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Amanda Vanstone tackles key social, economic and cultural issues in Australian life, challenging assumptions and giving voice to new and seldom-heard commentators.

ABC Radio National


    • Jul 11, 2022 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 53m AVG DURATION
    • 213 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Counterpoint - ABC RN

    Climbing down the ladder

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2022 54:07


    Is Myanmar both a tragedy and a wicked problem and what does it mean for the promised 2023 election? If it goes ahead will it be free and fare or a farce? If the US goes to war with China should Australia follow? Perhaps we need to look back to go forward. The fascinating history of the smile, especially in art and is there an alternative to wind farms? Sure is..flying a kite!

    Look! Up in the Sky!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2022 53:24


    What does having a worthwhile life mean? Is it all about academic achievement and a high wage or it something more? How dangerous and how prevalent is piracy in Southeast Asian waters? Hint, just under a half of all pirate attacks so far this year have occurred in these waters. Superhero movies have recently had their share of naysayers but have they got it all wrong? Space is not the vast empty nothingness we think it is. To protect it should we start thinking of space as an eco-system?

    Sting in the tail

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2022 54:06


    Is it time to decolonize Russia? What is the best and worst city to be living in right now? Hint one is Vienna and the other is Damascus. We trust our plumbers but not our politicians, why is that? And the stinging nettle plant, sure the sting has a bite but the potential uses for this plant are endless.

    Peculation and paradox

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2022 54:06


    Why has Russia's military been so weak against Ukraine? Is this a new thing or more of a case of ever thus? Antarctica is the most protected and yet the most threatened place on earth. How do we solve this paradox? Did you know that there has been a surge in saltiness in all inhabited continents today. How has it gotten this bad and have we left it too late to do anything? How quickly are wild animals evolving and adapting to problems such as climate change? Quicker than you think.

    Clicks and bites

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2022 54:05


    Has American life become 'uniquely stupid? If so how did it happen and what does it have to do with a like button? We need to start feeding the earth, after all it feeds us, but with what? We have the answer in our bodies right now. The world wars produced some of the greatest poetry we know, why have recent conflicts not done the same?

    Racing towards?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2022 51:38


    What is China saying on social media about the war in Ukraine? Might the war offer opportunities to revive the WTO? The planet is now a political entity, how did that happen? Plus we are on the verge of a green steel revolution. If so, how will it work?

    Security, safety and hope

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2022 54:04


    What does French President Emmanuel Macron actually stand for? What is Macronism? Why are some shipping companies avoiding the rules and regulations when it comes to the breaking up of ships and what are they doing instead? Nothing good. Plus Chinese people are moving from the city to the country in search of a better life and the gross yet amazing things that animals do to find a mate and to protect themselves.

    Ties that bind

    Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2022 53:43


    Asa result of the invasion of Ukraine should Australia be looking to strengthen its relationship with Europe? Diversity is all the rage but is it all that it's meant to be? Do human beings really have a higher moral value than animals and how much could we learn if instead of architects digging up castles and tombs of noblemen and queens, they concentrated on how the ordinary people lived in ancient times.

    Lessons and losing

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2022 54:01


    What if anything can China and Xi learn from the invasion of Ukraine? Were the reports that said that COVID had brought the end of the era of globalisation greatly exaggerated? Do you get FOMO and should we be able to experiment and fail at work sometimes?

    Running on empty?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2022 53:31


    Does Australia have a fuel security problem? Is there a human cost to decarbonising the global economy and how high is it? Why are Indigenous voices missing from the space race and what can be done to fix it and what is life like in Transnistria and other breakaway states?

    Locked, loaded and light

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2022 54:06


    Might the Shanghai lockdown be the beginning of the end for Xi? What are the UN doing about the situation in Ukraine and what might the hugely successful way Ukrainians' have used the internet during this war mean for Big Tech? Plus lighting the way forward using plants and animals.

    Starting and stopping

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2022 54:06


    It used to be that most startups could be found in Silicon Valley or Seattle, that is no longer the case. Now they can be found almost anywhere. How did that happen? History has a habit of repeating itself; why don't we notice? We also haven't noticed that we are losing the sounds of birds and animals and if we don't start paying attention there will only be the sounds of sile

    Fronts and fears

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2022 54:05


    Can we compare Putin's leadership with that of the Queen? What is oikophobia and do you have any? Plus women in military bands and how about some boiled tongue for dinner tonight?

    Fronts and fears

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2022 54:05


    Can we compare Putin's leadership with that of the Queen? What is oikophobia and do you have any? Plus women in military bands and how about some boiled tongue for dinner tonight?

    Fronts and fears

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2022 54:05


    Can we compare Putin's leadership with that of the Queen? What is oikophobia and do you have any? Plus women in military bands and how about some boiled tongue for dinner tonight?

    Law and order

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2022 54:07


    Does the rules-based international order actually exist or is it just a bit of a myth? What about the grey zone or even natural laws? Do they work, can they be broken and why do they matter? Plus placebo's. They can actually work even when you know it's a placebo.

