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 hi...
Apr 15, 2024•54 min
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.
Apr 11, 2024•54 min
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?...
Apr 10, 2024•58 min
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".
Apr 09, 2024•54 min
The best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world.
Apr 08, 2024•53 min
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?
Apr 04, 2024•53 min
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....
Apr 03, 2024•54 min
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?
Apr 02, 2024•54 min
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?
Apr 01, 2024•54 min
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.
Mar 28, 2024•53 min
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.
Mar 27, 2024•54 min
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....
Mar 26, 2024•54 min
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.
Mar 25, 2024•53 min
Liberalism isn't just a political philosophy but the basis of a truly meaningful life. That's the bold statement of philosopher Alexandre Lefebvre, author of the forthcoming book Liberalism As A Way of Life. Should individuals be free to pursue their own passions and interests in life? Does liberalism mean more than freedom of speech and small government? You might not identify as a liberal, but are we in fact all liberals at heart?
Mar 21, 2024•53 min
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.
Mar 20, 2024•54 min
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.
Mar 19, 2024•54 min
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?
Mar 18, 2024•54 min
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.
Mar 14, 2024•55 min
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.
Mar 13, 2024•54 min
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.
Mar 12, 2024•54 min
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?
Mar 11, 2024•54 min
We hear from the nation's anti-corruption leaders, including NACC Deputy Commissioner Nicole Rose, about the state of corruption in Australia.
Mar 07, 2024•54 min
Pioneering electronic musician and performer 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 our lives. 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 in ethics, or how you experience trauma? Laurie shares a creative conversation with twice-Booker-shortlisted author Tom McCarthy a...
Mar 06, 2024•54 min
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.
Mar 05, 2024•54 min
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....
Mar 04, 2024•54 min
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,...
Feb 22, 2024•54 min
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.
Feb 21, 2024•54 min
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?
Feb 20, 2024•53 min
There's nothing like an innocent story to rupture reality! Fiction is a literary seismograph for social conflict and stories can change minds. They have helped end slavery, and end discrimination. Hear the powerful story of how. Also, a gaming scholar with a blitz through the history of queer games. The creative games industry is pretty gay — so why isn't there more queer representation in gaming stories, and does the recent growth in queer games benefit all players? Enter a world of gaming, fan...
Feb 19, 2024•54 min
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 reclai...
Feb 15, 2024•54 min
