Big Ideas

In your daily life you use more material than you think: metals, stones, wood, ceramics – the list goes on. We have sufficient resources to support growth, but not enough to support greed. A circular economy could support a more sustainable resource management. Presented by Planet Ark's Australian Circular Economy Hub (ACE Hub)SpeakerJanez PotočnikCo-Chair of UN Environment International Resource Panel, former EU Commissioner for responsible for Science and Research and for EnvironmentDr Nicole Garofano (host)Head of Circular Economy Development for Planet ArkFurther informationReport: Global resource outlook 2024

If you knew the world as we know it was on the verge of collapse, would that change the way you live your life? Author, activist and podcaster Sarah Wilson has found many reasons to believe our post-industrial civilisation is nearing its end. So how does she live with this confronting reality?This conversation was recorded at the 2025 Melbourne Writers Festival. To explore more Melbourne Writers Festival talks, visit mwf.com.au.SpeakersSarah Wilson - Author, First, We Make the Beast Beautiful and This One Wild and Precious Life: A Hopeful Path Forward in a Fractured WorldCarody Culver (host) - Editor, Griffith ReviewFurther information:Read the Collapse Book on Sarah's Substack This is Precious

Foreign spies attempt to infiltrate media organisations, break into restricted laboratories, target public servants on sites such as LinkedIn, approach academics at conferences … the list goes on. On Big Ideas, you have the rare opportunity to hear Mike Burgess give an unfiltered look at the threats of espionage and reveal for the first time the true costs it has on the Australian economy.Counting and Countering the Cost of Espionage, the 26th annual Hawke Lecture presented by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, University of South Australia.SpeakerMike Burgess Director-General of Security, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Further informationWhy national security and intelligence is women’s work Big Ideas, 22 October 2022

For the first time in human history, we have the scientific know-how to vaccinate against most of the infectious diseases that killed our ancestors. But an explosion of pseudoscience and disinformation makes people hesitate to accept the shot. And so once contained diseases like measles is on the rise again. Hear why we have to act now, or risk losing centuries of gains that vaccines have brought to the world.Presented at GleebooksSpeakersRaina MacIntyreProfessor of Global Biosecurity at UNSW and an NHMRC Research FellowAuthor of Vaccine Nation: Science, reason and the threat to 200 years of progressDr Norman Swan (host)Host of Radio National's The Health Report and co-host of What's That Rash

The decline of the mainstream media has forced many outlets to try new things to keep audiences engaged and informed. So what works, and what is the industry's future?The ABC's 2025 Andrew Olle Lecture was recorded in Sydney on Friday 25 July 2025.SpeakersGeraldine Doogue - Host (with Hamish Macdonald), Global Roaming, ABC Radio National

Australia is a multicultural country, but up until recently, when you turned on the telly, you wouldn't know it. So what role has TV played in Australia's diverse communities, on screen, behind the scenes and in the living rooms across this country, over the past 70 years?This event was recorded at Sydney's Gleebooks on Friday 11 July 2025.SpeakersKate Darian-SmithProfessorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne, President of the Academy of Social Sciences in AustraliaKyle HarveyCulture and media and social change historianSukhmani KhoranaAssociate Professor in the School of Arts and Media at University of NSWSue TurnbullSenior Professor of Communication and Media, University of WollongongPearl Tan (host)Discipline Lead in Directing, Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS)Further information:Season two of Heartbreak High makes diversity feel 'banal'. This is its strength - article by Sukhmani Khorana

Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell with three women embracing the radical practice of finding joy in big bodies. Fat bodies are often stigmatised, stereotyped, shamed, medicalised, and politicised. Even the word F.A.T gets denigrated. But there is another way. Reckoning with eating disorders and society's limitations, Dani, Evie, and Kalpana are no longer holding back from the delights of food, fashion, dance, ocean swimming, and more. Hear why, for them, the personal is political. But can expectations to be fat and jolly become a burden too? What about the radical act of just being and big?This event was hosted and organised by the inaugural Fat Joy Festival and the 11th International Weight Stigma ConferenceSpeakersDani Galvin (aka Dani Adriana)Content creator and body positivity and mental health advocateFat peer support facilitatorCo-creator, plus-size pop-culture inspired costumes and accessoriesBachelor of Counselling graduateEvie (Evangeline) GardenerPublic health researcher and advocatePhD studentUniversity of QueenslandKalpana PrasadPerformer, facilitator, choreographer with Bring a Plate Dance companyPostgraduate speech pathology studentDisability support workerThanks to Dr Lily O'Hara from Griffith University, the convenor of the Fat Joy Festival and the 11th International Weight Stigma Conference.Further reading and viewingHow we think about obesity and body weight is changing, here's why (article co-athored by Evie Gardener)The Real Cost of Appearance Ideals and Discrimination report (The Butterfly Foundation)Fat Joy PodcastThe body is not an apology by Sonya Renee TaylorWhat we talk about when we talk about FAT by Aubrey GordonYou have the right to remain fat by Virgie Tovar"Fat" isn't a bad word — it's just a way I describe my body by Aubrey Gordon Selling Stigma: Afflictive Power and Fat Oppression - presentation by Rachel Fox

