Community And Society Videos

Last week Dr Jim Endersby, from the University of Sussex in the UK, told the tale of how Joseph Dalton Hooker met Tasmanian Ronald Gunn who, over the years, sent hundreds of carefully dried and preserved specimens of unknown flora to Kew, where Hooker named and classified his finds. Today Europe's museums and botanic gardens are full of dried plants, stuffed animals etc, as a result of the dedication of these men.

Biblical Hebrew is an enigmatic language. According to Jewish tradition it´s the Holy Tongue, employed by God when he spoke the world into being. So how has the language of Torah shaped Jewish thought - and what does it say today, to Jews and non-Jews alike?

In the Northern Territory, the Commonwealth intervention continues to have unintended consequences - including a greater focus on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal men. A new program has been launched in Katherine which recognises both the truth and the fallacy of negative media stereotypes. Also in this program, Native Hawaiian educationalists explain why we need bilingual education in indigenous communities and the actor Katherine Beckett talks about her play Coloured Diggers, about the war service of her great-uncle.

Just a few centuries after their deaths, Plato was thought questionable while his pupil Aristotle was all but canonised: there was almost a fear of criticising him. Everybody used his logic and Christians were drawn to him by his arguments about a first cause of all things. This week Han Baltussen from the University of Adelaide looks at the legacy of Aristotle and at why that legacy was worth preserving.

Talkback: Enduring toys Some toys have real lasting power -- think train sets, building blocks and yoyos. They never go out of style.

CLASSIC LNL: Berlin 1995 - Germany's past, present & future A discussion first broadcast from Berlin in June 1995, about historical, current and future factors shaping the reunification of Germany.

In the 1970s a group of school leavers headed to the Gold Coast for two weeks of celebration, marking the end of their school days. More than 35 years later, the annual schoolies period has turned into a teen pilgrimage, with over 75,000 students expected at schoolies locations around the country this year. The event, which officially begins tomorrow, has been plagued in recent years by arrests and street violence, especially on the Gold Coast, the biggest schoolies destination of all.

Paul Ehrlich Paul Ehrlich's book, The Population Bomb (1968), caused great controversy with its predictions of mass starvation in the 70s and 80s due to over-population. Forty years later, with the world's population almost doubled in that time, Ehrlich's main message is increasingly relevant - that the earth has a finite carrying capacity and it cannot sustain the current rate of human population growth and resource depletion. In this conversation, Paul Ehrlich talks about the escalating environment pressures and some potential solutions.

The Secretary General of Amnesty International is in the country this week. Irene Khan has visited the remote communities of Utopia in the Northern Territory, and yesterday in Canberra she launched a new book called The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights.

The stand-off is over, but the political debate is still very much alive. After one month, the remaining 56 Sri Lankan asylum seekers have now left the Oceanic Viking, accepting the government's offer of fast-tracked processing. The government says no special deal was offered to end the stand-off.

A survey of ordinary Afghans conducted by British charity Oxfam has found that millions of Afghans are considering leaving the country to flee poverty and unemployment. The survey also found that the vast majority blame their miserable plight on corruption and government incompetence rather than on the Taliban and the coalition-led war.

Sixty years ago this week, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that Libya should become an independent nation. Rear Vision looks at the post-colonial history of this oil-rich nation, most of it spent under the dictatorship of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Julie Bishop speaks to Fran about the long stand-off on board the Oceanic Viking -- which should be over by the end of the day. The government says the Sri Lankans on board have been offered no more incentive to quit the ship for the detention centre at Tanjung Pinang beyond the guarantee of rapid resettlement promised to the 22 who left the ship last week. The Prime Minister is coming under some pressure in Parliament over that deal, rejecting any talk of special treatment. He also denies being advised of the details of the offer before it was made by the government's Border Protection subcommittee.

Prominent Australians will gather in Canberra later this morning at the Drinkwise Australia forum, to support a push to delay the introduction of alcohol to teenagers. Attending the forum is Professor Ian Hickie, executive director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute, who says that exposing a young teenager to alcohol can impair their brain and mental development.

The month-long stand-off on board the Oceanic Viking should be over by the end of today, with Indonesian officials saying the 56 Sri Lankan Tamils still on board the Australian customs vessel will start disembarking at 7.30am local time.

Kids in care now When the Prime Minister made the National Apology to the Forgotten Children and Child Migrants on Monday, he spoke strongly about the accountability of current governments, to the children in their care. Wryside economics: money does buy happiness How would you rate your life satisfaction on a scale of one to ten? Eat the dog? If you're trying to calculate your carbon footprint, don't forget to include the family pet! Your feedback Letter of the week - Likeability