
High speed rail in Australia - is it a dream that can ever become a reality
Rear Vision — How History Shaped TodayShow Notes
High speed rail spread around the globe from the 1960s when the first bullet trains took off in Japan. Rear Vision looks at why previous attempts to introduce high speed rail in Australia have failed. Japan opened the world's first high-speed rail line - between Tokyo and Osaka - in time for the 1964 Olympics. Japan’s ‘Bullet Train’ was the first to run on a dedicated line – a high speed service for passengers only. Over the last 30 years, millions of dollars have been spent in Australia on studies and proposals but is a fast train service on the east coast any closer?
More from Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today
The English language is dotted with expressions that betray a distrust of time – we talk of “racing against time” or we express a frustration that “time is not on our side”. In this episode of Rear Vision, we look at the history of time as a concept. Why time from the Industrial Revolution onwards became wedded to ideas of progress and productivity. And how at both a personal and societal level time became a means of constraint as much as organisation. Guests: Dr Adrian Bardon – Professor of Philosophy, Wake Forest University Dr Emily Thomas – Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy, Durham University Dr Iwan Rhys Morus – Professor of History and Welsh History, Aberystwyth University Judith Shulevitz – American journalist, editor and culture critic Dr David Henkin – Professor of History, University of California, Berkeley Tom Greene – Atlanta-based syndicated columnist and podcaster
Depending on who you talk to the American Israel Lobby is either one of the most powerful forces in US politics or an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. In this Rear Vision we explore the history and ask if the Israel Lobby exist? And if it does what impact it may have had on US politics and US foreign policy in the Middle East.
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Drug trafficking across the Pacific. Why is it increasing and can it be stopped?
Separatist sentiments are stirring in the Canadian province of Alberta. Voters will soon cast their ballots in a referendum on whether to begin moves to formally separate from the rest of the nation. We look at the history of separatism in Canada and at the pernicious impact of foreign interference. Guests: Marcus Kolga - Director of DisinfoWatch. Senior fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute Robert Currie – King’s Counsel. Professor of Law, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University Randy Boissonnault - former Member of the Canadian Parliament for Edmonton Centre Dr Ryan Griffiths – Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University