what kind of society Australia really is today.
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Bruce Shapiro on Oklahoma tornado
Bruce Shapiro reports on the devastating Oklahoma tornado.
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Life after death; the Lazarus effect
Dr Sam Parnia discusses the convergence of the two lines of investigation he's been pursuing; the science of medical resuscitation and the larger more fundamental mystery of human consciousness.
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The U.S. factory-safety accord
This week Bruce discusses the effort to get U.S. firms to sign on to a factory-safety accord, following last month's Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, which killed up to eleven hundred people.
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Kate Tempest, performance poet
Kate Tempest has just won Britain's Ted Hughes Award for innovation in poetry. At 27, this performance poet is the youngest person to win it. Kate's extraordinary lyricism and passionate performances have been shared through the Royal Shakespeare Company, which commissioned work from her, and the Battersea Arts Centre, which has been presenting her award-winning 'Brand New Ancients'. Kate, a proud South Londoner, is here for the Sydney Writers' Festival. This live, filmed segment with...
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The universe: mysteries and truths
The universe came from nothing, contains mostly empty space, and all the galaxies are moving away from us. Lawrence Krauss, pioneering theoretical physicist, exhorts us to embrace what we know about the universe, and to accept the reality of our brief existence within it.
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The life of Deborah Cheetham, Indigenous soprano
Singing has always been an integral part of Australia's Indigenous culture, and Indigenous soprano Deborah Cheetham likens opera to corroboree. She talks to Phillip about composing Australia's first Indigenous opera, Pecan Summer, founding her Short Black Opera Company and her work encouraging Indigenous kids to get more involved in singing and the arts.
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Last days of the Raj
When June Porter, a well-known Adelaide-based arts patron and former Lady Mayoress, was in her mid-20s, she spent a remarkable two years in India in the lead-up to independence. As lady-in-waiting to the wife of a British state governor, she experienced the last of opulent royal fiefdoms, replete with palaces, tiger hunts, and extraordinary jewellery. At the age of 94, she has written her memoir.
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America's global battlefield
In more than one hundred countries around the world, elite American soldiers, the CIA's Special Activities Division and the Joint Special Operations Command, engage in targeted killings, kidnappings for interrogation purposes and the directing of drone and cruise missile strikes. This is all sanctioned by the US President as part of the 'War on Terror'. Jeremy Scahill exposes the extent of America's dirty wars in his new book.
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The first sexual revolution
Forget the 1960s. The biggest changes in sexual mores came between 1600-1800, when more sexual freedom - albeit mainly for men - and a belief that sexual activity was largely a private, not a public matter, laid the foundations for much contemporary Western thinking on sex. This is the argument made by Oxford University historian Faramerz Dabhoiwala, in his acclaimed book.
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The New Deal and the Origins of our Time
Racism not only shaped American life in the age of the Great Depression, but Hitler looked fondly at the American South, which was more explicit and more degrading than anything taking place in Germany at the time. Ira Katznelson and David Runciman look at American liberalism when it was at the height of its power in the 1930s and 1940s.
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Conflict in Turkey
A close look at Turkey as the country faces some pressing issues. On the one hand, the government is trying to deal with escalating violence spilling over from the conflict in Syria while on the other, negotiating a lasting peace deal with the Kurdistan Workers' Party after nearly thirty years of armed conflict.
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The Holtermann Collection
The intrepid arts detective, the patron and the photographers: the people behind the 3,500 glass plate photographic images that make up the Holtermann Collection of Australian photographs from the 1870s. They were found in a garden shed in Sydney's Chatswood in the 1950s, and are the basis of an exhibition at The State Library of NSW.
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Death Keeps Me Awake
Joseph Beuys was known as a political clown and artistic agitator in Germany. Rudolf Steiner was an eccentric philosopher in Austria. This is a judgment that many people still hold. Death Keeps Me Awake shows the intimate connection between Joseph Beuys's and Rudolf Steiner's thinking; their depth, determination and seriousness; and at the same time, the humour which is so clear in many of their works.
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The women of Bollywood
As Bollywood marks its centenary this year, we talk to legendary Indian actress, director, writer and television presenter, Simi Garewal, about the representation of women in Indian cinema over the years.
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Raoul Wallenberg
The first ever honorary citizen of Australia was named on Monday this week. He is Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved up to 100,000 Hungarian Jews from deportation and certain death at the hands of the Nazis in World War II. Arrested by the Soviets in January 1945, his fate is unknown to this day.
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Inside the kingdom of Saudi Arabia
There is concern that Australian man, Shayden Thorne, who has been charged with terrorism related offences in Saudi Arabia, may face the death penalty. We take a look inside the kingdom, at the authoritarian regime, its secretive security apparatus, how they manage interrogations, jail terms and anti-regime demonstrations.
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Captain Zuzenko
Captain Alexander Zuzenko tried to bring the Bolshevik Revolution to Australia. He imagined that from this egalitarian haven, starting in Brisbane with the backing of Russian compatriots, he could then spread the revolution throughout the British Empire.
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The race for the Arctic
Next week, the Arctic Council—that's Canada, Denmark, Norway, the Russian Federation, and the United States, with Arctic indigenous people represented as well—begins its annual meeting. On the agenda is the formation of a treaty to manage the increasing pressures on the Arctic, as climate change makes it more accessible. Unlike Antarctica, the Arctic has no treaty. Also up for discussion is whether other countries such as China, Japan and South Korea should have a seat at the table.
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Behind the Iron Curtain 1944–1956
After the end of WW2, the communist regimes of Eastern Europe were ruthlessly Stalinised in a remarkably short period of time. Pulitzer prize winning author Anne Applebaum details how the Soviet Union and East European communists bullied, threatened and murdered their way to power and how again, people had to choose whether to fight, to flee or to collaborate.
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Near-Earth asteroids, research and the funding of science
n 1989 Duncan Steel began the first southern-hemisphere search for near-Earth asteroids. Indeed it was the first search outside the USA but a severe lack of funding will see Australia falling behind the rest of the world in the field of space science.
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Psychological and political repression
Nancy Hollander discusses the psychological meanings of living under authoritarian political conditions and show how a psychoanalysis "beyond the couch" contributes to social struggles on behalf of human rights and redistributive justice.
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The New Statesman turns 100
On April 12, 1913, Beatrice and Sidney Webb founded the New Statesman. To celebrate the centenary, we look at some of the best pieces from the archives: HG Wells's deferential interview with Joseph Stalin, JB Priestley’s 'Britain and the Nuclear Bombs' which kicked off Charter 88; John Maynard Keynes's article on the Spanish Civil War and Virginia Woolf's attack on misogyny, written on October 16, 1920.
