Carnival of Podcasts

Credit Shocks and Economic Aftershocks

Global Economic Trends: The Credit Crunch: A Conversation with George Soros

Brusuelas Says Rise in Commodity Prices Is `Permanent'

Goldman Sees Putin Controlling Russia's Domestic Policy

China: Is Political Reform Possible?

How Did We Get Into this Mortgage Mess, and How Do We Get Out?
Alan Blinder, Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Economics Editor, The Economist magazine, Peter Orszag, Director, Congressional Budget Office

The Culture of Food in Rural China
Ellen Oxfeld

Totalitarian Consumerism and the Death of Citizenship
Benjamin Barber, president of CivWorld and Professor of Civil Society at the University of Maryland

Delivering Critical Care in Developing Nations: A New Approach

Dictatorship and Repression

THE BRAIN: A HISTORY

STW: Nicholson Baker, Jeffrey Sachs, Sarah Walker and Leo Hollis

Dollars for Defense: War, Taxes, and Sacrifice
“The history of America’s tax system can be written largely as a history of America’s wars.”

We-Think: the power of mass creativity

Pop Finance
We welcome sociologist Brooke Harrington, whose new book Pop Finance is a fascinating survey of investor behaviour and the massive rise in popular engagement in US stock market in the 90’s, when investing in stocks, once the province of a privileged elite, became a mass activity involving more than half of Americans.

The Secular State - the best option for British Muslims?


White British working class children make the worst progress in secondary school

Israel at 60: the Etgar Keret Version

Douglas Blackmon: Neo-Slavery in Our Times

Common Wealth: economics for a crowded planet

Brazil’s Statesman at Large-Fernando Henrique Cardoso

After the Empire: Must Reading from Parag Khanna

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Taxation in Colonial America
Taxation was central to the evolution of government in colonial America, and complaints about taxation led directly to the Revolution in 1776. Taxation in Colonial America provides a definitive history of taxation in the colonies from Jamestown to the Revolution. In almost 1,000 pages, Rabushka’s book covers an array of fascinating subjects such as the monetary systems of the colonies, British governance and politics, tax evasion and tax revolts, the development of colonial legislatures, and differences in tax systems between the colonies. The level of interesting detail about both tax and nontax subjects in this book is astounding. This forum will be a treat for anyone interested in taxation, American history, or the development of English and American political structures.

The Man Who Dated the Hobbit
Chris Turney has always been obsessed by weather. He confesses to Paul Willis that he used to keep weather statistics even as a boy. He is also keen on fossils and has now combined these interests in a book on the history of climate and how much it changes. Turney discuses the likelihood of Snowball Earth when life was nearly snuffed out, and the Hobbit, which he helped date as part of an international team

In cold blood?
Sir David Attenboroug

Maths rules!
Marcus du Sautoy is as close to a superstar as you can get in maths - without being Newton

After the scientific mums, how about their children?
Dr Sue Stocklmayer's experiment with mothers was a huge success. She taught them science, so that they could, in turn, answer their children's questions. The mothers loved the course at the Australian National University and interest in the scheme was sparked around the world. So what next? And how do we stem what seems to be a stampede away from science in our youth. Dr Stocklmayer has some firm suggestions — even involving soap operas on TV.

Australian sea floor expands
Australia is 2.5 million square-kilometres larger following the United Nations recognising Australia's claim to more of the sea floor around the continent. Australia doesn't own the fish in the water, but it is responsible for the sea floor. Some trenches go to a depth of 10 kilometres below the surface

A challenge to global warming orthodoxies- Part 1 and Part 2


Ventriloquism, lip reading and left and right

Schizophrenia and the origin of human nature

Quitting the habit: neurobiology, addiction and the insidious ciggie

The allergy generation and the EpiPen epidemic
Allergies to everything from dust, to cats, to peanuts are hitting young children hard, and doctors don't really understand why or what to do. Long held theories are changing, and there's great confusion.

One family farm
Today's generation of farmers is experiencing unrelenting change - climate change, drought, globalisation and plummeting incomes. Many families are finding the pressures too much to bear. Reporter Di Martin grew up in sheep and wheat country, and tells the story of one of her cousins, as he puts his property on the market.

Israel: selling out secularism?
The Olmert government is dependent on the support of the extremist, ultra orthodox religious movement in Israel. They now make up 10 per cent of the population, and make no secret of their desire for Israel to become a religiously based state.

Islam and democracy

Political expenditure laws

The Australian car industry: do we need one ?

The next Christendom
Philip Jenkins is possibly the most respected writer on the subject of demographics and Christianity. He's looked at the effect different birth rates are having on the world's Christian populations. His conclusion is that Third World Christians, with their much more conservative, Bible-focused beliefs, are likely to dominate the big Christian churches.

Paris May 1968

The 1929 stock market crash

eBay's Big Adventure
Internet auction giant eBay is under scrutiny from the competition regulator. It wants to force all its Australian buyers and sellers to use just one method of payment. Is this a restrictive trade practice or a consumer friendly move?

What makes a good opening sequence?
Danny Yount has an interesting job in the world of design. He says of himself that his 'primary focus is main title design'. Today on By Design we look at the magic of designing the 'look' of a film, the power of the opening sequences, for example, the way a trailer is designed to hit the mark. Danny Yount is the man who designed the powerful opening sequence of Six Feet Under, and his work on this cult TV show earned him an Emmy.

Complete works of Shakespeare: a new edition

Erotica - is it porn or is it literature?

Rotten English: writing in the vernacular
'A howl, a shout, or a machine-gun, or the wind or a wave', this is how Caribbean poet Kamau Brathwaite describes writing in the vernacular.

The literary Karl Marx
Karl Marx became one of the most significant political scientists of his age and then of the 20th century, but during his college years he wasn't sure what path to take in life. At one stage he considered a literary future but wasn't sure if he should write poetry, plays or fiction. He burned much of his lyrical work after his political transformation but his fictional attempts are contained in a violet notebook that he sent to his father.

Self-censorship in Israeli media

On the power of language


History under siege: battles over the past
History, like politics, is about national identity. So the work of historians frequently comes under attack, amid calls for the refurbishment or restoration of national identity. From the United States to the decolonised countries in Africa and South East Asia, the trend towards historical revisionism has been surprising in its breadth, scale and diversity of argument.
History under siege: battles over the past surveys the tensions and debates around history, identity and contemporary society in four countries around the world. It features interviews with historians, as well as oral history and testimony, and archival material.
Japan / Argentina / France / Australia

Christian Emissary of Kublai Khan
Before Marco Polo plied the Silk Route to visit the great Khan in the 13th century, the Mongol Emperor sent out a Christian emissary to retrieve relics from Jerusalem and send a message to the Pope. His name was Rabban Sawma.

The Origins of the Eucharist
Is the central sacrament of the Christian Church a true reflection of what Jesus meant when he said, 'this is my blood' and 'this is my flesh'? Bruce Chilton reveals a different meaning of the Last Supper rite.