Big Ideas

Failure is a part of life, whether we like it or not. While most of us don't ever want to fail, failure does have things to teach us — about ourselves, about resilience, about persistence, and about doing the things we love. Over six years, Siang Lu received more than 200 rejections from publishers for three manuscripts — before going on to publish a Miles Franklin award winning novel. What did he learn about failure, and what did it teach him about success?The 2025 E.W Cole Lecture was recorded on 20 November 2025 at The Wheeler Centre, Australia's first dedicated centre for books, writing and ideas. Explore more discussions like this one on The Wheeler Centre podcast — available wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow @wheelercentre for updates.SpeakersSiang LuAuthor, Ghost Cities (2025 Miles Franklin Award), The WhitewashCo-founder (with Jonathan O'Brien), The Beige IndexToni Jordan (host)Author, Tenderfoot, Addition, Dinner with the Schnabels and more

Misinformation, disinformation, deep fakes, false news — do you feel confident spotting them? They’re doing real harm to our relationships, our communities, our health, even to the future health of our democracy. New research has found 73% of Australians believe disinformation will be a major threat to our national security in the next decade. Former Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers believes we can’t afford to be complacent. Australia is only one of 29 fully fledged democracies in the world and three quarters of the global population lives in autocracies, the highest since the 1980s. Join Natasha Mitchell and guests to discuss why media literacy matters. This event was organised by ABC Education with the Australian Media Literacy Alliance. Watch The Matter of Facts with Hamish Macdonald on ABC Iview.SpeakersTom Rogers Former Australian Electoral Commissioner Distinguished advisor, ANU National security College Australia’s advisor to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). Professor Michael Dezuanni Chair of the Australian Media Literacy Alliance Chief investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child Program Leader, Digital Inclusion and Participation QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Paula Kruger CEO, Media Diversity Australia Former journalist and broadcaster Former manager, community radio station 2SER. Thanks to head of ABC Education Annabel Astbury and event producer Grace Ernestine.

In more than 40 years on the front lines of international human rights Alex Neve has heard Canada described as ‘the land of human rights’ — and seen the profound ways Canada has failed to uphold universal human rights, both at home and abroad. In his final Massey Lecture, he lays out his vision for a way forward.Lecture five and last of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that universal human rights begin in “small places, close to home — so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world.” In his fourth Massey Lecture, Alex Neve reflects on moments when people power won the Lecture four of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

Our inherent human rights belong to us from the moment we are born. There is nothing we need to do to earn them, and they are supposed to apply to us until the day we die. But in his third Massey Lecture, Alex Neve argues the powerful have made human rights a ‘club.’Lecture three of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

The ideals behind the concept of human rights — such as the sacredness of life, reciprocity, justice and fairness — have millennia-old histories. After the carnage of the Second World War and the Holocaust, these ideas took a new legal form. In his second Massey Lecture, Alex Neve considers six dizzying years that laid out a blueprint for a new world.Lecture two of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

Human rights are universal, right? For everyone, everywhere, without exception. That promise, born out of the Holocaust and World War II, has been broken repeatedly. But in a time of fear and fracture, can we renew it? World-renowned Canadian human rights activist and lawyer Alex Neve has seen the best and worse of humanity. He's worked in war zones in Darfur and Eastern Chad, with detainees in Guantánamo Bay, on reconciliation for Indigenous communities in Canada, and beyond. In this special series, his stirring words will cut deep, bring clarity, shine a spotlight on the past, and offer hope for troubled times.Don't miss this first lecture "Renewing the promise of human rights" in his 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldLecture one of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

This episode explores the past and present expectations and experiences of Australian fathers, in the workforce, domestic duties, and child-rearing, and examines how their roles have also shaped the lives of mothers, children, and society.These conversations were recorded at the launch of the book Fathering: An Australian History at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria.SpeakersFathering and Mothering:Professor Jacqui McDonaldConvenor of the Australian Fatherhood Research Consortium, Deakin UniversityAssociate Professor Richard FletcherFathers and Families Research Program at the University of NewcastlePrincipal Investigator with the SMS4dads & SMS4DeadlyDads support linesEmeritus Professor Alistair ThomsonMonash UniversityCo-author, Fathering: An Australian HistoryDr Johnny BellMonash UniversityCo-author, Fathering: An Australian HistoryProfessor Michelle Arrow (host)President of the Australian Historical AssociationFathering and Work:Belinda ProbertSocial scientist, academic and author, Bill's Secrets: Love, War and AmbitionProfessor Sean ScalmerUniversity of MelbourneAuthor, A Fair Day's Work: The Quest to Win Back TimeEmeritus Professor John MurphyUniversity of MelbourneCo-author, Fathering: An Australian History