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Obama's Syria dilemma
Bruce Shapiro discusses President Barack Obama's concerns about the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syria. President Obama has expressed his concerns to Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of the Syrian government's staunchest allies.
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Michael Sandel: What Money Can't Buy
Famed Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel argues in his latest book that just about every area of life—from family to work, and from education to law—is deemed to have a market value. Ours is a world in which everything is for sale. Sandel's legendary 'Justice' lectures were the first to be put online by Harvard University, and became the subject of television series in multiple countries. He speaks to us from the Harvard studio ahead of his visit next month for the Sydney Writers Festival.
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Burrup's rock art: the protracted World Heritage listing
For decades people who have been aware of the vast and precious outdoor art collection known as the Burrup rock art, on the Dampier Archipelago in Western Australia, have been calling for World Heritage listing. Six years ago the area became Australian National Heritage-listed. Last year the Australian Heritage Council recommended World Heritage listing. So what's holding it up? While mounting pressures from industry and visitors potentially threaten the engravings, the Federal Government...
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The Untold War of Soldiers
As the number of American soldier suicides rise to alarming levels, a moral philosopher and trauma expert explores the inner dilemmas faced by soldiers, and how the US military is responding to this epidemic.
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LNL - 1205 Antony Beevor: the Second World War
Acclaimed historian Antony Beevor discusses his magisterial history of the greatest conflict the world has seen, The Second World War. This program was first broadcast in September 2012.
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The ethics of mining
In mining, there are always competing arguments about benefits. One person's sacrifice is another's gain, and the governing laws and approaches vary greatly between specific commodities and countries. But there is no underlying ethical framework to guide the decision-making, and operations of, mining. It is a field little explored, in an era when even university research is increasingly sponsored by mining companies.
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Saltwater People
In two books about the Sydney coast, John Ogden weaves together the often neglected Aboriginal history, the recent European history and contemporary ways of life, showing how each have built lives around the salt air, sandstone and crashing surf.
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The Lucky Culture
Half a century after Donald Horne named Australia ′The Lucky Country′, Nick Cater takes stock of the new battle to define Australia and the rift that divides a presumptive ruling class from a people who refuse to be ruled.
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U.S. politics with Bruce Shapiro.
This week Bruce talks about the collapse of the gun background checks bill in the Senate and the Boston bombing aftermath.
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WW1 Alleged Miscarriage of Justice?
Is it braver to go to war and serve as a soldier, or to resist the war effort at home? During WW1conscientious objectors in Britain were imprisoned for their beliefs about the futility and savagery of the Great War. Alice Wheeldon, a passionate anti-war campaigner, was imprisoned, along with her daughter and son-in-law, on charges of plotting to murder the Prime Minister Lloyd George. Their imprisonment now appears to be a miscarriage of justice. Alice's great grand-daughters are set to fly...
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Military courts at Guantanamo Bay
Jess Bravin arrived at Guantanamo Bay within days of the prison's opening and he's been covering the U.s. military commissions' story ever since. As he explains in his latest book, these military commissions have led to a parallel justice system being created for enemy aliens that goes against fundamental human values.
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Robyn Nevin - A Life
Star of stage and screen for over 50 years, Robyn Nevin is optimistic about the future of Australian theatre, because she's noticed the next generation of would be actors and directors are bypassing film for theatre. She talks about the early part of her career in radio and TV, as well as the greatest challenge of her career - playing Shakespeare's Lear. Nor does she show any sign of slowing down with a number of projects on the boil including a comi-tragedy called Upper Middle Bogan,...
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John Ford's Western, The Searchers, and the truth behind...
Award winning journalist Glenn Frankel unravels the truth behind the legend depicted in the American Western film The Searchers, starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford.
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Margaret Thatcher and the welfare state
The 10 million pound, state sponsored, funeral of Baroness Margaret Thatcher coincided with the Coalition government’s introduction of the largest ever welfare cuts in Britain. So what exactly does this mean for the four million poor children in the UK, one of the highest levels in the industrialized world?
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Sport today
Sports journalist and author, Martin Flanagan thinks sport in Australia today, particularly Australian football is in a mess of historic proportions. He argues that sport has been effectively swallowed up by the entertainment industry and trivialised by increased media scrutiny. He is joined by sports aficionado and award-winning singer/songwriter, David Bridie.
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Do we need an Iraq War Inquiry?
Former Ambassador Richard Broinowski calls for an inquiry into Australian involvement in the Iraq War, not just to find out exactly how this decision was made, but to prevent us making similar hasty decisions in the future.
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Bruce Shapiro on the Boston bombings
This week Bruce talks about how hard the recent attack has hit Boston, where the marathon isn't just a race but a capstone of a unique local holiday, Patriots Day, and is knit deep into local culture.
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The Gandhian Moment
Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas have motivated such famous figures as Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama. They also inspired the unheralded Muslim activists Abul Kalam Azad, and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, whose work for Indian independence is an example to people today who doubt the viability of nonviolent Islamic protest. So does the world today need the teachings of Gandhi more than ever before, especially, in the face of radical Islam? What can Muslim leaders learn from Mahatma...
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Capturing the Internet
Imagine the difficulty of trying to capture the activity of the internet for posterity. The job for the British Library has just been made easier with new technology in place, but our own National Library has been a trailblazer in this area.
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The next human pandemic
Award-winning science writer David Quammen has been investigating what sorts of viruses are the most likely to cause a new pandemic and which virus groups to watch in his new book “Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic”.
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Deserter: The Last Untold Story of the Second World War
In his new book, Deserter: The Last Untold Story of the Second World War, journalist Charles Glass examines why some soldiers chose to abandon their combat posts during the Second World War. What made them run? And what happened after they fled? Charles tells the stories of three very different soldiers: English poet and boxer John Bain who deserted his post thrice; Private Steve Weiss, an American who fought with the French resistance before deserting; and the very colourful Private Al...
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Future cities: The next challenge
Australia and the US have come a long way in understanding and building green. But the products we buy to put in these buildings continue to be toxic. So will the next big sustainable shift come from the manufacturing sector as consumers realise that we need products that don't pollute and damage the environment and our health?
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Peter Singer
Ethicist Peter Singer has always been controversial. His views on euthanasia, abortion and animal rights have provoked global condemnation, with one disability activist describing him as a 'public advocate of genocide' and 'the most dangerous man on earth today'. It's now forty years since the publication of Peter Singer's watershed book, "Animal Liberation" and he caught up with Phillip Adams at this year's Tasmanian Writers' Festival.
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American Umpire or Empire?
Is America’s role in the world best described as umpire, or empire? Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman, author of American Umpire, argues that America has had a more noble role in world affairs than it is often given credit for. She joins us in debate with Andrew Bacevich, who sees America as driven by economic expansionism. They look at Korea and other current tensions in Asia, and at WW2 and other historical events.
