When you're swimming in the ocean, do you ever startle at a piece of seaweed? Mistake a wave for a fin? Does the thought of sharks cross your mind at all? Nearly 50 years ago, a little movie by the name of Jaws, changed everything.This event was recorded at the National Film and Sound Archive, in partnership with the Australian National University, on 28 February 2024.SpeakersDr Hannah Calich Postdoctoral research fellow, Australian National UniversityProfessor Kenneth Lampl Convenor, Composition for Film and Video Games, School of Music, Australian National UniversityDr Anna-Sophie Jürgens Senior Lecturer in Science Communication, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of ScienceHead of Popsicule, ANU's Science in Popular Culture and Entertainment Hub

Remember the 8cm living worm found inside a woman's brain last year? Where the hell did it come from? Parasites have bizarre and whacky stories to tell. Join Natasha Mitchell to meet three scientists listening to what they have to say. The science, medicine, and mayhem of parasites. You'll have a whole new respect for these clever survivors and their biology.Thank you to the event organisers, the 2024 World Science Festival Brisbane and Queensland MuseumSpeakersProfessor Katherine Andrews Parasitologist, malaria researcher Founder of the That’s RAD! Science project     Author of My mum is a parasite scientist. That’s RAD! Associate Professor Vincent Ho Gastroentorologist The Gut Doctor (GutDr) on Youtube Western Sydney University Dr Terry Miller Ecologist and parasitologist Head of Biodiversity and Geosciences at Queensland Museum 

Irish Times columnist and author Fintan O'Toole draws on the Irish experience to explain the rise of populism and authoritarianism in the United States.This event was recorded at the Vice-Chancellor's Democracy Forum at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on 26 September 2024.SpeakersFintan O'Toole Columnist with the Irish TImesLiterary Editor with the New York Review of BooksAuthor of We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Ireland Since 1958, Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain, and Ship of Fools: How Stupidity and Corruption Sank the Celtic TigerProfessor of Irish letters at Princeton UniversityAnna Funder (host) Author, Wifedom, Stasiland, All That I AmLuminary and Ambassador, UTSRoy Green (host) Emeritus Professor and Special Innovation Advisor, UTSFormer Dean, UTS Business School

David McAllister invites you backstage and reveals gloriously gossipy anecdotes about the stars he's met in his long dancing career. But it's not all tutus and tiaras: ballet is at the top of transforming sport science.Presented at the Brisbane Writers Festival.SpeakersDavid McAllisterGuest artistic director of the West Australian Ballet, former principal dancer, former artistic director of The Australian BalletAuthor of Ballet Confidential: A personal behind-the-scenes guide, Thames & Hudson Australia 2024Leanne BenjaminQueensland Ballet's Artistic Director, former principal dancer

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has fought against antisemitism worldwide for over a century. It is now documenting a dangerous rise in antisemitism, and the connection between conspiracy theorists, white supremacy, pro-Palestine anti-war protests, and hate speech.ADL board member, prominent Iranian-American Jewish philanthropist and academic Dr. Sharon Nazarian presents the inaugural Gahl Hodges Burt Lecture in Policy at the American Academy in Berlin.SpeakerDr Sharon Nazarian Board member and former Senior Vice President for International Affairs, Anti-defamation League (ADL)Founder, Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, University of California Los Angeles

Two Australians who are intimately connected to the conflict in the Middle East, one Jewish, one Palestinian, make their pleas for peace, and share their deeply personal stories of how it has affected them.The 13th annual UN International Day of Peace Brisbane lecture was recorded at St John's Anglican Cathedral on September 21, 2024.SpeakersPeter CatDean, St John's Cathedral BrisbaneLouise AdlerDirector, Adelaide Writers WeekNasser MashniPresident, Australians for PalestineFurther informationOlive Kids

From social media algorithms to authoritarian despots, is our democracy under threat?In our SOS DEMOCRACY series, meet big thinkers on a rescue mission to resuscitate democracy.In this first episode, one of Australia's most seasoned political journalists Nikki Savva has seen the fractures up closer than most. Hear her timely advice for journalists, politicians and citizens.This 2024 Speaker's Lecture was recorded at Parliament House in Canberra on 9 September 2024.SOS DEMOCRACY airs on Tuesdays 8pm and Saturdays 10pm in October and November, and on the ABC Listen app.SpeakersNikki Savva Columnist, Nine NewspapersAuthor, The Road to Ruin, Plots and Prayers and BulldozedMilton Dick Speaker, House of Representatives, Labor MP

From social media algorithms to authoritarian despots, is our democracy under threat?In our SOS DEMOCRACY series, meet big thinkers on a rescue mission to resuscitate democracy.In this first episode, one of Australia's most seasoned political journalists Niki Savva has seen the fractures up closer than most. Hear her timely advice for journalists, politicians and citizens.This 2024 Speaker's Lecture was recorded at Parliament House in Canberra on 9 September 2024.SOS DEMOCRACY airs on Tuesdays 8pm and Saturdays 10pm in October and November, and on the ABC Listen app.SpeakersNiki Savva Columnist, Nine NewspapersAuthor, The Road to Ruin, Plots and Prayers and BulldozedMilton Dick Speaker, House of Representatives, Labor MP

Are you a gazelle or a grizzly bear when you run? The bounce in your step defines whether you're a stronger sprinter or long-distance runner — and choosing the right sport for your biomechanics determines whether you can get to the top of the podium. Find out more about the secret weapon of biomechanics, the theory of optimal speed control within racing endurance, and how performance psychology has an impact both on and off the track.The Science of Sport was presented at the York Festival of Ideas. The Festival is led by the University of York, UK.SpeakersProfessor Amandine AftalionMathematician and a senior scientist, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)Author of Be a Champion: 40 Facts You Didn't Know About Sports and ScienceDr Brian HanleyReader in Sport and Exercise Biomechanics, Leeds Beckett UniversityColonel Dame Kelly HolmesBritish athlete, double Olympic gold medallist at the 2004 Athens Olympics Games for the 800m and 1500mAdam NichollsProfessor of Psychology within the School of Sport, Exercise, and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of HullSharon Shortle (host)BBC Radio York

Can you have a wedding between the graves? Why not! – as long as it's respectful. The future of cemetery design is multi-functional, as public spaces just like our gardens and parks. And also as a refuge for animals in the midst of our cities and suburbs. They can be places for the living as well as the dead. How can cemeteries play a broader role in our communities?Six Feed Under: Design and Death Symposium, Melbourne Design Week. Presented by Open House Melbourne.SpeakersHamish CoatesPrincipal Designer, Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust Bec LyonsPresident, Natural Death Advocacy NetworkBjorn NansenSenior Lecturer, Media and Communications, and member of the DeathTech research team, University of Melbourne Tania Davidge (host)Executive Director, Open House MelbourneListen to Big Ideas: Talking about death

Renowned and controversial Australian philosopher and bioethicist Peter Singer is no stranger to contentious ideas — wrestling with the ethics of how we treat each other and other species — infanticide, altruism, veganism and more. He joins Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell to talk about why.This event was organised by The Wheeler Centre and Montalto WinerySpeaker: Professor Peter SingerBioethicist and authorFounder of The Life You Can SaveFurther information:The Life You Can Save Oxford University's Centre for Effective AltruismGiveWellGiving What We Can 

Big Ideas celebrates the blooming daphne with a look at the life, work and legacy of a pioneer of Australian landscape gardening, Edna Walling.This event was recorded on April 16, 2024 at the State Library of Victoria.SpeakersTrisha Dixon Writer, photographer, tour guide leaderCo-author (with Jennie Churchill) The Vision of Edna Walling: Garden Plans 1920-1951 (1998), and Gardens in Time: In the Footsteps of Edna Walling (1988)Sara Hardy Biographer, playwright, former actorAuthor, The Unusual Life of Edna Walling, and A Secretive LifeMillie Ross (host) Presenter, Gardening Australia, professional horticulturist, garden designer, writer and broadcasterAuthor The Thrifty Gardener

The United Nations was established after World War II in an attempt to maintain international peace, security, and cooperation. So why now, in the face once again of rising global conflicts, are the UN, and other world bodies, laws, and mechanisms, so unable to address these crises?This event was recorded at the University of Melbourne on 29 August 2024.SpeakersProfessor Alison Duxbury Deputy Dean, University of Melbourne Law SchoolDr Tania Miletic Co-Director, Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of MelbourneDr Carrie McDougall Senior Lecturer, University of Melbourne Law SchoolFormer legal specialist and Assistant Director of the International Law Section, Department of Foreign Affairs and TradeFormer Legal Adviser at Australia's Mission to the United Nations in New YorkJon Faine (host) Vice-Chancellor's Fellow, University of Melbourne Law SchoolFormer long-time presenter, Mornings, ABC Radio Melbourne

We've lived through the age of peak TV, (and wasn't it glorious). Then cinema was BACK, thanks to the hype of Barbenheimer. So, in this post Hollywood writers' strike world, how do we define the era of culture we are now consuming?This event was recorded at the Melbourne International Film Festival on 17 August 2024.SpeakersJared Richards ABC Entertainment reporterAlison Willmore Film critic, Vulture and New York magazinesHannah Diviney Disability advocate, actress, screenwriter and authorBrodie Lancaster (host) Author, essayist, and pop culture podcaster

Does the Milky Way have a sibling and how are stars formed? How can a telescope go back over 13 billion years ago to the Cosmic Dawn? The ASTRO 3D Centre of Excellence are unlocking some of the deepest mysteries of our universe and produced perhaps the clearest and most comprehensive picture of how matter, chemical elements, and energy evolved. Some of the astronomers and astrophysicists involved share their insights.Presented by ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D)Listen to Big Ideas - Night Sky LIVE – a wondrous encounter with the dark sky SpeakersEmma Ryan-WeberDirector of ASTRO 3D, the Centre of Excellence in AstrophysicsDr Nichole BarryScienta Lecturer at UNSWAmanda KarakasAssociate Professor, School of Physics and Astronomy Monash University Jesse Van De SandeAstronomer, lecturer in Astrophysics UNSW Jonathan Webb (host)ABC's Science Editor

Every autistic person is different, with their own strengths and challenges. We shouldn’t be asking what jobs are suitable for them. Rather: How can we make this specific job suitable for this autistic person? The result is a thriving employee with unique abilities. On Big Ideas, we’ll debunk myths like that autistic people don’t recognise emotion or don’t have social skills. You can see how wrong this perception is in the ABC TV series The Assembly.The Assembly on ABC iviewSpeakersDiana TanMacquarie University Autism and Education ResearcherKate HaplinNeurodiversity Consultant and advocate with lived experience. Kate is the Director of Employ for AbilityBill Shorten Minister for the NDIS Mel MacLeanHelium Pictures; Executive Producer of the ABC TV series The AssemblyLeigh Sales (host)Walkley award-winning journalist and broadcaster

Surveys constantly reveal that a huge number of us are not sleeping well. What is that doing to our mental and physical health?This event was recorded at the University of Sydney's Raising the Bar night, on 9 April 2024.SpeakerDr Jacob Crouse Research fellow, Brain and Mind Centre, University of SydneyFurther informationABC Sleeptember

The art and ethics of artisanal trades, from stone masonry to roof plumbing to limestone mortar plastering. What can be done to revive many of these traditional trades and bring them sustainably into the 21st century?Recorded Melbourne Design Week — presented by the Heritage Council of Victoria and the National Trust of VictoriaSpeakersGlen RundellWindsor Chair maker from the Central Highlands Co-Founder Lost Trades Fair, Kyneton Victoria Samantha WestbrookeExecutive Manager, Advocacy & Conservation National Trust Victoria Rebecca RobertsStone Mason, Doctoral Candidate with the University of MelbourneRuth Redden (host)Architect and heritage consultant Further InformationTraditional Trades ExpositionConservation program at the National Trust in VictoriaCentre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades

Liana Buchanan is a guardian of the rights of our most precious asset - our children. In a keynote speech, the Principal Commissioner for Children and Young People, Victoria, presents some brutal realities of the failures in some systems that are meant to protect children at risk in Victoria. But there is hope. Amelia Hunt, a young person who has experienced out of home care describes how young people are raising their voices and having direct input into reforms.  Recorded at the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law Conference, State Library of VictoriaSpeakersLiana BuchananPrincipal Commissioner for Children and Young People, Victoria Amelia HuntVictorian Commission for Children and Young People, Student Law and Global Studies, ABC Hey Wire winner 2023   Further Information Commission for Children and Young people.Amelia Hunt - Kids in out-of-home care deserve better

Student activists from the Pacific Islands successfully got the International Court of Justice to define the responsibilities of nations to combat climate change, and the legal consequences of failing to do so.This is the story of their win.Seeing first-hand the dire impact of climate change in their countries, they want to ensure nations around the world understand their obligations to take positive climate action.The 2024 Talbot Oration presented by the Australia MuseumSpeakersChynthia HouniuhiPresident of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate ChangeCraig ReucasselWriter, director and comedian, known for his work with The Chaser and for The War on Waste; currently the host of 702 ABC Sydney BreakfastRichie MerzianInternational Director at the Smart Energy Council, a peak renewable energy industry groupNarelda JacobsWhadjuk Noongar journalist and presenter of 10 News First: Midday, and 10 News First

The median Australian house price is now about $800,000 – almost eight times the average income – and well beyond the reach of many people, without help. So how did we get here, and with a federal election looming, are the political parties game to seriously take this on?"Any solution to housing that is easy and popular won't work." — Alan KohlerPresented at the Sydney Writers Festival and Readings Bookshop.SpeakersAlan KohlerFinance presenter, ABCAuthor of The Great Divide: Australia's Housing Mess and How to Fix It (Quarterly Essay #92 and republished as a book available 1 October 2024)Richard Holden (host)Professor of Economics, University of NSWKevin BellFormer Supreme Court Judge, Victoria; Former Director, Castan Centre for Human RightsAuthor of Housing: The Great Australian Right (In the National Interest essay series, Monash University Publishing)

Australia's high country is a spectacular and precious place. It's also a place that is changing, with shorter, less predictable snowfall. So, what does the future hold for the Alpine region, in a changing climate?This event was recorded on 13 June, 2024 at the Australian National University in partnership with Protect Our Winters Australia and the Australian Mountain Research Facility.SpeakersRuby OlssonLead author, Our Changing Snowscapes: Climate change impacts on and recommendations for our Australian AlpsPhD student, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National UniversityProfessor Adrienne NicotraDirector, Australian Mountain Research FacilityRichard SwainHonorary Associate Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National UniversityDavid PocockIndependent Senator, ACTSam Beaver (host)Volunteer Policy Lead, Protect Our Winters AustraliaResearch Officer, Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, Australian National UniversityFurther informationOur Changing Snowscapes: Climate Change Impacts and Recommendations for the Australian Alps

Frequently described as victims, as failures or even as women without morals, single mothers often get a bad rap. They are part of Australian statistics. Of the 1.1 million single parents, 83 percent are women, they are more likely to live in poverty and up to 65 percent have fled violent relationships. In this frank conversation, three women thrash and burn some of the assumptions about single mothers.Recorded at the All about Women Festival by the Sydney Opera HouseSpeakersBarkaaMalyangapa, Barkindji woman, musician and rapperKaren Pickeringfeminist writer and organiserEdwina Throsby (host)producer, curator and former head of ABC Managing Editor of Arts. Further InformationAbout Bloody Time by Karen Pickering & Jane BennettDoing It: Women Tell the Truth about Great Sex. UQP Edited by Karen PickeringBaarka Music

History is the stories we choose to tell about ourselves and others. So how have those stories changed over time? And how has that shaped new understandings of our national identity?Presented by the Friends of the National Library of Australia.SpeakersPeter StanleyFormer Research Professor, Australian Centre for the Study of armed conflict, University of New South Wales (UNSW)Former Principal Historian, Australian War MemorialFormer inaugural head of research, National Museum of AustraliaAuthor of Bad Characters: Sex, Crime, Murder, Mutiny and the Australian Imperial Force (joint winner of the 2011 Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History), and many moreFrank BongiornoProfessor of History, Australian National UniversityAuthor, The Sex Lives of Australians: A History, Dreamers and Schemers: a Political History of Australia, and many morePresident, Australian Historical AssociationAnne-Marie Schwirtlich (host)Former Director General, National Library of AustraliaFellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia

What is the allure of gothic fiction? How does it give shape to your most unsettling impulses? A panel of masters of the genre explore the creepy houses, dysfunctional families and the perfect degree of decay and rot that’s needed to create the ‘good scare’. From the classics of Jane Eyre to Harry Potter – we’re celebrating gothic tales. Presented at the Brisbane Writers FestivalSpeakersAngela "A.G." SlatterAuthor of six novels, including The Briar Book of the Dead, All the Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns and the Verity Fassbinder seriesNaomi NovikNew York Times bestselling author of The Scholomance series, the award-winning novels Uprooted and Spinning Silver, and the nine-volume Temeraire seriesKathleen JenningsBritish Fantasy Award-winning author of the short story collection Kindling, the novel Flyaway and poetry collection Travelogues: Vignettes from Trains in Motion; Fantasy Award-winning illustrator of fantasy and fairy talesShelley Parker-ChanAuthor of She Who Became the Sun and its sequel, He Who Drowned the World, which form The Radiant Emperor Duology

What is the true meaning of Orwellian and what can George Orwell's writings teach us about navigating the 21st century? Since his book 1984 was published 75 years ago, there have always been comparisons drawn between the dystopian themes of the novel and contemporary injustices, inequality, censorship and corruption. Historian Laura Beers deconstructs many of the misconceptions around Orwell's writings to expose a complex, flawed man who had a commitment to liberty and economic justice.Provided by the York Festival of Ideas; led by the University of York, UKSpeakersLaura BeersProfessor History of Modern Britain American University Washington Further InformationLaura Beers - Orwell's Ghosts: Wisdoms and warnings for the 21st CenturyAnna Funder - Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life

It's the living force of the nation, but how much do we understand our Constitution?  Twenty five pages sets out our laws, roles of government and political structure. Enacted by a people's vote of white men over 120 years ago it does not include rights for all citizens, for Indigenous Peoples or environmental protections. So how does the Constitution work for a contemporary Australia?Recorded at the National Archives Constitution Day eventSpeakersJustine Bell-JamesAssociate Professor & Director of Higher Degree Research & Director of HDR of T.C. Beirne School of Law, TC Beirne School of Law, University of QueenslandProfessor Megan DavisPro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous at UNSW and a Professor of Law at UNSW, Co-Architect Voice Referendum an Acting Commissioner of the NSW Land and Environment CourtHarry HobbsAssociate Professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Technology SydneyPaul Barclay (host) Journalist, producer, former host of Big IdeasFurther InformationThe Australian Constitution The best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world.

The idea of "freedom" is one that's often used in relation to the economy: we have "the free market" and "free trade agreements", freedom from regulation, from government intervention, and so on. But whose freedom are we talking about, and at whose expense?This event was recorded at the Perth Town Hall on 14 August 2024.SpeakersJoseph Stiglitz Professor, Columbia University Business SchoolAuthor, The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good SocietyEbony Bennett Deputy Director, The Australia Institute

Just over a decade ago democracy was within reach in Myanmar, but now the country is in danger of becoming a failed state. So what happened, and what keeps hope for the country alive?This event was recorded on 18 July 2024 at The Wheeler Centre, in partnership with PEN Melbourne, and RMIT Culture.SpeakersMa Thida Writer, human rights activist and doctorAuthor, A-maze: Myanmar's struggle for democracy: 2011-2023, Prisoner of Conscience: My Steps through Insein (2016) and many moreChair, Writers in Prison Committee, PEN InternationalFellow, Writers-in-Exile Programme, PEN GermanyDr Michelle Aung Thin Novelist, essayist and academicAuthor, The Monsoon Bride and Hasina: Through My EyesSenior Lecturer in the School of Media and Communication, RMIT University

It's a tough time to be a parent. From screens, to mental health, neurodiversity, gender, diet and schooling, this generation is in unchartered territory in many ways. So what does the evidence tell us that will give parents the best chance to raise happy healthy children, without killing themselves in the process?This event was recorded at Waverley Library in Sydney on 8 August 2024.SpeakersNorman Swan Presenter, Health Report, ABC Radio NationalAuthor, So you want to know what's good for your kids?Cassie McCullagh Presenter, The Bookshelf, ABC Radio National

From soy to oat to almond, plant mylks are all the rage. But is it possible that we've misunderstood and unfairly maligned old fashioned cow's milk?SpeakersMatthew Evans Farmer, Fat Pig FarmsAuthor, Milk: the truth, the lies and the unbelievable story of the original superfoodHost, Gourmet Farmer, SBSNick Haddow Bruny Island Cheese CoAuthor, Milk Made: A book about cheese

It was the stuff of scifi blockbuster movie The Terminator in the early 1980s, but now lethal autonomous weapons systems are actually being used in conflict zones around the world. And the arms race is on to develop more effective, more deadly killing machines, that don't need human inputs to do their job.This event was recorded at Human Rights Watch in Sydney on 4 June 2024.SpeakersMary Wareham Deputy Director, Crisis, Conflict and Arms Division, Human Rights WatchCo-Laureate (with Jody Williams), Nobel Peace Prize, 1997, for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)Daniela Gavshon Australian Director, Human Rights Watch

We all love a bargain, but what is the real cost of those books we buy online or in a supermarket for 12 dollars or less? Should Australia adopt a fixed book price common in Europe? How can we support and grow an industry that nourishes our minds and souls. A conversation on the challenges facing the Australian book industry. Presented at the Sydney Writers Festival.SpeakersRay BonnerPulitzer Prize winning author, journalist, co-owner of Bookoccino, the Northern Beaches bookstoreRichard FlanaganAward winning Australian author, latest book Question 7, Penguin Olivia Lanchester Former CEO, Australian Society of authors Michael RobothamAuthor,  latest book Storm Child, Hachette

The connections between the Caribbean and Australia go back to white settlement, with deep links to the slave trade and British colonialism. What does it mean to be a writer of Caribbean descent in modern Australia? And how can the act of writing and storytelling enable a new sense of belonging and home?This event was recorded at the Callaloo and Wattleseed Symposium at the University of Western Sydney on 3 May 2924.SpeakersMaxine Beneba Clarke Author, The Hate Race, Foreign Soil, poetry books Carrying The World, How Decent Folk Behave, and children's books including When We Say Black Lives Matter, Wide Big World and moreInaugural Peter Steele Poet in Residence, University of MelbourneSienna Brown Author, Master of My FateFurther information:Caribbean Convicts in Australia (podcast)The History Listen - ABC Radio National

10 humans in length, weighing 50 small cars, and with a bite that could take out two of you in one bite. This beast was BIG. But if Megalodon was so mighty, why did it disappear? Tim Flannery and his daughter Emma have written a book about the mystery of the giant extinct shark, and he joins Natasha Mitchell with two other fossil aficionados, palaeontologists Erich Fitzgerald and Cheng-Hsui Tsai, to take you into a very different watery world of wilderbeasts.  Speakers:Professor Tim Flannery Paleontologist, conversationist, climate change advocate Co-author, Big Meg: The Story of the Largest and Most Mysterious Predator that Ever Lived (Text Publishing, 2024)Dr Erich Fitzgerald Senior Curator in Vertebrate Paleontology, Museums Victoria Author, Triceratops: A Natural History (Museums Victoria, 2022)Associate Professor Cheng-Hsui Tsai Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology National Taiwan University

A new generation of female and non-binary intellectuals are using social media to share their scholarship and reach younger audiences. It's a tricky balance — juggling their followers' expectations and reactions, both bouquets and brickbats, maintaining their rigour, and making a living from these algorithmically-gamed corporate platforms. Meet the new influencers.Presented by the Sydney Opera HouseSpeakersHannah FergusonFounder & CEO of cheekmedia.coSisonke MsimangWriter, activist and Guardian columnistMary McgillivrayArt historian and visual content makerBri Lee (host)Author, journalist and activist

Could our continent's ancient past help solve future food security crises? Or even offer new treatments for skin cancer and inflammatory bowel disease? Tasty on your dinner plate, potentially transformative for your health — First Nations experts explore the rich potential of traditional bush foods and Indigenous plant knowledge.Presented at the World Science Festival Brisbane.SpeakersSuzanne ThompsonFounder & Managing Director of Yambangku Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and Tourism Development Corporation; Chair, Australian Native Foods and BotanicalsMadonna ThomsonChairperson, BushTukka and Botanicals Indigenous Enterprises Cooperative.Rhianna Patrick (host)Torres Strait Islander Journalist, broadcaster and audio content creator

New ABC Chair Kim Williams wants to see change at Australia’s national public broadcaster. In a fragmented media landscape and a fractured world, what is the role of public broadcasting, and how can the ABC stay relevant for its listeners, viewers and readers?This event was recorded at the Byron Bay Writers Festival on Saturday 10 August 2024.SpeakersKim Williams ABC Chair Kerry O’Brien (host) Journalist and author 

It's an adults-only hour of high vaudeville to make you laugh and think. Two teams of brainiacs go head-to-head at the annual Big Ideas and Beaker St Festival Great Debate hosted by Big Ideas’ presenter Natasha Mitchell. Arguing for the proposition is Team 'The Procreators' starring radio host and maths nerd to the masses Adam Spencer, Quandamooka saltwater scientist Mibu Fischer, Guardian Australia journalist and TikTok presenter Matilda Boseley. Arguing against the proposition is Team 'Nappy Rash and the Tiny Demons' starring Mathematician Barbara Holland, Guardian Australia cartoonist First Dog on the Moon, Science Vs podcast host Wendy Zukerman. Who will convince you?Speakers:THE PROCREATORSAdam Spencer (Team captain)Author, broadcaster, maths geekMibu FischerQuandamooka saltwater scientist, marine ethnoecologist and PhD studentCSIROMatilda BoseleyGuardian Australia journalist and social media presenterAuthor, The Year I Met My Brain (Penguin, 2023)NAPPY RASH AND THE LITTLE DEMONSProfessor Barbara HollandMathematician, University of TasmaniaFirst Dog on the MoonCartoonist and wannabe marsupialGuardian AustraliaWendy ZukermanScience journalistHost and founder, Science Vs podcast

"They paved paradise and put up a parking lot" sang Joni Mitchell.  Let's get wild and urban.  Sometimes nature can thrive in cities in surprising ways and by accident. Hear how. And did you know 39 threatened species only exist in Australian cites? How do we design a city for fairy wrens, and the other feathered and furry beings who call it home?SpeakersSarah BekessyProfessor of Sustainability and Urban Planning, ICON Science research group, RMIT Darryl JonesWriter, speaker, researcher, behavioural ecologist, Professor Emeritus Griffith University Christopher Daniels (host)Chair of Green Adelaide, Zoologist, Adjunct Professor of Urban Ecology, University of South Australia

Meet the world's smallest superheroes. Insects are ecological warriors, but through the brilliance of biomimicry, they're also inspiring all sorts of human inventions.From new medicines to air safety systems — don't underestimate the larger-than-life impact of the planet's tiniest beings.Presented at the World Science Festival Brisbane.SpeakersDr Chris BurwellQueensland Museum Senior Scientist and Curator of insectsDr Andrew WalkerPostdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of QueenslandProfessor Elena IvanovaAnobiotechnologist/biophysicist, RMIT UniversityRebecca Levingston (host)Presenter and broadcast ABC Radio Brisbane

