Counterpoint
This program is no longer in production. Amanda Vanstone tackles key social, economic and cultural issues in Australian life, challenging assumptions and giving voice to new and seldom-heard commentators.
ABC listen
Show overview
Counterpoint has been publishing since 2019, and across the 5 years since has built a catalogue of 239 episodes. That works out to roughly 220 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 54 min and 54 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language Society & Culture show.
The catalogue appears to be on hiatus or wound down — the most recent episode landed 2.3 years ago, with no new episodes in over a year. Published by ABC listen.
From the publisher
This program is no longer in production. Amanda Vanstone tackles key social, economic and cultural issues in Australian life, challenging assumptions and giving voice to new and seldom-heard commentators.
Latest Episodes
View all 239 episodes
Age of distraction
Are we living through an age of distraction and if we are what cause it? How to have a difficult conversation and how to make a decision.
We are electric
When talking about African history why do we use the term precolonial? The limits of libertarianism and why men are so unhappy right now. We are electric, so are plants and animals.
Censorship, cold, care and concrete
Has the censorship of words gone too far? Cold blooded animals are in trouble, can a fruit fly save them? What was life like for medieval babies? Concrete built the world and now its slowly destroying it.
Rotting brains and Nannaria Swiftae
Does social media really rot your brain? Why is stopping the use of coal so difficult. Australian women scientists have had a rotten deal over the years and naming plants and animals after people, good idea or not?
Power -in spines, water and people
What is optimistic nihilism and why is it all the rage? How do animals gain and keep power? Just how powerful is water and why are we rewilding invertebrates?
It's time.
What should Indonesia do with the vast amount of nickel it produces every year? Why the Enlightenment still matters and the history of telling time. Plus would you consider serving an Australian brush turkey at Christmas lunch?
Going backwards and forwards - decolonising, AI, fleets and Phar Lap
Just how difficult and dangerous is decolonisation? Is A.I. hysteria out of control and does Australia need a bigger merchant fleet? Plus the wonder that was Phar Lap.
A big mistake
Has Xi Jinping made a big mistake when it comes to women in China? A year out from the US election what matters to people in Japan and Australia? It's a very big mistake to not be doing more to protect giant sequoias and it's also a mistake to blame rats for the plague.
Back to earth
If you are taking the penalty kick in soccer which way would you go? What happens to your body after a year in space and just how dirty did operating theatres used to be? What's your idea of Utopia and who have you left out?
Morality and meaning
Why does a Dubai Sheikh want to take control of vast amounts of land across Africa, and how will 2000 rhinos be rewilded in the next 10 years? Why do our young people not feels safe and is it possible to have a moral change of heart?
The Four C's..China, communication, communism and covid
Is China living in Russia's shadow? Can we compare the Gutenberg Bible to the first iPhone? Why did so many friendships fall apart in post communist Europe and why do we name things after people? Hello Mr Coronavirus, Lady Luck is with Hurricane Tammy right now.
Censorship and perspective plus lion
The censorship bureaucracy is all around us, how do we break it down? Why are we so gloomy and what is going on in the captive lion industry in South Africa? Would we better off trying to learn other peoples perspective?
Cancelled and yet courageous
Who decides the circumstances behind cancelling someone? Why is America electing mostly old men. Energy transitions are difficult but we need to have one. What can we learn from past transitions? Plus tips on how to say no and mean it.
China, chickens and fire
Does China have a youth unemployment problem? It does have a problem with Japan but is it real or a bit of a distraction? The world eats a lot of chickens but will eat it chicken grown in a lab? Bushfire season is upon us, will it be as devastating as the ones that have come before or might they be even worse?
Disasters and decisions
Libya is cleaning up after an earthquake. Should countries who can afford it give more? What's it like to live in a city with no government? Should we still be going into space and how to make a decision when you have multiple options
Got the sniffles..catching a cold from China
If China sneezes will Australia really catch a cold? Incels in Australia are becoming a problem, what can be done? East-West cooperation during the Cold War by scientists and the incredible, not finished history of charisma.
Talking and taking credit.
Is the UN climate neutral? Have we lost the art of conversation with each other and it is adding to the political hate we are experiencing? How important are symbols during a war - just ask the Ukranian people about Bakhmut
Guns, births and civility
Are we about to see less tanks and more drones in warfare? Should gun violence be treated as public heath issue? Is the Chinese century already over and is civility a sign of weakness? Are you in the exhausted majority or the loud minority?
Teeth, a Chinese exodus and embroidery with a message
An optimistic take on the inter-generational report, stem cells that can repair teeth naturally, young Chinese men braving jungles and bandits to enter the US – spies or desperate refugees? And embroidery tells the story of South Africa's domestic violence epidemic.
Argentina, EV graveyards and tackling urban loneliness through design
Argentina could be heading in a free market direction with a new and flamboyant potential leader, China’s haunting EV graveyards. How good design could make cities less lonely, and the UK’s new super sniffers.