Meet apes that swallow leaves to dislodge worms and sparrows that use cigarette butts to repel parasites. Many animals use medicine to treat themselves — something that for a long time has been thought to be the exclusive domain of humans. Now scientists are turning to the medical knowledge of the animal kingdom to improve agriculture, create better lives for our pets, and develop new pharmaceutical drugs.Presented at the Free Library of PhiladelphiaListen to Big Ideas: SpeakerJaap de RoodeSamuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Biology at Emory UniversityAuthor of Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves

At face value, collaboration sounds like a good thing: collaboration in the classroom, with colleagues, or between nations. But throughout history, collaboration was not always considered a virtuous act, and those who were identified as collaborators were shunned, humiliated or worse. This talk explores how people justify their involvement in wrongdoing, and how when collaboration devolves into conformity, it risks silencing dissent.This event was recorded at the Bundanon Art Museum.SpeakerDr Simon Longstaff — Executive Director, The Ethics Centre

Food is essential to human life, but are we taking it for granted? Popular chef, writer and broadcaster Adam Liaw is an advocate for good food for everyone. He takes us on a journey through the history and science of food, and its place in our societies, economies and cultures throughout time, arguing that food should play a central role in government policy making.The 2025 Hugh Stretton Oration was recorded at the University of Adelaide on 14 May 2025.SpeakersAdam LiawCook, writer, broadcasterAlison CoatesProfessor of Human Nutrition, University of South Australia

Books on tyrants, dictators, and authoritarian leaders are suddenly bestsellers again as we all try to make sense of the tilt towards tyrannical leadership around the world, the mass compliance it commands, and its use of terror, fear, and often violence, to govern. Two of Australia's leading scholars on China and the Soviet Union, Linda Jaivin (author of BOMBARD THE HEADQUARTERS! The Cultural Revolution in China) and Sheila Fitzpatrick (author of The Death of Stalin) join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell to consider two 20th Century tyrants whose legacies live on today.SpeakersLinda JaivinAuthor and China specialistAssociate, Australian Centre on China in the World, Australian National UniversityProfessor Sheila FitzpatrickHistorian of modern Russia and the Soviet UnionProfessor, Australian Catholic University and Honorary Professor, University of SydneyThis event was presented by Readings Books with Black Inc Books, with thanks to events producer Christine Gordon.

At a time when governments are retreating from promises of progress for First Nations people, what can be achieved through legal and human rights mechanisms?The 2025 Mabo Oration was recorded at the Cairns Performing Arts Centre on 30 May 2025, with thanks to the Queensland Human Rights Commission and QPAC.SpeakersKatie KissAboriginal and Torres Strait islander Social Justice CommissionerGail MaboVisual Artist, Artistic Director, Choreographer, Writer and Actor

Doctor Who has acted as a mirror to more than six decades of social, technological and cultural change. It's been able to evolve and adapt more radically than any other fiction. Why we are so addicted to fiction, and why does this wonderful wandering time traveller mean so much to so many. This talk was provided by the York Festival of Ideas. The Festival is led by the University of York, UK.SpeakerJohn HiggsAuthor of Exterminate/Regenerate: The Story of Doctor Who (Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2025)

Acclaimed British author Jeanette Winterson argues that 200 years ago, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, was a message in a bottle, a prophesy, of today's AI revolution.This conversation was recorded at the Sydney Writers' Festival, in partnership with the University of New South Wales's Centre for Ideas on 21 May 2025.SpeakersJeanette WintersonAuthor, 12 Bytes: How artificial intelligence will change the way we live and love, Oranges are not the only fruit, and many moreProfessor of New Writing at the University of ManchesterToby Walsh (host)Author, The Shortest History of AI: Six ideas to understand artificial intelligence today and moreChief Scientist of AI, University of New South WalesFellow, Australian Academy of Science

