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Orica: how not to deal with a toxic leak Updated: 2012-02-11 21:05:05 Description: A chemical spill at the Orica plant near Newcastle in NSW put the company in the spotlight and raised serious questions about its safety procedures and what it told the neighbouring residents. The Orica leak also highlights major health and safety is...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD When a breast implant maker goes rogue Updated: 2012-02-04 21:05:28 Description: French-made PIP implants were taken off the market 2 years ago after a massive fraud was discovered – instead of using medical grade silicon the factory was filling the implants with cheaper industrial silicon. Many of them have burst and been remo...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Interview with Hanne Warsoe Updated: 2012-01-28 21:59:00 Description: Interview with Hanne Worsoe on the role of the Home Education Unit in Queensland....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Opting out and staying at home Updated: 2012-01-28 21:05:00 Description: As the new school year begins more than 50,000 Australian children will be kept at home, to be taught by their parents. The homeschooling movement is growing rapidly but the majority of the arrangements are illegal, because the parents refuse to regi...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Mining Afghanistan Updated: 2012-01-21 22:10:00 Description: As foreign troops withdraw, will foreign miners move in? They’ve known of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth for a century but it hasn’t been safe or easy enough to extract it. Now Western companies, including Australian miners, are behind the geopol...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Bess Price: welcome to my world Updated: 2012-01-14 22:10:00 Description: Warlpiri woman Bess Nungarrayi Price gives a personal account of the way violence has ripped apart her family, and others, in Aboriginal communities of Central Australia. Bess and her white husband, Dave, argue passionately for the right of people in...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Guns are back Updated: 2012-01-07 22:10:00 Description: Gun clubs report lots of new members, hunting is cool, and handguns are gangland chic. The hundreds of thousands of guns destroyed in buybacks since Port Arthur have been more than replaced by new ones. But guns are highly political and the national ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Boys and the buff culture Updated: 2011-12-31 22:10:00 Description: 'Zyzz' was a ladies man and a puny boy's dream realised. From skinny teenager to rippling Adonis he epitomised a growing obsession with male body culture. His death had an unexpected impact and has re-opened concerns about steroid use. Reporter, Bren...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Don't trust the web Updated: 2011-12-24 22:10:00 Description: The internet is awash with misinformation, manipulated identities, fake reviews, and dishonest comments. Politicians use astroturfing. So do businesses and marketing firms. Beware—it's infecting everyone. Reporter Hagar Cohen...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Mining Afghanistan Updated: 2011-12-17 22:10:00 Description: As foreign troops withdraw, will foreign miners move in? They’ve known of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth for a century but it hasn’t been safe or easy enough to extract it. Now Western companies, including Australian miners, are behind the geopol...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Occupy: a global moment or a movement? Updated: 2011-12-10 22:10:00 Description: It started with a bang in Wall Street and spread to over a hundred cities worldwide. But, as the novelty wears off, the tent city occupations are facing their own crunch time with the weather, the police and internal disagreements threatening their s...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The great rural health challenge Updated: 2011-12-03 22:10:00 Description: Rural and remote Australia relies heavily on overseas trained doctors if it can attract a GP at all. Background Briefing looks at how a town can survive when its medical services start shutting down, how to support what remains, and whether Austral...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Harden Medical Centre Updated: 2011-12-03 22:00:00 Description: Di Martin reports on Harden Medical Centre for Country Hour....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Apology for duplicate podcasts Updated: 2011-11-29 23:32:22 Description: We have just upgraded to a new website, and the move has caused some podcast subscribers to download duplicate mp3s. We apologise for this issue and hope you continue to listen to Radio National podcasts in the future....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-11-27 Riding the sports betting boom Updated: 2011-11-26 14:00:00 Description: Freedom to advertise and the rise of the mobile app has led to a tripling of sports betting in Australia. The winning odds are now front and centre in the coverage of major sports and you can bet on all kinds of `exotic´ options. So what are the odd...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-11-20 The dark side of diplomacy Updated: 2011-11-19 14:00:00 Description: Are there some people you should never negotiate with—despots, war criminals, terrorists—regardless of the circumstances? Or should you be open to talking to anyone to save lives, by ending war, delivering aid or rescuing hostages? Severa...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-11-13 Guns are back Updated: 2011-11-12 14:00:00 Description: Gun clubs report lots of new members, hunting is cool, and handguns are gangland chic. The hundreds of thousands of guns destroyed in buybacks since Port Arthur have been more than replaced by new ones. But guns are highly political and the national ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-11-06 Qantas and the ghost of Workchoices Updated: 2011-11-05 14:00:00 Description: Qantas has opened a new industrial relations battlefront. The Labor government´s Fair Work laws are being put to the test but there are bigger political implications for the Opposition, which is split over whether to re-embrace Workchoices, the IR p...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-10-30 Casualties in the war on people smuggling Updated: 2011-10-29 14:00:00 Description: The Australian government wants to smash the people smugglers´ business model and courts around the country are now dealing with hundreds of the accused. But how many of them are just children from Indonesian fishing villages whose families think th...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-10-23 Controlling people Updated: 2011-10-22 14:00:00 Description: Is the world´s population out of control? There will be 7 billion people this year and 9 billion by 2050. With demographers, environmentalists and others fearing unsustainable pressure on resources, historian Matthew Connelly goes to India to examin...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-10-16 A noble cause Updated: 2011-10-15 14:00:00 Description: Producing new medicines to extend lives and reduce suffering is a noble cause. The marketing of those drugs is often ignoble, with the wining and dining of doctors and the use of specialists to spruik the company line. A former industry insider gives...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-10-09 Amnesty at 50 Updated: 2011-10-08 14:00:00 Description: In its 50 years Amnesty International has revolutionised human rights campaigning and saved lives. It has also been dogged by quarrels, scandals and allegations of political bias. Reporter Matthew Bannister, from the BBC World Service...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-10-02 Boys and the buff culture Updated: 2011-10-01 14:00:00 Description: 'Zyzz' was a ladies man and a puny boy´s dream realised. From skinny teenager to rippling Adonis he epitomised a growing obsession with male body culture. His death had an unexpected impact and has re-opened concerns about steroid use. Reporter, Bre...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-09-25 The mobile payments push Updated: 2011-09-24 14:00:00 Description: Get ready for the next big app attack, urging you to chop up your credit cards and use your mobile phone. You won´t have to go to a shop, just point the phone at a handily-placed barcode, and you´ve paid! It´s not a phone, it´s a `smart wallet´,...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-09-18 Don't trust the web Updated: 2011-09-17 14:00:00 Description: The internet is awash with misinformation, manipulated identities, fake reviews, and dishonest comments. Politicians use astroturfing. So do businesses and marketing firms. Beware—it's infecting everyone. Reporter Hagar Cohen...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-09-11 Money for empties Updated: 2011-09-10 14:00:00 Description: Container deposit schemes operate in many parts of the world, in SA, and soon in the NT. Why will some firms go to great lengths to prevent them? Politicians often fear the financial and strategic might of big business - even when it's about who pi...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-09-04 Nowhere to live Updated: 2011-09-03 14:00:00 Description: Rents are rising even in country towns, and more people are forced into caravan parks, the back rooms of old pubs - or the river bank - even with young children. It can happen to anyone. It will get worse. Various attempts to create more places fo...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-08-28 Soccer and technology - UPDATED Updated: 2011-08-27 14:00:00 Description: Soccer is the biggest sport in the world and an enormous business. Millions can be lost through a wrong call made by a person with a whistle. Why won´t FIFA allow the technology now common in other sports? The controversy is raging over line ball te...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-08-21 Amos Oz on fanaticism Updated: 2011-08-20 14:00:00 Description: Renowned Israeli writer, poet, activist, and historian Amos Oz talks about the most urgent topic of our time—fanatics on all sides of politics and religion. If the UN agrees to recognise Palestine he hopes Israel will be the first to embrace...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-08-14 Auditing the auditors Updated: 2011-08-13 14:00:00 Description: Where does the buck stop when big banks and corporations, even nations collapse. Who signs off on the books? The auditors or the directors of the board? And who should tell investors when there´s something shifty going on? Who are the auditors answ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-08-07 Murderous Mexico Updated: 2011-08-06 14:00:00 Description: In the first five months of this year, an astonishing l8,500 Mexicans have been murdered -- with very few convictions. In the last five years 66 journalists have been murdered. Mexico is a failed state with corruption, no rule of law, and spin and ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-07-31 50/50 parenting Updated: 2011-07-30 14:00:00 Description: Legislation before the Senate now may take some of the heat out of tragic confusion over shared, or 'equal time parenting', and the role of violence in Family Law decision making. Research shows children of high conflict families, forced into equal t...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-07-24 Water bugs Updated: 2011-07-23 14:00:00 Description: Every year more than 200 people in Queensland get very sick with a nasty, little understood, hard-to-treat type of bacteria. Other states report none. Why? Our water supply is now so complex, things are overlooked. Reporter, Ian Townsend....