    On- line and tearing down

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2022 54:06


    Does on-line hate speech really lead to real world extremism? What effect does banning this kind of hate speech have and could it be just as potentially harmful as the speech itself?

    Stoics and storms

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2022 54:04


    In these confusing and confronting times might there be some ancient wisdom that we could turn to that will help guide us through? Have Russia and Ukraine always been so inextricably linked? Are there limits to libertarianism and are all natural disasters the result of climate change?

    Tulips and clogs?

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2022 54:05


    The Dutch are famous for more than clogs and tulips and cheese, they are also famous for free speech. This contributed to making the Dutch Republic an early modern epicentre of art, learning, publishing, philosophy, and science. What do our Asian neighbours think about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and what does the invasion mean for cyberwarfare. Are you happy? Or maybe content? Which is better?

    Hot capital and strange ideas

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2022 53:57


    What is hot capital and why is it on the rise? How big is the threat of chemical waste in our oceans and what can we do about it? Not all fringe ideas are nonsense, some will lead to something important but how do we tell the difference and what happened to the tree seeds on Apollo 14? Are they lost?

    Jerks in Space?

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2022 54:06


    The world is full of brilliant jerks, that is people who are leaders that have distasteful traits. How do we balance the very best of them with the very worst? Plus the growth and growth of the Chinese space program and do you hear that bird chirping? Is it saying anything in particular? Probably.

    Used masks and dangerous dictators

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2022 52:15


    Where are all of the used masks and personal protective equipment, along with used test kits and discarded vaccine syringes ending up? The ocean. Why? What does history tell us about dictators, particularly in China and Russia, and does that help explain what is happening in both countries now? Why 'Do Your Research' is so manipulative and the worst year on record...it's not 2020, 21 or 22.

    Intelligence and Fossils

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2022 54:06


    Can we use the same methods as intelligence officers do to help plan for our own future? Did you know that India has some of the most spectacular fossils on the planet, including the Rajasaurus narmaadensis? Plus has work taken over our lives and laughing out loud at the wrong time.

    Putin Power?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2022 54:05


    What is Putin really doing on the Ukraine border? Trying to start a war or a conversation?  In their opposition to nuclear power, have environmentalists become a bigger threat to effective climate policy than deniers? Plus Victorian era values in our inventors and entrepreneurs and why if you care about animals you should eat them .

    Grandpa Xi and his new books

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2022 54:10


    Chinese children have some new text books featuring Grandpa Xi. They feature his wisdom and caring nature but what is behind the every growing personality cult of Xi Jinping? Why are wealthier countries trying to stop fossil fuel projects in Africa? Afterall the average Tanzanian used only one-sixth the electricity consumed by a typical American refrigerator. Plus the wonderful Hudsonian Godwit and the clever tricks of the Opossum

    Looking back to look forwards

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2022 53:57


    If we looked back at ourselves in 10,000 years time what would we think of now and how we get here? What is the difference between a liberal and a progressive and where did the concept of a seven day week come from? What can we learn from statues and what do they really represent?

    The mind and weird things

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2022 53:57


    Is there such a thing as the mind and if there is where is it? Do you believe in weird things? What will the world look like after humans? Will there still be life? There is a lot of plastic in the ocean and so far we don't have any method to remove to remove it. Why not?

    Snake bite

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2022 54:06


    Did you know that each year around 4.5 million people are bitten by venomous snakes resulting in 138,000 deaths? How can we stop that? Are the hand gestures that we use when speaking universal or do they differ from country to country? What happened when the first women in America to become dean of a medical school took her students to a clinical medical lecture and how important was Iceland in the second World War?

    Seafood slavery

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2022 54:06


    Have you heard of seafood slavery? Right now thousands of men are stuck on boats at seas, what will happen to them? How innovative is language and just how and why does it change? How did Ancient Rome treat outsiders and the various ethnic tribes surrounding it? How important are black swans to both European and Indigenous history?

    Why am I here?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 3, 2022 54:06


    Have you ever walked out of one room and into another and forgotten why you were there? Should we be planting more and more trees wherever there is a space or should we be thinking more carefully about where to put them? Are bees and other insects about to die out, never to return

    The fall of the Rome Empire

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 27, 2021 53:52


    Was the decline of the Roman Empire a very good thing for humanity? We can learn a lot about a population by what they flush down their toilets. Why are Americans so hesitant to engage in waste water studies? How can you argue well and why do you need to and why does the Japanese Navy have a Curry Friday? ?

    Influential slaves

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2021 49:09


    How much have captives' or slaves influenced those who took them? It turns out, quite a lot! What makes someone a genius? High IQ or something else? Why do we think think that Africa didn't have scripts and what has it got to do with the fall of Carthage? Anyone for a glass of zesty lime green tree ant infused gin?

    Gunpowder and happiness?

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2021 49:09


    Did gunpowder change the world, especially the Medieval World? What is an emotion and why is it so complicated. The changing nature of loss aversion and poo. We generate a lot of it, what can we do with it?

