Saturday Extra - Separate stories podcast

International leaders are gathering in the Amazonian city of Belem, Brazil for the annual UN climate change summit, COP30. Leaders from four of the world's five biggest polluting economies are not attending: The United States, China, India, Russia. Against that backdrop, what will be achieved by the talks to chart a path forward? 

The 32nd World Porridge Making Championship has just wrapped up in the small Scottish town of Carrbridge. Each year, porridge makers and aficionados gather for a live-streamed cook-off, as judges poise their spoons and scorecards. This year, Melbourne food stylist and writer Caroline Velik won the speciality prize for her inventive porridge jaffle. A documentary about the much-loved competition, T...

One of the nation's most eminent historians, Mark McKenna, has written a new book - The Shortest History of Australia.  It's a history of modern Australia permeated by First Nations history; a multicultural society with an island mindset; a continent of epic beauty and extreme natural events; a country obsessed by war abroad but blind to its founding war at home; and a thriving nation-state still...

Zohran Mamdani appears to be on the precipice of becoming New York city's Mayor. The 34 year-old socialist is leading the polls ahead of Tuesday's election, despite facing off against establishment Democrat Andrew Cuomo, who is now running as an independent. A radical policy agenda — which includes freezing rents, free buses and free childcare — seems to be winning over New Yorkers. But will Mamda...

The younger brother of King Charles III will be stripped of his title and honours as prince, and will be now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, over his ties to the convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. Emily Maitlis spoke to the former prince in what is widely considered a disastrous interview about his connections to Epstein. She reflects on the widening crisis for the Royal Family. 

On a scale of one to ten,, Donald Trump rated it as a twelve. The much-anticipated meeting between the US president and Chinese President Xi Jinping resulted in a one-year deal whereby Beijing would postpone restrictions on experts of rare earth minerals and Washington eased tariffs. The two met on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea and they’ll apparently meet again in April with plan...

This week saw an escalation in Sudan's two year civil war as the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces took control of the city of El-Fasher, which has been besieged for 17 months. There have been reports of summary executions, and the killing of unarmed civilians. Sudan has been ravaged by war since 2023. Since then, more than 150,000 people have died across the country and about 12 million hav...

Diljit Dosanjh is Punjab's most celebrated star. With a background in Bollywood, the singer fuses Punjabi folk with high energy pop, hip hop and dance music. He is touring Australia over the next two weeks, playing to tens of thousands of fans, many who will come to shows dressed up as the star himself.

Amidst more noticeable signs of European and American-style populism and protest in Australia, how resilient is our democracy?  How are the economics of home ownership and the after effects of COVID playing out at the ballot box and on the street?  Two former state premiers join us for a democracy temperature check.

Inadequate security and a simple ruse featuring hi-vis vests saw $157 million worth of French crown jewels stolen from the Louvre this week. Audacious and simple. That's textbook art heist. History shows that many of history's greatest heists are brazen and opportunistic, relying on renovations and poor security.

Timor Leste will become ASEAN's newest member, a historic moment for the nation given President José Ramos Horta once said that it was easier to get into heaven than ASEAN. But the headline of the summit is the attendance of US President Doanld Trump.  The attendance of any US president at the ASEAN summits is seen as a test, of the group’s international relevance, and US interest in the region. W...

The US President Donald Trump is due to arrive in Malaysia this weekend to attend ASEAN, before heading to Japan on Monday and South Korea later in the week. The trip comes in the aftermath of his decision to freeze trade talks with Canada - a huge US trading partner. Nations in the region are all alert to an anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which could defuse or es...

Griffin Dunne is the star of the Martin Scorsese movie, After Hours, an actor in American Werewolf in London, the son of the late Vanity Fair writer, Dominic Dunne, and the nephew of the author of Joan Didion. He produced and appeared in a Netflix documentary of his aunt, The Centre Will Not Hold.  He’s also the author of a new memoir, The Friday Afternoon Club.  Griffin Dunne is in Sydney for the...

