The Radio National Hour

The Radio National Hour

Fran Kelly brings you compelling conversations on issues that challenge,entertain and inspire us.

The Tate brothers' manosphere could be about to shrink dramatically

The Tate brothers are blamed for promoting and monetising a culture of often violent misogyny and now Britain is seeking their extradition from the US to face multiple charges of rape and human trafficking. The New Yorker’s Heidi Blake has interviewed them both - her account of their exploits will shock you.  The countdown is on to Australia’s national Census and this year there’s an expanded list of questions, like whether you ride an e-bike to work, your sexual orientation and ancestry. Jenny Telford is the general manager responsible for this massive record keeping exercise. In the age of AI and algorithms - is there still a role for music critics? Sosefina Fuamoli has been at it for 15 years and says she's not giving up yet.

Helen Clark says 'Palestine will disappear before our eyes' if Israeli settlements continue

Britain's new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham wants to bring back hope to Britain. He arrived at Number 10 Downing Street promising to end rough sleeping and offering immediate cost of living relief. Anne McElvoy, host of Politics at Sam & Anne’s podcast says his cabinet appointments show he's determined to tread a middle path.   Former UN head of the UN Development Program and member of The Elders, Helen Clark has just returned from a tour of the West Bank where she says the prospect of a two-state solution is rapidly slipping away. She says Palestinian towns are being encircled by barbed wire and Israeli settlements. And she’s the most brilliant 18th century composer you’ve never heard of, Marianna Martinez was top of the pops in the court of Austria’s empress Maria Theresa. 250 years on, her work is being newly discovered and performed by contemporary musicologists like Dr. Judith Valerie Engel.

WA police nab dozens of wanted people with new facial recognition technology

Police in Western Australia are claiming success following the rollout of controversial facial recognition technology that's already identified dozens of wanted people, by scanning them in real time. Professor Ed Santow, Co-Director of the Human Technology Institute at University of Technology Sydney says this technology will be rolled out across Australia very quickly and now is the time to ensure it has guardrails.       More than four hundred and forty thousand Australians are believed to be living with dementia, a disease that kills more of us than any other. But according to the latest guidelines published by the World Health Organisation our risk of developing it could be nearly halved by taking action now. Scientia Professor Kaarin Anstey is Director of the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute and Principal Senior Research Scientist at Neuroscience Research Australia, she’s also the only Australian researcher on the World Health Organisation’s dementia panel. Spain have lifted the football world cup, defeating Argentina, meanwhile US president Donald Trump reckons it was the best tournament ever - by a factor of four, maybe even five - SBS Sport’s lead commentator David Basheer says he might just be right.

Jennifer Westacott: Australian Jews have been let down by all our leaders

This week it was the turn of University leaders to front up at the Antisemitism Royal Commission.They were challenged and chastened over their failure to protect Jewish students and academics in the protests that followed October 7. Jennifer Westacott, Chancellor of Western Sydney University says too many institutions hid behind the defence of free speech. Do you struggle with the shorter days during the winter months? Well in Antarctica the sun doesn’t rise at all for six long weeks, and when it finally peaks over the horizon, it's only there for 24 minutes. Davis Station leader Jenny Bonser talks about what it's like living in the dark for so long.  And a musical collaboration that crosses borders and cultures. Australian-British pianist Jayson Gillham and Palestinian pianist Iyad Sughayer get ready to tour their new show, The Keys of Life