Rn Drive - Separate Stories Podcast

After defaulting on its debt repayments, Sri Lanka is a country that is struggling with little money, little fuel, rolling blackouts and soaring costs. Little more than three weeks since violent protests turned deadly, the Australian men's cricket team will tour despite fears facilitating the matches will take away precious resources from Sri Lankans.

After nearly 10 years and a lengthy legal battle, the families of nine victims settled lawsuits for $73 million dollars against Remington, the maker of the firearm used in that massacre. It’s the largest payout by a gun manufacturer in a mass shooting case. And now the lawyer behind the landmark action is set to do it all over again, in the wake of the Uvalde mass shooting last month, which claimed the lives of 19 children and two adults.

We all want our children to have a great education, but over successive decades Australians have come to rely on the market to deliver it, which means ‘greatness’ is increasingly only accessible to those who can afford it. 

Mortgage holders will have to tighten the belt on their savings once more with the Reserve Bank raising interest rates by half a per cent - well ahead of expectations.

The Federal Government has promised to deliver a cost of living package in its October Budget but will there be targeted relief for low income earners and those on support payments in the interim?

The best songwriters tell us stories about the world around us, about shared experiences, but it's a rare treat when we get to hear about them and their story. On her latest album, Home Video, Lucy Dacus, opens up about her own life, with songs that capture her coming of age, finding love, making friends and risking losing them. In the Drawing Room, Lucy talks about the process of figuring out who she is and why she still writes in her journal.   

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reaffirmed an election pledge on his trip to Indonesia - to establish a climate and infrastructure partnership with Indonesia, initially worth $200 million. But with Indonesia one of the world's largest emitters and known for having staggering rates of deforestation, what will that look like and what will it focus on?

Jobs are in high supply, but there's no one to fill them. This is the great dilemma confronting employers across the nation. For farmers, some of whom are expecting bumper crops, it can mean that produce is left to rot on the vine or lambs go unshorn.  So where are all the workers? Are they overseas? Or sitting at home here in Australia? Or are they lacking the skills necessary to get the jobs done? Guests: Ian Yates, Chief Executive of the Councils on the Aging Tara Bennett, Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree chief executive officer Ben Rogers, National Farmers Federation general manager workplace relations and legal affairs Producer: Katie Hamann

A Victorian man has been ordered by the local council to remove the solar panels on his roof because of heritage restrictions. What does this mean for other homeowners wanting to drive down energy costs?

The future of the Boris Johnson hangs in the balance with a no confidence motion called. It brings to a head weeks of discontent where dozens of his own MPs publicly called for his resignation in the wake of the 'Partygate' affair and subsequent investigation.

Australia's peak body for unions says workers can not afford to be left behind as employer groups lobby for a four month delay to pay rises. In its submission to the Fair Work Commission, the Federal Government argued workers earning the minimum wage should get a pay rise of five-point-one per cent, to keep in line with inflation. The Australian Council of Trade Unions is demanding a five point five percent increase. Guest: Sally McManus, ACTU Secretary

When Ana Roxanne released her debut LP, Because of A Flower, in 2020, it provided a peaceful, meditative space for listeners to sit amongst the stress and the noise. Inspired by her own personal story and the experience of identifying as intersex, it weaves complicated ideas into a deceptively simple sound. In the Drawing Room, Ana explores resonant spaces and childhood influences.

Could a ground-breaking study in sudden infant death syndrome be too good to be true? Plus tracing the seeds of the world's largest plant, and why giraffes are sticking their necks out for love.

It’s been three years since an Australian Prime Minister visited Indonesia. What will Anthony Albanese's trip to Indonesia mean for the relations between the two countries?

A new Federal cabinet, an energy crisis and is the push for Australia to become a republic back on?

Don Carlos is a grand work, with opera’s eternal themes of love, betrayal and faith. These days, it's beloved by fans of Verdi, but that hasn’t always been the case. The opera has appeared in many forms over the years, with some acts edited out and even the language changed. The latest production by the Metropolitan Opera is performed for the first time by the company in the original French. The production's star, Matthew Polenzani, takes listeners back to the origins: the character's and his own.

Turkish pilot and engineer Selçuk Bayraktar is considered the Elon Musk of Turkey and already his drones have been sold to at least thirteen countries. But how likely are his drones going to set the course of the war in Ukraine?

In the outback Queensland town of Mount Isa, a new program has been designed to help First Nations teens reach a good night's sleep. It's given rise to Australia's first Indigenous sleep coaches, aiming to help not only education teens about the importance of a good night's sleep, but help stem the occurrence of children wandering the streets at night.

Hundreds of people stood in queues outside the Passport Office in Sydney's CBD today, waiting for updates on their passport applications or to collect their new passports. Many of the people waiting say they applied for a passport more than two months ago.

The wholesale price of gas could spike to more than 50 times normal levels this week as temperatures plummet in Sydney and Melbourne.  It’s opened up debate about whether the eastern states should follow WA and reserve a percentage of locally produced gas for domestic use.