The Radio National Hour

Two thirds of the world’s websites use an open source programming language called PHP. For years we’ve known it has some security flaws, but no one was smart enough to exploit them - until - artificial intelligence cracked the code. Now the race is on to patch the problem before hackers get their first. Johanna Weaver, Executive Director of the Tech Policy Design Institute says it's another reminder of the need for better regulation and guardrails. 
Who's a good refugee? A deserving migrant? They’re questions usually answered by people who have never had to flee their homeland. Lawyer, advocate and founder of the Islamophobia register Mariam Veiszadeh did just that, escaping Afghanistan as a seven year old. Decades on she’s still having to prove herself worthy of Australia and says the ground rules for refugees need changing.
 And Award-winning Canadian songwriter Old Man Luedecke is bringing his clawhammer banjo and his wry lyrics to Australia this month for the Festival of Small Halls. He’ll be filling country town halls across the Sunshine State with his traditional folk sound, with just a dash of calypso influence.

Helen Haines' husband Phil has given a heartbreaking update on his wife's condition, confirming she has now had both legs amputated. We take you into her electorate of Indi and speak to the woman who preceded her as local member, Cathy McGowan.
From diagnosing disease to wearables that warn of looming medical threats, AI promises to transform medicine. But how much should we trust it with decisions about our health? 
And it's time to get twitching again. Conservationist, comedian and Bird Nerd Sean Dooley joins Fran to talk about the annual Aussie Bird Count and why Birdlife Australia want people to count common garden variety birds.

As the independent member for Indi Helen Haines fights for her life in a Melbourne hospital the Governor General of Australia Sam Mostyn reflects on the ugly forces working to undermine Australian democracy and urges Australians to 'show kindness and enter into debates better'.
Amid warnings of escalating threats of violence against politicians, was this atrocity predictable? Liesbeth Long a councillor with the Central Goldfields Shire Council in Victoria and its former Mayor says she's been confronted with vile slurs and death threats throughout her career. 
He’s one of the most important British artists of the last century, famous for his explosive colours and light and visions of shimmering pools, now Australians are being invited to take a deep dive into the world of the late, great David Hockney as his acclaimed immersive exhibition comes to Sydney.

Democrats are being urged not to count their chickens after the latest Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, which shows President Trump's approval rating has plummeted to a new low of 33%. The Democrats now hold an eight point lead nationally among registered and likely voters. Scott Clement the polling director for The Washington Post says midterms tend to be a referendum on the president and many Americans aren't happy with theirs. 
While many Americans are turning off politics, Israelis are flying across the world to cast their ballots in what’s considered by some as an election for the nation’s very identity. Jonathan Barsade is the founder and president of the America-Israel Democracy Coalition which has been organising charter flights and supporting people wanting to fly in for the ballot. 
And it’s a vast engine; the largest repository of human knowledge ever created, all sustained by volunteers. Journalist and author Richard Cooke has written a definitive history of Wikipedia, which he calls The last best place on the Internet.

It’s one of the most scrutinised jobs in the world. On Tuesday Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia stepped up to the lectern for her first press briefing, an awkward exchange in which she confused her husband with the president and took just three questions. We look back at the history of the people who speak for the president with long-time White House correspondent Brian Karem.
14 years ago former American Marine Corp veteran Austin Tice disappeared on a freelance reporting trip in Syria and hasn’t been seen since. A new podcast is seeking answers. In Where is Austin Tice? award-winning journalist Josh Baker us inside the Assad’s regimes industrial complex of disappearance and torture and asks whether escape was ever an option. 
And our guest on The Diplomats' former Italian ambassador Andrea Canapari talks about the unifying power of food.