    Temptations and wonders

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2021 51:38


    Why is Iran joining the Shanghai Cooperation organisation? How easy is it to succumb to tyranny? The changing way wars will be fought and the remarkable story of Dr Alice Hamilton.

    Poked and prodded

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2021 54:05


    Right now it seems like everybody wants to be engaged with Southeast Asia, where does Australia fit in? Is longtermism a dangerous way to think? Who was Benjamin Jetsy and what does he have to do with the smallpox vaccine and a new citizen science project in Tasmania that is helping with conservation.

    Coups and capers

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2021 54:06


    Does ASEAN have a position on Myanmar? Are you a fox or a hedgehog when it comes to globalization? What makes a good literary hoax and is the recent one in Spain harmless or not? Will our dogs survive if humans are no longer on the earth?

    Positive and negative

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2021 54:05


    Can positive discrimination do more harm than good? Mandatory vaccinations have been around for centuries so just how effective are they? Do humans perceive time differently to nature and why are birds egg coloured?

    Technology and talk

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2021 53:21


    Is there more to AUKUS than nuclear powered submarines? What is China doing in Guinea in West Africa and what does it mean for Australia? What is the Non-Aligned Movement and what happened at it's 60th anniversary commemorative summit and how does a country chose what its national language will be?

    Curses and cures

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2021 53:56


    Does the Biden Presidency have a plan for the Indo-Pacific? Doesn't seem like it. Can the Bible be read as work of literature rather than a scripture? How important were female healthcare givers in the medieval world and do humans and animals have the same moral value?

    Power and possums

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2021 53:46


    Power can good and bad. How can we make sure that it's good? Responsibility is key. Madam Curie changed the world with the discovery of radium including how old the earth could be and how long it might last. Opossums play dead when they need to but what do we mean by playing dead and the wonderful world of birds.

    Correcting and careers

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2021 54:06


    How did the 'culture wars' begin and what keeps it going? It's more than the left/right divide. How much of Angela Merkel's success can be attributed to the fact she is a scientist? What is tongue therapy and why are being people getting their tongues cut? There is a lot of plastic in the ocean and so far we don't have any method to remove to remove it. Why not?

    Hybrids and hurdles

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2021 54:06


    Working from home over the last 18 months or so has been one of the greatest disruptions to work in generations, so what have we learnt about the way in which we work? When we say The West what do we actually mean? Can you toilet train a cow and why would you want to? The fabulous tale of a an eagle that lived in South Australia around 25 million years ago.

    Subs and suds

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2021 54:05


    Is there more to AUKUS than nuclear-powered submarines? The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has depended on ordering vaccines from overseas. Why can't we make our own? Is there a link between cancel culture and torture and can air pollution be captured and turned into something else?

    Borders and boulders

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2021 54:05


    Do the shifting demands of climate change, COVID and China mean that we need some new thinking around trade, investment and the economy? Is it time to open our borders and stop being fortress Australia? Did you know that adding rock dust to soil can help get carbon into the ground and the fascinating and cautiously optimistic world of tuna.

    Before and after

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2021 54:05


    Has the US withdrawal from Afghanistan created a power vacuum in the region that will be filled by either China or Russia and what might that mean for the Gulf states? Is there such a thing as the mind and if there is where is it? Indigenous technology could benefit all of society and could help us all connect with Indigenous culture that continues to grow. Is there any future for the fishers and seabirds in Patagonia?

    Fleeing and flying

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2021 54:06


    After the seemingly chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan should the United States pivot away from nation-building and toward global governance? Mass vaccinations mean that the end of COVID-19 is coming ever closer. Does the thought of reopening society make you anxious? Are the hand gestures that we use when speaking universal and the fascinating history of a most unlikely bird of prey.

    Bits and Bytes

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2021 54:05


    Are we about to see a new kind of globalisation or it already here? Who is ranked first in the Economist Intelligence Unit's Safe City Index of 2021 and did any cities in Australian make the top ten? The dangers of light pollution and how did the Orangutan get its name?

    Military and memories.

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2021 54:05


    Although a military conflict between China and Australia is highly unlikely, if it did happen would we be prepared? The story of ANZUS and Percy Spender and might you be a Luddite? Should you be one? Can todays woke ideology be compared to Stalinist Russia?

    Civil and calm

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2021 54:04


    Has civil society become a luxury good? How can you argue well and why do you need to? Did you know that there are still people who believe that the earth is flat and why has the night sky dimmed?

    Digging around

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2021 54:07


    Are there foreign agents working in Australia right now and if so, where are they from? We have a huge supply of rare-earth minerals in this country so why are we exporting them rather than manufacturing them? What happened when the smallpox vaccine was rolled out and what do you think birds use to make their nests nowadays?

    Sense and maybe sensibility

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2021 54:05


    Who are the sense-makers today? It used to be the clergy and the educated class including journalists but who is it now? Does society really benefit by acting in your own self interest or are we more connected than we ever thought possible? Are bees and other insects about to die out, never to return and how much do we really know about Neanderthals and their children?

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