Dive into the world of heroin chic and Girl Power to make sense of the mixed messages Millennial women experienced as they came of age. Before social media warped our sense of self, other aggressive forces were at work, hellbent on exploiting feminism for profit, and taking women down while they did. Sophie Gilbert, a Pulitizer-nominated culture writer with The Atlantic, investigates the impacts in her eye-opening book Girl on Girl: How pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves.This event was hosted and produced by The Wheeler Centre in Naarm/Melbourne. Check out its full event schedule.SpeakersSophie GilbertStaff writer, The AtlanticAuthor, Girl on Girl: How pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves (2025)Kate Jinx (host)Writer, critic, film curatorSenior programmer, Melbourne International Film Festival

She's attracted controversy and cancellation, but Palestinian Australian author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah has not been deterred from speaking out about the plight of Palestinians in the war on Gaza, and the experience of Muslim Australians since 9/11. At this event organised in the wake of the cancellation of Adelaide Writers' Week, she joins that festival's former Director Louise Adler, to talk about her latest novel, Discipline, and the experience of art imitating life.This conversation was recorded at the Adelaide Town Hall as part of the Constellations: Not Writers' Week festival on 1 March 2026.SpeakersDr Randa Abdel-FattahAuthor, Discipline (winner of the People's Choice Award at the 2026 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards), Does My Head Look Big in This? and Coming of Age in the War on TerrorFuture Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Macquarie UniversityLouise Adler (host) Former Director, Adelaide Writers' WeekFormer CEO, Melbourne University PressFormer editor-at-large, Hachette Australia

When a violent crime makes the news, mental illness is often part of the story. But how that story is told, the words chosen, the details included, the connections drawn, has consequences that ripple far beyond the news cycle. For people living with schizophrenia or psychosis, irresponsible reporting isn't just frustrating. It affects how neighbours treat them, how employers see them, and how they see themselves. For the general public, sensationalised coverage quietly builds a picture of mental illness that is distorted, fear-driven and simply not accurate.Mad, Bad or Misrepresented? Media, Mental Illness and the Stories We Tell was presented on last year's World Mental Health Day by Mental Ill-Health Stigma Researchers Australia Network (MISRA), the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, and the Melbourne School of Global and Population Health.SpeakersDr Anna RossSenior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Population and Global HealthTim HeffernanFormer NSW Deputy Mental Health Commissioner; Chair of the advocacy organisation BEING — Mental Health ConsumersGayle McNaughtManager, StigmaWatch SANE AustraliaDr Chris Groot (host)Senior Lecturer, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences; Co-founder of Mental Ill-Health Stigma Researchers Australia Network (MISRA)Further informationStigmaWatchMindframe and the Mindframe guidelines

Over five decades, one single, sprawling dominion, from Yemen to Myanmar, became twelve modern nations. This is the story of how the actions of politicians in London and revolutionaries in Delhi, princes in remote palaces and soldiers in trenches, redrew the map of British India, uprooting millions, and leaving a legacy that explains much about the region today.This conversation was recorded at the Ubud Writers Festival in Bali, Indonesia.SpeakersSam Dalrymple Author, Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern AsiaCo-founder, Project DastaanFilmmaker, Child of Empire, Lost MigrationsHusnara KhanomPoet, writer, and researcher

Nobel Prize winning work often happens in a young scientist's 20s or 30s — early in their careers. Are the conditions right in Australian universities today for young, hungry minds to do what Nobel laureates Brian Schmidt, Peter Doherty and Rolf Zinkernagel did in the 1990s and 1970s at the Australian National University in Canberra? The three join Big Ideas presenter Natasha Mitchell and a huge crowd at the ANU to talk curiosity, discovery, the future of science, and more.This event was organised and hosted by the Australian National University and the Embassy of Switzerland in AustraliaSpeakersProfessor Peter DohertyImmunologist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine University of MelbourneProfessor Brian SchmidtAstrophysicist and winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize for PhysicsAustralian National UniversityProfessor Rolf Zinkernagel Immunologist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine University of Zurich, SwitzerlandWith thanks to Swiss Ambassador His Excellency Mr Nikolas Stürchler, ANU Deputy Vice Chancellor (academic) Professor Joan Leach, and ANU's Jamie Kidston, Dharmesh Panvelkar, and technical team.Further readingBrian Schmidt on securing Australia's sovereign research capability, National Press Club, 2025Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt is ‘scared’ about Australia’s research capacity – this is why (The Conversation, 2025)Brian P. Schmidt's submission in response to the Australian Universities Accord Discussion PaperThe Knowledge Wars by Peter Doherty (Melbourne University Publishing, 2025)

