What does it take to prepare for a pandemic? Many hospitals around the world are already overwhelmed by patients infected with COVID-19. Australian doctors and nurses are bracing for something most of them have never faced before. In our country hospitals, resources are already stretched: beds are in short supply and there’s a greater proportion of older people. Preparation will, in many cases, be the difference between life and death.
 ABC National Regional Reporter Jess Davis takes us inside the Wimmera Base Hospital in Horsham, Victoria, as the team tries to prepare for the unimaginable.

The coronavirus pandemic is causing pain and suffering the world over, but then there are always those who never let a good crisis go to waste. Some are benefiting from COVID-19 for legitimate reasons: just think of companies that make video conferencing apps, ventilators, or canny investors. But there are also more nefarious players looking to bank a win off the back of coronavirus fear and confusion: scam artists, fraudsters, counterfeiters. This week, Geoff Thompson, Mario Christodoulou, Meghna Bali and Kat Gregory investigate who's winning in these turbulent times and how.

How the Wiradjuri people, indigenous to the Central West of New South Wales, survived European settlement.

Residents have been left without water for a day after a breakdown at a local treatment plant and as western NSW sweated through a heatwave.

Pat O'Sullivan took over the Hillston Spectator from his dad more than 60 years ago. But now, with his garden calling, the publication could be at risk of folding.

Shearers, labourers, chefs, farmers and lifeguards are among the workers who push through the heatwave.

A peaceful paradise known for its iconic pine trees and spectacular coastline, Norfolk Island is riddled with political tension and simmering social unrest.

Lucy Moss's boutique in Coonamble is bursting with colour, and her latest venture offers various shades of relief for drought-affected farmers.

The drought could have major implications for life-saving medical procedures, such as dialysis with patients needing up to 4,000 litres each week for treatment.

As the Cobar Endeavor Mine comes to the end of its lead and zinc reserves, CBH Resources announces it is cutting 130 jobs from the drought-stricken outback town.

This state-of-the-art shearing shed hopes to attract and retain good shearers in a safe environment.

Thousands head to the tiny New South Wales town of Louth for a dusty race weekend amid the ongoing dry.

City woman Uschi Rowlands did not expect to become a mushroom farmer, let alone discover that the fungi have a preference for rock music over classical.

Award-winning journalist Allan Clarke returns to his home town with his storytelling skills to help local youth capture the stories of their elders.

Water is fast running out across the Macquarie Valley, with one town preparing for the possibility of closing the hospital

MORNING BRIEFING: Western Sydney residents concerned about the new 24/7 airport will have years to wait before they know proposed flight paths, while the enduring drought pushes Dubbo to cut water use even more.

The largest local council in New South Wales, whose patch includes the Darling River town that experienced mass fish kills, will spend another four years in administration.

Regional Express threatens to scrap flights or reduce their frequency on its popular route from Sydney to Dubbo due to a dispute over increased airport fees.

NSW Police have extradited John Bowie to Sydney to face court over the murder of his wife Roxlyn, after an investigation into her disappearance in 1982.

At the end of the bitumen road and surrounded by parched grazing land, Ivanhoe, like many outback towns, is fighting for survival.

The Yetta Dhinnakkal Centre, meaning "right pathway" in traditional language, was established as Australia's first prison exclusively for young Aboriginal men but next year it will close and locals are warning the impact will be disastrous.

Indigenous dancers from three states gather on the banks of the Darling River to honour a waterway that's underpinned their cultures for millennia.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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?

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?

Despite encouraging signs of a slowdown in infection rates, we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic. The economic and social effects of Covid-19 will be far-reaching. On the other side of this pandemic will there be a new world order? How is the virus affecting the US-China relationship, South-East Asia and the global balance of power?  

A victim of a horrific stabbing attack has woken up and remains in intensive care, days after being critically injured during the South Hedland shopping mall rampage in WA's Pilbara.

Blowflies could hold the key to managing the most damaging pest to Australian agriculture and the country's biodiversity.

A program to house homeless individuals in Perth hotels is abandoned after more than half the 20 people who were given accommodation at the start of the scheme chose to leave early.

Wildlife parks have a long road back to financial buoyancy after coronavirus restrictions stripped them of their sole source of income; visitors, and some operators are dipping into personal savings just to keep their animals fed.

Campers on the north coast of Western Australia have had the "really rare" chance to walk next to a feeding whale shark estimated to be seven to 10 metres long.

Katie Elphick took this video of a seven to ten metre whale shark pursuing a school of bait fish close to a beach north of Broome in Western Australia.

A source has told the ABC that a teenager found dead in a remote Pilbara town this morning had recently given birth.

Western Australia reports no new cases of COVID-19 overnight, marking a full week since its last positive test, with the Premier calling it an "amazing and incredible and terrific" result.

With hundreds of free activities and workshops, this curated project is a chance to learn new skills, battle boredom, and connect with like-minded people.

While China's demand for Australian rock lobster soars, less international flights causes product delivery to be capped.

Panic immediately set in at the sight of an injured Ellyse Perry limping from the field, but her limited role in the Australian T20 team might mean the side can cope better than expected, writes Geoff Lemon.

Despite not winning a match, Thailand proves to be the feel-good story of the Women's T20 World Cup, as Australian crowds warm to their positivity and sense of fun.

Bad weather in Sydney means India goes through to T20 World Cup final without a ball being bowled — and Australia will lose out if the second semi does not go ahead.

India and England's Twenty20 World Cup semi-final was washed out and Australia's clash with South Africa almost was too, all without a backup plan in place. How was this allowed to happen?