RN Drive - Separate stories podcast

September 11, 2001 was a day of shocking violence and loss. But, in the aftermath, it was also a day of heroism and of community. As planes bound for New York were being turned away, many of them found themselves being directed to the small town of Gander, in Newfoundland, Canada. Almost seven thousand people landed in Gander on that day. It could have been impossible. It could have been overwhelming. But instead, the town opened its arms to those strangers. Their story was turned into a Tony Award winning musical, Come From Away, and in the Drawing Room, Gander residents Oz Fudge and Brian Mosher share how those days changed their lives.

Robert Wilson is an acclaimed director of experimental theatre and opera. but his latest work sees him stepping away from the stage and into the gallery, with a series of portraits. But these are no ordinary portraits. They're short films, which mix celebrity and art history and involve large teams behind the scenes. Helping it all come together is Chris Green, Robert's producer, who also happens to be the executive director of Harvard Law School's Animal Law & Policy Program.

Japanese scientists have designed a pair of chopsticks that emit an electric zap to trick our brains and make food taste saltier. And do electric vehicles actually work for rural Australia?

This week we're asking the tough questions on high-profile political meetings, rusty landmarks and #GentleMinions. Comedians Greg Larsen and Alex Ward face off in this instalment of Let's Get Quizzical to see who knows more about the news, politics and popular culture that unfolded this week.

It's been a huge week in the international sphere, from the PM's visit to Ukraine to the first meeting China and Australia's foreign ministers in three years - that's happening in just under two hours.

It's a day Japan will never forget, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been shot in the ancient capital city of Nara. The country's longest ever serving leader was midway through a campaign speech for Sunday's upper house elections when two shots were fired.

Is it possible to tell when someone is lying to you? Not just to guess, but to truly know? Michael Robotham's debut thriller sold more than a million copies, he's since become one of the biggest names in crime, and his latest novel features a woman with that precise skill In the Drawing Room, Michael explains how he keeps the tension high, when the truth can be so easily exposed.

Despite 44 ministers resigning yesterday, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially refused to resign following a spate of scandals. But now he's now signalled his intention to step down.

Pope Francis says he is 'open to giving women an opportunity ...to choose bishops in the congregation of bishops'. So why would Australian bishops disagree?

With any major flooding event, the clean up is a dirty, daunting and devastating task but how might cost of living pressures slow the recovery phase?

Do you snap off your broccoli stems to save cents at the checkout, or do you use every last scrap from root to leaf? As fresh food prices rise, Alice Zaslavsky looks at ways to cut down on grocery bills and make the most out of your fruit and veg this winter.

The first face-to-face meeting between Australia and China's foreign ministers in three years might happen at the upcoming G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Bali, where Foreign Minister Penny Wong has left the door open to meeting her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines.

Former ACT Attorney-General Bernard Collaery will have charges against him dropped at the request of Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, four years after he was charged for allegedly releasing classified information.

In the small city of Yellowstone, in the old west, the mine has shut and the town is slowly dying. Then, one day, a wild local strikes gold. But hopes for a revival are quickly dashed when the man is murdered on his way home from celebrating. A recently arrived outsider makes for a convenient suspect, but in this town, nothing is what it seems. Australian director Richard Gray talks about his new film, Murder at Yellowstone City, and the town he built along the way.

After months of scandals UK Prime minister Boris Johnson has been left wounded after two senior members of his cabinet resigned. Health Secretary Sajid Javid, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said they could no longer continue in good conscience after a string of controversies, leading to more than a dozen members penning their resignations from various Government positions.

As many states begin the process towards treaty, the Queensland Government says it will reveal the next stage of its Path to Treaty in the coming weeks. Community leaders have closely followed the Victorian experience, but are they happy with how the treaty process is progressing?

What does AFL footballer Lance Franklin, legendary basketballer Lauren Jackson and new Wallaby Cadeyrn Neville have in common? They're all at the top of their chosen sport and well beyond 30. But while their achievements are lauded and celebrated, why does ageism permeate other workplaces?

Wollombi in the NSW Hunter region still remains completely cut off following this week's torrential rain. Local resident Rachael Thornton knows only too well what it's like to live with natural disasters. She experienced the 2019 Gospers Mountain mega fire and now she's helping her community recover from the latest major flooding event.

With covid case numbers again rising as the nation endures a third omicron wave, the vaccine advisory group is considering making the fourth dose available for the general population.

Most of us would think of Australia as a trustworthy country, largely free from corruption and dirty money, at least in a global context. But, if that's right, why has Australia been pointed to as one of the top targets in the world to launder money through real estate? And why have several major institutions in Australia been linked to money laundering? Nathan Lynch is an expert on financial crime and the author of a new book, The Lucky Laundry.

The family of Australian engineer Rob Pether is hoping the new government will mark a renewed focus on the fate of the father of three who's now been in an Iraqi prison for more than 14 months.

The NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has told people today they're "crazy" if they haven't yet had their third COVID booster shot yet. Health authorities have warned a new wave of infections driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron has started and is expected to peak later this month.

After three years of working from home, with nothing to wear and nowhere to go, as calendars begin filling up with weddings and major social events, have we forgotten what a dress code is? How do you define “casual”? What is “formal” now? What does “black tie” even mean?

You'd be forgiven for thinking the news has been inundated with flood stories in recent months and with each new flooding event, it seems to be the same communities and industries that are devastated. The Hawkesbury River at Windsor, in Sydney's north-west, has already exceeded the March flood peak of 13.8 metres and oyster farmers have been racing to save their crops.

