Full Story

2021 was an important year in the fight for gender equality, and the national women’s safety summit in September was a platform for experts and advocates to discuss key issues surrounding gender equality and violence against women and children. But Scott Morrison’s keynote address – and his failure to enact meaningful reform on key issues – left some underwhelmed and others furious.Political editor Katharine Murphy speaks to Laura Murphy-Oates about Australia’s ongoing cultural reckoning for women and how the Morrison government’s response to this is hamstrung by an ‘empathy gap’

It wouldn’t be Guardian Australia ‘best of’ series without a bird episode! The regent honeyeater is an endangered native Australian songbird, with only a few hundred left in the wild. A few years ago scientists noticed something odd – they were mimicking other birds, and unable to sing their own song. Environment reporter Graham Readfearn and Dr Joy Tripovich explain how this species lost its song, and whether teaching it how to sing again could help save it from extinction

In one of our best Full Story episodes from 2021, we explore conditions such as endometriosis, fibromyalgia and adenomyosis, which have historically been ignored. But if everyone could experience this pain, would that change? Full Story producer Ellen Leabeater speaks to artist Eugenie Lee about her mission to create a pelvic pain simulator, and the importance of empathy for chronic pain sufferers.

One of our favourite stories of 2021 looks at the career of Australian wheelchair racer Madison de Rozario, which started when she competed at the Beijing Paralympics at the age of 14. Now, the 27-year-old has cemented her place in the history books – breaking multiple records and winning three medals, including two gold, at the Tokyo Paralympics. De Rozario speaks to reporter Kieran Pender about her sometimes bumpy rise to wheelchair-racing fame and the power of the Paralympics as a vehicle for change

A standout 2021 episode reflecting on the 20-year anniversary of the Tampa affair. Afghan refugee Abbas Nazari, then a seven-year-old child on the MV Tampa, and Guardian journalist David Marr remember the humanitarian and political crisis that shapes Australia’s policies on asylum seekers and their claims to this day

Rawah Arja was determined to write a YA novel for – and about – teenage boys in Western Sydney. She tells Zoya Patel about how she created a story about religion, rivalries, romance, racism and redemption in The F Team

This is a replay of an episode looking at one of 2021’s landmark cases. In May last year, Australia’s Fair Work Commission ruled that Deliveroo rider Diego Franco was an employee, not a contractor. The case could have ramifications for the wider gig economy, where the use of contractors has led to widespread job insecurity, and workers are subjected to dangerous conditions. Reporter Naaman Zhou explains how the case unfolded and how, in the face of increasing pressure to give workers better rights, some companies are changing the way they operate.

In one of our best Full Story episodes from 2021, we look at the formation of a vibrant and strange genre of music called hyperpop. Its growth has been spurred on by the internet – through Soundcloud, Twitter and now Spotify – and it has been linked to some of the most exciting young artists worldwide. Freelance music writer Shaad D’Souza speaks to Laura Murphy-Oates about the rise of hyperpop and what it tells us about the influence of big corporations such as Spotify.

One of our favourite Full Story episodes from 2021 was about First Nations representation on the reality TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race. RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under has been marred by controversies around race and a lack of diversity, but it also saw the debut of the show’s first Aboriginal drag queen: Biripi and Worimi queen JoJo Zaho. JoJo talks to Laura Murphy-Oates about the power of First Nations drag and the journey to Drag Race fame

One of Full Story’s best episodes in 2021 was about Isaiah. As a kid, Isaiah couldn’t escape the police. He went on to spend his teenage years in and out of youth detention. Now this young Dunghutti man is trying to change how our justice system treats Indigenous children