Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast ABC Podcasts

Has COVID-19 signalled the end of the American era? Professor Wade Davis argues that the virus reveals what America has become, and believes that a profoundly polarized nation may not be able to find a way forward.

Originally broadcast 26th August, 2020

Richard Flanagan had nearly finished his next novel, when the state of Tasmania caught fire.

He felt compelled to change tack and started a new book that he says came out like a scream.

In 1880 Moonlite was one of the last bushrangers to be caught and executed- only months before Ned Kelly. But George Scott AKA Captain Moonlite was a very different kind of bushranger. His exploits are brought to life in Garry Linnell’s new book.

What, if anything, is the evolutionary purpose of laughter? We are hardwired to laugh; it's involuntary and infectious and found in all cultures, recognisable across boundaries of language.

Laughter comes even before language, as we see with babies' laughter. From an evolutionary perspective, is it a device for bonding and attracting partners - after all, a sense of humour is one of the key things people seek in potential partners.

For almost eight years, journalist Paul Salopek has been retracing the steps of human migration out of Africa as part of his 'Out of Eden' project. Covering 33,800 km, the walk is an experiment in slow journalism, allowing Paul to engage deeply with some of the major stories of our time - from climate change and mass migration, to cultural survival - by reporting on them at ‘boot level’.

Since before the days of the druids, humans have been connected to oak trees, for their acorns, their wood, their shelter and their magic.

Over a period of two years James Canton spent a lot of time in the company of oak trees, and one in particular known as the Honywood Oak.

The Honywood Oak is estimated to be 800 years old, and as he spent time with the ancient oak, he began to understand the mystical as well as practical relationship that humans have with oak trees.