Saturday Extra - Separate Stories Podcast

We're joined by University of Queensland's Sarah Percy and La Trobe University's Bec Strating, who talk us through what they've been reading, listening to and watching.

Election Express takes us around the country, to the regions and communities, to hear who the candidates are and what's making headlines. This week, we look at two seats in two very different parts of Australia. There's an astonishing contest emerging in Perth's affluent, established coastal suburbs where the seat of Curtin has always been a banked victory for the Liberal Party – it was once Julie Bishop's seat and the independent challenger has a deep Liberal Party heritage. And over on the other side of the country, we're heading to the tip of north Queensland, which is part of the seat of Leichhardt held by long serving MP Warren Entsch. He wanted to throw in the towel, but he's standing again.

There's mounting evidence that Russian forces have committed war crimes since their invasion of Ukraine but do their actions constitute genocide? As the International Criminal Court announces they will be joining the investigation in to alleged wars crimes, some experts have voiced concern that genocide is already under way. Often described as the "crime of all crimes" genocide is widely seen as the most serious crime against humanity.

Why government needs to stop shifting money around and improve Australia's productivity for the long term prosperity of the nation.

Nearly a year after Square's Jack Dorsey paid $39 billion for the Australian fintech company, it has failed to turn a profit and is awash with bad debt. Does this signal trouble for the Buy Now Pay Later sector?

Indigenous soldier Jack Huggins survived the notorious Thai-Burma railway in World War II. His daughters, Jackie Huggins and Ngaire Jarro, recently wrote a biography on his life. In the leadup to Anzac Day, they share his story.

Foreign policy and security are top issues in the federal election campaign after the signing of a China - Solomon Islands security deal.

A new report suggests the university sector needs to rebuild confidence with Australian communities by playing a greater role on addressing the skills shortage, improving student experience and engaging fully engaging with the economy. Guest: Ian Anderson, deputy vice-chancellor of student and university experience, Australian National University. Co-author with Robert Griew of The Future of the University Sector Post Covid.

In the past weeks tens of thousands of Sri Lankans have taken to the streets to protest the government's mismanagement of a worsening economic crisis, but this week police opened fire killing one protestor and injuring a dozen more. What's at the heart of the problem?

Author Tim Parks recently completed a 640 kilometre walk in Italy, retracing the steps of Giuseppe Garibaldi's retreat from Rome in 1849.

Many of us are in denial about death. So what can we learn from those who work in the death industry?

Could what looks like autocratic strength make some leaders prone to error and make them less agile to respond to changes than leaders in messy democracy? Guest: Larry Diamond, senior fellow Stanford University, author of Ill Wind: Saving Democracy From Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition and American Complacency

The remains of Mungo Lady, Mungo Man and 106 other ancient Aboriginal people will be reburied in the Willandra Lakes region of NSW following approval by the federal environment minister. Some traditional owners say the reburial decision disrespects the original vision of local elders, and scientists are concerned that the chance to deeply understand Aboriginal life during the Ice Age will be lost forever, Guests: Michael Westaway, biological anthropologist and archaeologist, University of Queensland Michael Young, Barkindji man and former member of the Willandra Aboriginal Advisory Group.

Before Volodymyr Zelensky became Ukraine’s president and a global icon of democracy, Volodymyr Zelensky was a boy from the gritty former Soviet industrial city of Kryvyi Rih.  He went on to get a law degree, then become a reality television star. 

Competitive video gaming — or esports — and the broader video game industry have boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Why are so many people playing and watching?

This week, the Lowy Institute released its first major poll in Indonesia for more than a decade. So how do Indonesians view Australia, the region and the world?

As Australian heads into a federal election US academic E.J. Dionne from the Brookings Institution argues why American democracy would thrive if it embraced the system of compulsory voting introduced in Australia nearly a century ago.

An Australian start-up has developed carbon-neutral recycling process to breakdown plastics into their foundational building blocks and recycle them again and again. Samsara Eco will target plastics that are currently going into landfill, including nylon textiles. Will this new method of recycling help solve our plastic waste crisis? Guests: Paul Riley, CEO Samsara Eco and Jodie Bricout, circular economy researcher, University of Adelaide.

How we can usefully interpret events in Ukraine this week? How do we put them into a wider context of progress and setbacks; where might the conflict be heading?

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, how can we reinvent our urban spaces for the better? Is public art the answer?