The Radio National Hour

Fran Kelly brings you compelling conversations on issues that challenge,entertain and inspire us.

Sandpaper gate was a moment of cultural reckoning for Australia's national cricket team. Eight years on from the international sporting scandal, revelations from retired test player Usman Khawaja in his new book have knocked the scab off an old wound. Journalist and writer Gideon Haigh says its been a poorly kept secret for a long time that everyone was up to it and this was a policy not a plot. 
The risks and benefits of hormone therapy for menopausal women have been the subject of hot debate for decades, but now scientists are excited about the potential effects of estrogen on women’s ageing brains. Neurobiologist Dr Anna Marseglia says its still early days but the early signs are positive. 
And it’s Remembrance Day, when we’re asked to reflect on the sacrifices made by servicemen and women in defence of our nation and democratic values. But why are some histories embedded in our national memory, while others remain uncomfortable, contested or forgotten?

Nvidia boss Jensen Huang has admitted to an affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. Could an alleged honey trap reshape the US-China race for AI supremacy? 
The Democrats have swept back into control of the US Congress after a resounding midterm victory, the question on many people's minds now is whether they will they pursue an agenda of retribution against the Trump administration or focus on the key issues - like cost of living - that drove voters to them. 
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas is warning Australia is heading towards an aged-care crisis that will place increasing pressure on public hospitals around the country. So how severe is this crisis and what will it take to stop thousands of older Australians being stranded in public hospitals?

It’s a disease that afflicts nearly half a million Australians. Dementia is often spoken about as a scourge. But for the past five years, dementia rehabilitation has become a new buzzword, changing how people accept and move forward after their diagnosis. 
The US President Donald Trump is digging in after last week's midterms but Michael Fullilove, the executive director of The Lowy Institute says his power and influence on the international stage is diminished and that leaders will now be imagining at post-Trump world.

They call her ‘Q’ and she’s here to shake up New Zealand politics. Qiulae Wong is the leader of New Zealand's Opportunity Party which is tipped to pick up its first seats in the parliament at tomorrow's general election. And that might just make her a Kingmaker.
Not many of us get to fall in love with a 300-year-old but, Cello virtuoso Mischa Maisky has enjoyed one particularly enduring love affair - with his instrument - built in the age of Bach. He's touring Australia and performing with his pianist daughter Lily Maisky. 
And true crime author and podcaster Vikki Petraitis talks about watching her novel come to life on the ABC in the new hit series Dustfall.