Show Notes
Tensions are high in the lead up to Israel's first national election since October 7, 2023. And some of the loudest voices are those of hostage family members, using the election to seek justice and accountability for the fate of their loved ones. Journalist Jessica Steinberg reporting on the lives of many hostage families in the months after October 7 and she joins Sunday Extra to share what hostage families from across the political spectrum are seeking from the result of the election. Guest: Jessica Steinberg, journalist and culture editor at the Times of Israel
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This week's magnificent mystery caller feeds on fruits in our east coast forests – the Wompoo Fruit-Dove.
The Shot on Shit Film Festival is a short film festival with one key eligibility criterion: the film has to be made with “a non-professional camera - the shittier, the better!”. Shot On Shit is the brainchild of The Collective of Underground Movie Lovers, a film club dedicated to screening alternative, underground, censored cinema. Their slogan is “The Profane is Profound”. Guest: Parker Constantine and Flynn Boffo, founders of the Shot On Shit Film Festival
When Nicholas Brown couldn't find work as an Indian-Australian actor in the 2000s, he moved to India, the homeland his parents had rejected, and became a Bollywood star. But his success brought it's own burden, as Nicholas tried to navigate how to exist authentically as a gay man, in a country where homosexuality was illegal. Guest: Nicholas Brown, actor and musician
Right now there are between 20 to 30 trillion red blood cells coursing around your body, delivering oxygen to your organs and transporting carbon dioxide to your lungs for disposal. All being well, your red blood cells are donut shaped, with a dimple in the centre on both sides. But a single mutation in a gene on chromosome 11, if carried by both parents, could result in, not nice bouncy donuts, but rigid crescent or sickle-shaped cells, the hallmark of sickle cell disease. The majority of people living with sickle cell can trace their ancestry back to sub-saharan Africa, and life expectancy in the US is just 52 years old. Kevin Davies, traces the history of the disease and the remarkable new treatment possibilities in gene-editing technology in his new book Curved Air: a Biography of Sickle Cell Anemia and the Quest to Cure the First Molecular Disease
As the US midterms approach, videos of people on the street expressing their support for candidates have appeared on social media platforms with millions of views. And while they seem authentic, they were actually distributed by internationally managed bot accounts, and funded by opaque entities. Campaigns like this are pervasive on social media, with marketing bodies and foreign governments alike pushing content onto social media feeds and altering conversations around the world. Guest: Darren Linvill, co-director of the Media Forensics Hub at Clemson University