Big Ideas

From the inner cities to the outer suburbs, to rural and regional Australia, just what is going on in minds of voters as we embark on another federal election? This event was recorded at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia.SpeakersGeorge Megalogenis Journalist, author, Quarterly Essay #96 Minority Report: The New Shape of Australian PoliticsTory Shepherd (host) Senior reporter, Guardian Australia

Australia resettled fascists, even war criminals after World War II as part of a worldwide program led by the International Refugee Organisation. The background of these immigrants was known to all political parties, but they were regarded as cheap – and white – labour. Historian Jayne Persian explores the impact of these characters on the trajectory of postwar politics — a phenomenon well documented in other parts of the world but with which Australia has barely begun to reckon.Presented by the Brisbane Writers FestivalJayne PersianAssociate Professor in History, University of Southern QueenslandAuthor of Fascists in Exile: Post-War Displaced Persons in Australia and Beautiful Balts: From Displaced Persons to New AustraliansAnthony CooperAuthor of best-selling Darwin Spitfires and Dispatch from Berlin, 1943

Take folly, friction, pain and empathy … mix well, and you get wise governmental decisions. If only it was that simple. Zachary Shore looks at the personal qualities, group dynamics, and historical conditions that have made wise decisions more or less likely to arise. The world’s current troubles would be more manageable, he contends, if we understood more clearly what produces wisdom and how to apply it. So what can we learn from history? A Wiser World: The Global Quest for Good Judgement was presented by the American Academy in BerlinZachary ShoreProfessor in the department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, National Security Visiting Fellow at the Hoover InstitutionDaniel BenjaminPresident of the American Academy in Berlin

Have you noticed mushrooms are having a moment? Merlin Sheldrake's New York Times bestselling bookEntangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures has captivated readers worldwide. Be enchanted by a world unseen – one without which you wouldn't exist - and which might inspire you to re-imagine how you think about yourself and your relationships. Merlin and guests join Natasha Mitchell at the Now or Never Festival of Art, Ideas, Sound, Technology and the Melbourne Museum.Dr Merlin SheldrakeBiologist, writer, speaker, brewer, fermenter, musicianAuthor, Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our FuturesDr Tom MayMycologist and Senior Research ScientistRoyal Botanical Gardens VictoriaAuthor, Wild Mushrooming in Australia. Amanda MorganCEO and head of R&DFungi SolutionsThanks to Melbourne Museum event producer Alice Gibbons and to the museum's sound engineering team.

Nicky Winmar's iconic stand against racism was a wakeup call more than 30 years ago. But how much has really changed? Racism on and off the field continues to be an issue across Australia, when we should be celebrating Indigenous sport icons.Presented by the Byron Writers Festival, supported by First Nations Australia Writers Network FNAWN.Listen to Big Ideas - Australia's sporting mythsSpeakersRhoda RobertsProducer, artistic director, journalist and broadcaster and author of My Cousin FrankWoman of the Bundjalung NationNicky WinmarNoongar man, AFL player and author of Nicky Winmar: My StoryNaomi Moran (host)CEO of Koori Mail, First Nations newspaperNyangbal and Arakwal woman from the Bundjalung nation

Almost every country town across Australia has a Chinese restaurant. Why is that? And what role do they play in the story of immigration and multiculturalism, as well as the life and tastebuds of regional communities? This event was recorded at Sydney's Gleebooks.SpeakersJennifer Wong Comedian, writer, tv presenter, columnist, curator, host and co-author of Chopsticks or Fork?Lin Jie Kong Producer, director, editor, co-author Chopsticks or Fork?Annabel Crabb (host) Writer and presenter, ABCFurther informationWatch Chopsticks or Fork on ABC iView

You've got half an hour with Lou Reed/ Nick Cave/ Courtney Love: what do you ask them? Three of Australia's best music writers share their craft, and reveal what it's like to sit down with some of music's biggest names.This event was recorded on 2 November 2024 at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.SpeakersStuart Coupe Author, journalist, radio broadcaster, music commentator, publicist at Stuart Coupe PublicityJane Gazzo Music Journalist, TV Presenter, Author ( her new book is I Hear Motion), MC, Public Speaker, founder and presenter Action Time Vision - ATVMichael Dwyer Music journalist, lecturer and member of David Bowie ukulele tribute band The Thin White UkesZan Rowe (host) ABC Music correspondent, Double J and Take 5 hostFurther information:The exhibition From Medieval to Metal: The art & evolution of the guitar is on at the Art Gallery of Ballarat until 2 February 2024

