PODCAST

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today

ABC listen

Move beyond the headlines to see how the past defines our world.

history politics

All Episodes

30:00

Barbados farewells the Queen — any lessons for Australia

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2023/01/22

In November, 2021, Barbados, a tiny Caribbean island, replaced the Queen as its head of state with a Barbadian president. How did Barbados succeed where Australia failed and what does it mean to be a republic in the Commonwealth?

30:00

Nordic criminal justice — people not prisoners

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2023/01/15

In Scandinavian prisons the focus is on rehabilitation not punishment.

30:00

Passports, borders and identity — the story of the...

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2023/01/08

As Australia’s borders opened after the Covid pandemic, there was an overwhelming surge in applications for passports as we travelled to see friends and family overseas or took up that abandoned holiday. Something like a passport goes back centuries but the modern version—a little travel booklet with your photo in it—is a relatively recent phenomenon.

30:00

Predicting the weather — a history of the forecast

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2023/01/01

We take for granted the accuracy of predictions and warnings put out by our weather forecasters. Once, weather predictions were the butt of jokes but today the Bureau of Meteorology can accurately forecast the weather for the next seven to ten days. How did this happen?

30:00

Chocolate — the world’s most seductive treat and its...

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/12/25

Chocolate is one of our most popular indulgences but there is a darker side to the industry – one connected with colonialism, the industrial revolution and modern-day slavery.

30:00

Germany’s Ruhr—from coal mines to culture

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/12/18

For over one hundred years, the Ruhr region was the grimy, polluted heart of Germany’s coal and steel. Today it has no coal mines. Instead, it is a cultural hub more than fifty museums and is a centre for green energy innovation. How did they do it?

30:00

Cryptocurrency—has the bubble burst?

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/12/11

It was a bad year for crypto even before the spectacular collapse of FTX. Although eminent economists and investors warned that cryptocurrency was a speculative bubble—even a Ponzi scheme—the growth of digital currency exchanges fuelled investment in crypto. Are we seeing the beginning of its death spiral?

30:00

Centrelink, the Coalition and Robodebt

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/12/04

Centrelink’s 'automated debt recovery system' - or Robodebt - sparked two Senate inquiries, an Ombudsman inquiry, numerous court cases and now a Royal Commission. Despite being found to be unlawful by the Federal Court, questions remain.How and why was this system introduced? And why was it allowed to run for so long?

30:00

Gambling on the nose—Australia’s gambling industry...

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/11/27

Casino inquiries, cashless gambling cards, new laws on gambling advertising—the gambling industry in Australia is under the microscope as never before. Just how far has the tide turned and what needs to be done to address the problems associated with Australia’s gambling addiction?

30:00

National Disability Insurance Scheme

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/11/20

The NDIS was meant to transform the lives of all Australians with a disability, but things haven’t quite gone to plan. Many people have found the NDIS difficult to access or inadequate and there has been a huge cost blowout. Hear the story of the NDIS – what we’ve got right, what we’re got wrong and how we might fix it.

30:00

National Housing Accord—one million new homes promised

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/11/13

The federal government has committed to work with states and territories, local government and investors to reshape housing in Australia. Perhaps most significant is the commitment to build fifty thousand social and affordable homes, bringing some relief to those on the lowest incomes currently forced into the private rental market.

30:00

The Republican Party and its embrace of far-right...

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/11/06

The US midterm elections are happening this week and many people say that the outcome could determine the future of democracy in America. We look at one side of this electoral race—the Republican Party—and its historical links with the extreme right.

30:00

Brazil at the crossroads—voters choose a new president

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/10/30

The choice is between the former leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva—known as Lula—and the far-right incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro. Who are these men and what will this vote mean for the future of Latin America’s biggest country?

30:00

Iran protests—women, life, freedom

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/10/23

The death last month of a young Iranian woman while in the custody of the morality police has sparked widespread protests across Iran. Protests are not new in Iran. Since the 1990s, there have been many protests, but these are unusual in that they are being led by women and girls. This is the story of women and politics in Iran.

30:00

Chairman Xi—his life and times

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/10/16

As the all-powerful Chinese Communist Party elite gather for a public display of their authority, Xi Jinping cements his grip on China. Xi’s family background put him on the fast track to success within the Party, although like many so-called ‘princelings’, he endured great hardship during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. How did Xi rise to the top and what has his ascendancy meant for the people of China?

30:00

The Commonwealth—relic of empire of or society of...

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/10/09

The modern-day Commonwealth emerged out of the British Empire. Can it separate itself from this colonial past and its legacy of slavery and racism?

Tall and supertall — New York skyscrapers

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/10/02

The sky’s the limit for New York City skyscrapers, from the Art Deco delights of the Chrysler Building to today’s controversial supertalls.

30:00

The Australian Public Service — frank and fearless or...

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/09/25

After decades of cutbacks, pay freezes and allegations of politicisation, is the Australian Public Service still able to give the government of the day informed and independent advice?

30:00

World Heritage—too much of a good thing?

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/09/18

The World Heritage Convention has become a victim of its own success, with increasing political pressure sidelining expert advice and the deluge of sites put forward threatening the value of the ‘brand’.

30:00

Nordic criminal justice — people not prisoners

Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today ·

2022/09/11

In Scandinavian prisons the focus is on rehabilitation not punishment.

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Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today

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