It's an incredibly dangerous time to be a journalist, whether you are reporting from one of the world's many conflict zones or from seemingly democratic countries. Three of the world's great press freedom advocates join Phillip Adams to discuss why this moment is so particularly challenging for journalists and how freedom of the press can be better protected. 

Professor Marcia Langton pays tribute to Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue AC CBE DSG and talks openly to Phillip Adams about why she feels the Voice referendum failed and where the conversation needs to move now. Guest: Marcia Langton - Professor of Australian Indigenous studies at the University of Melbourne. She was a Co-chair of the Voice Co-Design Senior Advisory Group, along with Professor Tom Calma. 

Laura Tingle looks at Nemesis - the Turnbull years, what Yang Hengjun's death sentence could mean for our relationship with China, and whether the Liberals will be snookered into supporting the stage three tax cuts legislation as parliament resumes.  Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Social historian Ebony Nilsson tells the remarkable life story of Vladimir Mishchenko who became Bill Marshall - an ASIO spy.

As prominent Australians call for a détente with China, former banker Satyajit Das looks at the history of de-globalisation and whether the so-called BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) could de-couple from the American dollar and create their own trade network. Guest: Satyajit Das, former banker and author of A Banquet of Consequences Reloaded and Fortunes Fool: Australia’s Choices.

 Digital natives are discovering the different reading experience that magazines provide.

More than a million people marched in Germany after an investigation revealed the far right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) had secret meetings to discuss a “master plan” to “re-migrate” migrants to North Africa. Further revelations have shown how deep the Neo-Nazi networks are not just in the far right but also the mainstream parties of Germany.Guest: Ann-Katrin Müller, Political Editor, Der Spiegel

James Ward has been fascinated by the mundane for many years, and has written a book entirely about stationery, examining the stories behind the stuff we have littered across our desks and inside our pencil cases - from paperclips to post it notes and everything in between.Guest: James Ward, author of Adventures in Stationery – A journey through your pencil caseThis interview was originally broadcast on 5 May 2015.

For the first time in 50 years, two Australian psychiatrists have been given permission to treat two of their patients with psychedelic drugs.This follows the TGA approving the use in a clinical setting of MDMA and psilocybin.Guests:Dr Eli Kolter, Psychiatrist, Medical Director, Malvern Private HospitalClaire, Client 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's battle with Tory rebels.The latest on his Rwanda Bill and his electoral prospects for 2024.Guest: Ian Dunt, Commentator and columnist for iNews  

A  trip to the Wessel Islands in north-east Arnhem land has uncovered the location where ancient African coins from the island of Kilwa in Tanzania were found in the 1940's. Since the story went viral in 2014, many people have tried to solve the mystery of how they got there.Guests:Mike Owen, Historian and Co-founder, PastMasters.Michael Hermes, Archaeologist and consultant to PastMasters

Crikey's political editor Bernard Keane talks about the ABC's explosive new political docuseries 'Nemesis', what Scott Morrison's political legacy might be and whether the Stage 3 tax cut reforms represent a breach of voters' trust. 

In an engaging address given at this year's Byron Writers Festival, pioneering historian Henry Reynolds covered living in Townsville in the 1960s, the importance of local history, the extraordinary racial gaps in Australia's early history telling, discovering the truths of frontier violence, his friendship with Eddie Mabo, and why the outcome of the Voice referendum will affect Australia's international standing. Archival audio from the ABC has been added to the recording of the talk.

Early in 1907 the French newspaper ‘Le Matin’ announced plans for the most audacious motor race yet. It was to be an epic test, not only of human endurance but also the technological capacity of the newly-invented car.

From elaborate gastro-diplomacy to famines orchestrated by the state, this is the history of modern Russia as you’ve never heard it before – told through the lens of food.Guest: Witold Szabłowski - Polish journalist and author of What's Cooking in the Kremlin: From Rasputin to Putin, How Russia Built an Empire with a Knife and Fork published by Penguin Random House

The war in Ukraine is about to head into it's third year. With military supplies in Ukraine dwindling and the future flow of Western aid far from guaranteed, is now the time to start thinking about a negotiated agreement? Guests:Anatol Lieven - Director of the Eurasia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible StatecraftMichael Kimmage - Professor of History at the Catholic University of America and a Non-resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The Republican presidential primaries have begun, but as the list of candidates shrinks are they a waste of time? Is it inevitable that the race for the Presidency will be between Donald Trump and Joe Biden? How have both parties ended up with these candidates to offer to the US public?Guests: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University. James Fallows, journalist and author. His newsletter is called Breaking the News.

The relationship between politics and pubs started very early in Australia's colonial history as the pub provided a rare and welcoming place for workers to meet. This continued over the years as people continued to meet in pubs to discuss ideas and strategies to move Australia forward, including during the years of the Sydney Push.Guests: Alex Ettling, social historian and editor of Knocking the Top Off: A People's History of Alcohol in Australia (Interventions)Wendy Bacon, journalist, academic and activist and contributor of the essay 'Critical Drinking with the Sydney Push' 

The Prime Minister has called his MPs back to Canberra early to discuss a likely change to the promised stage three tax cuts as the government feels the pressure to address the cost of living crisis. But that's not the only crisis on its hands - there's a severe shortage of affordable housing, mortgage stress, the escalating cost of climate disasters and energy security risks thanks to global wars.Guests:Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30Sean Kelly, weekly columnist at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age

In the year 68AD, the death of Emperor Nero precipitated a year of coups and civil war that saw four Caesars in succession rule the Roman Empire. But from the chaos emerged a 70-year era of unrivalled peace, power and prosperity known as the Pax Romana - when the Empire reached the heights of its predatory glory. Guest: Tom Holland, historian and author of Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age. Co-host of The Rest is History podcast. Originally broadcast 10th August, 2023

Wendy Harmer has lived a life full of 'firsts' - she was the first female news cadet in an all-male newsroom in Geelong, the first Australian female stand-up comedian and the first female co-host on a commercial radio breakfast program. But did Wendy herself ever feel like a trailblazer? Or was she always the little girl with the cleft palate, putting on a brave face? She reveals all in this broad-ranging interview with Phillip Adams. First broadcast 1 November 2023

Is there something innately human about a thirst for knowledge? Could the rise of 'smart' technology undermine our own ability to think? These are just some of the questions that award-winning writer Simon Winchester and Phillip Adams tackle in this conversation about Simon's new book Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic.Originally broadcast on 24 August 2023

Perhaps the most provocative of punctuation marks, ! has long elicited the love and hate of writers. It's now under threat from the more expressive emoji and teachers who strive to stamp out social media speak in the classroom. Can ! be resuscitated and redeemed? Guest:Dr Florence Hazrat, researcher, wordsmith, podcaster. Author of An Admirable Point: A Brief History of the Exclamation Mark! Published in Australia by Allen & Unwin Originally broadcast on 14 February 2023

When the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary decided to crowdsource for the words to be included in the dictionary they probably did not expect murderers, lunatics and pornographers to respond or such a significant number of women. Over 3000 people contributed words and now their identities have been revealed.Guest: Sarah Ogilvie, author of The Dictionary People: The unsung heroes who created the Oxford English DictionaryThis program was originally broadcast on 12 September 2023

Historian Lee Jackson explores the history of Dickens’s tourism, looking at the first visitors who made the literary pilgrimage to London and whether the sites they visited were authentic.Originally broadcast on 7 September 2023

Whether it's the JFK assassination or 9/11, Americans have a strange tendency to believe dark forces are at work in their country. According to Colin Dickey, the United States was a land born in paranoia, and the fear of secret societies and conspiracies has been a defining feature of American life ever since. Originally broadcast on 7 September 2023

As well earning him multiple Walkley and Logie awards, the work done by investigative journalist Chris Masters PSM has arguably changed Australia, for the better. He speaks to Phillip Adams about his distinguished career, which culminated in his latest book Flawed Hero: Truth, lies and war crimes. First broadcast 13 July 2023

Did you know that every time you perform a Google search, you're using technology invented by a medieval polymath in Oxford? That's just one of the many interesting insights in Phillip Adams' conversations about how the index, the crossword and the encyclopedia were invented - and why they stuck. 

The ability to swim, or not, has always been a social divider and often an indicator of cultural power. But there have been periods and places where those who considered themselves superior chose not to swim. And, why it wasn't until the mid-20th century that body hair came to be viewed as unhealthy, even filthy.Guests: Karen Eva Carr,  Associate Professor (Emerita) in History, Portland State University, Oregon and author of ‘Shifting currents: a world history of swimming’.  (Reaktion Books) Rebecca Herzig, Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Chair of the Program in Women and Gender Studies at Bates College, Maine.

When did humanity start drawing borders? Why have nomadic cultures been so maligned? And how do states wield "soft power" through diplomatic gifts? Guests: James Crawford, author, The Edge of the PlainAnthony Sattin, author, Nomads: The wanderers who shaped our worldPaul Brummell, author, Diplomatic gifts: a history in 50 presents

The human urge to document and quantify has been long and varied. Multiple systems of measurement have been devised over thousands of years. But it’s a way to make sense of our world. So, too, is the desire to encapsulate what life is like at a given time, and store it safely somewhere for future populations to examine.  Keith Hoosten: author of Empire of the Sum: the rise and reign of the pocket calculatorJames Vincent: author of Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of MeasurementNick Yablon: author of The invention of the time capsule

How did the trench coat morph from its practical military origins to fashion item and spy-wear? Delve into the humble pocket - and its contents - and you'll discover a wealth of social, cultural and political history. Fabrics are woven throughout human history, through Silk Road trading and the European lace wars to the hi-tech fibre of NASA spacesuits. Guests: Jane Tynan: author of Trench Coat Ariane Fennetauz  co-authored, with Barbara Burman, ‘The Artful pocket: a hidden history of women’s lives 1660-1900’Victoria Finlay:‘Fabric: the hidden history of the material world’. Kassia St Clair- ‘The Golden Thread: How fabric changed history’ 

What are the origins of the handshake? When did smiling become fashionable? And are we hard-wired to laugh? Guests: Ella Al-Shamahi, author of The Handshake: a gripping history (2021)Colin Jones, author of The Smile Revolution In Eighteenth Century Paris (2014)Jonathan Silvertown, author of The Comedy of Error (2020)

Peter Wohlleben opened our eyes to the hidden social lives of trees. Now he makes the case that trees could be our climate saviours, if we let them.  First broadcast 25 May 2023

Phosphorus supports all life on Earth, yet we're exhausting our reserves of this finite resource at an unsustainable rate, while we allow it to overflow and pollute our waterways. As we inch towards 'peak phosphorus', it turns out the key to our future food security could reside in our own bladders and bowels. Guest: First broadcast 18 May 2023

In May 1853, thousands of visitors flocked to London Zoo to enter the world's first aquarium or "Fish House". The aquarium was a complete novelty - an opportunity to observe the lives of fish up close. The development of the aquarium would forever change our relationship with the marine world. Guest: John Simons, historian and academic, author of "Goldfish in the Parlour: The Victorian Craze for Marine Life"Originally broadcast 1st February, 2023

While the national dish often associated with Australia is the humble meat pie, other countries have national fare dating back centuries, which has the symbolic power of an anthem or flag. But are the national dishes that we travel the world to taste as iconic as we're told? Guest: Anya von Bremzen, award-winning food writer and author of NATIONAL DISH: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home published by Penguin Random House.Originally broadcast, September 11th 2023

Oxford historian and bestselling author of The Silk Roads Peter Frankopan joins Phillip Adams for a revelatory chat about how climate has contributed to the rise and fall of empires - and what this means for our future on a rapidly warming planet. First broadcast 9 March 2023

In no other Western country has ownership and control of the media been concentrated in the hands of as few people as it has in Australia. Sally Young tells the remarkable story of the media monsters that conglomerated their power and strengthened their influence in the mid-twentieth century.  First broadcast 13 June 2023

We tend to think that the exploration of psychoactive drugs began in the 1960s. But over a century before the explosion of the hippie counterculture, pioneering scientists and thinkers were using substances such as cocaine, hashish and nitrous oxide to unlock the hidden recesses of the mind. Guest: Mike Jay, author and cultural historianHis new book is 'Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind' (Yale University Press)Originally broadcast, 4th of May 2023

For over 40 years author Andrey Kurkov has kept a personal journal. His entries from the period leading up to Russia’s invasion and over the first five months of the war provide a glimpse into a country and a culture fighting for survival, against the odds.    Guest: Andrey Kurkov – Author and president of PEN Ukraine. His latest book is Diary of an Invasion published by Mountain Leopard Press.Originally broadcast 4th of May, 2023

In a radical new book, award-winning journalist Angela Saini explores the roots of gendered oppression and finds that male supremacy is a construct - and a far more recent one than we might imagine. Guest: Angela Saini - British science journalist, broadcaster and author. Her latest book is The Patriarchs: How men came to rule published by Harper Collins. Originally broadcast, April 27th 2023

Once dubbed the most powerful woman in the world, questions are being asked about whether former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s pragmatic approach left Germany unprepared for dealing with energy transition and climate change.  But as a new documentary shows, her career was also marked by a politics of truth and integrity. ‘Merkel’ reveals how her life behind the wall in East Germany shaped her powerful stance on keeping Germany’s borders open to refugees and helped her stand strong against the alpha males she was up against.Guests:Eva Weber – Director and Producer of ‘Merkel’ and Company Director at Odd Girl Out Productions.Lizzie Gillett – Producer of ‘Merkel’ and Director of Feature Doc Department at Passion Pictures Films.MERKEL is screening nationally at the German Film Festival from 2 - 24 May. Originally broadcast, April 27th 2023

Stephen Coates reveals how a secret underground subculture of music lovers defied the censors in Cold War-era USSR, recording forbidden music onto old x-rays.Guest:Stephen Coates - composer, writer and music producer. Author of Bone Music (published by Strange Attractor / MIT Press) Check out the X-ray Audio Project hereMusic credits:St Louis Blues - Unknown (courtesy of Atila Csanyi)Emigre Tango - singer Serge Nikolsky (courtesy of Nikolai Rechetnik)All other tracks courtesy of Stephen Coates

The illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages are among the greatest works of European art and literature, fetching phenomenal sums at auction.  So who were the people who spent their lives among illuminated manuscripts over the last thousand years? Guest: Christopher de Hamel, Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and former Fellow Librarian of the Parker Library. 'The Posthumous Papers of the Manuscripts Club’ is published by Penguin. Originally broadcast on the 6th of April, 2023.

The Whitlam era saw a great leap forward for women's rights in Australia, driven by Women’s Adviser Elizabeth Reid and a host of female activists, backed by a grass roots movement across the country. Their work is being recognised in a book released to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Reid’s appointment.Guests:- Dr Elizabeth Reid, former Women's Adviser to Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, feminist development worker, academic and writer.- Michelle Arrow, Professor in Modern History at Macquarie University and editor of 'Women and Whitlam: Revisiting the Revolution,' published by New South Books.- Ranuka Tandan from the Whitlam Institute's Public Affairs Team.This story was originally broadcast on 13 April 2023.

