The Pacific has the world’s lowest rate of women’s representation in Parliament, but local women are working to change that, with some innovative - but contentious - approaches to elections. And Australia's leading social psychologist Hugh Mackay is nearly ninety. His latest book examines our society today and asks timely and urgent questions about its future. 

Japanese Philosopher Kohei Saito makes the case for degrowth communism as the radical transformation required to save our planet. Roger Pulvers looks to the past to understand the future of Australia's relationship with Japan.

Ian Dunt reports on the recent UK council elections and how the Tory Party are trying to spin the disastrous results. The uses and abuses of diplomatic asylum in Latin America, and Robyn Davidson shares how she ended up having such a nomadic life including her trek across Australia.

7:30's Chief Political Correspondent Laura Tingle on the government's response to the impending ground invasion in Rafah, and what's coming up in the federal budget. Plus, Austin Frerick on the rich, powerful and occasionally corrupt corporate giants who control what we eat.

Lorraine and Shaan Peeters are helping to heal the stolen generations and their families with their organisation Marumali. Plus a new book by Susan Wyndham and Brigitta Olubas called "Hazzard and Harrower: The Letters" tells an extraordinary account of two literary luminaries, their complex relationship and the times they lived in.  

Johann Hari explains the health risks and rewards of the new weight loss drugs and looks at the causes of the high demand for these drugs in the affluent west. Brendan Kennedy argues for water rights for native title owners in the Murray Darling Basin.

Bruce Shapiro reports on the latest from the student protests at Columbia University and Satyajit Das shares the conflicting emotions he feels about the amazing wildlife he has seen on his travels and his concerns for their future.

7:30's Chief Political Correspondent Laura Tingle reflects on a weekend of powerful protests denouncing violence against women. Then, Australian writer James Bradley makes an impassioned plea to save our oceans and the awesome creatures who live there.

Two historians remember those who served in the First World War. Ross McMullin delves deep into lives of three outstanding individuals; each so full of promise, but tragically, their potential would never be realised. Melanie Oppenheimer considers the overlooked role and contribution of women in the mostly male mythologies of the ANZACs.

About a year ago, longtime friends lawyer Hiba Husseini and former politician Yossi Beilin released a plan to lay the groundwork for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Plus a documentary on a surprising Anzac history on the Greek island of Lemnos.

About a year ago, longtime friends lawyer Hiba Husseini and former politician Yossi Beilin released a plan to lay the groundwork for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Plus a documentary on a surprising Anzac history on the Greek island of Lemnos.

Ian Dunt laments the passing of the Rwanda Bill in Westminster which will allow the deportation of immigrants who arrive by boat to Rwanda. Classicist Natalie Haynes reveals why the Greek goddesses have been much maligned and misunderstood.

The transformation of Germany over the last 80 years has been something of a marvel. It’s gone from a shattered guilt-ridden pariah of a country to a bastion of democracy and Europe’s fiscal hero. So how did this metamorphosis occur? Can it be continued in the post-Merkel era? Historian Frank Trentmann joins us to answer these questions, and more. Plus, Laura Tingle examines the PM's trip to Kokoda, and why the Opposition has changed its tune on government powers to regulate online content on...

Author, poet and academic Tony Birch celebrates the success of so many First Nations writers but there is always room for improvement in the publishing industry. From the LNL Archive we hear a conversation with Andrew O'Hagan and Karl Miller recorded in Edinburgh in 2012.

Nelson Mandela's African National Congress has held power for more than thirty years, but that could soon change. And saffron is the world's most expensive spice, revered as sacred in many cultures. But climate change is making the delicate flower that produces it harder than ever to harvest. 

Bruce Shapiro takes us inside Donald Trump's first day in court as a criminal defendant. In China, the Communist Party keeps tight control of the narrative of the history of China. Ian Johnson introduces us to the artists and film makers who are challenging that narrative - at their own peril.

7:30's chief political correspondent Laura Tingle unpacks the Lehrmann defamation verdict dominating news headlines, and we speak to neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky who makes the provocative argument that we have no free will, at all.

Sir John Franklin is honoured in Hobart as the discoverer of the infamous North-West passage through the Arctic, but a closer look at the story examines how much he relied on women's help and Indigenous knowledge. Also, in the age of scrolling, is it history for the chapter?

Aussie Ark's Tim Faulkner explains why he believes the imminent rewilding of the eastern quoll will be successful this time, after 50 years of extinction on the Australian mainland. Social philosopher Anne Manne tells the harrowing story of the Anglican paedophile ring in Newcastle and the brave group of people who brought it down.

In the UK, Ian Dunt reports on the pressure building over the sale of arms to Israel, Stephen Long questions the carbon credits NSW is hoping for in order to save the state's koalas and Judith Keene details the legacies of the Spanish Civil War in both Spain and across the globe. 

Crikey's Bernard Keane on how the government has responded to the IDF review into Zomi Frankcom's death. Plus, playwright David Williamson tells Phillip why he has come out of retirement to write a play about the housing crisis and the increasing divide between Australia's haves and have-nots.  

Ecofeminist Vandana Shiva explains the significance of adding ecocide to the list of crimes that the ICC can prosecute. And Henry Grabar makes his case for reducing the number of car parks on our planet.

Professor Viet Thanh Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American professor and Pulitzer Prize winning novelist. Viet's memoir, A Man Of Two Faces, is published by Black Inc. and Viet will be a guest at the Sydney Writer's Festival later this month. What makes humans so unique? Our ability to learn. So says computer scientist and Harvard Professor Leslie Valiant. His new book is called “The Importance of Being Educable”  published by Princeton University Press.

Bruce Shapiro digs into the history of the 1871 Comstock Act being used to argue against the sale of abortion drugs online. Anna Funder reveals the many ways that George Orwell's wife Eileen contributed to his work during their life together.