Labor has also committed to recovering 450 gigalitres of water for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan but with less than two years until the deadline and only two gigalitres secured, how they are going to get there remains a challenge.

Whether it's “can't we all just get along” or “agree to disagree”, not everyone embraces an argument when it arrives. But Lee Siegel argues that argument is essential: to the individual, to art, and to society. Argument leads to change and it helps us to understand the world. Whether that argument plays out in political platforms, in art, or, increasingly, online, it's a way of understanding the other side and convincing them that your point of view is better.

An election in Papua New Guinea is a colourful affair but the results can set off a deadly chain reaction of events. As polling opens in 2022, there are concerns that the deadly violence of 2017 may be repeated, where the election was marred by widespread fraud, malpractice and extensive vote rigging, according to analysis from ANU.

Australia needs a major policy overhaul if it is to meet net zero targets by 2050 and radically transform itself into an energy superpower. But how to do it?

Melbourne aged care facility St Basil's has been charged with failing to implement a safe working environment during a covid outbreak in July 2020.

Apps like Tinder and online match-ups have made meeting potential partners easier,  but have digital break-ups replaced the art of what they used to call ‘conscious uncoupling'?

As rain continues to bucket down many parts of New South Wales, the Bureau of Meteorology has issues flood warnings for multiple rivers. For some river dwellers this is the fourth time in 18 months that their lives have been upended.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has left Ukraine after a 12-hour visit to the war-torn towns of Irpin, Hostomel and Bucha devastated by Russian troops, bodies strewn across streets, homes now a pile of rubble. Mr Albanese also visited Kyiv, announcing a further $100 million in military aid, including 20 bushmaster vehicles, promising to stand against Russia's invasion.

Stanley Jordan is a guitar virtuoso who has been pushing the boundaries with his playing for over four decades.

Ever thought about storing your poo for future purposes? Depositing your number two in a bank so to speak? Find out more about the need for poo banks.

This week we're asking the tough questions on political school visits, extreme water conservation measures and Kanye-inspired burgers. Writer, author and director Eliza Reilly and actor Remy Hii face off in this instalment of Let's Get Quizzical to see who knows more about the news, politics and popular culture that unfolded this week.

Australia's thawing relationship with China is skating on thin ice, while climate protests start to heat up again, and according to this year's census the millennials are taking over. Guests Jacqueline Maley, Columnist and Senior Writer for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Bob Brown, Former leader of the Greens Party and Patron of the Bob Brown Foundation Producer Ali Cheevers

The Prime Minister will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris in a bid to mend the relationship with an important old ally. The Morrison Government's axing of the $90billion dollar submarine deal with French company Naval Group infuriated the French, and saw President Macron accuse then Prime Minister Scott Morrison of lying.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has become the first Japanese leader to attend a NATO leaders summit as NATO turns its focus to China and the Asia Pacific. At the meeting in Madrid, NATO adopted a new Strategic Concept which singled out China for the first time.

Effective from today, the CBA is increasing its owner-occupied fixed rates by 1.4 per cent. That means for its one year product the rate is fixed at almost five per cent and its five year product is fixed at 6.69 per cent. So how likely will the other banks follow suit?

An inquest has found little could have been done to save Hannah Clarke and her three children from her estranged husband. With nine women dying a week across the country, at the hands of current or formers partners, how do we stop our systems from continually failing victims of domestic violence?

Former Managing Director of the ABC, Mark Scott joins RN Drive to celebrate nine decades of the ABC and reflect on his legacy.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has unveiled its 30-year roadmap for securing energy supply while moving to renewables, requiring more than $320m of investment and creating 25,000 jobs.

Real progress by March. That's the deadline Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has given for the next stage of EU Free Trade negotiations.

The worlds of classical music and urban culture very rarely rub shoulders. However, KLASSIK underground, aims to bring these worlds together by combining classical music with other art forms such as dance, street art, poetry and video installations - to create innovative music events. In the Drawing Room, Australian violist and creative producer, Tahlia Petrosian, talks about how she's bringing together laser artistry with Shostakovich.

Earlier this month, Jason Clare visited his primary school teacher as he embarked on his new role as the federal education minister and today the foreign affairs minister Penny Wong is in Malaysia where she's visiting her home town and the very school she went to until she was eight years of age. But sentiments aside, the trip has also been marked as a reset of Malaysia and Australia relations.

The recent discovery in Newcastle of a parasite called varroa mite, has resulted in the destruction of thousands of hives in New South Wales and closed the borders to surrounding states. The almond industry is at particular risk because pollination starts earlier than in other crops and the race is on to contain the virus.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government's more ambitious action on climate change will help to resume stalled trade negotiations with the European Union.

Melbourne has retained its place as one of the world's most liveable cities ranking 10th. But besides the laneways and the lattes, what makes Victoria's capital so captivating?

The Queensland Government will make cabinet papers and submissions public within 30 days of decisions, parting with the existing 20 to 30-year waiting period before documents are released from the state archives.

The Federal Court has ordered Origin Energy to pay $17 million in penalties for failing to comply with their obligations to protect customers experiencing hardship and payment difficulties. It's the largest amount ever imposed for breaches of the National Energy Retail Law and Rules.

Our Blood Runs in the Street is a visceral and raw examination of the violence and persecution experienced by the LGBTQI community in Australia. Blending physical theatre with verbatim text, the production looks at a spate of brutal bashings and murders in Sydney that brought terror to the LGBTQI community for decades. In the Drawing Room, award-winning director, Shane Anthony, talks about how he went about bringing these challenging and important stories to the stage.