Former Middle East diplomat Bob Bowker reflects on Australia’s role in the Arab world ahead of the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq war. He looks at how the impact of that war has played out in Middle East relations, the intractable problems between Israel and Palestine and how China is seeking to play a larger role in brokering issues between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Guest: Bob Bowker, retired diplomat, former Australian Ambassador to Jordan and Egypt and author of “Tomorrow there will be Apricots – an Australian diplomat in the Arab World,” published by Shawline.This story was originally broadcast on 03 March 2023.

The 19th of March 2003 marked the beginning of the invasion of Iraq by the United States and the 'Coalition of the Willing'. 20 years on, award-winning Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad reflects on how the invasion transformed his country, and it's people. Guest: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad – award-winning journalist for the Guardian and author of A Stranger in Your Own City: Travels in the Middle East’s Long War published by Penguin Random House.This story was originally broadcast on 03 March 2023

Author Walter Marsh on the era that shaped young Rupert Murdoch - the radical who espoused socialism, kept a bust of Lenin in his uni accommodation and then went on to build his empire from 1950s Adelaide.  Guest: Walter Marsh, journalist and author of Young Rupert - the making of the Murdoch empire,  published by Scribe.This episode was originally broadcast on 03 August 2023.

New York has long had a problem with rat infestations, but rat numbers have recently reached historic highs. Can New York rid itself or rats, or is this an unwinnable war?Originally broadcast on 22nd March 2023Guest: Xochitl Gonzalez, staff writer for The Atlantic

James Fallows was the chief White House speechwriter for former president Jimmy Carter. He reflects on the life and legacy of this ‘disciplined, funny, enormously intelligent and deeply spiritual man’. Originally broadcast on the 1st of March, 2023.Guest: James Fallows - contributing writer at The Atlantic and author of the newsletter Breaking the News. You can read his piece in The Atlantic on Jimmy Carter here. 

In 2011 political historian and journalist Chris Wallace walked away from a biography she was writing on then Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. Wallace felt that amidst the toxic atmosphere of attacks on Gillard releasing the biography risked it being unfairly used against her and she didn't want any part of it. In her new book Political Lives, Wallace investigates how political biographies throughout Australia's history have impacted on our leaders — for good and ill.Guest: Dr Chris Wallace, author and political historian, Professor at the Faculty of Business, Government and Law, University of Canberra.Book:  Political lives: Australian prime ministers and their biographers, published by UNSW press.This story was originally broadcast on 09 February 2023. 

In a year when wars and the referendum on the voice all worked towards dividing us, there were moments of joy and unity. Our end of year panel digs deep to find them.AJ Lamarque, comedian, writer, producer and host of the Kweens of ComedyAlice Fraser, writer and podcast host of Tea with Alice and The Gargle.Carly Williams, national indigenous correspondent with the ABC and a Quandamooka woman from SE QueenslandJonathan Biggins, writer and performer in The Wharf Review currently showing at the Seymour Centre

When award-winning writer and broadcaster Selina Mills started to lose her sight, she noticed that people started to treat her differently. It caused her to explore where the stigma around blindness originates and how it persists in Western culture to this day.

Writer Andrew Leland is gradually losing his sight as a result of a progressive eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa. He discusses what it's like to join - but not feel entirely a part of - the blind community and what it actually means to be blind.

‘It takes a man or woman of great moral courage…to dare the risk of being himself or herself all the time’ – so said Bee Miles, the Sydney woman who claimed she was not anti-social, but anti the social order of 1920’s Australia. Her refusal to conform saw the intellectual radical arrested more than 300 times and be locked up in at least seven psychiatric hospitals.Guests:Rose Ellis - author of ‘Bee Miles - Australia's famous bohemian rebel, and the untold story behind the legend’, published by Allen and Unwin.James Ricketson, film-maker and former journalist.

Bruce Shapiro reflects on the year that was in American politics, and looks ahead to a fateful election year in 2024. Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University.  

As we celebrate 100 years of radio in Australia, radio historians Dr Virginia Madsen and Professor Jock Given look back at the early days of wireless, how Radio National was born, and at the golden moments in the history of our favourite medium. 

Laura Tingle and author and columnist Niki Sava look back on the key political events of 2023, including the Voice referendum loss, the cost of living crisis and scandals like Robodebt and PWC. Guests: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30Niki Savva, author and columnist.

Jerrie Cobb was the first woman selected to join Mercury 13, an elite  group of women pilots being trained as astronauts in 1960. When film maker Mary Haverstick decided to make a feature film about Jerrie, she soon discovered that Jerrie Cobb seemed to have another identity - June Cobb who was a CIA spy involved in assassination attempts in Cuba and the Congo. She may even have played a role in the assassination of JFK.Guest: Mary Haverstick, film maker and author of "A Woman I Know: female spies, double identities, and a new story of the Kennedy assassination” (Scribe)

Discussions of climate change tend to focus on the threats to human societies and economies. But in wild nature, countless species are already in rapid decline, ill-equipped to deal with their rapidly changing realities. Guest: Adam Welz, journalist and author, The End of Eden: Wild Nature in the Age of Climate Breakdown. 

Marcus Aurelius the philosopher, the mad Caligula, the monster Nero. After a couple of thousand years, we still remember the names of many Roman emperors. But why have some been forgotten? And how accurate are the stories that survive?Guest: Mary Beard, author of ‘Emperors of Rome: ruling the ancient roman world’, published by Allen & Unwin.

The Gunditjmara people of Western Victoria have just been recognised with a UNESCO award for their work safeguarding and maintaining their country at Budj Bim cultural heritage site. It's the culmination of years of work campaigning for the right of Indigenous people to care for their own country and for funding the work of Indigenous Rangers. Budj Bim is now just one of around 80 Indigenous Protected Areas covering a vast amount of Australian land.Guests:  Denis Rose, Gunditjmara Traditional Owner and Chair, Country Needs People and Patrick O’Leary, CEO and Founding Director of Country Needs People. 

There is so much more to eyeliner, or 'kohl', than meets the eye. As journalist Zahra Hankir explains, for centuries its been a symbol of power and resistance, as well as female and male beauty. 

COP28 kicks off in Dubai later this week, after a year of record-breaking extreme temperatures. Our Pacific neighbours are already bearing the brunt of the effects, and Australia is hoping to co-host COP31 with Pacific nations in 2036. So what are Pacific Islanders hoping to see the Australian government, and others, commit to at the UN climate talks?  Joseph Sikulu and Dr Wesley Morgan join us to discuss.

Ian Dunt recaps an eventful year in UK politics. Meanwhile, the Sunak government's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda has been ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court. Plus, the latest economic figures show that Britons are enduring the worst cost of living crisis in decades.Guest: Ian Dunt, columnist with the "i" newspaper

Unlike the painting collections of art galleries, the State Library of NSW collection is based on the stories the pictures tell, rather than their aesthetic value. Guests: Richard Neville and Rachel Franks, both from the State Library, co-editors of 'Reading the Rooms: behind the paintings of the State Library of NSW’  (NewSouth)

Laura Tingle on whether sacked Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo might get his contract paid out, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek's Murray-Darling deal and the government's gas industry code gets the go-ahead.Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Moral philosopher Raimond Gaita believes that when we have love for the world there is still hope. He still believes we can find a shared sense of humanity, but we need to listen hard to each other and have conversations which we accept will have an unknown outcome.Guest: Philosopher and author of "Justice and Hope: Essays, Lectures and Other Writings” edited by Scott Stephens Melbourne University Press

In the United States segregating class rooms is being offered once again, but now it's called 'progressive separatism' - an ideology driven by notions of intersectionality and post-colonialism. But author Yascha Mounk argues that identity politics has become a zero-sum-game, making it harder to achieve a fairer society. Guest: Yascha Mounk, author of “The Identity Trap: a story of ideas and power in our times” published by Penguin.

At the height of his career, Charlie Chaplin was the most famous man in the world, but he was not impervious to the Red Scare. Biographer Scott Eyman revisits the life of Charlie Chaplin and how he became a victim of a particular brand of American paranoia. 

The real life stories of a cast of characters all linked together by the experience of transportation to the penal colony of NSW.Jim Haynes:  author of Heroes, Rebels and Radicals of Convict Australia  (Allen&Unwin)

The Hamas terror attack on the 7th of October seemed to spell the simultaneous downfall of Israel’s right-wing president Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the possibility of a two-state solution. Tel Aviv-based political scientist Dr Dahlia Scheindlin reflects on what’s currently happening in Israeli politics and the possibility now of a comprehensive peaceful resolution to the conflict.

In this US update with Bruce Shapiro, we remember the 'Steel magnolia', former first lady Rosalynn Carter and her dedication to making life better for others. Plus, we look at why a spate of recent state and local elections bodes well for Biden, while the Israel-Gaza war does not.

It was the murder that shocked the world and, for decades, what happened to Congolese independence leader and prime minister Patrice Lumumba remained shrouded in mystery. Now, Stuart Reid has discovered that the CIA - and the United Nations - played a bigger role in events in the Congo than we've previously believed. 

China has been talking up its intention to broker peace between Israel and Gaza in it role as President of the UN Security Council, but how much clout does it really have in the Middle-East? Guests: Einar Tangen, Senior Fellow of Taihe Institute.Julien Barnes-Dacey, MENA programme director at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

A sonar incident in the South China Sea strains relations with China. Plus, the rush to push through laws after the High Court's ruling on indefinite detention.Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Richard Flanagan sits down with Phillip to talk about his new book Question Seven which explores the connections between HG Wells, Hiroshima, his father's experience as a prisoner of war and his own existence. He also reflects on the questions that both authors and readers should be asking.Guest: Richard Flanagan, author of Question Seven (Penguin Random House) 

In the year 313 BC, on a stretch of arid Egyptian coast, Alexander the Great founded the city that still bears his name: Alexandria.  In the centuries that followed, the city emerged as a thriving, liberal centre for world trade, culture, literature and science at the crossroads of three continents. Guest: Professor Islam Issa, author, Alexandria: the city that changed the world.

Start with a photo of an unknown face, then run it through an algorithm linked to a massive data base with millions of facial images scraped from the internet and social media and you’d be concerned and surprised at just how much personal information the system can dig up.Kashmir Hill: Technology Reporter, the New York Times and author of Your face belongs to us: the secretive startup dismantling your privacy  (Simon & Schuster)

Yepoka Yeebo tells the jaw-dropping true story of John Ackah Blay-Miezah, an audacious Ghanaian con-man that pulled off one of the 20th century's longest-running and most spectacular frauds.

In her role as the Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese investigates human rights violations by both Israeli and Palestinian authorities in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. She questions whether Israel has the right defend itself against Hamas in the way that it has according to international law and argues passionately for the humanisation of all the victims of the conflict. Guest: Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories

In a surprise turn of events, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak decided to clean house, announcing a big cabinet reshuffle in which Suella Braverman was replaced as home secretary and former prime minister David Cameron was welcomed back, as foreign secretary.  Guest: Ian Dunt - Columnist with the “i” newspaper.

Sean Turnell was an academic whose expertise in the economy of Myanmar gained the attention of the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi while she was still in detention. When she was released she called on Sean to join her team to reform the economy of Myanmar. Six years later he was arrested and thrown in jail for 650 days. Now one year on since his release, he tells the story of his time in some of the most notorious jails in Myanmar. Guest: Sean Turnell, Author of An Unlikely Prisoner (Penguin Random House) Senior Fellow at the Lowy Institute and  Honorary Professor at Macquarie University 

Foreign Minister Penny Wong is being criticised by both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel lobbyists for her comment that there should be 'steps towards' a ceasefire. With Laura Tingle

On September 29 1923, the British Empire reached its geographical zenith, covering a quarter of the world and nearly 500 million people. But in spite of Britain’s triumphalism, Matthew Parker discovers a ruling power be-set by debt and doubt, and on the ground, the sounds of shackles being shrugged off. Guest:  Matthew Parker, author of ‘One Fine Day – 29 September 1923 – Britain’s Empire on the Brink’, published by Abacus Books. 

Despite decrying jazz and swing as 'degenerate music', Reich Minister for Propaganda Joseph Goebbels knew the power of music and radio to capture hearts and minds. He put together his own swing band, which re-wrote the lyrics of popular tunes as Nazi propaganda. Journalist Scott Simon tells the story. 

The Pacific Islands Forum is meeting in Rarotonga this year, and there are more non-Pacific guests than ever before. The Pacific Leaders are trying to focus on Pacific issues like climate change and seabed mining rather than getting sidetracked by external issues like the war between Israel and Gaza. Guest: Tess Newton-Cain, Project Leader at the Pacific Hub at Griffith University in Queensland

In 1943 John F. Kennedy and crew are left for dead after their boat is rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Fortunately for them, Australian coast watcher Reg Evans was there to help. Brett Mason:  Author of  Saving Lieutenant Kennedy The heroic story of the Australian who helped rescue JFK

From 2010 to 2020, more people took part in protests than at any other point in human history. From the Arab Spring, to Hong Kong's student demonstrations - many of these movements failed to achieve their ends. Why has success been so elusive? Guest: Vincent Bevins, journalist and author, "If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution", Hachette

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken makes a desperate diplomatic mission to the Middle East. Meanwhile, Joe Biden is losing ground to Donald Trump in a new poll of swing states, one year out from the general election.  Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University

A vegan environmental scientist journeys to Antarctica, and finds herself surprisingly moved by the stories of the young Scottish whalers of the 20th century, even though they contributed to  the decimation of the whale population in the region.  Guest: Sandy Winterbottom, former environmental science academic. Author of 'The Two-Headed Whale: Life, Loss and the Tangled Legacy of Whaling in the Antarctic' (Greystone Books)

The Pacific region was a nuclear testing ground for more than 50 years until the last test by the French in 1996. But now thirty years on people are still suffering high rates of cancer and seeking reparations. And there are concerns that the region will again become a nuclear dumping ground. Guest: Nic Maclellan, correspondent for Islands Business and author of Grappling with the Bomb: a history of British nuclear testing in Kiribati.

Anthony Albanese meets with China President Xi Jinping, Scott Morrison heads to Israel and Treasurer Jim Chalmers says we're unlikely to reach our net-zero emissions target with a review of our industry policy.  Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Edward Brooke-Hitching, LNL’s special correspondent in oddities, ponders how love has been depicted through the ages. His new book is ‘Love: A Curious History in 50 Objects’ (published by Simon & Schuster)  

In a speculative biography, Kiera Lindsey brings to life the story of Adelaide Ironside - an outstanding yet largely forgotten colonial artist. Kiera Lindsey: Author of Wild Love: the ambitions of Adelaide Ironside the first Australian artist to astonish the world Advocate, the History Trust of South Australia

Wendy Harmer has lived a life full of 'firsts' - she was the first female news cadet in an all-male newsroom in Geelong, the first Australian female stand-up comedian and the first female co-host on a commercial radio breakfast program. But did Wendy herself ever feel like a trailblazer? Or was she always the little girl with the cleft palate, putting on a brave face? She reveals all in this broad-ranging interview with Phillip Adams. 