Join Natasha Mitchell for a live discussion to hear why we need to cherish dark skies. And share the night sky with RN listeners from around Australia to celebrate Science Week. When did you last see a truly dark sky? Light pollution in our cities and thousands of satellites are making the night sky brighter and brighter but what impact is this having on animals and on our health and wellbeing? Big Ideas will also be crossing to observatories around Australia to find out the best spots to see our night skies and why is it is so important to protect darkness.Speakers Dr Tanya HillSenior Curator of Astronomy at Museums VictoriaRebecca TaylerVolunteer at Woomera Observatory Bill StentAstronomical Society of VictoriaDr Ellie SansomDirector of the Australian Desert Fireball Network and Global Fireball ObservatorySenior lecturer, Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy, Curtin UniversityPeter SwantonResearch Associate, School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Australian National UniversityGamilaraay/Yuwaalaraay man from Mackay, QueenslandMarnie OggFounder of the Australasian Dark Sky AllianceFurther informationScience Week at the ABC: The amazing night sky and the impact of light pollutionAll in the Mind - Turning sleeplessness into stargazingFuture Tense - We're losing the dark sky and you can already feel the consequencesABC Classic playlist - Sounds of the Night Sky

What led to this current era of superpower conflict, and what will the outcome of the 2024 US presidential race will mean for the geopolitical dynamics shaping the world?SpeakersDavid E. Sanger National Security and White House Correspondent, New York TimesAuthor New Cold Wars: China's rise, Russia's invasion, and America's struggle to defend the West and othersDr Michael Green CEO, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney

Your biological responses to fear are at the core of depression, anxiety, failed relationships and much of human misery. But you can change how your body reacts to threats – some steps are as simple as adjusting your breathing. Fear has evolved as a set of powerful physical reactions for surviving predators. In modern life we face very different threats, but the same ancient, automatic fear responses are triggered. And that doesn't end well. It has a huge impact on our physical and mental health, our behaviour, our capacity to think clearly and our ability to relate to each other.Reflections on Fear, Anxiety and Depression was provided by the York Festival of Ideas. The Festival is led by the University of York, UKSpeakerMichael GuildingPsychotherapist and trainerFurther informationMichael Guilding's articles on complex trauma

Humans have long had a morbid fascination with murder and other crimes, as shown through the popularity of shows like CSI and Silent Witness. But how close are these tv dramas to the real thing? Three forensic pathologists spill the beans on what it's really like to work in the science of death.This Sisters in Crime event was recorded on 24 May 2024 as part of Victorian Law Week.SpeakersAssociate Professor Linda IIes Head of forensic pathology services, Victorian Institute of Forensic MedicineDr Melanie Archer Forensic entomologist and pathologist, Victorian Institute of Forensic MedicineAdjunct senior lecturer, Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash UniversityDr Samantha Robotham Forensic Anthropologist, Victorian Institute of Forensic MedicineAdjunct Research Fellow, Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash UniversityLiz Porter (host) Author, Written On The Skin: An Australian forensic casebook, Cold Case Files: Past crimes solved by new forensic science and morePhD, LaTrobe University

The Global South has vital perspectives in addressing the most pressing issues of our times, including inequality, the climate catastrophe, the mass displacement of humans, and the technologisation of life. Why aren't we listening? … Listening also to African diasporic writers when they correct the often unflattering stories about their home countries.Speaking from the South was presented by the University of AdelaideAfrica Now was presented by the Sydney Writers FestivalSpeakersAbdulrazak GurnahZanzibar-born Nobel-prize winning author of 10 novels, his latest is AfterlivesOliver TwistWriter, actor and Comedian – shows Jali and GriotSara El SayedEgyptian-born writer and Sessional Academic working at the Queensland University of TechnologyAuthor of Muddy PeopleProfessor Tina Steiner (host – Speaking from the South)Chair of the English Department at Stellenbosch University in South AfricaSisonke Msimang (host – Africa Now)Columnist and author of Always Another Country: A memoir of Exile and Home

Eric Beecher joins Natasha Mitchell to discuss his riveting and excoriating new book The Men Who Killed the News: The inside story of how media moguls abused their power, manipulated the truth, and distorted democracy.  A longtime journalist, editor and media proprietor, Erich Beecher is chair and the largest shareholder of Private Media, which owns the news website Crikey. In 2023, Fox Corporation’s Lachlan Murdoch paid Crikey $1.3million in legal costs after withdrawing his much publicised defamation suit against the publication over an opinion piece about Fox News, the Capitol Hill riots, and election fraud allegations. This event was organised by Christine Gordon of Readings Bookshop and held at the Cinema Nova in Naarm/Melbourne.Speaker:Eric BeecherJournalist, editor, media proprietorChair and largest shareholder of Private Media (owner of Crikey and various other news websites)Author, The Men Who Killed the News: The inside story of how media moguls abused their power, manipulated the truth, and distorted democracy (Simon & Schuster, 2024)Chair, Australian Communities Foundation

Have you been online recently and noticed the internet is changing? Everything from your Google searches to your social media profiles are now being used to train artificial intelligence. So, do you have a problem with that?This event was recorded at the Vice-Chancellor's Annual Democracy Forum at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on June 19, 2024.SpeakersMeredith Whittaker President, SignalProfessor Peta Wyeth Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, UTSAssociate Professor Ramona Vijeyarasa Director of the Juris Doctor Program, Faculty of Law, UTSChief Investigator with the Gender Legislative IndexEdward Santow (host) Co-founder and Director of Policy and Governance, Human Technology Institute, UTS

Whether in conflicts around the world or within society, irreconcilability seems to be the hallmark of our present times. But it doesn't have to be that way. Many thought that reconciliation between West Germany and the UK and France after World War II was absolutely impossible. History taught us otherwise. What's the lesson of this process for today? What are the tools that lead to successful and lasting peace?Analysing Reconciliation and Irreconcilability from a Historical Perspective: The Example of Germany and Britain was presented by the German Historical Institute London.SpeakerChristine KrügerProfessor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Bonn

World conflicts can be overwhelming, or sometimes they feel very remote. But for many Australians, they are deeply personal, raw, and real. So what's it like when world news is not about 'other' people, but about 'your' people? This lively forum was hosted by Benjamin Law for QPAC and Multicultural Australia as part of the Changing the Conversation series on June 25, 2024.SpeakersAmok Dhuol South Sudanese Australian youth mentor, advocate with the Queensland African Communities CouncilArunn Jegan  humanitarian affairs lead, Médecins Sans Frontières, curator of Ted-X SydneyProfessor Peter Greste Adjunct Professor, University of Queensland, former foreign correspondentBenjamin Law (host) Writer, broadcaster, screenwriter, author of The Family Law, Gaysia, Moral Panic (Quarterly Essay), and editor of Growing Up Queer in Australia

One day Ariane Beeston looked at her baby son in his pram and saw a dragon looking back at her. In her memoir Because I am Not Myself You See: A memoir of madness, motherhood and coming back from the brink Ariane takes us inside her visceral experience of postnatal psychosis. Her extraordinary book could save lives — and cleaves open the secrets and stigma around maternal mental health, perfectionism, eating disorders, maternal love, dance school culture, and much more. She joins Natasha Mitchell at the 2024 Williamstown Literature Festival. Speaker:Ariane Beeston Author, I am Not Myself You See: A memoir of madness, motherhood and coming back from the brink (BlackInc Books, 2024)Communications and content manager, COPE: Centre of Perinatal ExcellenceWriter, psychologist, perinatal mental health advocate, dancer, choreographer, motherFurther information:COPE: Centre of Perinatal ExcellenceSupport lines and resources recommended by COPEPANDA National Helpline 1300 726 306 — available Monday to Friday 9am to 7.30pm, Saturday  9am to 4pm AEST/AEDTPANDA: Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia post natal psychosis informationPregnancy Birth Baby information on postpartum psychosis (Australian Government website)Gidget Foundation Australia (focuses on emotional wellbeing of expectant parents)Postpartum psychosis fact sheet from COPEPostpartum psychosis information (Royal Women's Hospital Melbourne)

A vintage ute, a novelty cheque, shearing prize ribbons, a household trunk and blanket – even the simplest of things can tell a powerful story, connect a community and showcase our history.In the ABC TV series 'Extraordinary Things', Tony Armstrong is on a journey to discover and celebrate the things we treasure. And an exhibition at the National Museum of Australia brings together the objects Tony found, the people who cherish them and the extraordinary stories they reveal.The exhibition is running until October 13th, 2024.Presented by the National Museum of AustraliaTony Armstrong's Extra-Ordinary Things on ABC iview.SpeakersTony ArmstrongAward-winning tv presenter, podcaster, writer and creator; Gamilario man from rural NSWDr Martha SearSenior Curator at the National Museum of AustraliaLucy Small'Object owner'; professional surfer, activist, writer and film producer; co-founder of a campaign for gender equality in sport called Equal Pay for Equal PlayDr Liz Killen'Object owner'; Research Director, Social Research Centre and Visiting Fellow, Australian National University; she currently serves as Assistant Manager in the science policy team of the Office of Australia's Chief ScientistDan Bourchier (host)Multi-award winning journalist and broadcaster with the ABC

Jimmy Lai was once considered Hong Kong's quintessential rags to riches success story. But now, the newspaper publisher and democracy supporter is facing a life sentence in jail under China's crackdown on press freedom and opposition in the city. How did it come to this? And what does it mean for Hong Kong?This event was recorded on Thursday July 4 with the Melbourne Press Cub and PEN Melbourne, supported by the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne.SpeakersSebastian Lai Jimmy Lai's son and lead campaigner on the #FreeJimmyLai campaignCaoilfhionn Gallagher KC Lead lawyer, Jimmy Lai's international legal teamCommissioner, Irish Human Rights and Equality CommissionIreland's Special Rapporteur on Child ProtectionAdjunct Full Professor, University College DublinFellow, Royal Society of ArtsJennifer Robinson Human rights lawyerBarrister, Doughty Street Chambers (London)Co-author, How Many More Women? Exposing how the law silences women (Allen & Unwin)Louisa Lim (host) JournalistAssociate Professor in Journalism, University of MelbourneAuthor, Indelible City: Dispossession and defiance in Hong Kong (Text Publishing)

It's only eight years until the torch will be passed on to Brisbane. The countdown is on: Are we prepared? What are the challenges? What is the politics involved? And how important is children participating in sport to ensure that the games have a future?Presented at the Bond Business Leaders Forum, Bond University.SpeakersIan ChestermanPresident of the Australian Olympic CommitteePat HowardFormer rugby international player and coach for the Leicester Tigers; Executive General Manager of Strategy, Insights & Innovation at the Australian Sports CommissionPatrick JohnsonKaanju man from Far North Queensland, Olympian, Commonwealth Games Bronze Medallist in the 4x 100 metres relay; board member for the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee; Chair of Australian Olympic Committee Indigenous Advisory CouncilElia HillDirector, Commercial Opportunities and Investment, at the Queensland Department of Tourism and SportWilliam Tuffley (host)Partner, Business Services at the audit and accounting consultancy BDO Australia

Join a full house at the Sydney Opera House with Nobel winning scientist Jennifer Doudna and Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell to discuss the huge social, ethical, and scientific implications of the CRISPR gene editing revolution. From curative therapies to gene edited babies - will we use it to hack our own evolution?This event was presented by the Sydney Opera House, Big Questions Institute (BQI), Sydney Writers’ Festival, UNSW Sydney.Speaker:Professor Jennifer Doudna2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry co-winner Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s ChairProfessor, Departments of Chemistry and of Molecular and Cell BiologyFounder, Innovative Genomics InstituteUniversity of California, BerkeleyInvestigator, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteSenior investigator, Gladstone InstitutesFurther information and listens:Doudna LabJennifer Doudna in conversation with Natasha Mitchell at an event in 2018World's first CRISPR gene edited babies born - are we ready?(2018 Science Friction episode with Natasha Mitchell)The CRISPR gene-edited babies and the doctor who made them - what really happened? (2019 Science Friction episode with Natasha Mitchell)Out of jail, is the CRISPR-baby scandal scientist at it again? (2023 Science Friction episode with Natasha Mitchell)Feral science or solution? Unleashing gene drives (Science Friction episode with Natasha Mitchell)Making happier animals? Gene editing in the farmyard (Science Friction episode with Natasha Mitchell)Hear Natasha Mitchell learn how to do CRISPR gene editing (as part of her 4-part Earshot series The Hidden History of Eugenics (2016))The science and ethics of genome editing with Jennifer Doudna and Kevin Esvelt (video of event hosted by Natasha Mitchell in 2018)Natasha Mitchell's review of Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Gene: An Intimate History

Who's watching your local council, keeping you abreast of issues in your neighbourhood, and celebrating your community's achievements? That used to be the role of your local newspaper, but now many of us don't have one.This event was recorded at the Willy Lit Fest on Sunday 16 June 2024.SpeakersMargaret Simons Honorary Professorial Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of MelbourneAuthor, Tanya Plibersek: on her own terms, Penny Wong: Passion and Principle, and othersJosie Vine Senior Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, RMIT UniversityAuthor, Larrikins, Rebels and Journalistic Freedom in AustraliaRates, roads and rubbish reporter, The Westsider community newspaperAlice Pung Author, Unpolished Gem, Her Father's Daughter, Laurinda, Close to HomeEditor, Growing Up Asian in AustraliaAdjunct Professor in the School of Media and Communication at RMITJohn Weldon (host) Associate Professor, Victoria University

Moral philosopher and writer Raimond Gaita wrestles with the moral and ethical dimensions of the Israel-Gaza war to try to make sense of the incomprehensible.The Jim Carlton Integrity Lecture, "The Urgency of Ethical Challenges Facing the World" was recorded at the Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne on May 8, 2024.SpeakerRaimond Gaita Honorary professorial fellow, Melbourne Law School, University of MelbourneEmeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy, King's College LondonFellow, Australian Academy of the HumanitiesAuthor, Justice and Hope: Essays, Lectures and Other Writings, (and many other books)Editor Gaza: Morality, Law and Politics

The internet was supposed to make the world more open and connected, but things seem to have taken a dark turn. In the shadow of the AI revolution, as the tech giants vie for our data, our attention, and our money, beloved Scottish author Andrew O'Hagan makes an impassioned case for the role of readers and writers as "frontline workers" in the fight for reality.These events were recorded at the Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival on 17 and 19 May 2024.SpeakersAndrew O'Hagan Author, Caledonian Road, Mayflies,and many moreEssayist, editor-at-large of the London Review of BooksGillian O'Shaughnessy Writer, moderator, journalist, broadcaster

Join Natasha Mitchell and guests for a conversation full of surprises on the bonds that make us and sometimes break us. Bad dates, spaceships, surviving cults, the creature within, mother love, loss, and more — how do our attachments shape our minds and lives?Thanks to Griffith Review and the Brisbane Writers Festival for organising this event.Speakers:Anna McGahanActor, playwright, screenwriter, Vogel Award winnerAuthor, Immaculate (Allen and Unwin 2023), and Metanoia: a memoir of a body, born again (Acorn Press, 2020)Ceridwen DoveyAuthor, Only the Astronauts (Penguin, 2024), Only the Animals (Penguin, 2015), and other titles.Dr Ahona GuhaClinical and forensic psychologist, writerAuthor, Life Skills for a Broken World (Scribe Publications, 2024) and Reclaim: Understanding complex trauma and those who abuse (Scribe Publications, 2023)Further information:Griffith Review: Edition 84 Attachment StylesGriffith Review's editor Carody Culver on getting attached

For many Indigenous performers publicity comes with the burden of being a role model. Their only options seem to be a pedestal or oblivion, particularly if they are women.What are the challenges for them to find their place on stage and in life?Who has the right to be 'bad' in a society that expects women to be flawless?A panel of Indigenous cultural commentators explores stereotypes and puts them in the bin.Presented at the All About Women Festival by the Sydney Opera House.SpeakersBarkaaMalyangapa, Barkindji rapper from Western New South Wales, now living in South West Sydney on Gandangara landSteph TisdellYdinji comedian and actressRudi Bremer (host)Gamilaraay woman, broadcaster and presenter of RN's Awaye!Listen to Big Ideas – Indigenous arts

Recent elections overseas have shown a rise in the popularity of far-right politics in Europe and elsewhere, fuelled by anti-immigration sentiment, economic woes and other grievances. So what does this mean for far-right movements back here in Australia?This event was recorded at the University of Canberra on May 16, 2024.SpeakersJordan McSwiney Author, Far-Right Political Parties in Australia: Disorganisation and Electoral FailurePostdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of CanberraKristy Campion Senior Lecturer in Terrorism Studies, Charles Sturt UniversityAriel Bogle Investigations reporter, Guardian Australia

In some parts of the United States, you're more likely to see a book banned in public libraries and schools, than efforts towards gun control. Advocacy organisation PEN America has documented more than 10,000 book bans since 2021. Momentum to censor books is growing, and also spreading to places like Australia. So what's it like to write and sell books in this climate?This event was recorded at the Melbourne Writers Festival on the 12 May, 2024.SpeakersAnn PatchettAuthor of Tom Lake, Bel Canto, Truth and Beauty, and many more; Owner, Parnassus Books, Nashville TennesseeLauren GroffAuthor The Vaster Wilds, Fates and Furies, Florida, and many more; Owner, The Lynx Books, Gainsville FloridaTony BirchAuthor, Women and Children, Ghost River, Shadowboxing; Boisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature at Melbourne UniversityChristine Gordon (host)Programming and Engagement manager, Readings; Director, Victorian Women's Trust Board; Founding Director of the Stella PrizeFurther informationThe Book Show, ABC RN: Banned Books podcast

In some parts of the United States, you're more likely to see a book banned in public libraries and schools, than efforts towards gun control. Advocacy organisation PEN America has documented more than 10,000 book bans since 2021. Momentum to censor books is growing, and also spreading to places like Australia. So what's it like to write and sell books in this climate?This event was recorded at the Melbourne Writers Festival on the 12 May, 2024.SpeakersAnn PatchettAuthor of Tom Lake, Bel Canto, Truth and Beauty, and many more; Owner, Parnassus Books, Nashville TennesseeLauren GroffAuthor The Vaster Wilds, Fates and Furies, Florida, and many more; Owner, The Lynx Books, Gainsville FloridaTony BirchAuthor, Women and Children, Ghost River, Shadowboxing; Boisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature at Melbourne UniversityChristine Gordon (host)Programming and Engagement manager, Readings; Director, Victorian Women's Trust Board; Founding Director of the Stella PrizeFurther informationThe Book Show, ABC RN: Banned Books podcast

From land rights to health and education, working within the system or outside of it, what makes a great Indigenous leader, and how do we create the right conditions for leadership to flourish?The 2024 Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture was recorded by James Cook University in Cairns on May 16, 2024.SpeakerProfessor Ngiare Brown Chancellor, James Cook University, Yuin Nation

Democracy is not necessarily the winner of the recent elections in Asia. More than a billion people across the region have voted. But that doesn't ensure democratic ideals and processes are uphold. We look at Indonesia, India and Taiwan to put the election results into context and learn how they impact democracy not just in their own countries, but across the region and the globe.Presented by La Trobe Asia.SpeakersKevin MageeAdjunct Fellow at the Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney; Former Australian ambassador to Taipei (2011-2014)Dr Priya ChackoAssociate Professor of International Politics, University of AdelaideProfessor Vedi HadizDirector and Professor of Asian Studies at the Asia Institute, University of MelbourneDr Ruth Gamble (host)Senior Lecturer in History and Deputy Director of La Trobe Asia, La Trobe University

In NAIDOC Week, is reconciliation between Black and White Australians dead, buried, or in need of re-imagining? The fallout of the Voice Referendum has left many jaded, confused, angry or indifferent.Two galvanising reflections on what all Australians can learn from the referendum, with visions for what next.SpeakersProfessor Tom Calma AOAboriginal Elder from the Kungarakan tribal group and a member of the Iwaidja and Woolwonga tribal groups in the Top End of the NT. Former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, 2023 Senior Australian of the Year.The Lowitja O’Donoghue Oration was recorded at the Don Dunstan Foundation at Adelaide University on May 29, 2024. Professor Andrew GunstoneDirector National Centre for Reconciliation, Truth, and JusticeAssociate Deputy Vice-Chancellor Reconciliation and Professor Indigenous Studies Federation University Co-Chair Reconciliation VictoriaErin LangChair of Reconciliation Queensland, Bundjalung womanThis event was recorded at the Brisbane Writers Festival 31 May 2024Further InformationBook Reflections on the Voice: During and After the Campaign by Professor Andrew GunstoneNAIDOC Week 7-14 July 2024

From loneliness, to our technology addiction, growing inequality and our shrinking middle class, our faith in God, to the complex legacy of the Baby Boomers, Hugh McKay paints a compelling portrait of modern Australia, and asks some pointy questions about its future.This event was recorded at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia on May 16, 2024.SpeakersHugh McKay Social psychologist and researcherAuthor, The Way We Are. Lessons from a lifetime of listeningJulia Lester (host)Journalist, broadcaster, presenter

Join Natasha Mitchell and guests in a coal country heartland. Communities in Muswellbrook and Singleton in the NSW Upper Hunter are living at the coalface  — quite literally — of the vexed debate over Australia's slow transition to a post-Carbon future. Australia's oldest coal-fired Liddell power station {"Lady Liddell") was shut down by AGL last year, AGL's Bayswater Power Station will close within a decade, coal mines are being closed, others expanded, and now the Coalition is proposing a nuclear power station for the Liddell site, but AGL has other plans. This event was organised by Arts Upper Hunter as part of the LIDDELLWorks exhibition and artists' residency, and held at the Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre.Speakers: Professor Glenn AlbrechtEnvironmental philosopher Creator of the concept "Solastalgia"Author, Earth Emotions: New Words for A New World.Associate Professor Hedda AsklandFutures anthropologistLeader, MyMuswellbrook research projectRob CooperCorporate and community affairs manager (Liddell and Bayswater power stations)AGLFiona LeeArtist and climate activistOne of the 16 artists shown in the LIDDELLworks exhibitionFurther information:Liddell: Layers of Language in the Landscape (essay by Glenn Albrecht as part of the Liddellworks project)Artworks story on Fiona LeeLiddell and Bayswater Power Stations, including Liddell demolition pansInformation from AGL about 500MW battery development at Liddell siteHunter Energy Hub HyResource backgroundInformation on solar recycling proposal at Liddell siteHunter Renewal Community Blueprint

Throughout history, empires and civilisations have risen to greatness and then fallen into decline and vanish, leaving only ruins and some artefacts. Why? Are there common features of collapse? From the great societies of Mesopotamia to those of Khmer and the Maya and Aztec of the Americas; from the Roman empire to Carthage. They all follow a similar route. What are the lessons for our civilisation and our future?Presented at the York Festival of Ideas. The festival is led by the University of York, UK.SpeakerPaul CooperHost and producer of the podcast Fall of Civilizations, author of Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and DeclineListen to Big Ideas: Our fascination with ancient Rome

George Orwell once called England "the most class-ridden country under the sun". Through the lens of her own middle-class family, prolific British journalist Polly Toynbee explores the guilt of privilege, the myth of mobility and the role of class in British society.This event was recorded at the UNSW Centre for Ideas on March 11, 2024.SpeakersPolly Toynbee Columnist, The GuardianAuthor, An Uneasy Inheritance, my family and other radicalsNick Bryant Journalist, author and commentator

You wouldn't be human if you hadn't from time to time wondered what the meaning of all of this is. Who am I? Is there a purpose? Why am I here? And how can I live a good life? Well of course you're not alone – some of history's biggest thinkers have been coming up with answers to these questions for thousands of years. So what can we learn from their conclusions?This event was recorded at Melbourne Writers Festival on May 11, 2024. SpeakerAC Grayling Professor of Philosophy, Northeastern University London Supernumerary Fellow, St Anne's College, OxfordAuthor, Philosophy and Life, Exploring the Great Questions of How to Live (Penguin Books)

Join Natasha Mitchell and guests for a poetic discussion on the ways you can create space to grieve for species that are going, going, gone. Powerful interests collude to tell us that expressing emotion is hysterical, and that humans are separate from Nature, but proper mourning paves the way for what to do next — and places us right back where we belong.SpeakersProfessor Thom van Dooren Environmental philosopherProfessor of Environmental HumanitiesDeputy Director of the Sydney Environment Institute, University of SydneyAuthor, Flight Ways: Life and Loss at the Edge of ExtinctionThe Wake of Crows: Living and Dying in Shared WorldsA World in a Shell: Snail Stories for a Time of ExtinctionsDr Blanche VerlieClimate change educator, sociologistLecturer in Gender and Cultural StudiesSydney Horizon Fellow, University of Sydney.Author, Learning to Live With Climate Change: From Anxiety to TransformationAssociate Professor Zoe SadokierskiBook designer, writer, creative producerCo-director, Visualisation Institute, University of Technology Sydney.Author, Father, Son and Other Animals

Leading Australian climate scientist Dr Joelle Gergis takes a timely look at Australia's perilous future in a warming world."Most Australians aren't aware how bad things are and how much worse they will get." — Joelle GergisThis event was recorded at Gleebooks in Sydney on Tuesday June 4, 2024.SpeakersDr Joelle Gergis Climate scientistAuthor, Highway to Hell — Climate Change and Australia's Future (Quarterly Essay #94, Black Inc Books)Marian Wilkinson Journalist and author

A huge number of ancient artefacts, First Nations' ceremonial objects and precious art sits in museums, galleries, private collections all over the world — with polite plaques. But their history is often messier than the plaques suggest. Throughout its reign, the British Empire 'stole' a lot of stuff. One of the arguably most controversial examples are the Parthenon Marbles, a collection of sculptural reliefs from the temple of Athena (the Parthenon) on the Acropolis in Greece. The second season of the TV documentary Stuff The British Stole has started on ABC TV and ABC iView. This discussion was presented by the National Gallery of Australia. The ABC acknowledges the National Gallery of Australia for their support with setting up this event and their assistance to guest speakers and ABC staff.SpeakersMarc FennellHost of the podcast and TV series Stuff the British StoleWakely-award winning journalist and documentary-makerAdjunct Professor Margo Ngawa NealeEmeritus Curatorial Fellow: First Nations at the National Museum of Australia, former Head of the Centre for Indigenous Knowledges. Born and raised on Gunai/ Kurnai country with other clan affiliations to Gumbaynggirr and Wiradjuri nationsDr Nick MitzevitchDirector of the National Gallery of AustraliaSantilla Chingaipe (host)Zambian-born Australian historian, journalist, and filmmaker

Author, essayist and speechwriter Don Watson says that the price of democracy is energy, imagination, and unstinting hard work. Through the lens of Trump's America, and the malaise of Australian politics, Watson questions whether our modern democracies are up to the job. This event was recorded on Bunurong country at the Sorrento Writers' Festival on April 25 2024.SpeakerDon Watson, Author, essayist and speechwriter

