We go to the heart of the Coronavirus in the Middle East - the Iranian holy city of Qom, where not even the ayatollahs are safe. And, how Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews are pushing back against social distancing. Also, what does the Coronavirus reveal about a nation’s values? Does the  communitarian nature of modern Germany account for its resilience in the face of pandemic?

George Pell has been acquitted in the High Court and freed from jail for Easter. But will the cardinal return to a position of power in the global Catholic Church? And, a long-time friend of George Pell, Dr Bernadette Tobin joins the program. Also, the Palestinian Muslim who has spent his life as guardian of one of Christianity’s holiest shrines.

Sharing with you one of the ABC's other great podcasts. Join Jan Fran and friends as they take life’s prickly bits and make them sweeter and easier to deal with.

It’s a weird time in the world, but what role does technology play in the age of COVID-19? Also, forget roll call, schools could soon have facial recognition. And will it ever be possible to get conspiracy theories off YouTube? Guests: Nick Kwek, Technology Journalist & Filmmaker @NICKKWEK and Angharad Yeo, ABC television presenter, video game critic, technology journalist and entertainer @angharadyeo

Find out how match fixing works. It's ubiquitous and now recognised as the biggest threat to sport integrity.

ABC North Coast resident arts reviewer, Jeanti St Clair - her thoughts on Cafe Rebetika.

If you have to take a quick crash course in thermodynamics and chaos theory before seeing a play, is it really worth seeing? It's a question that could be posed by Arcadia, Tom Stoppard's bulgingly brainy theatre piece that Black Swan State Theatre Company has chosen for its second 2012 season offering.

The Fremantle Candidate is a finely crafted look at one of Australia's great political heroes, says ABC 720 cultural correspondent Victoria Laurie

Can our genes tell us if we're gay? Or intelligent? Science says the answer is complex, and that genetic determinism — the idea that we're genetically hardwired for certain outcomes — shouldn't be taken seriously. But genetic determinism has taken hold of the public imagination.

New legislation in Cambodia is feared to further restrict human rights in the country.

The dire predictions for Africa are all in place, but so far they haven't come true.

The higher education sector is a vital part of Australia's economic and intellectual life - why is Canberra intent on ignoring it?

Australia and India, as former British colonies, had much in common, and could have forged a strong relationship for their mutual benefit. But Australia's White Australia policy, and India's determination to leave the Empire and become a Republic, stymied the friendship.

Ian Blayney is a regional MP who decided to quit the WA Liberals and move to the Nationals. But everyone, especially his own former party leader, is being strangely nice about it, writes Jacob Kagi.

Port Beach's Coast pub and surf life saving rooms should be moved and some Rottnest Island holiday bungalows should be pushed back from the beach in the long term, a report into WA coastal erosion hotspots says.

Two men are charged with trying to smuggle more than a tonne of cocaine and ecstasy into WA, after their yacht hit a reef and they were found on an island in the Houtman Abrolhos allegedly hiding the drugs with seaweed.

Large numbers of Chinese tourists are flocking to the pink lake near Port Gregory in Western Australia, but has it become a victim of its own popularity?

A car and a bus carrying 34 people crash on Indian Ocean Drive north of Perth, at the turn-off to the world-famous Pinnacles rock formations, leaving two Chinese tourists who were in the SUV dead and a third in hospital.

Locals say bad driving mainly from tourists is to blame for a spate of fatal crashes on a stretch of Indian Ocean Drive north of Perth, after the latest serious accident left two foreigners dead.

Beekeepers have lost up to 70 per cent of honey production because of "horrendous" conditions, and the effects of another bad season could be felt by other food crops.

When Grammy-nominated American jazz performer Joey DeFrancesco sold his blonde-coloured Hammond B3 organ over eBay to an Australian bidder, he had one condition. That it be made available when he played in Australia.

A Victorian man arrested and extradited from interstate over the cold case murder of grandmother Beverley Hanley has arrived back in Adelaide, where he is expected to be charged with murder.

Steven Leslie Hainsworth, 44, is charged over the 2010 cold case murder of Adelaide grandmother Beverley Hanley.

A fireball that could be seen soaring across the Australian sky on Tuesday night is believed to have landed in the ocean, about 400 kilometres south of Adelaide.

A 32-year-old man whose car hit a power pole with enough force to split it is the fourth road crash victim within 24 hours, with SA Police saying speed is a major factor behind a surging death toll.

A country football club in South Australia is waiting to find out if it will be penalised for allowing a woman to play in the men's competition.

A six-week suspension handed down to South Australian footballer Casey McElroy is proving deeply divisive, with a female sporting great, a former test cricketer and the state's Minister for Sport criticising it as excessive.

Recycler Brad Scott is using his Robe studio to convert used plastics into everyday items like bowls, doorknobs and cheeseboards.

Trevor Ashby's property south of Mount Gambier looks like a typical dairy farm from the roadside, but hidden among the cows is a tiny portal into a world-class dive site.

South Australia's forestry industry says it's struggling to secure enough water licences to expand, warning that if growers plant forests interstate instead, jobs and investment will follow.

A senior Corrections executive and a plasterer appear in court following an ICAC investigation, with the pair accused of corruption offences relating to a planned $150 million upgrade of South Australia's biggest prison.

Serial child sex offender Gary John Tipping was due to be released from prison today, but will remain behind bars after an urgent application was granted by the Supreme Court.

A former employee at Renewal SA becomes the first public servant charged with breaching secrecy provisions surrounding investigations by SA's Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.

Australia's top musicians joined a 15,000-strong crowd in Lucindale for triple j's One Night Stand, marking the small town's biggest day ever. Some of the best moments happened off-stage.

The dog squad catches five teenage boys hiding in a shed, bringing to an end an alleged crime spree that included car theft, armed robbery and break-ins at two supermarkets and three service stations.