Uncommon Sense

For ANZAC Day, historical detective, author, and distinguished military historian Lynette R. Silver AM MBE delves into the evidence she has uncovered to piece together the untold, uncensored story of Australian nurse Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Bullwinkel. Sister Bullwinkel was the sole survivor of a massacre of 21 Australian nursing sisters at the hands of Japanese soldiers on Radji Beach on Bangka...

After an extended (reluctant, but necessary) hiatus Amy Mullins returns to the Triple R airwaves with long-time friend of the show and fungi expert Dr Alison Pouliot! She speaks about her two latest visually stunning books, Funga Obscura: Photo Journeys Among Fungi (NewSouth Publishing) – a book about fungi and the photography of fungi, and Mushroom Day: A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Fungal Lives (Un...

RedBridge director, political pollster, and analyst Kos Samaras talks with Amy about their latest research and polling data. Kos reveals the issues that matter to Australians right now and how and why the voting landscape has changed drastically, with parties like Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party back on the rise, and the two-party system in absolute disarray. In fact, according to Redbridge;s la...

Don Watson, acclaimed author and former speechwriter to Paul Keating, speaks in-depth about his Quarterly Essay, High Noon: Trump, Harris and America on the Brink , on the 2024 US Presidential Election and whether the United States of America is disintegrating. He travelled around the country as part of his research for the essay earlier this year. Amy will also be joined by a special panel with D...

Amy Mullins chats with Don Watson, acclaimed author and former speechwriter to Paul Keating, about his Quarterly Essay, 'High Noon: Trump, Harris and America on the Brink.' In this historically rich and incisive account, Watson explores Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, and a nation approaching its democratic high noon. As part of his research, Don travelled across the U.S. earlier this year, exploring...

British philosopher and best-selling author A. C. Grayling joins Amy in the Triple R studios for a very special in-depth conversation. Anthony tells us how we can consciously build our own philosophy of life, and why it is so important that we have one of our own. Grayling doesn't want to be prescriptive, but rather says we should take what's best for us from a range of philosophical schools and i...

A very special interview was brought out of the archives as acclaimed British writer Robert Macfarlane joins Amy for an in-depth conversation about the connections between landscape, language, people, and place. This expansive conversation begins with an exploration of the aspects of nature, landscape, and place that motivate Robert’s writing. Robert says, “We can think of thought itself as site-s...

Author and former financier Satyajit Das joins Amy for a long-form conversation about the rise of ecotourism, the joys and wonders of seeing animals "in the wild," along with ecotourism's problematic effects, as explored in his latest book, Wild Quests: Journeys into Ecotourism and the Future for Animals (Monash University Publishing). Is Das witnessing the end of the natural world as we know it?...

Amy Mullins returns to the airwaves. Regular guest Dr Emma Shortis talks all things US politics, including the 2024 Presidential election debate and race. Will Joe Biden drop out of the race to make way for a different Democratic candidate? What is the status of Donald Trump's legal battles? How has the US Supreme Court transformed US government, society, and politics (once again) through its rece...

Author and philosopher Dr Kate Manne returns to speak in-depth with Amy about her excellent new book, Unshrinking: How To Fight Fatphobia . As Kate describes it; "part memoir, part polemic, and part (all?) philosophy, this book aims to show why fatphobia is a vital social justice issue, and provide an analysis of what fatphobia is and how it works." She proposes "a radical reevaluation of who our...

Professor James Curran delves into the discussions and real intentions behind the AUKUS agreement and Australia's plan to obtain nuclear submarines from the US and the UK. How exactly does the US perceive AUKUS? James reveals how the US' view differs greatly from the Australian government's view. With so many practical questions weighing around the delivery of the submarines and the cooperation of...

Dr Bertrand Bourgeois speaks in-depth about the snap French elections for the National Assembly (lower house) called by President Emmanuel Macron. With the far-right National Rally or Rassemblement National (led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella) leading in the polls, closely followed by the far left coalition, the New Popular Front or Le Nouveau Front Populaire (comprising La France Insoumise...

Acclaimed writer Ceridwen Dovey brings real space objects to life in her new collection of short stories, Only The Astronauts (Penguin Books). Ceridwen reflects on the stories and inner lives she creates for Elon Musk's rocket test mannequin, 'Starman,' as well as the International Space Station, the first sculpture ever taken to the Moon, the Voyager 1 space probe carrying the Golden Record, and...