There is evidence that people have been using steam baths for thousands of years and across many countries. They are now having a renaissance along with cold water swimming. What is it about saunas that hs made them so enduring and so addictive. Guest: Emma O'Kelly, journalist and author of Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat photographed by Maya Astikainen and published by Welbeck

A severe marine heatwave is expected to peak this December-February, and could affect southern Australian fisheries, tourism and biodiversity. Most at risk is the Great Southern Reef,  which wraps around the southern half of Australia. It is more economically valuable than the Great Barrier Reef, and yet receives less than 1% of the funding. With Scott Bennett,  marine ecologist 

Both the Conservatives and the Labour Party are facing internal turmoil as an increasing number of MPs call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Plus Rishi's report card - how the Sunak government has performed in its first year.  Guest: Naomi Smith, CEO, Best for Britain. 

Behind the booming global demand for avocados is an increasingly violent competition to control this fruit and the resources needed to produce it. Journalist Alex Sammon travelled to the frontlines of this conflict in the Mexican state of Michoacán to report on the true cost of our avocado toast. 

There are a huge number of think tanks across the globe and across the political spectrum. But less well known is an organisation committed to free market policies that has been supporting think tanks with similar ideologies. It is called the Atlas Network and it has a long and fascinating history and an equally interesting present with connections to the No Campaign to the Voice to Parliament.  Guest: Dr Jeremy Walker, author of More Heat than Life: the Tangled Roots of Ecology, Energy and Economics (Palgrave) and this article on the connection between the Atlas Network and the Voice referendum.

Why Paul Keating wouldn't sign the ex-prime ministers' letter on Israel, Anthony Albanese takes the Assange case and sureties of Australian friendship to the US while treading carefully not to offend China. Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Artist and naturalist Maria Sybilla Merian was the first to identify metamorphosis and directly link the lives of insects and plants. She  went from Amsterdam to South America to live with a doomsday cult. Peter the Great, the Tsar of Russia, was a big fan of her work. Historical novelist Melissa Ashley has been researching her life and work

American essayist and novelist Phil Klay, a former Marine, wrestles with the Israel and Gaza conflict, and other wars the US has been involved in the past two decades. He considers the decision-making, and the legacies. 

The newspapers of 19th Century Melbourne paint a colourful and at times bizarre picture of the city: from collapsing Gold Rush era buildings, to exploding sewers, to runaway horses, roaming "larrikins", and a moral panic over discarded orange-peels.  Guest: Robyn Annear, author, "Corners of Melbourne: The great orange-peel panic and other stories from the streets", Text

Ever since humans first encountered dust, they have tried to contain it with varying degrees of success. Jay Owens tells the stories of the coal dust that covered the cities of the 18th century, the dust created by emptying lakes across the globe and even the mysterious dust found under the couch. She also asks the important question - is there such a thing as good dust? Jay Owens, author  Dust: The Modern World in a Trillion Particles published by Hachette

More than just well-meaning and helpful, these volunteers are credited with over half of all species records in Australia’s national biodiversity database. What do they do and what difference do they make to our understanding and management of at risk and threatened species?

Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum discusses the surprising results of Poland's recent parliamentary elections, in which the populist Law and Justice Party failed to secure a new mandate. 

US President Joe Biden is caught in a difficult balancing act, attempting to show support for Israel while also trying to urge restraint. Meanwhile, the chaos in Congress continues, with no clear prospect of a new speaker to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

Often misjudged as a second-class English dialect, Jamaican is cementing itself as the Caribbean nation's foremost tongue - though you won't hear it in the nation's courts. 

Kenyan authorities were shocked to discover the bodies of some 400 people, many emaciated with some showing signs of abuse. 

The Prime Minister has a busy few weeks of international travel ahead, first visiting the United States to discuss AUKUS and energy, before a historic trip to Beijing to meet with President Xi.  Guest: Laura Tingle, chief political correspondent, 7.30

Silk has long been coveted for its beauty, but it also one of the strongest biological materials ever known. Silk was used to make the first bulletproof vest more than a century ago—but Dr Aarathi Prasad says scientists have barely begun to tap its potential.

1848 was a unique moment in history when a revolutionary wave unfurled across Europe. The renowned Australian historian Christopher Clark discusses why parallel political tumults spread like brush fire, leading to momentous changes that continue to shape our world today.

Melbourne's Yarra River is often derided as "the river that flows upside-down" due to its strong muddy colour. But once upon a time, this ancient river ran clear. Today, the Yarra remains a viable and important habitat for dozens of native species, as humans work to undo centuries of damage.  Guest: Harry Saddler, author, Clear Flowing Yarra

When Rory Stewart became a Conservative MP in 2010, he  found Westminster full of people who were not serious about policy, but rather obsessed with “personalities, promotion and power”. Despite that he managed to achieve some meaningful policy changes before being ejected from the party by Boris Johnson over Brexit. Guest: Rory Stewart, author of Politics on the Edge: A memoir from within (Penguin Random House) and co-host of The Rest is Politics

How does Australia fare when it comes to promoting its soft power?

The tropical city-state of Singapore already deals with hot and humid conditions all year round, but rapid urbanisation over the past half-century has made the city even hotter. Now, government and researchers are pursuing novel ways to cool down its citizens, as the planet warms.  Guests: Dr. Winston Chow, Associate Professor in Urban Climate, Singapore Management University.    Dr. Sebastian Pfautsch, Associate Professor Urban Planning and Management, Western Sydney University  

Since before the days of the druids, humans have been connected to oak trees, for their acorns, their wood, their shelter and their magic. Over a period of two years James Canton spent a lot of time in the company of oak trees, and one in particular known as the Honywood Oak. The Honywood Oak is estimated to be 800 years old, and as he spent time with the ancient oak, he began to understand the mystical as well as practical relationship that humans have with oak trees. Guest: James Canton, author of The Oak Papers. Originally Broadcast on 10 September 2020.

The nation has rejected constitutional recognition of First Nations people via an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in Australia's first referendum of this century. What does the result mean for the future of reconciliation?  Guests:  Laura Tingle, chief political correspondent, 7.30 John Paul Janke, co-host of The Point, NITV & SBS

Witch trials sound as antiquated as the three Weird Sisters in ‘Macbeth.’ But witches, most of them women, are still being persecuted and killed today.

Pulitzer-winning science journalist Ed Yong talks about why he chose career as a science communicator and why we should care about how animals experience the world and how we are interfering with it. 

The relationship between Wangal leader Bennelong and Captain Arthur Phillip was significant for the early years of the colony of NSW. A new twin biography of the two men looks at what they achieved together and significantly why they did not sign a treaty on their fateful trip to England. Guest: Kate Fullagar, author of Bennelong and Phillip: A History Unravelled (Simon and Schuster)

Australia's proud history with the eight hour day looms large in the collective imagination, but the campaign and the methods that won it have not been fully understood. Meanwhile, the pressures of work impinging on 'life' are just as present now. With political historian Sean Scalmer

Born in Adelaide in 1910, Lorraine Murray lived a life of constant reinvention — a rebel teenage student in Armidale, a young mistress to a Japanese diplomat, a sex worker in Shanghai, a counter-intelligence informant in Australia, and later in life, a London society matron. A new book uncovers the hidden life of this extraordinary woman.  Guest: Nick Hordern, author "Shanghai Demimondaine"

While those seeking asylum increasingly meet harsh border policies, if you can afford to pay, there are a growing number of states willing to sell their citizenship and the privileges it brings. Kristin Surak has conducted the first on-the-ground investigation of the lucrative trade in “golden passports” and what it reveals about the dark side of capitalist globalisation.

The US response to Hamas attacks on Israel, the acting House Speaker, Trump's fraud case and RFK Jnr's Presidential bid as an independent. Brendon O’Connor: Professor of US Politics and US Foreign Relations, United States Studies Centre, University  of Sydney.

France began sending convicts to New Caledonia just as Australia was winding up its convict transportation, in the 1850s and 60s. An unusual friendship developed between a French speaking Australian woman and a French convict poet. With historian Briony Neilson

Falling consumer prices, a property sector on the edge of collapse, ageing workers and unemployed youth, plus the after-effects of COVID have hampered China's economy. What does it all mean for Australia and the rest of the world? GUEST: Simon Cox, China economics editor at the Economist, based in Hong Kong

Laura Tingle reflects on the tone of the Voice to Parliament debate, less than a week out from referendum day.  Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief political correspondent, 7.30

Michael Palin has long been a diarist - as well as a comedian, writer, traveller and actor - and so when he found the war diaries of his Great Uncle Harry, he wanted to find out more about the man that his family never discussed. The result is a moving book about a restless young man who survived Gallipoli but died in the Battle of the Somme. Guest: Michael Palin author of Great Uncle Harry: A Tale of War and Empire (Penguin Random House)

Incels. Anti-vaxxers. Neo-Nazis… Once, these radical groups existed on the far-flung fringes of society. Now their ideas are moving out of the shadows and seeping into mainstream culture.

In 2019, writer Elizabeth Rush joined an expedition to Thwaites Glacier, one of the world's most important, and most vulnerable, glaciers. In taking this journey she also grappled with whether or not she should bring a child into this rapidly changing world. 

California's iconic redwood forests attract millions of visitors each year, but just four per cent of the ancient forests remain standing today. From the 1850s, the forest was logged to near oblivion, concealed by one of the most egregious "greenwashing" campaigns in US history.  Guest: Greg King, author, "The Ghost Forest: Racists, Radicals and Real Estate in the California Redwoods"

It's official. Republican Kevin McCarthy has become the first house speaker in US history to be ousted. How did it come to this? And what does it mean that the second most important job in the US government is currently vacant, with no one putting their hand up to fill it? Bruce Shapiro is here to explain all. 

Over 200 years ago, in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, textile workers in England formed the original "Luddite" rebellion, raiding factories at night to destroy the machines threatening their livelihoods. Centuries later, is another Luddite uprising brewing against artificial intelligence?  Guest: Brian Merchant, author 'Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion against Big Tech'

When the US government tested the first nuclear bomb in New Mexico in July 1945, none of the nearby residents were warned or evacuated before or after the test. Now new research shows that the fallout from what became known as the Trinity test reached 46 states as well as Canada and Mexico. Families of those affected are still fighting for compensation. Guest: Lesley Blume, journalist and author of Fallout: The Hiroshima Coverup and the Reporter Who Revealed it to the World.

Ian Dunt breaks down another eventful fortnight in Old Blighty.

In an engaging address given at this year's Byron Writers Festival, pioneering historian Henry Reynolds covered living in Townsville in the 1960s, the importance of local history, the extraordinary racial gaps in Australia's early history telling, discovering the truths of frontier violence, his friendship with Eddie Mabo, and why the outcome of the Voice referendum will affect Australia's international standing. Archival audio from the ABC has been added to the recording of the talk.

Fake Heroes: Ten False Icons and How They Altered the Course of History.” Published by Welbeck.

In South Africa,  the lion-breeding industry continues to produce lions for tourists to shoot, and for bones to send to Asia as 'tiger' bones. Guest: Adam Welz, South African writer, photographer, and filmmaker based in Cape Town 

In 1926 a ship set sail from New York on a world cruise, with hundreds of college students on board.  It was a grand educational experiment, called ‘The Floating University'. Guest: Historian and author Tamson Pietsch

Starting with the Bolshevik Revolution, world-leading intelligence historian Calder Walton takes us through one hundred years of espionage, subversion and sabotage between East and West, with some important lessons for our future interactions with China. 

The Yirrkala Bark Petitions have helped pave the way for 60 years of civil rights and native title struggles up to and including the Voice referendum. But how well is their legacy understood? Guest: Professor Clare Wright, Professor of History, La Trobe University.

In late August, authorities in Hong Kong raided the home of Andrew Chan - the founder of a Cantonese language advocacy group, demanding he remove materials from his website. Chan has since dissolved the group entirely. This latest incident has raised concerns about the efforts of the Chinese government to suppress minority languages and assert the supremacy of Mandarin.  Guest: Gina Anne Tam, Associate Professor in History, Trinity University

Just as the writer's strike comes to an end after 146 days, the Auto-Workers Union has asked members to down tools - a move which will wreak havoc on the US automotive industry. 

Prolific African American visual artist and musician Lonnie Holley joins Phillip Adams in the studio to discuss his turbulent childhood and how he turns pain into art. 

Most of our internet comes to us through garden hose-size cables on the bottom of the sea. But geopolitical games are being played, especially between the US and China. With Joe Brock and Lane Burdette

The government wants to allow pensioners working part-time and casual hours to earn more, as part of reforms proposed in its employment white paper.  And Mike Pezzullo steps aside as Home Affairs Secretary amid political texting allegations. 

The human history of counting involves everything from baboon bones, body parts and clay tokens to a mechanical calculator invented by a famous French philosopher in the 17th century.  

Is capitalism dead? As big tech's influence and control on the markets and all our lives continues to grow, could it be that capitalism has been replaced by technofeudalism. Yanis Varoufakis explains how we all became cloud serfs providing our data for free.  Guest: Yanis Varoufakis, former Minister for Finance in Greece and author of Technofeudalism: What killed Capitalism (Penguin Random House)

When Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon and took his ‘giant leap for mankind’, women were banned from NASA’s astronaut corps altogether. But in 1978, NASA finally went on a diversity drive and recruited six female trailblazers.

After spending fifty years reporting on and studying the Middle East, Robert D. Kaplan makes the provocative argument that Western observers need to stop projecting liberal values onto this part of the world, and engage with the increasingly geo-strategically important region in a new way. 

There's never a quiet week in Old Blighty!

In an era where every day seems to bring a fresh crisis, a new book looks at the subtle importance of ‘cheerfulness’, and how it has been a crucial yet overlooked part of the Western canon, spanning from the plays of Shakespeare to the songs of Louis Armstrong. Timothy Hampton, Professor of Comparative Literature and French at the University of California at Berkeley. Author of Cheerfulness: A Literary and Cultural History, published by Princeton University Press. 

Israel is effectively subsidising a new PNG embassy in Jerusalem - a controversial location for any embassy. The PNG Prime Minister, James Marape, says his nation's commitment to Christianity is one reason he supports Israel. Sean Jacobs, PNG-born, Brisbane-based writer and commentator on Pacific affairs. Daniel Seidemann, Israeli attorney and analyst

Australians in general do not like eating offal. Yet, all over the world – offal is commonplace in everyday food culture. Writer Sheila Ngọc Phạm advocates for a more honest approach to meat eating in Australia - informed by intercultural exchange.  

The plan to build a national nuclear waste facility at Kimba in South Australia was the third plan of its kind to be scrapped. With nuclear waste accruing around the country and the prospect of more to come as a result of the AUKUS pact, is there a way forward? Guests: Ian Lowe - Emeritus Professor, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University. Author of Long Half-life: The Nuclear Industry in Australia  Dr Jessica Urwin - Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the ANU’s Centre for Environmental History. 

