Background Briefing

In the first five months of this year, an astonishing 18,500 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 lies all around - including in America. The speaker is American non-fiction writer Charles Bowden.

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 time, are suffering. Reporter Brendan King.

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.

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 called the Galileo Movement and mining magnate and now media player Gina Rinehart. Reporter Wendy Carlisle.

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 down. Reporter: Hagar Cohen

There are 300,000 Vietnamese still missing in action and their souls haunt the living. Real or metaphorical, these ghosts are disrupting society. Some American veterans calm their own souls by helping to find and properly bury these war dead. BBC World Service documentary.

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 devices when something goes phut? Reporter Stan Correy

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. So who is he, how did he get so rich, and why will Newcastle rise or fall with him? Reporter Brendan King. Photo: Lucas Dawson

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 night. Make your wishes clear, tell someone about them, and do it while you're competent. Reporter Di Martin Photograph: Tom Coull

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 prevention, including the fact that every $1 used in prevention saves $50 in treatment. Producer, Kirsten Garrett.

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 drivers admit to falling asleep on the job. But it's almost impossible to know how many fatal accidents are caused by fatigue. Reporter, Ian Townsend. P...

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, Hagar Cohen.

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 or ill. But for digital entrepreneurs, including the odd Russian billionaire, there must be money in it, if they could only find a way. No-one knows wh...

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 relationships, emotion and morality. Politicians can only develop successful policies if they learn the skills of intuition, sympathy and restraint.

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 these communities to live without the fear of violence, and for children in remote areas to have access to a good quality education. Photo: Ann Arnol...

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 turf. Reporter Brendan King.

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. Reporter Cathy Van Extel.

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 Court. Reporter Hagar Cohen. Photograph: Andrew Turner

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 increasing attention as the dementia epidemic breaks over our health and aged care systems. Reporter: Di Martin

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

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 international regulations - or some way of making it all smaller is vital. Producer, Kirsten Garrett.

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 far away as eastern Russia and the west coast of the US. What will be the health effects? Does the disaster prove nuclear power is inherently unsafe? P...

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 or a cover-up? Reporter: Wendy Carlisle Photo: Getty images

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 international regulations - or some way of making it all smaller is vital. Producer, Kirsten Garrett.

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 companies spread the cost. It comes back to educating the people. Reporter Ian Townsend.