Saving The Franklin
ABC listen
Revisit the biggest environmental movement Australia has ever seen: the 1982 Franklin River Blockade. This story is nuts. Missing people, death threats, savage political moves and young people flooding into Tasmania to put their bodies in front of bulldozers. Jo Lauder investigates how this movement beat the odds and came to inspire a new generation of environmental activists that have shaped Australian politics through to today.
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Australia is a wild continent with some of the most intense weather on the planet. From massive bushfires to severe cyclones and devastating flooding; extreme weather is becoming part of our everyday lives. How do we take what we’ve learned from our past to better prepare and adapt for our future?
PRESENTS — Mr Big
On a scratchy recording made in a Melbourne hotel room, a man admits to committing murder. But as journalist Alicia Bridges investigates the man on the tape known as Mr Big, she finds herself in a world of lies and subterfuge, where very few things are as they seem. The recording leads her deep inside an international controversy, to a world of secrets that powerful institutions don't want revealed.Mr Big is the latest season of Unravel, the ABC's award-winning true crime podcast.You can listen
PRESENTS — Mr Big
On a scratchy recording made in a Melbourne hotel room, a man admits to committing murder. But as journalist Alicia Bridges investigates the man on the tape known as Mr Big, she finds herself in a world of lies and subterfuge, where very few things are as they seem. The recording leads her deep inside an international controversy, to a world of secrets that powerful institutions don't want revealed.Mr Big is the latest season of Unravel, the ABC's award-winning true crime podcast.You can listen
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But AI didn't come from nowhere. And it hasn't been a smooth and simple process. It's been a story rife with drama, conflict, and disagreement.
So where did it come from? Who made it? Who controls it?
Welcome to our new Science Friction series Hello AI Overlords!
Across six fasci
PRESENTS - Believe in Magic
Unravel presents the new BBC Studios series, Believe in Magic. This series tells the story of 16-year-old Megan Bhari who set up a charity called Believe in Magic, which gained the backing of global celebrities One Direction. The charity granted wishes to seriously ill children.
But when her supporters were told that Megan herself had a brain tumour, and needed money for treatments abroad, a small group of parents doubted the claims. Further investigations led by Jamie Bartlett (The Missing Cryp
S3 BONUS 2 | The Palawa perspective: Michael Mansell
The Franklin campaign isn't just an environmental conservation story, it's also a story about Aboriginal heritage.
Tasmanian Palawa man, activist and lawyer Michael Mansell talks to Piia Wirsu about this chapter in history, his experience growing up in a white Tasmanian society, and why he saw many of the Franklin activists as racist.
BONUS 2 | The Palawa perspective: Michael Mansell
The Franklin campaign isn't just an environmental conservation story, it's also a story about Aboriginal heritage.
Tasmanian Palawa man, activist and lawyer Michael Mansell talks to Piia Wirsu about this chapter in history, his experience growing up in a white Tasmanian society, and why he saw many of the Franklin activists as racist.
S3 BONUS 1 | 'Just keep going': The persistent protestor, Christine Milne
Christine Milne is a name synonymous with the Greens in Australia, and for her, like so many others, her environmental career began after she was arrested at the Franklin blockade.
In this extended interview, Christine takes us through the highs and lows of her career, and why she believes environmental activists should "just keep going".
BONUS 1 | 'Just keep going': The persistent protestor, Christine Milne
Christine Milne is a name synonymous with the Greens in Australia, and for her, like so many others, her environmental career began after she was arrested at the Franklin blockade.
In this extended interview, Christine takes us through the highs and lows of her career, and why she believes environmental activists should "just keep going".
06 | West Coast shockwaves; a new era for politics and protest
The Franklin river's fate all comes down to a legal challenge between state and federal powers.In the final episode of Saving the Franklin: the moment this so-called wilderness war all came to an end.
S3 06 | West Coast shockwaves; a new era for politics and protest
The Franklin river's fate all comes down to a legal challenge between state and federal powers.