The Yes and No campaigns are ramping up, with less than four weeks to go until referendum day. Plus, the government rebukes the Opposition's proposal to replace ageing coal-fired power stations with nuclear energy.  Guest: Amy Remeikis, political reporter, Guardian Australia

When award-winning writer and broadcaster Selina Mills started to lose her sight, she noticed that people started to treat her differently. It caused her to explore where the stigma around blindness originates and how it persists in Western culture to this day.  Guest: Selina Mills is a writer and broadcaster, and the author of Life Unseen: A Story of Blindness published by Bloomsbury.

Writer Andrew Leland is gradually losing his sight as a result of a progressive eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa. He discusses what it's like to join - but not feel entirely a part of - the blind community and what it actually means to be blind.

When the US military helicopter crashed on the Tiwi Islands last month, killing three Marines,  it wasn’t the first time a foreign military aircraft had gone down there. In WW2, a Japanese fighter pilot was captured by Tiwis and became Australia's first Japanese POW. It's just one of many under-appreciated stories of the Tiwi past. Historians Mavis Kerinaiua and Laura Rademaker have co-authored 'Tiwi Story: turning history downside up' (NewSouth)

On September 11th 1973, a Washington-backed military junta headed by general Augusto Pinochet violently overthrew the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende.  Australia's intelligence agency ASIS was stationed in Santiago at the time, but 50 years on, Canberra refuses to release key classified documents.  Guest: Rodrigo Acuña, independent journalist covering Latin America

While the debate about how an indigenous Voice to parliament would operate here in Australia, on the other side of the world in Norway, the indigenous Sami population have had a Voice in place for over 30 years.  Guest Dateline presenter Karla Grant travelled to Norway to see how it works - and how it might compare to the Voice currently being considered here in Australia.  GUEST: Karla Grant, journalist and proud Western Arrernte woman

When the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary decided to crowdsource for the words to be included in the dictionary they probably did not expect murderers, lunatics and pornographers to respond or such a significant number of women. Over 3000 people contributed words and now their identities have been revealed. Guest: Sarah Ogilvie, author of The Dictionary People: The unsung heroes who created the Oxford English Dictionary

A diplomatic breakthrough with Vietnam, as President Joe Biden visits Hanoi. Plus, a delicate deal with Iran to liberate five Americans. And are the Republicans poised to replace their Senate leader, Mitch McConnell? Guest: Bruce Shapiro, Contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University.   

While the national dish often associated with Australia is the humble meat pie, other countries have national fare dating back centuries, which has the symbolic power of an anthem or flag. But are the national dishes that we travel the world to taste as iconic as we're told?  Guest: Anya von Bremzen, award-winning food writer and author of NATIONAL DISH: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home published by Penguin Random House.

While the rest of the world hypes up China and US conflict over Taiwan, journalist Brian Hoie says, Taiwanese people have a more nuanced view, and want the reporting to ease off, to avoid provoking an attack.

The government reaches a deal with the Greens to progress their housing bill. Plus, what does the Qantas and Qatar Airways saga say about competition (or a lack thereof) in Australia's economy?   Guest: Bernard Keane, political editor, Crikey

Historian Lee Jackson explores the history of Dickens’s tourism, looking at the first visitors who made the literary pilgrimage to London and whether the sites they visited were authentic.

Whether it's the JFK assassination or 9/11, Americans have a strange tendency to believe dark forces are at work in their country. According to Colin Dickey, the United States was a land born in paranoia, and the fear of secret societies and conspiracies has been a defining feature of American life ever since. 

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb talks about his recent expedition to recover the first meteor fragments from outside our solar system, and his belief that the future of humanity rests on our ability to become a truly ‘interstellar’ species.

The decline of local and regional news only accelerated during the pandemic, turning more and more communities into "news deserts". Journalism is an invaluable service in isolated and disadvantaged areas, particularly when times are tough. But is it possible to buck the trend and revive these vanishing outlets - both here in Australia and in North America?  Guests: Professor Kristy Hess, Deakin University Professor April Lindgren, Toronto Metropolitan University Steven Waldman, President of Rebuild Local News, USA

115 years ago, a poem was published in The Spectator that would become an unofficial anthem of Australia. Dorothea Mackellar was the woman behind the iconic lines “I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains…” yet whilst we can almost all recite her lines, we know very little about the poet’s life. Until now…  Guest: Deborah Fitzgerald – journalist and author of Her Sunburnt Country: The Extraordinary Literary Life of Dorothea Mackellar published by Simon & Schuster. Please note: The recording of Dorothea reading 'My Country' is the property of The Estate of Dorothea Mackellar. 

Indonesia and Australia have key elements in common: they are big coal exporters needing to transition from that energy. And between them, they have the most important resources needed for electric vehicle batteries. Working together they could, it is argued, potentially supply most of Asia with EV batteries. Andrew Hudson and Ruddy Gobel from the Centre for Policy Development

Can Keir Starmer's reworked shadow cabinet topple Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives? 

Samuel Goldbloom was a peace activist all his life. He was also a secret member of the communist party who held on to his faith in communism long after many of his comrades left. His activism and faith in communism had a huge impact on his family including his eldest daughter Sandra who has written a memoir about their turbulent relationship. Guest: Sandra Goldbloom Zurbo, author of My Father's Shadow published by Monash University Publishing

September 1st marked 100 years since Japan's devastating Great Kantō Earthquake, a 7.9 magnitude quake which claimed over 105,000 lives. In the wake of the disaster, rumours spread about Koreans looting properties and poisoning wells, resulting in an upswell of vigilante violence that saw thousands more killed. A century on, Japan is still grappling with the commemoration of these atrocities.  Guest: Roger Pulvers, author and playwright, journalist and translator 

When you look at the record of successful referendums both here in Australia and internationally - what is the likelihood that the referendum on 14th October will get over the line? What will be the likely political ramifications if the referendum succeeds or fails? Guests: George Megalogenis, journalist and author and Matt Qvortrup, visiting professor at the ANU and author of several books on referendums.

When the American explorer Frederick Cook sent a telegram to the ‘New York Herald’ in 1909, claiming to be the first person to have reached the North Pole, he became an international celebrity overnight. But one lowly Fleet Street reporter began to doubt the great adventurer’s story. 

Historian Karina Urbach unravels the remarkable story of her grandmother, Alice Urbach, a renowned chef and cookery writer in the 1930s who was dubbed the ‘Julia Childs of Vienna.’

Described as an "organising genius" and an "extraordinary dynamo", South Australia's Doris Taylor (1901-1968) was a champion for the elderly and the isolated, establishing the volunteer-run Meals on Wheels in Adelaide in 1954. She was also a savvy political campaigner, helping future SA Premier Don Dunstan win his seat in Parliament in 1953.  Guest: Dr Carolyn Collins, historian and research fellow, University of Adelaide

Ocean journalist Laura Trethewey tells the story of the ocean mappers, marine biologists and millionaire adventurers involved in Seabed 2030, an epic project aiming to chart the entire ocean floor by 2030. 

A self-described small ‘l’ liberal conservative thinks our strategic alliance with the US is misplaced, and could ultimately make us more vulnerable to attack. Sam Roggeveen from the Lowy Institute is the author of 'The Echidna Strategy' 

Meet the young women shunning fourth-wave feminism for a life of domestic servitude. 

Australia is staring down the barrel of a hot, dry summer. Fire experts Stephen Pyne and Greg Mullins discuss whether things could get as bad here as they've been in the Northern Hemisphere this year.

Donald J. Trump decided not to show up at the first televised Republican candidate debate, spruiking his mugshot merchandise instead. Florida Governor (and Republican frontrunner) Ron DeSantis was booed as he attended a vigil in Jacksonville, after three people were killed in a racist attack.  And 60 years on from Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech, is America any more unified?  GUEST: Bruce Shapiro, Contributing editor with The Nation magazine; and Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University

In the 1940s, Australian-born spy Charles Howard 'Dick' Ellis was one of MI6's elite secret agents, involved in espionage activities across half the world. But in the 1980s, he was posthumously accused of having operated as a 'triple agent' for both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Author and journalist Jesse Fink tries to uncover the truth.  Guest: Jesse Fink, author, The Eagle in the Mirror: In Search of Australian War Hero, Master Spy and Alleged Traitor Charles Howard 'Dick' Ellis

The modern personal virtues of authenticity, vulnerability and humility sound desirable enough in a politician or a business leader, but could these virtues actually be damaging democracy? Lucinda Holdforth, author of "21st century virtues: How they are failing our democracy" (Monash University Publishing)

In forty years time, Australians on average will be older and more reliant on government services, according to the government's latest intergenerational report. Former Treasury secretary Ken Henry has warned of a looming "tragedy" for working Australians.  Plus, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce faces a Senate inquiry on cost-of-living pressures.  Guest: Sean Kelly, weekly columnist with Sydney Morning Herald & The Age

Is there something innately human about a thirst for knowledge? Could the rise of 'smart' technology undermine our own ability to think? These are just some of the questions that award-winning writer Simon Winchester and Phillip Adams tackle in this conversation about Simon's new book Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic.

Science historian James Hannam takes Phillip on a journey spanning millennia as he traces humanity’s quest to discover the shape of the world.

La Via Campesina is a global movement that is reclaiming the word peasant for those who live and work on small farms across the globe. They are campaigning for food sovereignty for all peasant farmers,  ensuring they have control over what they grow and how they grow it. And there are countries like Colombia that are already working towards this goal. Guest: Morgan Ody, General Co-ordinator, La Via Campesina

Tim Flannery was just a teenager when he came across a giant fossilised shark tooth in a creek in Western Victoria - it was the beginning of a lifelong fascination with the megalodon. 

From overflowing churchyard plots, to sprawling suburban cemeteries - American approaches to the grave have shifted over time. Now, novel alternatives like "green burial" and human composting offer a new interpretation of the grave in the 21st Century.  Guest: Allison C Meier, history and culture writer, author of Grave, published by Bloomsbury

Over a decade after it was first inked, it’s been announced that there is no way the Murray Darling Basin Plan can be implemented by the deadline of 30 June 2024. The ANU's Dr Jamie Pittock says it won't be easy to get the Plan back on track, but the environmental and social consequences will be dire if we don't. 

I-newspaper columnist Ian Dunt thinks Rishi Sunak and Prince William would've moved mountains to cheer on a men's side in Sydney, but a women's World Cup is too much of a hassle. 

In the 1980s, a 14 year old Andrew Sneddon finds solace in history books. It's his refuge from a violent stepfather and the criminal underworld on Australia's Gold Coast. Andrew is an archaeologist and heritage consultant, and author of the memoir ‘Prehistoric Joy’ (University of QLD Press) 

Albania is suddenly a popular tourist destination, but at the same time, Albanian migrants in the UK are derided, and have been the focus of tougher immigration policies. With best-selling Albanian/British author and academic Lea Ypi

Laura Tingle previews the Intergenerational Report due out later in the week and the debate over AUKUS at the National ALP Conference. Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

If we are wise, we embrace failure. Not because it leads to success, as the self-help industry would have us believe. But because failure teaches us humility, which leads to insight, and a radical idea for a better politics. With philosopher Costica Bradatan.

While the military coup in Niger may be about the personal ambition of a General under threat, the consequences for the region are serious. The progress that former President Bazoum was making against increasing jihadism will likely be stalled, and the new military leadership may also provide the Wagner group with another base and source of income in West Africa. Guest: Kinley Salmon, Africa Correspondent for The Economist

Have you ever wondered about the first living creature to deliberately make a noise? What can we learn from the shape of our own ears about how the first sea creatures evolved to hear. Biologist David George Haskell has thought a lot about the sounds found in nature. He believes that the significance of the evolution of sound has long been underestimated and under-researched. Humans need to listen more and make less noise, because the louder humans get, the greater the loss of sound diversity. Guest: David George Haskell, Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Sewanee University. Author of Sounds: Wild and Broken published by Black Inc For the link to all ABC Science Week content - click here For the link to the Nature Track recordings - click here For the link to recordings made by David George Haskell played during the interview - click here Originally broadcast on 14 April 2022.

Biologist Lixing Sun explores the evolution of cheating in the natural world, revealing how dishonesty has given rise to wondrous diversity. Guest: Dr Lixing Sun - Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Central Washington University. Author of The Liars of Nature and the Nature of Liars: Cheating and Deception in the Living World published by Princeton University Press.

In the two years since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan again, women's rights have been consistently eroded. The right to attend university and high school has been taken away. Women are no longer able to work for government or aid organisations - even the UN can no longer employ women. How can the international community pressure the Taliban to reverse these policies? Guest: Farkhondeh Akbari, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Gender Peace and Security Centre, Monash University

Could all this bad press be good news for Trump's next presidential campaign?

In the early 1970s, a group of 150 Japanese snow monkeys were transplanted from their cold mountain home near Kyoto, to a dusty, sun-drenched ranch in southern Texas. Why and how they were relocated is a weird and wonderful tale. Writer Sarah Bird embarks on a journey to find this fabled population of monkeys, 50 years on.  Guest: Sarah Bird, writer and novelist based in Austin, Texas

The world is facing unprecedented threats to food security, following the Kremlin’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the onset of El Niño. Guest: Joseph Glauber - Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Can a nearly all-Labor Cabinet meeting of Premiers and Federal Ministers come up with a solution t the housing shortage? Plus tax and climate pressure on the PM from within Labor ranks. With Laura Tingle

In the year 68AD, the death of Emperor Nero precipitated a year of coups and civil war that saw four Caesars in succession rule the Roman Empire. But from the chaos emerged a 70-year era of unrivalled peace, power and prosperity known as the pax romana - when the Empire reached the heights of its predatory glory.  Guest: Tom Holland, historian and author of Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age. Co-host of The Rest is History podcast. 

A new documentary 'Abebe-Butterfly Song' charts the musical legacy and enduring friendship between celebrated Papuan musician George Telek and Australian musician and producer David Bridie. The documentary is premiering at the Melbourne International Film Festival on Sunday 13 August. Details can be found here.  George Telek and David Bridie will also be performing at the Memo Music Hall on Saturday 19 August. Details can be found here. 

Three years ago, there was a huge explosion at the port in Beirut that killed more than 220 people, injured thousands and left 300,000 homeless. For many Lebanese women, this blast was the final straw and they have now left their home country, but others have stayed on to fight for justice for those they lost. Guest: Dalal Mawad, author of All She Lost: The explosion in Lebanon, the Collapse of a Nation and the Women who Survive (Bloomsbury)

In South Africa, this female anti-poaching unit has had a major impact on wildlife conservation, as well as combating gender stereotypes. This year, they celebrate their 10th anniversary. Guests: Leitah Mkhabela - Black Mambas’ supervisor and Ops room Manager. Felicia Mogakane – Black Mambas’ Ops room Manager and Sergeant.