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Satyajit Das on Thatcher and the Faulklands; Cyprus; and...
Das gives us his unique take on Thatcher's legacy, analyses the prospects for Cyprus, and reminds us why Japan is in strife.
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The formidable Mrs Thatcher
“Unless we change our ways and our direction, our greatness as a nation will soon be a footnote in the history books, a distant memory of an offshore island, lost in the mists of time like Camelot, remembered kindly for its noble past.” Margaret Thatcher’s vision for Britain when she became Prime Minister in 1979. But did she live up to that vision?
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Bruce Shapiro on the GOP and guns.
This week Bruce highlights the interesting comparison between Connecticut Republican state legislators, who backed the state gun bill last week and Washington, where the GOP is threatening to filibuster the national gun bill to prevent it from even coming to the floor.
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North Korea and sanctions
Foreign Minister Bob Carr is calling on China to strengthen its sanctions against North Korea and pledging that Australia will remain steadfast in its sanctions. We investigate how effective sanctions have been in North Korea so far and look at their application in other parts of the world, such as Iran and Iraq. We discuss the ethical and legal boundaries of sanctions and examine why they don’t always achieve their intended purpose.
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How to fix what's wrong with Tasmania
Prominent Tasmanian, Henry Reynolds and Phillip Adams attempt, in the space of a twenty minute interview, to solve the problems of Tasmania. Henry believes that to make Tasmania more relevant the state needs a new flag, a change in the functions of the governor and a reconfiguration of the upper house of the Tasmanian parliament, amongst other things.
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Invisible Armies
A global tour of guerrilla warfare through the ages. At the moment, not a single war is being fought between uniformed, consenting enemies. Instead, there are dozens of insurgencies. But fighting from the shadows, or against the shadows, has a long history. Author and historian Max Boot, a former U.S. military advisor in Iraq and Afghanistan, re-introduces us to Alexander the Great, Mao, Che, the Italian nationalist Giuseppe Garibaldi, archeologist-turned-military commander T.E. Lawrence,...
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Biophilia
A look at how human health and well-being are inextricably linked to nature. Stephen Kellert asserts that our capacities to think, feel, communicate, create and find meaning in life all depend upon our relationship to the natural world.
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Obama goes in search of Middle East legacy
Every US President looks forward to establishing a lasting legacy in their second term. So President Barack Obama made his first presidential visit to Israel in search of that legacy. His goal: To bring lasting peace to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But could the historic visit make or break his Middle East legacy?
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Poetry and the Romani culture
Poet, David Morley uses his native Romani language as a vehicle for contemporary poetry. He talks about the themes of conflict, passion and betrayal of the Roma people and their relevance to contemporary Western society.
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North Korean threat: rhetorical or real?
Easter weekend saw renewed belligerence on the Korean peninsula with the Northern regime declaring it had entered a ‘state of war’ with South Korea. This has certainly not been the first threat of this kind issued from the North, but it has certainly set the cat amongst the pigeons and it's a situation that South Korea and the United States are taking seriously.
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The gay bishop and same--sex marriage
In 2003, the election of Gene Robinson as the US Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop caused such a controversy that it threatened to split the Anglican Church in two.
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David Walsh and Phillip Adams tour MONA
David Walsh, founder and creator of Hobart's world famous Museum of Old and New Art takes Phillip Adams on a guided, personal tour.
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Courageous Australian women
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The End of Power
Author and former editor of 'Foreign Policy' magazine, Moiss Nam, illuminates the struggle between the once-dominant mega players and the new micro powers challenging them in every field of human endeavour. In his new book, 'The End of Power', he writes about how the anti-establishment drive of micro powers can topple tyrants, dislodge monopolies, and open remarkable new opportunities. But it can also lead to chaos and paralysis.
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The God Argument
What are the arguments for and against religion and religious belief? Can there be a clear, full statement of these arguments that once and for all will show what is at stake in this debate? Equally important: what is the alternative to religion as a view of the world and a foundation for morality? Phillip chats to acclaimed philosopher A.C.Grayling about his new book ‘The God Argument’.
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Bruce Shapiro on the gay marriage arguments currently...
Bruce Shapiro discusses the significance of the two gay marriage arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this week. He also talks about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's tilt at politics.
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Modern Warfare - Public forum from the Perth Writers'...
Given that the modern soldier is not simply a fighter, but also a peacekeeper and aid worker, is it time to lay the Anzac legend to rest or does it endure within the contemporary forces? Investigative journalist Chris Masters has been grappling with these questions with Australian soldiers, as well as his own pre-conceptions about soldiering. He talks about this and his comprehensive study of today's Army. US Army veteran Kevin Powers, now novelist, joined him in a lively discussion. Repeat...
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South Africa and the BRICS
The first South African BRICS summit gets underway in Durban next week. South Africa is the newest addition to the group of emerging economic powers - Brazil, Russia, India and China, all of whom want to further their commercial interests on the African continent. The BRICS inclusion is seen as the beginning of a new era for South Africa, but civil society groups – the NGO’s - are urging caution about who trades with who and at whose expense. They’re running a ‘brics-from-below’...
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Labor leadership crisis settled?
Journalists Laura Tingle, Chris Uhlmann and David Uren join Phillip Adams to discuss what the developments of the day will mean for the future of the Labor Party.
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The writing of Jamal Mahjoub, also known as Parker Bilal
Why would a critically acclaimed literary novelist pack it all in, change his name, and turn to crime - crime writing that is? Jamal Mahjoub- pen name Parker Bilal - spoke to Phillip Adams at the Perth Writers' Festival.
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Life of Madeleine St John
When Madeleine St John discovered she was the first Australian woman to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize for her novel The Essence of the Thing, she was gobsmacked and furious. Furious because she did not want to be identified as an Australian - she'd spent a long time trying to rid herself of that tag - and secondly because she felt you can only judge good literature in retrospect, after at least 100 years. Helen Trinca has captured the troubled life of Madeleine St John in a new...
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Global warming, coral reefs and a metaphor for hope
In 2005, twin sisters Margaret and Christine Wertheim began crocheting a coral reef in their lounge room in Los Angeles, California. What began in that lounge room has become a worldwide collaborative process, which brings together environmentalism, marine science, handicraft and community art practice, and raises awareness of how collectively we have the power to sustain a better and healthier world.
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Arms Trade Treaty talks resume
The Arms Trade Treaty talks have resumed at the UN in New York this week, after stalling in July last year. We look at the relative desirability of compromise, and the agendas of the five biggest arms traders: China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA.
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10th anniversary of the Iraq war
This week Bruce Shapiro reflects on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq war, as car bombs continue to rip through Baghdad.