On the doorstep of Gaza comes the remarkable story of the world's first peace treaty — a 3200-year-old text. Egyptologist Dr Camilla Di Biase-Dyson joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell to share a political and personal soap opera that brought an enduring peace to a region now suffering from a bloody war.Speaker:Dr Camilla Di Biase-DysonLinguist and EgyptologistSenior Lecturer, Macquarie University

Disadvantaged and marginalised students often don't get the financial and teaching support that they need. Equity everyone, regardless of their background, is one of the most pressing challenges facing out higher education sector. The government released the Universities Accord Final Report earlier this year – and it recommends sweeping changes.What are the main recommendations? And are they any good?Access, Achievement, Accord 2024 was presented at The Australian Student Equity Symposium, Curtin University.SpeakersDr Kylie AustinPresident for Equity Practitioners in Higher Education AustralasiaProfessor Verity FirthisVice President Societal Impact, Equity and Engagement at the University of New South WalesProfessor Barney GloverCommissioner of Jobs and Skills AustraliaProfessor Harlene HayneVice-Chancellor of Curtin UniversityProfessor Mary O'KaneChair of the Universities Accord Review; director and executive chairman of the consultancy O'Kane AssociatesProfessor Shamit Saggar (host)Executive Director Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success, Curtin UniversityFurther informationAustralian Universities Accord Final Report Document

Award winning playwright S. Shakthidharan has described his groundbreaking theatre work Counting and Cracking as "a radical act of belonging". The epic, three-act, three-hour tale captures the Australian migrant experience through the story of one Sri Lankan family across four generations. To celebrate the play's return to the stage, we hear from four Sri Lankan Australians about the role creativity has played in their lives, culture and community.This event was recorded at the University of Melbourne (UMAC) in partnership with Rising Festival and The Wheeler Centre on June 2, 2024.SpeakersS. Shakthidharan Writer, Director, Producer and composer of original musicAuthor, Counting and CrackingCo-Founder and Co-Director, KurinjiMinoli De Silva Owner, Ella by MinoliFinalist, Masterchef AustraliaSuren Jayemanne Comedian, writer, presenterBhakthi Puvanenthiran (host) Entertainment and Features Editor, ABCFurther informationHow writing the epic play Counting and Cracking helped Tamil playwright S. Shakthidharan's mum face her traumaABC Online, May 27, 2024'We are here, we belong' — The unifying impact of Counting and Cracking The Stage Show, ABC RN, June 11, 2024

Drawing on his experiences working across continents in the "shatter zones" of society — jails, war zones, refugee shelters – Andre de Quadros explains how music and creativity can be used to build peace, reconciliation and empowerment in a troubled world. Later, Anne-Marie Forbes explains how music improves mental, physical and community well-being.These events were recorded at the 2024 Miegunyah Lecture at the University of Melbourne on April 11, 2024, and Melodies as Medicine at the University of Tasmania on April 10, 2024.SpeakersAndre de Quadros Professor of Music, Boston University2024 Miegunyah Visiting Fellow, University of MelbourneAnne-Marie Forbes Associate Professor Musicology, University of TasmaniaFellow of the Royal Society of Public Health.Nourish Women's Choir

Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at the 2024 Ocean Lovers Festival in Bondi. From deep sea mining to illegal fishing on the high seas, who is the boss of the ocean? And why are scientists-turned-entrepreneurs singing the praises of seaweed?  Two panels of big thinkers exploring new frontiers for ocean exploitation — and inspiration — the risks, the rewards, and the regulation of this vast wilderness which covers 70% of the planet's surfacePanel 1 - Who owns the high seas and deep seas? Deep sea mining and illegal fishing Associate Professor Aline JaeckelAustralian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS)University of WollongongCaptain Peter HammarstedtDirector of Campaigns and Chairman of Sea Shepherd AustraliaMattheiu RytzDirector of the film Deep RisingPanel 2 - Is algae the new gold?Dr Michael AskewExecutive Director and co-founderAlgae CoDr Pia WinbergFounder and chief scientistVenus Shell SystemsDr Alexandra Thomson,Industry Engagement ManagerClimate Change Cluster (C3) Research InstituteUniversity of Technology Sydney

It took until the late 1990s for Australia to decriminalise homosexuality. Since then, the law has changed and evolved in a multitude of ways for LGBTQIA+ people, but not without a fight virtually every step of the way. This event was recorded as part of Victorian Law Week on May 22, 2024.SpeakersElizabeth Bennett SC, BarristerVice President, Victorian Barristers NetworkSam Elkin Author, Detachable Penis: A queer legal saga (Upswell publishing)Legal aid lawyer (inaugural lawyer for Victoria's first Queer legal service)Host, Queer View Mirror, Triple RYves Rees (host) Senior Lecturer in History, La Trobe University

Firstly, make sure you become a grandparent. It apparently adds five years to your life. And it can make you very happy - if you do grandparenting right! Hear about the does and don'ts in this discussion about how to age well. Then add a good diet. With the six secret ingredients provided by one of Australia's most recognised leaders in the fields of sports nutrition and dietetics. And lastly, ignore social attitudes and images, that tell you how old you should feel.'How To Grow Old. It ain't for the faint-hearted' was presented by the Sorrento Writers Festival.SpeakersMichael Carr-GreggAdolescent psychologist, and one of Australia's leading authorities on teenage behaviourAuthor of Grandparents: A practical guide to navigating grandparenting today Allen & Unwin, 2023Karen IngeOne of Australia's most recognised leaders in the fields of sports nutrition and dieteticsAuthor of 'Let's Eat Right! for Families', 'Food, Fitness and Feeling Good', Co-author of the award winning book 'Food for Sport' and 'Food for Sport Cookbook'Bernard SaltAuthor, demographer, social commentator and regular columnist with The AustralianHannie Rayson (host)Australian playwright and newspaper columnistListen to Big Ideas – The ingredients to ageing well

It's often said that democracies can't function well without a strong opposition to hold the government of the day to account. But what does it take to be an effective opposition?This event was recorded at the Centre for Independent Studies on Thursday 16 May 2024.SpeakersScott Prasser Co-author with David Clune, The Art of Opposition (Connor Court publishing)Senior Fellow, Centre for Independent StudiesJohn HowardFormer Prime Minister 1996 – 2007Tom Switzer Director, Centre for Independent StudiesAndrew Blythe (host)Fellow, Centre for Independent Studies

From stopping the boats to building a wall, countries have gone to great lengths to stop the flow of people migrating across borders in search of a better life. But are these efforts realistic – let alone humane — when there are an estimated 110 million people forcibly displaced by war, persecution, hunger and climate change worldwide?This event was recorded at the University of Tasmania on May 8, 2024.SpeakersDr Tamara Wood Senior Lecturer in Law, University of TasmaniaSanushka Mudaliar Director, Global Migration Lab, Red Cross and Red CrescentArad Nik Iranian refugee, human rights activist and business owner

Humanity basically faces two existential threats: catastrophic climate change and nuclear annihilation, according to US Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman. Still – he sees nuclear energy as an essential part of "the mix" of carbon zero power sources as we transition away from coal. He discusses global developments in nuclear power generation, including new generations of reactor design, and critical issues like cost, safety, and proliferation risks.Presented at the American Academy in Berlin.SpeakersDaniel PonemanFormer US Deputy Secretary of Energy; distinguished fellow Atlantic Council's Global Energy CentreDaniel Benjamin (host)President of the American Academy in Berlin

Laura Tingle delivers the 2024 John Button Oration at the Melbourne Writers Festival, looking at how our public discourse has changed over her 40-year career – and throughout history. She explores what is to blame for the demise in civility in our public debate, and the seeming inability of our media and the political class to solve the intractable problems we face. This event was recorded on Saturday 11 May 2024, at the Melbourne Writers Festival, in partnership with University of Melbourne School of Government and the Faculty of Arts, and the Button family.SpeakersLaura TingleChief Political Correspondent, 730 (ABC)President, National Press ClubStaff-elected director, ABC board

Australians love a drink, or at least, that's a perception that's deeply ingrained in our national identity. But how true is it, these days? This Big Ideas explores the politics, problems, and pleasures of Australia's long and chequered relationship with alcohol.This event was recorded at Clunes Booktown Festival on Saturday March 23 2024.SpeakersAlex Ettling Author, Knocking the Top off: A People's History of Alcohol in AustraliaSarah MacLean Professor of Social Work and Social Policy at La Trobe UniversityRichard Gilbert Author, Thirst for GoldBill Garner (host) Writer, actor, academic, author Born in a Tent

Join Natasha Mitchell and guests to grapple with some gritty paradoxes about science and religion. In this era of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and existential angst — are they serving the needs they used to?

When you're faced with the reality that your home, livelihoods and culture will be swallowed up by the rising seas of a warming climate, how do you respond?

You might think humans have escaped biology and evolution altogether with our strange and different ways: Women live well past their reproductive years, and we have baffling long childhoods as a species. We display a dazzling mix of selfishness and altruism, and gossiping can in fact be a strategy for survival.

As violence continues in Europe and the Middle East and as positive collective action on urgent global-scale issues seems out of reach, do we need new forms of international cooperation? How can Global South and Global North nations work together more effectively? What roadblocks hinder joint action on crucial issues such as security, development, climate, and AI? How can ethical reflection and engagement pave the way for a more inclusive and equitable multilateralism? A panel of international policy experts believes it's possible: There are shared values and shared interests that can serve as the basis for effective and inclusive forms of cooperation; we merely need to activate them.

Join Natasha Mitchell as she speaks to Tibetan master Venerable Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, along with an Indian philosopher of mind and a Sufi scholar, to wrestle with the self and its dissolution.

You would think that times of intense progress and technological innovation are good for societies, but history shows that's when revolutions happen. Author and prominent CNN TV host Fareed Zakaria explains how rapid transformation of economy through technology often leads to an identity crisis and upheaval against the establishment. It's just too much too quickly. Sounds familiar? Yes – we in the middle of one. But Fareed Zakaria is optimistic it will all end well.

Since the announcement of the AUKUS plan for nuclear submarines, we’ve been hearing a lot about Australia’s maritime security. But as an island “girt by sea”, that security depends on much more than our military capability.

Australia's unique biodiversity, a product of almost 50 million years of glorious evolutionary isolation, is in freefall. The threats are not just the rabbits, the cane toads, the cats and foxes – the common culprits. Let's not forget the small but impactful smooth newt or the fierce red fire ants, and the many invasive weeds. Twenty new weeds will establish in the wild in Australia this year – and every year to come … unless things change. But is it possible to stop this ongoing invasion? How do we go about it?

The Voice Referendum result last year will leave its deep imprint on Australia for centuries to come,. So how can we forge a new path through truth-telling, sharing knowledge, and grappling with a history that belongs to both Black and White Australians?

For more than half a century, the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle allowed and covered up an extensive network of paedophile priests who sexually abused hundreds of children in their care.

Through sinister marketing and loose regulation, the tobacco industry has hooked a whole new generation of kids on smoking. How did it come to this, and will the federal government’s new laws to crack down on vaping actually work?

What lessons can we learn from J. Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the nuclear bomb? How should we govern and legislate new technologies that have the power to change the world? Like nuclear technology in the mid of last century, now large digital platforms and generative AI are putting humanity at the threshold: progress or possible exploitation and abuse? How can we regulate cutting-edge technology on a global stage?

Smaller conflicts than we're witnessing in the world right now have set off world wars. Who will be the crucial superpowers and super peacemakers in the next five years?

We are living in an "age of crises," says former New Zealand prime minister, Helen Clark. With her leadership experience and expertise in governance, politics, and policy, Helen Clark and a panel of health and international relation experts explore the challenges facing the world today and what is needed to achieve a healthier and thriving future for all. While it's easy to feel overwhelmed by complex problems, speaking up about inequality can make a difference. Helen Clark urged everyone to "raise the issues, never give up, and relentlessly campaign".

Women’s refuges are now a central part of our response to family violence, with hundreds operating across Australia. But that hasn't always been the case.

As Donald Trump makes his case for re-election in 2024, under a cloud of criminal prosecutions, how can journalists better cover such a norm-busting and rule-breaking political figure?

New York writer Jonathan Rosen’s memoir The Best Minds: a story of friendship, madness, and the tragedy of good intentions is a story of tenderness, heartache, and horror as he explores the vexed tensions between civil rights, medical power, and the complexities of recognising and treating severe psychotic illness. He joined Natasha Mitchell with psychiatrist Patrick McGorry for a powerful conversation at the 2024 Adelaide Writers Week. In light of the recent Bondi shopping centre killings, this discussion recorded just prior was sadly prescient, but deeply insightful. 

You don't need that dress, you need a hug. Or so says fashion activist and writer, Aja Barber.

It took 400,000 people to land man to the moon. And it's using that example as inspiration that the influential Italian American economist Mariana Mazzucato argues we can change capitalism.

Could Asia Pacific be with China within a couple of years? Is the independence of Taiwan worth for Australia to get involved? Would Indonesia be a better security partner for Australia than the US? On Big Ideas, a panel of foreign policy experts dissect evolving dynamics of South East Asia and offer insights into how Australia can navigate the delicate diplomatic dance with the two global giants and emerging regional powers. There are many different views on Australia's geopolitical position and the implications for its strategic future.

Has the way politicians speak ever made you shout at the television, feel bamboozled, helpless,  or shut out of democratic debate over our shared future? Pollie-talk can make important issues opaque, the inequitable seem fair, and the fair seem inequitable. Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell for some straight talk that cuts through the spin and jargon with Richard Denniss (author of Econobabble: How to decode political spin and economic nonsense), Yanis Varoufakis (author of Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism),  Joelle Gergis (author of Humanity's Moment: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope) and Thomas Keneally (Schindler's List).

Only 50 years ago, if you were 60 years old your chance of dying was the same as an 80-year-old's today. Thanks to progress in medical technology, you can live longer than ever before. Quantum technology and quantum screening, modelling with digital twins, harvesting the power of AI and real time monitoring of your molecules – a panel of health experts discusses the new frontiers in the development of drugs and health technology.  

Only 50 years ago, if you were 60 years old your chance of dying was the same as an 80-year-old's today. Thanks to progress in medical technology, you can live longer than ever before. Quantum technology and quantum screening, modelling with digital twins, harvesting the power of AI and real time monitoring of your molecules – a panel of health experts discusses the new frontiers in the development of drugs and health technology.  

Gender equality isn't just about equal pay, it's a health and safety issue. Women perceive safety very differently to men, and that's why they need a seat at the table when policies are being nutted out. Just a month after Australia gets its first Gender Equality Strategy, Stephanie Copus Campbell speaks about her first-hand experience on women's rights and discrimination in Papua New Guinea and many other countries in the region — and her observations as the international Ambassador for Gender Equality. Her verdict: we are going backwards worldwide.

Gender equality isn't just about equal pay, it's a health and safety issue. Women perceive safety very differently to men, and that's why they need a seat at the table when policies are being nutted out. Just a month after Australia gets its first Gender Equality Strategy, Stephanie Copus Campbell speaks about her first-hand experience on women's rights and discrimination in Papua New Guinea and many other countries in the region — and her observations as the international Ambassador for Gender Equality. Her verdict: we are going backwards worldwide.

Forestry is a hotly disputed industry in Australia. Environmentalists want to preserve more valuable habitat to protect endangered species. Developers want to lock away forests as off-sets for their projects and at the same time want to clear forests to make space for said projects. Corporations want to buy rights to carbon sequestration. And then there are the landholders trying to make a living from timber. How do we navigate all these competing factors? How valuable are trees as an alternative crop? And what's the role of agroforestry in the future of sustainable farming?

They use of shark nets to protect us from sharks is highly controversial. Do they work, what do they do to marine life, are there alternatives, and why are sharks so political?  Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at the 2024 Ocean Lovers Festival for a robust interrogation of of an issue that ignites passions.

It's a question that has focused the minds of astronauts, scientists, space entrepreneurs and enthusiasts alike – is there, could there be, life on Mars? The race is on to find out, with NASA hoping to land astronauts there by the late 2030s.

Folk legend Eric Bogle is opening up and talks about his life, his thoughts about death, friendship and love and why having a deeper message for writing songs is so much more important than money and fame. It's a rare opportunity to share a conversation with one of the best and most prolific songwriters of the last several decades. His songs have become Australian classics – like The Band Played Waltzing Matilda or No Man's Land. And as a very special treat – you'll hear the world premiere of his latest song … finished on the way to this event.

What is the future of Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza strip and surrounding region? Can the past help us understand the tumultuous, horrifying present? And is a two-state solution a realistic response to the war in Gaza or not? Walkley Award-winning Australian journalist John Lyons, Israeli historian and political scientist Ilan Pappé, American essayist and author Nathan Thrall, and American political advisor Bruce Wolpe share their perspectives.

A wooden sarcophogas is sold in a Cairo market in the late 1800s, transported to Australia, and held in a University of Sydney collection. It remains closed for over a century. And then scientists opened its lid.  What happened next? Two leading Australian Egyptologists join Natasha Mitchell to consider the ethics, history, and science of a quest to understand life and death in Ancient Egypt and get a glimpse into one woman's world over 2500 years ago. But is it really Mer-Neith-It_Es?

For decades, Mary Beard has forged her own path through the male dominated field of academia, from the ruins of Rome to the trenches of Twitter, to become "the world's most famous classicist".

The best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world.

What is the best response to hostage diplomacy? Pay the ransom? Sanction the responsible country, or individuals? Go public, or pursue quiet diplomacy? Can countries preserve bilateral relations, while at the same time advocating for the rights of their unlawfully detained citizens? 

Water is life. Rivers give life. But water and the rivers it flows down are also heavily politicised, and at the heart of battles over who gets access to water, what's killing our rivers, and what happens when they kill us during catastrophic floods. Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at this Adelaide Writers Week event with Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Barrister and author Richard Beasley, grazier and activist Kate McBride, and environmental historian Dr Margaret Cook.

Australia’s bushfires are more intense, more frequent, and more costly. So how can we prepare for the inevitable – what proactive steps can communities take to protect themselves, and do we have the settings right?  

Many of you are involved in a charity: Handing out meals to homeless people, caring for surrendered animals in a shelter, organising soccer games to keep the youth in the neighbourhood on the straight and narrow. But are you sure that your charity is putting the time and also the money that you give up to good use? What makes a charity successful? And how can you future-prove them?

Grace is a hard word to define, but in her latest book, author, journalist and broadcaster Julia Baird explores the concept, and how finding and nurturing it in each other – and ourselves - can help us through dark times. 

When governments say they can't afford to fix climate change or lift kids out of poverty are they speaking the truth? American economist Stephanie Kelton challenges economic orthodoxy in her book The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy. She joins Natasha Mitchell in conversation at this 2024 National Sustainability Festival event.

Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world's foremost experts on trauma, discusses his pioneering research into traumatic stress and its impact on our brains and bodies. Traumatised people experience incomprehensible anxiety, numbing and intolerable rage. Trauma affects their capacity to concentrate, to remember, to form trusting relationships, and even to feel at home in their own bodies. And he explains promising treatments, including neurofeedback, psychedelic therapy, psychodrama … and dance.

Different generations agree that youth mental health is in decline, but disagree about the causes. We explore generational attitudes to the economic and social drivers of mental ill-health in young people.

Liberalism is not just a rational political philosophy but the basis of a truly meaningful life. That's the bold statement of philosopher Alexandre Lefebvre. Should individuals be free to pursue their own passions and interests in life? It's very likely you agree with this liberal principle. What about ideals like interdependence or having a higher purpose? Is liberalism all you need to lead a good, fun, worthy and rewarding life — and can you become a better and happier person by taking these beliefs more seriously?

Quantum computing is all about physics, but for those looking to pioneer and revolutionise science, there are certain human qualities needed as well. That is the topic of these final two Boyer Lectures with a global leader in the field of quantum computing, Professor Michelle Simmons.

Imagine a machine with more power than all the computers in the world combined. This is the promise of quantum computing. In these 2023 Boyer Lectures, Professor Michelle Simmons explains why building a machine that operates at the scale of atoms has the potential to revolutionise society, and why Australia is at the forefront of the global race to develop the first one. 

The US has claimed that it has “no greater ally than Australia”, but with the stability of its democracy in question, what are the risks, and the rewards, of waltzing in step with the world’s greatest superpower? 

The US has claimed that it has “no greater ally than Australia”, but with the stability of its democracy in question, what are the risks, and the rewards, of waltzing in step with the world’s greatest superpower? 

Hear from four “many worlds travellers” who have visited parallel worlds to explore themes of Indigenous rights, disability, gender and the climate crisis, to show us that a different way is within reach.  

Can you put a price tag on regional education? In fact, you can. The large difference in the quality of education between people who live in rural and regional Australia compared to those who live in the cities is costing our economy over 55 billion dollars…. AND we also talk about the role of advocates in conflict situations, in particular lawyers, speaking truth to power and speaking up for the weak.

From dark energy to the nature of time, some of the most baffling mysteries in cosmology point to a surprisingly complex answer: The idea that alternate layers of reality might exist beyond the reach of our current physics, and perhaps even outside the Universe itself. Philosophy can help navigate the many enigmas of physics. In fact, there is a long history of the entanglement of the two.

Two years since Vladimir Putin’s Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine, the risks are as grave as ever, including the possibility of war spilling into Europe, and the nuclear threat. What next for the Ukraine war?

We hear from the nation's anti-corruption leaders, including NACC Deputy Commissioner Nicole Rose, about the state of corruption in Australia.

Laurie Anderson invites you contemplate the wonders of time. Time is one of the most impermanent forms of measurement that humans have invented to help manage life. We couldn't function without it. Do you feel like you're running out of time? Which way is time going? Are you able to stop time? What is the role of time and duration for ethics and how you experience trauma? Laurie Anderson and Tom McCarthy find answers in arts and literature.

Best-selling author Holly Ringland says that everyone can be creative – yes, even you! Be it painting, cooking, knitting a jumper or writing a song. It's often self-doubt and the fear of criticism and judgement that's holding you back. The voice in your head telling you that you're not good enough. It doesn't have to be like this.

Most of us know that exposure to nature is good for us, because we’ve experienced it ourselves. Doctors can even prescribe time in nature to patients, for the health benefits. But increasingly, we’re understanding – and measuring - just how nature helps us – our minds, bodies, and society. This event is brought to you by the Australian Land Conservation Alliance as part of the National Private Land Conservation Conference held in Canberra on October 17, 2023. 

Big Ideas is broadcasting the 2023 Reith Lectures this week. It is unable to provide a podcast of the lectures. The audio of the four lectures will be available on the Big Ideas website for a limited time. However, you can listen to the lectures and find transcripts on the BBC website.

Celebrities, and their fans, wield tremendous economic, cultural and political influence – and none more so than US pop superstar Taylor Swift. Academia is getting on board, with university courses now entirely dedicated to studying the icon. But celebrities and their fans have not always been taken seriously, by academia, or broader society – particularly when it’s someone idolised by young girls.   Well, these academics are trying to change that. Ahead of Swift's record-breaking Australian tour, 160 scholars from around the world came together in Melbourne for the inaugural Swiftposium conference, to engage in critical dialogue about Swift’s popularity and its profound influence on society, from feminism, to gender, fandom, popular culture, literature, the economy, the music industry, and more. This event was presented by the University of Melbourne from February 11 to 13, 2024. “The worst kind of person is someone who makes someone feel bad, dumb or stupid for being excited about something.” - Taylor Swift, 2019 

Have you ever followed your intuition, or been guided by a gut feeling? Is intuition real or imagined? Can it be learnt and harnessed for good in our lives? Neuroscientist and psychologist Joel Pearson wanted to find out. He joins Natasha Mitchell to discuss his book The Intuition Toolkit – the New Science of Knowing What without Knowing Why.

You’ve probably heard the expression “I don't agree with what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it”. But in the age of social media, cancel culture, keyboard warriors, fake news, algorithms, corporate influence, far right extremism and all the rest, does that lofty ambition still have currency? What has happened to civil debate and the reasonable exchange of competing ideas in public, to conversations that might lead to productive compromise, or simply agreeing to disagree?  Has civil society always been so... uncivil? This event was held at the Addi Road Community Organisation on October 25, 2023. 

Fiction is a literary seismograph for social conflict and stories can change reality. They have shaped human rights; they have helped fight domestic violence and discrimination. There is nothing like an innocent story! AND… There's an open secret: the games industry is pretty gay. It shouldn't come off as a surprise that one of the most creative professions and hobbies attracts a diverse and passionate collective of artistic individuals. We blitz through a brief history of queer games and at the end you will see that the answers may not be binary after all.

Public libraries are for everyone, but last year, the LGBTIQA+ community became a target for exclusion by anti-queer campaigners, when drag story time events – designed to celebrate diversity and embrace rainbow families –were shut down or postponed due to threats, protests and abuse. Librarians, drag artists, families and council staff were on the frontline of these attacks. To counter the hurt caused by these campaigns, the LGBTIQA+ and library communities joined forces to celebrate and reclaim libraries as safe spaces for everyone.  

Some things feel impossible to change without money and power. Meet four trailblazers didn't let that stop them. Fighting corporations. Stopping violence. Transforming talk on sex and consent. Helping men heal from childhood trauma. They join Natasha Mitchell and an audience of high school students to explore what pushed them to act.

Women and girls in Iran continue to take to the streets and protest gender oppression and human rights abuses. And too often they risk their lives for this fight. Iranian-born human rights advocate Nazanin Boniadi has used her public profile as an actress to campaign in solidarity with the people of Iran. For that, she's been honoured with the 2023 Sydney Peace Prize. The 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement has demonstrated the unifying power and potential of women's rights as a lever for mobilisation and demands for change. The movement makes the pursuit of women's rights an essential part of any pathway towards fundamental change in Iran.

US singer, songwriter and producer Caroline Polachek is known as one of the most inventive pop musicians working in the industry today, pushing the boundaries of what the genre is, and what it means for the people who listen to it. Off the back of her acclaimed seventh album, ‘Desire, I want to turn into you’, Polachek opens up about her creative process, her varied career, and why pop should be respected as an artform in its own right. 

Speaking freely isn't only about Freedom of Speech legislation, it's equally about social norms, loving your family and courage. Authors Lea Ypi and Hayley Campbell discuss what's difficult to talk about. Death and what happens your body when you die. And whether Albania has experienced more freedom in communist times – only in very specific circumstances. They explore the factors that allow us to speak freely, what forces can constrain these … and what happens when we are unleashed to speak the truth.

Housing is a hot mess in many remote Aboriginal communities,  including Tennant Creek, and the rollercoaster of government policies and interventions hasn't helped the situation. What's on offer is often culturally unsafe, crowded, and a climate disaster. But housing is hard to fix too. This group of Traditional Owners, health professionals, architects and others have a vision for how.

