Sunday Extra - Separate stories podcast

The Rocky Horror Picture Show was released in American cinemas on 26 September 1975 and despite disappointing early performance, the sexually adventurous satirical sci-fi musical has been running ever since … thanks to its uniquely devoted fan base. 

18-year old Nila Ibrahimi fled her home in the days after the Taliban retook the city in 2021. 

She now gives a voice to Afghan girls and women who are suffering severe repression at the hands of the Taliban. 

Nila won the 2024 International Children’s Peace Prize and will present this year’s Gandhi Oration at the University of New South Wales.

Guest: Nila Ibrahimi, human rights activist.

Robotics and farming. That’s the subject of an address given in Perth earlier this week by Salah Sukkarieh, Professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at the Australian Centre for Robotics, which is part of Sydney University.

Japan could have its first female Prime Minister next week, as 5 candidates compete in a leadership contest for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

A snap general election was called after the last Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, stepped down.

One of the key considerations in the election is which candidate is best placed to deal with US President Donald Trump whose tariffs are crippling Japan’s car industry.

Guest: Roger Pulvers, playwright and commentator on Japanese politics.

Europe is closely watching Moldova’s parliamentary elections which will help determine if the former Soviet republic continues on its pro-western path or falls back under Moscow’s orbit. Russia has been accused of election interference using information warfare, illicit financing, cyber-attacks and a plot to incite riots.

Guest: Linnea Wickman, Swedish MP and election observer.

Vivian Pham started writing her novel, The Coconut Children, when she was 16. After publishing in 2020, she was asked to convert it into a stage play. At the time, she had never watched a contemporary theatre performance. Now, it's set to be the largest production of Belvoir's season.

Set in a south-west Sydney Vietnamese-Australian community in the late 90s, the Coconut Children was inspired by her father's experience fleeing Vietnam at 17 years old.

Guest: Vivian Pham, author of Coconut Children.

Monash University academics Dr Daniel Heller and Dr Farid Zaid noticed their students were increasingly unwilling or unable to discuss controversial or uncomfortable conversations and were instead staying silent in class, while a minority of voices on the extremes dominated debates.

This week's mystery caller is the largest of a family of four unique, tiny Australian birds – the Red-browed Pardalote.

In 2024 a record 13,350 million students sat for China's gaokao university entrance exam. Chinese students start preparing for the test in primary school and the result can determine the course of the rest of their lives.

Gary Stevenson used to be a  successful trader, making millions of pounds betting on the economic downfall of the economy. But his real success has come from leaving the world of high-flying traders and starting a YouTube channel, Gary's Economics, in which he breaks down the causes of financial inequality and offers bold solutions on how to restart the entire western financial system. 

Guest: Gary Stevenson, Inequality Economist, YouTuber and author of The Trading Game: A Confession.

Gary Stevenson will be touring Australia in Feb-Mar 2026.