Four Corners (1961)
Four Corners is Australia's longest-running investigative journalism/current affairs television program. Broadcast on ABC1 in Australia, it premiered on 19 August 1961 and celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2021. Founding producer Robert Raymond and his successor Allan Ashbolt did much to set the ongoing tone of the program. Based on the Panorama concept, the program addresses a single issue in depth each week, showing either a locally produced program or a relevant documentary from overseas. The program has won many awards for investigative journalism, and broken many high-profile stories. A notable early example of this was the show's epoch-making 1962 exposé on the appalling living conditions endured by many Aboriginal Australians living in rural New South Wales.
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Episode 1 - Election 22: Australia's Choice (Part 1) The Incumbent
Release Date: 2022-02-07The first in a two-part special focusing on voters as they weigh up their options in key electorates. Voters assess the key moments of Scott Morrison's prime ministership, and share their opinions of his leadership.
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Episode 2 - Australia's Choice (Part 2) The Contender
Release Date: 2022-02-14Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is facing the biggest test of his political life. Can he convince voters he is ready to run the country? Voters in key seats give their assessment of Anthony Albanese's performance so far.
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Episode 3 - Feral
Release Date: 2022-02-21In the magnificent high country of the Snowy Mountains, wild horses roam the land. But there is a bitter clash of culture dividing communities - national icon or feral pest? The ugly divide over Australia's brumbies.
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Episode 4 - Russia vs Russia
Release Date: 2022-02-28President Vladimir Putin has gone on the attack, taking aim at western nations, accusing them of threatening the Russian state. Now activists who have risked everything speak out about the abusive political climate in Russia.
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Episode 5 - Heart Failure
Release Date: 2022-03-07An investigation into the hidden and shameful failure in public health taking place in remote Australian communities. Incompetent and inexcusable medical care resulted in multiple preventable deaths. Louise Milligan reports.
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Episode 6 - State Control
Release Date: 2022-03-14Exposing the stories of Australians who say they've been virtually abducted by the state, stripped of their assets and stopped from speaking out, until now. How a system designed to protect the vulnerable, does the opposite.
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Episode 7 - Despair and Defiance
Release Date: 2022-03-21Four Corners takes you into a city under siege - Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Sarah Ferguson reports on the despair and defiance of the Ukrainian people resisting the Russian invasion.
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Episode 8 - Wild Weather
Release Date: 2022-03-28Our planet under threat and the terrible cost of extreme weather. Australia is not the only nation experiencing wild, dangerous and unprecedented weather. A sobering look at increasing extreme weather events around the world.
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Episode 9 - Ghosts of Timor (Part 1)
Release Date: 2022-04-04Two decades ago, Australia's military forces led an international armed intervention in East Timor to quell a wave of sickening violence. Mark Willacy reveals the untold story of a disturbing chapter in our military history.
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Episode 10 - Ghosts of Timor (Part 2)
Release Date: 2022-04-11The dark stain on Australia's proudest military mission. Mark Willacy reveals fresh allegations of serious misconduct, including torture, carried out by Australian soldiers during the intervention in East Timor in 1999.
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Episode 11 - The Butchers from Brazil
Release Date: 2022-04-25Four Corners investigates the corporate colossus that has taken a major slice of Australia's food production sector while being exposed internationally for bribery, corruption and environmental vandalism. Grace Tobin reports.
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Episode 12 - Profiting from the Pandemic
Release Date: 2022-05-02How Aspen Medical cashed in on COVID. Linton Besser investigates the health contractor hand-picked by the federal government for lucrative contracts worth more than a billion dollars. Why was it chosen and did they deliver?
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Episode 13 - Digging In
Release Date: 2022-05-09Four Corners investigates the new mining boom in critical minerals - necessary in mobile phones, renewable energy and electric vehicles. Angus Grigg finds Australia is in the box seat to exploit a surge in worldwide demand.
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Episode 14 - Putin's Road to War
Release Date: 2022-05-16When Russia invaded Ukraine it overturned decades of stability. We trace Vladimir Putin's rise to power from his days as a KGB counterintelligence officer to his emergence as a global power player in the post Cold War era.
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Episode 15 - The Path to Power
Release Date: 2022-05-23How the 2022 election was won and lost. Undecided voters talk about the leaders, policies and performance during the campaign and what influenced their vote. Plus political strategists pull apart the tactics and motivations.
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Episode 16 - Crypto Mania
Release Date: 2022-05-30Cryptocurrency is the hottest financial product in the world, with hype fuelled by celebrity endorsements. We investigate what lies behind the slick marketing and big promises to examine if it's a fad, a fraud or the future.
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Episode 17 - Nowhere to Run
Release Date: 2022-06-06What happened to a group of young female athletes who were groomed and abused by their running coach. Charlie Webster uncovers the truth of what happened to her teenage running friends at the hands of a manipulative predator.
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Episode 18 - Holding on to Hope
Release Date: 2022-06-13Dr Norman Swan investigates the science behind a new drug treatment in the race to solve dementia. Dr Swan looks at evidence that lifestyle choices may help delay the onset of the disease while the world waits for a cure.
