Johnny Young is perhaps best known for Young Talent Time and launching the careers of some of Australia’s biggest and brightest stars, but his 17 years with YTT just scratches the surface of his contribution to popular music.

As a singer he had a number one hit in 1966 and penned a string of chart toppers, including the Russell Morris classic The Real Thing.

Before YTT he hosted another music program The Go!! Show, which will be revived on stage at QPAC next month.

Johnny tells Mark he’s loving performing with the likes of Normie Rowe, Colleen Hewett and Marty Rhone and audiences are very obviously loving it too.

In 2013 Brisbane mum Rebecca Wilson founded her website Starts At 60 after seeing her retired parents wanting to make greater connections with the community.

Six years and two rounds of capital raisings later her business is expanding with 1.2 million members in Australia and around the world.

Recently Rebecca beat out nine other entrepreneurs to be named the Australian finalist in the Startup World Cup to be decided next month in San Francisco.

She tells Mark she’s looking forward to pitching her business to some of the world’s leading venture capitalists.

The proposal for a zipline tourism development on Mt Coot-tha has divided the community, making it a real headache for the Brisbane City Council.

The council approved construction of the zipline earlier this year but after advice from the council’s chief executive newly sworn-in Lord Mayor Adrain Schrinner has decided to pull the pin on the project.

The zipline was a pet project for his predecessor Graham Quirk but Cr Schrinner tells Mark he felt the need to protect Mt Coot-tha.

It’s been three years since The Proclaimers toured Australia but they return next month for a national tour including dates in Brisbane, Caloundra and Toowoomba.

It’s been 32 years since their earworm I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) from their second album catapulted them to international fame.

Their latest studio album Angry Cyclist is their eleventh and one half of the duo Craig Reid joined Mark on the phone from England promising audiences a high energy show.

It was the unique wildlife of the Galapagos Islands that had a huge impact on Charles Darwin and the formation of his seminal Theory of Evolution By Natural Selection.

The Galapagos are such a natural wonder that the archipelago was the first ever World Heritage Site listed by UNESCO.

It’s also a huge draw for tourists and Sean Lues from Journeys Worldwide tells Mark it offers an unparalleled experience.

www.journeysworldwide.com.au

Black holes are the most extreme objects in the universe with gravity so intense and overwhelming that not even light can escape their phenomenal grip.

It’s made actually photographing one incredibly difficult but the Event Horizon Telescope project has managed to take a picture of a super massive black hole at the centre of the neighbouring Virgo-A galaxy.

It an incredible technical achievement and astrophysicist and science educator Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith tells Mark it raises hopes of one day capturing an image of the black hole at the centre of our galaxy.

Melina Marchetta is one of Australia’s best loved and most versatile authors, perhaps best known for her debut novel Looking For Alibrandi.

Since it was released in 1993 Melina has written more young adult fiction, as well as exploring the fantasy and crime genres.

Her latest book The Place on Dalhousie is set in Sydney’s inner west and is the tale of relatives battling over the family home.

Mark wanted to know whether Melina has ever reread her first novel but she tells him she never looks back.

Australia is off to the races in Election 2019 with the result likely to be decided in Victoria and Queensland.

The LNP has six Queensland seats in serious jeopardy including Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s electorate of Dickson, while Labor could surrender Australia’s most marginal seat, Herbert.

Political scientist Dr Paul Williams from Griffith University tells Mark a lot will depend on preferences from the minor parties, while in the Senate he can’t see One Nation or Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party picking up members.

A who’s who of Australian comedy and entertainment is headed for QPAC next month for the hugely popular comedy revue Senior Moments.

The show was brought back by popular demand after the success of the first tour in 2016.

The revue features stars including Gold Logie winner and veteran actor John Wood, Max Gillies and Play School icon Benita Collings.

Mark caught up with Benita on the line from Perth and she tells him there have been times when cast members have had actual seniors moments on stage.

A new website has been launched in time for the federal election that allows voters to compare their priorities against those of the various candidates in their seat.

The Perfect Candidate is the work of the non-partisan not-for-profit Australian Futures Project.

Australian Futures Project executive director Ralph Ashton tells Mark the aim of the website is to get voters to engage their politicians about long term priorities instead of short term political interests.

http://www.theperfectcandidate.org.au