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Background Briefing (Documentary)

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  • Background Briefing is Radio National's agenda-setting, current affairs radio documentary program.
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Bury, burn or compost?

Sun, Dec 28
There's a boom in funerals around the corner as the Boomers face mortality, but neither cemeteries nor crematoria are eco-friendly

Nature's numbers

Sun, Dec 21
Our economy may fall over, but it's not just about the financial meltdown

NSW off the rails

Sun, Dec 14
Western Sydney is set to have two more cities and, yet again, the state has canned its railway projects

What killed Adam Gray?

Sun, Dec 7
Abuse and torture of prisoners was much more widely spread than just Abu Ghraib

Generation Y and the financial crisis

Sun, Nov 30
As the financial downturn unfolds, is Generation Y ready? Raised on optimism and generous lines of credit, they're economically exposed in terms of assets and debt

Italian job

Sun, Nov 23
We get the inside story of how the Italian diaspora was harvested for political votes, and how the little Italies found a way to make - and break - governments in Rome

Intervention: unintended consequences

Sun, Nov 16
While remote Aboriginal communities are safer, everyday living is more complicated

Crisis for children

Sun, Nov 9
There's an epidemic of child abuse and it's worst in Queensland

Metals, money and madness

Sun, Nov 2
The global economic collapse is now seen to be caused by greed and theft

Moderates in Iran

Sun, Oct 26
The generation called the 'Children of the Revolution', now young adults, speak about the frustrations, the hardships, and the ways they use their sexuality, music (and blogging) to rebel against repression and speak freely

Nature's numbers

Sun, Oct 19
Our economy may fall over, but it's not just about the financial meltdown

Myanmar now

Sun, Oct 12
After the terrible storms and floods, the tragedy of Myanmar unfolded before the world

Remittances - flying money

Sun, Oct 5
About $500 billion flows around the world as migrant workers send money home

Future of noise

Sun, Sep 28
Most people rate noise as a bigger problem than rats, drugs, or dog poo

Population control

Sun, Sep 21
Are you worried about the future of the environment, or war, or hordes of refugees? The solution is not to manipulate population growth

Cloud computing

Sun, Sep 14
Google's Chrome, and others, offer easier, smoother, faster servers into their gated internet gardens, where all things are known

Hoons and young troublemakers

Sun, Sep 7
NSW is creating more space in jails for a growing number of young people

Hendra and the bats

Sun, Aug 31
Bats carry many of the nasty viruses, even SARS, Ebola, Nipah and Hendra

Defence and discrimination

Sun, Aug 24
American security laws based on where a person was born mean some Australians can't work in defence industries in Australia

Paying to be permanent

Sun, Aug 17
A high number of people who get Australian permanent resident visas don't get the skilled jobs they are trained for

Managing the media

Sun, Aug 10
Three spin doctorsor political strategiststalk about media cynicism, handling their politicians, and getting the public to understand things their way

Food futures

Sun, Aug 3
Prices at the shops may be rising because billions of Indians and Chinese are eating more, and using cars - and it could be that some well funded gamers are playing the commodities market like a casino in cyberspace

Privatising nature

Sun, Jul 27
An astonishing six million hectares of Australiasomething like the size of Tasmaniais now being privately protected for plants and animals

Bury, burn or compost?

Sun, Jul 20
There's a boom in funerals around the corner as the Boomers face mortality, but neither cemeteries nor crematoria are eco-friendly

Free trade vs fair trade

Sun, Jul 13
It's an ideological battle between those who want a fairer, better deal for the poor farmers in the developing world - and those who say the best way to get that is having a world wide free market

The climate engineers

Sun, Jul 6
For years it's been one of the science community's great taboos but the idea of global climate control is starting to be openly discussed

Shareholder activism

Sun, Jun 29
As corporations collapse while executives are paid huge salary packages, shareholders are taking a greater interest in just how companies are run

The My Lai massacre

Sun, Jun 22
It's forty years since the massacre of an entire village in Vietnam and only now has the full story come out

Slavery in Australia

Sun, Jun 15
Is it slavery to keep someone working for nothing till they pay off their debt? There are women here kept in sex slavery, and there are also domestic servants, back room workers, and illegals forced into underground labour

Banking on gas

Sun, Jun 8
Australia's sitting on some of the biggest natural gas fields in the world - and other energy-starved, ravenous nations are starting to bid for it

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