Two years on from Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7th, Israel and Gaza are irrevocably changed. Journalist Irris Makler reflects on the profound sorrow of Israelis and Palestinians, the political fate of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the promise of current peace negotiations. 

Two years on from Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7th, Israel and Gaza are irrevocably changed. Journalist Irris Makler reflects on the profound sorrow of Israelis and Palestinians, the political fate of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the promise of current peace negotiations. 

• Guest: Irris Makler, veteran Jerusalem correspondent for ABC, SBS

US President Donald Trump is determined to deploy the National Guard in more American cities to support deportation efforts, but a Trump-appointed judge in Oregon has blocked deployment in Portland. 

'Plant hunting required cunning, resilience, and a seemingly unshakeable sense of entitlement to the resources of other nations.' An account of the hunt for a particular 'lost orchid'. 

• GUEST: Sarah Bilston, author of 'The Lost Orchid: A Story of Victorian Plunder and Obsession' (Harvard University Press, May 2025) 
• Producer: Ann Arnold

*This story originally aired on 08 May 2025.

Dutch historian and writer Rutger Bregman is good at making wealthy people uncomfortable. In 2019, he called out the billionaires at Davos for their tax avoidance. His new book Moral Ambition calls on the world's best and brightest to quit their meaningless corporate jobs and start working on the world's biggest problems - from disease prevention, to climate change.

• Guest: Rutger Bregman, historian and author of Moral Ambition: Stop wasting your talent and start making a difference, Bloomsbury

*This story originally aired on 08 May 2025.

Rope weaves together the fascinating story of one of humanity’s oldest inventions — a simple twist of fibres that literally held the world together. From hauling stones for the pyramids to anchoring ships on daring voyages, rope has been the silent hero behind some of history’s greatest achievements.

• GUEST Tim Queeney, Author, “Rope: How a Bundle of Twisted Fibres Became the Backbone of Civilisation".
• PRODUCER: Ali Benton

IN 1947, Herbert Vere "Doc" Evatt was Australia's external affairs minister and the appointed chair of the United Nation's Ad-Hoc Committee on the Palestinian Question, which was tasked with devising a plan for Palestine in the wake of World War II, as Britain planned to relinquish its mandate over the area. According to Jewish-Australian historian Dr Suzanne Rutland, Evatt's manoeuvrers at the UN were instrumental in securing the narrow two-thirds majority support required for the partition of Palestine and the creation of a Jewish state. 

• Guest: Dr Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emeritus at the University of Sydney, Department of Hebrew, Biblical & Jewish Studies
• Producer: Rebecca Metcalf, Jack Schmidt

At the turn of the 20th century, one American became obsessed with the idea of life on Mars, and carried his obsessions into a public movement that may have sparked actual space exploration and scientific advancement.

• Guest: David Baron, an author, journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who writes about astronomy and other sciences. His latest book is “The Martians: A True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America.” 
• Producer: Alex Tighe

The new documentary Surviving Malka Leifer reveals the inside-story of the Malka Leifer saga, when three sisters from Melbourne's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community fought for years to bring their abuser and former-headmistress to justice. The documentary recently screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival and is available to stream on Stan from October 5. 

• Guest: Adam Kamien, journalist and director of Surviving Malka Leifer (2025)

In the mid-1800s, Tasmanian sheep farmer James Youl embarked on a fanciful mission, to transport live Atlantic salmon eggs from the northern hemisphere to the south, thousands of miles across the seas, in the hopes of spawning a viable salmon colony in Australia. It was a mad endeavour that stretched the limits of science and technology, and defied the accepted laws of nature. 

• Guest: Steve Harris, author of Under the influence of salmon: how a man and a fish turned the world upside down
• Producer: Jack Schmidt

When Nila Ibrahimi was 13 and living in Kabul, the local government banned girls from singing. She sang anyway, and was part of a protest movement that had the ban reversed. Months later Nila and her family fled to Canada when the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Nila has continued to advocate for the rights of girls in her home country, and in 2024 she won the International Children's Peace Prize. This week she's giving the Gandhi Oration at UNSW.

• Guest: Nila Ibrahimi, girls' education activist
• Producer: Alex Tighe