Podcast
Saturday Extra - Separate stories podcast
Hosted by ABC Australia · EN
Smart analysis, lively conversations, and great company. Understand Australia and the world with Nick Bryant.
58episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Can Australia be a leader in sustainable data centres?
May 2900:14:00Tap to summarizeThis week OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman declared Australia could be a world leader in AI data centres.While Pope Leo XIV laid out a sweeping vision and a warning to safeguard humanity from AI's most harmful effects.Dozens of data centres are popping up on the fringes of our major cities, and big tech is lobbying the federal government to seize the opportunity and support their construction. But there are concerns that the trillion dollar industry is risking our environment, energy security, drinking water and copyright laws.Can big tech do this differently with the right regulations?
Transcribe →Amid heavy losses, Russia looks to next stage of Ukraine war
May 2900:15:15Tap to summarizeOn Friday, a Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania, a NATO member state.And earlier in the week, Russia pummelled Kyiv with drones and used a hypersonic missile - prompting condemnation from European leaders.Moscow has since threatened to launch more waves of attacks, warning foreigners and diplomats to leave. Sergey Radchenko, a Russian-born security expert who is writing a history of the Ukraine war, joined Nick Bryant to discuss Russia's heightened aggression.
Transcribe →Is it 'deal or no deal' for Iran and the US?
May 2900:12:53Tap to summarizeHours after President Donald Trump concluded a Situation Room meeting with his national security team on Iran, the White House has not indicated whether there will be an Iran-US deal.A proposed deal, which would reopen the Strait of Hormuz but leave the nuclear issue for further talks to resolve, brought a shower of criticism from some of President Trump's Republican supporters.
Transcribe →
Is mahjong having a moment?
May 2200:10:14Tap to summarizeMahjong is being revived by a younger generation who want to reconnect over the game they grew up watching their families play.And they've taken matters into their own hands by starting new Mahjong social clubs around Australia.
Transcribe →Tasmania's budget: a fiscal precipice?
May 2200:13:35Tap to summarizeThis week in Tasmania, the minority Liberal government has delivered a budget to cut the state's debt and deficit.Tasmanian budgets don't usually make national front-page news, but a new paper argues that the apple isle's finances and its older demographics warrant a closer look, offering insights for other states.
Transcribe →Australian activist claims of abuse while attempting to deliver aid
May 2200:07:15Tap to summarizeThis week, Israel's security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video of himself waving a large Israeli flag and appearing to taunt activists, who are shown kneeling, their heads on the ground and their hands zip-tied behind their backs.The members of The Global Sumud Freedom Flotilla are claiming they were abused by Israeli forces, after their ships were intercepted in international waters on Monday while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza.This claim has been denied by Israel's ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman.Zack Schofield, one of 11 Australian activists who joined the flotilla, spoke with Saturday Extra from Istanbul.
Transcribe →Tennant Creek home offers a solution to Indigenous housing crisis
May 2200:16:41Tap to summarizeIn Tennant Creek, a new bespoke home designed by its occupants is the envy of town.With wide balconies, solar panels, and architecture that accommodates cultural relationships, the house stays cool through the devastating heat of a Central Australian summer.It's a far cry from the overcrowded, unbearably hot homes that have become the norm across many remote Aboriginal communities.The house was designed by Tennant Creek elder Norman Frank and his wife Serina in partnership with local doctor-turned housing justice advocate Simon Quilty.
Transcribe →Trump Xi summit concludes
May 15Tap to summarizeUS President Donald Trump left Beijing after a two-day summit with President Xi Jinping, saying he had struck "fantastic trade deals, great for both countries", but few details have emerged on what the two superpowers agreed.Both sides hailed a reset in relations - Sarah Beran unpacks the optics and progress of the talks.
Transcribe →