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Today, Scott Ludlam, ICAN ambassador and former Australian Greens Senator, reads his cover essay from the latest issue of The Monthly.

It’s called ‘The Endgame’. It explores the trial of Julian Assange, and the powers fighting to extradite him, while his condition deteriorates in a UK prison.

Guest: Scott Ludlam, ICAN ambassador and former Australian Greens Senator.

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On this special bonus summer episode of The Culture, we’re talking the best of films in 2021. It was a great year for movies, and there’s plenty of stuff to catch up on if you didn’t have the time to hit the cinema as much as you would have liked.

Joining host Osman Faruqi is film critic and the co-host of the Total Reboot podcast, Alexei Toliopoulos. 

Guest: Alexei Toliopoulos, film critic and co-host of podcast Total Reboot.

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Twenty five years ago Paul Kelly, one of Australia’s greatest songwriters, released ‘How To Make Gravy’, a song that has since become a staple at many family Christmas gatherings.

‘How to Make Gravy’ is full of anecdotes and snapshots about summer in Australia: the hot weather, Christmas roasts, dancing, and of course, family reunions. It’s a song that perfectly encapsulates what this time of year is supposed to be about.

Paul Kelly joined The Culture to talk about ‘How To Make Gravy’, the inspiration behind the song, how much it mirrors Paul’s own family Christmases, and why it seems to become more and more popular every year.

Guest: Paul Kelly

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Capitol riots, the Delta strain, sexual assault allegations rocking Parliament, the war in Gaza, the Olympics, COP26 and humanity’s last chance, the world’s longest lockdown, freedom days, and now Omicron and the start of a federal election campaign.

Today, we look back at the news events that defined 2021 - in sound.

Original music and composition in this episode by Alex Gow. 

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For more than ten years hundreds of people seeking asylum in Australia have been detained on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

The Australian government has made it clear that none of them will be resettled here.

But now a group of refugee advocates have a new plan to help them - involving a third country: Canada.

Today, one of those advocates, assistant professor Dr Laura Beth Bugg, on the campaign to free refugees from Manus Island and find them a permanent home.   

Guest: Assistant professor and co-director of Ads Up Canada, Dr Laura Beth Bugg.

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When Gladys Berejiklian spectacularly resigned as Premier of NSW, most people expected that would be the end of her political career.

But then she was publicly encouraged by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to make a comeback - to run for federal parliament.

Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on the real reason Scott Morrison wanted to enlist Gladys Berejiklian, and what it reveals about the Prime Minister’s weakening authority in his home state.

Guest: National Correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Mike Seccombe.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has been one of the most disruptive and devastating events in recent history.

But it also led to a series of incredible scientific breakthroughs, including the fastest ever development of a new vaccine. 

Now, the technology behind the Covid-19 vaccine, which has already saved millions of lives, is being adapted to find solutions for previously incurable diseases.

Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper, Rick Morton, on the woman who spent decades advocating for the unproven technology behind the vaccine, and how it helped save humanity.

Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper, Rick Morton.

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Australia has largely fallen behind the rest of the world when it comes to action on climate change. Even our closest allies regularly criticise our government’s slow approach to tackling the issue. While polls show a majority of Australians actually want to phase out our reliance on fossil fuels and move to renewables, there are some who are uncertain on how this future looks. Today, social researcher Rebecca Huntley on what ordinary Australians really think about climate change, and how the fossil fuel lobby has influenced their hearts and minds. Guest: Social researcher and contributor to The Monthly, Rebecca Huntley.

Background reading: The fossil-fuel industry’s grip on Australian hearts and minds in The Monthly.

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Wes Anderson is back with this 10th feature film, ‘The French Dispatch’, his take on a fictional magazine reporting from France to an American audience in the 1960s and 70s.

The movie has all the hallmarks we’ve come to expect from Wes Anderson, including a massive cast, a very specific sense of colour, and a lot of whimsy. 

To talk about the film, and the work of Wes Anderson more broadly, we’re joined by Flick Ford, film critic and the host of RRR's film show Primal Screen.

Guest: Flick Ford, film critic and the host of Triple R’s movie show Primal Screen.

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