Today, the online betting industry is worth an estimated $74 billion USD globally per year, and rising. Surprisingly, online betting in Australia got its start in the outback town of Alice Springs. Decades later, these multinational companies are spending millions on advertising during sports broadcasts, raising concerns about potential gambling harm.  Guest: Drew Rooke, freelance writer and journalists, author of One Last Spin: the power and peril of the pokies.

I-newspaper columnist Ian Dunt discusses the latest developments in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's attempts to 'stop the boats', as well as a damning parliamentary report which reveals that the UK government has been asleep at the wheel for a decade when it comes to the Wagner Group. Plus, we compare notes on the privatisation of the Australian and UK public service, and what it means for our democracies. 

Working alongside J. Robert Oppenheimer, on the Manhattan nuclear project, was British scientist William Penney. Penney then copied that bomb and exploded it off the coast of Western Australia, on the Montebello Islands. It was the first of many British nuclear tests in Australia. Author Paul Grace has been investigating.

On Tuesday, presidents of eight Amazon countries will meet to discuss the future of the rainforest and the region. Given that the Amazon is known as the 'lungs of the planet', the stakes could not be higher. Investigative journalist Bram Ebus says crime, as well as climate, needs to be top of the agenda.  Guest: Bram Ebus - journalist and photographer from the Netherlands based in Bogotá, Colombia; Rainforest Investigations Fellow at the Pulitzer Center; consultant for International Crisis Group.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has returned to the Garma Festival in the remote NT, and has stared down calls to rethink the timing of the Voice to Parliament Referendum. Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Author Walter Marsh on the era that shaped young Rupert Murdoch - the radical who espoused socialism, kept a bust of Lenin in his uni accommodation and then went on to build his empire from 1950s Adelaide.   Guest: Walter Marsh, journalist and author of Young Rupert - the making of the Murdoch empire,  published by Scribe. 

The incredible true crime tale of the ‘Angel Makers of Nagyrév’ – a group of women living in rural Hungary who, in the 1910's and 1920's, poisoned to death over a hundred men. Guest: Patti McCracken - journalist and author of The Angel Makers: Arsenic, a Midwife, and Modern History's Most Astonishing Murder Ring published by HarperCollins

Male drug lords like Pablo Escobar and El Chapo Guzman are well known across the globe for their violence, power and wealth. But there are also many powerful, intriguing and largely unseen women who have also been at the centre of the drug cartels of Latin America.  Guest: Deborah Bonello, editorial director for VICE News Latin America and author of "Narcas - the secret rise of women in Latin America's cartels"

In this edition of our fortnightly Asia Update, we get an overview of the situation in Myanmar, where the military junta has extended the state of emergency for another six months, and granted a partial pardon to former leader Aung San Suu Kyi.  Guest: Thomas Kean - Director/editor-at-large at Frontier Myanmar and senior consultant with International Crisis Group.

When Trump won the Presidency in 2016 - many believed that it was the votes of the angry rural voter that got him over the line. But research shows that there is not that much difference between rural and urban voters when it comes to their beliefs about democracy, equality and race, and in fact rural Americans are doing just fine economically as well.  Guest: Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, Professor of Public Policy, University of Southern California and author of “The Overlooked Americans” published by Hachette. 

The Senate inquiry into Foreign Interference Through Social Media handed down its report today. Sydney-based sociologist Wanning Sun, who watched both her parents' funerals in China on the Chinese app WeChat, gives both a personal and analytical account of what's at stake.

The Senate inquiry into Foreign Interference Through Social Media handed down its report today. Sydney-based sociologist Wunning Sun, who watched both her parents' funerals in China on the Chinese app WeChat, gives both a personal and analytical account of what's at stake.

Between high temperatures sapping the life out of Florida's coral reefs, a heat dome sitting over Texas and Donald Trump in further legal hot water over the alleged mishandling of classified documents, things are certainly getting steamy in the United States... Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University. 

Flour mills as markers of a town's success, an important export to Asia with magnificent art on the flour bags, and mill photograhy, a genre you might not know existed. With Jess Jennings and Prof Paul Ashton

After 38 years in power, Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia has announced that he will be passing the Prime Ministership to his son Hun Manet. Could this be an opportunity to reset relations with the West or is the pull of China too strong? Guest: Sebastian Strangio, Southeast Asia Editor at The Diplomat

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raises the prospect of a double-dissolution election as the government reintroduces its housing bill to the Parliament.  Guest: Laura Tingle, chief political correspondent, 7.30

The popular 19th century fringe science of head-reading – mostly feeling bumps on the head – was mostly used by white, male practitioners. But it was also practised by people from the colonial margins. Alexandra Roginski has unearthed some colourful characters.

As heat waves scorch Europe and America, the effects of global warming cannot be ignored. But unlike fires, floods and cyclones, heat it often a silent killer. Author Jeff Goodell explains how we have adapted to heat in the past and what a future living with heat might look like. Guest: Jeff Goodell, author of Heat: Life and death on a scorched planet published by Black Inc

Myths of female monsters, demons and seductresses have endured for millennia. In ancient Mesopotamia, women feared a horrifying demon called Lamashdu, believed to be the source of miscarriages and child death. As centuries passed however, men co-opted these monsters from women's folklore for their own ends.  Guest: Sarah Clegg, historian and author Woman's Lore: 4000 years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi

An escalation in gang violence in the Central American nation of Honduras has compelled President Xiomara Castro to proposed a drastic solution: the construction of a new prison, on a remote island in the Caribbean. 

Today marks 20 years since Australian boots first stepped on the tarmac at Honiara's International Airport, to help restore peace amid ongoing ethnic and political tensions. Then prime minister John Howard said he expected Australia's presence to last "months". It lasted 14 years.  What's changed since, and what lies ahead for this Pacific nation?  Guests: Tess Newton-Cain, Pacific Hub, Griffith Asia Institute Robert Iroga, editor and publisher, Solomon Business Magazine

Midway through this referendum year, a re-set on the debate, including exactly what the hopes and intentions are for the Voice amendment, and why the Constitution even matters! Guests: Megan Davis and George Williams, co-authors of 'Everything you need to know about The Voice' (UNSW Press) 

Last week, a trio of by-elections in the UK saw the Conservative party lose two seats, however the party held on to Boris Johnson's old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in suburban London. The results suggest Keir Starmer's Labour will comfortably win next year's general election. Guest: Alex Andreou, writer and broadcaster, co-host of "Oh God, What Now?"

In the late 1970s in Norway a proposal to dam the mighty Alta river sparked a huge protest by the Sami people - the indigenous people of Norway, Sweden and Finland. The river was renowned for its salmon runs and was an important habitat for migratory birds, reindeer, and other wildlife. Guests: Ole Giaever, Director, Let the River Flow plus Sarakka Gaup, actor and Sami activist.

Hollywood's film and TV sets have ground to halt, after the Screen Actors Guild joined the Writers Guild in strike action, demanding a fairer pay deal for workers in the era of digital streaming.  The last "double strike" in Hollywood was in 1960, when future US President Ronald Reagan was at the helm of the Screen Actors Guild.  Guest: Dr Prudence Flowers, Senior Lecturer in US History, Flinders University

Kathryn Campbell resigns from her position on the AUKUS advisory panel - so what does this mean for investigations into whether she breached the APS Code of Conduct? Labor announces reforms for casual workers and a new Productivity Commission head as recession looms.  Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

As Christopher Nolan's new epic Oppenheimer hits cinema screens, Professor of Philosophy and biographer Ray Monk recounts the true story of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer - the reluctant father of the atomic bomb.  This interview originally aired in 2013.  Guest: Ray Monk, author of Inside the Centre: The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

From Aztec symbols of the underworld to wizard couriers in the Harry Potter series, owls have captivated and intrigued us for millennia. New science is unravelling some of the mysteries of owls and it turns out we might be wise to listen to what owls have to tell us. Guest: Jennifer Ackerman - award-winning science writer and speaker, and the New York Times bestselling author of What an Owl Knows, The Bird Way, and The Genius of Birds.

Australia is contributing to Germany's rearmament, with a record defence deal. After decades of German pacifism, which followed the very hard lessons of WW2, a change is underway in that country. Guest: Stephen Milder, historian of German pacifism and Green democracy 

A proposal to set up a NATO office in Japan has drawn much criticism for its potential destabilising effect on the region. But should we be worried? Guest: Dr Michito Tsuruoka, Associate Professor at Keio University and currently a visiting fellow at the Australian National University

Termites have a bad rap. But for the Gurindji people, the termite mound is critical to cultural traditions when a child is born. A new children's book tells this story in Gurindji language and English offering both cultural and scientific information about the amazing termite. Book: Tamarra: a story of termites on Gurindji country,  published by Hardie Grant Guests: Three contributors to the book; Leah Leaman, artist and co-author, Gregory Crocetti, science educator from the Free Scale Network and Felicity Meakins,  linguist and translator 

Supporters of Ugandan opposition leader, Bobi Wine, have taken allegations of abduction and torture to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Guest: Regina Weiss, human rights barrister at Derwent & Tamar Chambers in Hobart.  Regina is a former prosecution trial lawyer at the International Criminal Court, specialising in East Africa.

President Joe Biden controversially sends cluster munitions to Ukraine while continuing to deny Ukraine entry to NATO. The Democrats are having to distance themselves from presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr and his bizarre conspiracy theories. Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University. ​​​​​​​

The United States has been in a state of perpetual war for the last two decades, however many of these forays remain almost entirely invisible to the public. Journalist and activist Norman Solomon exposes the true cost of America’s military machine and how the truth has been obfuscated for so long.   

The cost of outsourcing work from the public service to the so-called "Big Four" auditing and consulting firms is conservatively estimated at $10 billion over the last decade - that we know of. So isn't it cheaper to have the public service do the work? And what are the challenges facing incoming RBA Governor Michele Bullock? Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

As well earning him multiple Walkley and Logie awards, the work done by investigative journalist Chris Masters PSM has arguably changed Australia, for the better. He speaks to Phillip Adams about his distinguished career, which culminated in his latest book Flawed Hero: Truth, lies and war crimes. 

A chunk of ambergris has reportedly been discovered in the entrails of a dead sperm whale, beached on the Canary Islands. Some claim that the 9.5kg chunk could be worth half-a-million Euros.  Known as "floating gold", this elusive substance - historically used in perfume making - has a stomach-turning origin story.  Guest: Christopher Kemp, scientist and author, Floating Gold: A Natural (and Unnatural) History of Ambergris

Spain is set for general elections in two weeks' time, and there are new fears that the far-right could be about to make a leap forward, into government.  The latest opinion polls show that the conservative People's Party may need the help of the far-right Vox party to govern, in a multi-party coalition. Vox could become the first hard right party since the Franco era to enter Spain's national government. 

Slightly buried in the Voice referendum debate, or at least the public debate, are views that are not conservative 'no', not progressive  'yes', and being unsure how to vote.  Luke Pearson and Celeste Liddle explain why they're so torn.

Charlie Flannigan was a young Aboriginal stockman. In 1892, he shot a white man, ostensibly over a game of cards. On 15 July 1893 he was the first man in the NT to be hanged. Meanwhile in South Australia a white man who murdered his niece had his sentence commuted, sparking a huge public debate about treatment of Aboriginal people in the justice system. Charlie also left behind a remarkable collection of drawings. Guest: Don Nawurlany Christophersen, Historical & Cultural Researcher and author of "A little Bit of Justice — The Story of Charlie Flannigan, The First Man to be Executed in the N.T."

After cautious approval from the United Nations, Japan is poised to release treated nuclear wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. How worried should we be? Guest: Dr. Ken Buesseler, marine radiochemist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 

The British government’s 'Rwanda solution' for immigrants has blocked, as Joe Biden visits King Charles and Rishi Sunak.

For more than half a century the Guinness World Records has catalogued humanity’s extraordinary feats and thrilled readers around the world. It’s still managing to survive in a world dominated by YouTube and TikTok, but at what cost?  Guest: Imogen West-Knights - London-based freelance writer, her Guardian long read is The strange survival of Guinness World Records

Russia's war on Ukraine has divided and decimated the revered Russian arts sector.  Its personnel are often forced to choose  between propaganda, jail, or leaving Russia. Guest: Polina Ivanova, Russia and Ukraine correspondent for the Financial Times

Laura Tingle looks at Australia's announcement it will join Germany's "Climate Club" and sign a billion-dollar defence deal. Plus the fall-out from the Robodebt scandal continues with calls for Scott Morrison to resign from parliament. Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

We may think of tattooing as a modern trend, but the practice has deep and ancient roots, reaching back to Otzi the Iceman. Guest: Dr Matt Lodder, tattoo historian and Senior Lecturer in Art History and Theory at the University of Essex  His book is ‘Painted People: Humanity in 21 Tattoos’ (published by Harper Collins)

Could the gaps in the law which leave Indigenous knowledge and culture open to exploitation be addressed by the True Tracks system? Guest: Terri Janke, Wuthathi/Meriam Indigenous lawyer and author. 

Growing up in the Torres Strait, Nornie Bero was immersed in the rich culinary life of the Islands. Through her business Mabu Mabu she has put Indigenous cuisine in the heart of Melbourne and now, through her cookbook, she invites us all to open our hearts – and our pantries – to the Torres Strait.   Guest: Nornie Bero is from the Meriam People of Mer Island in the Torres Strait and is the Executive Chef, CEO and Owner of Mabu Mabu. Her book is Mabu Mabu: An Australian Kitchen Cookbook published by Hardie Grant  Originally broadcast on 8 September 2022

France's founding principles are liberty, equality and fraternity – but in the cities, towns and suburbs across France, many people increasingly feel that these ideals don’t apply to them. It's a major part of the tension underlying recent protests about systemic racism in French society, which were sparked when police shot dead a 17-year-old in his car during a traffic stop. But what is the history of police brutality in France, and why do violent riots keep erupting?

Under the leadership of the current President of the Maldives, President Solih has adopted an India First policy reversing the previous governments policy of closer ties to China. With an election looming, how much will foreign policy play a role? Guest: Dr Athaulla Rasheed, Department of Pacific Affairs, ANU

In 2018, Dr Richard "Harry" Harris played a central role in the rescue of the Wild Boars soccer team from a flooded cave in Thailand, sedating the trapped boys so that they could be pulled out, underwater, to safety.  Since then, Harry has interviewed countless fellow "risk-takers" - from deep-sea explorers to mountain climbers - to understand why we take risks. Guest: Dr Richard "Harry" Harris, cave diver and anaesthetist. Author of The Art of Risk

In Indonesia, the resignation of President Suharto in 1998 heralded a new era of hope and democratic reform. But a generation later, why is corruption still so embedded in Indonesia's body politic?Are there any green shoots for transparency and accountability?  Guest: Todung Mulya Lubis, Indonesian lawyer and human rights activist, author of "War on Corruption"

The US Supreme Court has handed down some explosive rulings in the last week. Meanwhile Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign has some serious problems.