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Episode 19 - The Abduction of Milly Dowler
Release Date: 2022-06-20We examine the failures in the investigation into the abduction and murder of 13-year-old Milly Dowler, featuring interviews with senior police and those covering the case. Plus we shed light on the role of the media.
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Episode 20 - Vape Haze
Release Date: 2022-06-27Vaping was hailed as the new way to quit smoking but there are concerns it is now causing nicotine addiction in teens. Grace Tobin investigates the booming black market which is thriving due to a failure to police the rules.
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Episode 21 - The War Within
Release Date: 2022-07-04How factional infighting contributed to the Liberal Party's election loss. Liberal insiders speak for the first time about deep divisions, pre-selections, branch stacking and the extraordinary measures by factional warriors.
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Episode 22 - Washed Away
Release Date: 2022-07-11The planning failures deepening Australia's flood crisis. Adam Harvey meets families struggling with current and past flood events. They tell stories of despair, abandonment, and financial ruin. Many have lost everything.
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Episode 23 - Facing Beauty
Release Date: 2022-07-18The plastic surgery industry in China is booming, estimated to be worth $US200bn by 2030. We meet social media influencers and ordinary young Chinese prepared to undergo extreme procedures to radically alter their appearance.
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Episode 24 - Psyched Up
Release Date: 2022-07-25The race to make psychedelic drugs part of mainstream medicine. Elise Worthington looks into clinical trials to treat trauma, PTSD and mental health conditions, plus the dark side of abuse, malpractice and underground supply.
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Episode 25 - Pacific Capture
Release Date: 2022-08-01How Chinese money is buying the Solomon Islands. Angus Grigg investigates the extent of Chinese influence and control, plus new details about the Chinese money being used by PM Sogavare to secure his hold over the country.
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Episode 26 - The Whistleblowers
Release Date: 2022-08-08Several former United Nations insiders allege a wide range of sexual abuse and corruption across many UN agencies. First-hand accounts from whistleblowers with decades of experience at the world's top diplomatic institution.
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Episode 27 - Independents' Day
Release Date: 2022-08-15Behind the scenes with some of the Independent women who defied the odds and defeated high profile politicians. With rare access we filmed personal moments away from the spotlight, documenting their transition to Canberra.
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Episode 28 - Myanmar: The Forgotten Revolution
Release Date: 2022-08-22Almost 20,000 people have reportedly been killed since the military seized power in Myanmar in February 2021. Filmmakers risk their life to secretly document the army's brutal repression and use of lethal force on protesters.
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Episode 29 - The Wolf of Woy Woy
Release Date: 2022-08-29The working-class investors duped by a man the regulators won't pursue. Caro Meldrum-Hanna goes in pursuit of the elusive businessman and the missing money people invested in the mining exploration company he spruiked.
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Episode 30 - Flight Risk
Release Date: 2022-09-05The inside story of the decline of Qantas. Current and former staff talk about ruthless cost cutting and a divide and conquer culture. An airline in damage control, beset by customer complaints and a demoralised workforce.
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Episode 31 - The Postcode Wars
Release Date: 2022-09-12Street gangs, drugs and organised crime. A turf war where teenagers are being attacked with knives. Grace Tobin has gained extraordinary access to the teenagers who are being drawn into the violence and criminal activities.
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Episode 32 - Defining Dutton
Release Date: 2022-09-26In a rare in-depth interview, Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton speaks about some of the issues that shaped him and his vision for Australia. Colleagues who've known him for many years also offer their insights.
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Episode 33 - No Place to Call Home
Release Date: 2022-10-03In towns and cities across Australia, the critical lack of affordable and social housing now means people with low paying jobs are struggling to find accommodation. Louise Milligan reports on the new face of homelessness.
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Episode 34 - DNA - The End of Crime?
Release Date: 2022-10-10How genealogy databases are being used to solve crimes and cold cases. As DNA databases continue to grow, law enforcement agencies are becoming increasingly confident these new DNA detectives will expose criminals.
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Episode 35 - Breaking Point
Release Date: 2022-10-17The real cost of Australia's worker shortage. From hospitals and hotels to farms and factories there's an urgent need for workers. The problem is particularly acute in regional towns where almost every sector is struggling.
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Episode 36 - How Many More?
Release Date: 2022-10-24In Australia Aboriginal women are among the most victimised groups in the world, murdered up to 12 times the national average. A special investigation by Bridget Brennan into Australia's murdered and missing Indigenous women.
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Episode 37 - War Games
Release Date: 2022-10-31What would conflict with China mean for Australia? Tensions between China and the US over Taiwan are the highest since the 1970s. Angus Grigg talks to the experts who are mapping the war games and the impact they would have.
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Episode 38 - Stopping Putin
Release Date: 2022-11-07Did Western powers fail to prevent war in Ukraine? Four Corners traces the current war in Ukraine back to 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea and supported the separatist movements in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas.
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Episode 39 - Locking Up Kids
Release Date: 2022-11-14Australia's failure to protect children in detention. Four Corners will show for the first time the dangerous restraining practice used by WA officers on children.