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Iraq invasion: who benefited?
Tomorrow marks ten years since America invaded Iraq. The terrible consequences for Iraq are not in dispute, but what has America or any other country gained? We analyse the international relations legacy of that controversial war.
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The benefits of localisation
Manish Jain, a keynote speaker at the Economics of Happiness conference in Byron Bay, urges a move away from conventional Western education, which he believes is contributing to a cultural crisis in India and elsewhere.
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Democracy on Trial in Kenya
Last week Kenya held its first presidential election since the bloody post-vote violence in 2007 in which over a 1000 people died and 600,000 were displaced. But after winning the presidential elections by the narrowest of margins this time round – can President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta bring the country back from the brink? A cultural, social and political analysis of Kenya with Dr Jendayi Frazer, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the George W. Bush administration and...
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The logic of one world
We are creating a new global civilization. Eighty-eight percent of the world's population outside the West is rising to Western living standards, and sharing Western aspirations. Singaporean scholar and diplomat, Kishore Mahbubani, warns that this new global civilisation needs a new global order – one in which global power will need to be shared between the East and the West.
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Bruce Shapiro on Senator Rand Paul, Hugo Chavez and the...
Bruce canvasses Senator Rand Paul's 'one-day filibuster' of John Brennan's CIA confirmation of drones. He also notes the passing of Hugo Chavez, a 'complicated leader', and discusses the two American papal candidates, Cardinal O'Malley of Boston and Timothy Dolan of NYC.
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Terrorism, trauma and its aftermath
What could ever make a bright young woman interested in studying the motivation of terrorists? Phillip Adams spoke at length to Dr Jessica Stern, world class terrorism expert, on her work and the adolescent trauma which led to her interest in violence.
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Abortion and pregnant women's rights in America
It’s forty years since Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion in the United States. And while public support for abortion rights remains high, more and more States are enacting laws that are making it extremely difficult for a woman to obtain a termination. A new study shows that post-Roe anti-choice and ‘pro-life’ measures are being used to do more than limit access to abortion. The study identifies 413 cases between 1973 and 2005 of both forced medical...
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Legacy of Hugo Chavez - revolutionary or dictator?
Richard Gott, British journalist and historian, got to know Hugo Chavez personally. He is joined by Jon Lee Anderson, regular writer with The New Yorker, to discuss the controversial Venezuelan leader and whether his legacy will endure.
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Happiness Forum
A serious discussion exploring all aspects of happiness, asking whether our pursuit of happiness is making us miserable. Is it really something people ought to aspire to? Former WA Premier Geoff Gallop, philosopher Damon Young and British author Oliver Burkeman join Phillip in an engaging, spirited session.
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Perth Writers Festival with Lawrence Norfolk
Lawrence Norfolk writes extensively about burning libraries – from the library at Nineveh in Ancient Sumeria, which burned spectacularly and totally in 612 BC, to Serb gunners firing grenades into the University of Sarajevo in 1992. He feels that with the conversion of books to Ebooks, we have come full circle and are burning books again.
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The Ok Tedi mine and cultural implications
What are the long term consequences for people and their communities once mining operations are over? PNG writer, blogger and activist, Martyn Namorong and Dr. Dan Jorgensen, from the Department of Anthropology at Western University in Ontario, take a look at the Ok Tedi mine in PNG.
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A difficult woman
Lillian Hellman was a playwright, author and political activist who refused to bow to the McCarthy witch hunts of the 1950s, and denounced fellow artists and intellectuals who she deemed not brave enough, or too selfish, to speak up. An abrasive and unapologetic character, she made many enemies, and was accused of lying in her memoirs and being an unrepentant Stalinist. She was revered by 1970s feminists, but had a low opinion of their cause. Kessler-Harris's biography seeks to give...
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Bruce Shapiro on the Bradley Manning case
Bruce Shapiro looks at two Americans pushing on the political system from outside the usual channels. Private Bradley Manning’s remarkable plea-bargain statement at his court martial "providence inquiry" last week, when for the first time he stated openly that he was a Wikileaks' source. Bruce also talks about his New Haven neighbour Lucille Dickess, who died last week at age 79. Lucille was a secretary in the Yale Geology Department and later became the president of Local 34, the...
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Joseph Kennedy Snr - a new perspective
Joe Kennedy seemingly had a hand in all the key moments of the twentieth century – WWI, the Great Depression, the nascent years of the American film industry, the Roosevelt Government and the New Deal, and WWII. A phenomenally successful businessman, adept at wheeling and dealing, Kennedy always had uppermost in his mind the futures of his nine children - including John, the future President, Bobby, his Attorney General, and Senator Ted Kennedy. Joe carefully managed their lives and planned...
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Modern Warfare - Public forum from the Perth Writers'...
Given that the modern soldier is not simply a fighter, but also a peacekeeper and aid worker, is it time to lay the Anzac legend to rest or does it endure within the contemporary forces? Investigative journalist Chris Masters has been grappling with these questions with Australian soldiers, as well as his own pre-conceptions about soldiering. He talks about this and his comprehensive study of today's Army. US Army veteran Kevin Powers, now novelist, joined him in a lively discussion.
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The State of the Church, the Papacy and Catholicism with...
Paul Collins, historian, author, former Catholic Priest and ABC Broadcaster, talks about the Catholic Church, the Papacy, his relationship with the church and his latest book The Birth of the West.
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Bombay's jazz age
In the 1930s and 40s, the sophisticates of Bombay danced in art deco ballrooms to 'hot jazz', often performed by African American musicians. A new book traces the players and the music, from all over the world, to bring this part of Bombay's history back to life.
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Bruce Shapiro on C.Everett Koop, civil rights, and the...
Bruce Shapiro discusses the death of C. Everett Koop, Reagan's courageous Surgeon General; some significant current civil rights cases; and the $8 billion cuts that go into effect on Friday.
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This Federal Election Year at the Perth Writers'...
Phillip Adams held a public forum at the Perth Writers' Festival with journalists David Uren, Laura Tingle and Chris Uhlmann to discuss what the ALP needs to do in order to have any chance in this upcoming federal poll as well as the major issues confronting both parties.
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What do spies tell their family? Scott Johnson
Ben Zygier, the alleged spy who died in an Israeli prison in 2010 may have been about to disclose information about Israeli intelligence operations to either the Australian government or the media. His parents, Geoffrey and Louise Zygier, who have been described as “the aristocracy of the Jewish community in Australia” have fallen silent since their son’s death. Author Scott Johnson talks about his CIA childhood and what spies tell their families.
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The effects of the Arab Spring on writers and artists:...