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD 2011-07-17 The Lord Monckton roadshow - UPDATED Updated: 2011-07-16 14:00:00 Description: The Scottish peer Lord Monckton has been raising hell against the carbon tax in barnstorming rallies and public meetings around the country. But just who is Lord Monckton and who are the forces behind him? Chief amongst them a mysterious group call...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Bullying at work Updated: 2011-07-09 23:00:00 Description: It's tricky territory. No one agrees on one definition, and what is bullying to one person is normal behaviour to another. But who investigates bullying, and is that process working? First-hand accounts from people who believe the system let them dow...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Digital convergence, connection and confusion Updated: 2011-06-25 23:00:00 Description: It's coming fast, the digital hub where i-pads talk to mobile phones, computers talk to TVs, TVs have hundreds of apps, and you can choose and change with your magical remote wand. But, big but, who is in charge of customer service for all these devi...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The knight of Newcastle Updated: 2011-06-18 23:00:00 Description: Nathan Tinkler is a billionaire and the richest man in Australia under 40. He loves fast horses, fast cars, the Newcastle Knights, and big business deals. He's held in awe and trepidation - but he won't talk to BB. Nor will most people who know him. ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD A dignified death: who decides how we die? Updated: 2011-06-11 23:00:00 Description: We should be able to choose the way we die by writing an advanced care directive, or appointing someone to make our medical decisions when we can't. But there's legal arguments, confusion and arrogance in the way of us going gentle into that good nig...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Preventing cancer Updated: 2011-06-04 23:00:00 Description: One in three cancers are preventable and successful campaigns such as 'Slip Slop Slap' are proof. Lung and bowel cancer rates are coming down, also melanoma in children. St Vincents Institute in Melbourne held a forum to discuss aspects of cancer pre...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Fatigue factor Updated: 2011-05-28 23:00:00 Description: As an entire population we're losing sleep. Fatigue has become a dangerous side-effect of 24/7 living and nowhere is the danger more acute than in the transportation industry - a frightening number of airline pilots as well as train, truck and car dr...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Language barriers Updated: 2011-05-21 23:00:00 Description: The compulsory English language test for migrants can make or break their future in Australia. But critics say it is a blunt instrument that can produce odd results. Frustration with the test is mounting and there is evidence of corruption. Reporter,...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Digital revolutionaries under surveillance Updated: 2011-05-14 23:00:00 Description: In Egypt democracy activists called themselves the Facebook revolutionaries, but in China there are fears the social networking sites will be used to spy on dissidents. For governments, social media represent easy access to their citizens, for good o...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD How politics neglects feelings Updated: 2011-05-07 23:00:00 Description: David Brooks, a leading political analyst for the New York Times and PBS NewsHour, has come to some surprising conclusions after years of observing political life. He says politicians place too much value on reason, and not enough on social relations...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Bess Price: welcome to my world Updated: 2011-04-30 23:00:00 Description: Warlpiri woman Bess Nungarrayi Price gives a personal account of the way violence has ripped apart her family, and others, in Aboriginal communities of Central Australia. Bess and her white husband, Dave, argue passionately for the right of people in...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Medical turf wars Updated: 2011-04-23 23:00:00 Description: Physicians' assistants have joined pharmacists, nurse practitioners and optometrists to say they can do the straightforward, simple, and repetitive work that would take the load off GPs. Patient safety is central to the debate, as the AMA guards its ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Low IQ and in jail Updated: 2011-04-16 23:00:00 Description: Many intellectually disabled people end up in jail. They plead guilty to minor crimes not understanding either social rules or the consequences. Hear the story of Melisa who has an IQ of 57, which is in the lowest l%, and who still faces jail. Report...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Church and state Updated: 2011-04-09 23:00:00 Description: Concerns were raised when federal funding for chaplains in schools was introduced. Now some parents have evidence evangelism has seeped into the secular public school system. Others are staunch supporters. The controversy is now headed for the High C...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Dementia: into the daylight Updated: 2011-04-02 23:00:00 Description: We're diagnosing dementia younger, we're living with it longer, and more Australians will have it in future. How are we to deal with this devastating and costly disease? Like cancer 30 years ago, we prefer not to talk about it. But it needs increasin...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Taxing mines Updated: 2011-03-26 22:00:00 Description: Australia and Zambia are resource rich countries that both wanted to tax the super profits of mining companies during the world's biggest commodity boom. Find out why they failed. Reporter: Stan Correy...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Overloaded internet Updated: 2011-03-21 22:00:00 Description: Even silicon valley says the world is overconnected, corporations are overwhelmed, and we're heading for another global crisis because the internet is now cowboy country, out of control. Internet high priest, historian, and author Bill Davidow says i...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Japan's nuclear crisis Updated: 2011-03-19 22:00:00 Description: As Japan's nuclear emergency continues, some food produced near the stricken Fukushima power plant has been found to contain abnormal radiation levels. Radiation traces have also been found in tap water in Tokyo and it's been detected in the air as f...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The boy on Christmas Island Updated: 2011-03-12 22:00:00 Description: Orphaned in the wild sea storm, nine-year-old Iranian boy Seena Akhlaqi has become the political pawn of 'stop the boats'. Why was a traumatised boy left in an overcrowded detention centre, with substandard care, for over two months? Was it a bungle ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Overloaded internet Updated: 2011-03-05 22:00:00 Description: Even silicon valley says the world is overconnected, corporations are overwhelmed, and we're heading for another global crisis because the internet is now cowboy country, out of control. Internet high priest, historian, and author Bill Davidow says i...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Mismanaging disasters Updated: 2011-02-26 22:00:00 Description: Nature's forces - floods, cyclones, fires and this week the earthquake in Christchurch - won't stop, yet we still live on flood plains, in the bush, on the beach and in earthquake zones. Rescue services struggle. Communications fail. Insurance compan...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Ugly cigarette packs Updated: 2011-02-19 22:00:00 Description: The world is watching as Australia goes to battle with Big Tobacco over making cigarette packets plainer, uglier and uncool. If legislation gets through here, the EU and other countries will follow. It's lobbyists vs lawyers, big retailers vs small r...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Matilda Myth Updated: 2011-02-14 22:00:00 Description: It's 70 years since the death of Banjo Patterson, and tourists will drive the Banjo Route from Narrambla to Corryong armed with a book of his poems....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Julian Assange: The man who played with fire Updated: 2011-02-05 22:00:00 Description: There's been no proven crime, no one has been brought to trial, but there are death threats, diplomatic panic, and trumped up scandals. Around the globe people are aghast at how their leaders have lied and connived. Wikileaks has all the bizarre stor...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The business of being a boss Updated: 2011-01-22 22:00:00 Description: Professor of Management Science and Engineering, Robert Sutton of the Stanford School of Business is a prolific author and speaker on boss and employee relationships. Hear what he thinks makes a good boss, and how the psychology of how bad bosses and...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Emergency mental health Updated: 2011-01-15 22:00:00 Description: A clinical psychiatry professor in San Francisco General Hospital discusses the dangers, ethics, frailties and very difficult, sensitive decisions a psychiatrist working on the front line of mental health must deal with. The speaker is Professor Paul...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The bicycle helmet laws Updated: 2011-01-08 22:00:00 Description: The law here is that cyclists must wear helmets, but in Europe it is not mandatory, and yet it's much safer to cycle. Some say helmets make cycling more dangerous and others that they actually cause brain injury and the law should be repealed. The de...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Every man in the village is a liar Updated: 2011-01-01 22:00:00 Description: Megan Stack has won numerous prizes for her front line reporting on many wars, and her observations and experiences form the basis of a book and discussion. Here she concentrates on the hostilities between the West and the Muslim world, but also the ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Space rules the world Updated: 2010-12-25 22:00:00 Description: Transport, banking, food production, social networking, global supply chains, the world economy - would all grind to a halt if the satellite system failed. It's a fragile system, but also the best place from which to see how fragile the earth is. Aus...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Prevention or cure? Updated: 2010-12-18 22:00:00 Description: Primary school kitchen gardens, behavioural economics and frugal innovation, they're all important elements in a complex strategy to improve heart health and reduce the obesity epidemic. (From a public forum at the St Vincent's Institute in Melbourne...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The myth of island living Updated: 2010-12-11 22:00:00 Description: There are more islands for sale today than at any other time in recorded history. But the dream of an island paradise is often a myth. Rather than idyllic, they are frequently the settings for border conflict, prisons and broken dreams. The reality o...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The battle of king salmon Updated: 2010-11-27 22:00:00 Description: A local fishing community is pitted against the mining giant, Anglo-American, in a battle for natural resources in Alaska. A mine at the headwaters of a king salmon spawning area could threaten the wild salmon run. Nick Rankin reports from Bristol Ba...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Old law, new ways Updated: 2010-11-20 22:00:00 Description: Alcohol, gunja, payback killings and a refusal to go bush - Aboriginal elders in Central Australia are watching the erosion of their traditions and authority. Can customary laws deal with today's problems? Reporter, Chris Bullock. Photo: Michael Cogg...