The Radio National Hour

It's summer on ABC Radio National, so we're bringing you some of your favourite stories from 2025.Today, how medical researchers and practitioners have been blind to differences of sex and gender with deadly consequences.Plus, Saul Griffith’s electrifying “how-to guide“ for your life and home. And the bold plan to resurrect the railway linking the Islamic holy city of Medina to the oldest capital city in the world, Damascus.

It's summer on ABC Radio National, so we're bringing you some of your favourite stories from 2025.Today, an ethical dilemma, should we eliminate a species of mosquito to save people from malaria? Guy Pearce talks about filming his indie film Inside in, yes, you guessed it, an actual Victorian prison. And we reflect on the extraordinary legacy of Virginia Giuffre who took on the rich and powerful to expose the crimes of paedophile Jeffery Epstein. 

It's summer on ABC Radio National, so we're bringing you some of your favourite stories from 2025.Today, it’s cyclone season in Australia which means millions of us are - hopefully -ready to batten down the hatches at short notice. But how do scientists and engineers figure out how to build stronger shelters … at the Cyclone Testing Station of course. Also ahead … the problem with political pragmatism … Richard Dennis spoke to Michael Rowland about his essay Dead Centre, How Political Pragmatism Is Killing Us.And the man behind a thousand Time Magazine covers. 

It's summer on ABC Radio National, so we're bringing you some of your favourite stories from 2025.Today, amid growing resistance to the use of the death penalty in the US, some states are resorting to firing squads.Also ahead, they have a smile that could melt even the hardest hearts, but Axolotls are critically endangered. And Mike Bowers explains why “photographs are the receipts for the rough draft of history”.

It's summer on ABC Radio National, so we're bringing you some of your favourite stories from 2025.Today, South Korea acknowledges human rights of thousands of adopted children were violated.Bringing back the 'Australian-made mindset' for fashion manufacturing.And, 'roid rage', athletes push back against Enhanced Games.

National Cabinet has agreed to strengthen gun laws across the country in the wake of the Bondi terror attacks, which has left at least 16 people dead and dozens more injured. But questions remain about how closely intelligence authorities should have been monitoring the alleged murderers, as the attack leaves some Jewish people questioning whether they can now allow their religious identity to be made public. 

FIFA is under fire over the price of tickets to next year’s Football World Cup. In the initial offer today fans are being asked to pay up to 13 thousand dollars for a ticket to the World Cup final. 

The Trump Administration has taken a wrecking ball to America’s science establishment this year, slashing funding for research into cancer, vaccines, climate change and even its prized space agency NASA and the impacts aren’t just confined to the USA. 

The Coalition is poised for a fresh debate over immigration, flagging deportations of unlawful migrants, and an Australian values test. It's an issue that’s emboldened right wing populists and brought violence to the streets of western democracies like Britain, the US and Europe. How can Australia have this debate without importing the divisions? 

Dozens of Australian families have been left homeless after bushfires took hold this weekend in communities and towns across three states. But some homes survived the inferno, so how do we design and build for a fiery future?