Saturday Extra - Separate Stories Podcast

When emergency services are overwhelmed by natural disasters – who can people turn to? Increasing there's help from new community-led operations.

Getting skilled, educated Australian women and older workers into the workforce would help boost productivity. With workforce shortages across the country, is Australia making the most of their skills?

NATO intelligence suggests Russian forces are regrouping before doubling down in a new assault in the east of country, where the Russian military's 'Wagner group' will be part of the assault.  

Australian government forges ahead with plans to boost its cyber and defence ties with the United States, as Joe Biden's administration announces it will help fund key rare minerals projects in Australia.

Stay entertained and informed with great recommendations from Caitlin Byrne, Director of the Griffith Asia Institute and Yun Jiang, the inaugural Fellow for the Australian Institute of International Affairs and China Matters. The Picks: The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, a Chinese web novel by Mo Xiang Tong Xu Hell and Other Destinations, A 21st-Century Memoir, Madeleine Albright B is for Busy, written and directed by Shao Yihui Power Meri, documentary that follows Papua New Guinea's first national women's rugby league team China Stories podcast Chasing Freedom The Philippines Long Journey to Democratic Ambivalence author Adele Webb in conversation

At this time of year, the Antarctic should be rapidly cooling after its summer, and the Arctic only slowly emerging from its winter. But unexpected record temperatures in both regions have stunned scientists and expeditioners. What happened and what are the implications? Guests: Amelie Meyer, Fellow at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania & Chief Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes Damien Gildea, Mountaineer, author and Antarctic guide, Author of 'Mountaineering In Antarctica: Climbing In The Frozen South' (2010)

Ketanji Brown Jackson is set to make history as the first black woman to be appointed to the US Supreme Court.  What are the implications of her appointment, and why is there controversy?  

PM Scott Morrison and Indian PM Narendra Modi held a virtual summit this week, agreeing to set up a taskforce and mutually recognise university degrees from both states.  It’s a potential game changer for the future of migration from the sub continent - and opens new possibilities for Australian students.  Guest: Professor Craig Jeffrey, Author of several books on India and former Director of the Australia-India Institute Producer: Lara Heaton

NATO has bolstered military troops on its Eastern flank and is sending more support to Ukraine. The US is also working to end Europe’s dependency on Russian oil and gas.

What do Australian plays tell us about ourselves? Theatre historian and Griffith University Professor of Creative Arts Julian Meyrick joins us to discuss his book Australia in 50 Plays which charts the nation's dramatic history in the 120 years since Federation.     

The French election is looming, and no French president has been re-elected for two decades. Despite being in power for five years, Emmanuel Macron remains a mystery to many voters. Will his remote, hyper-centralised style of governing cost him? Guest: Paris Bureau Chief of The Economist, Sophie Pedder

Ben Judah - author and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council - reflects on his time in Russia in early 2000s, the Russian people's views on Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine.

When disaster strikes, Australia's leaders are expected to rise to the occasion. Why do they often get it wrong?

Russia is struggling to make military progress and there are questions over whether it will continue with a full-scale assault on Kyiv.

In the 1950s, Ireland was such an irrelevant backwater that the Irish left in droves. A plan for economic modernisation finally started to turn the country’s fortunes around, but the Catholic church’s puritanical grip on Ireland’s social and cultural life wasn’t going to let go that easily. Author Fintan O’Toole talks about his new book ‘We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Ireland Since 1958’.

Indonesia is ramping up plans to move its capital city, the Ukraine crisis has seen Singapore react in an uncharacteristically strong way, and a new president in South Korea looks set to cause geopolitical ripples. Guests: Amanda Hodge, Southeast Asia correspondent for The Australian, and Hervé Lemahieu, Director of Research at the Lowy Institute.

The norms of the international financial system have been turned on their head as Russia is cast out of the worldwide economic system, while its central bank is heavily sanctioned.  Adam Tooze  - Director of the European Institute at Columbia University.

Floods, Covid, the invasion of Ukraine - to some it might seem the crises keep coming. So if you're in the thick of one, what's the best way to keep your spirits up? And if you want to help, how best to go about it? Professor Ian Hickie from the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Centre joins us.

Former foreign minister, Gareth Evans, on the war in Ukraine and the importance of being a good international citizen, which is the topic of his new book "Good International Citizenship: the case for decency”.

Misinformation about this year's federal election is spreading online - so the Australian Electoral Commission is fighting back.