Psychedelics were once the domain of hippies and cults, but these drugs have come long way from the ‘turn on, tune in, drop out’ countercultural philosophy of the 1960s and 70s. Nowadays, the field of psychedelic research is experiencing a resurgence, with substances like psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine being used in controlled laboratories to treat complex mental health issues. In 2023, Australia became the first country in the world to permit psychiatrists to use psychedelic medicines to treat certain patients. But are psychedelic assisted therapies a silver bullet cure for mental health disorders, or have the regulations gotten ahead of the evidence? 

Finishing your undergraduate assignments in English Literature in breaks between selling drugs … fighting and hurting people and committing crimes while discussing the finer nuances of human morality. Best-selling author Gabriel Krauze speaks openly about his life as a former gang criminal living on a notorious housing estate in South Kilburn in London - with quite different extra-curricular activities than most other English literature students. Because that's his other side: A passionate student with a love for art and philosophy.

Tiger parents: do their methods raise happy and successful human beings, or burnt out, damaged therapy cases? In this hyper competitive age we live in, could their approach bring up a new generation of winners this country needs to get ahead? Six Asian Australian comedians, writers and performers thrash it out in debate form to decide: Does Australia need more tiger parents? The audience’s applause will decide the winner.

From the moment we’re born, we all age. So why limit the possibilities? The latest Intergenerational Report describes Australia's ageing population as an economical and fiscal challenge ... a burden. Ageism is rife, but to age is to live. So what about thriving too? Find out how there's magic to found when relationships across the generations are fostered and why we all benefit — whether we're young, middling, or older

Craig Foster has a vision for the future: An Australia without racism, with equal access to food and representation and compassion for refugees. But it's 75 years since the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Craig Foster has a warning for us: Things need to change, and hopefully it doesn't take another 75 years. His passionate insights will leave you with a lot to think about …. heavy and uncomfortable thoughts.

In this year’s CBC Massey lectures, renowned Canadian-American filmmaker, writer, activist, rock musician and self described feral intellectual Astra Taylor explores how our society now runs on 'manufactured’ insecurity — and how we can change it. In her fifth lecture, Escaping the Burrow, Astra Taylor offers hope and solutions to our crisis of security. The experience of insecurity can offer us a path to wisdom — guiding our personal lives and our collective endeavors. 

In this year's thought-provoking CBC Massey lectures, renowned Canadian-American filmmaker, writer, political organiser, rock musician  and self-described 'feral intellectual' Astra Taylor explores how our society now runs on insecurity — and how we can change it. In this fourth lecture, Astra turns her attention to ecological insecurity. This story isn't ours alone to tell. As we incinerate our energy inheritance, nature’s timekeeping methods become increasingly confused. As the climate alters, delicately evolved biological clocks erratically speed up or slow down, causing plants and animals to fall out of sync.

In this year's thought-provoking CBC Massey lectures, renowned Canadian-American filmmaker, writer, political organiser, rock musician  and self-described 'feral intellectual' Astra Taylor explores how our society now runs on insecurity — and how we can change it. In this third lecture, Astra argues that our innate existential insecurity is also vital to our curiosity,  creativity, compassion, and capacity to care. What role does education have in fostering these? And she explores a paradox — we live in the most prosperous era in human history, but it's also an era of profound insecurity. Why?

In this year's thought-provoking CBC Massey lectures, renowned Canadian-American filmmaker, writer, political organiser, rock musician  and self-described 'feral intellectual' Astra Taylor explores how our society now runs on insecurity — and how we can change it. In this second lecture, Astra Taylor interrogates the history of the fight over our fundamental, shared rights, and asks what do we really, truly need to be secure?

In this year's thought-provoking CBC Massey lectures, renowned Canadian-American filmmaker, writer, political organiser, rock musician  and self-described 'feral intellectual' Astra Taylor explores how our society now runs on insecurity — and how we can change it. In this first lecture, Astra introduces us to the Roman goddess Cura, the embodiment of care, concern, anxiety, and worry. That's the human condition — existential insecurity. Capitalism and consumer society exploits the very insecurities it produces, she argues, and makes us all insecure by design. We are living in an era of "manufactured insecurity", says Astra.

Three successful authors Akuch Anyieth, Shannon Burns and Catherine Deveny talk about memoir, and why they're interested in the form. Moderator of the discussion Yves Rees asks the panel to reflect on whether the personal storytelling genre is popular because of voyeurism, a desire for intimacy between writer and reader or just a hunger for trauma porn? 

Two teams of heavy-hitters debate the fate of human creativity in a world of artificial intelligence. In a Big Ideas first, two A.I debaters are taking to the stage, and with strong opinions! Are the bots coming for Boticelli and the Bronte Sisters? Will humans be thrown in the dustbin of civilisation as our artistic expression is usurped by silicon? Or, will the bots help you unleash your creative potential like never before?

In early 2020, as Australians were being locked down, something strange was happening in an inner-suburban hotel in Brisbane. A group of men, previously invisible to most Australians, gathered on the hotel balcony wielding hand-made banners. Who were they? And how did this moment change the minds of middle Australia? It's 10 years since Kevin Rudd declared "no one who arrives by boat will ever settle here". The fallout catapulted thousands of lives into a decade-long limbo. Two of the men on that Brisbane balcony join host Natasha Mitchell and other guests at the Brisbane Powerhouse as part of the Portraits of Protest exhibition.

It's possibly the greatest ever example of artistic censorship in Australian history. Police have requested hip hop to be taken off online streaming platforms, stopped bands from performing in Australia, and amended visa regulations so local hip hop artists can't perform overseas. Their claim is that hip hop is inciting violent and criminal behaviour. But it's an old debate that first emerged in the birthplace of hip hop more than two decades ago. Osman Faruqi shines a light on parallels to the hip hop wars of 1990s America, the role of police bias and profiling, and concerns for free speech more broadly.

From apps that help us swim safely to using Crispr to cut the genes of box jellyfish to technology that identifies the source of a barramundi or coral trout at the fish market, science is at the fore-shore of keeping our oceans and our lives safe.

From apps that help us swim safely to using Crispr to cut the genes of box jellyfish to technology that identifies the source of a barramundi or coral trout at the fish market, science is at the fore-shore of keeping our oceans and our lives safe.

What do the streets feel like where you live? Unsafe for kids to ride to school, big busy highways, limited public transport, cars reign supreme? From electric vehicles to bike-friendly buses — be inspired by these globally renowned movers and shakers. They're using the regional town of Bendigo and international case studies to re-imagine how we can live and move. Transport accounts for a staggering quarter of global greenhouse emissions. Could one Australian town lead the way and hit zero transport emissions by 2030?

Three influential women explore the power, the politics, and the cost of speaking out. 

The history and development of the nuclear industry is shred in secrecy and contradictions. And its future is throwing up more questions than answers. A scientist, a historian and a poet consider the economic, scientific and social realities of nuclear technology. They discuss how the lessons from the past might shape an uncertain future, and the possible consequences of playing God.

Are Greek-Australian's now considered to be 'white' in Australia's colourful social fabric? A panel of prominent Greek-Australians discusses questions of identity and belonging. As they have evolved into one of the oldest migrant groups in the country, is the era of Greek 'otherness' over? And what role did anglicising surnames play in our journey towards acceptance?

"Are they a girl or a boy?" That question is often asked about a newborn. But what if you're born with genetic variations in sexual development, also known as intersex conditions, and possess both typical male and female physical traits? New legislation tabled in the ACT is set to limit the scope of medical treatments and surgeries for such children. Intersex activists have campaigned hard for the law saying the human rights of the child to bodily autonomy is paramount. But some argue not all lived-experience voices are being heard, and are concerned the new laws could criminalise clinicians, carers and parents.

The best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world.

Meet some climate refugees of a different kind. From the Western swamp tortoise to honey ants to whales, can they just up-stumps and move house if things get too hot under the collar? From understanding First Nations science to breaking up the siloed western conservation practices, are there better ways to make life possible for every being on a warming planet? 

Questioning whether travel is ethical is probably the last thing on your mind when you decide to go on holiday. But for increasing number of travellers, 'ethical travel' is the preferred mode for tourists who don't want their holiday to just be an extractive exercise. So what are the ethical obligations for those who have the privilege to travel? And what does ethical travel mean in practice… ?

Would you eat protein brewed in a vat from bacteria instead of meat? "Nom nom nom!", you might say. George Monbiot probably agrees. One of the most influential thinkers on the future of of the planet, now he's interrogating what's on our dinner plate, and the staggering business of how it got there. He joins Natasha Mitchell to discuss his provocative book, Regenesis: how to feed the world without devouring the planet. And it all comes down to connecting with the Tolkienesque world beneath your feet.

The planet's hotter than it has ever been. July was the Earth's hottest month ever recorded since records began. And the consequences of this warming is increasingly becoming too hard to bear — particularly among those who don't have access to climate control. So what happens to our bodies in times of heat extremes? And what will happen when these extremes become the new 'normal'? It's something the veteran environmental reporter Jeff Goodell explores in his new book Heat: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet.

If you can't control it – then don't worry about it. It's one of the core messages of stoicism. Much easier said than done. But if you manage it, it can make your life a lot happier and calmer. That's not to say you should sit back and ignore injustice. The stoics have an answer for that as well. On Big Ideas, you'll hear about the ancient philosophy of stoicism and how to apply its principles to modern life. War, climate change, pandemic and endless social media platforms onto with you can project and amplify your anxieties. It seems like we all can use a good helping of stoicism.

For more than 100 years, birdwatchers have searched for evidence that one of Australia's rarest native birds is not extinct. And they might be a step closer to solving the mystery of the Buff-breasted Button Quail. It lives in the humid savannas of Cape York. And we know that this habitat is changing. If we want to have any chance of finding and even saving this bird, we have to act quickly.

We make machines, but do our machines also make us? And who's in control really? Superstar anthropologist, technologist, futurist, cyberneticist, and Silicon Valley insider Genevieve Bell joins Natasha Mitchell with young cybernetic creatives Hannah Feldman, Matt Heffernan, Ben Swift,   to talk machines, minds, messing with the code and what it would take to make technology and the world better.

Movie or TV roles for older women accurately reflecting contemporary, society and experiences are rare. Sigrid Thornton, Rachael Maza, Sophie Hyde and Anousha Zarkesh are asking: Why is that? After decades honing their craft in the industry, older actresses are more talented than ever before, more confident and more attuned to the camera. But cinema is obsessed with the young.

Who doesn't dream of being loved dangerously, thrillingly free from the tethers of restraint? It's a question journalist and author Kate Legge asked after the discovery of her husband's affairs. He was a high-powered media CEO, and she was a veteran journalist who was assured the infidelity was singular (more were to be discovered on the home PC). Having tried (and failed) to keep the marriage going, Kate started to write about it, only to discover infidelities spanning four generations on his side of the family. The resulting book, Infidelity and Other Affairs asks why some choose restraint, while others choose wild abandon.

The best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world.

Harvard University has been running the world's longest study into happiness. The Harvard Study of Adult Development has been running since 1938, and in that time of researchers have observed how Americans experience and understand happiness, and how that's changed over time. In an address for the UNSW Centre for Ideas, the study's fourth director, Robert Waldinger, reveals the study's largest findings, and how technology — and changes in society — have inflected the interpretation of the study's data.

Who sets the agenda when it comes to designing houses? More often than not wealthy developers call the shots. The result is cheaply-made hot boxes, unaffordable to live in, and poorly designed for human habitation. How did it come to this, and how can citizens and architects seize control? Meet 3 international trailblazers who want to change who controls what we get to call home — including an architect from Barcelona who needed an affordable place to call home and had social change on their mind.

In its simplest definition, orientalism refers to the patronising depictions of the 'Eastern world' — a term that encompasses North Africa, the Middle East and Asia — by writers and artists from the West. And it's no stranger to the Australian stage.Major commercial musicals with orientalist underpinnings such as The King and I, Madame Butterfly, or Miss Saigon regularly grace Australian stages, which give a vital leg-up to emerging stage workers. But as more of these workers reflect the multiculturalism of modern Australia, it's prompting a revision of the orientalism embedded in the canon.

Where once photography gave us images of the world as seen by machines, photography under AI gives us images of machine images… seen by machines.Major global companies including Bing and Adobe are heavily investing in generative image models to produce the next AI advance in photography. But in this moment, what has become of the still image? Does it begin with the shutter, or is it now traced from computational models that power the AI-generated image? Hear from a researcher who's made it her mission to consider the value of photography amid the dawn of artificial intelligence. 

While Australian women were among the first to get the vote in the world, their lives were still constrained for decades afterward. It was only until 1966 when the marriage bar was removed, which forced women to give up their careers once they married.But despite these constraints, generations of Australian women were able to subvert the system. Australia's first female scientists were among them. It's a history that's recently been collated in a new book. But the question remains… how much has changed for women in STEM?

Your internal experience of consciousness – your rich inner life — has had scientists and philosophers completely perplexed for centuries. How does your brain's 100 billion neurons conjure up that distinct sense you have of being YOU? Is it different to your dog's sense of being a 'doggish'? Could that sense be reproduced in artificial intelligence? What happens when you experience altered states of consciousness - take a psychedelic, go under an anaesthetic, or hallucinate? Neuroscientist and bestselling author Anil Seth and psychologist Olivia Carter are on the case, and join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell.

In 1963, as the space race was taking off, the influential political philosopher Hannah Arrendt challenged scientists over their shift away from a humanistic focus to worlds beyond. She was responding to a question posed by the Encyclopedia Britannica: "Has man’s conquest of space increased or diminished his stature?". Replace man with human, and let's ask that question again 60 years on. As we penetrate, populate, and plumb the depths of space evermore.

Mental health problems and chronic diseases are plaguing societies around the world. Both fields need new solutions. We know that lifestyle and obesity contribute to chronic diseases; they can shorten your life by 11 years! But can you use lifestyle to stay chronically healthy? And are we ignoring human rights and social factors in mental health policies and services? For over 40 years a popular response is to prescribe medication. But we are seeing a paradigm shift.

Australians on average chuck out 7.6 billion tonnes of food per year. That amounts to 312 kilos per person, or about $2,500 per household. It's bananas. But in a world that has long prioritised convenience and abundance, disposability has been baked into food chains. But this wasn't always so.In this Melbourne Conversations and RMIT Culture panel, hear from a zero-waste advocates, artists, and foodies about how we got into this mess, and what we could do to get out of it.

In a world of hyper-connectivity and social media, why do so many of us feel so damn lonely? Being lonely isn’t the same as being alone, and some people love their solitude. But loneliness is widespread, growing, affects all ages, and seriously sucks for your physical and mental health. Why are we so ashamed to talk about it, and what can help? Four guests join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell for a frank, fearless and moving conversation about a very modern challenge.

Many people embark on a journey to discover their family's past in order to contextualise their present. But what happens when that journey uncovers something unwelcome?This was the case for the award-winning Australian writer David Marr. His great great grandfather, Reginald, was an officer of the Queensland Native Police — a force whose task it was to hunt and kill Indigenous people. This discovery has informed David's latest book, Killing for Country: A family story, which traces the structures that supported the violence of Australian settlement. Join David in dialogue with anthropologist and geographer, Marcia Langton, whose ancestors were murdered by the Native Police.Please note this discussion features distressing discussions of massacres against First Nations Australians. For further assistance, contact the free, 24-hour Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander counselling line 13 YARN (13 92 76). 

What happens when Australia’s best poets and writers walk into the world of scientists? How do they feed of each other’s brilliant, inventive minds to help us understand one of the most challenging experiences of our lives ... watching a loved one slowly lose their mind?  

A range of media outlets — including the ABC — have been criticised for their coverage of the latest Israel-Gaza war. There have been protests, apologies, and retractions from the likes of the BBC and CNN. But in a moment where it is notoriously difficult for foreign journalists to gain access to Gaza, what are the obligations of news media when reporting on the Israel Gaza war? Responsibilities of the News Media on Palestine was a University of Technology Sydney webinar, first recorded on November 10, 2023. Note: This is part two of the discussion. Listen to the first part here. Speakers: Monica AttardCo-director of the Centre for Media Transition, UTS, and former ABC broadcaster and foreign correspondentAmy McQuireJournalist, editor, and PhD candidate at the University of QueenslandAntony LowensteinJournalist, film maker, and author, The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports The Technology Of Occupation Around The WorldMartin Newman (moderator)Journalism lecturer and coordinator of media law and ethics, UTS

A range of media outlets — including the ABC — have been criticised for their coverage of the latest Israel-Gaza war. There have been protests, apologies, and retractions from the likes of the BBC and CNN. But in a moment where it is notoriously difficult for foreign journalists to gain access to Gaza, what are the obligations of news media when reporting on the Israel Gaza war? Note: This is part one of the discussion. Listen to the second part here. Responsibilities of the News Media on Palestine was a University of Technology Sydney webinar, first recorded on November 10, 2023. Speakers: Rawan DamenDirector-general, Arab Reporters for Investigative JournalismZahera HarbInternational Journalism Studies Cluster lead, City University, London, former war correspondent Karen PercyFederal Media President, Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, former ABC foreign correspondentAntony LowensteinJournalist, film maker, and author, The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports The Technology Of Occupation Around The WorldMartin Newman (moderator)Journalism lecturer and coordinator of media law and ethics, UTS

Multi-award-winning Australian photojournalist Andrew Quilty went to Afghanistan on a two-week assignment. He stayed for 9 years.At just 25, Afghan-born women's activist Zahra Karimi found herself facilitating a 5000-strong network of Afghan women.As the Taliban took over in August 2021, and the Republic of Afghanistan crumbled, both had to get out of the country they loved. With a mass exodus, came a mass deletion. Websites, files, records, social media accounts were all wiped to protect people from persecution by the Taliban. So who will tell the stories of Afghanistan as it was before authoritarian rule? Andrew and Zahra want those stories to be heard by the world. They join Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.

Technology's default setting is 'male' — more precisely a white, or at least, light-skinned male. Tracey Spicer exposes how technology and AI has embedded sexism and racism into the future. It's the next frontier of feminism. But who is responsible? Big Tech, refusing to spend money to fix the problem? The world's politicians, who lack the will to legislate? Or should we all be taking a good, hard look at ourselves?

In 2020, veteran science journalist Ed Yong intended to write a book about the world of animal senses. But fate had other plans — he was put on the COVID beat for The Atlantic, and later received the Pulitzer Prize for his efforts.But year later he returned to the book and rediscovered an immense world: Flowers growing in electric fields, bees seeing in ultraviolet, the underwater symphony of the Great Barrier Reef. The sublime in the natural world. In his latest book, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us, Ed asks how animals can sense this when we can't.

If you find yourself locked up in a foreign prison on fake charges, what would you like your government to do? It's a question that rollicked around economist Sean Turnell's brain when the unthinkable became reality.In November 2021, Myanmar's military junta arrested Turnell — then an economic advisor to Aung San Suu Kyi — and thrust him into solitary confinement. He would be wrongfully imprisoned for another 650 days in one of Yangon's most notorious prisons. This is the story of how Turnell survived that time, and how a global coalition worked to set him free.

Has feminism been too white and too middle-class for too long? From India to Australia, five trailblazing women spanning generations, geography, and cultures join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell to give their frank and fearless views  on the F Word — what it means to them and how it might evolve.

The road to peace is one littered with compromise. From Belfast to Bosnia, Dili to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, peace negotiations after bloody armed conflict have involved incredibly complex choices between what to prosecute and what to pardon. So what would you give up to obtain a lasting peace?This Big Ideas episode was first broadcast on November 10, 2015. 

He was one of the most remarkable producer/director/actors to come out of Hollywood. The cinema wunderkind George Orson Welles. But he was also a troublemaker and outsider; maybe too creative and eccentric for his own good. Some of his work remained unreleased, and at the same time his movie Citizen Kane is studied as an epitome of cinematic art all over the world to this day. Big Ideas discusses the legacy of Orson Welles, and the struggles to make Citizen Kane.

The director of Doherty Institute for Infectious Diseases was out of office when the first official case of the novel coronavirus was declared. At the time, Sharon Lewin was hiking in remote Patagonia. Then she got a call. Her deputy, Mike Catton, confirmed that Doherty scientists were the first outside of China to grow the novel coronavirus in a lab. This is the inside story of how that was achieved, and the split-second decision making that changed the course of the COVID-19 pandemic forever. 

Clem Ford, author of bestselling book Fight Like a Girl, Boys Will be Boys, and How We Love, is back with a firey new read. This time she's taking on an age-old institution that she argues harms women, and has throughout history. She wants marriage abolished. From white weddings to wandering wombs, coverture to capitalism, I DON'T: the case against marriage is full of stories of resistance, rage, and re-imagining. It'll shock and rile some, for others it'll be a case of hard relate. Clem Ford is in conversation with Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell at the Athenaeum Theatre in Naarm / Melbourne.

There is nothing like cheering on your favourite sport team; or seeing our Aussie athletes on the top podium at the Olympic Games. A whole nation celebrates. Strangers are falling into each other's arms. Sport can truly unite us. But then… there are racist smirks, fans getting violent. Even in high school can you get a hard time if you're wearing the wrong club colours. So, does sport in fact divide us?

While it was Mao Zedong who believed power came from the barrel of a gun, philosopher Hannah Arendt saw it differently. Instead, she believed the eruption of violence was less a testament to power, but rather, a stark admission of its absence. These thoughts later culminated in her 1970 essay, On Violence. More than a half century later, can Arendt's insights make sense of our turbulent present?

How can you quiet those nagging voices inside your head; expectations that you should to better; anxiety how to make ends meet with rising costs of living … or trying to cope with abuse, trauma and loss? How can you turn your 'inner wilds' into 'inner calm' and achieve a more peaceful way of being? At the top of the list: Have compassion toward yourself and be kind to yourself — as well as others.

Sometimes an event so big happens that it leaves everyone gasping in its wake. In this case, more than million fish were left gasping too. A stunning story of how one community rallied. At its heart is healing country, art, science, and ancient knowledge. In the Summer of 2018-2019 and again in 2023, mass fish kills left communities along the mighty Baaka / Darling River — one of Australia's most important river systems — devastated. The scenes of floating white carcasses captured attention worldwide. What happened next? And how were lives transformed in the process?

The witch is a figure that has been around for a long time in many cultures, stretching back to ancient times. In the West, witches have re-appeared in stories for centuries: from Macbeth, to Salem, to Sabrina the Teenage Witch. But in the 21st-century, witches — and the practices associated with them — are being re-appraised, both as a form of contemporary spiritual practice, and a frame to study historical crimes against women.  

To write history is to omit. The historical archive is the end-product of a series of choices, and in the wash, particular voices get privileged over others. But around the globe, historians are attempting to identify the gaps in 'official' history, and in so doing, understand how and why they were created. Santilla Chingaipe is among them. Her recent work has told the stories of the hundreds of convicts of African descent transported to Australia during colonial rule. In her 2023 EW Cole Lecture for the Wheeler Centre, Santilla asks the question: Who gets to write history?

Disinformation is nothing new, but ever increasingly, it is stifling the capacity for governments of all kinds to carry out their day-to-day duties.   It has acutely been felt at the local government level, where public council hearings, and library rainbow storytime events have either been postponed or cancelled due to security concerns. So what can cities (and their elected representatives) do to combat a rise in disinformation’s direct impacts, especially when facts don't convince?  

From politicians telling porkies to pork barrelling — many believe there is an accountability crisis at the heart of Australia’s democracy. What will it take to fix? Meet five who have tried with considerable success. Join Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell with Ed Coper, Simon Holmes a Court. Andrea Durbach, Helen Haines MP, Shireen Morris.

For every cancer patient, there's a life story that has influenced diagnosis, treatment, and survival. A patient in a vulnerable housing or financial position may not be able to participate in treatment fully, while those incarcerated may only be accessing cancer care for the first time. It's this holistic view of patients that clinicians want to better integrate into treatment — in and outside of the hospital. In this panel discussion from the 2023 NSW Cancer Innovations Conference, learn how experts in Indigenous health, justice, psychiatry, and oncology are getting cancer care to better respond to the social and cultural determinants of health.

To change violent behaviour, regulators and assistance services need compassion for the perpetrators. That's the consent of our panel of psychiatrists, psychologists and women who went through domestic violence themselves. You'll hear about the impact of trauma and what it does to your brain; how abuse destroys your identity; the hurt and healing effect of speaking out and what turns a victim into a survivor.

In a world that's warming faster than ever before, there are some places that are seen as future refuges from the ravages of climate change. New Zealand is high on the list, especially among the ultra-rich. But for architect and social entrepreneur Indy Johar, that escape can't really exist — the world's too entangled. After all, it takes a planet to make an iPhone. So how would a deeper reckoning with this entanglement inform the way we adapt to climate change, and the machine-learning revolution that's on our doorstep?

Although Elizabeth was only a little girl when her mother Anne was executed, their relationship significantly shaped the later queen's character, religion and reign. Historian Tracy Borman pieces together evidence from original documents and artefacts to show their bond and long-lasting influence; and she tells a story of famous royal women, the significance of symbols and the skills of outsmarting the intrigues of competing male courtiers.d.

From the Amazons to the Ukraine conflict, women have always been on the frontline of war. But their role and contribution are still disputed. Big Ideas sets the record straight. How has war become an all-make space? And why were women allowed to be astronauts a full thirty years before they were allowed to fight in combat?

It was on Antarctica's most remote stations that prompted scientist Meganne Christian to consider a life in space. On Concordia, also dubbed 'White Mars', Meganne did some accidental training. She experienced windchills at –104 degrees, 100 days without sun, and profound isolation — conditions the European Space Agency uses to test future astronauts.  In 2022, Meganne became one of 17 new reserve astronauts for the ESA, out of a pool of 22,500 applicants.  In this keynote for National Science Week 2023, Meganne shares her insights and explains why a ride on the 'vomit comet' is a pre-requisite for any budding astronaut.

The consumption of media is perhaps the most fragmented it's ever been. It's a world swimming in unopened tabs, in-video links, and scrolls that never end: a world of near-infinite choice. In this roundtable from the 2023 Melbourne International Film Festival, an author, a critic, a film buff, and cook join forces to discuss what culture they're consuming, how they're doing it, and why.

Nicole Kitman, Errol Flynn, Peter Finch and David Gulpilil… they all are Australian actors who made their fortune in Hollywood. Australian talent is in fact very popular in the glitzy and cut-throat cinema business. Why is that? The book 'Cast Mates' looks behind the Hollywood curtain, from the Golden Age in the 1930s to the streaming wars of today. It follows the lives these four Australian actors and their cast mates and tells a story of how Australian cinema was founded, then faltered, before finding itself again.

For fire scientist Philip Zylstra, there are a lot of myths contained in the modern approach to containing bushfires in Australia. Namely, that management practices after colonisation continued pre-colonial Indigenous approaches in the form of prescribed burns. In his view, that's not correct. Instead, he argues the science underpinning prescribed burns isn't sound, resulting in a one-size-fits-all approach whose roots lie in classical England.

A 31,000-year-old skeleton with a successfully amputated foot has rewritten the medical history books. The extraordinary find in Borneo challenges modern medicine's amputation record, which stretches back a mere 100 years. An expert panel traces the discovery story and describes a pre-historic caring and medically skilled society.