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Making violence men's business Updated: 2010-11-13 22:00:00 Description: In Central Australia traditional payback law is corrupted, leading to grog fuelled killings. Suicide has become a payback issue too. For the first time Indigenous men are trying to stop these escalating cycles of violence. Reporter: Chris Bullock...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Abortion on trial in Queensland Updated: 2010-11-06 22:00:00 Description: The bizarre case of young couple Tegan Leach and Sergei Brennan, who faced jail for procuring an illegal abortion using RU486, ended with the jury returning a resounding 'not guilty'. Now no-one knows what the l9th century abortion law means -- not t...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Walking on water Updated: 2010-10-23 22:00:00 Description: 30% of Australia's water comes from underground, but we don't understand this huge national resource. We're draining some aquifers and overfilling others - with no agreement on what's sustainable - not even amongst the scientists. So what are we will...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The business of being a boss Updated: 2010-10-16 22:00:00 Description: Professor of Management Science and Engineering, Robert Sutton of the Stanford School of Business is a prolific author and speaker on boss and employee relationships. Hear what he thinks makes a good boss, and how the psychology of how bad bosses and...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Dengue epidemic Updated: 2010-10-09 22:00:00 Description: There have been thousands of cases of dengue fever in the Commonwealth Games city of Delhi and more than a dozen confirmed cases of dengue fever in Cairns in recent weeks. As outbreaks are becoming more common is there anything we can do to stop the ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Trains do it better Updated: 2010-10-02 22:00:00 Description: All political parties agree that trains do it better, but who will make it happen? Meanwhile, thousands of trucks are about to churn up the roads trying to get a huge wheat harvest to city ports, and two million tourists choke Byron Bay with cars. Th...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Every man in the village is a liar Updated: 2010-09-25 23:00:00 Description: Megan Stack has won numerous prizes for her front line reporting on many wars, and her observations and experiences form the basis of a book and discussion. Here she concentrates on the hostilities between the West and the Muslim world, but also the ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The bicycle helmet laws Updated: 2010-09-18 23:00:00 Description: The law here is that cyclists must wear helmets, but in Europe it is not mandatory, and yet it's much safer to cycle. Some say helmets make cycling more dangerous and others that they actually cause brain injury and the law should be repealed. The de...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Who will govern Egypt? Updated: 2010-09-11 23:00:00 Description: As the intellectual crucible of middle eastern thought, Egypt remains enormously influential. What happens in Egypt when Hosni Mubarak dies will have global ramifications. The Muslim Brotherhood, the chief of intelligence, high up military men, and G...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Church and state in Latin America Updated: 2010-09-04 23:00:00 Description: New technologies, travel and TV have profound implications for the Catholic church in Latin America. Gay rights, human rights, and women's rights - even abortion - are confronting centuries of Catholic thinking and the clergy is slowly being pushed o...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The flash crash Updated: 2010-08-28 23:00:00 Description: A few months ago the US share market plunged l000 points in a few minutes, and trillions were traded both up and down. What caused it, and can it happen again. Tiny high frequency computer algorithms - or algos - roam the markets, buying and selling ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The great native pet debate Updated: 2010-08-23 23:00:00 Description: Marsupial-loving reporter Ian Walker grew up wanting a pet like Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. Could encouraging more native mammals as pets be a canny new 'anti-extinction strategy'...or a future disaster to be cleaned up by the RSPCA? What happens when ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Election 2010: The result Updated: 2010-08-21 23:00:00 Description: This week Background Briefing is not in the usual form. Instead we have Fran Kelly and Paul Barclay hosting a two hour post election program from 8 am till l0 am. Paul and Fran will be joined by a panel of analysts, commentators and candidates to dec...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Culture wars at CSIRO Updated: 2010-08-14 23:00:00 Description: When scientists - who believe passionately in independence, in pure research, and in sharing information - are asked to conform to business plans and commercial-in-confidence clauses, there are bound to be tensions. The CSIRO is going through massive...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Freefall: free markets and the sinking of the global economy Updated: 2010-08-07 23:00:00 Description: Economist and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz talks about the policy mistakes that led to the GFC and the lessons to be drawn from it. The key question is: what will fill the gap in total demand left by the bursting of the bubble? A Centenary Oration ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Hanging by a fibre Updated: 2010-07-31 23:00:00 Description: The Labor government is about to switch on the first leg of its National Broadband Network - super-fast internet that promises to revolutionise Australia's business and social landscape. But if the Coalition wins the election, the NBN will be scrappe...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD A wide open land Updated: 2010-07-24 23:00:00 Description: As the world's available farming land shrinks in the face of population growth, climate change and soil degradation, Australia's vast tracts of land are going to be increasingly important for global food security. Overseas players are already buying ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Beyond reasonable doubt Updated: 2010-07-17 23:00:00 Description: Despite the built-in appeal process, Australia's criminal justice system still produces wrongful convictions based on flawed evidence. There are calls for a new review body, independent of the judiciary, to help identify miscarriages of justice. Henr...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Energy demand and climate change in the developing world Updated: 2010-07-10 23:00:00 Description: These are the colliding trends that confront India, China and much of the developing world. How do you meet the expectations of hundreds of millions of people currently without electricity, as well as reducing carbon emissions?...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The spilling fields Updated: 2010-07-03 23:00:00 Description: As we watch the worst environmental disaster in US history unfold, it's worth comparing with our own gusher in the Timor Sea last year. The Montara well leaked uncontrollably for over 70 days before it exploded in a fireball incinerating the rig. Wit...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Social media and sentiment mining Updated: 2010-06-26 23:00:00 Description: Businesses and advertisers can already access enormous amounts of personal data on social media sites, from where you live to what you like. The next step is sentiment analysis, where online conversations are mined for words and thoughts, for a comme...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Gas rush Updated: 2010-06-19 23:00:00 Description: Beneath the rich farming soils of the Darling Downs there's a gaseous gold mine. Mobile drilling rigs dot the landscape as energy companies rush to secure the next big export contracts - for natural gas. It's cheaper and cleaner than oil and looks se...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Prevention or cure? Updated: 2010-06-12 23:00:00 Description: Primary school kitchen gardens, behavioural economics and frugal innovation, they're all important elements in a complex strategy to improve heart health and reduce the obesity epidemic. (From a public forum at the St Vincent's Institute in Melbourne...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Timber politics Updated: 2010-05-29 23:00:00 Description: Bunnings, Greenpeace, Ikea and the US Congress are part of an unlikely coalition pushing for a ban on illegally logged timber. An Australian DNA test may solve the problem of enforcement but the Rudd government is yet to impose a ban it promised thre...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Bitter harvest Updated: 2010-05-22 23:00:00 Description: The National Farmers Federation says another 20,000 pickers are needed to harvest Australia's crops. Growers complain of fruit rotting on the ground. Backpackers and others are heading to farms on the promise of abundant work, only to find the promis...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The privacy paradox Updated: 2010-05-15 23:00:00 Description: Generational change and the power of social media has dramatically altered notions of privacy and as personal data files expand, our lives are going public by default. Will our data footprints strip us bare, or set us free? Reporter, Ian Townsend...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Dust to daylight Updated: 2010-05-08 23:00:00 Description: From the rural backblocks of northern Tasmania, the story of a deadly asbestos legacy, a company promising to open the books on the past, and an ambitious proposal to rid the island of a killer product. Reporter, Di Martin...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Whitlam as internationalist Updated: 2010-05-01 23:00:00 Description: Former High Court justice Michael Kirby talks about former prime minister Gough Whitlam's foreign policy initiatives. The greatest legacy, Kirby says, has been the impact of Whitlam's emphasis on international law. Photograph by Sally Tsoutas, Univer...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD What is football for? Updated: 2010-04-24 23:00:00 Description: UK soccer fans are angry because the game is now a toy for sugar daddies, oligarchs, oil sheiks and media magnates or treated as just a business. Is the game a public good or a commodity? There's rebellion in the air that mirrors tensions in society....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Food fears Updated: 2010-04-17 23:00:00 Description: There's a public inquiry into food labelling, and it opens a Pandora's box of very complex issues. Prawns from China can be labelled 'Made in Australia'! Consumers want more and better labelling, but the food industry wants even fewer rules. And glob...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The great native pet debate Updated: 2010-04-10 23:00:00 Description: Marsupial-loving reporter Ian Walker grew up wanting a pet like Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. Could encouraging more native mammals as pets be a canny new 'anti-extinction strategy'...or a future disaster to be cleaned up by the RSPCA? What happens when ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Space rules the world Updated: 2010-04-03 23:00:00 Description: Transport, banking, food production, social networking, global supply chains, the world economy - would all grind to a halt if the satellite system failed. It's a fragile system, but also the best place from which to see how fragile the earth is. Aus...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Emergency mental health Updated: 2010-03-27 22:00:00 Description: A clinical psychiatry professor in San Francisco General Hospital discusses the dangers, ethics, frailties and very difficult, sensitive decisions a psychiatrist working on the front line of mental health must deal with. The speaker is Professor Paul...