Rn Drive - Separate Stories Podcast

Pickles on your hamburger? Its almost as divisive as pineapple on a pizza and just as controversial. New research suggests it makes the humble beef patty taste even better. But does this latest study need to be taken with a grain of salt?

This week we're asking the tough questions on fantastical super villains, power naps, and Peru's clown celebrations. Comedians and writers Pat McCaffrie and Andy Matthews 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.

Back to Bilo, boat turn-backs, climate pledges riding on a 'Teal' wave, oh and did we mention a new government?

The Central Queensland community of Biloela will welcome home four community members within weeks. Interim Home Affairs Minister Jim Chalmers this afternoon granted the youngest member of the Nadesalingham family a bridging visa, allowing them to live, work and go to school in the town. Guest: Angela Fredricks, family friend

From haunting minimalist melodies to an almost overwhelming mix of synths and techno rhythms, Nils Frahm is one of the piano’s most interesting practitioners. He's spent the pandemic-induced pause going back through his archives and finding musical friends—old and new—to share. Ahead of his return to Sydney for his first concert since 2019, Nils talks about the importance of the subconscious and why he prefers improvisation.

During his QUAD visit to Japan US President Joe Biden warned America would intervene militarily, if China were to invade Taiwan. It's one of the most forceful and overt statements to be made in support of the island in decades, before the White House immediately sought to walk back the statement.

In recent years world leading institutions like the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan in New York and the British Museum have faced scrutiny over their countless collections of foreign items pilfered during wars and colonisation. Slowly we're starting to see these museums return these objects - which are sometimes sacred human remains - to their rightful custodians, including museums in Australia. Guest: Laura McBride, a Wailwan woman and the Australian Museum's director of First Nations Producer: Eleni Psaltis

Caroline Dennett spent more than a decade as a safety consultant working with frontline employees at oil company Shell. What prompted her to make a very public resignation from working with the company and urging others to follow suit?

Imagine losing a child in the most tragic of circumstances to only then be stalked and threatened by people who claim your child and their death are fake. That was exactly what happened to the parents of the Sandy Hook school massacre in the United States ten years ago. And there are fears the same thing could happen again in the wake of the Texas school shooting this week. Already social media trolls and conspiracy theorists have jumped on the latest tragedy. Guest: Elizabeth Williamson, journalist for the New York Times and wrote the book, Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth. Producer: Eleni Psaltis

China has taken another step in its quest for greater presence in the Pacific, pressing 10 countries to sign two regional agreements designed to expand police cooperation and trade ties. The draft communiqué follows the signing of a controversial security pact between the Solomon Islands and China last month. Guest: Dame Meg Taylor, previous Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum

Ferruccio Furlanetto is one of the world's greatest operatic basses. Over five decades, Furlanetto has stamped his authority on the works of Verdi and Mozart with his powerful voice and impressive stage presence. In the Drawing Room, he looks back over his career so far, and talks about taking on the role of Mefistofele.

There's a new world record for the tallest wave ever ridden by a human - now held by German Sebastian Steudtner after riding an 86-foot wave in Portugal in 2020. Aussie Mick Corbett has taken to the waves at Nazare several times and reflects on what it's like to ride these monsters and why it takes so long to measure them.

Industry super giant HESTA has taken the bold step of announcing it will reject AGL's controversial demerger when it comes up for a vote next month. The $68 billion fund, which preserves the nest-eggs of thousands of workers in health and community service sectors, says it is 'unconvinced' that AGL's proposal to spin off its coal fired power stations into a separate business is compatible with Australia's commitment to the Paris climate goals.

Today in a small town in Texas an 18 year old man wearing body armour entered a primary school and shot dead at least 19 children and two of their teachers. Time and time again, we see these tragic school shootings in the United States and once again it's confounding the nation's leader.

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong will set off to Fiji tomorrow, just hours after returning from the Quad security dialogue in Japan. The visit coincides with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's Pacific tour where he will meet with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare tomorrow to discuss the controversial security pact. The Government says the trip signals the importance of the region to Australia. Guest: Robert Nair, former Fiji diplomat and Politician

As a worker, a theatre producer, an activist, and a businessman, William Onus was a tireless campaigner for the rights of his people in Australia, and a leader for the referendum that saw Australia's Indigenous peoples finally counted as people in their own country. He was also, perhaps, the first Aboriginal filmmaker. A new documentary, Ablaze, begins with the discovery of Bill's film in the National Film and Sound Archive and goes on to tell his story, and the story of his fight for equal rights. Co-director Alec Morgan shares Bill's story and the story of the film.

It was a meeting that was put on the backburner for years until Donald Trump came along. Now under Joe Biden's leadership, the Quad partnership between the US, India, Japan and Australia is back with gusto. But how does Japan hope to use these talks?

The workforce of the federal public service will look quite different under a new Labor government. With some department heads likely to lose their jobs, the new government has committed to raising the numbers of public sector jobs and cutting back on the use of consulting and labour-hire firms.

For all of the tens of millions of dollars that the United Australia Party spent on advertising during the federal election, they're set to be outvoted in their home state by a party that barely spent tens of thousands of dollars. Queensland voters have flirted with the idea of electing a Senator from the Legalise Cannabis party, which has received unprecedented support as more Australians utilise medicinal cannabis.

Federal Labor is within just two seats of forming a majority, allowing it to govern in its own right. The party secured five new members in Western Australia, an outcome credited with putting the party on the path to majority. Guest: Wayne Swan, Federal Labor Party President