The commission, sitting in Mudgee, hears how home care providers are charging for services that haven't been delivered in rural and remote areas.

Regional airline Rex is threatening to cut services on its Sydney-to-Dubbo and has sent a scathing letter to Dubbo households criticising their local council.

PM Morrison says post pandemic it won't be "business as usual " but what should a reform agenda entail? Meanwhile restrictions in some states ease and the population downloads the COVID 19 tracing app. Laura Tingle assesses another viral week in national politics.

After years of funding cuts, many arts organisations will struggle to survive the COVID-19 pandemic without more government support. Playwright David Williamson and arts academic Jo Caust, discuss what needs to happened to ensure the sector survives.

In her new book, HRT, Kathy Lette ponders the choices on offer for a 50 year old facing a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Instead of accepting this quietly, she tells all her friends what she really thinks of them, accuses her husband of having an affair, and takes her two sisters on a cruise for a dose of Husband Replacement Therapy.

Bruce Shapiro discusses the latest on how the USA is managing or mis-managing the COVID-19 crisis.

Who are the Christian nationalists? What do they stand for and how influential are they in American politics?

On the anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre, we look at how Australia and America’s colonial gun-toting past converged for many years, and what made Australia taking a completely different path with regard to gun control

Ian Dunt reports on Britain's coronavirus, the 60% approval ratings for Boris Johnson, and more on Prince Harry and Meaghan.

Academic and former Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani argues that the coronavirus pandemic will accelerate a power-shift, from west to east.

Can we ever capture the diversity of Indonesia? Deborah Cassrels has lived in Bali for more than ten years working as a reporter and has written a memoir about her experiences and the stories she has covered, beyond the perfect tourist destination.

The UN Security Council plans to call for a 90-day 'humanitarian pause' in conflicts worldwide as part of the ongoing struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic. It's hoped that in some of the world's worst conflict zones, this could lay the groundwork for longer term peace agreements.

France has experienced one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe since mid-March. As the country moves towards ‘deconfinement’, we explore how President Macron has handled the political and economic fall-out from Covid-19 and ask what next for the EU?

It was not only the spice trade, science, commerce and the arts that flourished in the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. Publishing also exploded and an innovation called advertising sustains it and ushers in the modern world.

Tempers flare over when to reopen schools; Eden Monaro By-election, and do we need a debate over future immigration?

Instinctively we believe that everyone's life matters, that we're all important and of equal value but Howard Friedman, in his new book, shows that inequalities abound. 

Crosswords are a daily devotion, an obsession even, for millions. But where did the crossword start, and how did it become a staple of any newspaper worth its salt?

As American heads into another Presidential campaign, there is another allegation of sexual assault, this time against Democrat candidate Joe Biden.

Donald Trump has repeatedly accused the 'deep state' in America of attempting to undermine his presidency. But what is the 'deep state' that Trump is referring to, and does it actually exist?

The Federal Writers' Project, established by President Roosevelt in July 1935 as part of the New Deal, provided jobs for out-of-work writers during the Great Depression. Australian authors Jeff Sparrow and James Bradley discuss whether a similar literary stimulus package could work today.

As Brazil grapples with the largest coronavirus outbreak in Latin America, could the confluence of a public health crisis, a plummeting economy and a growing corruption scandal be the undoing of the country's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro?

Cuban doctors and nurses have been working in some of the most challenging emergencies around the globe for many years including the Ebola crisis in West Africa and the aftermath of Chernobyl. Now they are working to treat patients with COVID-19 in 22 countries including Italy.

Indicted as a mass murderer in 1945, prominent Nazi Otto von Wachter goes underground. In a revealing and personal account, renowned human rights barrister, Philippe Sands retraces his movements and tells the intimate story of the inter-generational impact of such crimes.

Daniel McCarthy assesses the mood and politics of a country desperate to get back to normal.  

An obscure character from traditional Japanese folklore has become an unlikely unifier in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conservationists are hoping the coronavirus pandemic will force governments to take action against the wildlife trade. But will stricter legislation push wildlife traffickers deeper underground?

Why might the court intervene when a devout Jehovah Witness parent refuses a life-saving blood transfer to their child? What about cultural and traditional beliefs that clash with new ‘norms’ of society? More specific descriptions of what make a family of defines gender for example. Has the law has kept up with the changing society it regulates?

A compelling account of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident . Not only did the fallout contaminate half of Europe it changed the course of history. When the nuclear reactor exploded it set off another explosion that no-one had predicted -the collapse of the Soviet Union.  

