The Fifth Estate

Join the Wheeler Centre’s ambassador-at-large, Sally Warhaft, with guests Amanda Vanstone, former politician and ambassador to Italy, and Professor Michael Wesley, international relations expert, as they discuss the work of high diplomacy, Australia’s strengths and weaknesses, and our most important engagements abroad.

What are the ramifications of sports science wizardry (and other forms of cheating) for Australian athletes, administrators, coaches and fans?

In our first Fifth Estate for 2013, we’ll look at the foreign policy hurdles that lurk ahead, with host Sally Warhaft and three Lowy Institute experts in the field: Michael Fullilove, Linda Jakobson and Rory Medcalf.

As the Communist Party of China’s 18th National Congress oversees the biggest leadership transition in decades, join host Sally Warhaft and China watcher and correspondent, John Garnaut, as they examine the world’s largest, and perhaps most complex and intriguing, political system.

Join host Sally Warhaft and guests Rodger Shanahan, Dr Sally Totman and Brian Stoddart as they discuss the complex situation in Syria – and what, if any, role Australia should play as a ‘good global citizen’.

What are the cultural issues that truly matter for the American people? What will drive them to leave their houses and vote? And just how much does the campaign circus of conventions, debates and pressing the flesh influence what happens on election day?

What does it mean to be Lord Mayor of one of the world’s most liveable cities? And how can we keep that ‘liveable’ status – and the relaxed lifestyle we enjoy – in the face of pressures like a booming population, an upwards-shooting skyline, traffic congestion and crime?

Conversations about sex and sexual identity are constant in our times: from the debate about gay marriage – including this month’s vote in our federal parliament – to the intense discussions and disagreements about consumerism and commercialisation of sex. Yet one conversation that never takes place is that between a straight and a gay man. How do two men, one straight, one gay, see these issues?

Can our obsession with food somehow serve to improve rather than ignore the malnutrition experienced by so many on our planet?

Magazine queen and media legend Ita Buttrose talks about the gender revolution, and reflects on her decades of experience working in the media.