Sunday Extra - Separate stories podcast

Justin Heazlewood is an author, songwriter, comedian and performer whose creative work takes him all over the world. 

But after returning to his hometown, Burnie, in Tasmania during COVID, Justin developed a new appreciation for port-side city of his childhood. It has accumulated in his new book, Dream Burnie, an ambitious, memoir, art book and cultural time capsule tracing 20 creative artists who were also Burnie-born. 

Guest: Justin Heazlewood, songwriter, comedian and author of Dream Burnie.

Australian NGOs have been devastated by Trump's USAID cuts, according to a new report by the Australian Council for International Development. Aid organisations partnering with the US on programs and local partner charities have been hit with financial losses that have forced the closure of programs throughout the Pacific and South East Asia. From clean water projects, to girl's education, vulnerable communities are already feeling the impact of the cuts.

Guest: Matthew Maury, CEO of Australian Council for International Development

Tasmanians are going, somewhat reluctantly, to an election on July 19th.

It's been just 16 months since the last state election, with the snap poll being triggered by a no-confidence motion against Premier Jeremy Rockliff.

GUEST

Kevin Bonham Tasmanian election analyst

This week's mystery caller is the Spotted Catbird. 

It's often found between about Townsville and Cooktown, and especially in forest around Cairns.

Fruit makes up most of the diet - figs, palm seeds and berries. And, unlike its southern counterpart, it often comes down to the ground to find food.

Ann Odong's journey from a child in war torn Uganda, to growing up in the suburbs of Perth is a story in itself.

But that was just the beginning for a soccer mad kid who would eventually turn her passion for football into a career with the Matildas.

GUEST:

Ann Odong, Media Manager The Matildas

A lot of people can’t get their head around the phrase our next guest uses to describe herself - to some it sounds like a contradiction in terms, or an impossibility even

The phrase Samantha Ellis uses is “Iraqi Jew", and the reason it’s unfamiliar has a lot to do with a long and complex history that Samantha comprehensively gets her own head around in her new book Chopping Onions on My Heart 

GUEST

Samantha Ellis

For the 50th Anniversary of the release of Jaws, endurance swimmer, Lewis Pugh, swam around the island of Martha's Vineyard, the setting of the Jaws movie and home to many great white sharks. He undertook the 12 day swim to raise awareness of the threat to sharks, which play an essential role in the ocean's ecosystem.

Guest: Lewis Pugh, endurance swimmer and UN Patron of the Oceans.

S Shakthidharan had a huge hit with his first play Counting and Cracking which covered the history of Sri Lanka's conflict and the migrant experience. His new play The Wrong Gods deals with the big issues of the day like the impact of globalism, progress and the environment all through the lens of a familiar mother daughter conflict. 

Guest: S Shakthidharan, playwright and director of The Wrong Gods, currently showing at the Arts Centre in Melbourne performed by the Melbourne Theatre Company.

The Trump Tariffs, the war in Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza are all casting a long shadow over this years G7 summit, being held this week in Canada.

The G7 was formed more than fifty years ago, in 1973, as a platform for the world’s advanced economies to align on the economic and geopolitical challenges of the day.

2024 shapes as the most challenging year the summit has faced, since it was first held in 1973.

GUEST:

John Kirton Professor emeritus of political science and the director and founder of the G7 Research Group, Toronto University.

Barbara Slavin brings us latest news in the direct hostilities in the Middle East, which began on Friday when Israel launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and ballistic missile bases.

Guest: Barbara Slavin: Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Centre in Washington and lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University.