Late Night Live

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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,...

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?

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.

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...

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”.

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?

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.

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?

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.

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,...

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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’...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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’.

Bruce Shapiro on U.S. politics

Bruce updates us on the latest developments in the U.S.A.

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.

Michael Jackson and the source of his problems; Hillary...

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.

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...

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.

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?

Bruce Shapiro on the year ahead in US politics

Regular US correspondent Bruce Shapiro previews the year ahead in American politics.

Ariel Dorfman: Confessions of an Unrepentant Exile

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Year that Was

A distinguished panel discusses the year that was, and what we may expect next year politically, economically, culturally.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Gardens and philosophy

Damon Young explores what he calls 'one of literature's most intimate relationships: authors and their gardens'.

Bruce Shapiro on US Politics

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.

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.

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.

Bruce Shapiro on the U.S. this week

Bruce discusses the latest political developments in the USA.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Australian Music Month: Michael Kirby

Michael Kirby recalls a performance of Handel’s Messiah and an aria with special significance for him.