Presenting a road map to a world with fewer Putins and Kim Jong Uns. Political scientist Marcel Dirsus exposes the precarious reality behind the façade of the dictator's absolute power, and the remarkable ways in which even the most ruthless despots can be felt. Gareth Evans, Geoffrey Robertson, Tobias Buck and Dorcy Rugama take a closer look at crimes against humanity. When is reconciliation possible? Are international courts still useful? How important is truth telling?How Tyrants rise (and fall) was recorded live at the 2025 Sydney Writers' Festival at Sydney Town Hall.SpeakerDr Marcel DirsusPolitical scientist, author of How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations SurviveNon-Resident Fellow at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University (ISPK); member of the Standing Expert Committee Terrorism and Interior Security at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in GermanyCrimes against Humanity was presented at Adelaide Writers' WeekSpeakersTobias BuckManaging Editor of the Financial TimesAuthor of Final Verdict: A Holocaust Trail in the Twenty-first CenturyGeoffrey RobertsonAustralian-British barrister, academic, broadcaster and author — among others of Crimes Against HumanityDorcy RugambaRwandan writer, playwright, and director.Author of Hewa Rwanda, Letter to the Absent Gareth Evans AC (host)Former cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor governments, former president and CEO of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group

The inaugural ABC National Forum is a live, televised panel discussion bringing together Jewish Australians to examine their lives in Australia in 2026, amid a sharp rise in antisemitism since October 7, 2023. Moderated by Insiders presenter and National Political Lead David Speers, the forum launches a new series designed to create a space for Australians to confront major national challenges and seek common ground.

The roots of antisemitism run deep. Christians and Muslims have told stories for centuries about Jewish people. Stories that have weaponised the relationships among these world religions. In a world of ongoing conflict, how do we recognise, and then bridge, the divide of religious prejudice? This is a special episode of Big Ideas, prepared by the ABC's specialist religion and ethics team.The best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world.GuestsAmy-Jill LevineRabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace.Magda Teter Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies and Professor of History at Fordham University. Adis Duderija Associate Professor of Islam and Society at Griffith University. Geoffrey Levey Associate Professor of Political Science at University of New South Wales.Rabbi Zalman KastelFounder of Together for Humanity.

A global pandemic, a foreign war, a failed referendum on Indigenous rights, increasing inequality and a fractured media — these and other forces have been causing deep divisions in Australian society. So how can we instead focus on the ties that bind this country together, to reconcile our differences and foster community? What can be done to strengthen our social cohesion?The 2026 Menzies Oration was recorded at Federation University with the Menzies Leadership Foundation on 18 February 2026.SpeakersHugh de Kretser President, Australian Human Rights CommissionerLiz Gillies (host) CEO, Menzies Leadership Foundation

In March 2021, Afghanistan's Taliban rulers banned female students over the age of 12 from singing in public. The prohibition sparked a wave of online protests across the country, with women and girls posting videos of themselves singing, using the hashtag "I am my song". Aged just 14, Nila Ibrahimi's song, Boro Bakhair Ba Maktab or "Go to school" became an anthem of the movement.The 2025 Gandhi Oration was recorded at University of NSW Centre for Ideas on 2 October 2025.SpeakersNila IbrahimiAfghan refugee, advocate and activist, co-founder and president Herstory, winner of the 2024 International Children's Peace Prize, university studentVerity Firth (host) Professor of Practice at the School of Education, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, Vice-President Societal Impact, Equity and Engagement, University of New South Wales, former New South Wales Minister for Women and Minister for EducationFurther informationCommunity Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRSA) program, based on the Canadian modelCommunity Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP)Support Association for the Women of Afghanistan (SAWA)

The Panopticon was a prison design by the famous philosopher and social reformer Jeremy Bentham which placed prison guards in a central tower overlooking inmates. So why does scientist and climate advocate Tim Flannery want us to re-imagine the Panopticon as a path towards a more compassionate society? And why does he find warmth and connection even in conflicted communities angry about climate change policies?This event was hosted by RMIT University and Now or Never, Melbourne's festival of art, ideas, sound, technology.SpeakerTim FlanneryPaleontologist, climate and environment advocate, author, and former Australian of the Year.Hilary Harper (host)ABC Radio National presenter

Join acclaimed author and human rights advocate Thomas Mayo and media icon Ray Martin AM as they deliver two powerful orations on justice, reconciliation, and the future of Australia. Thomas Mayo invites us to imagine a reconciled Australia that has learned from its history and forged new pathways forward. Ray Martin is demanding we stop talking and start acting on social justice for Aboriginal people. Two voices. Two generations of advocacy. One urgent question: who will we become?The Walyalup Oration is a centrepiece of the City of Fremantle's annual Truth-telling and Focus First Nation Films Program. In The Walyalup Oration leading thinkers in the fields of Indigenous/colonial relations offer their insights into creating a fairer, (re)conciled and more prosperous future for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.The Joan Kirner Social Justice Oration was hosted by the Institute of Community Directors Australia as part of the Communities in Control series.SpeakersThomas MayoKaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander human rights advocate and renowned author among other books of Always Was, Always Will Be (2024) and Dear Son: Letters and Reflections from First Nations Fathers and Sons (2021)Ray MartinAward-winning journalist and television presenter who has reported for and/or presented some of TV's highest-profile current affairs and variety shows of recent decades.

