In January 2003, a few friends and I had to be evacuated from the small resort town of Thredbo in New South Wales because it was about to become ringed by fire – a memorably terrifying experience. So I’ve been avidly following the coverage of the bushfires ravaging Australia over the past week or so. We’ve had some superb coverage from our Australian colleagues, ranging from the links to climate change to the political response.

From experience, I can say there’s little more frightening than knowing that the fires are getting closer and listening to news bulletins and knowing that a change in the wind direction could make the difference between staying put or fleeing for your life.

Here in the UK we’ve experienced severe flooding in northern England, with many people forced to leave their houses and endure the sadness of returning to find homes and possessions ruined by stinking floodwater. Here too, the talk is about the contribution climate change is making as well as the political will to invest in flood defences and the problems scientists face in trying to predict where floods will happen next.

This week, as you’d expect, we’ve also been keeping a close eye on the election campaign. You can find our coverage here.

From our colleagues around the world, we’ve learned about the part that Zulu radio dramas had in subverting apartheid and we’ve discussed the rise and rise of lady backpacks and other gendered products.

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