Citizen Jury is ABC Radio National's experiment in citizen-led democracy. The ingredients? A gnarly issue + a jury of citizens = conversations + ideas for solutions + a public event to share them. Join Big Ideas presenter Natasha Mitchell in Dubbo, NSW for our first Citizen Jury. We all want electricity at the flick of a switch, but who bears the brunt of making that happen? Join citizens who live in Australia's first official Renewable Energy Zone or REZ where millions of solar panels, hundreds of wind turbines, large storage batteries, and high voltage transmission lines are being rolled out over a 20,000 square kilometre area.But the scale and pace are sowing seeds of division in the community. Some see benefits, some see potential harms.What they think could be done better or differently? What can the rest of Australia learn from their experiences about the energy transition?Thank you to the Dubbo Regional Council and the Western Plains Cultural Centre teams for their support for this event.SpeakersAdam Ryan (Citizen Jury member)Wiradjuri man and fatherTeacher, Wellington Correctional CentreCouncillor, Dubbo Regional Council (but not representing Council on this panel)Grant Gjessing (Citizen Jury member)Business owner, Strait-Up Cranes and DiggingPresident, Business MudgeeLinda Gant (Citizen Jury member)Cattle and sheep farmer with her husband for 40 years in Cassilis, NSW.Member, Cassilis District Development GroupMember, Liverpool Range Wind Farm Community Consultation Committee Tony Inder (Citizen Jury member)6th generation merino wool farmer and 'solar sheep grazier' in Wellington, NSWAndrew Bray (participated in Citizen Jury meetings)National director, ReAlliance (Australian Renewable Energy Alliance)Janine YoungEnergy and Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON)Ash AlburyExecutive Director, Planning and Communities, EnergyCoPeter BennettExecutive Project Director, EnergyCoAnd thank you to the various community members and other stakeholders in attendance who participated in the event.Representatives from ACEREZ and Squadron Energy were also in attendance.Thanks to cattle and sheep farmer Simon Barton from Wellington, NSW and Michael Bullock, Manager of Bodangora wind farm (Iberdrola) for their participation in a social media story.Particular thanks to ABC Western Plains Chief of Staff Nick Lowther and rural reporters Claudia Sullivan and Catherine James for their support.Further informationCentral-West Orana Renewable Energy ZoneParliamentary inquiry: Impact of Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) on rural and regional communities and industries in NSWAustralian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner (AEIC): Community Engagement Review (in relation to Renewable Energy Infrastructure developments).This review was undertaken by the former Commissioner Andrew Dyer, who is now a Professorial Fellow at Monash University.

John Maynard Keynes was an economist whose dreams went beyond balance sheets and into political ideas and cultural movements.He advised world leaders during world wars, witnessed the great depression first hand and counted himself as one of the Bloomsbury group, a set of London's most influential writers and intellectuals like Virginia Woolf.This discussion from CUNY Graduate Center is an in depth look at the life of JohnMaynard Keynes and explores his influence on 20th century economics and politics.SpeakersZachary CarterJournalist and author who wrote the award-winning Keynes biography "The Price of Peace: money, democracy, and the life of John Maynard Keynes"Paul KrugmanNobel Prize-winning economist, longtime former columnist for The New York Times, and distinguished professor of Economics at the CUNY Graduate Center

Photojournalism can define a moment, a movement, an era or even a whole generation. It can lift a weary spirit, move opinions, or change the way we view the world. Three of Australia's best photojournalists tell the stories behind some of Australia's most iconic photographs, and reflect on the profession's past, present and future.This event was recorded at the National Library of Australia on 27 May 2025.SpeakersLorrie GrahamPhotojournalistRick StevensPhotojournalistMike Bowers (host)Presenter, Talking Pictures, Insiders, ABC TVPhotographer at large for The New DailyCurator, Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive, National Library of AustraliaFurther information:Paul Keating 'Ray Bans' 1993 - by Lorrie GrahamBob Hawke election campaign launch 1983 - by Lorrie GrahamGough Whitlam gets a kiss from Dorothy Scott 1972 - by Rick StevensFit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive at the National Library of Australia until 20 July 2025

Australia faces many big challenges, but is our democracy up to the job of solving these, or are we experiencing a decision deadlock?One process that could help governments meet the moment is known as citizen jury or assembly, where a cross section of ordinary people deliberate together over a thorny policy issue, then provide advice.How do these work, are they effective, and should they play a more central role in Australia's democracy?The session, The Place for Citizens Assemblies in Australia — where do they best fit? was recorded at Policy without Politics conference, hosted by Citizen Assemblies for South Australia, at the Woodville Town Hall in Adelaide on 14 June 2025.SpeakersJay WeatherillDirector of Democracy, McKinnonFormer South Australian Premier (2011 to 2018)Simon BirminghamFormer South Australian Liberal Senator (2007 to 2025)Emma FletcherCo-CEO, Democracy CoElizabeth Farrelly (host)Writer, columnist, critic, academic, broadcasterFormer councillor, City of SydneyDirector, Better Cities InitiativeAuthor, Bubberland; the Dangers of Happiness and Killing Sydney; the fight for a city's soul

We bathe in the amniotic fluid our mother's womb. Our cells are full of water. For Walbanja woman, artist, educator and researcher Dr Jodi Edwards, this ocean-within intimately connects her to the ocean she grew up with on Sea Country. From saving the Sea kin to sensing the Gaia imperative — join Jodi with Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell, and also hear from award-winning author James Bradley and CEO-turned-climate-action advocate Mark Rowland as they explore why the ocean's function is so vital to your own.This event was hosted by the 2025 Ocean Lovers Festival at Bondi Beach as part of its Ocean Talks program.Dr Jodi EdwardsCreative arts practitioner, story sharer, educator, researcherAssociate professor and Vice Chancellor Indigenous Research FellowNational Centre for Ocean Resources & SecurityUniversity of Wollongong.James BradleyAuthor of Deep Water: The World in the Ocean (2024)Mark RowlandConsultant, systems-thinker, climate-action advocateGAIA ImperativeThanks to Lorna Parry and Carolyn Grant from the Ocean Lovers Festival.Further informationUnbroken whispers: the ripples connecting sea kinA project run by Dr Jodi Edwards and Gumbaynggirr woman and ecologist Dr Chels Marshall

