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In 1846, linguistics professor Fabrice Cleriquot is despatched from Lyon to the Swan River Colony, sent away with a box full of silkworms to stop him from bringing more disgrace upon the family. Accompanying him on board the Elizabeth are twenty-eight mismatched and misguided Catholic missionaries including Dom Salvado, who seeks to create a Spanish Benedictine monastery deep in the bush, and the Irish Sisters of Mercy, who are fleeing a dreadful famine. Given the job of distributing a huge donation from a wealthy benefactress, Fabrice bears witness to the folly of his travelling companions whose presumptuous attempts to rescue the colony and the original inhabitants from themselves, can only lead to tragedy.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Peter Burke about the reality of the Swan River colony in 1845, the various groups of missionaries and their competing interests in the battle for the souls of the indigenous people and the free settlers, and exploring different points of view through historical fiction.

Australians love dogs – big dogs, little dogs, fluffy couch potatoes and hardy working dogs. We have one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world. 'Australia’s Dogs' is a celebration of the dog in Australian life, exploring the human-canine bond, and reflecting on the crucial role played by dogs in our life and work. Learn more about Australia’s home-grown dog breeds that played a central role in the development of pastoral industries, as well as the iconic dingo and its place in Indigenous life, and the Australian ecosystem.

'Australia’s Dogs' is generously illustrated with images drawn from the rich collections of the National Library of Australia. Some capture a photographer’s love for their own dog, while others tell epic tales of survival in harsh conditions, comment on an element of social history or record a significant moment. As the incredible variety of images shows, the story of dogs in Australia is a subject that is historically significant, with a broad and enduring appeal.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Katherine Kovacic about the ancient bond between dogs and humans, how and why Australian dog breeds have become part of our folklore, and what the vast collection of photographs held in the National Library Of Australia's archive tells us about ourselves and the connection we have wth our canine companions.

Bhutan is known as the land of Gross National Happiness, a Buddhist Shangri-la hidden in the Himalayas. But in the late 1980s, Bhutan waged a brutal ethnic-cleansing campaign against its citizens of Nepali ancestry, including Om Dhungel and his family.

Bhutan to Blacktown tells Om Dhungel’s remarkable story — his journey from a remote village to a senior position in the Bhutanese Civil Service, to life as a human rights activist in Nepal and, eventually, to his work as a community leader in Blacktown, western Sydney. Every step prepared Om for the central role he would play in settling more than 5000 Bhutanese refugees, in one of the most successful refugee initiatives in Australia’s history.
Written with Walkley Award-winning journalist James Button, Bhutan to Blacktown is a story of grit and struggle, humour and irrepressible optimism — and how losing nearly everything shaped one man’s character and fate.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Om Dhungel about the period of Nepalese ethnic cleansing that forced him to reconsider his life in the Buddhist nation of Bhutan, his role in resettling the Nepalese in Australia, his role as a community leader in Blacktown and what community means for him.

In December 1943, five courageous war correspondents join a British air raid on Berlin. They are Australians, Alf King from the Sydney Morning Herald and Norm Stockton from the Sydney Sun; Americans, Ed Murrow from CBS and Lowell Bennett from the International News Service; and Norwegian journalist and activist, Nordahl Grieg. Each is assigned to one of the 400 Lancaster bombers that fly into the hazardous skies over Germany on a single night. Of the five, only two return to file their stories.

After parachuting out of his doomed aircraft, one reporter is taken prisoner. From there his captors take him on a remarkable tour of bombed-out German cities. In 'Despatch from Berlin, 1943', Anthony Cooper and Thorsten Perl uncover this incredible true story of life on both sides of the war.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Anthony Cooper about the massive operation that was supposed to end the war, the rationale for undertaking one of the most ambitious air raids in history, and the five correspondents who risked their lives to support the war effort.

When Kerri Sackville decided to stop filling every idle moment with distraction and learn to be comfortable alone, her quality of life soared. From boosting creativity and productivity, improving self-awareness, building resilience and moral courage, to improving relationships and connection with others, a bit of alone time is vital to wellbeing. But with smart phones, social media, endless streaming and podcast options, as well as the demands of work, family and friends, spending meaningful time on your own can feel impossible, unnecessary, or even indulgent.

In The Secret Life of You, Kerri Sackville analyses society’s attitude towards solitude – why is it okay to eat breakfast at a café on your own but faintly tragic to dine alone? She identifies the roadblocks in the way to unplugging, contemplates aloneness as opposed to loneliness, and looks at the difference between true connection and mere connectivity. Kerri provides practical advice on how to become comfortable in your own company, in order to enjoy – and even cherish – time alone.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kerri Sackville about the difference between loneliness and being alone, why a little alone time can build resilience and mental toughness, and some of strategies we can all use to cultivate our inner lives and build stronger connections.

'The Prize' revisits the 1943 Archibald Prize scandal, when portrait painter William Dobell was temporarily stripped of the prize for his expressionistic portrait of Joshua Smith. The Art Gallery of New South Wales trustees were taken to the Supreme Court of New South Wales by vexatious competitors Mary Edwards and Joseph Wolinski, claiming that the winning painting was a caricature, not a portrait. The fallout from the case was devastating for both Dobell and Smith who had been likely lovers in a socially conservative Sydney. In the aftermath, never met or spoke to each other again.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kim Anderson about the tensions arising from a nation extracting itself from a culturally conservative past and embracing a modernist future, and the challenges in characterising the intimate relationship between William Dobell and Joshua Hill.