Australia and the US

Available for over a year

Two stories about race and prejudice, from opposite ends of the Earth. In Australia, the need to control illegal immigration - and especially the arrival of asylum seekers by sea - has become an urgent - and polemical - part of the political agenda. Tony Abbott's government has committed itself to a "no more boats" policy, and indeed there haven't been any arrivals via this route for the past six months. But why are so many Australian voters so hostile to new arrivals in a country itself built by newcomers? Judith Crosbie examines the roots and consequences of current rules. In Arkansas, Aleem Maqbool has a deeply uncomfortable encounter with a white supremacist - and examines how the constitutional protections of the First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of speech, religion and assembly are often held to cover even violently racist rhetoric. Presenter: Pascale Harter Producer: Polly Hope Photo: Indonesian villagers step on wreckage of an asylum-seekers' boat which sank off the coast of Java, September 28, 2013. At least 22 passengers on the boat bound for Australia died and scores went missing, Creit: STR/AFP/Getty Images