Sunday Extra - Separate stories podcast

Eric Philips has been to the very top and very bottom of the planet some thirty times, most recently in January this year, becoming one of only two people over 60 to have skied unsupported to the South Pole.

Over more than 30 years of polar trekking Eric has written a book and produced four documentary films about his expeditions, including the Emmy Award-winning ‘Chasing the Midnight Sun’, filmed in Greenland.

There are fewer than 1800 Quakers in Australia, according to the last census.

But despite their small numbers globally , Quakers — also known as the Religious Society of Friends — have played no small part in peace and social justice movements in Australia and around the world.

Guest:

Nelson File, Quaker and Principal of The Friends' School, Hobart

A "living legend" of Australian music recounts her personal and artistic coming-of-age

Diving into the "twilight zone", there's some amazing aquatic creatures. 

These fish fascinate today's speaker Yi-Kai Tea. He's even named a few.

A senate inquiry is looking into funding challenges and operational decisions at the Australian Antarctic Division following revelations the organisation’s scientific research may be compromised at a time of unprecedented reductions in Antarctic sea ice levels.

Guest: Senator Jonathon Duniam, joint leader of the Senate Inquiry into Australian Antarctic Division Funding

Background Briefing will return to your feeds next week.

Can you guess this week's Tweeter?

A former Ambassador to China, Geoff Raby has revelled in travel since he set off to Europe backpacking at aged 21.  His academic path as an economist led to a serendipitous career in diplomacy, which took him to China in 1986 for his first diplomatic posting.

While there, Geoff developed an appreciation for the contemporary Chinese art of the time, which grew into a significant collection. He also witnessed the dramatic events of Tiananmen Square and absorbed some pertinent geo-political lessons.

Guest: Geoff Raby, AO. Former Ambassador to China 2007 – 2011.

Remi Guiffre's biannual curation of snack-sized facts, stories and ideas is called Remorandom

Do you have a favourite mineral? Maybe you love the gleam of a tiger's eye or the sparkle of an amethyst.