Meet two men who will change the way you think about an experience most of us fear but will be touched by in some way. In Patting the Shark, surfing writer Tim Baker describes his wild ride to reclaim a sense of control and agency after a cancer diagnosis. Celebrated author and GP Peter Goldsworthy’s memoir The Cancer Finishing School started out as a journal but became so much more.They join Natasha Mitchell for intimate an intimate, revelatory, funny, and generous conversation about the Big C and how medicine needs to change. This event was hosted by the 2024 Queenscliffe Literary FestivalSpeakersTim BakerJournalist, editor, patient advocate, PhD candidateAuthor, Patting the Shark: A surfer's journey — learning to live well with cancer (Ebury Australia/Penguin, 2022)Dr Peter GoldsworthyGP, author, librettist, poetAuthor, The Cancer Finishing School —lessons in laughter, love, resilience (Penguin, 2024)

For 50 years, women in the United States had a constitutionally enshrined right to abortion. But in 2022, that right was overturned, and now one third of American women live in a state where abortion is banned. So what does Donald Trump's return to the White House mean for reproductive health in America?This event was recorded at Macquarie University in Sydney on Wednesday 13 November 2024.SpeakerDr Angel Foster Professor, University of OttawaCo-founder, Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project

Prepare to have your mind blown with a sweeping saga that connects human evolution, brains, genes, art, music, creativity, knowledge, dyslexia, autism, Indigenous memory systems, and more. A big, beautiful and biological saga about how to learn like a human again. Joining Natasha Mitchell are Australian Senior Memory Champion, scientist and author Dr Lynne Kelly with artist Jane Rusden and musician and educator Hilary Blackshaw. This event was hosted by the 2024 Mountain Festival in Macedon, Victoria.SpeakersDr Lynne KellyScience writerAuthor, The Knowledge Gene: the incredible story of the supergene that gives us human creativity (Allen and Unwin, 2024)Author, The Memory Code (Allen and Unwin, 2016) Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe UniversityHonorary Fellow, School of Physics, University of MelbourneHilary BlackshawMusician and musical educatorBendigo Musical Instrumental ProgramJane RusdenArtist

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. Because of its similar conditions to Earth, they're hoping the red planet could hold clues to the enduring mysteries of how life began, and whether we are alone in the universe.This event was recorded at the World Science Festival Brisbane in partnership with the Queensland Museum and the Big Questions Institute on March 22, 2024. Original Big Ideas broadcast on 16 April 2024.SpeakersProfessor Tamara Davis Astrophysicist, University of QueenslandProfessor Kathleen Campbell Astrobiologist, University of AucklandProfessor Martin Van Kranendonk Astrobiologist and geologist, Head of the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin UniversityDr Jorge Vago ExoMars Project Scientist, European Space AgencyDr Graham Phillips (host) Astrophysicist, science journalist, former host of Catalyst (ABC)

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 joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell with psychiatrist Patrick McGorry for a powerful, moving conversation at the 2024 Adelaide Writers WeekOriginal broadcast on May 1, 2024Speakers:Jonathan RosenWriter and editorAuthor, The Best Minds: a story of friendship, madness, and the tragedy of good intentionsPatrick McGorryPsychiatristExecutive Director, OrygenProfessor of Youth Mental Health, University of MelbourneFounding Director, Headspace (National Youth Mental Health Foundation)Further information and support services:Lifeline Australia24x7 Crisis Support line on 13 11 14Beyond BlueMensLine AustraliaSANE AustraliaReachOut AustraliaAFRAFMI - supporting friends and carers of people with mental illnessOne Door Mental Health (formerly the Schizophrenia Fellowship of NSW)Hearing Voices NetworkMental Health First Aid AustraliaAustralians for Mental Health - advocating for better mental health policy and services in Australia

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". From the wise Augustus to the hypocritical Tiberius and the barking mad Caligula, Mary Beard uses these Roman rulers as a lens to examine life in their empire, and asks what lessons they can teach us about the world today.This event was recorded at Adelaide Writers' Week and originally broadcast on Big Ideas on 9 April 2024.SpeakersMary BeardAuthor Emperor of Rome, (also Pompeii, Confronting the Classics, SPQR, Women & Power, Twelve Caesars)Professor Emerita of Classics at Cambridge UniversityJonty ClaypoleWriter, documentary producer and arts administratorCEO, Red Room PoetryFormer Director of Arts, BBC