The Kurdish poet Behrouz Boochani and the Australian writer Arnold Zable explore the power of friendship as an act of resistance, nourishment and healing.This event was recorded with the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne 29 April 2025.SpeakersBehrouz BoochaniKurdish-Iranian writer, journalist, scholar, cultural advocate, filmmaker, and public advocate for human rightsAuthor, No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison, and Freedom Only FreedomAdjunct Associate Professor in Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales, McGeorge Fellow, University of MelbourneArnold ZableAuthor, Jewels and Ashes, Café Scheherazade, The Fig Tree,The Watermill and moreWinner, Australia Council Award for a Lifetime Achievement in Literature, 2021Nikos Papastergiadis (host)Cultural critic, essayist and author, John Berger and Me: A Migrant's EyeFormer Director of the Research Unit in Public Cultures at the University of Melbourne

In October 2023, Australians voted no to a Voice to Parliament for First Nations people. In this panel from the 2025 Melbourne Writers Festival, four speakers who saw the campaign up close discuss what went wrong, and even whether the whole endeavour was worth it. Ultimately they’re all trying to answer the question, where do we go from here? Speakers Thomas MayoKaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander, author, activist and 'yes' campaignerBen AbbatangeloGunaikurnai and Wotjobaluk journalist Nardi SimpsonYuwaalaraay artist, musician and author Daniel Browning (host)Bundjalung and Kullilli man, Professor of Indigenous Cultural and Creative Industries at University of Sydney and former ABC arts journalist

What would religion, work, sex or technology look like if we lived in a truly feminist world? In a perfect world would the messy stuff make the cut? Or would stuff that makes us human be left in the real world? Join two big thinkers who unpack it all as they build their own feminist utopia in this episode of Big Ideas. This was a live philosophy event presented in London at the Sophia Club, from the creators of Aeon and Psyche magazines. You can find out more about the series at sophiaclub.co. SpeakersChine McDonaldAuthor of Unmaking Mary: Shattering the Myth of Perfect Motherhood and director of religion and society think tank TheosKate DevlinProfessor of artificial intelligence and society at King’s College London and author of Turned On: Science, Sex and RobotsSally Davies (host)Writer and contributing editor at Aeon magazine

Dark tourism is increasingly popular. Sites of suffering like old gaols, asylums, orphanages hold a certain allure. Can we honour their dark heart and histories, whilst also re-imagining their future? Should some 'traumascapes' be left untouched so the scars of the past are never forgotten, or can we turn them into happier settings with sensitivity? How do designers, developers, and historians tread such tricky terrain? This event was organised by Open House Melbourne and held in the Old Melbourne Gaol during Melbourne Design Week 2025.SpeakersDr Sue HodgesHeritage interpretations specialistManaging director, international consultancy SHP (Sue Hodges Productions Pty Ltd)Erwin TaalSenior AssociateInternational landscape architect and urban design studio ASPECT Studios

Language is always evolving, and reflecting back to us our society, politics and identity. From profanity, to personal pronouns, to the politics of translation and cultural appropriation, why do we use the words we do?This event was recorded at the University of Sydney.SpeakersJohn McWhorterAssociate Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Colombia UniversityAuthor, Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words, Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter, Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America and moreColumnist, New York TimesHost, Lexicon Valley podcastNick EnfieldProfessor of Linguistics, University of SydneyFurther information:How a Plane to Australia Took Me to '90s Oakland - New York Times, 20 March, 2025

Under Donald Trump's second presidency, America's retreat from global leadership has been swift and erratic. With Russia's war in Ukraine still raging on Europe's doorstep, and China and India on the move, how is the international rules based order being reshaped? And how should Australia position itself in this dangerous, volatile, hard new world?This conversation was recorded at the Australian National University on Tuesday 17 June 2025.SpeakersHugh WhiteEmeritus Professor of Strategic Studies, Australian National UniversityAuthor, Quarterly Essay #98, Hard new world: Our Post-American Future, as well as The China Choice, How to Defend Australia, and three previous Quarterly Essays: Power Shift, Without America and Sleepwalk to WarFounding Director of the Australian Strategic Policy InstituteAllan BehmSenior Advisor International & Security Affairs Program, the Australia Institute

When you enter your childbearing years, it can feel like everyone from the treasurer, your mum, and probably your Instagram reels really wants you to have a kid. But is it the right decision? Few women escape this conundrum of modern family-making, and unfortunately there is no easy or simple answer. But in this talk presented by the Sydney Opera House at the All About Women Festival 2025, you’ll get the context, prompts and profound reflections to help you think through this decision, whether it’s in your own life or for someone you love.