Journalist and author Anjan Sundaram has been on a mission to cover forgotten African wars. His latest book is based on his time in the Central African Republic, a country which since throwing off the shackles of French colonialism in the 1960 has suffered coups, fighting and massacres. Anjan not only tells the untold story of the conflict but the personal cost being a war reporter had on his marriage. Guest: Journalist Anjan Sundaram. Author of 'Breakup: A Marriage in Wartime'. Published by New South Publishing.

In less than a year, Mexicans will elect a new President, as Andrés Manuel López Obrador's six-year term comes to an end. Who will replace the populist left-wing leader? And how will the new President grapple with the challenges of cartel operations, and the US-Mexico border?  Guest: Sarah Birke, Bureau Chief, The Economist, Mexico City

Laura Tingle looks at who the inaugural Commissioner of the National Anti-corruption Commission, Paul Brereton, has in his sights, plus regional security on the agenda as Indonesian President Joko Widodo visits Australia, and how far will interest rates rise? Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Figures like Oscar Wilde are remembered as heroes of gay history, who suffered great persecution for expressing their sexuality.  Whilst we remember Wilde and many other pioneers, what about the queer figures from history we choose to forget?  From Emperors, to fascists and troubled artists - what do their stories tell us about sexuality and identity through time?   Guests: Ben Miller and Huw Lemmey, co-authors of “Bad Gays: A Homosexual History” published by Verso. 

Much of the debate around stopping the boats and even locking children up in detention centres has been around what is in the "best interests" of kids and their families. Dr Jordana Silverstein argues this approach has resonances with settler-colonial attitudes to Indigenous people and to any who come to our shores seeking succour from non-white countries.  Guest: Dr Jordana Silverstein, Senior Research Fellow at the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness at the University of Melbourne.

Leading Shakespeare scholar Emma Smith tells the story of the making of the First Folio, the iconic book without which we would have lost half of the Bard’s most famous works including ‘Macbeth’, ‘The Tempest’ and ‘Julius Caesar.’

US political analyst and author Bruce Wolpe argues Australia needs to plan for former US president Donald Trump winning a second term in office. 

The government of our Pacific neighbour to the east, Fiji, is set to hand down its full budget on Friday.

New research shows Sierra Leone’s black leaders role played a key role in the abolition movement. The British navy had to rely on the support of African states and polities that had already turned against the slave trade.  Dr Everill says Africans' role in ending the transatlantic slave trade has thus far been overlooked.  Guest: Bronwen Everill, Director, Centre for African Studies, University of Cambridge. 

Kim Yo Jong might have been the youngest daughter and ‘sweet princess’ of North Korea’s Supreme Leader King Jong Il, but she’s more than just ‘the sister’. According to Korea scholar Sung-Yoon Lee she’s Kim Jong-Un’s chief propagandist, and also one of his most likely successors. Guest: Sung-Yoon Lee - the Kim Koo-Korea Foundation Professor in Korean Studies and assistant professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.  Author of The Sister: The extraordinary story of Kim Yo Jong, the most powerful woman in North Korea published by Pan Macmillan

Boris Johnson has resigned as a Member of Parliament. What lies ahead for the Conservative Party he leaves behind?   Guest: Alex Andreou, writer and broadcaster, co-host of "Oh God, What Now?"

From Van Gogh's The Starry Night to Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People - the colours that adorn history's greatest paintings have strange and at times disturbing origins. Guest: Kelly Grovier, writer and historian, author of The Art of Colour: The History of Art in 39 Pigments.

Last month analyst Anatol Lieven predicted that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the private Russian militia group Wagner, was positioning himself for a struggle against Vladimir Putin. After Prigozhin's failed revolt over the weekend, how exposed is the Kremlin leader to further coup attempts? And what does all this mean for the war in Ukraine? Guest: Anatol Lieven, Director of the Eurasia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

Laura Tingle reflects on the political career of former Labor leader Simon Crean, who passed away suddenly, aged 74. The Voice's Yes campaign is falling behind in QLD, WA, SA and Tasmania, and Australia is facing a looming recession.  Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Man Ray's muse was a left bank icon in her own right in 1920s Paris.  A new biography by Mark Braude sheds light on the life of Alice Prin, a forgotten bohemian icon. 

One of the most significant whistleblowers of our time, Daniel Ellsberg, has died at the age of 92. Daniel Ellsberg spoke to Phillip Adams just last year, in defence of Julian Assange and free speech.

Friedrich Wilhelm Hymmen lived two lives. His grandchildren remember a caring, playful grandfather, with a career as a respected journalist. But in his younger years, Friedrich was an 'early adopter' of Nazism, who emerged as a literary star for the regime. Melbourne-based writer Andreas Pohl comes to terms with the truth of his grandfather's past. Guest: Andreas Pohl, author, 'Opi - The Two Lives of My Grandfather'

The enduring lesson from centuries of boom and bust is that there will always be another financial crisis. Given the current uncertain state of the global economy, now is a good time to learn from history to prevent a full-scale financial meltdown.  Guest: Dr Linda Yueh CBE is Fellow in Economics at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University and Adjunct Professor of Economics at London Business School. The Great Crashes: Lessons from Global Meltdowns and How to Prevent Them is published by Penguin Random House 

For the first time in five years a US Secretary of State has visited China. But now, President Joe Biden has potentially undone some of the gains made by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Guest: Stephen McDonell, BBC Beijing correspondent

Peter Kaestner has taken bird watching and expertise to the next level. He is the current world record holder for having seen the most amount of bird species — a staggering 9, 856 species. He is aiming to see 10,000. 

"In the company of men" tells the tale of the Ebola crisis in West Africa through many voices  - even the infected bat and the virus itself have their say. This poetic tale about human disaster draws on African storytelling traditions and highlights the link between habitat destruction and viral pandemics.  Guest: Véronique Tadjo, poet, novelist, academic, artist and author of "In the company of men" published by Other Press / New York.

What happens next in Trump's indictment? A surprising ruling on Alabama voter rights from the Supreme Court. And a damning inquiry into the Minneapolis police.  Guest: Bruce Shapiro, Contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University.

Carlos Saura was widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in Spanish cinema history. His career began controversially, with neo-realist films depicting Spain's so-called "dirty laundry" attracting the attention of the censors. He later moved on to create expressive films and he is now remembered for his passionate portrayal of Spanish culture, history, and traditions. A major retrospective of his work is showing at the Spanish Film Festival around Australia.   Guest: Antonio Saura, Director General, Latido films. Son of Carlos Saura.

The exploded Kakhovka dam in Ukraine has done obvious environmental damage, but more of that impact will become clearer with time. More broadly, the environmental damage in the Ukraine/Russia war has become possibly the most observed, and monitored, of any war. Guests Sofia Sadogurska in Kyiv,  and Doug Weir in the UK.

Laura Tingle discusses the implications of The Voice referendum bill passing the Senate, why the Greens and the Liberals teamed up to delay the Housing Australia Future Fund bill and the resignation of Liberal Senator David Vann. Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Hulu's hit TV comedy "The Great" is loosely based on the historical figure of Catherine II, Empress of Russia. The true story of Catherine the Great is an even more gripping tale.  Guest: Professor Darius von Guttner, historian, Australian Catholic University

Scottish physicist and volcanologist Andrew McGonigle has spent the last twenty years and more developing low-cost hi-tech to try and predict when a volcano is about to blow. 

As we move ever closer to a Voice referendum – the Senate will vote on it next week - a Close the Gap report has come in, finding that life outcomes for Indigenous Australians are continuing to worsen. Guest: Dana Morse, ABC political reporter 

Professor Michael Scott shares stories of eight groundbreaking archaeological finds and explains why he has a love-hate relationship with Indiana Jones.

UFO's are back in the headlines after a former Pentagon official claimed that the US has 'intact or partially intact' alien vehicles. In this interview astronomer Avi Loeb discusses the Galileo Project he has set up to monitor for interstellar objects and unidentified aerial phenomena.  Guest: Avi Loeb, Professor of Science at Harvard University and the Head of the Galileo Project. His most recent book is called Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.  First broadcast 24 March 2022.

In no other Western country has ownership and control of the media been concentrated in the hands of as few people as it has in Australia. Sally Young tells the remarkable story of the media monsters that conglomerated their power and strengthened their influence in the mid-twentieth century.   Guest: Sally Young – professor of political science at the University of Melbourne. Media Monsters: The Transformation of Australia’s Newspaper Empires published by UNSW Press.

The best-selling author of The Professor and the Madman explores the rich and complex history of our relationship with the planet's 37 billion acres of habitable land: who mapped it, owned it, stole it, cared for it, fought for it, and gave it back. First broadcast 4 February 2021. Phillip Adams will be speaking to Simon Winchester about his new book Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic at RN's Big Weekend of Books on Sunday June 18th.

Timepieces are one of humanity's most ingenious innovations. From ancient sundials to the mechanical wristwatch, these technologies have regulated our daily lives and shaped our cultures and societies in astonishing ways.  Guest: Rebecca Struthers, historian and heritage watchmaker, author of Hands of Time: A Watchmaker's History of Time

The ‘culture wars’ have generated heated debates around race, culture, whiteness and privilege. British Indian author Kenan Malik looks at the origins of race in Western thought, how contemporary ideas of culture came about and how cultural appropriation and ethnic nationalism have become forms of gatekeeping. Kenan Malik, academic and author of Not So Black and White: A History of Race from White Supremacy to Identity Politics, published by New South Books.

We've all had a sulk from time to time or been the target of one. What is the point of this covert form of communication, which is filled with rules and paradoxes? Guest: Rebecca Roache, senior lecturer in philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London.

The last four decades have seen a rise in Islamist parties taking power—via the ballot box or through violence. How did they rule when they got there? Guests: Joana Cook - Assistant Professor of Terrorism and Political Violence, Leiden University Shiraz Maher - Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) and a member of the War Studies Department at King's College London.

Taiwan has become a geopolitical hotspot, caught in a power tussle between the United States and China. Yet it's indispensability in semiconductor supply chains could be the key to global stability. Meanwhile, within Taiwan, political parties are gearing up for an election and grappling with their own #MeToo moment.  Guests: Cheng Ting-Fang (Annie) - the chief tech correspondent with Nikkei Asia. You can find the visual storytelling project mentioned here. Wen-Ti Sung - political scientist who teaches in the ANU Taiwan Studies Program.

More than 80% of Wikipedia’s volunteer editors are male, and this gender bias is reflected in its articles: less than 20% of published Wikipedia biographies are about women. We meet two Wikipedians trying to close this gender gap, one profile at a time.  Guests: Dr Jess Wade – Physicist and Research Fellow at the Imperial College London.  Annie Reynolds - Wikimedian, WomenInRed project member, family and local history researcher.

Recent elections in Kosovo's Serb-dominated north have seen historical tensions turn to violence and European mediators are scratching their heads as talks between the two country’s leaders ended in stalemate. Complicating the picture is the war in nearby Ukraine, Serbia’s strong-man politics and its historical closeness with Russia.  Guest: Marko Prelec, Consulting Senior Analyst, Balkans, International Crisis Group

The UK government will use barges to house over 1000 asylum seekers awaiting processing. Meanwhile, the government is to launch an unprecedented legal challenge over the public COVID inquiry's demand for WhatsApp messages and documents. Guest: Ian Dunt, columnist with the "i" newspaper

Typographer and designer Stephen Banham contends that a mere font can represent our lives and the times in which we live.

The digital age promised a cleaner, greener, more efficient future. In reality, our digital lives rely on a vast and growing infrastructure of mines, cables and data centres, which are damaging the planet.  Guest: Guillaume Pitron, author, The Dark Cloud: How the Digital World is Costing the Earth.  

Laura Tingle looks at the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case,  how Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is handling the delicate path between China and the United States, and still no deal on the Housing Australia Future Fund.  Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

British writer Martin Amis died on the 19th of May, 2023. In this interview with Phillip Adams from 2020 they discuss the last book Martin ever wrote: Inside Story, which takes the death of his closest friend, Christopher Hitchens, as it's starting point. Ultimately he covers the hardest questions, such as how to live, how to grieve and how to die. Interview first broadcast 8th of October 2020.

George Orwell dismissed them as ‘tripe’, T.S. Eliot found them arduous to write and Jeanette Winterson once burnt all her books because of one… Literary copywriter Louise Willder explores the haunting, luminous, unputdownable history of the book blurb.

The writers behind popular television shows like Saturday Night Live and Stranger Things have put their pens down and stepped away from their keyboards. It's not only a battle for better wages and working conditions, but against the threat of artificial intelligence taking their jobs.  Guest: Kate Fortmueller - assistant professor of entertainment and media studies at the University of Georgia.

New players such as South Korea, India and the UK are joining China, the US and Australia in jostling for influence in the Pacific. Tess Newton Cain and Sean Jacobs discuss.

Haunted by his misguided support of the Iraq War, foreign correspondent Robert D. Kaplan turned to tragic literature to understand the delusions of the West and how they can be avoided in the future.  Guest: Robert D. Kaplan - the Robert Strausz-Hupé Chair in Geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. His latest book is The Tragic Mind: Fear, fate and the burden of power published by Yale University Press 

We rarely hear how technology is impacting most of the world's population, in the global south. Anup Kaphle and Itika Sharma Punit, both from the online publication Rest of World, are now bringing us those stories. 

President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reach and agreement to raise the US debt ceiling and avoid default. Florida Republican Ron DeSantis launches his presidential bid, but not without technical difficulties. And US diplomat Henry Kissinger turns 100.  Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine; and Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University.    

Andre Dao's acclaimed book ‘Anam’ explores his Vietnamese background and the ways that war divided his family, and their country.  Guest: Andre Dao, Melbourne-based legal academic and author of 'Anam' (Penguin/Hamish Hamilton)

Following Timor-Leste’s parliamentary election on the 21st of May, independence hero Xanana Gusmao and his National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) have emerged victorious. The conduct of the elections has been described as a democratic triumph but the biggest challenges for Mr Gusmao, and the young country, could still be yet to come.  Guest: Damien Kingsbury, Emeritus Professor of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University. 

WA Premier Mark McGowan announces his shock resignation, citing burnout and exhaustion. The fallout from the PWC scandal continues. And the PM appeals to Australians' 'instinct for fairness' on the Voice.  Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief political correspondent, 7.30

Peter Wohlleben opened our eyes to the hidden social lives of trees. Now he makes the case that trees could be our climate saviours, if we let them.   Guest: Peter Wohlleben – German forester and bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees. His latest book is The Power of Trees: How Ancient Forests Can Save Us If We Let Them published in Australia by Black Inc Books.

Long before he became President of Russia, Vladimir Putin was a mid-level KGB officer stationed in Dresden, East Germany, towards the end of the Cold War. Author and investigative journalist Mark Hollingsworth tells Sarah Dingle how Putin's time in the Soviet Union’s all-powerful security agency played an instrumental role in shaping his mindset. 