For some advocates of the no case for this year's referendum, the proposed Voice to parliament simply doesn't go far enough. Instead, advocates — often referred to as progressive 'no' voters — argue that Indigenous Australians should be given more institutional power to effect change, like dedicated First Nations seats in parliament. So what does this look like? And what alternatives to the Voice does the progressive no camp propose if their vote carries? Find more of the ABC's reporting on the Voice referendum on the ABC News website, or listen to the Voice Referendum Explained podcast with Carly Williams and Fran Kelly. 

Interior designer Mary Featherston is famous for many things. Her trailblazing creations with her late husband Grant Featherston. Their extraordinary Melbourne house designed by the iconic modernist architect Robin Boyd, which has housed four generations of their family. But what Mary's most driven by is her 50-year mission to change the face, feel, and function of Australian classrooms. Classrooms, not just teachers, can be educators too! She joins Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell.

Depending who you ask, the baby boomers got it good, and everyone that followed got a raw deal. Here's the common assumption: Millennials are saddled with student debt, unaffordable housing, and increasingly insecure work, while their forebears didn't (and some experienced profound asset gains afterwards). But is this generational binary that simple? Ok Boomer was first recorded at the Sydney Writers Festival in May 2023.

Checking out the Goldilocks Zone. With a team of astronomers and astrophysicists, Big Ideas is exploring the skies — more precisely, exoplanets that orbit around stars beyond our solar system in what is known as the Goldilocks Zone. It's the zone with conditions that might be just right for creating life. What is this zone, what is being discovered and what can we learn about our own terrestrial world?

It's been 24 years since Australia's last referendum, meaning there's an entire generation who will be participating in a referendum for the first time. As the nation gears up for the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to parliament, a Monash University panel of legal scholars and constitutional nerds give you a refresher on the mechanics of referenda, the constitution, and why Australian law permits disinformation in political advertising.

Moving to a new country is hard – do you seek out your own diaspora or find a way to blend in and assimilate? Usually it’s a bit a of both, and what governments do can make a big difference to your life. Why do certain migrants get embraced by certain governments — while others are stigmatised, pilloried, even imprisoned? Two accomplished historians join Natasha Mitchell for a Big Ideas on fitting in and feeling like an outsider. 

The 70's was the peak era of musical innovation and creativity. Kickstarted by the rock'n'roll revolution of the 60s, the music of the 70s has transformed the world and defined all styles that came after. Bands co-opted elements of classical, jazz, electronic, world and avant-garde music. And music became visual spectacle via glam, shock rock, disco and punk.

Chances are your favourite writer got their first break in a literary journal. While they're most often seen as flash-in-the-pan print publications, run on love and free labour, the reality is a lot more complicated. Ahead of of the 2025 launch of Writers Australia — the federal government's proposed peak body for Australian literature — Western Sydney University released a report into the state of Australia's literary journals. It provides a critical snapshot of the working reality of literary journals, which battle chronic funding shortfalls, precarious employment, and patchy digital infrastructure. The report's co-author Catriona Menzies-Pike — an award-winning writer and former editor of the Sydney Review of Books — explains how the report might inform future literary policy.

There's a broad spectrum of perspectives on the Voice referendum, but where do the voices of Australia's youth fit into the debate? Recently, the University of Tasmania gathered a panel of young Indigenous and non-indigenous voices to speak to the complexities of this era-defining moment, and what future they want to inherit — whatever the outcome of the vote. 

When it comes to biological sex, humans are pretty vanilla. Things are so much wilder in nature. Philosopher of science Paul Griffiths challenges the notion that our biological sex is a rigid, unchangeable thing. Political philosopher Luara Ferracioli contemplates the controversial idea of artificial wombs replacing women’s wombs, with babies gestated entirely outside of the human body. What could that mean for the future of parenthood, motherhood, and our relationship to children? They join Natasha Mitchell for a Big Ideas on sex, biology, and baby making.

Travelling is fun — but does it have a deeper purpose? It helps us cultivate connections in the world, it shapes our own identity and makes us understand other cultures. But has modern technology made it too easy and fast-paced? What does 'good-travelling' involve? How do you fit into the places you visit?

The Coppolas are one of cinema's great family dynasties. The patriarch is Francis Ford Coppola, the Oscar-award winning director of the Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, and many others. His children, Sophia and Roman, have charted creative paths in their own right. Roman — an award-winning music video director and regular collaborator of Wes Anderson — was a recent guest of Melbourne's inaugural Now or Never Festival. He's currently on a mission to democratise film funding through blockchain, and cites Luna Park as a recent source of Australian inspiration.

On the same day as her historic misogyny speech, Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced a policy that would plunge tens of thousands of single parents into poverty. It had significant consequences for single mothers.  Single parents whose children turned eight no longer had access to the single parent payment, a move many experts believe increased child poverty. But in May, that law was reformed, bumping up payment cut-off to 14.  Join influential feminist campaigners, including Anne Summers, as they reveal the inside story behind that reform: what worked, what didn't, and what other campaigners could learn from their methods.

David Suzuki says the global environmental movement – of which he has been an influential figurehead - has failed. His breathtaking book The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering our Place in Nature has just been released as a 25th Anniversary edition.  Now he’s calling for some radical truth telling. Especially from corporate executives and elders. Let his now or never battle-cry galvanise you. He joined Big Ideas presenter Natasha Mitchell as part of the Now or Never festival at the Melbourne Museum.

There are certain sensory experiences that bind us to place. It might be the scent of the city after rain, the way light moves through a street tree canopy, or the texture of a handrail as you move through the day. It is these small details that the field of placemaking is trying to help us rediscover. And it's something that an increasing number of governments and urban planning firms are integrating into their work. But beyond the buzzwords and 'activation' sites, can placemaking deliver on its pitch?

In the mind of Veena Sahajwalla, the way we think about waste is rubbish. The award-winning scientist — who's also been dubbed Australia's "queen of waste" — wants to start a revolution in recycling. For her, recycling doesn't need to replace like-for-like. Instead, she wants us to imagine a future where all things can be unmade into their component parts, like turning old tyres into steel (something Professor Sahajwalla's pioneered). In this talk from the Australian Museum, the inventor of green steel tells us why we're on the cusp of a recycling revolution.

For Cathy McGowan, change doesn't come about by waiting for government. Nor for that matter, perfecting theories… it's simply doing. And sticking it out when the work isn't sexy, incremental, and the outcome seems unlikely. It's something she learnt around this time a decade ago when she toppled a long-standing incumbent in the Victorian seat of Indi — and became Australia's first-elected female independent. In this National Museum of Australia address, McGowan explains her success wasn't about her. Instead, why it was her community that was central to her campaign, and subsequent parliamentary terms.

Seeing is only one way of sensing the world. When you don't have sight, your brain develops another set of sensory superpowers. Meet three trailblazers in design, art, architecture, and advocacy to discover how the world unseen can be so much better for the seen and seeing. 

Pitting innovation against equitable access to medicine: Should drugs and vaccines have patents and fall under intellectual property laws? It's a particularly difficult question in times of a public health crisis. On Big Ideas, a panel of experts will draw on their own experiences and re-think vaccine creation, production and distribution. Do we need to change IP laws, or should we be looking at other measures to ensure those who need vaccines and medication, can access them - regardless of cost, or which country they live in?

What if every law, process, or government department decision was mandated for the well-being of citizens and future generations in mind? That is the case in Wales in the UK. Meet Sophie Howe, the world's first Future Generations Commissioner.

The planet's hotter than it has ever been. July was the Earth's hottest month ever recorded since records began. And the consequences of this warming is increasingly becoming too hard to bear — particularly among those who don't have access to climate control. So what happens to our bodies in times of heat extremes? And what will happen when these extremes become the new 'normal'? It's something the veteran environmental reporter Jeff Goodell explores in his new book Heat: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet.

The Bots have landed. Meet the artist bot. The designer bot. The actor bot. The screenwriter bot.  Paul McCartney says AI was used to produce a new Beatles song using demo tape recording by the late John Lennon. But in Hollywood, screen-writers and actors are striking over their work being used to train up A.I tools — or — their roles being devalued, even replaced by A.I. Authors are suing OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, for using their books to train up the chatbot without permission or payment. What does the rise and rise of AI mean for art, its authorship, value, and its central role in what it means to be human? Six whip-smart thinkers join Natasha Mitchell to provoke.

It's possibly the greatest ever example of artistic censorship in Australian history. Police has Hip Hop music taken down from online streaming platforms, bans bands from performing in Australia and interferes with visa regulations so that those bands can't travel overseas to perform. Their argument is that Hip Hop is inciting violent and criminal behaviour. But this argument has been dismissed in the US over two decades ago. Osman Faruqi shines a light on parallels to the Hip Hop wars in 1990s America, the role of police bias and profiling, and concerns for free speech more broadly.

Throughout human history, infectious viruses have moved between animals and humans without much fanfare. These are known as Zoonotic diseases. But every so often, they set off a chain reaction that can't be contained, like the bubonic plague, or COVID-19. But the collective experience of COVID has given the world many lessons about what to — and what not to do — the next time there's a Zoonotic leap. So what are those lessons, and is humanity able to not repeat the same mistakes?

Australia is a majority migrant nation. Increasingly, that migration skews more Asian than European, with more than 50 per cent of the population either born overseas or having a parent who was. This includes the lauded Australian writer Alice Pung, whose Chinese-Cambodian parents fled the Khmer Rouge. But it's a story replicated across many generations of Australian families, including that of the Matildas' captain Sam Kerr, whose father was born in Kolkata. But abroad, the contemporary story of Asian Australia is lesser-known. The stereotypes of Australia being an outpost of the Anglosphere still lingers, despite generations of Asian-Australian life. So how is this story best told?

Two teams of heavy-hitters debate the fate of human creativity in a world of artificial intelligence. In a Big Ideas first, two A.I debaters are taking to the stage, and with strong opinions! Are the bots coming for Boticelli and the Bronte Sisters? Will humans be thrown in the dustbin of civilisation as our artistic expression is usurped by silicon? Or, will the bots help you unleash your creative potential like never before?

Dame Jacinda Ardern's rise to the top wasn't down to destiny. In fact, the first job she wanted was to be a clown. Then she tried (and failed) in audition to be a hobbit in Lord of the Rings. But what would come later would be a bigger role that would eclipse any of her prior attempts at a life on screen – becoming the world's youngest female leader (and a global media sensation) after an unexpected election victory in 2017. For many, Jacinda's story channels what people in New Zealand know as Mana Wāhine -- a Māori phrase that refers to women of strength. It's something that was explored in a recent panel where women across the arts, sport and politics came together to reflect on their journeys, and the responsibilities that emerge once you're at the top.

Dame Jacinda Ardern's rise to the top wasn't down to destiny. In fact, the first job she wanted was to be a clown. Then she tried (and failed) in a Lord of the Rings audition to be a hobbit.  But what would come later would be a bigger role that would eclipse any of her prior attempts at a life on screen. After an unexpected election victory in 2017, she became the world's youngest female leader (and a global media sensation).  For many, Jacinda's story channels what people in New Zealand know as Mana Wāhine -- a Māori phrase that refers to women of strength. It's something that was explored in a recent panel where women across the arts, sport and politics came together to reflect on their journeys, and the responsibilities that emerge once you're at the top.

Geopolitics and climate change now have immediate consequences for national and international security interests across the Arctic and Antarctic. The world's polar regions are contested and strategically central to geopolitical rivalry. At the same time, rapid political, social, and environmental change presents unprecedented challenges for governance, environmental protection, and maritime operations in the regions.

Why did an earless lizard make politicians take to the podium? (And could it have heard them anyway?). What makes a pygmy possum randy?  (The nose knows).  Why are Africa’s sacred cows so vital? (More than a meaty issue). Genetics to the rescue with hopeful stories and science from three trailblazing women. Join Natasha Mitchell at the Melbourne Museum for the 2023 International Congress of Genetics. 

What gives you the ick? Though of course, that is inherently subjective. What may be someone's ick could be someone's kink. Jesse Bering is a psychologist specialising in evolutionary psychology and human behaviour whose work has tried to understand what lies beneath 'normal'. In this talk from Vivid 2023, Jesse explores the complex dynamics between repulsion and attraction, and how sexual 'deviance' has evolved over time.

You see more long braids, a touch of makeup and some curves in professional sports. Women are finally starting to assert their place on the field. But as our expert panel says, creating pathways to inclusion for women and gender diverse people with intersecting identities and abilities remains an urgent task at both grassroots and elite levels.

Who doesn't dream of being loved dangerously, thrillingly free from the tethers of restraint? It's a question journalist and author Kate Legge asked after the discovery of her husband's affairs. He was a high-powered media CEO, and she was a veteran journalist who was assured the infidelity was singular (more were to be discovered on the home PC). Having tried (and failed) to keep the marriage going, Kate started to write about it, only to discover infidelities spanning four generations on his side of the family. The resulting book, Infidelity and Other Affairs asks why some choose restraint, while others choose wild abandon.

Who doesn't dream of being loved dangerously, thrillingly free from the tethers of restraint? It's a question journalist and author Kate Legge asked after the discovery of her husband's affairs. He was a high-powered media CEO, and she was a veteran journalist who was assured the infidelity was singular (more were to be discovered on the home PC). Having tried (and failed) to keep the marriage going, Kate started to write about it, only to discover infidelities spanning four generations on his side of the family. The resulting book, Infidelity and Other Affairs asks why some choose restraint, while others choose wild abandon.

Many precolonial kingdoms and dynasties of Africa, have shaped cultures across the continent to this day. But they have been terribly ignored and marginalised throughout history. A pity really – because we could learn so much from their approach to wielding power: like how to reign with mystical stories and through generosity instead of oppression; and instead of wars over borders have the people chose under what king they want to life. 

Many precolonial kingdoms and dynasties of Africa, have shaped cultures across the continent to this day. But they have been terribly ignored and marginalised throughout history. A pity really – because we could learn so much from their approach to wielding power: like how to reign with mystical stories and through generosity instead of oppression; and instead of wars over borders have the people chose under what king they want to life. 

Frank Bongiorno is always adventurous with the way he unearths the history of Australia. He's written a history of Australian sex lives, Australia in the 1980s, and now he'll surprise you again with stories of the dreamers and schemers who have shaped Australia's political history. 

Frank Bongiorno is always adventurous with the way he unearths the history of Australia. He's written a history of Australian sex lives, Australia in the 1980s, and now he'll surprise you again with stories of the dreamers and schemers who have shaped Australia's political history. 

With a change in government, there comes a new orientation for Australian foreign policy. Under the leadership of Foreign Minister Penny Wong — the first Asian and overseas-born Australian to hold that office — there has been attempts to reset many of Australia's relationships in the region, particularly with China. But a hard reset isn't exactly on the agenda — the Albanese Government is continuing the AUKUS deal and remains steadfast in deepening the US-Australia alliance. So what new directions in foreign policy can the Labor Government define in this moment?

With a change in government, there comes a new orientation for Australian foreign policy. Under the leadership of Foreign Minister Penny Wong — the first Asian and overseas-born Australian to hold that office — there has been attempts to reset many of Australia's relationships in the region, particularly with China. But a hard reset isn't exactly on the agenda — the Albanese Government is continuing the AUKUS deal and remains steadfast in deepening the US-Australia alliance. So what new directions in foreign policy can the Labor Government define in this moment?

Can you stay positive and optimistic in difficult times? Is it a fool's game even to try? Bill Hayes and Lachlan McIver talk about the difference between realism and pessimism; and why it's imperative to muster up hope in hard times. They know what they're talking about, having gone through tragedy and loss in their lives as well.

Can you stay positive and optimistic in difficult times? Is it a fool's game even to try? Bill Hayes and Lachlan McIver talk about the difference between realism and pessimism; and why it's imperative to muster up hope in hard times. They know what they're talking about, having gone through tragedy and loss in their lives as well.

He's one of Australia's most successful stage exports who cites Kermit the Frog as one of his greatest influences. Over decades, Barrie Kosky has blazed a trail directing theatre and opera across Europe, who in 2022, finished a 10-year stint leading Berlin's prestigious opera house, the Komische Oper. The self-described "gay, Jewish, Kangaroo" is in conversation with the Sydney Theatre Company's artistic director Kip Williams. The two reflect on Barrie's career, the future of theatre post-streaming, and how the weight of German history continues to inspire.

He's one of Australia's most successful stage exports who cites Kermit the Frog as one of his greatest influences. Over decades, Barrie Kosky has blazed a trail directing theatre and opera across Europe, who in 2022, finished a 10-year stint leading Berlin's prestigious opera house, the Komische Oper. The self-described "gay, Jewish, Kangaroo" is in conversation with the Sydney Theatre Company's artistic director Kip Williams. The two reflect on Barrie's career, the future of theatre post-streaming, and how the weight of German history continues to inspire.

You’re young. You’re healthy. Would you open Pandora’s box and take a DNA test to find out your risk of a serious disease?  Scientists say widespread DNA screening of young people will save lives — but who will pay the price?  And if you discovered you carry a high-risk gene for breast or prostate cancer, what can you do with that information, and who else might use it? Could insurance companies or prospective employers discriminate against you on the basis of your genes?  Natasha Mitchell and guests — including Kara who took a test — dive into the science, ethics and economics of population DNA screening.

You’re young. You’re healthy. Would you open Pandora’s box and take a DNA test to find out your risk of a serious disease?  Scientists say widespread DNA screening of young people will save lives — but who will pay the price?  And if you discovered you carry a high-risk gene for breast or prostate cancer, what can you do with that information, and who else might use it? Could insurance companies or prospective employers discriminate against you on the basis of your genes?  Natasha Mitchell and guests — including Kara who took a test — dive into the science, ethics and economics of population DNA screening.

Is it necessary to engage with the Taliban to improve conditions in Afghanistan? It's an inconceivable idea for many who have fought in the country of fled from Taliban oppression. But Benjamin Gilmour has done it. At a recent trip to the country, he has been given access to some of the top leaders of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Now he shares his experiences and conversations with the Taliban.

Is it necessary to engage with the Taliban to improve conditions in Afghanistan? It's an inconceivable idea for many who have fought in the country of fled from Taliban oppression. But Benjamin Gilmour has done it. At a recent trip to the country, he has been given access to some of the top leaders of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Now he shares his experiences and conversations with the Taliban.

IVF, or in vitro fertilisation has come a long way since its first successful application in Australia. That was in 1980, at the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne with the birth of Candice Reed. Forty years on, it's estimated that some 200,000 Australian children have been born via IVF. But despite the technological, legislative, and social changes that have come about in that period, many couples – and single parents – still face stigma for opting to have children this way. Hear from three women who've experienced IVF from all angles.

IVF, or in vitro fertilisation has come a long way since its first successful application in Australia. That was in 1980, at the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne with the birth of Candice Reed. Forty years on, it's estimated that some 200,000 Australian children have been born via IVF. But despite the technological, legislative, and social changes that have come about in that period, many couples – and single parents – still face stigma for opting to have children this way. Hear from three women who've experienced IVF from all angles.

When making change, how do you amplify the voices of youth without being tokenistic? It's a question that was on the minds of many at the once-in-a-generation summit called Wiyi Yani U Thangani, a Bubuna phrase meaning women's voices. Held in Canberra earlier this year, Wiyi Yani U Thangani, brought together around 900 First Nations women to produce a new 'Blakprint', to improve their lives, those of their families and future generations. Integral to this 'Blakprint' was the input of young women, who were invited to imagine what a just future – built on self-determination – might look like for their communities.

When making change, how do you amplify the voices of youth without being tokenistic? It's a question that was on the minds of many at the once-in-a-generation summit called Wiyi Yani U Thangani, a Bubuna phrase meaning women's voices. Held in Canberra earlier this year, Wiyi Yani U Thangani, brought together around 900 First Nations women to produce a new 'Blakprint', to improve their lives, those of their families and future generations. Integral to this 'Blakprint' was the input of young women, who were invited to imagine what a just future – built on self-determination – might look like for their communities.

Former prime minister Julia Gillard's misogyny speech hit a nerve worldwide. But before that speech, were the feminist rebels, ratbags, and renegades who got Australian politics to that moment. Hear how and why women's lives, against the odds, were first put on the political agenda in Australia… and why Miss Australia wasn't there.

Former prime minister Julia Gillard's misogyny speech hit a nerve worldwide. But before that speech, were the feminist rebels, ratbags, and renegades who got Australian politics to that moment. Hear how and why women's lives, against the odds, were first put on the political agenda in Australia… and why Miss Australia wasn't there.

Song writing in the 21st-Century is an increasingly precarious endeavour. We now live in a world where even the slightest similar melodic pattern could send you to court, while AI-driven production could send you packing. But despite this, there's still something magical about song writing. So what keeps compelling people to try their luck at crafting songs in the streaming era? So, enter the writing room (or pub) to hear from four Australian rock legends who've witnessed this magic. Together, they've played for bands including Midnight Oil, Mental as Anything, The Go Betweens, and R.E.M.

Song writing in the 21st-Century is an increasingly precarious endeavour. We now live in a world where even the slightest similar melodic pattern could send you to court, while AI-driven production could send you packing. But despite this, there's still something magical about song writing. So what keeps compelling people to try their luck at crafting songs in the streaming era? So, enter the writing room (or pub) to hear from four Australian rock legends who've witnessed this magic. Together, they've played for bands including Midnight Oil, Mental as Anything, The Go Betweens, and R.E.M.

Would you endure intense physical challenges and privations, extreme temperatures, dizzying heights, hunger and loneliness …. just for the thrill of it? What kinds of people thrive in hostile environments? It takes a special type of person to embark on extreme adventures and sports. It's not just about your fitness and bodily constitution, you mental and emotional strengths can be even more important. What drives people to the depths and edges of the known world, and how do they survive it? And are there lessons the rest of us can learn from them?

Would you endure intense physical challenges and privations, extreme temperatures, dizzying heights, hunger and loneliness …. just for the thrill of it? What kinds of people thrive in hostile environments? It takes a special type of person to embark on extreme adventures and sports. It's not just about your fitness and bodily constitution, you mental and emotional strengths can be even more important. What drives people to the depths and edges of the known world, and how do they survive it? And are there lessons the rest of us can learn from them?

Australia is obsessed with sport — it's become shorthand for our national identity abroad. But there's tension at the heart of this obsession. As keen and disinterested followers of Australian sport have witnessed, sports of all kinds have had a troubled relationship with race, gender, and sexuality.It's something Mununjali writer — and part-time soccer player — Ellen van Neerven considers in their book Personal Score, exploring their complicated relationship with sport in the process.

Australia is obsessed with sport — it's become shorthand for our national identity abroad. But there's tension at the heart of this obsession. As keen and disinterested followers of Australian sport have witnessed, sports of all kinds have had a troubled relationship with race, gender, and sexuality.It's something Mununjali writer — and part-time soccer player — Ellen van Neerven considers in their book Personal Score, exploring their complicated relationship with sport in the process.

As a gonzo documentary maker and author, John Safran goes where others fear to tread. He's been baptised, exorcised, crucified, hung out with extremists. Now he's digging into the spin and shenanigans of Big Tobacco. When is a cigarette not a cigarette when it really still is? An eye-opening conversation about vapes, "heat sticks", and corporate obscurantism. Will John Safran smoke out the truth?

As a gonzo documentary maker and author, John Safran goes where others fear to tread. He's been baptised, exorcised, crucified, hung out with extremists. Now he's digging into the spin and shenanigans of Big Tobacco. When is a cigarette not a cigarette when it really still is? An eye-opening conversation about vapes, "heat sticks", and corporate obscurantism. Will John Safran smoke out the truth?

We might like to think of Australia as a generous nation, but Australian foreign aid levels tell a different story. We're now ranked 27th out of 31 OECD countries when it comes to foreign aid as a percentage of gross national income. And with the money we do spend, to what extent has national self-interests impeded Australian aid's ability to make the most impact?

We might like to think of Australia as a generous nation, but Australian foreign aid levels tell a different story. We're now ranked 27th out of 31 OECD countries when it comes to foreign aid as a percentage of gross national income. And with the money we do spend, to what extent has national self-interests impeded Australian aid's ability to make the most impact?

After many decades of Chinese occupation, the Tibetan culture is under threat, and a 'stolen generation' of Tibetan children is forced into boarding schools. There are no civil rights, and any protest means risking your life. Despite all, the Tibetans believe in a non-violent approach to solve the Sino-Tibet conflict. Tibet's president in exile is speaking about the challenges for the mountain country.

After many decades of Chinese occupation, the Tibetan culture is under threat, and a 'stolen generation' of Tibetan children is forced into boarding schools. There are no civil rights, and any protest means risking your life. Despite all, the Tibetans believe in a non-violent approach to solve the Sino-Tibet conflict. Tibet's president in exile is speaking about the challenges for the mountain country.

Three successful authors Akuch Anyieth, Shannon Burns and Catherine Deveny talk about memoir, and why they're interested in the form.  Moderator of the discussion Yves Rees asks the panel to reflect on whether the personal storytelling genre is popular because of voyeurism, a desire for intimacy between writer and reader or just a hunger for trauma porn? 

Three successful authors Akuch Anyieth, Shannon Burns and Catherine Deveny talk about memoir, and why they're interested in the form.  Moderator of the discussion Yves Rees asks the panel to reflect on whether the personal storytelling genre is popular because of voyeurism, a desire for intimacy between writer and reader or just a hunger for trauma porn? 

Going digital is greener, right? French investigative journalist Guillaume Pitron travelled the planet for his latest exposé — from covertly flying drones over graphite mines in Northeast China to journeying to the cold wilds of Lapland to visit the computer server farms that drive Facebook.  He joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell to discuss his latest eye-opening read, The Dark Cloud — how the digital world is costing the Earth.

Going digital is greener, right? French investigative journalist Guillaume Pitron travelled the planet for his latest exposé — from covertly flying drones over graphite mines in Northeast China to journeying to the cold wilds of Lapland to visit the computer server farms that drive Facebook.  He joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell to discuss his latest eye-opening read, The Dark Cloud — how the digital world is costing the Earth.

Questioning whether travel is ethical is probably the last thing on your mind when you decide to go on holiday. But for increasing number of travellers, 'ethical travel' is the preferred mode for tourists who don't want their holiday to just be an extractive exercise. So what are the ethical obligations for those who have the privilege to travel? And what does ethical travel mean in practice… ?

Questioning whether travel is ethical is probably the last thing on your mind when you decide to go on holiday. But for increasing number of travellers, 'ethical travel' is the preferred mode for tourists who don't want their holiday to just be an extractive exercise. So what are the ethical obligations for those who have the privilege to travel? And what does ethical travel mean in practice… ?

Questioning whether travel is ethical is probably the last thing on your mind when you decide to go on holiday. But for increasing number of travellers, 'ethical travel' is the preferred mode for tourists who don't want their holiday to just be an extractive exercise. So what are the ethical obligations for those who have the privilege to travel? And what does ethical travel mean in practice… ?