Is modern capitalism, itself, a threat to the survival of capitalism? Or will corporations always find a way to monetise misery? Paul Barclay speaks to Yanis Varoufakis and Antony Loewenstein

When you look in the mirror you might see your mothers eyes or your father’s chin. But have you inherited more than these physical characteristics? Beyond a genetic predisposition to illness , can you inherit a tendency to be religious or obese? Are the life experiences of previous generations shaping the way you behave now?  

Mahatma Gandhi lived a life committed to social justice and human rights. In this year's lecture to honour his memory five Australian women talk about their work in indigenous communities, for people with disabilities, refugees , LGBTIQ and campaigns to reduce domestic violence.

Jan Fran campaigns for the power of girls. Why is it that girls are still less likely to work and learn than boys? Why are girls still expected to adapt and keep the peace instead of speaking out? A major factor that empowers girls, is it to give them self-confidence at an early age and to tell them that the world is theirs to conquer.

Writing about 'place' is more than parachuting into an unfamiliar location, meeting a few people, rehashing well-worn clichés, then flying out again. Three writers discuss the places they written about, and how to capture the essence of people and place.

Despite your best efforts do you struggle to get enough sleep or to wake up feeling refreshed ? Tiredness is a common complaint as the working day extends and we do more and more . But getting enough sleep isn’t as simple as it sounds. You might be out of step with your body clock or have a sleep disorder. Three sleep specialists tackle the secrets of sleep.

Many diets fail because your metabolism and brain adapt to different kinds of diets and physical activity. When you cut back your energy in-take, your body starts creating appetite enhancers.

Can the world achieve zero emissions by 2050? We need to put our foot on the accelerator if we’re to meet our Paris target. That’s the view of a former UN climate negotiator who was a key figure in the 2015 Paris Climate Talks. She warns that the time for action is now. And can citizens assemblies produce action on climate change?

The world’s first university was founded in Bologna, Italy in 1088. The university has been an enduring institution. But universities are confronting big challenges - and not just COVID19. The world has changed. So how much do universities need to adapt in response? What is their future?

To fight the Corona virus we’re making the choice to isolate ourselves at home. So it’s going to be a lonely time for some. But loneliness is a problem even when society is firing on all cylinders. Technology gives us more ways to connect so why are we so lonely? How can we build social connections?

Technology is driving immense social and economic change and it's time for governments to step up and actively shape the future. If we simply leave it to the market we risk social dislocation and economic disruption. Former US Ambassador to Australia Jeff Bleich says the five trends demanding urgent attention from governments are automation, education, climate change, cyber security and self-governance. And Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz on the price of inequality

Are some people born evil? If modern science could identify ‘evil’ people, would we have the responsibility to remove them from society? What is the difference between evil and merely bad? On Big Ideas a panel of experts explores the meaning of evil in a contemporary and historic sense. Evil is often seen as “profound immorality”. Yet at the same our notion of evil varies with culture, century and context.

The second part of a discussion examining the future of the university in a post-COVID19 world. The university has been an enduring institution, going back nearly a thousand years, but it is confronting a time of massive disruption. How should universities change and adapt to meet the new challenges, without compromising their essential values?

Should we give up on justice for peace? Peace negotiations often include amnesty clauses for human right crimes. Renee Jeffery explores the moral complexities and political nuances at work in peace talks.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly entering the realm of art and also advertising. What does that mean for our notion of creativity? And how do persuasive algorithms work?

Indigenous women who are victims of family violence often also suffer from multiple disadvantage. A specialist indigenous legal service provides culturally appropriate support and counselling. And the long struggle for indigenous women to gain equal voting rights with their white sisters.

Courts of law exist for good reason, but the judicial process can also retraumatize, rather than heal, victims and witnesses who are exposed to it. Therapeutic jurisprudence offers a different approach

A hundred years from now, will you be taking a pill or using your own cells to cure disease? This is just one of the predictions from four futurists who imagine how some of our biggest challenges will play out. Can we save species from the effects of climate change or protect our privacy from the prying eyes of governments and corporations? Perhaps surveillance technology might prove to be our friend by keeping us accountable for our actions.

Small is beautiful as the saying goes. But there’s small and then there’s nano small. Engineers who work in the nano world are working with single atoms. Nanotechnology helps to power your mobile phone and nano machines might one day be working in your body to deliver medical treatment.

Most every society has fermented alcoholic beverages - Mexican pulque, Peruvian chicha, Japanese sake, Indian palm toddy, African sorghum beer. But the German lager beer has largely displaced these local brewing traditions over the last 200 years to become a global consumer icon. That has many reasons—trade, migration, colonialism—but the success of lager lies also in the fact that it's so bland.

Paul Robeson was an African American singer, film star, scholar, athlete, civil rights champion and radical political activist. What is his legacy today?