The Wager is not just about how humans behave under the most extreme conditions, it’s also a reflection on empire and colonialism; not just how we paint ourselves as heroes in our own stories, but how nations do that too.    Guest: David Grann, author of The Wager – a tale of shipwreck mutiny and murder, published by Simone and Schuster

PFAS is found in everything from non-stick cookware to cosmetics and historically, firefighting foam. These so-called "forever chemicals" do not break down in the environment and can accumulate in our bodies, raising concerns about associated health risks. As class actions mount, will the world phase out PFAS? And can contaminated sites be cleaned up?  Guests: Ravi Naidu, Laureate Professor at the University of Newcastle’s Global Centre for Environmental Remediation; CEO of CRC-CARE.    Amy Rand, Associate Professor in Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology at Carleton University, in Canada. 

For more than a year Pakistan has been plagued by an ongoing political crisis and it's bringing the country, and it's people, to the brink.  Guest: Diaa Hadid – International correspondent covering Pakistan and Afghanistan for NPR News.

Electric flying taxis are being developed in four countries, right now. It's an example of an innovation wave - a phenomenon that happens when certain elements coincide. Guest: Tom Whipple, science correspondent with The Times 

Stan Grant is taking a break from journalism after suffering ongoing racist attacks and experiencing a lack of institutional support from the ABC. Now other journalists from diverse backgrounds are speaking out about their own, similar, experiences. We hear from three diverse journalists about navigating an increasingly vitriolic media landscape, the lack of diversity that persists in Australian media and some of the possible paths forward.    Guests: John Paul Janke – Co-host of NITV’s weekly current affairs show The Point, which returns to NITV next Tuesday (30 May) at 7:30pm.  Andrea Ho - Discipline Lead, Radio and Podcasting, Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS). Osman Faruqi - culture news editor for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.

After 13 years in government, the Conservative Party reaches a new milestone, surpassing Labour's previous period in government. Plus, Home Secretary Suella Braverman faces questions about her handling of a speeding fine.  Guest: Ian Dunt, columnist with the "i" newspaper

From cavities, to overcrowding and the dreaded wisdom teeth - why are these dental issues so common today? The answer lies in our evolution and the rapid transformation of human diets.  Guest: Peter Ungar, distinguished professor of anthropology and director of environmental dynamics at the University of Arkansas.

Four decades of economic reform have made China one of the most unequal countries in the world – but the impact of this inequality is not just socioeconomic. Professor Wanning Sun spoke to the rural migrant workers that put together our iPhones and iPads about their attempts to find love while working on the assembly line.  Guest: Wanning Sun - Professor of Media and Communication Studies at UTS. Author of Love Troubles: Inequality in China and its Intimate Consequences published by Bloomsbury, May 2023. 

It’s been a big week in international engagement for our Prime Minister. The Government marks one year in office. And parliamentary debate on the Voice is finally underway. 

The most famous chroniclers of the Spanish Civil War may have been male writers such as George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway. But a new book reveals the contributions made by a band of brave and brilliant women, from journalist Martha Gellhorn to the young Jewish photographer Gerda Taro.  Guest: Sarah Watling - journalist and author of ‘Tomorrow Perhaps The Future: Following Writers and Rebels in the Spanish Civil War’ (Penguin) 

Phosphorus supports all life on Earth, yet we're exhausting our reserves of this finite resource at an unsustainable rate, while we allow it to overflow and pollute our waterways. As we inch towards 'peak phosphorus', it turns out the key to our future food security could reside in our own bladders and bowels.  Guest:  Dan Egan – journalist in residence at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's School of Freshwater Sciences and author of The Devil's Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance published by WW Norton.

‘Culture’ has become a loaded term in today’s world, tied up in culture wars, cultural appropriation and cancel culture. But while we fight over who owns the past, are we missing the very point of culture? In his new book  Culture: The Story of Us, from Cave Art to K-Pop, Harvard professor Martin Puchner explores how the human attempt to make sense of the universe and our place in it has been a collective one. Guest: Martin Puchner - Byron and Anita Wien Professor of Drama and of English and Comparative Literature at Harvard University. Author of Culture: The Story of Us, from Cave Art to K-Pop published by WW Norton

The annual G7 summit will take place from the 19th to 21st of May. It's being hosted by Japan, and Asian countries are hoping that their priorities will feature on the agenda.  Guest: Pierre Prakash - Asia program director with the International Crisis Group 

Selwyn Button say that where Aboriginal Health organisations have been involved and in and consulted about their own health, there are better outcomes and The Voice should help amplify these results. Selwyn say the federal budget has acknowledged the traumatic nature of the Voice debate by allocating extra funding for Indigenous mental health services.  Guest: Selwyn Button, Chair of the Lowitja Institute; a partner in PwC Indigenous consulting; and a member of the Voice Referendum engagement group.

Flies may be irritating creatures, but they play an incredibly important role in both ecology and human society. We need flies to make chocolate, and we use fly larvae to treat infections and even solve crimes. Flies also played a role in the development of the Australian accent.  Guest: Bryan Lessard, entomologist and author of Eyes on Flies.  Bryan is appearing at this year's Sydney Writers Festival. 

A new documentary called Section 16 exposes the personal and frightening attacks that women journalists in South Africa face on social media and in real life when they expose wrongdoing by those in power. Guests:  Ferial Haffajee, Associate Editor, Daily Maverick Caryn Dolley, journalist at the Daily Maverick and author of Clash of the Cartels: Unmasking the global drug kingpins stalking South Africa The South African Film Festival is running online until 31 May 2023. 

Donald Trump returns to CNN, a day after being found liable for sexual abuse. And will the US Government run out of money, while Congress squabbles over the debt ceiling? Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University.   

In the late 18th Century, a chess-playing machine known as "The Mechanical Turk" toured the world, defeating the likes of Napoleon and Benjamin Franklin. But this remarkable chess robot wasn't the "artificially intelligent" machine that it seemed. Guest: Toby Walsh, Laureate Fellow & Scientia Professor of AI at UNSW Sydney

Life and security in Afghanistan continue to deteriorate, nearly two years since the Taliban took control of Kabul, in August 2021. Girls and women are banned from attending high school and university, while ISIS remains a presence in the region.  Guests: Ibrahim Bahiss, analyst with the International Crisis Group, specialising in the Taliban and Afghanistan.  Dr Ashley Jackson, co-director of the Centre for the Study of Armed Groups at the Overseas Development Institute and the author of “Negotiating Survival: Civilian-Insurgent Relations in Afghanistan.”

A rally against a proposed football stadium in Hobart has highlighted the housing crisis in Australia and left the Tasmanian government in minority. Meanwhile Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says the federal government's plan to boost migration will increase cost of living pressures and put more pressure on the housing market. Guest: Amy Remeikis, Guardian Australia's political reporter.

Geoffrey Dutton was a prolific poet, author, editor and critic. In fact, his contribution to Australian letters has been described as unrivalled in his generation. He was one of the founders of both Adelaide Writer’s Week and the Adelaide Festival. He started the Australian letters quarterly and the Australian Book Review. He was one of the drivers of the Australian Republican Movement. But there’s a lot more to be known about the man whose autobiography left out large parts of his family life. Now that’s being revealed in a new documentary. Guests: Rob George, Producer of the documentary, The many loves of Geoffrey Dutton. Francis Dutton, artist and son of Geoffrey Dutton.

The Tigris River, currently enduring a drought, runs through three countries – Turkey, Syria and Iraq. But mostly Iraq.  In 2021, for the first time in probably centuries, a small band of adventurers travelled the full length of it. 

Following the verdict that Donald Trump sexually abused writer E Jean Carroll, we revisit a memorable interview that Phillip had with Carroll, about her biography of Hunter S Thompson, back in 1993.  DISCLAIMER: This interview was originally broadcast in 1993. It contains references to sex, drug use and domestic violence. 

As the rest of the world transitions away from fossil fuels, Bangladesh is pressing ahead with major gas projects and importation terminals. Munira Chowdhury and Bernadette Maheandiran led an NGO delegation to Chattogram – Matarbari to meet the people most affected by these developments.  Guests: Munira Chowdhury, Climate & Finance Analyst, Market Forces  Bernadette Maheandiran, Asia Director, Market Forces You can listen to our story on the Rana Plaza tragedy, 10 years on HERE.

In this edition of our fortnightly Asia update, 52 million people will head to the polls in Thailand in an election that will determine the trajectory of the country's democracy. Plus, Cambodia's equally troubled elections, an update on Myanmar and Australia's curious diplomatic debacle with Vietnam over a coin.  Guests: Sebastian Strangio – Southeast Asia Editor at The Diplomat. Pavin Chachavalpongpun - PhD. Associate Professor, Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University.

How the most notorious French novel ever written was turned into a literary Ponzi scheme

The UN warns that Haiti is ‘dangling over an abyss’, as gang violence escalates and democratic institutions fail. Guest:Harold Isaac, freelance journalist in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Unseen by those in Australia watching the pomp and circumstance of the King's coronation, peaceful anti-monarchist protesters were being rounded-up and arrested. It's the result of a controversial new anti-protest law that's recently been introduced in the United Kingdom.  Guest: Ian Dunt, columnist with the i-newspaper.

Understandings of how the alphabet came into being have  been driven by ideology, religion, and geo-politics.

Both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton have stated that they support dropping the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States. Former Foreign Minister and NSW Premier Bob Carr weighs in on the potential diplomatic arguments that can be made for freeing Assange and what this means, more broadly, for our alliance.

Labor will hand down its second budget on Tuesday, aiming to find a balance between being seen as good economic managers while meeting their promise to not leave anyone behind.  Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Over a century before the explosion of the hippie counterculture, pioneering scientists and thinkers were using substances such as cocaine, hashish and nitrous oxide to unlock the hidden recesses of the mind. 

For over 40 years author Andrey Kurkov has kept a personal journal. His entries from the period leading up to Russia’s invasion and over the first five months of the war provide a glimpse into a country and a culture fighting for survival, against the odds.     Guest:  Andrey Kurkov – Author and president of PEN Ukraine. His latest book is Diary of an Invasion published by Mountain Leopard Press. Andrey is appearing at Sydney Writers' Festival on the 27th of May. You can get tickets here. 

Dr Matt Morgan is an intensive care doctor with a novel approach: he looks to the animal kingdom to solve humanity's trickiest medical problems.  Guest: Dr Matt Morgan - intensive care doctor, researcher and author. His book is One medicine: How understanding animals can save your life published by Simon & Schuster 

Deep sea mining for minerals presents significant challenges and opportunities for cash-strapped Pacific nations.

From colonial estates to leisure grounds for the masses, Australia’s botanic gardens have evolved over time. Now these gardens are on the frontline of climate change adaptation. Guest: Susan K Martin, Emeritus Professor in English, La Trobe University. Co-author of Reading the Garden

The hands of the Doomsday Clock are now at “90 seconds to midnight”, the closest they have ever been to the symbolic midnight hour of global catastrophe. What has brought us to this perilous moment? And can humanity wind back the clock?  Guest: Rachel Bronson, President and CEO of the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences

Last week, Joe Biden confirmed he will run for a second term as US President. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is collecting endorsements from key Republicans.   Guest: David Frum, author and political commentator, The Atlantic

For much of recorded history, humans have considered the heart the most important organ in the body – the location of our souls. New science is proving that there might be more to the heart-mind connection than Western medicine has typically believed and it could have ramifications for future heart treatments.    Guest: Vincent M. Figueredo - practising cardiologist and physician-scientist and author of The Curious History of the Heart: A Cultural and Scientific Journey published by Colombia University Press.

On April 24th 2013, a multi-story garment factory complex in Bangladesh called Rana Plaza collapsed, killing more than 1,100 workers and injuring another 2,500. It sparked a global outcry and a wave of action to improve building safety, but how much have the lives of garment workers really improved, one decade on?  Guests: Ayesha Barenblat – CEO of Remake Kalpona Akter - Former child worker, now the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity. Update: There are now 14 Australian signatories to the International Accord and 2 Australian signatories to the Pakistan Accord. You can check the current signatories to the International Accord and Pakistan Accord here.

It's a week before Budget night, and the hints are flying around about who, and what, will be the winners and losers.  Guest: Laura Tingle, chief political correspondent, 7.30 First preference: 12.00 Wednesday  Second preference: 8pm Wednesday I spoke to Patrick Kaiku today. Should be fine but terrible connection so we definitely need to pre-record it. And I've lined up Diva Amon,  a Caribbean marine biologist who wrote this for the NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/15/opinion/ocean-mining-climate.html   Opinion | A Rush to Mine the Deep Sea Is Underway. It Must Be Stopped. A scramble to mine the deep sea could soon commence. And once it begins, there will be little hope of reining it in. www.nytimes.com She is in Vancouver so can only do the middle of the day. So we're hoping we can put you all together there? I need to check with Patrick yet. If not, we'll talk to Diva separately then, and you and Patrick at 8pm hopefully. Thanks and regards, Ann Ann Arnold  Producer, Late Night Live  

In a radical new book, award-winning journalist Angela Saini explores the roots of gendered oppression and finds that male supremacy is a construct - and a far more recent one than we might imagine.  Guest:  Angela Saini - British science journalist, broadcaster and author. Her latest book is The Patriarchs: How men came to rule published by Harper Collins. 

A new documentary shows Germany’s first female Chancellor’s career was marked by a politics of truth and integrity. ‘Merkel’ reveals how the former political leader’s life behind the wall in East Germany shaped her powerful stance on keeping Germany’s borders open to refugees and helped her stand strong against the alpha males she was up against. Guests: Eva Weber – Director and Producer of ‘Merkel’ and Company Director at Odd Girl Out Productions. Lizzie Gillett – Producer of ‘Merkel’ and Director of Feature Doc Department at Passion Pictures Films.  MERKEL is screening nationally at the German Film Festival from 2 - 24 May. 

Opened by Mussolini in 1937, Cinecittà Studios in Rome has a dark and storied past.  Originally built as part of the dictatorship's propaganda machine, Cinecittà was taken by the Germans during WWII, before being bombed by the Allies and set-up as an intelligence posting and refugee camp. Since the War, Cinecittà has produced iconic films like Fellini's La Dolce Vita and epics like Ben Hur.  Guest: Noa Steimatsky, author and film scholar

A new documentary features the redoubtable Shirley Shackleton, widow of journalist Greg Shackleton, who spent most of her life campaigning for justice for the murders in East Timor of Greg, his colleagues, and for East Timor itself. Guests:  Luigi Acquisto, co-director of documentary ‘Circle of Silence’; Australian film-maker, based in Melbourne Lurdes Pires, co-director; Timorese-born translator and film-maker, based in Darwin SCREENINGS Bookings can be made here

It's been a week of high-profile meetings, with President Biden hosting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meeting with Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. What do these meetings signal about growing trilateral ties? Plus, ahead of the G7 summit, Japan comes under pressure to act on LGBTQ rights.  Guest: Michelle Ye Hee Lee - Tokyo bureau chief for The Washington Post, covering Japan and the Koreas.