Author Ahdaf Soueif, the keynote speaker at the Perth Writers Festival, was in Cairo’s Tahrir Square during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Reporting on the ground for The Guardian and other media as the dramatic events unfolded, Soueif witnessed the impact of the revolution on the people campaigning and celebrating in the streets, as well as on the writers and artists working in the city. What does it mean for writers and artists to bear witness to the Arab Spring and how is it reflected in...
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Writing what you 'know'
Two novelists appearing at the Perth Writers Festival discuss what it means to write what you know - the recommendation of many teachers of writing. Edward St Aubyn writes caustically, but entertainingly, about the British upper class, a milieu he was born into. Kunal Basu's novels range across various national settings and periods of history.
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Hilary Mantel vs Kate Middleton
The British tabloids have adopted a stance of outrage after author Hilary Mantel, in a speech on 'Royal Bodies', said that the Duchess of Cambridge's role is primarily to give birth. Mantel's speech canvassed the ways in which the physical personages of various royals have been perceived, through the centuries.
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Bruce Shapiro on Senator Marco Rubio, the State of the...
Bruce continues his analysis of the State of the Union address, introduces us to the Republican boy-most-likely Senator Marco Rubio, and discusses drones, and the treatment of war veterans
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Understanding China's Communist Party
Through sources across China, Rowan Callick offers insights into the power, longevity and future of the Chinese Communist Party. Callick says that the Party is more in command than ever of institutions, events, and the minutiae of daily lives. But it is less certain, in the internet age, of what is going on in people's minds.
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Traditional societies and what we can learn from them
Drawing on his five decades of working and living in Papua New Guinea and from evidence from many other cultures, Jared Diamond posits there are many things modern society can learn from traditional ways of life.
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Nicolas Rothwell
A special one hour interview with award winning author and North Australian correspondent for The Australian, Nicolas Rothwell. His latest book Belomor is part autobiographical, part desert fable, part travel writing is described as a meditation on time and loss .
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J. Robert Oppenheimer - a life
The 'father of the Atomic Bomb', Robert Oppenheimer was a man of diverse interests and phenomenal intellectual attributes. Driven by his desire to overcome his status as an outsider and be at the heart of American political and intellectual life, the implications of his creation at Los Alamos nevertheless weighed heavily upon him. A new biography goes further than most in revealing the motivations and inner life of this complex and contradictory figure.
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Auguste Comte - an intellectual life
The intellectual life of Auguste Comte, a radical and controversial figure who founded the discipline of Sociology, and launched Positivism, a philosophical and political movement whose influence was widespread. His life and work had been all but forgotten until Mary Pickering devoted decades to understanding this man and his contributions.
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Don McAlpine, cinematographer
This legend of Australian - and international - film-making is now on the other side of the camera, in a documentary about his life and work. Don's 53 films include 'My Brilliant Career’, ‘Down and Out in Beverley Hills’, ‘Breaker Morant’, ‘Predator’, ‘Patriot Games’, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’, ‘Moulin Rouge’, and ‘Wolverine’.
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Being independent
Tony Windsor, one of the three independent MPs who have helped determine the course of the Gillard Government’s current term, discusses life as a politician working solo.
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Bruce Shapiro on U.S. politics
Bruce updates us on the latest developments in the U.S.A.
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Australia and Timor-Leste: our future relationship
It was announced last week that there's to be a House of Representatives inquiry into Australia's relationship with Timor-Leste. Our shared history is long, and for many people in both countries, it's about much more than regional politics.
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Norman Haire, sexologist
In the 1920s and 30s, ex-pat Australian Norman Haire was a well known and colourful figure in London, with gynaecology rooms on Harley Street and a network of influential friends. His zeal for sex education, women's rights and birth control contributed to the widespread social changes that were to follow, yet his work is not widely recognised. A new biography seeks to redress that.
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The Strange Life of Michael Jackson
'Untouchable' takes readers into the reality of a Michael Jackson they have never met—a man who, from his childhood under the constant glare of the spotlight to his fall from grace, had always been alone and who, in the wake of a criminal trial that left him briefly hospitalized and broken in spirit, abandoned Neverland to wander the globe without a home.
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Michael Jackson and the source of his problems; Hillary...
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Through An Immigrant's Eyes
Manfred Jurgensen is the author of thirty six books including books of poetry, novels and literary criticism. After 52 years in his adopted country, his latest novel "The Last Australia Day" raises some challenging questions about what sort of society Australia has become.
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Bruce Shapiro on the death of Ed Koch
Ed Koch, the New York mayor for three terms, was buried yesterday. Bruce Shapiro discusses Ed's journey - from reformer to presiding over corruption scandals, from civil rights volunteer to defender of famously racist police, from promoter of one of the country's first gay rights laws to turning a notoriously blind eye to the emerging AIDS crisis.
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Bill Ferris on innovation
Businessman Bill Ferris is a pioneer of both venture capital and private equity in Australia. He also plays a big role in public life, particularly in the fields of medical research and philanthropy. He believes Australia needs to foster a greater culture of innovation.
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Aaron Swartz: prosecution or persecution
In January this year, 26 year-old Aaron Swartz hanged himself in his Brooklyn apartment. Swartz was an internet prodigy and a freedom of information activist who had been indicted on federal charges. including wire and computer fraud, for his efforts to provide free public access to JSTOR, the subscription-only service for distributing largely publicly funded scientific and literary journals. Swartz was facing penalties of up to 35 years in prison and US$1 million in fines, and although his...
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Tasmanian faultlines
The contradictions and conundrums of Tasmanian life are explored in Tasmania: The Tipping Point?, which is the the latest edition of Griffith REVIEW. The state ranked lowest on various socio-economic measures is also blessed with cultural and geographic riches. We talk to two of the edition's more provocative contributors. Jonathan West argues that Tasmania is unnecessarily dependent on the mainland, and that the population's reliance on government benefits, and resistance to education,...
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Timbuktu manuscripts
There have been unconfirmed reports that the priceless and historic manuscripts housed in the Ahmed Baba Institute in Timbuktu have been destroyed by Islamists fleeing French-led Malian troops. Riason Naidoo was director of the Timbuktu manuscripts project for six years and talks about their history and significance.
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A History of the World in Maps
Throughout history, maps have always told as much about their creators and their worldview as reproducing an accurate replica of the world.
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Syria and the significance of Latakia
The war in Syria has reached the door-step of the regime heartland of Latakia, a city which was an unobtainable target till recently. Latakia, the playground of the President and his generals, is protected by the government’s most powerful militia. Is President Bashar al-Assad likely to lose the war if he loses Latakia?
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The First Tattooed White Woman
Olive Oatman became the first tattooed white woman in America after her family was killed by Yavapai Indians and she was taken captive in the 1850s. Adopted and raised by Mohave Indians who gave her a tribal blue tattoo on her chin, she was ransomed back to the white world at age 19 and became a celebrity. She was also the inspiration for the appearance of the tattooed circus ladies.