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Maybe Obama can't Updated: 2010-03-20 22:00:00 Description: Perhaps it's all too hard: Guantanamo, Republican hatred, Afghanistan, the global financial crisis and unemployment. The health bill may just pass and, if so, would make history. Barack Obama is working in a house of cards, many stacked against him. ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Babies at risk? Updated: 2010-03-13 22:00:00 Description: Figures show that the number of babies taken from mothers at birth is rising dramatically, particularly in NSW. Judgments must err on the side of child safety, but there's concerns some babies are taken needlessly. One couple is suing for $18 million...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD What is wrong with the Catholic Church? Updated: 2010-03-06 22:00:00 Description: Not only in Australia, but around the world, the Catholic Church is rocked by news of sex abuse scandals. The vow of celibacy is often blamed, but it is more than that. The Church encourages a kind of adolescence in its priests, a co-dependency, and ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Problem pirates of Somalia Updated: 2010-02-27 22:00:00 Description: Many wonder why they are not just shot out of the water on sight, but in fact the merchant cargo ships, the insurers, and the many State navies are also caught in a mesh of overlapping laws of the sea. And countries like Denmark, the EU and the US ar...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Dengue epidemic Updated: 2010-02-20 22:00:00 Description: Mozzies are waiting as each day travellers arrive carrying the dengue virus. They want a sip of blood, and will spread it all about within days. Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, has also arrived, and it bites so viciously, it's called 'the...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Matilda myth Updated: 2010-02-13 22:00:00 Description: Background Briefing and Hindsight join to explore the historical arguments about the deal of the real swagman, and the dozens of kooky versions, from Harry Belafonte (pretending to be ocker!) to an Indonesian gamelan band. There is a also an interact...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD On road cycling Updated: 2010-01-30 22:00:00 Description: With a dramatic increase in cycling, comes a plethora of new safety issues on the roads. Doctors, politicians, planners and cyclists agree it will mean changing the way we design, govern and use our roads. Reporter Diane Martin....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Australian Muslim youth Updated: 2010-01-23 22:00:00 Description: Searching for their own identity in a changing world, young Muslims in Australia face a plethora of backyard imams and internet sheikhs. Many are turning to simplistic and conservative interpretations. The emphasis can be on small rituals rather than...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Assisted death Updated: 2010-01-16 22:00:00 Description: The law in Australia may not have caught up with modern medicine, and doctors and the authorities are caught between a rock and a hard place. So argues Dr Rodney Syme, who refers to himself as a Christian Humanist. He says the current situation for p...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Housing for millions Updated: 2010-01-09 22:00:00 Description: Planning for happy cities, when you're also jamming in millions more people, is politically tricky. Urban planners say they can make better communities with more people, but the NIMBYs don't believe it. Like it or not, high density apartment living i...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Internet piracy Updated: 2010-01-02 22:00:00 Description: Copyright began 300 years ago, but now laws can't cope with the anarchy of new technologies. There's a battle between the law and the 'mashers', from the White House to the Australian Federal Court. Reporter, Oscar McLaren. Image by Omaz Z, file phot...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Controlling corruption Updated: 2009-12-26 22:00:00 Description: Out of the Fitzgerald Inquiry, the National Integrity System was born, and is now used by governments and authorities in most countries around the world. The latest is Kurdistan. Corruption, like death and taxes, is inevitable. Ian Townsend explores ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD What made the Romans laugh Updated: 2009-12-19 22:00:00 Description: The oldest collection of jokes in the world, Philogelos: The Laughter Lover, is examined for the light it throws on humour today. Professor in classics at Cambridge University, Mary Beard tells a lot of the jokes....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Gillard's university reforms Updated: 2009-12-12 22:00:00 Description: Behind closed doors all the vice-chancellors are arguing about which bits of the Bradley Report they like and will agree to take on. Can we fit in 30% more students, with many of them from disadvantaged backgrounds? What will be the mix of regulation...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD On road cycling Updated: 2009-12-05 22:00:00 Description: With a dramatic increase in cycling, comes a plethora of new safety issues on the roads. Doctors, politicians, planners and cyclists agree it will mean changing the way we design, govern and use our roads. Reporter Diane Martin....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Puppy farming Updated: 2009-11-28 22:00:00 Description: Hundreds of thousands of puppies are born every year, and many eventually end up in pounds, where most have to be put down. The vicious cycle involves unregulated breeders, pet stores, dog rescuers -- and the buyers who take in a puppy without thinki...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Housing for millions Updated: 2009-11-21 22:00:00 Description: Planning for happy cities, when you're also jamming in millions more people, is politically tricky. Urban planners say they can make better communities with more people, but the NIMBYs don't believe it. Like it or not, high density apartment living i...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Rare earths and China Updated: 2009-11-14 22:00:00 Description: China currently produces about 95% of the world's rare earths, which are metals which are essential to modern living and used all around us every day. In business it's a volatile mix, with complex political alchemy for every government, including Aus...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Internet piracy Updated: 2009-10-31 22:00:00 Description: Copyright began 300 years ago, but now laws can't cope with the anarchy of new technologies. There's a battle between the law and the 'mashers', from the White House to the Australian Federal Court. Reporter, Oscar McLaren. Image by Omaz Z, file phot...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Indefatigable Chomsky Updated: 2009-10-24 22:00:00 Description: He's over 80 and has written or contributed to 95 books. At one time he was the most cited living academic, a Vietnam activist and a thorn in the side of Reagan. Today he is also critical of 'the left' with dire warnings. Noam Chomsky is as astute an...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD War criminals in Australia Updated: 2009-10-17 22:00:00 Description: With so many new communities in Australia coming from countries where there have been brutal wars, the likelihood of some people having suspicious backgrounds is high. Australia has no laws to deal with allegations concerning anyone who arrived befor...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Controlling corruption Updated: 2009-10-10 22:00:00 Description: Out of the Fitzgerald Inquiry, the National Integrity System was born, and is now used by governments and authorities in most countries around the world. The latest is Kurdistan. Corruption, like death and taxes, is inevitable. Ian Townsend explores ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Who owns the news? Updated: 2009-10-03 22:00:00 Description: It's a question no one has really been able to answer, though many try. A new fight for the answer is breaking out all over the place because readers are getting what they want on the internet, and copying stuff is really easy. Reporter Stan Correy....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Feral deer Updated: 2009-09-26 23:00:00 Description: Feral deer numbers have exploded in many parts of Australia, and they're chewing through farms and bushland. Farmers and environmentalists want them declared a pest and professionally culled. But in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania deer are protected for h...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The third era of AIDS Updated: 2009-09-19 23:00:00 Description: From Africa and India to Indonesia, government leaders face the reality of a resurgent AIDS epidemic: Men do have sex with men and pass it on to women, and people do inject drugs. But there's cultural change in law and leadership - not about being ni...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Australian Muslim youth Updated: 2009-09-05 23:00:00 Description: Searching for their own identity in a changing world, young Muslims in Australia face a plethora of backyard imams and internet sheikhs. Many are turning to simplistic and conservative interpretations. The emphasis can be on small rituals rather than...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Global suicide increasing Updated: 2009-08-29 23:00:00 Description: Suicide rates around the world are rising, and rising fastest in rural areas. India, England, Wales, Canada, America and Australia all have alarming statistics. In despairing India, farmers are drinking the pesticides the new monoculture crops are de...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Rohan and the road to the apocalypse Updated: 2009-08-22 23:00:00 Description: Forty years ago an Australian shearer from Grenfell, gripped by religious mania, set fire to one of the most holy sites in Islam—the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Using new material and exclusive interviews, we show how Denis Rohan's actions started...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Christopher Hitchens Updated: 2009-08-15 23:00:00 Description: Writer and traveller Christopher Hitchens gives, with both gravity and humour, his take on the 'Axis of Evil'. He talks about why he underwent waterboarding, about what the parrot in North Korea says, about the world's best whisky, and about the coun...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Limits of power Updated: 2009-08-08 23:00:00 Description: Retired colonel in the US army and historian of international relations, Professor Andrew Bacevich argues that the US should get out of Afghanistan. Producer: Kirsten Garrett...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Self inflicted sickness? Updated: 2009-08-01 23:00:00 Description: There are debates and discussion about who should foot the bill if we get sick with something we could have prevented if we had lived a better lifestyle - smoking, drinking while driving, eating too much. It's tricky territory. Reporter Ian Townsend....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Credit rating agencies Updated: 2009-07-25 23:00:00 Description: They have become both critic and chef in the big financial kitchens, but they say they're really journalists and take no responsibility for their advice. CRAs are probably beyond the law, yet governments have said their advice is mandatory. Weird. Re...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Who stopped the music? Updated: 2009-07-18 23:00:00 Description: The parlous state of music in public schools means not only are our children missing an important dimension in life, but they miss out on something that promotes brain function and social skills. China and Venezuela understand the value of music very...