Social class, gender and race are well known as key drivers of life outcomes. But there are also countless ‘ripples of randomness’ that can inexplicably change our direction and shift life’s flow.

Mark Rank: Professor of Social Welfare at Washington University in St. Louis. Author of The Random factor: How chance and luck profoundly shape our lives and the world around us  (University of California Press; April 2024),

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev cautioned the world “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”. Decades later, we're closer to nuclear Armageddon than ever before, and investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen paints a devastating picture of exactly what that would look like.   

Eleven years after launching an ambitious plan to rid the world's ocean of plastics, Dutch inventor and entrepreneur Boyan Slat talks to Phillip Adams about his mission, the challenges and the wins. 

Guest: Boyan Slat is the founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organisation developing and scaling technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.

Pre-eminent human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson looks at whether international law is capable of appropriately handling the trial of a head of state like Vladimir Putin, should he ever be charged with the crime of aggression for the war against Ukraine. So far, the international community has been powerless to stop the bloodshed, and in other cases like the war on Gaza, the state of Israel has simply ignored order from the International Court of Justice. So what is the role of international law? And should the UN Security Council be replaced with something more effective? 

Geoffrey Robertson KC, author, “The trial of Vladimir Putin”, published in Australia by New South Books.  Geoffrey is also Founding Head of Chambers at Doughty Street Chambers in London.

Russia’s decaying Soviet era infrastructure and present day neglect are causing huge environmental problems. Citizens in regional areas not only have to live with the devastation caused by frequent flooding they also endure substandard and unhealthy drinking water.  

Paul Josephson: – Emeritus Professor, Colby College in Maine. Currently at the Barcelona Institute of International Studies. Author of Hero Projects; the Russian Empire and  Big technology from Lennin to Putin.( Oxford Uni) 

The conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation has laid down their policy manifesto for a possible conservative Presidency in 2025. Do the policies align with what Trump has been proposing for his next term? And should we take them seriously?

Guests:

Bruce Shapiro, contributing editor with The Nation magazine; Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University

Emma Shortis, Senior Research Fellow at the International Security Affairs Program at The Australia Institute and author of Project 2025, the policy substance behind Trump’s showmanship, reveals a radical plan to reshape the world.

Coups, assassinations, detentions and disinformation are just some of the tactics that have been used to undermine democracies. But who is behind them? A new research consortium is delving into the connections between politicians, think-tanks and private IT companies who they say are propping up reactionary forces around the world. And their work has drawn links between Israel, India and Mexico. 

Guest: David Adler, Co-General Coordinator of Progressive International and founder of its research consortium on The Reactionary International. 

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is about to hand down his third budget - the likely last before the next election. The government needs to sell a message of being fiscally responsible and staving off inflation while addressing increasing demands to address the cost of living and housing crises. Can they do it?

Guest: Laura Tingle, Chief Political Correspondent, 7.30

Hugh Mackay is one of Australia's leading social psychologist who examines our society today and asks timely and urgent questions about its future in his new book The Way We Are : Lessons from a lifetime of listening - published by Allen and Unwin.

The Pacific has the world’s lowest rate of women’s representation in Parliament. What can be done to solve this deeply entrenched problem and how might gender quotas play a role? 

Guests:

Pionie Boso is the program manager at the Women’s Rights Action Movement in the Solomon Islands. In 2011, she was awarded an International Women of Courage Award for her work in tackling domestic violence.  

Dr Theresa Meki is a Pacific Research Fellow with the ANU’s Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs.