Airdate: Agony

Adam Zwar’s latest Agony series (now simply called, just that) returns next week tackling various topics including flirting vs sexual harassment, science vs God, privacy vs security, the bikini vs the burka, private schools vs state and cosmetic surgery vs growing old gracefully.

Appearing this series are uncles and aunts including Lawrence Mooney, Celia Pacquola, John and Tom Elliott, Steve Vizard, Kate Langbroek, Joe Hildebrand and Amanda Vanstone.

Our beloved Agony Aunts and Uncles return in a new six-part series covering a diverse range of topics that will get you thinking, keep you wondering and make you laugh. Over the past three years, the Agony Aunts and Uncles have discussed love, life, manners, Christmas and the mind. It’s been funny, emotional and heartwarming. But now it’s time to take aim at society’s most sensitive topics.

Episode One: “The Agony of the Body”
On the Gold Coast Muslim men patrol the beaches telling women in bikinis to cover up. Whereas, on many Australian streets, burka-wearing women are shouted at by sneering Anglos, “What have you got to hide?” To some, the bikini is a symbol of liberation, while others say the burka liberates you from evaluative eyes and negative appraisals.

When it comes to bikinis and burkas, how much is it about comfort, and how much is it about appealing to the patriarchy? Is one more immoral than the other? Should either be banned? And to what extent should it be left to the individual?

9pm Wednesday ABC.