Are fermented foods really good for us? Do antibiotics destroy our gut flora? And have you heard about poo transplants?Our gut is teeming with trillions of microbial cells, and we are learning more all the time about how this affects everything from our digestion, to immunity, to mental health.So crack open your kombucha, because these leading researchers will cut through the noise with some hard facts and pioneering science about the microbiome.This event was recorded at the World Science Festival Brisbane 30 March 2025.SpeakersPaul GriffinProfessor of Medicine, Clinical Unit Head and Director of Infectious Diseases, University of Queensland and Mater HospitalFelice JackaDistinguished Professor in Nutritional PsychiatryFounder and director, Food and Mood Centre Deakin UniversityAuthor, There's a Zoo in my PooGene TysonMicrobial ecologist, bioinformatician, and founder, Centre for Microbiome research, Queensland University of TechnologyDr Norman Swan (host)Presenter, Health Report and What's That Rash? ABC Radio National

Do humans really have what it takes to change our lives – our world – to arrest climate collapse?It might be the defining question we face as a society, and the panellists from this WOMADelaide Festival discussion are throwing everything they’ve got at this intractable issue, drawing on knowledge from the oldest continuing culture in the world and the fields of architecture, urban planning and of course, community organising to avoid collapse. This episode was recorded live at the annual 2025 WOMADelaide festival, produced and presented as part of their Planet Talks program, held on the traditional lands of the Kuarna people. SpeakersBhiamie WilliamsonLeader of the National Indigenous Disaster Resilience research program and a senior lecturer at Monash University Elizabeth MossopDean of the UTS School of Design, Architecture and Building Emma BaconFounder and Executive Director of Sweltering Cities Julia LesterFormer ABC journalist and broadcaster (host)

Murderers, fraudsters, mobsters, dodgy doctors, and corrupt politicians. Kate McClymont has exposed all manner of shady characters, and lives to tell the tale. Here, she reveals some of the perils of investigative journalism over her career, and what she sees are the threats and promises for its future.The 2025 Brian Johns Lecture, in partnership with the Copyright Agency and Macquarie University, was recorded at the State Library of NSW on 1 May 2025.SpeakersKate McClymontChief investigative journalist, Sydney Morning HeraldAuthor, Dead Man Walking: The murky world of Michael McGurk and Ron Medich and He Who Must Be Obeid (with co-author Linton Besser)John Potts (host)Professor of Media, Macquarie University

There are some leaps in science and technology that change everything. Scientists say we’re living through the second quantum revolution, so we're going deep into the quantum world with leaders at the forefront of this field. If you think quantum is all about computers think again – like how could this vast science help female athletes reach their peak? Thanks to the World Science Festival for this talk “Welcome to the Second Quantum Revolution”. Speakers Belinda SmithABC Science host Associate Professor Chris FerrieLecturer in quantum sciences at the University of Technology in SydneyDr. Clare MinahanAssociate Professor of Exercise and Sport at Griffith University Geoff PrydeChief Technical Director for PsiQuantumAssociate Professor Tim GouldInternational leader and researcher in the quantum theory of chemistry at Griffith University

When Santilla Chingaipe stumbled on the names of enslaved Africans who arrived on the First Fleet in 1788 she couldn't look away. For Steve Vizard, an argument with his adult kids lead him to the battlefields of Gallipoli. When Sita Sargeant threw a mattress in a car and drove around Australia, what hidden herstories did she unearth?At school, the history we learn is often incomplete, mythologised, or is riddled with silences and absences. But when you start looking, the ghosts of lives past start speaking.They join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell live at the 2025 Melbourne Writers Festival. Explore more of the festival at mwf.com.au SpeakersSantilla ChingaipeZambian-Australian film-maker, historian, writerAuthor, Black Convicts: How Slavery Shaped AustraliaSteve VizardPofessor, Monash University and University of AdelaideAuthor, Nation, Memory Myth: Gallipoli and the Australia ImaginationSita SargeantFounder of the history walking tour social enterprise She Shapes HistoryAuthor of She Shapes HistoryThanks to Veronica Sullivan, director of the Melbourne Writers Festival, for curating this event.

Sarah Churchwell takes you on a gripping and confronting journey into America's recent past to explain its extraordinary present, starting with dark story at the heart of that American classic Gone with the Wind. Knowledge lies at the heart of a healthy democracy, and its many custodians include libraries, universities, cultural institutions, and a free and independent media. So what happens when these institutions are intimidated, dismantled or destroyed, as is happening in America right now, under the government of President Donald Trump?This event was recorded at the University of Technology Sydney's Vice Chancellor's Democracy Forum on 14 May 2025.SpeakersSarah ChurchwellProfessor of American Literature and Chair of Public Understanding of the Humanities at the University of LondonAuthor, The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe, Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and The Invention of The Great Gatsby, Behold, America: A History of America First and the American Dream, and The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America TellsDirector, Being Human festival and Living Literature event seriesJudge, Man Booker PrizeAnna Funder (host)Author, Wifedom, Stasiland and All That I AmLuminary and Ambassador, University of Technology SydneyRoy Green (host)Emeritus Professor and Special Innovation Advisor at University of Technology SydneyFormer Dean of the UTS Business SchoolChair of the UTS Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing HubFurther information:From Gatsby to Huck Finn — American literature in an age of polarisation - Sarah Churchwell on Big Ideas, ABC Radio National 4 November 2024

