Monday 29 December 2008
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Radio National Summer
Paul Barclay and the team at Australia Talks are taking a break over summer, and will return in 2009 on 27 January.
Past Programs
Audio
Thursday 25 December 2008
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The TV interview as confession: the Frost-Nixon interviews of 1977
In a series of three remarkable interviews in 1977, the British TV host David Frost made himself a household name by cornering the wiley ex-US president Richard Nixon. The story behind one of the first cases of chequebook journalism is the basis of a new film -- join us, Paul Barclay, MovieTime presenter, Julie Rigg and Media Report presenter, Antony Funnell, on Christmas Day for a discussion about this landmark media event.
Wednesday 24 December 2008
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Realising the potential of desert environments
Nearly three quarters of Australia is desert, you know. Consequently, most of our population centres have built up around the edges of the continent.
Recent discussion around deserts here have focused on the viability of remote Indigenous communities, with remote Australia being described by some as a 'failed state' ... referring to the difficulty maintaining infrastructure like health and housing. But it's a bitter contradiction -- Australia's deserts and the people living there contribute over ninety billion dollars to Australia's gross revenue. That's according to the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre.
In early November this year, over 300 people got together in Alice Springs to discuss the potential of desert environments. A sixth of the world's population live in desert regions ... and the conference examined the potential of these environments to generate energy, food, knowledge and industry. Sharing and developing knowledge of desert environments seems particularly relevant given climate change.
Guests from around the world have come to Australia because we apparently lead the way in approaches to the economic development of desert communities.
Tuesday 23 December 2008
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Hidden Queensland
Right now, Queensland is at the epicentre of national power. The Prime Minister, the federal Treasurer, the Governor General are all from Queensland. And the state is growing like there's no tomorrow - vast numbers of overseas and interstate migrants mean it's practically bursting at the seams. And it's got a burgeoning cultural sector - of which the Writer's festival is evidence. These days Queensland's the smart state.
But it wasn't always this way. How many of you remember when it was the Moonlight State? A mere twenty years ago Queensland was better known for its vice, cronyism, corruption and misconduct. The Fitzgerald Inquiry led to former government ministers and the police chief being thrown in jail. The state, back then, was a national embarrassment.
So how did it all turn around? Where is Queensland at now? And how did that era affect today's Queensland? No talkback today ... but Australia Talks ponders these question's ... some of them addressed in Hidden Queensland - the title of the Spring edition of the Griffith Review.
Monday 22 December 2008
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Human error and the workplace
Have you ever considered how safe your workplace is? Have you ever thought your biggest risk in the workplace is staring back at you from the bathroom mirror? That's what one of our guests today thinks!
So a break from format today, no calls on our usual number, but an opportunity to hear the latest thinking on workplace safety...something that costs the country tens of billions of dollars every year, on top of the potential human costs...
Thursday 18 December 2008
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Art of cooking
Cookbooks are bestsellers and cooking programs are as popular as never before. However, fewer and fewer people are actually cooking at home. Take-away and ready-to-go-meals are dominating our dinner tables. So why are we losing the art of cooking? Do we need to re-discover the value of a good meal? Or should we just accept that our cooking culture might be changing?
Wednesday 17 December 2008
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Australia Talks Movies: I Have Loved You So Long
What have been your film highlights for 2008? No Country for Old Men, Son of a Lion maybe, The Lemon Tree, what about Australia? Whatever your pick, join MovieTime's Julie Rigg and Paul Barclay for a discussion of the year's best and worst. Plus a look at the new French film starring Kristin Scott Thomas I Have Loved You So Long directed by the multi-talented writer Philippe Claudel.
And the list is Best and Worst;
Julie Rigg: Son of a Lion, Hunger, In Bruges, The Edge of Heaven, Lars and the Real Girl. Worst: Big Stan.
Lynden Barber:Wall.E, Waltz with Bashir, Persepolis , Hunger, In Bruges , The Edge of Heaven , The Savages, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead , Stellet Licht, Garage, Vicky Cristina Bareclona, The Dark Knight, Worst: There Will Be Blood ,
Tim Milfull: I've Loved You So long, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, There Will Be Blood, Lars and the Real Girl, The Counterfeiters, The Savages, The Visitor, Son of a Lion, Waltz with Bashir, Not Quite Hollywood, Worst: Smother, Fool's Gold, The Happening, Love in the Time of Cholera, The Mist, Feast of Love, The Bucket List, My Best Friend's Girl, Bonneville, The Strangers, Max Payne, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, The Love Guru, What Happens in Vegas, 10,000 BC, 27 Dresses, Vantage Point, Rabbit without Ears .
Paul Barclay: Waltz With Bashir, No Country For Old Men ( strictly speakng not a 2008 release), There Will Be Blood, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, I have Loved You So Long, The Dark Knight, Burn After Reading, Juno, Edge Of Heaven Worst: Where In The World Is Osama bin Laden, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth (3D).
Tuesday 16 December 2008
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Communication and new media
Communication via email or SMS is a growing trend in the workplace. But some fear the fast-paced technology would damage our social skills, texting would vandalise the language and spelling and punctuation would be marginalised. Are those fears justified? Or is it just unnecessary panic? And is the new technology really improving our productivity?
Monday 15 December 2008
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Land of Plenty
Two of our more interesting social and political writers -- Mark Davis and George Megalogenis -- join Paul Barclay for a discussion on Mark Davis's latest book The Land of Plenty, the story of Australia today: How we got here and where we're going now that the boom has turned to bust. Join us with your ideas.
Thursday 11 December 2008
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Tourism market
The $80 billion tourism industry is facing hard times. Bookings are down up to 20 per cent from last season. Both international and domestic travel has declined. But the reasons for that are not only based in the financial crisis. So what can we do to improve travel -- particularly within Australia? And is piggybacking off the Baz Luhrmann film Australia a good campaign to attract international visitors?
