Class Act

As Hong Kong hurtles towards the transition from British colony to Chinese territory, the king becomes an unlikely celebrity artist. Governor Chris Patten prepares to hand back Hong Kong to the Chinese, and as talks between the global powers take place, the people of Hong Kong are consigned to be spectators, powerless over their own future. Louisa continues her quest to discover the truth behind the king's claims of dominion, and meets a man who might provide some answers. With thanks to Getty for use of news footage

The King's calligraphy once covered Hong Kong, but now it has all but disappeared. Louisa searches for traces of the King, and for any truth to his claims of dominion over Kowloon. In this quest, she goes to the heart of his kingdom — Kwun Tong is an area full of high-rise factories, churning out t-shirts and souvenirs. There she discovers the first of the King's courtiers; and begins to understand that the search for the king is the search for Hong Kong itself.

He called himself the King of Kowloon and, for almost half a century, he used his misshapen Chinese characters to wage a calligraphic campaign claiming his dominion over Hong Kong. Journalist Louisa Lim follows the trail of a man who was first known as a crank, then an artist, then a most unlikely icon.

The decision to get cosmetic enhancement is complicated. It could be triggered by childhood bullying, influenced by social media, or stem from a belief that you’re not good enough. The beauty industry encourages you to tie your self-identity to your appearance. It promises to empower you. In the final episode of Face Value, we delve further into why so many people are driven to change the way they look. Who are they doing it for? And do cosmetic procedures make people happier or more confident?

Cosmetic enhancement comes with plenty of risks. Botched surgeries, safety breaches, and in the worst-case scenario, fatal results. They've been reported for decades. Horror stories aside, chasing your aesthetic ideal is no easy task. Beneath every Insta-perfect photograph is a tonne of time, energy and money that's often glossed over. And that's not to mention the pain and prolonged recovery that can come with invasive procedures. Why are so many people willingly submitting themselves to putting this much effort into how they look?

For the longest time, Western beauty has been celebrated. The desire and pressure to look more 'Western' has led to skin whitening products, nose jobs and double eyelid surgery. But the tide is turning. Celebrities like the Kardashians are leaning into an ethnically ambiguous aesthetic. Is this cultural appropriation or cultural appreciation? What do people of colour, who've often been racially vilified for their appearance, have to say about others cherry-picking their features?

COVID-19 has changed the way we do things. We're relying on video platforms to work and to connect. And it turns out that seeing our faces on-screen everyday has triggered more people to seek cosmetic enhancement than ever before. Couple that with the constant stream of impossibly beautiful — and heavily edited — people on social media, and you have the perfect storm to create appearance insecurity. Where is all this leading us to?

The cosmetic enhancement industry is booming. Injectables and surgical procedures promise age-defying beauty. But they come with real risks. From anti-wrinkle injections and fillers, to nose jobs and Brazilian Butt Lifts, why are so many people choosing to enhance their appearance? The first episode is released on Friday, 29 April.

By some estimates, 15 per cent of Americans believe in QAnon, the conspiracy movement connected to the storming of the US Capitol in January this year. QAnon can be all-consuming, ending relationships and splitting families. So what's it like to climb back out of its embrace?

Alex's bible classes started taking over his life — then he discovered who was really running them. Emma's mum went from crystals to a clique that believes in aliens and past lives. And Tim and his dad fell into QAnon together, but what happened when one wanted to leave? We find out how cults and conspiracy theories can isolate you from your family, friends, even flatmates. And we hear what it's like to lose a loved one to a dangerous belief system.

Why do people spread information that isn't true on social media? Especially when they know that's what they're doing?

Equality is for ugly losers. Feminism is cancer. #submissivehousewife. Welcome to the world of tradwives, a movement with two distinct subcultures: one wholesome, one harmful. For many, it's about cooking from scratch, caring for children, and getting back to nature. But there's also an insidious side. Scrolling #tradwife on social media exposes a loose thread in an otherwise tightly knit image of happy family life. Pull the thread, and ugly things reveal themselves

What do you believe? There’s some very weird stuff out there. From fringe ideas to full-blown conspiracy theories, we dive into the rabbit hole to find out why it’s so human to fall for them. We hear what motivates those who spread misinformation and what is it like for the families when someone they love goes all in on a cult. We meet people who got out of QAnon and learn how to immunise against false information. 

In 1789, a disease tore through Aboriginal communities around Sydney Cove, or Warrane, leaving dead bodies floating in the harbour, and scattered along the shorelines. Some think that this outbreak was a fire that was deliberately lit.

A six-year old boy in Papua New Guinea wakes up one day and is suddenly unable to stand by himself. Less than a year later, children in three other Asia Pacific nations are experiencing the same alarming symptoms. A disease that was eradicated from these countries is back -- and it appears to be spreading.

You’re a doctor faced with a dilemma: your patient isn’t responding to treatment. In fact, they’re getting worse. You run through a list of what might be wrong, but nothing seems to fit. And then suddenly -- whatever is wrong appears to be spreading. It’s a race against time, and a medical mystery that only a seasoned disease detective can solve.

A sleepy suburb in Brisbane is the scene of a gruesome disease outbreak, where the streets literally run with blood.

This is the big one. The history we’re living. From Melbourne to Munich, Lombardy to Wuhan and all the way back again: this episode is about what happened when we faced those first coronavirus cases. Where things went well, where they didn’t — and whether there’s anything we could have done to stop it.

Three transplant patients die within a week of each other and alarm bells start ringing.

A junior doctor uncovers a mystery that rewrites the story of a famous epidemic — and we learn the troubling origins of 'patient zero' as a concept.