Saturday Extra - Separate stories podcast

One of the nation's most eminent historians, Mark McKenna, has written a new book - The Shortest History of Australia. It's a history of modern Australia permeated by First Nations history; a multicultural society with an island mindset; a continent of epic beauty and extreme natural events; a country obsessed by war abroad but blind to its founding war at home; and a thriving nation-state still to realise its political independence.

Zohran Mamdani appears to be on the precipice of becoming New York city's Mayor.The 34 year-old socialist is leading the polls ahead of Tuesday's election, despite facing off against establishment Democrat Andrew Cuomo, who is now running as an independent.A radical policy agenda — which includes freezing rents, free buses and free childcare — seems to be winning over New Yorkers.But will Mamdani's victory lead to a dramatic showdown with the Trump administration?

The younger brother of King Charles III will be stripped of his title and honours as prince, and will be now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, over his ties to the convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.Emily Maitlis spoke to the former prince in what is widely considered a disastrous interview about his connections to Epstein.She reflects on the widening crisis for the Royal Family. 

On a scale of one to ten,, Donald Trump rated it as a twelve. The much-anticipated meeting between the US president and Chinese President Xi Jinping resulted in a one-year deal whereby Beijing would postpone restrictions on experts of rare earth minerals and Washington eased tariffs.The two met on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea and they’ll apparently meet again in April with plans for the US president to visit Beijing.

This week saw an escalation in Sudan's two year civil war as the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces took control of the city of El-Fasher, which has been besieged for 17 months.There have been reports of summary executions, and the killing of unarmed civilians.Sudan has been ravaged by war since 2023. Since then, more than 150,000 people have died across the country and about 12 million have been forced to flee their homes.The RSF is carrying out mass atrocities with impunity, according to the United Nations and Human Rights Watch.Will this escalation finally lead to action from the international community?

Diljit Dosanjh is Punjab's most celebrated star.With a background in Bollywood, the singer fuses Punjabi folk with high energy pop, hip hop and dance music.He is touring Australia over the next two weeks, playing to tens of thousands of fans, many who will come to shows dressed up as the star himself.

Amidst more noticeable signs of European and American-style populism and protest in Australia, how resilient is our democracy? How are the economics of home ownership and the after effects of COVID playing out at the ballot box and on the street? Two former state premiers join us for a democracy temperature check.

Inadequate security and a simple ruse featuring hi-vis vests saw $157 million worth of French crown jewels stolen from the Louvre this week.Audacious and simple. That's textbook art heist.History shows that many of history's greatest heists are brazen and opportunistic, relying on renovations and poor security.

Timor Leste will become ASEAN's newest member, a historic moment for the nation given President José Ramos Horta once said that it was easier to get into heaven than ASEAN.But the headline of the summit is the attendance of US President Doanld Trump. The attendance of any US president at the ASEAN summits is seen as a test, of the group’s international relevance, and US interest in the region. What do all the parties want from the visit?

The US President Donald Trump is due to arrive in Malaysia this weekend to attend ASEAN, before heading to Japan on Monday and South Korea later in the week.The trip comes in the aftermath of his decision to freeze trade talks with Canada - a huge US trading partner.Nations in the region are all alert to an anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which could defuse or escalate the roiling trade war between the two nations.