Sunday Extra - Full program podcast

Have you noticed that a lot of tobacco shops are opening in your neighbourhood? We try to find out why. We mark the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, and the 25th Garma Festival. Self confessed design nerd Tim Ross reminds us about some of the distinctly Australian inventions.

The UK is lowering its voting age to sixteen, should we be doing the same in Australia? The first emoji was used on pagers by young Japanese women in the 80s. Unsurprisingly it was a heart. Keith Houston follows the emoji history. A romance scam has resulted in a Perth woman being convicted of drug importation in Japan. How to spot a romance scammer.

Professor Richard Eccleston discusses the results of the weekend's Tasmanian election. We take a deep dive into the science behind a $8 million dollar meteorite from Mars with astrogeologist Professor Gretchen Benedix. At the Melbourne Film Festival we meet the director and one of the subjects of a surprisingly enthralling documentary Spreadsheet Champions, depicting the triumphs and tragedies at the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championships. And on The Year That Made Me Australian actress Yael Stone, best known as Lorna Morello in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, shares how the year 2020 changed the trajectory of her career and her life.

Albert Palazzo makes the argument that climate change should be a factor when considering our defence and security priorities. Meanwhile President Trump is shoring up support in Africa for his trade not aid strategy. And back in 1960 Paul and Eslanda Robeson came to Australia for a concert tour, but  his performances for waterside workers, railway workers and the construction workers on the Sydney Opera House site were part of his parallel political tour.

Ukraine has joined Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in withdrawing from the UN's landmine treaty. Mary Wareham from Human Rights Watch explains what is at stake. Rebecca Hetherington, co-star to Australia's favourite childhood puppet, Mr Squiggle, celebrates the upcoming exhibition at the National Museum. The Year That Made Me returns to 2005, as Gill Hicks recounts the moment, 20 years ago, when she was caught in London Bombings. 

Are Australia's ties with our closest ally, the United States, fraying at the seams? Former Australian ambassador, Peter Tesch shares his thoughts. The iPhone turns 18, but can it continue to create the hype of the past in a market full of technology innovations. And Christopher The, the creator of the world famous Strawberry Watermelon Cake on The Year that Made Me. 

This week Sunday Extra is coming to you from Burnie in Northwest Tasmania. Burnie locals, gay activist Rodney Croome and comedian and writer Justin Heazlewood, join Julian in the studio and we get a preview of the upcoming state election in Tasmania.

The G7 meeting in Canada will be overshadowed by events in the middle east. John Kirton breaks down the significance of a meeting at this fragile moment. Lewis Pugh on swimming around Martha's Vineyard for the 50th anniversary of Jaws, to highlight the threat of extinction facing sharks. 

Its been six months since Bashar Al Assad fled Syria for exile in Moscow, where to next for a country that spent half a century under authoritarian rule.

And can we rehabilitate our towns and cities to make them livable once again for the animals that once thrived prior to human habitation.

It is  Reconciliation Week and WA has announced a redress scheme for members of the stolen generation. Narelda Jacobs' father was a part of the stolen generation. We preview the snap Presidential election called after six months of political turmoil in South Korea. And can you imagine living on the most remote inhabited island in the world? Kelly Green chose to move to Tristan da Cunha twelve years ago.