In the final episode of Saving the Franklin: the moment this so-called wilderness war all came to an end.
05 | Threats, accusations and a Federal election
In this episode of Saving the Franklin, scenes on the West Coast get uglier and uglier, and the campaigners turn to the mainland for support as a Federal election looms.
S3 05 | Threats, accusations and a Federal election
In this episode of Saving the Franklin, scenes on the West Coast get uglier and uglier, and the campaigners turn to the mainland for support as a Federal election looms.
04 | 'All we had was our bodies': The blockade begins
In this episode of Saving the Franklin, thousands of protesters fly into the sleepy town of Strahan to prepare for the biggest moment in the campaign: the blockade.
An army of national media descend, and the first bulldozer is taken upriver, for a shocking confrontation on the water.
S3 04 | 'All we had was our bodies': The blockade begins
In this episode of Saving the Franklin, thousands of protesters fly into the sleepy town of Strahan to prepare for the biggest moment in the campaign: the blockade.
An army of national media descend, and the first bulldozer is taken upriver, for a shocking confrontation on the water.
03 | Secret cave: a game-changing rediscovery no one expected
The campaigners had painted the Franklin River as an untouched natural wonder, a place free from human interference: a wilderness.
But the rediscovery of a cave along the Franklin throws everything into question. The finding is so significant it reshapes modern understanding of human history – and it paves the way for a new strategy to save the River.
S3 03 | Secret cave: a game-changing rediscovery no one expected
The campaigners had painted the Franklin River as an untouched natural wonder, a place free from human interference: a wilderness.
But the rediscovery of a cave along the Franklin throws everything into question. The finding is so significant it reshapes modern understanding of human history – and it paves the way for a new strategy to save the River.
S3 02 | The battle lines: 'Greenies' vs workers
The Franklin Dam proposal symbolised a lifeline to struggling communities on Tasmania's West Coast, recovering from the end of a mining era. Yet for environmentalists, it symbolised destruction and greed.
In this episode of Saving the Franklin, the battle lines are drawn between pro-dammers and environmentalists and the State Government is caught in the middle, until it's forced to act.
02 | The battle lines: 'Greenies' vs workers
The Franklin Dam proposal symbolised a lifeline to struggling communities on Tasmania's West Coast, recovering from the end of a mining era. Yet for environmentalists, it symbolised destruction and greed.In this episode of Saving the Franklin, the battle lines are drawn between pro-dammers and environmentalists and the State Government is caught in the middle, until it's forced to act.
S3 01 | A mystery in paradise, before the Franklin River fight
The fight to save the Franklin River started in a totally different part of Tasmania's wilderness: with a proposal to dam the paradise inland beach of Lake Pedder. In this episode of Saving the Franklin, a mystery disappearance and a devastating loss signal to campaigners just how far they'll have to go in the next battle.
01 | A mystery in paradise, before the Franklin River fight
The fight to save the Franklin River started in a totally different part of Tasmania's wilderness: with a proposal to dam the paradise inland beach of Lake Pedder. In this episode of Saving the Franklin, a mystery disappearance and a devastating loss signal to campaigners just how far they'll have to go in the next battle.
INTRODUCING - Saving The Franklin
Australia's biggest-ever environmental battle was over a wild river in a remote part of Tasmania: the Franklin. Protesters flooded in from all over Australia to stop the Franklin River from being dammed for hydropower. They stood in front of bulldozers and were jailed for it. But for lots of locals, the dam represented a job opportunity at a time of economic crisis. This fight tore apart communities and captured the attention of the nation.
Today, more people are concerned about the planet than
INTRODUCING — Saving The Franklin
Australia's biggest-ever environmental battle was over a wild river in a remote part of Tasmania: the Franklin. Protesters flooded in from all over Australia to stop the Franklin River from being dammed for hydropower. They stood in front of bulldozers and were jailed for it. But for lots of locals, the dam represented a job opportunity at a time of economic crisis. This fight tore apart communities and captured the attention of the nation.Today, more people are concerned about