Sunday Extra - Separate stories podcast

Six Australian filmmakers are currently on the adventure of a lifetime, tasked with making 10 short films, in 10 different countries, across 100 days.

The ABC's iconic doco-making competition Race Around the World is back. But how does the show hold up in today's digital world dominated by selfies, streaming and Tik Toks?

Guest: John Safran, People's Choice winner of Race Around the World 1997. Now judge and mentor on Race Around the World 2026.

S. Shakthidharan, aka Shakthi, is a Western Sydney playwright, author and film-maker with Sri Lankan heritage and Tamil ancestry. He exploded onto the international stage in 2019 after his debut play Counting and Cracking premiered at the Sydney Festival.

Shakthi went on to win rave reviews for his follow-up plays and his memoir Gather Up Your World In One Long Breath. In April of this year, he won the Windham-Campbell Prize for drama, a prestigious international award that recognises his body of work.

Guest: S Shaktidharan, playwright, author and film-maker

The Jungle And The Sea will run in Sydney The Jungle and the Sea — Belvoir St Theatre, Canberra The Jungle & The Sea | Canberra Theatre Centre and Melbourne The Jungle and the Sea | Melbourne Theatre Company

Chris Cody is an internationally renowned jazz pianist and composer. He has recorded 14 albums, played with the likes of Herb Geller and Rhoda Scott and performed concerts for former Australian and French prime ministers. He tells Damien Carrick about his latest album Mountain to Sea and his upcoming stint as Artist in Residence on ABC Jazz in August.

Guest: Chris Cody, jazz pianist and composer

Monday Night Confessions – Chris Cody Mountain to Sea | SIMA

Who's this week's tweeter?

Are we about to run out of coffee? Nearly all the 10 million tonnes of coffee beans consumed worldwide come from two plant species: arabica and robusta. Both are critically threatened by climate change.

Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London have been looking into the viability of using a new bean to save our morning cuppas.

Guest: Dr Aaron Davis, Senior Research Leader of Plant Resources at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The natural beauty of Western Australia's Kimberley region hides a shocking truth: the youth suicide rate in this remote part of the country is among the highest in the world. Pioneering Aboriginal researcher Professor Juli Coffin is seeking to change this with Yawardani Jan-ga, a world-first horse therapy program. 

For more than a month, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Tirana, in the largest anti-government demonstrations since the collapse of communism.

What began as an environmental backlash against luxury developments, backed by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, has escalated into a broader movement demanding the resignation of the prime minister.

Guest: Alice Taylor, editor at Politico Europe

Singer-songwriter Jessica Mauboy is our special guest on the Year That Made Me this NAIDOC week. She covers her early life growing up in Darwin in an Indonesian-Kuku Yalanji family as one of 5 sisters. She also talks about the role of her school choir teacher, her rise to fame on Australian Idol and starting her own music label. 

What do we do if aliens reach out? Since 1989 scientists have maintained a set of protocols that would guide the world upon the discovery of signs of extraterrestrial intelligence coming from space. This year the protocols were updated, to account for the rapid change in technology and the rise of social media.

Guest: Professor Michael Garrett, the Sir Bernard Lovell Chair of Astrophysics at Manchester University and Chair of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Committee.

A deep-dive into the incredible engineering of the football used in the 2026 men's world cup and the history of football design.