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Expanding mental illness Updated: 2009-07-11 23:00:00 Description: Over the decades psychiatrists are finding and re-defining more of the constellation of emotions, reactions, and ups and down of life as mental illness. No surprise, there are pills to make everyone fit the normal template, even some for shyness. Rep...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Cairo, a divided city Updated: 2009-07-04 23:00:00 Description: The rich are deserting the old city of Cairo and moving to luxurious, Hollywood style, gated communities in the desert, with lush golf courses and artificial lakes. Water is a big issue, as old Cairo is left to the poor and the tourists. Reporter, Ha...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Australia's ocean territory Updated: 2009-06-27 23:00:00 Description: Our ocean territory is greater than our landmass, and one of the biggest in the world. Yet our capacity to explore the deep ocean is smaller than landlocked Bolivia; at a time when the oceans hold the key to climate change. Reporter, Di Martin....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Synthetic life and gene mining Updated: 2009-06-20 23:00:00 Description: Not only can we create new life forms, but our own genes are starting to show us all the diseases we're likely to get during our lives. Do we want to know and what are the costs? Reporter: Ian Townsend...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The great disruption Updated: 2009-06-13 23:00:00 Description: Paul Gilding has been an activist for sustainability for 35 years, working for NGOs, business and government. He explains why physics and biology have determined that our current model for economic growth is finished, and how the human race will face...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Lord Patten of Barnes Updated: 2009-06-06 23:00:00 Description: The Chancellor of Oxford, Lord Patten of Barnes, draws on his experience as a public official – including his time as the last governor of Hong Kong – to talk about politics, public health and the importance of pubs. Recorded at Oxford University...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Landmark Education Updated: 2009-05-30 23:00:00 Description: Landmark Education is a global, for-profit personal training and development company with thousands of supporters. But it has its critics as well. Reporter Hagar Cohen The audio and transcript of this program are now available to download for Austral...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The enemy in the net Updated: 2009-05-23 23:00:00 Description: We know there are criminals using the net, and also that hackers can infiltrate anyone's computer. At the government level it's not only a murky worry, but has become a battle for who will monitor it all and how we will fight cyberwars. And not every...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Inventing the third sector Updated: 2009-05-16 23:00:00 Description: There is a charity for every 437 people in Australia, all under the umbrella of the 700,000 not-for-profit organisations. The whole sector, which includes churches, is again debating its future. Reporter, Stephen Crittenden....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Remote boom and gloom Updated: 2009-05-09 23:00:00 Description: Many country towns are dying, but mining districts can still have a GDP that makes them the richest place on earth. One town has smoked hams that haven't sold in 40 years, in others the rents are $1000 a week. Reporter Ian Townsend....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD What made the Romans laugh Updated: 2009-04-18 23:00:00 Description: The oldest collection of jokes in the world, Philogelos: The Laughter Lover, is examined for the light it throws on humour today. Professor in classics at Cambridge University, Mary Beard tells a lot of the jokes....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Zombie banks Updated: 2009-04-11 23:00:00 Description: They look like banks, they walk like banks and they quack like banks, but they're really the undead. Shells filled with toxic assets. Killing these living dead is probably political suicide because of the collateral damage, but it's the way to go say...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The new politics Updated: 2009-04-04 23:00:00 Description: In the UK, conservative policies are like the nanny manifesto, in the USA Obama sounds like a modern Roosevelt. Here, Kevin Rudd is pragmatic and super cautious, and Abbott says the Liberals shouldn't have relied so much on magic pudding economics. W...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD MBA: Mostly bloody awful Updated: 2009-03-28 22:00:00 Description: Something happened to management culture decades ago and now being a Master of Business Administration, especially from Harvard, is rather on the nose. MBA, it's being said, can also stand for 'Mediocre but Arrogant', or 'Management by Accident'. Rep...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Graffiti, art and fear Updated: 2009-03-21 22:00:00 Description: As old as mankind, graffiti can be seen as a cultural expression and a tourist attraction, or as vandalism inducing fear. It can morph into high art, political comment, or territorial border security. Reporter Brendan Trembath....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Conroy's clean feed Updated: 2009-03-14 22:00:00 Description: In the name of protecting children, the government will decree we'll be forbidden to see 'unwanted' and 'inappropriate' things on the web. But exactly what that means is a secret, and the thin end of the censorship wedge. Reporter, Wendy Carlisle....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The other climate debate Updated: 2009-03-07 22:00:00 Description: Wall to wall coverage of carbon trading has eclipsed another scheme aimed at overhauling Australia's dirty power industry. How to find tens of billions of dollars to get renewable energy to take over from coal power. Is Australia locked into a second...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Robotic surgery Updated: 2009-02-28 22:00:00 Description: Robotic technology is forging ahead, and there are benefits. But the costs are huge, and there's not yet evidence that (in prostate cancer surgery for instance) the eventual outcome is much better than before. On the frontier of modern surgery, repor...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The media in boom and doom Updated: 2009-02-21 22:00:00 Description: Are business media watchdogs acting in the public interest, or are they merely messengers? To whom does the media owe allegiance when global economic meltdown looms. Reporter, Stan Correy....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Food for the future Updated: 2009-02-14 22:00:00 Description: Free trade and globalisation have changed the sources of food. Regulations are being weakened or disregarded in the pursuit of low prices and more choice. Poor quality kills, and Japan imports 60 per cent of what it needs. Reporter, Bronwyn Herbert....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Assisted death Updated: 2009-02-07 22:00:00 Description: The law in Australia may not have caught up with modern medicine, and doctors and the authorities are caught between a rock and a hard place. So argues Dr Rodney Syme, who refers to himself as a Christian Humanist. He says the current situation for p...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Cairo, a divided city Updated: 2009-01-31 22:00:00 Description: The rich are deserting the old city of Cairo and moving to luxurious, Hollywood style, gated communities in the desert, with lush golf courses and artificial lakes. Water is a big issue, as old Cairo is left to the poor and the tourists. Reporter, Ha...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Hendra and the bats Updated: 2009-01-24 22:00:00 Description: Bats carry many of the nasty viruses, even SARS, Ebola, Nipah and Hendra. Scientists think bats may be using these deadly viruses in a war with other species, including horses and man. (This program was originally broadcast on 31st August 2008.)...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The climate engineers Updated: 2009-01-10 22:00:00 Description: For years it's been one of the science community's great taboos but the idea of global climate control is starting to be openly discussed. Ideas like placing giant mirrors in space or firing sulphur particles into the stratosphere to cool the planet ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Future of noise Updated: 2009-01-03 22:00:00 Description: Most people rate noise as a bigger problem than rats, drugs, or dog poo. It's highest on the list of citizen complaints, but it's listed low by councils and politicians. But noise can have cultural value too. (This program was originally broadcast on...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Bury, burn or compost? Updated: 2008-12-27 22:00:00 Description: There's a boom in funerals around the corner as the Boomers face mortality, but neither cemeteries nor crematoria are eco-friendly. The business of burials is beginning to adapt, and so are their future customers. (This program was originally broadca...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Nature's numbers Updated: 2008-12-20 22:00:00 Description: Our economy may fall over, but it's not just about the financial meltdown. Nature is seizing up, and it's costing big bucks. Putting a dollar value on nature might help, but how much is a bacterium in a lake really worth? (This program was originally...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD NSW off the rails Updated: 2008-12-13 22:00:00 Description: Western Sydney is set to have two more cities and, yet again, the state has canned its railway projects. Why will Canberra bail them out? Reporter Wendy Carlisle....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Generation Y and the financial crisis Updated: 2008-11-29 22:00:00 Description: As the financial downturn unfolds, is Generation Y ready? Raised on optimism and generous lines of credit, they're economically exposed in terms of assets and debt. Reporter: Madeleine Genner...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Italian job Updated: 2008-11-22 22:00:00 Description: We get the inside story of how the Italian diaspora was harvested for political votes, and how the little Italies found a way to make - and break - governments in Rome. Reporter: James Panichi...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Intervention: unintended consequences Updated: 2008-11-15 22:00:00 Description: While remote Aboriginal communities are safer, everyday living is more complicated. There's a 600 dollar cab fare to town, and then Centrelink has to approve toys for your kids. Lorena Allam reports from Katherine in the Northern Territory....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Crisis for children Updated: 2008-11-08 22:00:00 Description: There's an epidemic of child abuse and it's worst in Queensland. Poverty's fuelling it, but it's sparked by something deeper. To stop it, we need to turn our social policies upside down. Reporter Ian Townsend...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Metals, money and madness Updated: 2008-11-01 22:00:00 Description: The global economic collapse is now seen to be caused by greed and theft. There's a parallel in the looting of metals, especially copper, around the world. Reporter, Stan Correy....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Nature's numbers Updated: 2008-10-18 22:00:00 Description: Our economy may fall over, but it's not just about the financial meltdown. Nature is seizing up, and it's costing big bucks. Putting a dollar value on nature might help, but how much is a bacterium in a lake really worth? Reporter: Di Martin...