Universities are under pressure — particularly the study of subjects like languages, history, social sciences and the creative arts. This lecture looks back to a time, post war, when governments turned to universities to transform Australia's economy and society, and backed it up with significant investment and oversight. In the face of contemporary challenges, is it time once again to rethink the purpose of universities — and particularly the study of the humanities — to equip Australia with the skills it needs to survive and thrive in the 21st century?Stephen Garton's Australian Academy of the Humanities Annual Lecture "When Universities Mattered" was recorded on 12 November 2025.An edited version of this lecture is published in the March issue of the Australian Book Review.SpeakersStephen Garton Professor of history, President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Sydney, former Dean of the Faculty of ArtsFrom the archives:Is our university system broken? With Emeritus Professor Graeme Turner and Dr Ben Eltham, Big Ideas, 4 September 2025Further information:Vale Graeme Turner Australian Academy of the Humanities obituary, November 2025

As Bridgerton continues to captivate millions and we just marked the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, the Regency era has never been more thrilling. But how much must you know about corsets and carriages before you can break the rules? What's behind Bridgerton's runaway success? Should we love or loathe what it does with Regency history? Indeed, what would Jane Austen think of it all?Presented at the History Unbound Historical Novel FestivalSpeakersAlison GoodmanWriter of crime, fantasy and historical fiction; her latest release is The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin, the second book in the Ill-Mannered Ladies seriesKelly GardinerAuthor of historical fiction and co-author of the crime novel Miss Caroline Bingley, Private DetectiveSharmini KumarFounder and Artistic Director of 24 Carrot Productions; co-author of the crime novel Miss Caroline Bingley, Private DetectiveElizabeth Leydin (host)Author of Recency romance novels (aka Pamela Hart aka Pamela Freeman)

Feeling a little world weary? Is Stoicism the philosophy you need a little more of in your life? Can an introvert be your guide to getting out the front door? Jenny Valentish's latest book is The Introvert's Guide to Leaving the House: Solid advice for introverts, awkwards, sociophobes and stand-offishes. Brigid Delaney is author of The Secret and the Sage: A Stoic Conversation to Hold you Together in a Fractured World. What happens when a self-described introvert prepared to go out on a limb, and a fan of the Stoics share a stage? Tune in for a few life hacks.Thanks to the Queenscliffe Literary Festival held on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula each year in October.SpeakersBrigid DelaneyJournalist, author, screenwriter (Wellmania), former ministerial speechwriterFounder, Stoic SolutionsAuthor, The Secret and the Sage: A Stoic Conversation to Hold you Together in a Fractured World.Reasons Not to Worry: How to Be Stoic in Chaotic TimesWellmania: Misadventures in the Search for WellnessJenny ValentishJournalist, author, editor, writing teacher and coachAuthor, The Introvert's Guide to Leaving the HouseEverything Harder Than Everyone ElseWoman of Substances: A Journey Into Addiction and TreatmentTracee HutchisonRadio broadcaster, media and arts leaderChair, Green Music Australia

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is calling for a braver response to the actions of the Belarusian dictatorship. She explores the impact of the war against Ukraine on her country, on Europe — and the rest of the world. And what are Putin's strategies for Asia? Has Russia been able to advance its economic and geopolitical interests in Southeast Asia? How did regional states react to Russian aggression against Ukraine and what explains their differing responses to the invasion?"Freedom's Frontier: Belarus and the Battle for Europe's Future" presented by the ANU Centre for European Studies."Putin's Asia Strategy" presented by La Trobe AsiaSpeakersSviatlana TsikhanouskayaNational Leader of Belarus in exile, Head of the United Transition Cabinet, and the President-elect of BelarusDr Ian StoreySenior Fellow of ISAES — Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore and co-editor of Contemporary Southeast Asia, one of ISEAS's three academic journalsAuthor of Putin's Russia and Southeast Asia: The Kremlin's Pivot to Asia and the Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War.Bec Strating (host)Director of the La Trobe Centre for Global Security, Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University

The hard fought for gains of one generation can pave the way for the next, but the road to equality is never straight. After meaningful progress for LGBTQIA+ people in recent years, that same community is now faced with some setbacks, and a rising hostility, So why are the human rights of LGBTIQA+ people being challenged, curtailed and politicised right now? The 2025 Higinbotham Lecture at RMIT University was recorded on 15 October 2025.SpeakersJoe BallVictorian Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ CommunitiesDr Shelley Marshall (host) Professor of Law, and Deputy Dean (Research and Innovation) of the School of Law at RMIT University