Rn Breakfast - Separate Stories Podcast

The Australian Chamber Orchestra has been granted one of the world's most precious instruments, a 'Golden Age' violin, made in 1732 by the master craftsman Antonio Stradivari. ACO Principal Violin Helena Rathbone is touring with this incredible piece of history for the orchestra's Bach concerts and joined us, Strad in hand.

RN's Sport-acular wordsmith Warwick Hadfield introduced more poetry to RN listeners and inspired us to have more live poetry on the show. He shares a reading of 'Hope is the thing with feathers', by Emily Dickinson on the program.

Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has defended her party sidelining the Australian flag and describing her role in parliament as an infiltrator of a colonial project. She says we need to reconcile as a nation but it will require hard-work and truth telling and that we must ensure we have a flag that represents everybody and not colonialism.

Biologists are reporting on bacterium that seems to break all the rules, in fact it's gigantic five thousand times bigger than most other bacteria.

An explosive parliamentary report has lifted the lid on rampant sexual assault and harassment in WA's resources sector, putting pressure on the State Government to act. It's found female FIFO workers "frequently have to deal with sexual harassment and sexual assault", with many incidents ignored or overlooked by employers and the regulator blind to the problem.

Ukraine has taken another big step away from Russia and towards the rest of Europe - with Kyiv granted 'EU candidate status' overnight. It's a major strategic shift for a country traditionally torn between east and west.

The return of inflation has complicated Labor's promise to deliver higher pay rises for workers The Political Editor for news.com.au Samantha Maiden and the host of Insiders on ABC TV David Speers join RN Breakfast to discuss the latest developments in federal politics.

The RBA Governor Philip Lowe suggested any wage rise for workers should have a 3 in front of it, warning anything higher would stoke inflation. Minister for Employment, Tony Burke says high wage growth can't be driving inflation because we don't have high wage growth, and inflationary pressures are not the fault of working Australians.

All eyes will be on AEMO today to see if they completely lift their unprecedented suspension on the east coast energy market. But does that mean the problems that crippled the system last week are over, and all is back to normal?

It's a pact that Barnaby Joyce warned would force farmers to go out and shoot their cows. The new federal Labor government has signalled it's seriously looking at joining an agreement to reduce global methane emissions.

An American rabbi is mounting a legal challenge against Florida's new abortion laws, on the grounds of religious freedom. Rabbi Barry Silver leads the Palm Beach County synagogue, and is suing the state because he says the restrictive laws will prohibit Jewish women from practicing their faith.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban government is pleading for international assistance, as the death toll from a powerful earthquake rises sharply. The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that in one region alone at least 70% of homes have been destroyed.

The surf injected power pop of the Sunnyboys radiates a youthful vigour, and it captured the spirit of the Aussie music scene in the early 1980's. Now the Sunnyboys fab four are back touring and they'll be playing intimate venues more akin to their breakout year of 1981.

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has bought into the Australian flag controversy enveloping the Party, saying Parliament is a colonial project which she has infiltrated. Incoming Coalition Senator Jacinta Price says Lidia Thorpe is showing contempt for the Australian people and has questioned if she should be removed from the Senate.

An Australian company has made a significant breakthrough in the race to an ultra-powerful era of computer technology. In a world first, a quantum computer has been able to mimic nature at the atomic level using a chip that integrates all the components found on a classical computer chip, but at the atomic scale.

As the effects of climate change intensify, there are fears the country isn't ready for the national security threat it poses. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will ask the nation's most senior intelligence chief to lead a review of the security threats facing Australia as the planet warms.

Shrinking pay-packets are a growing pressure point for the Albanese Government. The Political Editor for Guardian Australia Katharine Murphy joins RN Breakfast to discuss the latest developments in federal politics.

The Reserve Bank has called for wages growth to be capped at 3.5% - just half the forecast inflation rate of 7%. ACTU Secretary Sally McManus says the RBA is completely out of touch and living in boomer fantasy land if it thinks workers can afford real cuts to their wages.

Rescue workers are sifting through the rubble of shattered villages after a powerful earthquake struck southeast Afghanistan yesterday. The magnitude 6.1 quake hit the mountainous Pakita Province in the middle of the night, when most people were asleep.

In a sign the domestic energy crisis is easing, the unprecedented shutdown of Australia's east coast energy market is being gradually lifted. Industry has welcomed the move but warns energy affordability is not returning to normal and continues to be a major issue.