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Politics of water - Maude Barlow Updated: 2008-10-11 22:00:00 Description: Maude Barlow is a water activist from Canada. In a recent talk at Sydney University she explains the virtual water trade and the critical state of water in the world....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Remittances - flying money Updated: 2008-10-04 22:00:00 Description: About $500 billion flows around the world as migrant workers send money home. It's largely by-passing banks and corporations, even governments, but they all want a slice of the action. Reporter Lorena Allam....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Future of noise Updated: 2008-09-27 23:00:00 Description: Most people rate noise as a bigger problem than rats, drugs, or dog poo. It's highest on the list of citizen complaints, but it's listed low by councils and politicians. But noise can have cultural value too. Hagar Cohen reports....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Population control Updated: 2008-09-20 23:00:00 Description: Are you worried about the future of the environment, or war, or hordes of refugees? The solution is not to manipulate population growth. Past results have been tragic, and ineffectual. Historian Professor Matthew Connelly of Columbia University propo...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Cloud computing Updated: 2008-09-13 23:00:00 Description: Google's Chrome, and others, offer easier, smoother, faster servers into their gated internet gardens, where all things are known. It's the Petabyte Age, and there be beasties. Reporter Stan Correy....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Hoons and young troublemakers Updated: 2008-09-06 23:00:00 Description: NSW is creating more space in jails for a growing number of young people. But many of them are only there waiting to go to trial. They may be there for something minor, or may even be innocent. Reporter, Erica Vowles....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Hendra and the bats Updated: 2008-08-30 23:00:00 Description: Bats carry many of the nasty viruses, even SARS, Ebola, Nipah and Hendra. Scientists think bats may be using these deadly viruses in a war with other species, including horses and man. Reporter Ian Townsend....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Defence and discrimination Updated: 2008-08-23 23:00:00 Description: American security laws based on where a person was born mean some Australians can't work in defence industries in Australia. It's against our laws - but it's like it or lump it. Reporter Lorena Allam....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Paying to be permanent Updated: 2008-08-16 23:00:00 Description: A high number of people who get Australian permanent resident visas don't get the skilled jobs they are trained for. And there are scams aplenty in the world of international students looking for any way to stay here. Reporter, Hagar Cohen....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Food futures Updated: 2008-08-02 23:00:00 Description: Prices at the shops may be rising because billions of Indians and Chinese are eating more, and using cars - and it could be that some well funded gamers are playing the commodities market like a casino in cyberspace. Take our quiz. Reporter Stan Corr...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Privatising nature Updated: 2008-07-26 23:00:00 Description: An astonishing six million hectares of Australia—something like the size of Tasmania—is now being privately protected for plants and animals. Hundreds of millions of dollars are involved as schemes spring up around the country. But private conser...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Bury, burn or compost? Updated: 2008-07-19 23:00:00 Description: There's a boom in funerals around the corner as the Boomers face mortality, but neither cemeteries nor crematoria are eco-friendly. The business of burials is beginning to adapt, and so are their future customers. Reporter Ian Townsend....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Free trade vs fair trade Updated: 2008-07-12 23:00:00 Description: It's an ideological battle between those who want a fairer, better deal for the poor farmers in the developing world - and those who say the best way to get that is having a world wide free market. There are fault lines in both arguments. Reporter Ja...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The climate engineers Updated: 2008-07-05 23:00:00 Description: For years it's been one of the science community's great taboos but the idea of global climate control is starting to be openly discussed. Ideas like placing giant mirrors in space or firing sulphur particles into the stratosphere to cool the planet ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Shareholder activism Updated: 2008-06-28 23:00:00 Description: As corporations collapse while executives are paid huge salary packages, shareholders are taking a greater interest in just how companies are run. But they face a wall of complexity, and legalistic and business jargon which is almost impenetrable. Re...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Slavery in Australia Updated: 2008-06-14 23:00:00 Description: Is it slavery to keep someone working for nothing till they pay off their debt? There are women here kept in sex slavery, and there are also domestic servants, back room workers, and illegals forced into underground labour. The High Court will soon b...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Banking on gas Updated: 2008-06-07 23:00:00 Description: Australia's sitting on some of the biggest natural gas fields in the world - and other energy-starved, ravenous nations are starting to bid for it. Australia will have to do some soul searching about how much we keep for ourselves and who to sell it ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Private spooks Updated: 2008-05-31 23:00:00 Description: The use of private military companies is now widespread, but now there are also private intelligence organisations working closely with government. Business is booming and the worlds biggest private equity company, Carlyle, has just bought part of th...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Peddling influence and money Updated: 2008-05-17 23:00:00 Description: A new register of some of the biggest "third party" lobbyists and their clients will go some way to making public who has access to government in Canberra. But most lobbying and schmoozing will continue unchecked through old networks, secret meetings...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD One family farm Updated: 2008-05-03 23:00:00 Description: Today's generation of farmers is experiencing unrelenting change - climate change, drought, globalisation and plummeting incomes. Many families are finding the pressures too much to bear. Reporter Di Martin grew up in sheep and wheat country, and tel...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The allergy generation and the EpiPen epidemic Updated: 2008-04-26 23:00:00 Description: Allergies to everything from dust, to cats, to peanuts are hitting young children hard, and doctors don't really understand why or what to do. Long held theories are changing, and there's great confusion. Reporter Ian Townsend....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Rugby League: More than just a game Updated: 2008-04-19 23:00:00 Description: One hundred years ago this month, there was social ferment in Australia. Industrial unrest, crime and political changes were widespread giving the working class a new confidence. And in an astonishing series of events and people, football was changin...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Israel: selling out secularism? Updated: 2008-04-12 23:00:00 Description: The Olmert government is dependent on the support of the extremist, ultra orthodox religious movement in Israel. They now make up 10 per cent of the population, and make no secret of their desire for Israel to become a religiously based state. Report...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The climate engineers Updated: 2008-04-05 23:00:00 Description: For years it's been one of the science community's great taboos but the idea of global climate control is starting to be openly discussed. Ideas like placing giant mirrors in space or firing sulphur particles into the stratosphere to cool the planet ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The three trillion dollar war Updated: 2008-03-29 22:00:00 Description: Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, and co-author Linda Bilmes, argue the Iraq war has led directly to America's current economic crisis. The price of a barrel of oil has quadrupled since the war began and the total cost of the invasion is...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Australia's new baby boom Updated: 2008-03-22 22:00:00 Description: An extra 30,000 births a year has caught government by surprise, with immediate and long term consequences....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Sports wars Updated: 2008-03-15 22:00:00 Description: While the success of the 27-year-old Australian Institute of Sport has been the envy of other nations, the expertise it has bred is being used against us, and Australia risks falling behind in the sports science arms race. Reporter Ian Townsend...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD After the KGB Updated: 2008-03-08 22:00:00 Description: As the former KGB man Vladimir Putin passes the presidential baton to his nominated successor, the BBC's Martin Sixsmith looks at the remarkable resurgence of the Russian secret service. How did the 'new KGB', the FSB, manage to become so strong, so ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Sovereign wealth funds Updated: 2008-03-01 22:00:00 Description: As the effects of the subprime credit crunch continue to be felt around the world, the new global investors bailing out Wall Street banks are the sovereign wealth funds. These are the investment vehicles of cashed up Arab and Asian governments which ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Paying the medical piper Updated: 2008-02-23 22:00:00 Description: Many GPs get regular education over the year, for up to date information on modern medical and prescribing practices. We examine aspects of this education of GPs and how they may be influenced by drug company sponsors. Reporter, Ray Moynihan....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Where is the Middle Class? Updated: 2008-02-16 22:00:00 Description: Princeton Professor of Economics Paul Krugman talks about how the New Deal society has been dismantled in America, and the reasons for it. He brings it back to a revival of Southern issues about race being used by the 'Movement Conservatives' to undo...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Greenwashing Updated: 2008-02-09 22:00:00 Description: It's not easy being green; Kermit's lament haunts us as we are bombarded with advertising, labels and marketing promising consumers a positive outcome for the environment. How much of it is deceptive and misleading? Reporter Rachel Carbonell....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Lost planes, lost men Updated: 2008-02-02 22:00:00 Description: Hundreds of Australian war planes crashed in Queensland, PNG, and the Pacific during WW2. Many haven't been found, and the remains of their crew still lie where they crashed. There's a global trade in souveniring these wrecks, and surprising things a...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Fur families Updated: 2008-01-26 22:00:00 Description: KPMG analyst Bernard Salt says that within a few years 30 percent of people will live alone. The accompanying boom in pets is a looming political reality, and may even become an IR issue. It's good news for the pet food business. Already households s...