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Bruce Shapiro on the year ahead in US politics
Regular US correspondent Bruce Shapiro previews the year ahead in American politics.
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Tales of Horses and Humans
A horsey Australia Day special. The horse plays a significant part in our national story. There are the stockmen – both indigenous and settler; the Light Horse Brigade; the Melbourne Cup; the Man from Snowy River; and Elyne Mitchell’s Silver Brumby children’s novels.
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Ariel Dorfman: Confessions of an Unrepentant Exile
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Immigrant Nations
How does immigration result in the loss of familiar worlds, both for immigrants and for host societies? More importantly should a country belong to its inhabitants? Are we not all newcomers to the countries in which we are born? A discussion with three experts on the effects of mass immigration on Australia, Europe and North America. Originally broadcast on 10/10/12.
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Raja Shehadeh
For years, acclaimed Palestinian author and lawyer Raja Shehadeh has kept a diary, written in English, recounting his direct experience and all aspects of life under occupation, now published as Occupation Diaries. Unlike many other Palestinians he has chosen to remain in his home, Ramallah, in defiance of what he describes as the strategic campaign by Israel to divide and rid the country of Palestinians. Originally broadcast on 20/9/12.
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Antony Beevor: the Second World War
Acclaimed historian Antony Beevor discusses his magisterial history of the greatest conflict the world has seen, The Second World War Originally broadcast on 3/9/12.
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A History of Neighbours
For her book Cheek by Jowl, Emily Cockayne has gone back 900 years to investigate our relationships with our neighbours, and can attest to the fact that whether looking at the present or the past, neighbours have both enriched and ruined our lives. Originally broadcast on 23/7/12.
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Foreign intervention in Afghanistan
Putting the current involvement in Afghanistan into context by examining the history of foreign involvement in Afghanistan with Tory MP, author, academic and TV presenter Rory Stewart, OBE. In 2002 Stewart walked across Afghanistan, surviving by his wits and knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers. He was also former deputy governor within occupied Iraq, and a diplomat in Indonesia and the Balkans. Originally broadcast on 16/10/12.
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Liz Lochhead, Scotland's National Poet
Phillip meets Scotland's 'Makar' or national poet, Liz Lochhead, also a playwright and veteran performer, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For decades, Liz Lochhead has been the distinctive female voice of Scotland: inquisitive, accusing and playful, but she does not wish to be confined by gender or nationality. A polished performer. Originally broadcast on 6/9/12.
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Scottish landscape and literature
Two of the most impressive Scottish writers and thinkers are also great friends. Andrew O'Hagan and Professor Karl Miller discuss the power of landscape and history in shaping Scottish imagination and writing, and why Scotland's consistently punched above its weight in these terms. Originally broadcast on 6/9/12.
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Husband-hunting in the Raj
From the late 19th century, when the British Raj was at its height, many of Britain's smartest and most eligible young men travelled to India to work. Countless young women, suffering at the lack of suitable men in Britain, set sail after them, in the hope of finding a husband in this far away country where men now outnumbered women by four to one. They were known as the 'Fishing Fleet'. Originally broadcast on 31/7/12.
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Australia's sea lanes
Australia is wealthy, secure and isolated. So why do we get involved in so many wars? According to George Friedman, the CEO of Stratfor, Australia is not in a position by itself to guarantee the security of its sea-lanes:
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Elliot Perlman
One of Australia's pre-eminent writers, Elliot Perlman, discusses his latest book The Street Sweeper, which includes powerful historical themes such as the Holocaust, and his thoughts on the state of Australia today. Originally broadcast on 19/4/12.
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Lives of the Novelists: A History of Fiction
John Sutherland's latest book, The Lives of 294 Novelists: A History of Fiction, is an exhilarating account of the private lives of authors in English, crossing every genre of fiction, from Aphra Ben and John Bunyan to Daniel Defoe, from Edith Wharton to the science fiction of Stephen King. Originally broadcast on 9/7/12.
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Christine Milne
Christine Milne became leader of the Australian Greens when Bob Brown resigned from politics in April this year. In this program-length conversation she talks about her early life and both her environmental and political awakenings. Originally broadcast on 24/5/12.
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The story of AM Fernando
The story of Aboriginal activist Anthony Martin Fernando, who protested on the streets of early 20th century Europe and England against the British government and the treatment of Australian Aborigines. Originally broadcast on 23/5/12.
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The story of Ali Al Jenabi
In 1991 Ali Al Jenabi, along with his father and brother Ahmad, were imprisoned in Iraq's infamous Abu Ghraib. They were all tortured: Ahmad died and after a number of years Ali was freed, still not knowing the fate of his father. Ali, his mother and young sisters and brothers had to leave Iraq for their safety and ended up in Iran. Ali then went to Malaysia and Indonesia in order to get to Australia, then bring his family to be with him. In the end Ali entered the so-called people-smuggling...
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Creating a Healthy Society
How to move beyond economic growth as the main measure of society's health to creating healthy communities. Originally broadcast on 14/6/12.
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Whitlam's time
In three years from 1972, the Whitlam government rewrote Australian laws, institutions and, to an extent, social mores. The second instalment of Jenny Hocking's biography of Gough Whitlam covers that groundbreaking term of office. Originally broadcast on 5/9/12.
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Australia's Prime Ministers
Mungo MacCallum takes an irreverent look at the 27 prime ministers who have led Australia, for short periods and long. Originally broadcast on 23/1/12.
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John Bell on Shakespeare
John Bell's talent and passion for Shakespeare as an actor and director led to the founding of the Bell Shakespeare Company 20 years ago. His latest book is not only an exploration of William Shakespeare the man, but why he remains so relevant, so enduring after 400 years. On Shakespeare details what it takes to be so intimately linked to the works of our greatest ever playwright. Originally broadcast on 22/2/12.
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Temptations of the West
How to be modern in India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Tibet, and beyond.
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Bob Katter's history of Australia
Journalist Paul Toohey once wrote in The Punch that nothing matters more to Bob Katter than history. In his new book An Incredible Race of People: A Passionate History of Australia, Bob focuses on some of the Australian politicians he most admires, as well as the great accomplishments of many Australians. Originally broadcast on 14/5/12.
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The Diaries of Count Harry Kessler
Harry Kessler was a leading cultural figure, author, diplomat and politician, whose diaries span 56 of the most tumultuous years in history. From the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire through to the rise of Hitler, Kessler observed modernity in the making. Originally broadcast on 5/7/12.
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Calvin Trillin
'Deadline Poet' with The Nation magazine and reporter and essayist for the New Yorker Magazine for almost 50 years. A prolific author, food writer with a wry sense of humour talks about his work, his life and family, US politicians, and his serious work as a true crime reporter. Originally broadcast on 17/4/12.
