Sunday Extra - Separate stories podcast

Investigative journalist and author Tim Schwab mounts a forceful case against the Bill Gates's billionaire philanthropy in The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning With the Myth of the Good Billionaire.

As Myanmar marks the fourth anniversary of the military coup, the country is in turmoil. Ethnic based and opposition based armies are reclaiming territory at a rapid pace. But on the Myanmar - Thai border, there are criminal cartels running scam centres staffed by hundreds of trafficked workers. While the border regions remain ungoverned is there any way to stop these illegal operations?

Guest: Sebastian Strangio, Southeast Asia Editor, The Diplomat

The image of a women crocheting or knitting is one that historically has been associated with domesticity, but in fact there is a long history of women using craft as means of expressing themselves politically. And now collective actions like yarn bombing are bringing craft into the public square - sometimes literally - and bringing women from across the globe together through craftivism.

Guest: 

Gemma McKenzie, Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Organiser of the Threads of Protest Exhibition

The CSIRO’s Head of Quantum Systems explains how his work could stop our enemies hacking drones and making them attack us.  

Earthquakes, cyclones and volcanic eruptions have always been part of life on the 80 islands that make up Vanuatu, but the frequency and severity of these natural disasters has the region increasingly concerned. 

Sashi Perera has followed an all too common path from a career in the law to a career in comedy. Born in Colombo, she grew up in Perth after living in Dubai and Muscat. After becoming a lawyer, she disappointed her parents by giving it up for a life on the stage. Now she has been invited back to Sri Lanka as a guest of the Galle Literary Festival.

Guest: Sashi Perera, stand up comic, writer and recovering lawyer

This week's mystery caller puts on a memorable display during the breeding season – the Paradise Riflebird.

Australia's most awarded playwright explores the complicated and compelling character of Julian Assange in her new play premiering at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne this month. 

Kings Cross in Sydney has a reputation as the the home of sex workers, strip clubs and organised crime. But what is it really like today? A new walking tour takes participants on a journey through the legal and social history of the area recounting how the area has changed over time, as laws have changed and society has changed. Two of the tour guides share some of the highlights of the tour.

Guests: 

Joanna Megan, sex-worker and CEO of the Sex Worker Outreach Project

Katie Green, CEO of the Inner City Legal Centre

You can join the waitlist for a spot on the tour here: Sex Work: A Legal and Social History Walking Tour

Exploring ‘the rhythms of the city’ is the aim of  12 last songs- a 12 hour, live, unscripted work by UK artistic performance company Quarantine.