Anthony Albanese will meet the US President Donald Trump at the White House next week, ending months of speculation about the failure to secure a meeting.  There is a lot at stake: the AUKUS submarine plan, the issue of tariffs, and pressure on allies to cut trade ties with China.  However the meeting comes with a degree of uncertainty for the Prime Minister as Mr Trump has a habit of ambushing vi...

Darcy Niland's Australian classic The Shiralee is a story of family breakdown, and hard-boiled masculinity and love on the margins of 1950s Australia.  The bestselling book has been adapted for the screen twice. The 1957 film starring Peter Finch and the 1987 mini-series featuring Bryan Brown have become iconic renditions of Australian bush culture.  Now, playwright Kate Mulvany has adapted the bo...

For decades, Australia has been grappling with the notion that our future security and prosperity relies on our integration in Asia. Yet there was a 75% decline in enrolments in South-east Asian languages at Australian universities between 2004-2022. At the current rate of decline, Bahasa Indonesia won't be taught in a single Australian school by 2031. So how do Australians learn to live more effe...

Gift-giving has been part of foreign policy since the dawn of diplomacy. It dates back to ancient Egypt.  As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese embarks on a diplomatic tour of the US, UK and the UAE, which includes an official visit with President Trump at the White House, what is he packing as a gift for Donald Trump?

The BBC's Tom Bateman travelled with Donald Trump for the President's day-long trip to the Middle East to clinch the Gaza agreement. Tom reflects on that day - one of the most critical moments after two years of war between Israel and Hamas.. And Elise Labott discusses the diplomatic breakthrough from the perspective from United States, where Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelensky has met with Donal...

In his new book, Professor Stephen Hopper delves into the ancient history, biology, and cultural significance of the Australian eucalyptus tree. In addition to his approach as a botanist, Hopper honours Indigenous knowledge systems to better understand how we can help preserve them amid the challenging future that they face.  Guest: Professor Stephen Hopper, Botanist,  University of Western Austra...

It’s been two years since Hamas’ horrific attack on October 7, which killed twelve hundred Israelis and abducted another 251. Israel’s retaliation has since decimated Gaza, killing over 67,000 Palestinians, a level of violence which the UN has said constitutes genocide, a claim which Israel refutes. While there have been a couple of failed attempts at a ceasefire, the end to this current conflict...

There's been another major cost blow out to the Snowy Hydro scheme 2.0, first announced by Malcolm Turnbull in 2017. It commenced in 2019 and was forecast to take 5 years to complete. It started with a two-billion-dollar price tag — that climbed to twelve billion — and now that figure has been overrun. More funding is needed to see it through to completion in 2028. Guest: Alison Reeve, energy and...

In the US and Europe, young people have been central to a right wing resurgence, partly due to the presence of online influencers. While in Asia and Africa, Gen Z protest movements are railing against corruption and inequality.

From Indonesia to Morocco, a wave of youth demonstrations are sweeping the globe. Gen Z protesters are united in their use of technology, pop culture icons, and their dissatisfaction with corruption and wealth inequality. While the Gen Z-led protests slightly differ in their demands from country to country, the symbol they're using is the same, an anime pirate flag. 

In the US and Europe, young people have been central to a right wing resurgence, partly due to the presence of online influencers. While in Asia and Africa, Gen Z protest movements are railing against corruption and inequality. So who are Australia’s Gen Z political influencers and how are they shaping political debate?  Guests: Kos Samaras, former Labor Party strategist turned pollster, and Dr Em...

In Israel there is a sense of cautionary optimism, families are excited to see the hostages return and are waiting for their nightmare of the past two years to end. But many are frustrated with how long the government took to strike a deal took. Amir Tibon, journalist for Ha'aretz: author of The Gates of Gaza: A story of betrayal, survival and hope in Israel’s borderlands.