How did we come to live in a world ruled by - mostly - idiots? And can we fix our struggling democracies by enfranchising children as young as six? Political philosopher David Runciman attempts to pump some adrenaline into our limp and languishing systems. Plus, the staggering beauty and fragility of island ecosystems. 

Since the war in Gaza broke out there has been a crisis of censorship in the arts sector around the world, in what the not-for-profit group Freemuse is calling a most alarming moment for freedom of expression. Here in Australia pianist Jayson Gillham had his concerts cancelled after speaking about the killing of journalists in Gaza, and arts organisations have lost millions in funding from donors. So what rights do artists have to express political views? And what should the consequences be? 

President Biden has spoken at the Democratic Convention. Who's fuelling the atrocities in the Sudan? And it's 80 years since the fictitious 'Ern Malley' dazzled with his poetry.

Laura Tingle on Peter Dutton's calls for a Gaza visa ban. Constitutional lawyer Shireen Morris on why the Voice referendum failed. Plus, what's it really like to buy a 1 Euro house in rural Italy? 

Cuba is still on the USA's State Sponsors of Terrorism list and the cost to its economy is huge. Plus the true identity of Australia's first novelist revealed in a new biography - including how he ruined his own brilliant career. 

Cultural critic Roxane Gay on dissent, anger, and why despair is a luxury. Plus 200 years after martial law was declared against the Wiradjuri people of the Bathurst region, elders gather to reflect on this pivotal moment in Australia's history. 

Journalist Haggai Matar considers what Israelis aren't hearing about the war in Gaza and Carol Rosenberg takes us inside 'Gitmo' to reveal why chances of it closing anytime soon are slim. Plus, 'weird' has become the word of the US election, but where did the word come from, and why is it such an effective insult?  

Australia has signed up to a revamped AUKUS agreement, which will allow the submarine deal to be cancelled with as little as a year's notice. Plus, an extraordinary effort to map Australia's First Nations langauges. 

Maori rights are being whittled away by the new conservative government in New Zealand and in Guatemala private adoption agencies sent huge numbers of babies overseas - with many of them indigenous. 

Bruce Shapiro on whether Tim Walz is the right pick for Kamala Harriss's running mate, the epic Murdoch court battle for the succession of the empire, and the mammoth task of writing women and Indigenous Australians into our official Dictionary of Biography.