In 2017, the Uluru Statement called for Voice, Treaty and Truth as a roadmap to reconciliation. With the Voice defeated, what is the path now to meaningful reform that will improve the lives of Indigenous Australians?From the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, to Victoria's truth-telling Yoorook Justice Commission, two Indigenous leaders argue that their people must be given the power, the resources and the authority to make decisions about the issues that affect their lives.The 18th annual Lowitja O'Donoghue Oration was recorded at the Don Dunstan Foundation at the University of Adelaide on Wednesday 28 May 2025. Eleanor Bourke's address to the Melbourne Press Club was recorded on Tuesday 13 May 2025.SpeakersEleanor Bourke Chair, Yoorook Justice CommissionRomlie Mokak Former Productivity CommissionerFurther information:Yoorrook Justice Commission - watch clips of the hearings hereRead the Producivity Commission's review into Closing the Gap here

The racism and resilience Padma Raman’s parents experienced lit a social justice fire in her early on. She landed on the sunny shores of Sydney in the 1980s and watched both her parents face racism and discrimination seeking work. She’s gone on to dedicate her career to making the world a better place for women and girls. It’s taken her to the halls of Federal Parliament and the United Nations. The Pamela Denoon lecture is presented by the ANU Gender Institute and the National Foundation for Australian Women. SpeakersPadma Raman PSMExecutive Director Office for Women at the Department of the Prime Minister and CabinetAkrti TyagiHead of Digital at Girls Run the World Sally MoyleDeputy Chair of the National Foundation for Australian Women

Australians have a hardcore addiction to fast fashion. That means dyes in our waterways, microplastics in our bodies, and hundreds of thousands of tonnes of textiles dumped in landfill. Fashionista or not, do you feel powerless to change an industry dominated by global fashion giants making giant profits? Meet four passionate crusaders with fashion, finance, tech, textile, and industry know-how who are already finding ways.They join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the 2025 Ocean Lovers Festival at the Bondi Pavilion on Gadigal Country.SpeakersDr Christopher HurrenAssociate Professor in Textile ResearchInstitute for Frontier MaterialsDeakin UniversityDanielle Haj-MoussaInvestor, technologist, and co-founder of Tech for Social Good non-profitLeader of Fashion Collective portfolio with deep tech fund Main Sequence VenturesDr Lisa LakeDirector, Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion + TextilesUniversity of Technology Sydney and TAFE NSWKit WillowFashion designer and sustainable fashion pioneerCreator of international labels Willow and KitXFounder, CirkitThanks to Lorna Parry and Carolyn Grant at the Ocean Lovers Festival for curating this event.Further information:Uluu (biodegradable materials start-up)Alt.leather (start-up company developing 'leather' made from plants)Samsara eco (start-up company developing plastic eating enzymes)Xefco (start-up company developing new ways of dying and processing materials)Newera Bio (start-up company developing new dyes and pigments for textiles)Nanollose (company turning liquid waste into rayon fibres for clothes)Blocktexx (company recovering polyester and cellulose from textiles and clothing)Project Boomerang (plans for a textile recycling plant run by the Salvos)

Warren Ellis is best known as the charismatic violinist with legendary Australian instrumental rock trio Dirty Three and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Justin Kurzel's new documentary Ellis Park is a both portrait of Ellis as he comes to terms with his Ballarat childhood, and a film about the devastating impacts of wildlife trafficking, and why Ellis was driven to buy land in Sumatra to home rescued animals.The pair join the ABC's Zan Rowe at the film's premiere to talk about their collaboration, the act of creation, and of giving back.This conversation was recorded at the Melbourne International Film Festival.SpeakersWarren EllisMusician, Dirty Three, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and moreFilm score composerAuthor, Nina Simone's Gum: A Memoir of Things Lost and FoundJustin KurzelDirector, Ellis Park, The Narrow Road to the Deep North, True History of the Kelly Gang, Snowtown and moreZan Rowe (host)Presenter, Take 5, Double J and ABC TV

How do nations work together to control access to our vast universe, negotiate who gets what resources, or even who gets to set up new colonies on far away planets? And how do we ensure that we don’t just export earthly conflicts on take-off? ‘Unlocking Cooperation: Space Diplomacy’ is a talk from the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. SpeakersDr Diane HowardFormer Director of Commercial Space Policy at the National Space Council in The White HouseMai'a CrossDirector at the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures at Northeastern UniversityAnn C ThresherAssistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University

