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.

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?

It's been just over three decades since most of us first heard about global warming. Meanwhile, the 20 hottest years on record have all occurred in the last quarter century. The implications of extreme weather and climate change are now being felt. Why have we done relatively little in response? Richard Aedy goes looking for answers in a four-part series on RN. Look for RN Presents in the ABC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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.

At least 11 homes had already been destroyed at Binna Burra.

Whale watchers off the north coast of New South Wales have held a front-row seat to the rarely witnessed and gruesome spectacle of a pod of killer whales devouring a juvenile humpback whale.

The lead-up to Anzac Day is usually a busy time for florists and volunteers, but this year is very different.

For the second day in a row, Queensland records no new COVID-19 cases, keeping the state's total at 1,033 ahead of restrictions easing tomorrow.

Queenslanders hit the waterways and public spaces on the first day of relaxed restrictions, with residents able to picnic or visit national parks for the first time in weeks.

A survey conducted by the Gladstone Chamber of Commerce finds 35 per cent of respondents fear they won't be solvent by the end of June, due to the coronavirus crisis.

The Mount Isa Medical Centre is taking over the testing service to ensure people with respiratory symptoms are checked, despite no cases being recorded in the city.

Welfare recipients in three states will remain on the controversial cashless debit card for another six months after the Federal Government extended the trial.

As the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Ruby Princess continues, a Sunshine Coast couple describe their final day aboard.

Rowing machines and online coaching are keeping these teenage rowers motivated amid the coronavirus shutdown, and their coaches say many are even achieving personal best times.

Sam Neill says he's in the "cheering-up" business. Acting is his profession, winemaking is his passion and now in times of COVID-19, the 72-year-old is delighting the masses on social media.

Experts warn unemployment could soar to 20 per cent in the Shoalhaven, so how will a region that relies on tourism survive when no tourists are allowed in?

A Supreme Court Justice says allegations made by Robert Xie's legal team that a "dishonest" witness "covered up material" are among the most serious he's heard, as the former surgeon prepares to appeal his five murder convictions.

Sydney arts centre Carriageworks says the coronavirus pandemic has caused an "irreparable loss of income" after six months of events were cancelled or postponed.

A NSW Health official breaks down in tears while apologising for the government department's failures in dealing with the Ruby Princess coronavirus outbreak, an inquiry hears.

Scores of crew members on the Ruby Princess celebrated with a party on the day it docked in Sydney unaware of the public health disaster that was about to happen.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Dr Kerry Chant provided an updated on coronavirus for May 6. NSW has confirmed nine new cases of COVID-19 overnight.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the questioning of a NSW Health worker who broke down in tears at the Ruby Princess inquiry was "out of line" and she was only doing her best.

Jim Hamilton from Lake Macquarie was a passenger aboard the Ruby Princess, now the subject of a special commission of inquiry led by Brett Walker SC. A NSW Health epidemiologist Kelly-Anne Ressler agreed it was unsatisfactory that more people on the ship were tested for influenza than for COVID-19.

Jim Hamilton, 68, a passenger on Ruby Princess, says a stint in intensive care with COVID-19 has left him musing about "the meaning of life and everything".

Epidemiologist Kelly-Anne Ressler Ressler says her colleagues at NSW Health "were working very hard" and that if they could have their time over to deal with the Ruby Princess's arrival again "it would be very different" during evidence at the special commission of inquiry on May 6, 2020.

Over $340,000 raised by celebrity bushfire relief concert Fire Aid 2020 is being pre-loaded onto EFTPOS cards linked to local businesses, tackling two disasters with one innovative idea.

Aussie director John Hillcoat's Prohibition bootlegging drama is lifted by great production work and some fine performances.

In the case of Lawless. We're let in on the birth of a legend and can take it or leave it, except that the movie is so...unforgettable.

A movie about a disabled man's experience with a sex surrogate - but so much more than that! The Sessions is about an amazing man who looks for love and meaning in a life that would leave many broken.

This touching film from director/writer Ben Lewin bravely tackles a taboo subject with warmth and humour.

Canada's prolific hit-writer opens his Australian tour in the Illawarra with a full house.

The beloved sci-fi franchise continues to boldly go from strength to strength with a ripping adventure, first class production and a memorable villain.

Is it possible to remake a classic concept like Star Trek better than the original? Yes, apparently it is.

New York cabaret artist, Taylor Mac has a few theories. One is that what he does isn't art, it's performance art. Therefore - he can't lose. If you like his show, he wins. If you don't like it, he wins. After all, the point of performance art is to provoke and move you.

One of the most influential lyricists of the past 50 years delivered a marathon performance of his classics in a voice that gets richer by the year.

Disney's stage adaptation of its 1994 animated classic 'The Lion King' has returned to Australia, and what a breathtaking production it is.

Lismore's big chill last weekend did not stop Jeanti St Clair from catching NORPA's Food and Lloyd Cole, a most unassuming eighties pop star on a freezing Saturday night.Food is good for the soul

Having retained all 16 of their seats, welcomed a record number of women to the party and consolidated under leader Michael McCormack, there could be a renewed sense of stability for the country-based party.

Three years ago Mingoola residents welcomed African refugee families with open arms as part of a settlement program hailed for invigorating a dying country town. Now the tiny NSW town has lost all of its newest members.

MORNING BRIEFING: The Rural Fire Service says it will begin assessing the full extent of the bushfire damage in northern New South Wales today, and a man is charged after a robbery in 2003.

Free sheds are being built for those with nothing, in a creative approach to disaster recovery that is changing lives and putting a smile back on faces of despair.

Enjoying the sunrise or sunset is a simple pleasure you can do from your home. Tasmanian landscape photographer Nick Monk shares his tips on how to catch the light.

Tasmania records six new cases of coronavirus, with four of those infected being passengers who returned to the state after disembarking the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

Small businesses are struggling across Australia as the coronavirus outbreak unfolds. But there are ways you can help keep them going — and stick to social isolation guidelines.

Tasmania's economy was just picking up as coronavirus restrictions sent thousands of people out of work — but some help is out there.

All non-essential travellers who arrive in Tasmania after midnight on Sunday will be placed into a Government-operated facility, Premier Peter Gutwein announces.

No new cases are identified on the day Tasmania records its second coronavirus death, an elderly man in southern Tasmania who was a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

Owners of a Tasmanian equestrian facility say they may have no other option as business evaporates, leaving it with dwindling resources to feed and keep 46 horses.

A former patient at Launceston's first purpose-built infectious diseases hospital wants Tasmanians to heed the warnings to stay home and stay safe.