Thirty years ago, Harlem doctor Harold Freeman saw that the most disadvantaged in America also had the highest cancer deaths, mainly because of late diagnosis and treatment and patients being unfamiliar with hospital systems. So he created a navigation system where patients are chaperoned through the health care system to ensure they get the care they need. Plus, First Nations people are navigating health and healing in a different way, turning to country and using aspects of their traditional culture as a form of holistic medicine.

Thirty years ago, Harlem doctor Harold Freeman saw that the most disadvantaged in America also had the highest cancer deaths, mainly because of late diagnosis and treatment and patients being unfamiliar with hospital systems. So he created a navigation system where patients are chaperoned through the health care system to ensure they get the care they need. Plus, First Nations people are navigating health and healing in a different way, turning to country and using aspects of their traditional culture as a form of holistic medicine.

The history and development of the nuclear industry is shred in secrecy and contradictions. And its future is throwing up more questions than answers. A scientist, a historian and a poet consider the economic, scientific and social realities of nuclear technology. They discuss how the lessons from the past might shape an uncertain future, and the possible consequences of playing God.

The history and development of the nuclear industry is shred in secrecy and contradictions. And its future is throwing up more questions than answers. A scientist, a historian and a poet consider the economic, scientific and social realities of nuclear technology. They discuss how the lessons from the past might shape an uncertain future, and the possible consequences of playing God.

In early 2020, as Australians were being locked down, something strange was happening in an inner-suburban hotel in Brisbane. A group of men, previously invisible to most Australians, gathered on the hotel balcony wielding hand-made banners. Who were they? And how did this moment change the minds of middle Australia? It's 10 years since Kevin Rudd declared "no one who arrives by boat will ever settle here". The fallout catapulted thousands of lives into a decade-long limbo. Two of the men on that Brisbane balcony join host Natasha Mitchell and other guests at the Brisbane Powerhouse as part of the Portraits of Protest exhibition.

In early 2020, as Australians were being locked down, something strange was happening in an inner-suburban hotel in Brisbane. A group of men, previously invisible to most Australians, gathered on the hotel balcony wielding hand-made banners. Who were they? And how did this moment change the minds of middle Australia? It's 10 years since Kevin Rudd declared "no one who arrives by boat will ever settle here". The fallout catapulted thousands of lives into a decade-long limbo. Two of the men on that Brisbane balcony join host Natasha Mitchell and other guests at the Brisbane Powerhouse as part of the Portraits of Protest exhibition.

Has the application of the law been just to Indigenous Australia? Australia's cultural and legal notions of justice stem from British colonial rule, which by its very nature, usurped the law and customs of Australia's First Peoples. Since colonisation, this law has disciplined and punished Indigenous Australians through legal frameworks and theories they didn't consent to. So what would redress look like… in law?

Has the application of the law been just to Indigenous Australia? Australia's cultural and legal notions of justice stem from British colonial rule, which by its very nature, usurped the law and customs of Australia's First Peoples. Since colonisation, this law has disciplined and punished Indigenous Australians through legal frameworks and theories they didn't consent to. So what would redress look like… in law?

Earlier this year, 900 First Nations women travelled to Canberra for a once in a generation Womens Voices Summit. Titled Wiyi Yani U Thangani — a Bunuba word meaning Womens' Voices — the summit aimed at producing a new 'blakprint', to improve their lives, those of their families and future generations.

Earlier this year, 900 First Nations women travelled to Canberra for a once in a generation Womens Voices Summit. Titled Wiyi Yani U Thangani — a Bunuba word meaning Womens' Voices — the summit aimed at producing a new 'blakprint', to improve their lives, those of their families and future generations.

There are an increasing number of all kinds of species, not just human, but animal and plant are affected by rising seas and climate change. From the critically endangered Western swamp tortoise to honey ants to whales. But how to safeguard these climate refugees and what impact would moving them have on their new fragile ecosystems? From understanding First Nations science to breaking up the siloed western conservation practices, how best to help save endangered species.

There are an increasing number of all kinds of species, not just human, but animal and plant are affected by rising seas and climate change. From the critically endangered Western swamp tortoise to honey ants to whales. But how to safeguard these climate refugees and what impact would moving them have on their new fragile ecosystems? From understanding First Nations science to breaking up the siloed western conservation practices, how best to help save endangered species.

From apps that help us swim safely to using Crispr to cut the genes of box jellyfish to technology that identifies the source of a barramundi or coral trout at the fish market, science is at the fore-shore of keeping our oceans and our lives safe.

From apps that help us swim safely to using Crispr to cut the genes of box jellyfish to technology that identifies the source of a barramundi or coral trout at the fish market, science is at the fore-shore of keeping our oceans and our lives safe.

A lot of blood has already been shed in 21st century conflicts. But why does war continue to claim so many lives, why have we not learnt lessons from the past and who are the power-holders who perpetuate the cycle of violence?

A lot of blood has already been shed in 21st century conflicts. But why does war continue to claim so many lives, why have we not learnt lessons from the past and who are the power-holders who perpetuate the cycle of violence?

The past few weeks have seen the headlines embroiled in what seems to be an intractable problem — housing. And it's a peculiarly Australian phenomenon. So why has equitable housing become such a vexed and complex issue for Australia? And what are the steps to take if we actually want to tackle the housing crisis once and for all?

The past few weeks have seen the headlines embroiled in what seems to be an intractable problem — housing. And it's a peculiarly Australian phenomenon. So why has equitable housing become such a vexed and complex issue for Australia? And what are the steps to take if we actually want to tackle the housing crisis once and for all?

Guardian Australia Editor Lenore Taylor takes us through the everyday challenges facing journalists in the digital age, from trying to fact check in a 24-hour news cycle to the potential plagiarism and disinformation dangers of AI and ChatGPT. 

Guardian Australia Editor Lenore Taylor takes us through the everyday challenges facing journalists in the digital age, from trying to fact check in a 24-hour news cycle to the potential plagiarism and disinformation dangers of AI and ChatGPT. 

Former ABC broadcaster and lawyer Jon Faine in conversation with Paul Barclay explains how as a young lawyer he discovers the story behind his new book, Apollo and Thelma: A True Tall Tale. 

Former ABC broadcaster and lawyer Jon Faine in conversation with Paul Barclay explains how as a young lawyer he discovers the story behind his new book, Apollo and Thelma: A True Tall Tale. 

For more than 100 years, birdwatchers have searched for evidence that one of Australia's rarest native birds is not extinct. And they might be a step closer to solving the mystery of the Buff-breasted Button Quail. It lives in the humid savannas of Cape York. And we know that this habitat is changing. If we want to have any chance of finding and even saving this bird, we have to act quickly.

For more than 100 years, birdwatchers have searched for evidence that one of Australia's rarest native birds is not extinct. And they might be a step closer to solving the mystery of the Buff-breasted Button Quail. It lives in the humid savannas of Cape York. And we know that this habitat is changing. If we want to have any chance of finding and even saving this bird, we have to act quickly.

Big Ideas brings you a riveting account of the downfall of former UK prime minister Boris Johnson. Scandals over parties in Downing Street breaking Covid restrictions and attempts to change ethic regulations to allegedly help a mate, stories of betrayals and rivalries. This behind-the-scene interview is a timely look at how power is gained, wielded and lost in Britain today.

Big Ideas brings you a riveting account of the downfall of former UK prime minister Boris Johnson. Scandals over parties in Downing Street breaking Covid restrictions and attempts to change ethic regulations to allegedly help a mate, stories of betrayals and rivalries. This behind-the-scene interview is a timely look at how power is gained, wielded and lost in Britain today.

Can we reprogram masculinity to remove its toxic aspects, or should we focus on harm minimization when it comes to gendered violence? 

Recent horrifying public headlines betray what is going on behind closed doors. In Perth, a woman is lit on fire. Forty per cent of her body is burnt. In Sydney, a woman is found dead before police can respond to a call. In Melbourne, an ex-Olympian pleads guilty to harassing an ex-girlfriend. Why do some men turn to deadly violence to deal with anger or difficult emotions? What are the root causes, and what can be done to change this brutal behaviour?

What do the streets feel like where you live? Unsafe for kids to ride to school, big busy highways, limited public transport, cars reign supreme? From electric vehicles to bike-friendly buses — be inspired by these globally renowned movers and shakers. They're using the regional town of Bendigo and international case studies to re-imagine how we can live and move. Transport accounts for a staggering quarter of global greenhouse emissions. Could one Australian town lead the way and hit zero transport emissions by 2030?

What do the streets feel like where you live? Unsafe for kids to ride to school, big busy highways, limited public transport, cars reign supreme? From electric vehicles to bike-friendly buses — be inspired by these globally renowned movers and shakers. They're using the regional town of Bendigo and international case studies to re-imagine how we can live and move. Transport accounts for a staggering quarter of global greenhouse emissions. Could one Australian town lead the way and hit zero transport emissions by 2030?

Australia is often described as the most vibrant multicultural nation in the world.  How are our policies and frameworks tracking to support that view?     

Australia is often described as the most vibrant multicultural nation in the world.  How are our policies and frameworks tracking to support that view?     

We need to better protect our oceans – but can we have it all: happy fish and happy fishermen? Currently only 3 per cent of the global oceans are protected. Environmentalists say that needs to grow to 30 per cent to make a difference. How do we get there? And how to design marine protected areas that help everyone?

We need to better protect our oceans – but can we have it all: happy fish and happy fishermen? Currently only 3 per cent of the global oceans are protected. Environmentalists say that needs to grow to 30 per cent to make a difference. How do we get there? And how to design marine protected areas that help everyone?

Stealing water, smuggling our native species overseas, illegal logging, what are the frameworks to hold perpetrators to account? 

Stealing water, smuggling our native species overseas, illegal logging, what are the frameworks to hold perpetrators to account? 

"Are they a girl or a boy?" That question is often asked about a newborn. But what if you're born with genetic variations in sexual development, also known as intersex conditions, and possess both typical male and female physical traits? New legislation tabled in the ACT is set to limit the scope of medical treatments and surgeries for such children. Intersex activists have campaigned hard for the law saying the human rights of the child to bodily autonomy is paramount. But some argue not all lived-experience voices are being heard, and are concerned the new laws could criminalise clinicians, carers and parents.

"Are they a girl or a boy?" That question is often asked about a newborn. But what if you're born with genetic variations in sexual development, also known as intersex conditions, and possess both typical male and female physical traits? New legislation tabled in the ACT is set to limit the scope of medical treatments and surgeries for such children. Intersex activists have campaigned hard for the law saying the human rights of the child to bodily autonomy is paramount. But some argue not all lived-experience voices are being heard, and are concerned the new laws could criminalise clinicians, carers and parents.

Economic warfare is possibly the biggest threat the world is facing after climate change. Interdependent financial, trade and information networks have become instruments of state power – and that economic coercion could be the end of a functioning global economy. What are the new chokepoints – and how can we mitigate the new economic vulnerabilities?

Economic warfare is possibly the biggest threat the world is facing after climate change. Interdependent financial, trade and information networks have become instruments of state power – and that economic coercion could be the end of a functioning global economy. What are the new chokepoints – and how can we mitigate the new economic vulnerabilities?

There is a deep conversation at all levels, from governments, universities and think tanks on the role of the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

There is a deep conversation at all levels, from governments, universities and think tanks on the role of the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

From traditional art works that outline democratic processes to dances that narrate ancestral lines, First Nations have lived by sophisticated and complex laws embedded deeply in culture. Exploring how western legal structures and society can learn from and reconcile with Indigenous laws. 

From traditional art works that outline democratic processes to dances that narrate ancestral lines, First Nations have lived by sophisticated and complex laws embedded deeply in culture. Exploring how western legal structures and society can learn from and reconcile with Indigenous laws. 

The scars of colonisation cut deep around the world. So, how do we combat discrimination and achieve equity for First Nations peoples and LGBTIQ+ communities? How do we address gaping inequalities and ongoing disadvantage experienced by minorities?

The scars of colonisation cut deep around the world. So, how do we combat discrimination and achieve equity for First Nations peoples and LGBTIQ+ communities? How do we address gaping inequalities and ongoing disadvantage experienced by minorities?

Movie or TV roles for older women accurately reflecting contemporary, society and experiences are rare. Sigrid Thornton, Rachael Maza, Sophie Hyde and Anousha Zarkesh are asking: Why is that? After decades honing their craft in the industry, older actresses are more talented than ever before, more confident and more attuned to the camera. But cinema is obsessed with the young.

Movie or TV roles for older women accurately reflecting contemporary, society and experiences are rare. Sigrid Thornton, Rachael Maza, Sophie Hyde and Anousha Zarkesh are asking: Why is that? After decades honing their craft in the industry, older actresses are more talented than ever before, more confident and more attuned to the camera. But cinema is obsessed with the young.

A name synonymous with the women’s movement in Australia over the past 60 years is Marie Coleman. As part of the  2023 Pamela Denoon Lecture series, Marie reflects on her time as the first woman to head a federal government agency in 1973 and her advocacy for universal childcare, single mothers' payments, paid parental leave and the push for equal pay. And.... Nearly 20% of people in Australia self-identify as having Asian ancestry, yet less than 2% of Chief Executives have an Asian cultural background. Julie Chai is the Founder and CEO of the Asian Leadership Project and in partnership with law firm Clayton Utz, she and her expert panel interrogate the discrepancy. 

A name synonymous with the women’s movement in Australia over the past 60 years is Marie Coleman. As part of the  2023 Pamela Denoon Lecture series, Marie reflects on her time as the first woman to head a federal government agency in 1973 and her advocacy for universal childcare, single mothers' payments, paid parental leave and the push for equal pay. And.... Nearly 20% of people in Australia self-identify as having Asian ancestry, yet less than 2% of Chief Executives have an Asian cultural background. Julie Chai is the Founder and CEO of the Asian Leadership Project and in partnership with law firm Clayton Utz, she and her expert panel interrogate the discrepancy. 

One of the most tedious things about social media is the self-appointed authorities spouting commentary on any and every subject. All the while experts are increasingly degraded or ignored in our public discourse. But how do we make sense of the world and who we should be listening to when everyone's an 'expert'?

One of the most tedious things about social media is the self-appointed authorities spouting commentary on any and every subject. All the while experts are increasingly degraded or ignored in our public discourse. But how do we make sense of the world and who we should be listening to when everyone's an 'expert'?

Would you eat protein brewed in a vat from bacteria instead of meat? "Nom nom nom!", you might say. George Monbiot probably agrees. One of the most influential thinkers on the future of of the planet, now he's interrogating what's on our dinner plate, and the staggering business of how it got there. He joins Natasha Mitchell to discuss his provocative book, Regenesis: how to feed the world without devouring the planet. And it all comes down to connecting with the Tolkienesque world beneath your feet.

Would you eat protein brewed in a vat from bacteria instead of meat? "Nom nom nom!", you might say. George Monbiot probably agrees. One of the most influential thinkers on the future of of the planet, now he's interrogating what's on our dinner plate, and the staggering business of how it got there. He joins Natasha Mitchell to discuss his provocative book, Regenesis: how to feed the world without devouring the planet. And it all comes down to connecting with the Tolkienesque world beneath your feet.

Three influential women explore the power, the politics, and the cost of speaking out. 

Three influential women explore the power, the politics, and the cost of speaking out. 

Is your personal data safe? Do you know how to protect them from scammers and hackers? As your digital footprint expands, many people are questioning whether the benefits of technological innovation outweigh the potential for misuse of their personal data. But there are options to optimise and safeguard who can access your data. Companies around the world are investing more and more in cybersecurity – but you also need to do your part and practice good cyber hygiene.

Is your personal data safe? Do you know how to protect them from scammers and hackers? As your digital footprint expands, many people are questioning whether the benefits of technological innovation outweigh the potential for misuse of their personal data. But there are options to optimise and safeguard who can access your data. Companies around the world are investing more and more in cybersecurity – but you also need to do your part and practice good cyber hygiene.

From medicines to restoring damaged soil, the kingdom of fungi is the world's unsung hero playing a huge role in maintaining and supporting our ecosystems. 

From medicines to restoring damaged soil, the kingdom of fungi is the world's unsung hero playing a huge role in maintaining and supporting our ecosystems. 

What do coral reefs have to do with cancer? What does First Nations knowledge have to do with making the rice on your dinner plate more resilient? Can science save the world? Does the world need saving? Hopeful stories from 4 scientists, all big thinkers turning big ideas into life changing opportunities for humans and the air, water, food we rely on. 

What do coral reefs have to do with cancer? What does First Nations knowledge have to do with making the rice on your dinner plate more resilient? Can science save the world? Does the world need saving? Hopeful stories from 4 scientists, all big thinkers turning big ideas into life changing opportunities for humans and the air, water, food we rely on. 

Whether you keep the peace or go to war – it often depends on who your friends are. Alliances between nations have shaped our modern world. States make alliances out of self-interest, fear, or ideology, and the ensuing relationships are rarely easy, especially when they are put to the test. Historian Margaret MacMillan looks at the nature, dynamics and different types of alliances, and tells you why some succeed, and others fail.

Whether you keep the peace or go to war – it often depends on who your friends are. Alliances between nations have shaped our modern world. States make alliances out of self-interest, fear, or ideology, and the ensuing relationships are rarely easy, especially when they are put to the test. Historian Margaret MacMillan looks at the nature, dynamics and different types of alliances, and tells you why some succeed, and others fail.

University should be a place that nurtures big ideas; where curiosity and creativity thrive. But are our universities struggling with a lack of imagination? Increasingly, higher education in Australia has become transactional, relying heavily on students to bring in revenue. But if Australian universities are to meet the challenges of the future, is it time to rethink the current business model and think more boldly about the purpose and value of universities?

University should be a place that nurtures big ideas; where curiosity and creativity thrive. But are our universities struggling with a lack of imagination? Increasingly, higher education in Australia has become transactional, relying heavily on students to bring in revenue. But if Australian universities are to meet the challenges of the future, is it time to rethink the current business model and think more boldly about the purpose and value of universities?

Science fiction’s most frequent alternative to human is 'alien', another rich imaginative resource with which to think about what makes us human. Whether aliens are imagined as conquerors or saviours, their superiority has often been used to explore human limitations.

Science fiction’s most frequent alternative to human is 'alien', another rich imaginative resource with which to think about what makes us human. Whether aliens are imagined as conquerors or saviours, their superiority has often been used to explore human limitations.

Public shaming and boycotting has always been used to control or call out people's behaviour.  But has social media, social activism, and the rise of the keyboard warrior changed how it happens and who does it? Four prominent artists taking risks in the public eye debate the rise of 'cancel culture'. What happens when you are deemed to have gone too far? Is 'cancel culture' making our society better, or is it a punishment without a chance for redemption?

Public shaming and boycotting has always been used to control or call out people's behaviour.  But has social media, social activism, and the rise of the keyboard warrior changed how it happens and who does it? Four prominent artists taking risks in the public eye debate the rise of 'cancel culture'. What happens when you are deemed to have gone too far? Is 'cancel culture' making our society better, or is it a punishment without a chance for redemption?

How can liberal democracies create a working partnership with authoritarian states – and at the same time maintain their values and succeed as open societies offering political freedom? For some years now, we have seen the splintering of the post war system of international order. The number of authoritarian states around the world is growing, and China is becoming an increasingly important player. The rise of Vladimir Putin and the struggles of Hong Kong offer valuable lessons about how to deal with authoritarian regimes.

How can liberal democracies create a working partnership with authoritarian states – and at the same time maintain their values and succeed as open societies offering political freedom? For some years now, we have seen the splintering of the post war system of international order. The number of authoritarian states around the world is growing, and China is becoming an increasingly important player. The rise of Vladimir Putin and the struggles of Hong Kong offer valuable lessons about how to deal with authoritarian regimes.

Following the death of the longest reigning British monarch and coronation of a new King, discussion on whether Australia should become a republic is once more in the public sphere. Chair of the Australian Republic Movement, Craig Foster delivers the 2023 Manning Clark Lecture: Australia's Third Act: Reconciled, Independent, Truly Multicultural. 

Following the death of the longest reigning British monarch and coronation of a new King, discussion on whether Australia should become a republic is once more in the public sphere. Chair of the Australian Republic Movement, Craig Foster delivers the 2023 Manning Clark Lecture: Australia's Third Act: Reconciled, Independent, Truly Multicultural. 

Four distinguished guests argue the motion: 'We need to alter to the constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice', presented by the Centre for Independent Studies

Four distinguished guests argue the motion: 'We need to alter to the constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice', presented by the Centre for Independent Studies

Renowned humanitarian Lt-General (ret) Roméo Dallaire headed up UN mission in Rwanda during the brutal genocide three decades ago. Today Rwandan survivors wear the scars of machetes on their skins like living shrines. He joins Natasha Mitchell to reflect powerfully on the aftermath of war — for him personally and for countless conflicts to come.

Renowned humanitarian Lt-General (ret) Roméo Dallaire headed up UN mission in Rwanda during the brutal genocide three decades ago. Today Rwandan survivors wear the scars of machetes on their skins like living shrines. He joins Natasha Mitchell to reflect powerfully on the aftermath of war — for him personally and for countless conflicts to come.

From pearl divers to post-war trade agreements and the sharing of technology, minerals and cyber security strategies, Japan and Australia have strong historic ties. Just how strong is that relationship and what are the strategies to address the security and environmental challenges ahead?  

From pearl divers to post-war trade agreements and the sharing of technology, minerals and cyber security strategies, Japan and Australia have strong historic ties. Just how strong is that relationship and what are the strategies to address the security and environmental challenges ahead?  

Exploring the jargon that confuses us, the policy deficits, the obstacles, and some of the innovative actions taken to tackle our biggest challenge, Climate Change.  

Exploring the jargon that confuses us, the policy deficits, the obstacles, and some of the innovative actions taken to tackle our biggest challenge, Climate Change.  

Cabaret was popularised in Paris at the turn of the 20th century and during the 1920's in Berlin. Today it is in the midst of a renaissance in Australia, with contemporary cabaret performers finding new audiences. Cabaret may be a form of raucous entertainment, but it can also include social and political satire, and sometimes a dash of sexual frisson. The Adelaide Cabaret Festival has helped spawn the revival of cabaret in Australia. In 2015, Barry Humphries took the reigns as artistic director of the festival.

Cabaret was popularised in Paris at the turn of the 20th century and during the 1920's in Berlin. Today it is in the midst of a renaissance in Australia, with contemporary cabaret performers finding new audiences. Cabaret may be a form of raucous entertainment, but it can also include social and political satire, and sometimes a dash of sexual frisson. The Adelaide Cabaret Festival has helped spawn the revival of cabaret in Australia. In 2015, Barry Humphries took the reigns as artistic director of the festival.

It's 30 years ago this year since Steven Spielberg did something scientists have never been able to. He brought the dinosaurs back from the dead. Extraordinarily, now genetic scientists are inching closer to attempting the resurrection of long extinct animals like the Tasmania Tiger.  But even if they could, should they?

It's 30 years ago this year since Steven Spielberg did something scientists have never been able to. He brought the dinosaurs back from the dead. Extraordinarily, now genetic scientists are inching closer to attempting the resurrection of long extinct animals like the Tasmania Tiger.  But even if they could, should they?

Do you argue across the dinner table about saving the world? Some say it’s up to individuals, others want governments to fix the problem. Then there’s the follow-the-money view that business and the market will save us. But is capitalism part of the problem not the solution?

Do you argue across the dinner table about saving the world? Some say it’s up to individuals, others want governments to fix the problem. Then there’s the follow-the-money view that business and the market will save us. But is capitalism part of the problem not the solution?

Are Greek-Australian's now considered to be 'white' in Australia's colourful social fabric? A panel of prominent Greek-Australians discusses questions of identity and belonging. As they have evolved into one of the oldest migrant groups in the country, is the era of Greek 'otherness' over? And what role did anglicising surnames play in our journey towards acceptance?

Are Greek-Australian's now considered to be 'white' in Australia's colourful social fabric? A panel of prominent Greek-Australians discusses questions of identity and belonging. As they have evolved into one of the oldest migrant groups in the country, is the era of Greek 'otherness' over? And what role did anglicising surnames play in our journey towards acceptance?

What does 'Australia' mean to you? We all have our own version of Australia, shaped by our lived experience. But what happens when our reality sits outside the collective narrative?

What does 'Australia' mean to you? We all have our own version of Australia, shaped by our lived experience. But what happens when our reality sits outside the collective narrative?

We live our lives for the short term. School semesters, tax years, election cycles, next week. But have you tried thinking in 'deep time' — millions of years before and after this present moment? Some describe it as the 'Long Now', and evidence suggests it's healthy for your head, and for the planet.

We live our lives for the short term. School semesters, tax years, election cycles, next week. But have you tried thinking in 'deep time' — millions of years before and after this present moment? Some describe it as the 'Long Now', and evidence suggests it's healthy for your head, and for the planet.

If you can't control it – then don't worry about it. It's one of the core messages of stoicism. Much easier said than done. But if you manage it, it can make your life a lot happier and calmer. That's not to say you should sit back and ignore injustice. The stoics have an answer for that as well. On Big Ideas, you'll hear about the ancient philosophy of stoicism and how to apply its principles to modern life. War, climate change, pandemic and endless social media platforms onto with you can project and amplify your anxieties. It seems like we all can use a good helping of stoicism.

If you can't control it – then don't worry about it. It's one of the core messages of stoicism. Much easier said than done. But if you manage it, it can make your life a lot happier and calmer. That's not to say you should sit back and ignore injustice. The stoics have an answer for that as well. On Big Ideas, you'll hear about the ancient philosophy of stoicism and how to apply its principles to modern life. War, climate change, pandemic and endless social media platforms onto with you can project and amplify your anxieties. It seems like we all can use a good helping of stoicism.

What happens when classical music meets pop culture? Do we see a clash between two irreconcilable styles? Could smoothing up to pop culture be the way forward for classical music? It's no secret that the genre often struggles to find new and young audiences. Big Ideas explores the role of classical music in society today, where it could go in the future and how pop culture and digital technology can help the genre get there.

What happens when classical music meets pop culture? Do we see a clash between two irreconcilable styles? Could smoothing up to pop culture be the way forward for classical music? It's no secret that the genre often struggles to find new and young audiences. Big Ideas explores the role of classical music in society today, where it could go in the future and how pop culture and digital technology can help the genre get there.

The potential fallout of a global media giant and family dynasty on the precipice of generational change. And, the calls to dilute a highly concentrated media industry.

The potential fallout of a global media giant and family dynasty on the precipice of generational change. And, the calls to dilute a highly concentrated media industry.

The potential fallout of a global media giant and family dynasty on the precipice of generational change. And, the calls to dilute a highly concentrated media industry.

A conversation between Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and John Berry, former US Ambassador to Australia (Retired) on living and working as openly gay men, even when homosexuality was illegal.

A conversation between Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and John Berry, former US Ambassador to Australia (Retired) on living and working as openly gay men, even when homosexuality was illegal.

The rise of far-right extremism, conflicts over gun law reform, widening economic gaps, and former President Donald Trump's continued push for influence. Are polarising polemics damaging the reputation of the US? And should there be limits to free speech?

The rise of far-right extremism, conflicts over gun law reform, widening economic gaps, and former President Donald Trump's continued push for influence. Are polarising polemics damaging the reputation of the US? And should there be limits to free speech?