What's happening in Gaza is horrifying and shocking. As the world watches on, how are different Jewish communities reckoning with a war being waged in their name by Israel, against Hamas and the Palestinian people?This event was recorded at The Wheeler Centre on 27 May 2025 in partnership with the Jewish Council of Australia.SpeakersPeter BeinartAuthor, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning and The Crisis of ZionismProfessor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New YorkEditor-at-Large of Jewish Currents MagazineFellow, Foundation for Middle East PeaceRegular contributor, New York Times and MSNBCSarah Schwartz (host)Co-founder, Executive Officer, Jewish Council of AustraliaLegal Director, Human Rights Law CentreLecturer, University of Melbourne Law School

A workforce we rarely hear about, lives in limbo, and stories from the coalface. From economic gains and cultural exchanges to exploitation and absconding, what are the successes and problems of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme? Who picks and processes those yummy strawberries you're about to put in your shopping trolley, or the crisp veggies you might stir-fry tonight? Did you know it could be a nurse or a police officer from a Pacific Island or Timor Leste on a temporary seasonal visa? Join Natasha Mitchell and guests for this event organised by Griffith University and the Australian National University, and held at the ANU.SpeakersDr Kaya BarryCultural Geographer, artist, senior lecturer, DECRA Research FellowCentre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith UniversityNunes CosbarMusician, photographer, horticultural employee in Australia on a PALM visa. Band member with Lian Husi TimorKen DachiCoordinator, Welcoming Workplaces with Welcoming AustraliaEma VuetiPresident, Pacific Islands Council of Queensland (PICQ)Thanks also to James Lees (Griffith University), Dr Matt Withers (ANU South Asia Research Institute), and Dr Kirstie Petrou (School of Humanities and Social Sciences, UNSW Canberra)Further informationTimorese abattoir workers perform at Port Fairy Folk Festival after call for musos (ABC Australia short film)

Words can mean everything, or nothing at all: it all depends on how they're delivered. This relationship between writer, script, actor and audience creates a particular tension that lies at the heart of performance. Who gives meaning to the words, interprets the creative material, who holds the power?This is a lecture, but not as you know it, by members of the multi award-winning British theatre company Forced Entertainment.The 15th annual Rex Cramphorn Memorial Lecture was delivered at the University of Sydney on Tuesday 18 March, 2025.SpeakersTerry O'ConnorPerformer and co-founder, Forced EntertainmentTim EtchellsArtistic Director and co-founder, Forced EntertainmentIan Maxwell (host)Chair of Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Sydney

Gina Chick made her name as the inaugural winner of Alone Australia, but her story begins a long time before that. It involves unimaginable hardship, death grief, illness and injury. How has she learnt to sit with all that life has thrown at her, and remain joyful and true to herself, in the face of adversity?This event was recorded at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne, with thanks to Readings Books.SpeakersGina ChickAuthor, We Are the Stars (Winner of the Australian Book Industry's Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year)Hugh Van Cuylenburg (host)Founder, The Resilience ProjectHost, The Imperfects podcast

Your personal safety is big business, so much so that it’s given rise to “security capitalism”, a phenomenon where attempts to buy personal safety shape the world around us. As security becomes just another status symbol, do these gadgets make us safer or do they create a whole new list of anxieties – a self-fulfilling prophecy of perceived threat and risk aversion? This conversation 'Trapped: Does the security industry make us less safe?' was recorded at the CUNY Graduate Centre. SpeakersMark MaguireProfessor of anthropology at Maynooth University, co-author, Trapped: Life Under Security Capitalism and How to Escape ItSetha LowProfessor of psychology, anthropology, earth and environmental sciences, and women's and gender studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, co-author, Trapped: Life Under Security Capitalism and How to Escape ItAlex Vitale (host)Professor of sociology and coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center

The ghost people arrived by boat. They never left. But the stories of first encounters and what came next live large, 250 years later, in First Nations families and communities. An ambitious journey to reclaim the names and stories disappeared by Captain James Cook, but never lost. A deeply personal excavation of herstories and the women wrenched from their Country by colonial sealers. A Polish freedom fighter and the fight for the mountain that bears his name. Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell to talk ghosts, reclaimation and revival with four authors at the 2025 Sorrento Writers Festival.Speakers Darren Rix and Dr Craig Cormick, co-authors of Warra Warra Wai: How indigenous Australians discovered Captain Cook and what they tell about the coming of the Ghost People (Scribner Australia. 2024)Tasma Walton, actor, screenwriter, novelist and author of I am Nannertgarrook (S&S Bundyi, 2025) Anthony Sharwood, journalist and author of Kosciuszko: The Incredible Life of the Man Behind The Mountain (Hachette Australia, 2024)Thanks to festival founder and director Corrie Perkin and the Sorrento Festival production team.