Dr Richard Denniss, Executive Director of The Australia Institute, joins Amy as he talks all about inequality in Australia – the topic of his current national speaking tour. To attend the online live-streamed event being hosted in Adelaide, visit: https://australiainstitute.org.au/event/unequal-australia-adelaide/ To listen back to Amy's past interview with Richard about his book, Econobabble: How...

With pressure on the government (again) to raise the rate of JobSeeker, will they finally prioritise the welfare of those on the lowest incomes in the country? Greg Jericho, Guardian columnist and Chief Economist for The Australia Institute previews the upcoming Federal Budget with Amy, which is to be delivered on Tuesday 14th May. Greg tells us what budgets are really all about – choices. British...

British best-selling author Johann Hari joins Amy Mullins to talk about his excellent new book , Magic Pill , which examines the benefits and risks of controversial new weight-loss drugs, like Ozempic and Wegovy. Johann has in fact tried this medication himself and is conflicted about whether they are the miracle solution for obesity that they appear to be. We get into all the nuances of the scien...

Amy speaks with Bruce Pascoe and partner Lyn Harwood about their new book, Black Duck: A Year at Yumburra (Thames & Hudson), which is a personal reflection on life, Country and the consequences of Dark Emu through six seasons on Bruce and Lyn’s farm. Bruce Pascoe is a Bunurong, Yuin and Tasmanian Aboriginal writer of literary fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays and children's literature. He i...

Amy Mullins is joined by renowned author and Professor of Philosophy A. C. Grayling for a deep examination of his new book, Who Owns The Moon? In Defence of Humanity’s Common Interests in Space. With rare earths and natural resources that are essential for future technology from microprocessors to EV batteries running out on the Earth – humanity is now looking towards its closest solar neighbours...

Julian Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton joined Amy Mullins to update us as to Julian's state of mind and health ahead of the UK High Court's impending decision, which is to be handed down tonight 9.30pm AEDT (10.30am London time). The court will decide whether Wikileaks founder and journalist Julian Assange will be able to appeal the decision to extradite him from Britain to the United States whe...

For International Women's Day, award-winning author and science journalist Angela Saini joins Amy from New York to talk about her latest book, The Patriarchs: How Men Came To Rule. Angela delves into the origins of "the patriarchy" and gendered oppression and finds that patriarchal societies are a far more recent historical development than we might imagine. She also talks about our fascination wi...

Renowned Australian-born film critic Adrian Martin joins Amy to discuss the brilliance of Jean-Luc Godard’s cinematic masterpiece, LE MÉPRIS ( Contempt, 1963), starring Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli, Jack Palance, Giorgia Moll, and Fritz Lang. Filmed in Capri, Italy, LE MÉPRIS depicts the breakdown of a marriage, but it is also about much more than that as you'll hear. It has been newly restored...

Graham Readfearn, the Guardian Australia’s Environment Reporter gives us the latest on local and global environmental news, including a coral bleaching event taking place right now on the Great Barrier Reef. He also tells us about Antarctica’s sea ice reaching alarmingly low levels, a mystery paralysis syndrome afflicting lorikeet populations, and his podcast series, Weight of the World – the clim...

Award-winning photojournalist Andrew Quilty joins host Amy Mullins for an in-depth conversation about his latest book, This Is Afghanistan: 2014–2021 . The stunning book is a visual record of the nine years Andrew spent living and working in the complex, beautiful, and war-torn country. Andrew talks about his experiences photographing the War in Afghanistan, capturing life, destruction, conflict a...

Dr Richard Denniss, Executive Director of The Australia Institute talks about his new essay in The Monthly on tax reform – Richard says tax reform is about democracy, not economics, and reforms should not be centred on what we want, but on who we want to be. He also talks about the intertwined issues of rising company profits, interest rates, the supermarket duopoly, and price gouging. Award-winni...

Please note the first interview of this episode contains topics that may distress some listeners, including allegations of child sexual abuse and harm to children. Please see helpline information below. Host Amy Mullins speaks with Nick Feik, freelance journalist and former editor of The Monthly , about his essay in The Monthly which details his own investigations and the findings of a Tasmanian c...