Sunday Extra - Separate stories podcast

As the negative effects of long-term alcohol use become clearer, it's a question that worries most modern parents: Is it OK to drink in front of your kids? Senior research fellow, Sergey Alexeev, has taken the question to task and joins Sunday Extra to talk about the findings of his new study Intergenerational Transmission of Alcohol Use.

Guest: Sergey Alexeev, Senior research fellow at University of Sydney, and Senior research associate at University of NSW

With the rise of popularity of One Nation with rural and regional Australians, what is the effect on refugees who have settled in regional areas? Do they feel welcomed and supported in  their communities? 

Our guest,Associate Professor Natascha Klocker, shares insights from her multi-year study “Settling Well investigates the impacts of refugee settlement in regional Australia”.

Guest: Natascha Klocker, social geographer, study lead and Interim Head of School, Social Sciences at the University of Wollongong

Type 5 diabetes is fast becoming a significant public health issue in parts of sub-saharan Africa, rivalling infectious diseases like Malaria and HIV. 

Why have Russia and China offered only tepid support to Iran in the form of statements criticising the US and Israel, and might that change if the Iranian regime goes to the brink of collapse?

After two years of sold-out shows in Sydney, in 2026 the Africa Film Fest is making its Melbourne debut. From Friday March 27 until the 29th, films from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Algeria and Guinnea-Bissau will be screened for the first time for audiences in Melbourne.

Tickets available at the Cinema Nova and Africa Film Fest websites.

Guest: Mumbi Hinga, co-director of Africa Film Fest

Early in her medical career, Dr Olivia Ong decided that instead of becoming a neurosurgeon, she would go into rehabilitation medicine. Little could she know how important that field would be to her not just as a doctor, but also as a patient.  Because one otherwise-ordinary work day, when a driver with dementia in the hospital parking lot accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake, Olivia was hit by a car and left with a serious spinal injury. She was told she would never again. 

The United States National Archives is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of America with a lofty, high-altitude initiative called the Freedom Plane, a flying exhibition of nine founding documents of the American republic. 

The state government of Victoria has announced that later this year a fee will be introduced for tourists visiting the Twelve Apostles along the Great Ocean Road.

Traditional owners and locals won't have to pay — though it is not yet clear how 'locals' will be defined.

David Rae, CEO of Corangamite Shire Council provided an audio statement on the council's position on the upcoming visitor fee.

Guest: Liz Price, General Manager of the Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism Board

Werner Herzog's documentary Ghost Elephants takes us deep into the remote Angolan Highlands, following conservationist Dr Steve Boyes and a team of Indigenous trackers on an extraordinary expedition.

After more than a decade of work, Dr Boyes is preparing to venture into one of the wildest regions in Africa — in search of an elephant so elusive that even local trackers rarely see it.

Guest: Dr Steve Boyes, conservationist and National Geographic Explorer

Ghost Elephants is streaming in Australia on Disney+

Short-wave radio enthusiasts have eagerly reported the appearance of Farsi-language encoded messages being broadcast out of Western Europe. The messages are being transmitted via number stations, which are radio broadcasts used by intelligence agencies to send encrypted messages to agents in the field. It is one of the oldest forms of clandestine communication, dating back to the first World War, and is still used by modern intelligence agencies today because they're almost impossible to decipher.