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Your money dot con Updated: 2008-01-19 22:00:00 Description: No one's telling how much of our money is being stolen through the Internet because no one wants us to lose confidence in the system. The banks are making so much money out of it, they prefer to wear the costs or push them down to the customer. In th...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Atul Gawande Updated: 2008-01-12 22:00:00 Description: He is a professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, and has several other prestigious roles in the US health policy and public health system. As well, he's a practising doctor and surgeon, editor, author, and New York Magazine writer. Atul Gawand...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Stronger, smarter, nicer humans Updated: 2008-01-05 22:00:00 Description: Professor Julian Savulescu is an eminent ethicist from Oxford University. He believes we should proceed with research into enhancing not only the genetics of fighting disease, but the genetics and pharmacology of improving IQ, behaviour, mood, charac...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Beautiful science Updated: 2007-12-29 22:00:00 Description: Pulitzer prize winning science writer Natalie Angier talks in an inspiring and entertaining way about the basics of science: from the wonders of the cell and bacteria to the mysteries of the night sky and the cultures of chimpanzees, to name a few. S...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Tackling Indonesian terror Updated: 2007-12-22 22:00:00 Description: In a first for the international media, Bali bomber Ali Imron is let out of prison to explain why he's now working to stop terrorism. In this exclusive interview, Ali Imron tells of how he's battling with his radical brothers to prevent further viole...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Climate and councils Updated: 2007-12-15 22:00:00 Description: The end of soaring waterfront properties is in sight. Insurers have begun investigating policies to cover plummeting land values as climate change predictions worsen. Inundation is the big worry for coastal councils. It's buyer beware in this legal g...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The marketing of Putin Updated: 2007-12-08 22:00:00 Description: He's manufactured the image, set up the totalitarian theatrics, and stabilised Russia. Now the world will see what Vladimir Putin is really like. Russians who live in Australia like him, write music for him and make special medals. Many have bitter m...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Trouble with bees Updated: 2007-12-01 22:00:00 Description: Australian bees are doing very nicely. But unless we're careful problems plaguing American hives could turn up here. There are several theories on why colonies are collapsing in the US. Is it because the bees are overworked and poorly managed - or is...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Where is the Middle Class? Updated: 2007-11-24 22:00:00 Description: Princeton Professor of Economics Paul Krugman talks about how the New Deal society has been dismantled in America, and the reasons for it. He brings it back to a revival of Southern issues about race being used by the 'Movement Conservatives' to undo...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Testing times for schools Updated: 2007-11-17 22:00:00 Description: There's a new kind of primary school coming -- ready or not. Bigger schools, different ways of learning, more special interest groups in class. Not just the three Rs and computers, but character and your place in society taught in all schools across ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Glam reaper Updated: 2007-11-10 22:00:00 Description: It's 20 years since the Grim Reaper campaign, when a hooded, decomposing creature with a scythe bowled down men women and children with Aids. Cases of HIV are rising again, across Australia, and there's about to be a new campaign - The Glam Reaper. S...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Timor's unpredictable rebel Updated: 2007-11-03 22:00:00 Description: Rebel soldier Alfredo Reinado is young, Australian trained, armed and ready for a fight. From a mountain hideout (where he says he can order pizza and cappuccino) he challenges and mocks East Timorese President Ramos Horta and the government, saying ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Fur families Updated: 2007-10-27 22:00:00 Description: KPMG analyst Bernard Salt says that within a few years 30 percent of people will live alone. The accompanying boom in pets is a looming political reality, and may even become an IR issue. It's good news for the pet food business. Already households s...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The radioactive rebellion Updated: 2007-10-20 23:00:00 Description: Niger has lots of uranium, and the world wants it. Australian companies are there, pegging out their stakes. There's murder, kidnapping, hijacking and rebellion in a volatile mix of Tuareg tribesmen (and musicians) at war with other ethnic groups and...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Exporting Livestock Updated: 2007-10-13 23:00:00 Description: Conditions have improved for the cattle, sheep, and goats Australia sends overseas for slaughter in other countries, but animal welfare groups have continued to keep a close eye on shipments. Recent FOI documents reveal more disturbing facts about th...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Mexico: Magnates, monopolies and masses Updated: 2007-10-06 23:00:00 Description: The world's richest man is Mexican entrepreneur Carlos Slim, and Mexico City has the population of Australia. Mexico is one of the worst countries in the world for wealth disparity. The cultural adjustments for Australians living there can be shockin...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Bushfire season Updated: 2007-09-29 23:00:00 Description: Across Australia 220,000 volunteer firefighters are ready to protect our lives and property. If we had to pay them for their time, it would cost us something like $2 billion a year, but it's getting harder to attract them, and harder to keep them. De...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Tackling Indonesian terror Updated: 2007-09-22 23:00:00 Description: In a first for the international media, Bali bomber Ali Imron is let out of prison to explain why he's now working to stop terrorism. In this exclusive interview, Ali Imron tells of how he's battling with his radical brothers to prevent further viole...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Timber, tax and the Tiwis Updated: 2007-09-15 23:00:00 Description: Australia has promised $200 million to Southeast Asia to stop deforestation, but on the rich Tiwi Islands priceless and irreplaceable native forests are cut down and burnt to grow plantation timber for wood chips for Japan. It's really a tax minimisa...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD AAA ratings on rates Updated: 2007-09-08 23:00:00 Description: Across Australia, many local councils have invested their money in high yield, but risky investment schemes. Now, with the whole low-doc, subprime world so shaky, they're losing money. Ratepayers want answers, and some councillors who didn't see the ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD History of Israel Updated: 2007-09-01 23:00:00 Description: How Israel handles itself in the Middle East is a challenge to Jewish morality, says renowned historian Professor Michael B Oren. Now with the Shalem Centre in Jerusalem, he has been a visiting professor at Harvard and Yale, author of two New York Ti...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Mentally ill children Updated: 2007-08-25 23:00:00 Description: Can a two year old - or a foetus - show symptoms of bi-polar disorder? In America, they think so, and, of course, there are medications for it. There is no doubt some children develop serious mental illness and need help, but it may be going too far....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Stronger, smarter, nicer humans Updated: 2007-08-18 23:00:00 Description: Professor Julian Savulescu is an eminent ethicist from Oxford University. He believes we should proceed with research into enhancing not only the genetics of fighting disease, but the genetics and pharmacology of improving IQ, behaviour, mood, charac...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Murder most Territorean Updated: 2007-08-11 23:00:00 Description: The Northern Territory murder rate is the highest in Australia - and killings there have particular characteristics. Aboriginal murders are usually straight-forward domestic violence and drunkeness, but many white or Asian murders are particularly ma...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The rise of VSU Updated: 2007-08-04 23:00:00 Description: From the l920s, it was compulsory for most university students to join the student union. Now it's voluntary, and there's a distinct change in the campus culture and student lifestyle at most universities. The bigger, richer universities are faring b...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Trouble with bees Updated: 2007-07-28 23:00:00 Description: Australian bees are doing very nicely. They are in huge demand here for pollinating local almond orchards and in huge demand overseas because they are disease free. But unless we're careful problems plaguing American hives could turn up here. Colonie...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Sex on the Net Updated: 2007-07-21 23:00:00 Description: Whether adults like it or not, the Internet is where life's at for young people now - friendships, games, school stuff, comedy, adventure and sex. Teenagers are getting used to coming across pornography, and dirty old men. Sometimes they even turn th...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Beautiful science Updated: 2007-07-14 23:00:00 Description: Pulitzer prize winning science writer Natalie Angier talks in an inspiring and entertaining way about the basics of science: from the wonders of the cell and bacteria to the mysteries of the night sky and the cultures of chimpanzees, to name a few. S...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Animal rights Updated: 2007-07-07 23:00:00 Description: Should animals have rights? Under the law animals are treated as things just as human slaves were treated as things. Is there an argument that the intelligence of some animals means that they deserve more rights than others? Professor Steven Wise tea...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Weeds: Enemy or ally Updated: 2007-06-30 23:00:00 Description: There's an invasion of noxious weeds on the way as the planet heats up and dries out. Invasive plants could flatten Australia's native vegetation, blowing out current costs of about $8 billion a year. Warnings abound that we don't understand these pl...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Your money dot con Updated: 2007-06-23 23:00:00 Description: No one's telling how much of our money is being stolen through the Internet because no one wants us to lose confidence in the system. The banks are making so much money out of it, they prefer to wear the costs or push them down to the customer. In th...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Guns and the military Updated: 2007-06-09 23:00:00 Description: For decades questions have been asked about how Defence keeps track of its guns, bullets and rocket launchers. In coming weeks there will be two cases before the courts dealing with allegations of weapons being stolen from the military. The Defence D...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Atul Gawande Updated: 2007-06-02 23:00:00 Description: He is a professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, and has several other prestigious roles in the US health policy and public health system. As well, he's a practising doctor and surgeon, editor, author, and New York Magazine writer. Atul Gawand...