Sunday Extra - Separate stories podcast

It was on the 24th August 2006, that the International Astronomical Union changed the definition of planet which meant that Pluto lost its status as the 9th planet in our solar system. On this auspicious anniversary we talk to the astronomer who made the discovery that lead to Pluto's downgrading.

Guest: Mike Brown, author of How I Killed Pluto and What it Had it Coming

George Orwell wrote the book Animal Farm during WW2 as he tried to come to terms with his disappointment in the harsh reality of life in the Soviet Union under Stalin. The themes of overturning an authoritarian government made the book the perfect story for the CIA to be using for propaganda.  Over a period of a few months in 1955, they distributed 260,000 copies of the novella behind the iron curtain in an attempt to encourage a revolution. The book celebrated its 80th birthday on 17 August 1925.

Guest: Charlie English, author of  The CIA Book Club - The Best Kept Secret of the Cold War (Harper Collins)

Working 4 days a week on the same salary might seem like an unrealistic dream, but years of trials by businesses world wide show that reducing work hours can boost productivity, job satisfaction, reduces sick leave and even increase profits.

So why is there so much reluctance to consider the measure in Australia, in the middle of a productivity crisis?

Guest: Debbie Bailey, co-CEO of 4 Day Week Global.

The International Criminal Court set an important precedent in international law last month when it included in the arrest warrants issued for members of the Afghan Taliban a number of charges relating to the criminal treatment of LGBTIQ+ people in the country.

It’s the first time that crimes against the LGBTIQ+ community have been included in an arrest warrant issued by the court and sets an important historical precedent. 

100 word including guest & book

Can you guess this week's tweeter?

The vast contributions of women to horror film is explored in a new documentary titled 1000 Women in Horror. Far from just being scream queens, women have shaped the genre on and off-screen as directors, producers, technicians and actresses, since the silent era. 

Julian Kingma's photo essay book, The Power of Choice, shows the vulnerable, personal and surprisingly beautiful journey of terminally ill people, their carers and navigators as they make the decision to utilise voluntary assisted dying (VAD).

But this project, undertaken with Andrew Denton's organisation, Go Gently, is just one of many moments where death has touched Julian's life.  

Guest: Julian Kingma, photographer and author of The Power of Choice

Content warning: this episode of The Year That Made Me contains discussion of death and dying.

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Books have always aroused strong emotions in people. So much so that book owners throughout history have written curses in the front of the book to deter their theft or damage. Some of them are funny but in the middle ages the curses threatened death by some very vicious and imaginative methods.

Guest: Eleanor Baker, author of Book Curses: Steal not this book for fear of shame, for here doth stand the owner's name. (Bodleian)  

This week's colourful mystery caller has a fondness for tall trees along rivers – the Regent Parrot.