A new history of Australia's East Timor military intervention has been seemingly ignored by the Australian Government and the Australian War Memorial. First broadcast 2 February 2023

Fighting for country the First Nations way

In Australia's remote central and western deserts, you may spot a collection of mysterious sandy circles, uniformly spaced amongst the spinifex, like polka dots from the air. New cross-cultural researcher has greatly enriched our understanding of this phenomenon of desert ecology. Guests:  Fiona Walsh, ethnoecologist, University of WA Purungu Desmond Taylor, Warnman - Manjilyjarra man from Karlamilyi National Park, interpreter and artist, Indigenous Knowledge

In 2019, the Dutch Farmer's Citizens Movement (BBB) emerged as a protest against the government's proposed caps to nitrogen emissions, which farmers claimed would cripple the industry.  Now, the farmers party has won a shock victory in provincial elections, which will see it become the largest party in the Upper House.    Guest: Rik Rutten, political journalist, NCR

The government announces a pivoting of Australia's defence posture towards a focus on missiles and an emphasis on speeding up the procurement process. Meanwhile with the budget only two weeks away, the focus has turned to what can be done to support women and the unemployed. Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Syria is a culturally rich and complicated country battling war, corruption, political interference and Islamic insurrection.  Former Chief Middle East correspondent for the American ABC, Charles Glass, reflects on the lessons he has learned from his time there.  Guest: Charles Glass, journalist, author and broadcaster who writes periodically about Syria for The New York Review of Books. 

Plunge into the fascinating world of ‘mucomics’ as we investigate how sticky secretions from the natural world can help us develop new technologies.

A population the size of Australia is on the brink of starvation in the horn of Africa and there are calls for the UN to immediately call an emergency. The World Food Programme first warned of impending disaster in early 2022, so why is it talking so long for the UN to do it? Guests:  Susan Otieno - Executive Director, ActionAid Kenya Dave Husy - Deputy CEO, Impact, Plan International Australia

Peter Dutton's claims of 'rampant' child abuse in Alice Springs are rebuked; and water insecurity affecting First Nations people in Walgett.  Guests: Carly Williams, Quandamooka, reporter with ABC Indigenous Affairs Team Catherine Liddle, Arrente/Luritja, CEO of SNAICC - the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care

When the Empire State Building opened in New York in 1931, it was easily the tallest building in the world, towering 380 metres - or 102 storeys above the ground.  40 years later, another building finally breached the 100-storey mark, this time in Chicago, with the Hancock Centre.  This tower was revolutionary, using design techniques pioneered by engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan, a Bengali migrant to America who's genius would help build the tallest buildings in the world. This story originally appeared in The Juggernaut.  Guests:  Sneha Mehta, independent writer and design strategist based in Mumbai Snigdha Sur, founder & CEO of The Juggernaut

In 2021, Australia, the UK and the US announced the formation of AUKUS - a new trilateral security arrangement, which will eventually deliver a fleet of nuclear powered submarines to Australia.  New Zealand was not included in those initial AUKUS talks, and maintains a long-standing anti-nuclear position, however New Zealand's Defence Minister Andrew Little has signalled potential future engagement with "Pillar 2" of AUKUS, focusing on non-nuclear defence technologies.  Guest: Nicholas Khoo, Associate Professor at University of Otago

Abortion has made its way back to the Supreme Court, this time to decide the fate of the abortion pill, mifepristone. Meanwhile Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is in hot water over some lavish gifts and Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein's long absence is causing more than a little frustration.  Guest: Bruce Shapiro - Contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University.     

Thousands of convict children and Aboriginal children were taken from their living parents in the nineteenth century and placed in "orphan" schools in Hobart,  before being sent on to "apprenticeships" that were effectively slavery.  Guest: Lucy Frost, author of "Convict Orphans: The heartbreaking stories of the colony's forgotten children, and those who succeeded against all odds," published by Allen & Unwin.

A new bill in Uganda represents one of the most extreme forms of anti-LGBTQ legislation in the world, targeting LGBT identity and even calling for the death penalty in some cases. It's part of a disturbing anti-LGBTQ trend that's growing everywhere from Ghana, to Hungary, to Russia.  Guests: Graeme Reid - Director, LGBT Rights Program, Human Rights Watch Caleb Okereke - Nigerian journalist and Managing Editor at Minority Africa

The Voice has continued to dominate politics with substantial division emerging in the Liberal party. Now former Liberal MP Pat Farmer has launched his plan to campaign for the Yes vote in Hobart, alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Liberal Member for Bass, Bridget Archer.  Guest: Amy Remeikis, political reporter with the Guardian.

The Whitlam era saw a great leap forward for women's rights in Australia, driven by Women’s Adviser Elizabeth Reid and a host of female activists, backed by a grass roots movement across the country. Their work is being recognised in a book released to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Reid’s appointment. Guests: - Dr Elizabeth Reid, former Women's Adviser to Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, feminist development worker, academic and writer. - Michelle Arrow, Professor in Modern History at Macquarie University and editor of 'Women and Whitlam: Revisiting the Revolution,' published by New South Books. - Ranuka Tandan from the Whitlam Institute's Public Affairs Team.

The famous 19th Century naturalist John Gould identified over 300 species of Australian birds, achieving fame and fortune through the sale of illustrated publications like The Birds of Australia: in seven volumes (1840-1848).  Behind Gould's success however, was his remarkable wife Elizabeth, who's bird illustrations were universally admired. John Gould also relied on the guidance of First Nations people in Australia, who helped him procure a vast array of species.  John and Elizabeth's journey to Australia is the subject of a new travelling exhibition, produced by the Australian Museum.  Guest: Vanessa Finney, archivist at the Australian Museum

Thinking afresh about the role and status of money,  sharing and design, among other things, will help us meet the climate and other challenges.

India is set to surpass China as the world's most populous country this month. It's both an exciting and daunting prospect for India, and it's already having unusual repercussions for women.  Guests: Avani Dias – ABC’s South Asia Correspondent   Krishn Kaushik - politics and news reporter for Reuters

Phillip Adams celebrates former Australian diplomat Bruce Haigh, who died on the 7th of April 2023, and we play an excerpt from a chat they had back in 2013. 

Phillip Adams pays tribute to one of his oldest friends, political cartoonist Bruce Petty, who died on the 6th of April 2023.

American crime writer Don Winslow, best known for his Cartel Trilogy, has abandoned his career to focus full-time on fighting Donald Trump. And Trump's recent indictment and subsequent surge in the polls has made him more determined than ever.  Guest: Don Winslow, anti-Trump campaigner and author of City on Fire and City of Dreams, published by Harper Collins. 

US President Joe Biden makes a historic visit to Belfast on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.  Guest: Ian Dunt, columnist with the "i" newspaper

'Nepo babies' have gained a lot of attention in 2023, but as author Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals, nepotism has been around for centuries and it's not always what it's cracked up to be. 

Stephen Coates reveals how a secret underground subculture of music lovers defied the censors in Cold War-era USSR, recording forbidden music onto old x-rays. Guest: Stephen Coates - composer, writer and music producer. Author of Bone Music (published by Strange Attractor / MIT Press)  Check out the X-ray Audio Project here Music credits: St Louis Blues - Unknown (courtesy of Atila Csanyi) Emigre Tango - singer Serge Nikolsky (courtesy of Nikolai Rechetnik) All other tracks courtesy of Stephen Coates

World-leading manuscript expert Christopher de Hamel describes some of the extraordinary people who have spent their lives among illuminated manuscripts over the last thousand years including a Benedictine monk, a French aristocrat, a Greek forger and the woman who created the most spectacular library in America.  Guest: Christopher de Hamel, Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and former Fellow Librarian of the Parker Library. ‘The Posthumous Papers of the Manuscripts Club’ is published by Penguin.

There is no one Silk Road. It is a concept.  And it is one that various players have adopted – and adapted - for their own ends. Guest: Professor Tim Winter, Senior Research Fellow at the East Asia Institute, National University of Singapore  Author of 'The Silk Road: Connecting histories and futures' (Oxford University Press) 

Germany has a long and proud history of automobile production, but in recent years, the industry has been forced to adapt as the world shifts towards electric vehicles and a cleaner transport future.   Last week, the EU parliament signed off on laws which will ban the sale of new fossil-fuel powered cars and vans from 2035.  Germany however, negotiated a last-minute exemption, to allow cars running on “e-fuels” to be sold beyond 2035.  The move has been condemned by European neighbours and environmental groups. Will this put a handbrake on the electric vehicle revolution?     Guest: Alex Keynes, former European parliamentary advisor and the Clean Vehicles Policy Manager at Transport and Environment, based in Brussels

A group of Pacific Island law students were behind a UN resolution that should make it easier to polluting countries more accountable. Guests: Tess Newton-Cain, Project Lead for the Pacific Hub at the Griffith Asia Institute  Siosiua Veikune, Final year law student from Tonga and Vice-president of Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change 

What, exactly, is humanism? And how do you know if you are a humanist? Author Sarah Bakewell traces humanist thinking back to its roots, introducing us to some of history’s most influential humanists, and asks whether the values it champions are still sorely needed today.  

In a whirlwind 48 hours, Finland’s progressive young Prime Minister Sanna Marin has been ousted in the country’s parliamentary elections, and Finland has become the 31st country to join NATO, amidst ongoing hostilities in Ukraine.   Guest: Teivo Teivainen - Professor of World Politics, University of Helsinki. 

In the early hours of Wednesday morning AEST,  Donald Trump will head from Trump Tower in New York City to Manhattan's arraignment court, becoming the first former president to face criminal charges in US history.  Meanwhile, a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News is going to trial, with a result that could be equally consequential.  Guest: Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University. 

Doing the laundry may be the most mundane of chores, but its also an activity steeped in the politics of class, race and gender. 

The mass protests in Israel over plans to give the parliament more power over the judiciary didn't just target Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Protesters were also campaigning against the influence of a powerful lobby group called the Kohelet Policy Forum. So who is this group, how did they become so influential in Israeli politics and who are their super-rich financial backers?  Guest: Isabel Kershner, Israel Correspondent, The New York Times Jerusalem Bureau, Author of “The Land of Hope And Fear: Israel's Battle for its Inner Soul” (Knopf). 

Laura discusses the loss of Aboriginal leader and proponent of The Voice, Yunupingu; the upcoming Liberal party meeting to decide on their position on the referendum and the decisive win for Labor in the Aston by-election.  Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

What if our most complex feats of engineering could be broken down into seven simple yet fundamental inventions?  

In December 1943, five war correspondents join a British air raid on Berlin. Two Australians, two Americans, including the famous Ed Murrow, and one Norwegian journalist, poet and activist. Each is assigned to one of the 400 Lancaster bombers that fly into the hazardous skies over Germany on a single night. Of the five, only three return to file their stories. Guest: Anthony Cooper, author of “Dispatch from Berlin, 1943: The story of five journalists who risked everything”, published by New South Books.

From the hematite used in cave paintings to the lost Amber Room of Frederick of Prussia, stone has shaped human culture and minerals have allowed us to evolve and create.  Guest: Hettie Judah, chief art critic for the i newspaper Hettie’s latest book is 'Lapidarium: The Secret Lives of Stones' (Hachette)

Israel has been brought to its knees by mass protests over plans that would allow its parliament to override its supreme court, paving the way for further incursions into the West Bank. Guest: Richard Silverstein, Jewish freelance writer of the blog Tikun Olam.

The former Soviet republics of Central Asia are walking a diplomatic tightrope, between Russia, China and the West.  Guest: Bruce Pannier - a long-time journalist and correspondent covering Central Asia. He writes the ‘Central Asia in Focus’ newsletter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and hosts the Majlis podcast.

A small bronze Buddha statue found by metal detectorists in Shark Bay, Western Australia has been verified as an artefact of the Ming Dynasty, dating back to the 1400s. How did it get there and what does it say about the history of Chinese people on Australia's west coast? Guest: Dr Yu Tao, Senior Lecturer, Chinese Studies, University of Western Australia

This once prosperous nation was knocked for six, and has been trying to find its feet. Tourists are back, but there is malnutrition, and loss of work.

The Scottish National Party has elected 37 year-old Humza Yousaf to replace Nicola Sturgeon as leader -  the first Muslim leader of a major party in Scottish history. Will Yousaf be able to achieve a second referendum for Scottish Independence? Meanwhile in Britain, Rishi Sunak confronts the political fallout of the government's new illegal migration bill.  Guest: Naomi Smith, Chief Executive, Best for Britain

Barron Field's legal advice underpinned the later adoption of the concept of terra nullius - the idea that nobody 'occupied' the land before the British came. But Field's poetry amplifies what he was thinking: that Aboriginal people were not worthy of surviving.

International Crisis Group's Dina Esfandiary and Atlantic Council's Jonathan Fulton discuss China's surprise role in brokering a rapproachment between longstanding rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran and what China's growing influence in the Middle East might mean for us all. 

Labor and the Greens have finally agreed on progressing the safeguards mechanism, which will set new limits on the  emissions of our biggest polluters, but is it a case of political pragmatism trumping the science? Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Coffee is grown commercially on four continents and consumed enthusiastically on all seven. How did our obsession with the humble coffee bean begin?

In California’s famed Silicon Valley is a town called Palo Alto.  Palo Alto is now one of the wealthiest postcodes on the planet.  In recent decades, it has developed a mythical reputation as a promised land for innovators and tech entrepreneurs. But affluent Palo Alto conceals a long and dark history of exploitation, on its path to becoming a global economic powerhouse.  Guest: Malcolm Harris, freelance journalist and author of Palo Alto: A history of California, Capitalism and the World 

Rat sightings in New York have reached historic highs,  prompting the Mayor to post a job ad seeking a "rat tsar" to lead the City's latest offensive on the prolific rodents. Can New York rid itself or rats, or is this an unwinnable war? Guest: Xochitl Gonzalez, staff writer for The Atlantic, author of Olga Dies Dreaming

Journalist Rania Abouzeid grew up in Australia hearing stories of her parents' beloved homeland, but it bears little resemblance to the Lebanon she lives in today. An economic collapse and failed politics have left people to fend for themselves; some have even held up banks to withdraw their own savings. Rania asks: when will Lebanon's nightmare end?

As agreement on the wording for the Voice referendum and amendment gets closer to being finalised, we look at the NZ Maori experience of having a political voice in Parliament. 

India has gained a reputation as the rape capital of the world, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call for a "change in the mentality" towards women. The sexual violence is bringing back into focus the writings of philosopher Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy, famously called Periyar.  A political contemporary of Gandhi, in 1942 he authored a book called “Why women were enslaved”, considered to be a 'Magna Carta' for women's liberation.  But until recently his book was banned from publication in Hindi.  Guest:  Aishwarya AVraj, freelance journalist and UN-ladli media award winner for gender based reporting in India. 

This week, thousands of delegates will assemble in New York to attend a UN Water Conference, as the world faces an escalating water crisis.  Guest:  Professor Mike Young, Research Chair in Water and Environmental Policy at the University of Adelaide

Could Donald Trump face indictment this week? And how has Washington reacted to Putin's war crimes warrant?  Guest:  Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University.