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Inequality and India
P.Sainath is an award-winning journalist who spends much of his time reporting on the extent of poverty in India's countryside and on the painful issue of farmer suicides. He talks about, how after 20 years of economic reform in India, inequality has worsened. Originally broadcast on 6/2/12.
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Climate, Science and Denial
Last year’s annual Lowey Institute Poll showed a steep fall in the number of Australians who believe that climate change is a serious problem that needs immediate attention. The number of respondents wanting to see action on climate change has fallen 27 percentage points over the last five years. In the United States polling found that in 2007, 73 per cent of Americans said they believed that climate change was caused by continued combustion of fossil fuels. By 2011 that percentage had...
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Has Multiculturalism Failed? Perth Writers' Festival...
Last year the leaders of both Germany and Britain declared their multicultural policies had been a failure. But in a world which is already multicultural, this forum looks at how we might be able to move beyond the problems raised by bigotry. Originally broadcast on 20/3/2012.
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Fred and Adele Astaire
Before Fred and Ginger, there was Fred and Adele, two siblings from Omaha who shared a 27 year theatrical career, and revolutionised the dance and song world of the 1920s. The Astaires were adored by audiences, feted by royalty, and courted by social elites everywhere they went. From the start Adele was the more natural performer, while Fred had to practise hard to hone his trademark timing, but ultimately his skills surpassed those of his sister. Originally broadcast on 27/6/12.
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Dick Smith
Extended interview with entrepreneur Dick Smith about his life, his many projects, Australian farming and food. Originally broadcast on 3/5/2012.
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Venetian navigators
Over time the story of the Zen brothers' 14th century exploration of the North Atlantic, from their Venetian base, has been treated as both fact and fiction. Andrea di Robilant set out to solve the many puzzles in the story, and in the process, takes us on a fascinating journey through the lands and oceans of Medieval Europe. Originally broadcast on 28/2/12.
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How the Magic of The Arabian Nights Changed the West
Mythology and magic expert Marina Warner discusses The Arabian Nights and the profound impact they had on Western literature, thinking and progress. Originally broadcast on 4/7/12.
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Negotiating Dark Matter
How writers negotiate dark matter in their work. A public forum from the Perth Writers' Festival with authors Peter Godwin, Janette Turner Hospital and Elliot Perlman. Originally broadcast on 8/3/12.
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Sex and punishment
How have authorities throughout the ages sought to control and punish various sexual behaviours, and who has been allowed to get away with what? Originally broadcast on 18/7/12.
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Native Title 20 years on
Next Sunday marks twenty years since the High Court's Mabo judgment. With Professor Marcia Langton from Melbourne University, and Professor Ciaran O’Faircheallaigh from Griffith University, we canvass whether this ground-breaking legislation has delivered on its promise for Indigenous people. Originally broadcast on 30/5/12.
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Tim Minchin
Australian comedian, singer, songwriter, pianist Tim Minchin speaks to Phillip Adams about his life, his work, his values and his current sell-out national tour. Originally broadcast on 1/2/12.
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The Year that Was
A distinguished panel discusses the year that was, and what we may expect next year politically, economically, culturally.
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Peace in Kashmir?
After two decades of violence, tourists are flooding in to India’s most sensitive state, Kashmir. Is 'peace' in Kashmir an enforced calm?
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Life as a Mountbatten
Lady Pamela Mountbatten was born in 1929 into one of Britain's grandest families. Her parents, Lord Louis Mountbatten and his glamorous wife Edwina Ashley, moved in a vast social circle which included royalty, film stars, politicians and celebrities. Actor Noel Coward invited Pamela to watch him filming; Douglas Fairbanks Jr. dropped in for tea and Winston Churchill would call for 'a word with Dickie'. She tells these stories in her memoir Daughter of Empire.
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Putin and some unanswered questions
There has been recent speculation about the health of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. But the state of his health is just one of many questions which remain unanswered, including about his links to, or knowledge of, several murders.
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Bruce Shapiro's final report for 2012.
In his final contribution for the year, Bruce Shapiro reports on the end to a momentous year with Senate US Republicans voting down the UN disability rights treaty and the Supreme Court's decision to take two different cases on marriage equality.
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Tiwi art and culture
The people of the Tiwi Islands, just off Darwin, are famous for two things: a strong sense of identity, and an extraordinary artistic capability and output.
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Invention of the Land of Israel
Historian Shlomo Sand questions the concept of a Jewish historical right to the land of Israel, examining the age-old legends surrounding the Holy Land and tracks the modern concept of the 'Land of Israel' by 19th century Evangelical Christians and Jewish Zionists.
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Egypt referendum protests
While President Mohammed Morsi has now annulled his decree of 22 November giving him unlimited powers, he has announced that a referendum on Egypt's draft constitution will still go ahead later this week. Protests over the referendum have been called by the Opposition amid claims that the constitution does not protect political and religious freedoms or the rights of women.
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Dying with Dignity
Although surveys show that more than two-thirds of Australians support the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia for people experiencing unrelievable and incurable physical and/or mental suffering, our politicians are not heeding the message.
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Painting WA's wilderness
Cape Arid is a remote national park on the far southeastern coast of Western Australia. Botanical artist Philippa Nikulinsky has been making trips there, and to other wild places in WA, often alone, for over forty years.
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The Destruction of Mecca
Mecca, the spiritual heart of the Islamic world, is now home to the world's second tallest building. But this phenomenal structure is just a small part of a building frenzy that's seen the destruction of many of Islam's most sacred sites, including the home and burial place of the Prophet Mohammad.
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Subterranean Politics
A study of ongoing protest movements across Europe has found that they all share not only opposition to austerity measures but a deep frustration with politics and the idea of democracy itself.
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Gardens and philosophy
Damon Young explores what he calls 'one of literature's most intimate relationships: authors and their gardens'.
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Iraq War Inquiry
The newly established Australian Iraq War Inquiry Group calls for an independent investigation into why we got involved in the 2003 US-led invasion into Iraq.
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Bruce Shapiro on US Politics
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50 years of "Silent Spring"
When "Silent Spring" was first published fifty years ago in 1962, Rachel Carson was already a best-selling author and a household name.
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Child Sex Scandal
Bea Campbell puts the most recent British child sexual assault scandal into context to reveal that in spite of the massive media attention, many reforms and reviews, the plight of abused children has not been improved since the early 1980s.
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What made Alexander great?
The King of Macedon, Alexander III, owes his description ‘the Great’ to the enormous territory that he conquered. His unparalleled journey of domination with a 50,000 strong army lasted over ten years. But was Alexander ‘Great’ even before he became this mysterious and elusive world conqueror?
