Project Monarch is a crowd-sourcing initiative that uses Bluetooth tracking technology to help scientists and butterfly enthusiasts monitor individual monarch butterflies in real time. The butterflies are tracked through an app as they migrate from North America to central Mexico. Guest: Jennifer Thieme, Senior Science Manager at Monarch Joint Venture

Toowoomba's pink-haired, motorbike-riding priest has overcome huge challenges on the road to becoming Reverend Harley.

Andrew "The Annihilator" Ngai  is an actuary by day, but he has just returned from Las Vegas where he was competing in the Microsoft Excel World Championships. He has already won the title three times, but will he win again?  Guest: Andrew Ngai, Actuary and Excel World Champion

This week's tweeter is the Sahul Sunbird - and we also accepted its former name of Olive-backed Sunbird. It's the only Sunbird found in Australia - pale yellow below and dusky brown above. And like its relatives, its equipped with a long downcurved bill, which is great for plucking insects or collecting nectar! And the winner is: 

When an Airbus A320 made a dramatic altitude drop recently, Airbus grounded more than 6,000 planes to fix a software error that made aircraft computers vulnerable to cosmic radiation. So how exactly does radiation from deep space affect technology on earth, and should we be concerned?   Guest: Michael Wheatland, cosmic astrophysicist and Professor of Physics at University of Sydney

Thousands of Ukrainian refugees came to Australia in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Many of them are now facing their fourth Christmas in Australia and are conflicted about where they now call home. Svitlana and her son Max have made a new life in Adelaide where Max is attending university when he is not training to represent Australia in Canoe Sprint. Guests: Svitlana and Maksym Gandziuk Click here to find out more about the organisation that provides support to Ukrainian refugees in South Australia

Evan Ratcliff's podcast Shell Game has returned for a second season that rivals the first for it's unsettling but comic exploration of AI. This time Evan creates the a one-human start-up run largely by AI agents. Guest: Evan Ratliff, tech journalist and creator of the podcast Shell Game, and the one-human startup HurumoAI. Season 1 of Shell Game is available on the ABC Listen App.

100 word including guest & book

On August 14th 2003, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1500, establishing the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq, at the request of the Iraqi government. After 22 years, that mission is set to end on the 31st of December, and will leave behind a very different nation. 

It feels like compassion is dwindling in the current political climate. Can compassion be mobilised again? Or is the age of humanitarianism over? Michael Barnett is in Australia for the Annual Emma Hutchison Memorial Lecture at the University of Queensland Guest: Michael Barnett, University Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at the George Washington University

Katrina Watts left for Japan with the intention of staying two years. 25 years later she was still embedded in Japan, not only in language and culture but also as a popular commentator, on tv and in the stadium, for Japanese Sumo. 1990 was the year that she made the transition from a sumo fan to a prized member of the sumo community.  Guest: Katrina Watts, Executive Board Member of the International Sumo Federation and Past President of the Australian Sumo Federation.

This week's mystery caller is Australia's only cuckoo that builds its own nest – the Pheasant Coucal.

The sheep dog is part of Australia's farming identity. But as good dogs become more expensive and pressure mounts on farmers, could they be replaced by cheaper robodogs? Andrew Sinclair is working on a research project based at the University of the Sunshine Coast and thinks that robodogs have a real future on Australian sheep farms. Guest: Ian SInclair,Senior Innovation and AI Analyst at the University of Sunshine Coast 

MTV was a groundbreaking media experiment when it first launched in the US in 1981.  The first channel to show 24-hour a day music videos, it was expanded to Australia and Europe in 1987. Now, many of the global channels are set to close as part of what is described as a cost-cutting exercise.

A coded puzzle embedded in a sculpture outside the CIA headquarters has been stumping cryptologists for more than 30 years until, in the lead-up to the puzzle's solution being sold at auction this year, two journalists stumbled on an answer that had been hidden in plain sight.    Guest: John Schwartz, former New York Times journalist and Professor of Practice at the UT Austin School of Journalism and Media, University of Texas

The citizens of Iran’s capital Tehran are facing a dire situation: the government is warning that people may soon be forced to evacuate the city because it is about to run out of water. On November 19th, the President Masoud Peseshkian described the need to move as “not a choice but a necessity”. 

Victoria has followed Queensland in legislating tough new "adult crime, adult time" laws. In Victoria the new laws mean that a fourteen year old can be given a life sentence for crimes such as home invasion. And in Queensland 113,000 people have signed a petition to give people greater powers to defend themselves from home invasion. But is home invasion on the rise in Australia and will these new laws work to reduce the incidence of these crimes? Guest : Alex Simpson, Associate Professor of Criminology, Macquarie University

Australian performance artist Stelarc has pushed the boundaries of the human body for the last 50 years, suspending himself by hooks, wiring his muscles to the internet, even adding a prosthetic ear to his arm. On The Year That Made me he traces his experimental foundations back to a visit to Japan in 1970.   Guest: Stelarc, Performance Artist.

The National Assistance Card is a tool that is increasingly being used by people with invisible disabilities to communicate their needs, particularly during emergency situations. 

The African Grey is a very clever parrot whose capacity to mimic has made them stars on social media. But has the increased demand for them threatened their survival in the wild? And should wild birds born to fly be sold as pets especially when they often outlive their owners? Guest: Rene Ebersole, investigative reporter and co-founder of of the non-profit journalism organisation Wildlife Investigative Reporters & Editors (WIRES). Her article in Rolling Stone can be found here.