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World famous for his incisive reporting, unique polemic, and winning public debates, the late Christopher Hitchens is a sorely missed addition to the media in general, and Late Night Live in particular.

The author of over 30 books, Hitchens spoke to Phillip about his autobiography HITCH 22 – A Memoir, in 2010 while he was in Sydney.

Guest: Christopher Hitchens

Former ballerina, Jennifer Homans, charts the history of ballet from its beginnings, its export from France to Russia, and its transformation in New York under the work of George Balanchine.

In a second discussion, a scientific study tries to untangle just how creativity, memory, and practise, work together in the mind of ballet dancers.

Guests:

Jennifer Homans, Dance Critic for the New Yorker and author of Apollo’s Angels.

Garry Stewart, Catherine Stevens and Scott Delahunta

One of the most powerful books ever discussed on Late Night Live, Professor Howard French argues that the role of Africa has been intentionally sidelined from the story of the making of the modern world.

He believes that the true extent of the exploitation of Africa by the West – that is ‘the West’ prior to the United States of America – is worse than what we already knew.

Guest: Howard French, author of Born in Blackness; Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War 

Christina Lamb OBE, Chief Foreign Correspondent at the Sunday Times, has reported from the world’s hotspots now for decades, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

She wrote a searing analysis of the problems with many of the western involvements in these countries, and about her experience being ambushed by the Taliban in Iraq.

But in the years since 9/11 she’s been shocked many times while watching the west, “fight a war with our hands tied, committing too little too late, failing to understand local dynamics and turning a blind eye as our enemy was helped by our own ally, Pakistan”.

Guest: Christina Lamb, journalist and author

Emerging First Nations astrophysicists, Krystal de Napoli and Karlie Noon, explore the connections between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander environmental and cultural practices and the behaviour of the stars, and what must be done to preserve this knowledge into the future.

Guests: Krystal de Napoli and Karlie Noon,First Nations astrophysicists

One of Australia’s most successful and revered filmmakers, Gillian Armstrong is a multiple award winning director, and her most successful films include “My Brilliant Career”, “Little Women”, “Oscar and Lucinda”, and “Charlotte Grey” among many more. Gillian talks to Phillip about her extraordinary life.

Guest: Gillian Armstrong