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Whitlam in China
A discussion about Gough Whitlam's high-stakes 1971 visit to China. As Leader of the Opposition, with an Australian population that feared China and communism, Whitlam took the gamble of trying to establish formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic.
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Eisenhower: War and Peace
Often overlooked among the pantheon of US presidents, Jean Edward Smith argues that Dwight D Eisenhower was the 20th century's most important president. Was his mistake to make the job look easy, when it was anything but? As Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during WW2 as president, Eisenhower restored stability to the nation and gave the world confidence in American leadership. There is much to learn from looking back.
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All about hyenas
Mikita Brottman presents a detailed history of the hyena, including the magic, myths and rituals surrounding this remarkable, but much maligned animal.
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Asylum seeker policy
The asylum-seeker debate is once again all about the ‘Pacific solution’, ‘Nauru’, and ‘temporary protection visas’. In the hunt for solutions, we’re revisiting all that we’ve done before. But this time around, feelings are very strong, with politicians from all sides expressing their dismay. We invited Julian Burnside to offer some context, and to propose a way forward.
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Bruce Shapiro on the U.S. this week
Bruce discusses the latest political developments in the USA.
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The Divided Brain & the Making of the Western World
This interview is a fascinating journey into the human brain with psychiatrist Dr Iain McGilchrist, to understand how our brains have shaped the modern world we live in today. Iain argues that our very human nature and Western civilisation are a direct outcome of the competition between the human brain’s asymmetrical halves, and that once we really understand the structure of the brain, we see that the wrong half of it is in charge of our civilisation.
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China's new first lady
Peng Liyuan, the new first lady of China is politically savvy, smart, beautiful, glamorous, a great folk singer and more famous than her husband, Xi Jingping. So has China’s Jackie Kennedy moment finally arrived?
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The Life of Barry Owen Jones AO
Leading intellectual, polymath, writer, lawyer, broadcaster and former politician, Barry Jones turned 80 recently. He celebrates the milestone by talking to Phillip about his forthcoming book, ageing, death, politics and how Barry experiences ‘Stendhal’s syndrome’, which describes an overpowering reaction, including palpitations or fainting, caused by exposure to great art, historic associations or natural beauty, experienced by Stendhal after visiting the basilica of Santa Croce in Florence...
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Panoramas
From the late 18th century, and for most of the 19th, huge painted panoramas, displayed in purpose-built circular buildings, provided thrilling experiences of places and scenes that would otherwise be out of reach.
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Oceans, the last frontier
Our oceans remain less explored than Mars, according to our guest. And yet they are likely to be the major source of food for Earth's growing population. Carlos Duarte says we need to better plan the different uses of oceans so that their true potential can be fulfilled.
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Is Religion faith, fact or fantasy?
In his latest book, Dr Ian Guthridge looks at the way religion is not only being increasingly discarded, it's being discredited by the rash of child-abuse cases, continuing religious clashes and the spate of recent books condemning the whole idea of God and Religion. He explores these issues and debates the pros and cons of whether religion is faith, fact or fantasy.
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War by twitter in Gaza conflict
In perhaps the world's first announcement of a military campaign via Twitter, the Israeli Defence Force, tweeted live its strike that killed the leader of Hamas’ military wing. The action raises questions about the ethics of live-tweeting a violent conflict.
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Australia's extinction crisis
In the latest Quarterly Essay, Tim Flannery investigates Australia's efforts to protect its endangered species from extinction and comes away dismayed at the haphazard and ineffectual efforts that have been made so far.
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Frogs
The frog as miracle worker, prince, sex education tool, weather barometer - and food. Charlotte Sleigh covers it all, in this survey of humankind's ambivalent, and at times, confusing, attitudes to frogs and toads. One third of the species, meanwhile, is at risk.
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The Popes: shapers of the Catholic Church
As the Prime Minister launches the most comprehensive investigation into child sexual abuse in Australia's history, we look at the role of the papal line down the centuries. Popes have played a crucial role as shapers of the Catholic Church, and as guides to its doctrines.
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Bruce Shapiro on the Petreus scandal
Bruce dissects the General Petreus saga, and Barack Obama's mandate for his second term.
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The Scottish Diaspora (Rpt)
The Scots have been leaving their country for all corners of the globe from the 13th century onwards - a phenomenon which has only begun to reverse over the past decade. But what impact did Scottish culture have on the many nations to which they emigrated - and how did it change the home country itself? Originally broadcast on 2/8/12.
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The Scottish Highland Clearances (Rpt)
The bleak but lovely grandeur of the Scottish highlands contains a painful past. From the 1760s until the 19th century, successive generations of highlanders were deliberately cleared out, moved on from their houses and land, and this is a history which still resonates with Scots today. Originally broadcast on 16/7/12.
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Sandakan
Why the story of the Sandakan prisoners of war and the three Death Marches in Borneo during WW2 was officially hushed up for so long. Paul Ham describes writing this book as harrowing, because Sandakan details the experience of the participants, the families of survivors and the deceased.
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The Finish: The Killing of Osama Bin Laden
Author Mark Bowden writes a story of two men, Osama bin Laden and President Obama. Essentially, the story is about Obama deciding to kill Osama. The story is also about bin Laden deciding to kill many, and how these two men arrived at that point where they either had appropriated to themselves the authority to order someone’s death or had sought and been given that responsibility. What is the way that those two justify the decision that they make?
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Australian Music Month: Julie Rigg
Julie demonstrates her detailed knowledge of Australian music as she shares her quest for the perfect version of 'Flame Trees'. We hear three variations as well as the original Cold Chisel hit.
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Australian Music Month: Rodney Fisher
Rodney Fisher is eloquent about the experience and the wonderful versatility of Meow Meow (pictured).
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Mosquitoes
Richard Jones presents a detailed and scientific study of the mosquito, its appetite for blood, the diseases it carries and its relationship with mankind.
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President Obama wins second term
Bruce Shapiro discusses the challenges ahead for Barack Obama.
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Brigham Young
Brigham Young succeeded Joseph Smith as the leader of the Mormons following Smith's murder in 1844. Young led his people from Illinois across the Rocky Mountains, where they settled in the Salt Lake Basin of the territory of Utah. Young was a polygamist and was involved in controversies regarding black people and the Mormon priesthood, the Utah War and the Mountain Meadows massacre.
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A Chat with Kevin Rudd
A wide ranging interview with former Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd, member for Griffith, Queensland.
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Australian Music Month: Michael Kirby
Michael Kirby recalls a performance of Handel’s Messiah and an aria with special significance for him.
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Australian Music Month: Stephen Adams
Stephen's choice is a memorable piece of Australian choral music by Ann Boyd.
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