At the time of colonisation, there were more than 250 Indigenous languages spoken in Australia, but these days, all are considered endangered. Many First Nations people are working hard to revive and reclaim their mother tongues. In the anthology, Words to Sing the World Alive: Celebrating First Nations Languages, 40 Indigenous Australians share words and phrases that are meaningful to them.This event was recorded at the Clunes Booktown Festival on on Dja Dja Wurrung Country on 22 March 2025.SpeakersEvelyn AraleunPoet, researcher, and co-editor of Overland Literary magazineAuthor, Dropbear (Stella Prize winner 2022)Bundjalung speakerVicki CouzensSenior Knowledge Custodian for Possum Skin Cloak Story and Language Reclamation and Revival in her Keerray Woorroong mother tongueJeanine LeanePoet, essayist and criticPoetry editor for Meanjin magazineAuthor, Purple Threads (2010 David Unaipon Award for Indigenous Writing), Gawimarra: Gathering (winner, 2025 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Poetry)Wiradjuri speakerJane Harrison (host)Playwright and novelist, Stolen, Rainbow's End and The VisitorsFormer director, Blak & Bright First Nations Literary Festival

Music has been around for at least as long as humans, and possibly even longer. How have forces like religion, the economy, society and technology, shaped music over time? And why, in lullabies and concert halls, songlines and streaming services, have humans always been irresistibly drawn to making it?This event was recorded at Sydney's Gleebooks.SpeakersAndrew FordHost, The Music Show, ABC Radio NationalAuthor, The Shortest History of Music, and moreAward-winning composerKirsty McCahon (host)Double bassistStrategic Relations Manager, Sydney Conservatorium of Music

From wars with global consequences to violent crimes in the suburbs, trauma underpins so much of the news cycle. It’s something award-winning journalist Bruce Shapiro came to understand intimately when, as a young crime reporter, he was stabbed. It changed his whole perspective on his profession, dedicating a large part of his career to the question of how trauma in yourself - or your source - changes the way you approach a story. Hear how trauma became newsworthy, how reporters learned to better tell those stories, and what it all means in 2025. The Annual Humanities Horizons Lecture is organised by Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. The Lecture was established in 2013 to provide reflection on and advocacy for the Arts and Humanities. The content of the lecture is the intellectual property of the speaker Bruce Shapiro. SpeakerBruce ShapiroExecutive Director of the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma at the Columbia Journalism School

What if we could turn back time on our biological clock and slow down — even reverse — aging? High profile Harvard scientist David Sinclair is co-author of the New York Times bestseller Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To. His lab’s work is as ambitious as it is controversial. He wants to radically change the way we live our lives — and push at the boundary of what it means to be human. Professor Sinclair joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the 2025 World Science Festival Brisbane.SpeakerDavid A SinclairProfessor of GeneticsAuthor (with Matthew D. LaPlante) of Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To (Atria Book, 2019)Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical SchoolPaul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research Harvard University

It's been 60 years since then Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies sent Australians to fight in the Vietnam War. Since that time, the defence force has been involved in many armed conflicts and peace keeping missions around the world — but with varying degrees of public support. So how have successive Australian governments managed public consensus around military engagements? And with war once again a threat to global security, might they have to do so again?These events were recorded at the Robert Menzies Institute at the University of Melbourne on 29 April 2025, and at the Australian Catholic University on 11 April 2025.SpeakersSir Peter CosgroveFormer Chief of the Australian Defence ForceFormer Australian Governor GeneralGeorgina DownerChief Executive Officer, Robert Menzies Institute, University of MelbourneMia Martin HobbsAuthor, Return to Vietnam: An Oral History of American and Australian Veterans' JourneysPostdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University

If democracy is the will of the people, what does this federal election result say about Australia? In his election night victory speech, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australians had voted for Australian values, claiming these were fairness, aspiration and opportunity for all. But is this right message we should take from the election result?This conversation was recorded live at the 2025 Melbourne Writers Festival in partnership with The Wheeler Centre. To explore more Melbourne Writers Festival talks, visit mwf.com.auSpeakersJudith BrettPolitical historianAuthor, The Fearless Beatrice Faust, Robert Menzies' Forgotten People, Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class, and The Enigmatic Mr Deakin, (winner, 2018 National Biography award)Cathy McGowanFormer Independent MP for IndiAuthor, Cathy Goes to Canberra: doing politics differentlyThomas MayoNational Indigenous Officer of the Maritime Union of Australia"Yes" campaigner in the Voice to Parliament referendumAuthor, Dear Son, Letters and Reflections from First Nations Fathers and Sons, Always Was, Always Will Be: The Campaign for Justice and Recognition Continues, and moreSally Warhaft (host)Interviewer, broadcaster, anthropologist and writerHost, The Fifth Estate event series at The Wheeler CentreFormer editor, The Monthly magazineAuthor, Well May We Say: The speeches that made AustraliaAdjunct Senior Research Fellow, La Trobe University

Australians are now the biggest consumers per capita of clothes in the world. But just three per cent of clothing is made here in Australia. So is it time for a fashion rethink?This event was held at the Melbourne Museum as part of Melbourne Fashion Festival's Fashion Talks program on 4 March 2025. SpeakersTara MosesChief Operating Officer, RM WilliamsSarah SheridanCo-founder, Clothing the GapsAmy GallagherCo-founder, KlokeJuanita PageFounder, Joseph and JamesJaana Quaintance-James (host)Chief Executive Officer, Australian Fashion Council