From the invention of the calendar to the humble carry bag – and even to the concept of moral responsibility. It all comes down to humans' ability to relive past events in order to predict possible futures. Foresight is the driver behind innovation. On Big Ideas, a panel of cognitive scientists argues that foresight has transformed humans from unremarkable primates to creatures that hold the destiny of the planet in their hands. It might just be the tool that will save us in the future.

From the invention of the calendar to the humble carry bag – and even to the concept of moral responsibility. It all comes down to humans' ability to relive past events in order to predict possible futures. Foresight is the driver behind innovation. On Big Ideas, a panel of cognitive scientists argues that foresight has transformed humans from unremarkable primates to creatures that hold the destiny of the planet in their hands. It might just be the tool that will save us in the future.

Around the world, governments are apologising for past wrongs and historic injustices - like slavery, the forced removal of children, and institutional abuse. But do these apologies lead to transformational change?   What has been the experience of apologies in Australia to the 'stolen generations', and to those affected by forced adoptions? 

Around the world, governments are apologising for past wrongs and historic injustices - like slavery, the forced removal of children, and institutional abuse. But do these apologies lead to transformational change?   What has been the experience of apologies in Australia to the 'stolen generations', and to those affected by forced adoptions? 

Are the values of the enlightenment, ideas from ancient times, developed through the centuries in Christian Europe under threat? Some perspectives on the state of Australian classic liberalism.

Are the values of the enlightenment, ideas from ancient times, developed through the centuries in Christian Europe under threat? Some perspectives on the state of Australian classic liberalism.

Until recently, one party dominated Malay politics. Now there’s a new multi-government. Could this lead to an era of democratic reform in Malaysia? 100 days after the snap-election, the new Malaysian government looks stable enough. A panel of Asia-Pacific experts discusses the campaign narratives and what they mean for Malaysia's political environment and the challenges ahead for the new government.

Until recently, one party dominated Malay politics. Now there’s a new multi-government. Could this lead to an era of democratic reform in Malaysia? 100 days after the snap-election, the new Malaysian government looks stable enough. A panel of Asia-Pacific experts discusses the campaign narratives and what they mean for Malaysia's political environment and the challenges ahead for the new government.

In the final Boyer Lecture Noel Pearson looks at the question of Australian identity. From the 1993 Boyer's, Ulli Helen Corbett speaks on the importance of raising First Nations voices in the international arena.

In the final Boyer Lecture Noel Pearson looks at the question of Australian identity. From the 1993 Boyer's, Ulli Helen Corbett speaks on the importance of raising First Nations voices in the international arena.

In his fourth Boyer Lecture lecture, Noel Pearson addresses the educational barriers facing young Indigenous people, and from the 1993 ABC Boyer Lectures, Dot West considers the negative media portrayal of First Nations people.

In his fourth Boyer Lecture lecture, Noel Pearson addresses the educational barriers facing young Indigenous people, and from the 1993 ABC Boyer Lectures, Dot West considers the negative media portrayal of First Nations people.

In his third Boyer lecture, Noel Pearson outlines ways of lifting all Australians including First Nations people from the economic 'bottom million'. And from the 1993 Boyer Lectures, Ian Anderson's vision for developing a new model for Indigenous health and wellbeing.

In his third Boyer lecture, Noel Pearson outlines ways of lifting all Australians including First Nations people from the economic 'bottom million'. And from the 1993 Boyer Lectures, Ian Anderson's vision for developing a new model for Indigenous health and wellbeing.

In the 2nd Boyer Lecture Series Noel Pearson traces the long road that led to the final proposal for a Voice to Parliament. And from the 1993 Boyer Lecture Series, Voices from the land, linguist Jeanie Bell the importance of Indigenous language, not just connection to the land but to self-determination.

In the 2nd Boyer Lecture Series Noel Pearson traces the long road that led to the final proposal for a Voice to Parliament. And from the 1993 Boyer Lecture Series, Voices from the land, linguist Jeanie Bell the importance of Indigenous language, not just connection to the land but to self-determination.

In the lead up to a vote on a referendum to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Constitution, we present some of the debates and visions from First Nations leaders over the years.

In the lead up to a vote on a referendum to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Constitution, we present some of the debates and visions from First Nations leaders over the years.

Net zero emissions means we can still burn fossil fuels, and emit carbon into the atmosphere, as long as this is offset by carbon credits. But what if the offsets are not credible, and claims to carbon neutrality misleading?

Net zero emissions means we can still burn fossil fuels, and emit carbon into the atmosphere, as long as this is offset by carbon credits. But what if the offsets are not credible, and claims to carbon neutrality misleading?

The COVID pandemic, the GFC, and the recent energy crisis, have all required the state to play a bigger role in our lives, and in the economy. Is this a rejection of neo-liberalism?

The COVID pandemic, the GFC, and the recent energy crisis, have all required the state to play a bigger role in our lives, and in the economy. Is this a rejection of neo-liberalism?

The Australian Constitution is a living document which includes a provision to facilitate reform. But over its 122 year history, it has only been amended eight times. Has Australia lost its constitutional muscle memory?

The Australian Constitution is a living document which includes a provision to facilitate reform. But over its 122 year history, it has only been amended eight times. Has Australia lost its constitutional muscle memory?

The best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world.

The best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world.

Unemployment may be low, but it is no bed of roses for Australian workers. Real wages are falling, inflation remains high, and interest rates keep going up. For many, it is a struggle to put food on the table and find secure housing. Yet Australia is brimming with money – it is one of the wealthiest countries on earth. Why aren't more of us sharing in the spoils?

Unemployment may be low, but it is no bed of roses for Australian workers. Real wages are falling, inflation remains high, and interest rates keep going up. For many, it is a struggle to put food on the table and find secure housing. Yet Australia is brimming with money – it is one of the wealthiest countries on earth. Why aren't more of us sharing in the spoils?

Are you feeling sad, angry, stressed or worried? More so than in previous years? Then you're not alone. Unhappiness is on the rise around the world. And according to Gallup's statistics that's because political leaders don't track people's wellbeing. How can leaders begin to incorporate wellbeing and happiness indicators?

Are you feeling sad, angry, stressed or worried? More so than in previous years? Then you're not alone. Unhappiness is on the rise around the world. And according to Gallup's statistics that's because political leaders don't track people's wellbeing. How can leaders begin to incorporate wellbeing and happiness indicators?

What is the legacy of the previous Scott Morrison leadership and what changes have there been since? A panel discussion for the Perth Festival 2023

What is the legacy of the previous Scott Morrison leadership and what changes have there been since? A panel discussion for the Perth Festival 2023

It's our nearest democratic neighbour and a vital ally in the region.  But new legal code laws will ban consensual sex outside marriage, abortion and limits freedom of speech. So where does this leave human rights for our near democratic neighbour?

It's our nearest democratic neighbour and a vital ally in the region.  But new legal code laws will ban consensual sex outside marriage, abortion and limits freedom of speech. So where does this leave human rights for our near democratic neighbour?

What is more important to you, that authorities can monitor online messages for crime and child abuse — or that your messages are always completely private? You can't have it both ways, and that's the problem with end-to-end encryption. And what about government exploiting workarounds to access the encrypted messages of political dissidents? Big Ideas investigates the dilemma between possibly necessary online surveillance and privacy.

What is more important to you, that authorities can monitor online messages for crime and child abuse — or that your messages are always completely private? You can't have it both ways, and that's the problem with end-to-end encryption. And what about government exploiting workarounds to access the encrypted messages of political dissidents? Big Ideas investigates the dilemma between possibly necessary online surveillance and privacy.

How do you resist when your identity is reduced to a number? A conversation with Behrouz Boochani and his good friend, writer and human rights advocate, Arnold Zable, about the language and art of resistance.

How do you resist when your identity is reduced to a number? A conversation with Behrouz Boochani and his good friend, writer and human rights advocate, Arnold Zable, about the language and art of resistance.

Australia has a long tradition of dissent – with some environmental protections won as a result. But do new laws unduly impede the right to protest and silence dissent?  What are the reasonable limits to peaceful protest in a democracy, especially when facing an existential threat such as climate change?

Australia has a long tradition of dissent – with some environmental protections won as a result. But do new laws unduly impede the right to protest and silence dissent?  What are the reasonable limits to peaceful protest in a democracy, especially when facing an existential threat such as climate change?

There’s already plenty of debate, for and against about the need for a permanent Indigenous Voice to federal parliament. Victoria decided to get ahead of the game in 2021 and set up a commission on truth and treaty.

There’s already plenty of debate, for and against about the need for a permanent Indigenous Voice to federal parliament. Victoria decided to get ahead of the game in 2021 and set up a commission on truth and treaty.

More people, worldwide, are becoming 'sober-curious', and questioning their relationship with alcohol. Teenagers and twentysomethings are less likely to binge drink. It's far cry from the situation, Jill Stark, found herself in ten years ago, when she released her book 'High Sobriety', about her 12 months off the booze.

More people, worldwide, are becoming 'sober-curious', and questioning their relationship with alcohol. Teenagers and twentysomethings are less likely to binge drink. It's far cry from the situation, Jill Stark, found herself in ten years ago, when she released her book 'High Sobriety', about her 12 months off the booze.

Australians are feeling the pinch of cost of living pressures.

Australians are feeling the pinch of cost of living pressures.

Cryptocurrencies are revolutionising the finance world as we know it. Fintech has produced a decentralised finance system that exists parallel to the traditional one, and it's difficult to move assets between the two. But is crypo in finance recreating the old problems? Or is it offering new solutions?

Cryptocurrencies are revolutionising the finance world as we know it. Fintech has produced a decentralised finance system that exists parallel to the traditional one, and it's difficult to move assets between the two. But is crypo in finance recreating the old problems? Or is it offering new solutions?

Extreme heat has negative effects on your health and we're experiencing more heatwaves due to climate change so how can we protect our health and lifestyle?And online learning versus face-to face....which is best?

Extreme heat has negative effects on your health and we're experiencing more heatwaves due to climate change so how can we protect our health and lifestyle?And online learning versus face-to face....which is best?

The 'Feared and Revered' exhibition, currently on display at the National Museum of Australia, explores how goddesses, demons, witches, spirits, and saints, have shaped our understanding of the world.  The exhibition celebrates a diverse range of female spiritual beings across cultural traditions and religions - like the Hindu goddess, Kali - and it examines feminine power and identity

The 'Feared and Revered' exhibition, currently on display at the National Museum of Australia, explores how goddesses, demons, witches, spirits, and saints, have shaped our understanding of the world.  The exhibition celebrates a diverse range of female spiritual beings across cultural traditions and religions - like the Hindu goddess, Kali - and it examines feminine power and identity

Is the war on drugs unwinnable? Illegal drugs are killing hundreds of millions of people worldwide, and the largest drug market is the US. Most drugs there come into the country via Latin and Central America. But counter-drug programs, local incentives and changes to drug policies in Latin America don't seem to break the steady supply of drugs. So, is it better to try and reduce the demand – or reconsider to punish drug possession?

Is the war on drugs unwinnable? Illegal drugs are killing hundreds of millions of people worldwide, and the largest drug market is the US. Most drugs there come into the country via Latin and Central America. But counter-drug programs, local incentives and changes to drug policies in Latin America don't seem to break the steady supply of drugs. So, is it better to try and reduce the demand – or reconsider to punish drug possession?

The war in Ukraine has up-ended the security landscape in Europe.The EU is using every measure , short of troops on the ground, to punish Putin and countries like Sweden and Finland want to join NATO .The Finnish Prime Minister , Sanna Marin, visited Australia recently to strengthen trade and security ties.

The war in Ukraine has up-ended the security landscape in Europe.The EU is using every measure , short of troops on the ground, to punish Putin and countries like Sweden and Finland want to join NATO .The Finnish Prime Minister , Sanna Marin, visited Australia recently to strengthen trade and security ties.

From the bush to our own backyards, the Eucalypt is the stalwart of the Australian landscape. With over 800 species spread across the country facing extreme heat, drought and bushfire, the future of the iconic eucalypt is tied to our own survival. From preserving genetic diversity and experimental adaptations, to applications of traditional knowledge – what solutions do we need to conserve our beloved gum tree?

From the bush to our own backyards, the Eucalypt is the stalwart of the Australian landscape. With over 800 species spread across the country facing extreme heat, drought and bushfire, the future of the iconic eucalypt is tied to our own survival. From preserving genetic diversity and experimental adaptations, to applications of traditional knowledge – what solutions do we need to conserve our beloved gum tree?

The best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world.

The best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world.

Australia belongs to a club you’d rather not join. We’re losing animal and plant species at an alarming rate. As one species goes extinct, it threatens the complex web of life that’s grown up around it. A three-part ABC TV documentary showcases our unique ecosystems and participants in the series join ABC science editor Jonathan Webb to discuss the need to preserve biodiversity.

Australia belongs to a club you’d rather not join. We’re losing animal and plant species at an alarming rate. As one species goes extinct, it threatens the complex web of life that’s grown up around it. A three-part ABC TV documentary showcases our unique ecosystems and participants in the series join ABC science editor Jonathan Webb to discuss the need to preserve biodiversity.

Empathy has power – to maintain relationships and prevent conflict. But can empathy be learned? It seems empathy has never been more important: From natural disasters and fallouts of the pandemic, to the surge of women's voices against harassment and the plight of refugees. It's a quality increasingly in demand in corporate, political and private life. Big Ideas explores how storytelling can improve empathy; and how empathy for fictional characters can get transferred to the real world.

Empathy has power – to maintain relationships and prevent conflict. But can empathy be learned? It seems empathy has never been more important: From natural disasters and fallouts of the pandemic, to the surge of women's voices against harassment and the plight of refugees. It's a quality increasingly in demand in corporate, political and private life. Big Ideas explores how storytelling can improve empathy; and how empathy for fictional characters can get transferred to the real world.

In an age of increasing tribalism, how can Australians break through groupthink and achieve bold reforms to address inequality? The answer is radical centre solutions. Shireen Morris was part of collaborative efforts which forged a progressive-conservative alliance in support of a First Nations voice. This taught her the value of engaging creatively across political and ideological divides.

In an age of increasing tribalism, how can Australians break through groupthink and achieve bold reforms to address inequality? The answer is radical centre solutions. Shireen Morris was part of collaborative efforts which forged a progressive-conservative alliance in support of a First Nations voice. This taught her the value of engaging creatively across political and ideological divides.

What does it mean to 'age well', what gets in the way, and what needs to change? Ageist attitudes can be a barrier to ageing well, as can residential aged care — which tends to discourage older people from being more independent. But we can learn from so called 'blue zones'- those places around the world where people enjoy longevity, coupled with quality of life.

What does it mean to 'age well', what gets in the way, and what needs to change? Ageist attitudes can be a barrier to ageing well, as can residential aged care — which tends to discourage older people from being more independent. But we can learn from so called 'blue zones'- those places around the world where people enjoy longevity, coupled with quality of life.

Governments argue if they spend too much on social services they’ll blow the budget. But economist Richard Denniss says that’s a choice not an iron law of economics. And ageing well at home or in residential care.  

Governments argue if they spend too much on social services they’ll blow the budget. But economist Richard Denniss says that’s a choice not an iron law of economics. And ageing well at home or in residential care.  

What exactly is the Metaverse? And is it really that new? Big Ideas explores our emotional connections to cyberspace, our feelings of presence and immediacy in online environments and what this means for the intensity of our experiences. Some of the technologies for the merging of the cyber and the physical are already used.

What exactly is the Metaverse? And is it really that new? Big Ideas explores our emotional connections to cyberspace, our feelings of presence and immediacy in online environments and what this means for the intensity of our experiences. Some of the technologies for the merging of the cyber and the physical are already used.

Is there an afterlife? How does your time on earth determine how you’ll spend eternity? Every culture has its own version of the answer to these questions. Tomson Highway says the Cree indigenous community doesn’t fear death. Your body and spirit simply returns to Mother Earth where your ancestors will always be with you.

Is there an afterlife? How does your time on earth determine how you’ll spend eternity? Every culture has its own version of the answer to these questions. Tomson Highway says the Cree indigenous community doesn’t fear death. Your body and spirit simply returns to Mother Earth where your ancestors will always be with you.

Why do humans exist? What is the meaning of life? Cree Indian writer, Tomson Highway,  says joy and laughter is the reason for existence .The Christian doctrine of sin and damnation , so much a part of his Catholic education , does not sit well with Cree Indian mythology. In this Massey lecture on humour, Tomson describes laughter as the elixir of life.

Why do humans exist? What is the meaning of life? Cree Indian writer, Tomson Highway,  says joy and laughter is the reason for existence .The Christian doctrine of sin and damnation , so much a part of his Catholic education , does not sit well with Cree Indian mythology. In this Massey lecture on humour, Tomson describes laughter as the elixir of life.

Monotheism imposes limits on our understanding of gender and the human body. In the world of Indigenous peoples,“the circle of pantheism has space for any number of genders”. So says Cree writer, musician and humorist, Tomson Highway, in this CBC Massey Lecture.

Monotheism imposes limits on our understanding of gender and the human body. In the world of Indigenous peoples,“the circle of pantheism has space for any number of genders”. So says Cree writer, musician and humorist, Tomson Highway, in this CBC Massey Lecture.

What do Christian, classical, and Cree mythologies contribute to Western thought and culture? And how does North American Indigenous mythologies provide unique, timeless solutions to our modern problems? Let's start with creation. How we think our world came to be shapes how people understand their place in it and their responsibly for nature.

What do Christian, classical, and Cree mythologies contribute to Western thought and culture? And how does North American Indigenous mythologies provide unique, timeless solutions to our modern problems? Let's start with creation. How we think our world came to be shapes how people understand their place in it and their responsibly for nature.

Defence and security analyst, Hugh White, is concerned Australia may be 'sleepwalking' to war with China, because of our alliance with America. He believes the US is unable to constrain a growing China in East Asia, nor win a future war against them over Taiwan. What does all this mean for our regional security, and our relationships with the US & China? Paul Barclay speaks to Hugh White, author of the Quarterly Essay, Sleepwalk to War, in which he also criticises the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, and our strategic and defence planning. Recorded at the Cinema Nova, for Readings bookstore, on June 29, 2022. Originally broadcast on July, 20, 2022. Speaker Hugh White — Emeritus Professor, strategic studies, ANU; principal author, Australia's 2000 Defence White Paper Presenter / producer – Paul Barclay Sound Engineer – David Le May

Defence and security analyst, Hugh White, is concerned Australia may be 'sleepwalking' to war with China, because of our alliance with America. He believes the US is unable to constrain a growing China in East Asia, nor win a future war against them over Taiwan. What does all this mean for our regional security, and our relationships with the US & China? Paul Barclay speaks to Hugh White, author of the Quarterly Essay, Sleepwalk to War, in which he also criticises the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, and our strategic and defence planning. Recorded at the Cinema Nova, for Readings bookstore, on June 29, 2022. Originally broadcast on July, 20, 2022. Speaker Hugh White — Emeritus Professor, strategic studies, ANU; principal author, Australia's 2000 Defence White Paper Presenter / producer – Paul Barclay Sound Engineer – David Le May

Much of medicine doesn't do what it is supposed to do: improve health. That is the view of orthopaedic surgeon, Ian Harris. He believes too many drugs are being prescribed, too much surgery is being performed, and there are too many unhelpful tests, scans, and overdiagnosis. The 'business' of medicine, Ian says, is taking precedence over what the science tells us. We should go back to the first principles of the Hippocratic oath and 'first, do no harm'. Ian Harris talks to Paul Barclay Recorded at the Williamstown Literary Festival on June 19, 2022. Originally broadcast on July 6, 2022. Speaker Ian Harris — Sydney based orthopaedic surgeon; Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of NSW; co-author, Hippocrasy

Much of medicine doesn't do what it is supposed to do: improve health. That is the view of orthopaedic surgeon, Ian Harris. He believes too many drugs are being prescribed, too much surgery is being performed, and there are too many unhelpful tests, scans, and overdiagnosis. The 'business' of medicine, Ian says, is taking precedence over what the science tells us. We should go back to the first principles of the Hippocratic oath and 'first, do no harm'. Ian Harris talks to Paul Barclay Recorded at the Williamstown Literary Festival on June 19, 2022. Originally broadcast on July 6, 2022. Speaker Ian Harris — Sydney based orthopaedic surgeon; Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of NSW; co-author, Hippocrasy

In a global community it’s more important than ever to understand what’s going on in the rest of the world. Despite instant communication over the internet there's nothing like the considered view of a seasoned foreign correspondent. They bring you the news from conflict zones, at high powered summits, or the views of ordinary citizens. But are they telling you the stories you want to hear? Who sets the news agenda?

In a global community it’s more important than ever to understand what’s going on in the rest of the world. Despite instant communication over the internet there's nothing like the considered view of a seasoned foreign correspondent. They bring you the news from conflict zones, at high powered summits, or the views of ordinary citizens. But are they telling you the stories you want to hear? Who sets the news agenda?

Queensland Chief Scientist Hugh Possingham is very annoyed with his fellow scientists as well as environmentalist and conservationists: They are too conservative, don’t debate respectfully, are too obsessed with growing their own organisations and can’t compromise a bit.

Queensland Chief Scientist Hugh Possingham is very annoyed with his fellow scientists as well as environmentalist and conservationists: They are too conservative, don’t debate respectfully, are too obsessed with growing their own organisations and can’t compromise a bit.

Make the most of your life and be at peace with death. Easy to say but hard to do.Death is not a topic we’re encouraged to talk about. But its shadow shapes many of the things we do.

Make the most of your life and be at peace with death. Easy to say but hard to do.Death is not a topic we’re encouraged to talk about. But its shadow shapes many of the things we do.

Australian, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, endured a living nightmare. She was arrested and convicted of espionage in Iran, and then sentenced to 10 years in prison. The charges were baseless; the trial was a sham. Kylie became a pawn in a high stakes geo-political negotiation. How did she survive over 800 days of interrogation, psychological torture, and imprisonment, in Iran? What did it take to free her? Why was she arrested in the first place? Paul Barclay talks to Kylie Moore-Gilbert. Recorded at the Queenscliffe Literary Festival, on May 14, 2022. Originally broadcast on June 8, 2022. Speaker: Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert — author; Middle East and Islam scholar.

Australian, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, endured a living nightmare. She was arrested and convicted of espionage in Iran, and then sentenced to 10 years in prison. The charges were baseless; the trial was a sham. Kylie became a pawn in a high stakes geo-political negotiation. How did she survive over 800 days of interrogation, psychological torture, and imprisonment, in Iran? What did it take to free her? Why was she arrested in the first place? Paul Barclay talks to Kylie Moore-Gilbert. Recorded at the Queenscliffe Literary Festival, on May 14, 2022. Originally broadcast on June 8, 2022. Speaker: Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert — author; Middle East and Islam scholar.

The impacts of climate change on our health are growing, as surely as global temperatures and sea levels are rising. So how can we strive to live as healthy people on an increasingly sick planet? What are the major ways global warming is threatening human health?

The impacts of climate change on our health are growing, as surely as global temperatures and sea levels are rising. So how can we strive to live as healthy people on an increasingly sick planet? What are the major ways global warming is threatening human health?

Is happiness the natural order of things and,  if so,  should you be worried if you’re not happy? And how our emotional experiences have changed over time and in different cultures. 

Is happiness the natural order of things and,  if so,  should you be worried if you’re not happy? And how our emotional experiences have changed over time and in different cultures. 

Some 116,000 people experience homelessness every night in Australia, and that number is expected to grow. What is it like to be homeless? What do those who've been in that awful circumstance think is the answer?

Some 116,000 people experience homelessness every night in Australia, and that number is expected to grow. What is it like to be homeless? What do those who've been in that awful circumstance think is the answer?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will revolutionise medicine, and help to combat climate change. But it also threatens to usher in a new age of automated drone warfare. With smart machines poised to take more decisions out of our hands, how can we ensure these decisions are ethical, moral, and in our interest? Paul Barclay talks to Toby Walsh about his book, Machines Behaving Badly Recorded at the Bendigo Writers Festival on May 15, 2022. Speaker: Toby Walsh — author and world leading researcher in Artificial Intelligence; professor of AI, University of NSW; leads research group at Data61, Australia's Centre of Excellence for ICT Research.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will revolutionise medicine, and help to combat climate change. But it also threatens to usher in a new age of automated drone warfare. With smart machines poised to take more decisions out of our hands, how can we ensure these decisions are ethical, moral, and in our interest? Paul Barclay talks to Toby Walsh about his book, Machines Behaving Badly Recorded at the Bendigo Writers Festival on May 15, 2022. Speaker: Toby Walsh — author and world leading researcher in Artificial Intelligence; professor of AI, University of NSW; leads research group at Data61, Australia's Centre of Excellence for ICT Research.

Are you a bird lover? Were you one of the many people to discover the delights of birdwatching during the pandemic lockdowns? Birds play a crucial role in our ecosystem, but their very existence is under threat. What can we do to protect the future for birdlife? In this discussion, we meet a panel of bird lovers who each share their different perspectives on the enduring allure of birds.

Are you a bird lover? Were you one of the many people to discover the delights of birdwatching during the pandemic lockdowns? Birds play a crucial role in our ecosystem, but their very existence is under threat. What can we do to protect the future for birdlife? In this discussion, we meet a panel of bird lovers who each share their different perspectives on the enduring allure of birds.

Is sex really a good thing? It’s one of the most broadly accepted assumptions of society. But a group of people begs to differ. They call themselves Asexuals and insist that no-sex is a distinct sexual identity. What do these contrasting ways of thinking about abstinence tell us about modern sexual anxieties

Is sex really a good thing? It’s one of the most broadly accepted assumptions of society. But a group of people begs to differ. They call themselves Asexuals and insist that no-sex is a distinct sexual identity. What do these contrasting ways of thinking about abstinence tell us about modern sexual anxieties

Without serious action by 2025 the planet is set to warm beyond one and a half degrees. That’s the unequivocal assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. To reach the target,  the IPCC says that governments should not approve more fossil fuel projects yet in Australia we continue to do so. A social scientist says our environmental protection laws need to be redesigned to give greater weight to the protection of future generations who’ll face the full impact of climate change.

Without serious action by 2025 the planet is set to warm beyond one and a half degrees. That’s the unequivocal assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. To reach the target,  the IPCC says that governments should not approve more fossil fuel projects yet in Australia we continue to do so. A social scientist says our environmental protection laws need to be redesigned to give greater weight to the protection of future generations who’ll face the full impact of climate change.

By electrifying virtually everything, we can solve the climate change crisis. Electric vehicles, electric heating, electric cooking, a decarbonised grid – all powered by renewables and batteries. This is the future Australia should be pursuing, argues inventor and entrepreneur, Saul Griffith, in his book, 'The Big Switch'..

By electrifying virtually everything, we can solve the climate change crisis. Electric vehicles, electric heating, electric cooking, a decarbonised grid – all powered by renewables and batteries. This is the future Australia should be pursuing, argues inventor and entrepreneur, Saul Griffith, in his book, 'The Big Switch'..