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Children of Zimbabwe Updated: 2007-05-26 23:00:00 Description: One third of the entire population of Zimbabwe has fled the violence and terror. The governing elite can send their children overseas to study. Many are in Australia. Even here, some Zimbabweans are afraid, and the global web is running hot with prop...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Politics and the Internet Updated: 2007-05-19 23:00:00 Description: No one really knows if the Internet will be a force for a new kind of democracy, or just another (albeit miraculous) technology. Shifting sands in demography, voter behaviour, and the world wide web, are all challenges for political campaigners. Pitf...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Dry rivers, high hopes Updated: 2007-05-12 23:00:00 Description: Millions of dollars have been spent on building an enormous irrigation infrastructure on the Murray Darling system. The rivers are dry, and the pumps stand idle, with even the interest on the loans not paid. How did it come to this: greed for water, ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The law and gambling Updated: 2007-04-28 23:00:00 Description: Who's to blame when gamblers go berserk? Wealthy high roller Harry Kavakas is suing Crown Casino to get back $30 million he says they illegally encouraged him to gamble away. Several more vulnerable gamblers have stolen the millions they eventually l...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Bad teeth, bad economics Updated: 2007-04-21 23:00:00 Description: About 30,000 hospital admissions every year are for dental problems. The main reason children under five get admitted to hospital is teeth troubles. And now science indicates that bad teeth and gums affects the whole body, and can lead to heart disea...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Iraq: new team, new strategy, new tensions Updated: 2007-04-14 23:00:00 Description: America has a new policy for Iraq: soft power. It's cultural counterinsurgency. Possibly too little too late, it may even be impossible. Americans don't speak the language, and don't understand the many cultures. Reporter: Stan Correy....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Australia's Pacific paradox Updated: 2007-04-07 23:00:00 Description: Canberra's low key intervention in Bougainville has helped shape a peace agreement now used as a model in many parts of the world. Yet its billion dollar state building experiment in the Solomon Islands is running into serious problems. This tale of ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Privatising Palm Island Updated: 2007-03-31 23:00:00 Description: It's a tropical paradise worth many millions on the open market. The debate is intense about how the indigenous people will fare when new laws allowing privatisation of land open up a different world. Reporter, Ian Townsend....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Mentally ill in Queensland Updated: 2007-03-24 23:00:00 Description: Psychiatric consultants in Queensland speak out about gross inadequacies in the mental health system in that State, placing lives at risk. Documents show there have been problems in some regions for decades. Reporter: Heather Stewart....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Patient responsibility and self care Updated: 2007-03-10 22:00:00 Description: In the health industry and government circles patient responsibility and self care are the new buzzwords. It's all about getting people out of the expensive end of medical care, and into self care groups much earlier. It may come to mean if you're a ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Chesting up for the climate Updated: 2007-03-03 22:00:00 Description: One was a campaigning greenie rock star, the other a silvertailed barrister, businessman, and republican. Now both Peter Garrett and Malcolm Turnbull are in the bear pit of politics, where glamour takes you only so far, and old ways have to be put as...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Testing the teachers Updated: 2007-02-24 22:00:00 Description: It's a whiteboard jungle out there as educationalists and economists haggle over the surest way to get the best out of our kids. One proposal being considered is more money for teachers whose students get the best test results. The status quo is not ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Parental alienation Updated: 2007-02-17 22:00:00 Description: The anger and hurt of divorcing parents often spills over into custody and access to children. Accusations of child abuse are defended with claims of lies and alienation using Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) resulting in the accusing parent losing...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Freight about to crash Updated: 2007-02-03 22:00:00 Description: As consumers demand more and more 'stuff' the impact on the freight industry will be enormous. The number of trucks on the roads will double in two decades. This will have important implications for traffic, roads, pollution, and energy use. Steve Sk...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Getting smart: the Access Card Updated: 2007-01-27 22:00:00 Description: The government is bringing in a new national card, called the Access Card. Everyone who uses Medicare, Centrelink, or any government service, will have one. And they're not just normal cards. They have mini-computers inside them that can store data a...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Bird flu: risks, laws and rights. Updated: 2007-01-20 22:00:00 Description: Scientists, lawyers, politicians, security forces—everyone's walking a fine line with avian flu, between the rights of the individual and the rights of the wider public. When a pandemic happens each of us will be on our own, as the authorities look...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Coping by cutting Updated: 2007-01-13 22:00:00 Description: The incidence of self-harm is rising and there's a search for understanding and solutions. Princess Di admitted to it. As many as one in five young people are likely to deliberately hurt themselves to release internal tension and pressure. What is it...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Trading quarantine Updated: 2007-01-06 22:00:00 Description: Whatever happened to quarantine? As an island nation, free from many of the pests and diseases that have devastated other parts of the world Australia has always imposed extraordinarily high standards of quarantine. Until now. What has changed at Aus...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The greatest gift Updated: 2006-12-30 22:00:00 Description: Donating your body, or the body of a child, to medical research is a great gift to mankind. Most of you can be recycled: your eyes, your skin, your bone or even a little piece of your heart. Now they want to grind your bones for surgical putty. Then,...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Suez Crisis 1956 Updated: 2006-12-23 22:00:00 Description: Sir Robert Menzies was at the centre of the Suez crisis - one of the great failures of western political history. He was sent into negotiate with Nasser, but behind the scenes the UK, Israel, France and the USA all had other agendas. Were they treati...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Renovating Muslim Australia Updated: 2006-12-16 22:00:00 Description: It's been a tough year for Australian Muslims. The Hilali controversy has exposed deep divisions in the Sydney Muslim community - between different religious factions, generations and classes. But the younger generation of Muslim leaders is saying it...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Getting smart: the Access Card Updated: 2006-12-09 22:00:00 Description: The government is bringing in a new national card, called the Access Card. Everyone who uses Medicare, Centrelink, or any government service, will have one. And they're not just normal cards. They have mini-computers inside them that can store data a...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Celebrities and Africa Updated: 2006-12-02 22:00:00 Description: Madonna, Angelina and Brad, and countless other rich celebrities seem to be taking the missionary position with small countries such as Malawi. There are suffering children and desperate need all over the world. What is it with Africa? Iman says it's...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Richard Dawkins and God Updated: 2006-11-25 22:00:00 Description: The eminent scientist Richard Dawkins puts forward, in a no holds barred manner, the arguments again religion - be it Muslim, Christian, Jewish or any of the other hundreds of gods across the world and across time. This talk was given in Philadelphia...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Private equity - the purest capitalism Updated: 2006-11-18 22:00:00 Description: The business world is agog as the private equity consortiums storm the globe with their trillions, buying and selling and skimming fees. They've been called locusts, barbarians, and gluttons - but it's not illegal and the profits are huge. Reporter, ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Europe in the world Updated: 2006-11-11 22:00:00 Description: Europe, as a union of nations, could emerge as an important force in world affairs. Chris Patten, now Lord Patten of Barnes, is one of the most influential men in Europe and the UK. A leading political analyst, he has 'maintained morality clarity in ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Electric shocks Updated: 2006-11-04 22:00:00 Description: The cost of electricity will soar in coming years - and the biggest culprit is the air conditioner. In South Australia, 90 percent of homes use them. At present, whether you have one or not, your electricity bill is higher because their cost is sprea...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Perils of peacekeeping Updated: 2006-10-28 22:00:00 Description: It's well known that soldiers can be traumatized by war but peacekeeping can be just as stressful with its own horrors. Australian veterans of the peacekeeping operation in East Timor have taken their own lives, committed crimes, or are living with m...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD America's image abroad Updated: 2006-10-21 23:00:00 Description: America's image and support across the world is low, and it's a concern for big business and policy makers. A panel of young people discuss why this has happened, whether it's justified, and also whether it's important. And, if so, what can be done t...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Alternative money spinners Updated: 2006-10-14 23:00:00 Description: They are called herbal medicines, or complementary, or alternative - but many of them are not useful and may be harmful. At the very least you are likely to be wasting money. There are legal ways in which open debate is discouraged. Reporter: Gordon ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Soul searching about welfare Updated: 2006-09-30 23:00:00 Description: The churches and welfare agencies are finding it uncomfortable to dance to the government's tune. But they need the money. In the case of the Catholic Church, it's dependent on about $500 million it gets to administer government services. Other churc...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Suez Crisis 1956 Updated: 2006-09-23 23:00:00 Description: Sir Robert Menzies was at the centre of the Suez crisis - one of the great failures of western political history. He was sent into negotiate with Nasser, but behind the scenes the UK, Israel, France and the USA all had other agendas. Were they treati...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD |
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