Late Night Live - Separate Stories Podcast

Rick Morton, Bridie Jabour and Farz Edraki all grew up in rural Australia and have ended up working as writers and journalists. While their experiences were all very different, they all felt like outsiders at different times in their own communities. They share some experiences from their childhood that have made them the observers and writers that they are today.

Confusion abounds after a Trump-appointed judge in Florida ruled that mask mandates on all transport should be lifted. Plus, what is President Biden doing to tackle gun violence in the wake of a spate of horrific mass shootings? And what has he done to infuriate climate activists?

Philippa Cullen was an Australian dancer, choreographer and teacher in the 1960s and early 70s who was at the forefront of the electronic music scene before she died in India, aged 25.

It has been frustrating for most of the world to watch on as international bodies such as the United Nations Security Council and NATO have not found ways to intervene in Ukraine, despite Ukrainian President Zelensky’s pleas for intervention to happen.  What is the UN Security Council, in particular, for? And why can't it be more effective?

Anthony Albanese's gaffes continue, the campaign gets nasty over the cashless debit card and a new party launches in Tasmania.

For the last three years John Shipton has campaigned tirelessly across the globe to secure the freedom of his son Julian Assange. Now as Julian enters his third year in maximum security at Belmarsh Prison, his fate is in the hands of the UK Home Secretary who still has the final say on whether Julian should be extradited to the USA to face espionage charges. The last few years of John Shipton and Stella Moris's campaign for Julian's release have been documented in a new film - Ithaka.

We speak to three impressive young women breaking down barriers and putting the voices of those most affected by the climate crisis at the front and centre of the conversation.

Have you ever wondered about the first living creature to deliberately make a noise? What can we learn from the shape of our own ears about how the first sea creatures evolved to hear. Biologist David George Haskell has though a lot about the sounds found in nature. He believes that the significance of the evolution of sound has long been underestimated and under-researched. Humans need to listen more and make less noise, because the louder humans get, the greater the loss of sound diversity which will also hasten species loss.

What were the places and periods of Deep Time actually like? A bestselling new book by first time author Thomas Halliday has been billed by writer and environmentalist Bill McKibben as: ‘as close to time travel as you are likely to get.’ 

The late Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching's legacy was the enactment of Magnitsky laws. But what are these laws and how are they being used against Russian oligarchs during the war in Ukraine?

Sarah Collard reports on the low rates of Indigenous Australians on the electoral roll especially in remote communities, and how does the lack of progress on reconciliation and constitutional recognition play into Indigenous disengagement with the electoral process.

A tiny town in upstate New York has is heading for a showdown between bitcoin miners and a group of citizens looking to stop the industry in its tracks.

Sri Lanka is experiencing its worst ever economic crisis.  The entire cabinet resigned last week, and people can’t afford food or fuel.  Protestors are focused angrily on the strongman president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. There are fears of a national collapse.  

Will possible war crimes in Ukraine cause the US to soften its stance on the International Criminal Court? Plus, some good news with the historic confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson as US Supreme Court Justice.

Unlike their earlier iterations, the digital nomad is now being welcomed across many countries as COVID has made working remotely much more acceptable and available. The digital nomad is seen as an economic asset. But what does it mean to our understanding of what home is. Is it wherever you lay your laptop?

In the second part of this series drawing on themes discussed in Satyajit Das' new book Fortune's Fool: Australia's Choices we discuss the challenges facing China’s economy, and where this leaves Australia, given our current economic dependence on China.

Anthony Albanese falls at the first hurdle, Scott Morrison has a Tudge problem and where the seats will be won and lost. Laura Tingle unpacks day one of Election 2022.

The Sassoon family was a dynasty of traders who had fled Baghdad as Jewish refugees, and carved out enormous wealth in India, China and the UK.  They were often, by the 19th century, referred to as the Rothschilds of the East.

Over the last few years instances of taxpayers’ money being spent to gain political advantage have continued to come to light. A new book makes a compelling case for the establishment of a strong national anti-corruption body and the enactment of other vital democratic reforms to restore accountability and trust.

The story of a brother and sister duo who lived extraordinary lives. He was a showman – the Mighty Apollo. She was an outback publican.  Jon Faine, best known as a broadcaster, became Apollo's lawyer in the early 1980s. His book is part memoir, part extraordinary tale, and part reflection on Australia and indigenous rights and culture.