Bruce Shapiro dissects the US presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. And art critic Sebastian Smee on how the dazzling light of Impressionism emerged from the darkness of 1870s France.
A six year long inquiry has found that the reasons for London's Grenfell Tower block fire were developing over a 25 year period. Analyst Anatol Lieven argues that recent attacks by both Russia and Ukraine have achieved little. And it's 100 years since the birth of New Zealand writer Janet Frame..
Political correspondent Laura Tingle on Australia's slow economic growth. Journalist Paola Totaro asks why those convicted of financial crimes in the Vatican are not yet behind bars. And Benjamin Law on the power and politics of portrait painting.
Alfred Dreyfus was an officer in the French Army when he was arrested 130 years ago for treason, convicted and sent to Devils Island for 5 years in solitary confinement. His battle for justice divided the population of France and fascinated people across the globe. How much of his persecution can be put down to antisemitism and why is this case still so relevant? Guest: Maurice Samuels, author of Alfred Dreyfus: The man at the centre of the affair (Yale University Press)
Mass protests in Israel indicate a clear dissatisfaction with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his handling of the hostage situation, but polls show support for the war on Gaza remains high. Plus the Aussie women who fell in love with America and the freedom it offered them, a century ago.
For more than 1000 years, India was a trading powerhouse across the globe - not only of spices, wild animals and gemstones but also of language, philosophy, religion, mathematics and astronomy. But why is this part of India's history not so well known, and why did its dominance wane about 1200 AD? Guest: William Dalrymple, historian, podcaster and author of The Golden Road How Ancient India Transformed the World (Bloomsbury) For information about WIlliam Dalrymple's tour to Australia in October ...
Analysis of current events to the hottest debates in politics, science, philosophy and culture.
In response to the lack of justice for murdered and 'disappeared' Indigenous women, a new grassroots network of specialist family violence organisations has formed - and they're on a mission to make a difference. Should Mount Kosciuszko be renamed?
Journalist Joerg Schmitt solves the mystery of who blew up the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea. Dr Elizabeth Cham on how Australia's trustee companies became large, market-listed entities - and what that means for philanthropy. Plus neuroscientist Gregory Berns on the secret life of cows.
What role is the Arab American vote playing in the US Presidential election so far, particularly in the swing state of Michigan? Plus the Yorkshire lad who became the UK's poet laureate - Simon Armitage.
Laura Tingle on the government's deal to pass CFMEU administration laws, plus changes to the NDIS and aged care. Why Malaysia wants to join the BRICS alliance of middle-power nations. And, the long history of the divisive anchovy.
How did we come to live in a world ruled by - mostly - idiots? And can we fix our struggling democracies by enfranchising children as young as six? Political philosopher David Runciman attempts to pump some adrenaline into our limp and languishing systems. Plus, the staggering beauty and fragility of island ecosystems.
Since the war in Gaza broke out there has been a crisis of censorship in the arts sector around the world, in what the not-for-profit group Freemuse is calling a most alarming moment for freedom of expression. Here in Australia pianist Jayson Gillham had his concerts cancelled after speaking about the killing of journalists in Gaza, and arts organisations have lost millions in funding from donors. So what rights do artists have to express political views? And what should the consequences be?...
President Biden has spoken at the Democratic Convention. Who's fuelling the atrocities in the Sudan? And it's 80 years since the fictitious 'Ern Malley' dazzled with his poetry.
Laura Tingle on Peter Dutton's calls for a Gaza visa ban. Constitutional lawyer Shireen Morris on why the Voice referendum failed. Plus, what's it really like to buy a 1 Euro house in rural Italy?
Cuba is still on the USA's State Sponsors of Terrorism list and the cost to its economy is huge. Plus the true identity of Australia's first novelist revealed in a new biography - including how he ruined his own brilliant career.
Cultural critic Roxane Gay on dissent, anger, and why despair is a luxury. Plus 200 years after martial law was declared against the Wiradjuri people of the Bathurst region, elders gather to reflect on this pivotal moment in Australia's history.
Journalist Haggai Matar considers what Israelis aren't hearing about the war in Gaza and Carol Rosenberg takes us inside 'Gitmo' to reveal why chances of it closing anytime soon are slim. Plus, 'weird' has become the word of the US election, but where did the word come from, and why is it such an effective insult?
Australia has signed up to a revamped AUKUS agreement, which will allow the submarine deal to be cancelled with as little as a year's notice. Plus, an extraordinary effort to map Australia's First Nations langauges.
Maori rights are being whittled away by the new conservative government in New Zealand and in Guatemala private adoption agencies sent huge numbers of babies overseas - with many of them indigenous.
Bruce Shapiro on whether Tim Walz is the right pick for Kamala Harriss's running mate, the epic Murdoch court battle for the succession of the empire, and the mammoth task of writing women and Indigenous Australians into our official Dictionary of Biography.
Ian Dunt says the term 'anti-immigration protests' is woefully insufficient to describe the outbreak of violence in the UK. He says what occurred was a pogrom, an attempt to attack, and in some cases murder, people with black and brown skin. The US military has revealed soldiers subjected to blasts have the highest suicide rates. And the 17th century Olympic Games - for poets.
At the annual Garma Festival, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he remained committed to Makarrata. But what exactly does that mean? Laura Tingle and David Marr discuss. Then, we get an update on what's happening in Senator Linda Reynolds' defamation trial against Brittany Higgins with Richard Ackland. And finally, Ulbe Bosma tells us why the history of sugar is anything but sweet...
What is the soul? Is it a substance, your conscience or simply a creation of the mind? Most societies and religions have some concept of the soul. Historian Paul Ham has looked at how the idea has changed through history and across cultures. Guest: Paul Ham, author of The Soul: A History of the Human Mind (Penguin Random House)
Venezuelan election of Maduro prompts violent protests, what the oil and gas industry really knew about global warming and celebrating James Baldwin's writings on politics, Black America and sexuality.
.Brody Mullins investigates how lobbyists have changed politics and society in America and Hamilton Sides tells the story of how and why James Cook's last voyage ended up in violence - from the Hawaiian perspective.
Laura Tingle on Anthony Albanese's cabinet re-shuffle, Robert Fisk's widow Nelofer on Western interference in the Middle-East and how language around it is being used by the Western media, plus the myths and misconceptions about the Olympics past and present.
A new documentary examines the life of military analyst Des Ball and his role in our understanding of Pine Gap, the big bucks that are being made in academic publishing and how notebooks have been a tool for creativity through history.
Saree Makdisi questions the perceptions by the West of Israel as a liberal democracy and Will Tosh questions whether William Shakespeare was gay, and does it really matter.
Bruce Shapiro on how Kamala Harris can turn the Trump campaign on its head, theoretical physicist Paul Davies says there's a lot to be gained from artificial intelligence - if we're mindful about how we use it and Simon Cleary on his walk down the Brisbane River.
