Saturday Extra - Separate stories podcast

France has endured a week of extraordinary unrest, with mass demonstrations over education and the cost of living erupting into widespread violence.

Now, with more protests looming, President Macron is tightening restrictions as authorities mount a massive security operation to prevent another weekend of chaos.

Cassie McCullagh, from The Bookshelf on Radio National chats about her favourite book, we share listener texts and preview what's ahead on this weekend's  Top 100 Australian Books Countdown.

Many of us develop a love of reading at school.

Perhaps a special teacher or a favourite book made a lasting impression.

But many of us also develop an aversion to reading in high school.

Generations of Australians have studied the classics at school, Shakespeare, George Orwell, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird.

But how much space is given to Australian literature, and what impact does it have on young readers? 

The US Congress is the institution that most directly represents the will of the people: 535 representatives divided into two houses.

Despite the importance of Congress, there's been an increasing trend for presidents to bypass the body and issue executive orders to achieve political goals.

US historian Gary Gerstle unpacks the shrinking role of Congress, political polarisation, and whether the centre-left is the Democrats' sweet spot.

Next month, the United States congressional midterms will decide which party controls the Senate and House of Representatives. Both are currently held by the Republicans. 

With rising grocery and petrol prices, the election comes as Donald Trump's approval rating reaches an all-time low. 

Will the poll reveal the future direction of both major political parties in the USA? 

Ukraine has resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries, accusing Washington of a dangerous betrayal after the US withdrew support critical to Ukraine's defences against Moscow.

The move comes as President Donald Trump strikes a diesel deal with Moscow, infuriating European leaders and exposing a growing rift over how best to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.

Bogong moths are swarming across south-eastern Australia, finding their way into homes and washing up on beaches, prompting reactions ranging from disgust to delight.

The tiny insects fly up to 1000km in an annual migration that was once commonplace but that is now extraordinary.

Classified as endangered in 2021, could the bogong moth be making a remarkable comeback?

It's been 50 years since the end of China's Cultural Revolution, a decade of chaos that saw mass violence and political upheaval. 

But, officially at least, China is not looking back and taking stock. 

A Melbourne-based innovator has won the 2026 Australian Good Design Awards for an invention that distributes solar power fairly throughout apartment buildings.

Known as SolShare, the Australian-made technology makes rooftop solar accessible to apartment dwellers, and is being exported globally. 

Astronomers have detected a mysterious flash of radio energy, called a fast radio burst or FRB, that's been travelling across space for 10 billion years.

These flashes only last a millisecond, but they may be vital in better understanding the story of the universe.

Plus, if you think dawn on Earth is impressive, a NASA rover has taken a stunning image of dawn up on Mars.