In this episode, we talk to Hugh de Kretser. The president of the Australian Human Rights Commission has quite the job. Never has society been more polarised, with distressing displays of religious and ethnic hatred bursting onto our streets - while at the same time the relevance of the commission itself has been called into question. De Kretser, who gave up a promising corporate legal career to work in community law, is up for the challenge of defending the institution. But he’s also got to protect the rights of people caught up in the most contentious conflict of our time, the war in the Middle East and how it affects communities in Australia. He’s the topic of our cover story this week - Man in the Middle - and hosting our conversation is the writer of that profile, James Button.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.