Past Programs
History - 2007
A Travellers Tale - Naples
03/11/2007
Naples, in Italy's south, is known as 'The Kingdom of Chaos'.
Naples has the reputation of being a bit of South-America in Europe - a heady mix of beauty, ugliness, Catholicism, vibrant community life and crime.
Writer Victoria Hammond spent 3 months in this city as she researched her novel based on the murder in 1590 of one of Naples most vivid Renaissance characters, Maria d'Avalos.
Colonial ambition Read Transcript
15/09/2007
Historian Peter Cochrane wants greater narrative drama in the telling of our political history.
And he set out to do just that in his latest book Colonial Ambition, a book that has been described as vivid and passionate.
At the centre of this historical tale is the bitter figure of Charles Wentworth and his nemesis, Henry Parkes.
Travellers Tales # 5 Taj Mahal
01/09/2007
The Taj Mahal in the northern city of Agra, is a memorial to the wife of the Mughal-era ruler Shahjahan.
It was created as a tribute from a grieving emperor and built between 1631 and 1654, when the Moghul Empire was at the height of its power.
The Taj Mahal is beautiful and ethereal.
Salman Rushdie has described it as 'a lovely thing, perhaps the loveliest of things'.
60th Anniversary of India's Independence Read Transcript
11/08/2007
On August 15th India celebrates 60 years since Independence.
Democracy in India was always an ambitious project.
Despite the obstacles India's economic power has risen remarkably. The country is tipped to be a 21st Century superpower.
But this roaring capitalist success story has also thrown up formidable challenges to India's political stability.
The Australian national character Read Transcript
14/07/2007
Australian journalists have long been famous for asking famous visitors what they think of Australia.
It's a question that perhaps says a lot about our national character, our need to be known by and taken seriously by the rest of the world.
Earthly Powers Read Transcript
13/01/2007
Michael Burleigh's history of religion and politics in Europe explores politics in religion, and religion in politics. It also takes a critical look at humanism, which he says has fostered the rise of all-encompassing ideologies such as communism and fascism.
This story was originally broadcast on 3 June 2006.
