The debate over the death penalty

This special end of year episode of Behind the News wraps up all of 2019’s big stories from Australia and around the world in politics, weather, sports and culture. Plus there is a super quiz to test your knowledge of the year’s events and some behind the scenes bloopers.

The Behind the News team updates us on the Hong Kong protests and explains what kind of democratic rights the protestors are demanding from the government. A koala hospital in Port Macquarie has raised over $1 million, Tesla unveils its new cybertruck and ancient animal mummies are put on display in Egypt. We also learn more about Venice and why it is flooding. Jack visits an indigenous school garden full of bush tucker, Leela spends some time at the South Australian hospital school and we meet a young Aussie horse rider from Cobargo who has invented the award winning safety 'rein angel'.

NSW and QLD have been dealing with deadly bushfires for more than a week now, and hundreds of schools are closed. Amelia visits some of the affected areas to find out how kids are coping. BTN’s Kids Talk survey has found that some kids are feeling tired a lot of the time, so we take a look at why sleep is important and ways kids can get a better night’s sleep. The UN’s World Television Day celebrates the powerful role television plays in helping us understand global issues and the things that matter to us. We meet an up and coming musician who sat down with one of the country’s most acclaimed singer-songwriters, Paul Kelly.