A good night's sleep is anything but quiet: a myriad of processes occupy our brains, crucial for every aspect of our waking lives. Our increased understanding of the neuroscience of sleep sheds light on why so many of us struggle to simply drift off.

A good night's sleep is anything but quiet: a myriad of processes occupy our brains, crucial for every aspect of our waking lives. Our increased understanding of the neuroscience of sleep sheds light on why so many of us struggle to simply drift off.

Women are warned that as they get older their fertility declines. The popular view is that men can father children at any age. But age is also a factor for fertility problems in men. There’s also a pronounced global decline in sperm counts. So what can men do to boost their chances of becoming a father?  

Women are warned that as they get older their fertility declines. The popular view is that men can father children at any age. But age is also a factor for fertility problems in men. There’s also a pronounced global decline in sperm counts. So what can men do to boost their chances of becoming a father?  

How do you get to the essence of an activity that is part sport, part leisure, and a large part cultural identity?

How do you get to the essence of an activity that is part sport, part leisure, and a large part cultural identity?

We are aware of the impact racism can have on black, Indigenous, and other racialized people. We condemn white supremacy and hate crimes. But what if the most harm to people of colour is caused by white 'progressives'? What if they are the problem, but they are in denial?

We are aware of the impact racism can have on black, Indigenous, and other racialized people. We condemn white supremacy and hate crimes. But what if the most harm to people of colour is caused by white 'progressives'? What if they are the problem, but they are in denial?

If you love overseas travel, and you’re used to jumping on a plane, the pandemic has been especially trying. International borders opened and closed , airlines reduced flights and quarantine rules could see you stranded in a hotel for two weeks at your own expense. British journalist Monisha Rajesh believes it’s the journey not the destination and so she decided to tour the world by train.

If you love overseas travel, and you’re used to jumping on a plane, the pandemic has been especially trying. International borders opened and closed , airlines reduced flights and quarantine rules could see you stranded in a hotel for two weeks at your own expense. British journalist Monisha Rajesh believes it’s the journey not the destination and so she decided to tour the world by train.

After almost 150 years of exploration and research we understand the sea is deep, dark and definitely different - the earth's last great frontier perhaps - but how much do we know of what's beneath the surface?

After almost 150 years of exploration and research we understand the sea is deep, dark and definitely different - the earth's last great frontier perhaps - but how much do we know of what's beneath the surface?

Is the weekend family time at your place or a work day like any other? In theory , the norm is five days and forty hours but in our 24/7 world, work extends around the clock. So is it time for a reset to reduce standard working hours to a four day thirty two hour week?

Is the weekend family time at your place or a work day like any other? In theory , the norm is five days and forty hours but in our 24/7 world, work extends around the clock. So is it time for a reset to reduce standard working hours to a four day thirty two hour week?

Australian politics was up-ended this year by the election of six 'teal' independents. The Greens, too, boosted their parliamentary representation. And, of course, there was change of a government, with Anthony Albanese becoming Prime Minister, defeating Scott Morrison. But writer, Tim Dunlop, believes it is the increase in the number of independent voices in parliament that has the potential to reinvigorate Australian politics and democracy.

Australian politics was up-ended this year by the election of six 'teal' independents. The Greens, too, boosted their parliamentary representation. And, of course, there was change of a government, with Anthony Albanese becoming Prime Minister, defeating Scott Morrison. But writer, Tim Dunlop, believes it is the increase in the number of independent voices in parliament that has the potential to reinvigorate Australian politics and democracy.

Being civil, good manners – that’s ideally how debate should be. But journalist Amy Remeikis says it’s time for women to wise-up and stop being nice because men in power use niceness as a weapon against them. It’s okay for men to forcefully prosecute an argument but not so for women or critics of the establishment. She deconstructs how the code of civility is used to maintain the status quo.

Being civil, good manners – that’s ideally how debate should be. But journalist Amy Remeikis says it’s time for women to wise-up and stop being nice because men in power use niceness as a weapon against them. It’s okay for men to forcefully prosecute an argument but not so for women or critics of the establishment. She deconstructs how the code of civility is used to maintain the status quo.

Anthropologist and Vietnam war veteran, Neville White, has been working with Yolngu people in North-East Arnhem land to help them build a homeland, and ensure their traditional land and culture is not lost to future generations Writer, Don Watson, tells of how Neville, his long-time friend, has spent over forty years, living and working with hunter-gatherer clans in remote Northern Australia.

Anthropologist and Vietnam war veteran, Neville White, has been working with Yolngu people in North-East Arnhem land to help them build a homeland, and ensure their traditional land and culture is not lost to future generations Writer, Don Watson, tells of how Neville, his long-time friend, has spent over forty years, living and working with hunter-gatherer clans in remote Northern Australia.

Although the signs were there, western Europe was caught on the hop when Russia invaded Ukraine. After two world wars, it seemed inconceivable that there’d be another land war in Europe. So was this wishful thinking or wilful blindness to the lessons of history? What does Russian history tell us about the prospects for the resolution of the war in Ukraine?

Although the signs were there, western Europe was caught on the hop when Russia invaded Ukraine. After two world wars, it seemed inconceivable that there’d be another land war in Europe. So was this wishful thinking or wilful blindness to the lessons of history? What does Russian history tell us about the prospects for the resolution of the war in Ukraine?

Trade strengthens ties between countries but it can also be used to punish. By way of example, Australian producers , caught in the crossfire between Australia and China  lost access to Chinese markets and Russia is feeling the sting of trade sanctions over Ukraine. But should trade be used as a weapon to solve political differences? The Director-General of the World Trade Organization makes the case for re-globalization , a revitalized global trading system to promote international security.

Trade strengthens ties between countries but it can also be used to punish. By way of example, Australian producers , caught in the crossfire between Australia and China  lost access to Chinese markets and Russia is feeling the sting of trade sanctions over Ukraine. But should trade be used as a weapon to solve political differences? The Director-General of the World Trade Organization makes the case for re-globalization , a revitalized global trading system to promote international security.

Do you feel like the world is increasingly destabilising? We have a war in Europe; curtailing of freedoms in China and growing tensions around Taiwan's position; we see the subjugation of women's rights in the US. That's on top of ongoing famines and conflicts in Africa; dire reports about the state of global warming; and a world economy that's bracing for recession and down turns in many countries. What's Australia's role in all of this? And how can we make sense of a world order in flux?

Do you feel like the world is increasingly destabilising? We have a war in Europe; curtailing of freedoms in China and growing tensions around Taiwan's position; we see the subjugation of women's rights in the US. That's on top of ongoing famines and conflicts in Africa; dire reports about the state of global warming; and a world economy that's bracing for recession and down turns in many countries. What's Australia's role in all of this? And how can we make sense of a world order in flux?

Bacteria are getting increasingly resistant against antibiotics and that means people could be at risk of dying in the millions. But new research uses viruses to fight bacterial infections – the so-called phase therapy. It's a practice that was used for centuries until antibiotics became available. It proves to be highly successful, and local sewage water may be key to solving the looming superbug crisis.

Bacteria are getting increasingly resistant against antibiotics and that means people could be at risk of dying in the millions. But new research uses viruses to fight bacterial infections – the so-called phase therapy. It's a practice that was used for centuries until antibiotics became available. It proves to be highly successful, and local sewage water may be key to solving the looming superbug crisis.

Transgender Australians, and sexual minorities, face exclusion and discrimination, including at work. To encourage diversity, support, and inclusion in the workplace, a number of organisations, and public institutions, including the ABC, have signed on to ACON's 'Pride in Diversity' Australian Workplace Equality Index. But not everybody is supportive of the AWEI program As with a similar scheme run by the LGBTQ charity, Stonewall, in the UK, some are questioning the role it plays.

Transgender Australians, and sexual minorities, face exclusion and discrimination, including at work. To encourage diversity, support, and inclusion in the workplace, a number of organisations, and public institutions, including the ABC, have signed on to ACON's 'Pride in Diversity' Australian Workplace Equality Index. But not everybody is supportive of the AWEI program As with a similar scheme run by the LGBTQ charity, Stonewall, in the UK, some are questioning the role it plays.

Big Ideas takes you on a trip down Christmas's unique and emotionally complex memory lane with Christmas carols. These songs bring back childhood experiences like few others. But Christmas carols are a quite recent tradition - only about 100 years old. The early ones sounded very different to the songs you hear everywhere today. 

Big Ideas takes you on a trip down Christmas's unique and emotionally complex memory lane with Christmas carols. These songs bring back childhood experiences like few others. But Christmas carols are a quite recent tradition - only about 100 years old. The early ones sounded very different to the songs you hear everywhere today. 

How much do you like casting your vote in elections? Australia has one of the best electoral systems in the world - with more equal access for everyone and less political spite than many other countries. Judith Brett assesses achievements of our elections and considers some arguments for improvement.

How much do you like casting your vote in elections? Australia has one of the best electoral systems in the world - with more equal access for everyone and less political spite than many other countries. Judith Brett assesses achievements of our elections and considers some arguments for improvement.

How do you live in a community facing suppression and violence every day? How do you live through an ongoing war? Or how do you cope with having to leave your home and family behind – for good? In a conflicted world, hope seems to be what gets people to cope with desperate situations. But it's not that straight forward. Hope can get you only so far – then you need more practical support.

How do you live in a community facing suppression and violence every day? How do you live through an ongoing war? Or how do you cope with having to leave your home and family behind – for good? In a conflicted world, hope seems to be what gets people to cope with desperate situations. But it's not that straight forward. Hope can get you only so far – then you need more practical support.

Who doesn’t love a koala? Foreign dignitaries visiting our shores are almost obliged to have their photo taken with a cuddly koala. But koalas are now on the endangered list and, if we’re not careful, in coming decades koalas will only be found in zoos and wildlife parks. They could be extinct in the wild. In the Blue Mountains west of Sydney scientists are hard at work to ensure koala survival.

Who doesn’t love a koala? Foreign dignitaries visiting our shores are almost obliged to have their photo taken with a cuddly koala. But koalas are now on the endangered list and, if we’re not careful, in coming decades koalas will only be found in zoos and wildlife parks. They could be extinct in the wild. In the Blue Mountains west of Sydney scientists are hard at work to ensure koala survival.

The Australian Antarctic Division will soon commence drilling a 3-kilometre-deep hole, to extract a million years' worth of glacial ice. Hidden in this ice are secrets of the earth's climate past. Discovering these secrets will help us better understand our changing climate, and the impact it's having, and will continue to have, on the planet. Paul Barclay speaks to two scientists and a writer about importance of Antarctic research.

The Australian Antarctic Division will soon commence drilling a 3-kilometre-deep hole, to extract a million years' worth of glacial ice. Hidden in this ice are secrets of the earth's climate past. Discovering these secrets will help us better understand our changing climate, and the impact it's having, and will continue to have, on the planet. Paul Barclay speaks to two scientists and a writer about importance of Antarctic research.

Respectful conversations are vital for democracy yet public discourse is increasingly polarized making it harder to bridge social and political divides. How can we breathe new life into our shared humanity? Scott Stephens tackles this question in his Simone Weil Lecture on Human Value, named in honour of the French philosopher.

Respectful conversations are vital for democracy yet public discourse is increasingly polarized making it harder to bridge social and political divides. How can we breathe new life into our shared humanity? Scott Stephens tackles this question in his Simone Weil Lecture on Human Value, named in honour of the French philosopher.

What is truth? How has it evolved? And what is its impact anyway? Evolutionary science shows that subtle social manipulation of fellow group members was a key driver of intelligence in the human lineage. And even animals use trickery to their advantage. Big Ideas looks at why we lie and why deception is so widespread in modern public discourse.

What is truth? How has it evolved? And what is its impact anyway? Evolutionary science shows that subtle social manipulation of fellow group members was a key driver of intelligence in the human lineage. And even animals use trickery to their advantage. Big Ideas looks at why we lie and why deception is so widespread in modern public discourse.

Do you argue across the dinner table about saving the world? Some say it’s up to individuals, others want governments to fix the problem. Then there’s the follow-the-money view that business and the market will save us. But is capitalism part of the problem not the solution?

Do you argue across the dinner table about saving the world? Some say it’s up to individuals, others want governments to fix the problem. Then there’s the follow-the-money view that business and the market will save us. But is capitalism part of the problem not the solution?

How do we reign in the social media juggernauts? The power of Facebook, Google, Twitter etc, is well recognised, as are the harms caused by these monoliths: breaches of privacy, fake news that can threaten democracy, manipulation, abuse, and hate speech. Most agree we need better governance of digital platforms, but how can we regulate them, without over-reaching?

How do we reign in the social media juggernauts? The power of Facebook, Google, Twitter etc, is well recognised, as are the harms caused by these monoliths: breaches of privacy, fake news that can threaten democracy, manipulation, abuse, and hate speech. Most agree we need better governance of digital platforms, but how can we regulate them, without over-reaching?

Does history exist without the witness of an historian? Bruce Pascoe is reminding us that history is constantly changing as we learn new facts or new interpretations of the past. Who is to write our history? Only academics or can everyone do it? How much is history shaped by the views of the ones in power? This question is particularly pertinent for Indigenous history prior to European settlement.

Does history exist without the witness of an historian? Bruce Pascoe is reminding us that history is constantly changing as we learn new facts or new interpretations of the past. Who is to write our history? Only academics or can everyone do it? How much is history shaped by the views of the ones in power? This question is particularly pertinent for Indigenous history prior to European settlement.

Bob Hawke loomed large in Australian politics in the 1980s and continued to be an influential Labor thinker until the end. Fondly remembered as a true blue Aussie, a new biography charts his public success and private demons.

Bob Hawke loomed large in Australian politics in the 1980s and continued to be an influential Labor thinker until the end. Fondly remembered as a true blue Aussie, a new biography charts his public success and private demons.

The state of biodiversity in Australia and around the world is a sad and sobering affair. 96 per cent of mammals are humans and their farm animals, all the other mammals combined – globally – make up the remaining 4 per cent. And yet we are killing them at an alarming rate. Ian Lowe assesses our efforts to reverse biodiversity loss, to fight climate change and possibly save a planet for us to live on.

The state of biodiversity in Australia and around the world is a sad and sobering affair. 96 per cent of mammals are humans and their farm animals, all the other mammals combined – globally – make up the remaining 4 per cent. And yet we are killing them at an alarming rate. Ian Lowe assesses our efforts to reverse biodiversity loss, to fight climate change and possibly save a planet for us to live on.

It is one of only two certainties in life, as the saying goes, but most of us go out of our way to avoid thinking about it: death. Talking about death, and dying, has long been a taboo subject. But, maybe, this is changing. A panel explores how we understand death, dying, and grieving; how we discuss death with children; and the stories we tell ourselves, and our loved ones about it, as adults. Presenter - Paul Barclay Producer - Paul Barclay Soundengineer - David Le May

It is one of only two certainties in life, as the saying goes, but most of us go out of our way to avoid thinking about it: death. Talking about death, and dying, has long been a taboo subject. But, maybe, this is changing. A panel explores how we understand death, dying, and grieving; how we discuss death with children; and the stories we tell ourselves, and our loved ones about it, as adults. Presenter - Paul Barclay Producer - Paul Barclay Soundengineer - David Le May

As Australia’s population expands wild places shrink. To protect the remaining patches we want to lock it up and keep people out. But what exactly is wilderness? Is it a place untouched by human hands? An indigenous geographer says that what we call wilderness is not nature left to its own devices but the result of thousands of years of indigenous landcare.

As Australia’s population expands wild places shrink. To protect the remaining patches we want to lock it up and keep people out. But what exactly is wilderness? Is it a place untouched by human hands? An indigenous geographer says that what we call wilderness is not nature left to its own devices but the result of thousands of years of indigenous landcare.

We're trying to increase green space in the urban jungle by planting on walls, rooftops , verges , in parks and community gardens.   And not just because plants are pretty to look at. They’re vital for our survival from the air we breathe,  to the food we eat, to keeping us cool and they help offset carbon emissions.

We're trying to increase green space in the urban jungle by planting on walls, rooftops , verges , in parks and community gardens.   And not just because plants are pretty to look at. They’re vital for our survival from the air we breathe,  to the food we eat, to keeping us cool and they help offset carbon emissions.

China is ramping up its power and influence in our neighbourhood. We were blindsided by their recent security agreement with the Solomons and now our government is on a charm offensive to restore Australia’s position and influence across the Pacific.  So what are the risks for Australia of China’s strong presence in our region and in particular, the security pact with the Solomon Islands.

China is ramping up its power and influence in our neighbourhood. We were blindsided by their recent security agreement with the Solomons and now our government is on a charm offensive to restore Australia’s position and influence across the Pacific.  So what are the risks for Australia of China’s strong presence in our region and in particular, the security pact with the Solomon Islands.

All around the world, national security laws are being used to muzzle journalists, and constrain the operation of a free media. In Australia, a raft of national security legislation has been used against journalists – including those at the ABC and News Corp. Journalist, Peter Greste, was imprisoned in Egypt under that country's anti- terrorism laws, and he believes Australia needs a Media Freedom Act, to protect public interest journalism.

All around the world, national security laws are being used to muzzle journalists, and constrain the operation of a free media. In Australia, a raft of national security legislation has been used against journalists – including those at the ABC and News Corp. Journalist, Peter Greste, was imprisoned in Egypt under that country's anti- terrorism laws, and he believes Australia needs a Media Freedom Act, to protect public interest journalism.

How can the LGBTI and trans community respond to the backlash of the global anti-gender movements? These movements are trying to restrict or deny them access to human rights, legal gender recognition and gender affirming healthcare. On Big Ideas, a panel of trans activists comments on the 'transing' of gender as a practice of freedom, analyses how identity can be a problem and why despite all the struggle there is scope for optimism.

How can the LGBTI and trans community respond to the backlash of the global anti-gender movements? These movements are trying to restrict or deny them access to human rights, legal gender recognition and gender affirming healthcare. On Big Ideas, a panel of trans activists comments on the 'transing' of gender as a practice of freedom, analyses how identity can be a problem and why despite all the struggle there is scope for optimism.

Australia’s secrets are guarded by intelligence agencies like the Australian Signals Directorate and Rachel Noble is the first woman to head the ASD. The ASD has two jobs : to reveal the secrets of others while protecting our own- that’s the agency motto. Rachel talks about the history of women in intelligence and her steps to encourage women into a career at the ASD.

Australia’s secrets are guarded by intelligence agencies like the Australian Signals Directorate and Rachel Noble is the first woman to head the ASD. The ASD has two jobs : to reveal the secrets of others while protecting our own- that’s the agency motto. Rachel talks about the history of women in intelligence and her steps to encourage women into a career at the ASD.

Climate change will impact all parts of our life.It's been identified as a national security risk as natural disasters and unseasonal weather displace populations, disrupt food production and fuel regional social and political instability.

Climate change will impact all parts of our life.It's been identified as a national security risk as natural disasters and unseasonal weather displace populations, disrupt food production and fuel regional social and political instability.

Engaging with art is shown to have health benefits and is recommended as a form of therapy for those experiencing mental illness. It is also a vital form of expression and connection for those who feel marginalised and oppressed.

Engaging with art is shown to have health benefits and is recommended as a form of therapy for those experiencing mental illness. It is also a vital form of expression and connection for those who feel marginalised and oppressed.

There are few things more in common across cultures than the belief in ghosts. It's part of the very essence of what it is to be human – as evidenced in thousands-of-year-old artefacts and even concepts in modern religions. British Museum curator Irving Finkel explains ancient rituals of how to live with ghosts, how to get rid of them (and bring them back) and how to avoid becoming one. He has embarked upon an ancient ghost hunt, scouring these tablets to unlock the secrets of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians to breathe new life into the first ghost stories ever written.

There are few things more in common across cultures than the belief in ghosts. It's part of the very essence of what it is to be human – as evidenced in thousands-of-year-old artefacts and even concepts in modern religions. British Museum curator Irving Finkel explains ancient rituals of how to live with ghosts, how to get rid of them (and bring them back) and how to avoid becoming one. He has embarked upon an ancient ghost hunt, scouring these tablets to unlock the secrets of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians to breathe new life into the first ghost stories ever written.

It’s one year since the Taliban swept through Afghanistan and ousted the elected government. Life changed overnight for millions of Afghan women and the economy took a nosedive. While the west imposed sanctions , western humanitarian aid continues to flow into the country.But under Taliban rule, can aid agencies improve the lives of ordinary Afghans?

It’s one year since the Taliban swept through Afghanistan and ousted the elected government. Life changed overnight for millions of Afghan women and the economy took a nosedive. While the west imposed sanctions , western humanitarian aid continues to flow into the country.But under Taliban rule, can aid agencies improve the lives of ordinary Afghans?

Australia is a land of plenty, yet 35 years after Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, pledged no child would live in poverty, one in six children are currently in this very predicament. Many children struggle to get a roof over their head, and enough food into their mouth.  What underpins poverty in Australia, and what needs to be done to alleviate it?  Paul Barclay moderates a panel discussion hosted by PeakCare.  Recorded October 17, 2022, at Queensland Parliament House Speakers Natalie Lewis — Queensland Family and Child Commissioner.   Dr Sharon Bessell – Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU; director, Children's Policy Centre, and Poverty and Inequality Research Centre.   Cath Bartolo – CEO, Youth and Family Services, Logan, SE Queensland.  Paul Barclay - presenter / producer David Le May - sound engineer

Australia is a land of plenty, yet 35 years after Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, pledged no child would live in poverty, one in six children are currently in this very predicament. Many children struggle to get a roof over their head, and enough food into their mouth.  What underpins poverty in Australia, and what needs to be done to alleviate it?  Paul Barclay moderates a panel discussion hosted by PeakCare.  Recorded October 17, 2022, at Queensland Parliament House Speakers Natalie Lewis — Queensland Family and Child Commissioner.   Dr Sharon Bessell – Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU; director, Children's Policy Centre, and Poverty and Inequality Research Centre.   Cath Bartolo – CEO, Youth and Family Services, Logan, SE Queensland.  Paul Barclay - presenter / producer David Le May - sound engineer

Climate change is a threat to the food we produce and the way we produce it. Vulnerable Pacific island nations will need enhanced support from Australian aid and research and Australian farmers are focused on enhancing their clean and green reputation .  

Climate change is a threat to the food we produce and the way we produce it. Vulnerable Pacific island nations will need enhanced support from Australian aid and research and Australian farmers are focused on enhancing their clean and green reputation .  

Many countries are pushing back against the millions of refugees on their doorstep. But Australia has one of the harshest responses to those seeking asylum by boat. Offshore detention began with the infamous Tampa affair twenty years ago. Afghan refugee Abbas Nazari was on board the Tampa and he's written the story of his life after his family's perilous journey from Afghanistan.

Many countries are pushing back against the millions of refugees on their doorstep. But Australia has one of the harshest responses to those seeking asylum by boat. Offshore detention began with the infamous Tampa affair twenty years ago. Afghan refugee Abbas Nazari was on board the Tampa and he's written the story of his life after his family's perilous journey from Afghanistan.

Investigative journalism is changing, and it's as powerful as never before. That's despite the increasing threats to journalists' lives and media freedom around the world. Formerly competing journalists are now working together, crowdfunding is financing research and computer powers is dealing with the details of secret documents.

Investigative journalism is changing, and it's as powerful as never before. That's despite the increasing threats to journalists' lives and media freedom around the world. Formerly competing journalists are now working together, crowdfunding is financing research and computer powers is dealing with the details of secret documents.

In 1967 Ronald Ryan became the last person to be executed in Australia but around the world thousands of people face death for everything from murder to political protest to challenging religious authority. Can these countries be persuaded to give up the death penalty? Why did we abolish it in Australia?

In 1967 Ronald Ryan became the last person to be executed in Australia but around the world thousands of people face death for everything from murder to political protest to challenging religious authority. Can these countries be persuaded to give up the death penalty? Why did we abolish it in Australia?

Is America a declining global power, more inward looking, and less interested in asserting itself internationally? Or, is it still the same old hegemonic power, albeit a little ragged around the edges, from fighting its longest war, in a country it was forced to flee in humiliating circumstances, leaving vulnerable locals to fend for themselves, in the face of merciless regime?

Is America a declining global power, more inward looking, and less interested in asserting itself internationally? Or, is it still the same old hegemonic power, albeit a little ragged around the edges, from fighting its longest war, in a country it was forced to flee in humiliating circumstances, leaving vulnerable locals to fend for themselves, in the face of merciless regime?

A crisis in human fertility is expected to decrease population numbers to a degree that we’ll be unable to reverse. Despite current pressures on the environment and resources, that global trend won’t end well. Big Ideas discusses the drivers of our declining fertility. It will take drastic social, political, environmental and lifestyle changes to reduce the severity of a future era of depopulation. 

A crisis in human fertility is expected to decrease population numbers to a degree that we’ll be unable to reverse. Despite current pressures on the environment and resources, that global trend won’t end well. Big Ideas discusses the drivers of our declining fertility. It will take drastic social, political, environmental and lifestyle changes to reduce the severity of a future era of depopulation. 

Have you bounced back or are you feeling anxious and depressed after two pandemic years? Many people admit that they’re struggling but the health system is stretched to the limit. What needs to change to prioritize mental health?

Have you bounced back or are you feeling anxious and depressed after two pandemic years? Many people admit that they’re struggling but the health system is stretched to the limit. What needs to change to prioritize mental health?

Millions of people have quit their jobs, changed careers or decided not to put their hand-up for promotion. It’s been called The Great Resignation or Quiet Quitting where more of us are deciding we want a better work life balance.

Millions of people have quit their jobs, changed careers or decided not to put their hand-up for promotion. It’s been called The Great Resignation or Quiet Quitting where more of us are deciding we want a better work life balance.

Two books about Wuhan and Hong Kong provide an insight into the modus operandi of China's communist party government, and the impact its repression has had on the citizens of these cities. Telling the stories of what happened in these two cities was not an easy task for writers Murong Xuecun and Louisa Lim.

Two books about Wuhan and Hong Kong provide an insight into the modus operandi of China's communist party government, and the impact its repression has had on the citizens of these cities. Telling the stories of what happened in these two cities was not an easy task for writers Murong Xuecun and Louisa Lim.

Between the 1950s and 1980s an estimated 200,000 children were adopted by families in America, Europe and Australia. Adoptees are now seeking to connect with their place of birth and to understand the reasons why so many were sent abroad.

Between the 1950s and 1980s an estimated 200,000 children were adopted by families in America, Europe and Australia. Adoptees are now seeking to connect with their place of birth and to understand the reasons why so many were sent abroad.

Smoking has killed about 100 million people in the last century. And the toll is expected to reach one billion. Besides the human, there are also enormous economic costs connected to tobacco consumption. While progress has clearly been made, why have decades of public health campaigns, restrictive regulation and extra taxes not crushed Big Tobacco by now? 

Smoking has killed about 100 million people in the last century. And the toll is expected to reach one billion. Besides the human, there are also enormous economic costs connected to tobacco consumption. While progress has clearly been made, why have decades of public health campaigns, restrictive regulation and extra taxes not crushed Big Tobacco by now?