Past Programs
History - 2007
Vietnam: Australia's war
18/12/2007
Post-stress trauma, and the lack of proper medical treatment for some other conditions for war veterans have been on the public record for some time. But apart from the emotional legacy of Vietnam, what impact did the war have on Australia as a nation? And how does history remember the Vietnam war? How has it defined us?
Originally broadcast 14 November 2007.
Vietnam: Australia's War
14/11/2007
Post-stress trauma, and the lack of proper medical treatment for some other conditions for war veterans have been on the public record for some time. But apart from the emotional legacy of Vietnam, what impact did the war have on Australia as a nation? And how does history remember the Vietnam War? How has it defined us?
On the frontier
10/08/2007
On the program today we're asking to what extent is Australia still a nation of the lawless frontier? While so much of our national identity is tied up in the outback; these remote areas are also places of disquiet and violence. Does the lawless spirit of the frontier still have an influence on our national character?
Our guests have all been considering the dark 'gothic' undertone to the outback; from the policing of the Top End by the notorious William Willshire in the late 19th century, through to the maverick, gun-toting mania of people like Bradley John Murdoch.
Keywords to War
04/07/2007
What is the power of words? How do words influence you, indeed, touch you? Do you choose words for the story they tell, the message you're trying to sell, or for more subversive, multiple meanings?
And why are some words misused and abused for a particular political aim?
We'd like to hear from you about your experience of how words connect you to the world, and the value that certain words have for you.
Population and Immigration
02/07/2007
On the program today ... Prime Minister John Howard is currently running the largest migration program in the country's history. As Australia faces an ageing population, lower birth rates and a declining domestic work force, is increased immigration the answer to guarantee our future prosperity? Is this the solution to Australia's population problem?
The Lost
31/05/2007
As a boy, Daniel Mendelsohn bore such a striking physical resemblance to his Great Uncle Shmiel, that elders of his family would weep when he walked into a room.
The Lost is Daniel Mendelsohn's search for the mysterious story of what happened to his uncle, Shmiel Jager, his wife and four daughters who disappeared from Bolechow during the Holocaust.
The power of written testimony along with small pieces of information garnered from living relatives, survivors, and archival documents form a trail of stories that never quite resolve themselves to the truth of his family's fate.
But he does - through chance - eventually find the answers he's looking for.
Battlefield pilgrimages
25/04/2007
After fading in the 1970s, Anzac Day has re-established itself as arguably the nation's most unifying national occasion and today's observances attracted some of the largest crowds for 30 years.
As a consequence of that, we've also seen the phenomena of the overseas battlefield pilgrimage to the sites of Australia's military expeditions in Europe, the Pacific and of course, Gallipoli - accompanied by an astonishing number of books on the subject which show no sign of letting up anytime soon.
In the program we'll cross to the Gallipoli Peninsula to talk with John Basarin, a Turkish - Australian who escorts groups over the Anzac battlefields from the Turkish viewpoint... Our other guests will be discussing where tourism becomes something devotional... and we talk with another group on the Kokoda Trail.
We'll also be asking, with the help of our other guests, whether Australia's memorials have been coopted for political ends.
Admit One: Brisbane goes to the pictures.
13/04/2007
After the Second World War there were ten 2,000-seat cinemas filled to the rafters every night of the week across Brisbane, creating communities and social networks across the city; until television began...
This program celebrates a vibrant regional culture of cinema-going and community building in Queensland's capital. People with generations of experience in the industry will share their memories, and we'll also look at the future of the independent cinemas up against the culture of the multiplex.
This is a live broadcast from the Ithaca Auditorium at Brisbane's Town Hall in conjunction with the exhibition 'Admit One; Brisbane goes to the pictures', produced by the Museum of Brisbane.
