Spring has arrived in the Southern Hemisphere and as Australians head to the beach, we take a look back at the history of the iconic 'Budgie Smuggler,' invented by Speedo and popularised by the Australian Olympic swimming team in Los Angeles in 1984. 

We talk to a leading British fashion journalist about the renaissance of the lovable lycra in Europe.

Almost one in every two Australian universities has been restructured in the past year, and there is more to come.

Thousands of jobs have been cut, and thousands more are in the firing line.

At the University of Technology Sydney, hundreds of staff have recently been informed that they may not have a job next year.

Now, they anxiously wait for the list of 400 names that will hit the chopping block.

The university says it is saving itself from financial crisis, but a team of accounting professors have crunched the numbers and say they tell another story.

ABC Radio National is counting down the Top 100 Books of the 21st Century and you can help shape the list by casting your vote. 

In 1975 the world celebrated International Women’s Year, which produced a plan to advance the rights of girls and women around the globe and Australia was hailed as something of a trailblazer on gender equity.

In a world first, Gough Whitlam appointed a special advisor, Elizabeth Reid, to help guide government policy on a range of women’s issues.

But 50 years on, can Australia still claim to be a world leader on women’s rights and equality?

A look back at the UN General Assembly this week, where President Trump told the international body that it was increasingly irrelevant.

In his first-ever UN speech, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a fresh push for Australia to get a seat on the United Nations Security Council in 2029-30.

He also described climate change as an "existential threat" presenting a different view to Trump, who used his address to ridicule climate change as a "con job." 

In an eventful week in New York City, Donald Trump delivered a speech calling climate change a hoax, and attacked the United Nations as he addressed the General Assembly.

The United States committed to a stronger show of support for Ukraine, and Australia, the UK, France and Canada recognised Palestine.

For an assessment of US policy this week, Nick is joined by leading foreign policy expert, James Lindsay.

Jon Sopel from the award-winning podcast The News Agents delivers a chilling warning: when leaders go unchallenged, authoritarianism follows.

In the wake of President Trump’s UK state visit and the furore over tv host Jimmy Kimmel’s removal from air after comments about the assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Jon Sopel joins Nick Bryant to discuss the week in US and UK politics.

he's one of the most universally loved people on the planet. The one and only Dolly Parton is being brought to life in a fictionalised story co-written by American actor and playwright Tricia Paoluccio, who also plays Dolly. 

Here we come again is touring Australia after sell-out seasons in the US and Europe.

Obsessed with Dolly since she was a little girl, Tricia used her time during the COVID-19 pandemic to write a play about one of her all-time heroes. 

This week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the country's climate target for 2035.

The PM acknowledged that everyone in government, industry and at home would have to "lean in" to help achieve the emission target range of 62-70 per cent. 

So what does that mean for regional communities and towns reliant on the resources and rural sectors in Australia?

The Prime Minister is set to embark on an 11-day trip to the UK and US where its hoped he will have a meeting with US President Donald Trump.

There's been a flurry of diplomacy already this month, with Anthony Albanese attending key events in the Pacific but failing to come away with defence and security treaties with Vanuatu and PNG. 

Arthur Sinodinos, who served as the Australian ambassador in Washington discusses the challenges.