Big Ideas - podcast cover

Big Ideas

ABC listen•www.abc.net.au
Society & Culture
News
Politics
Feed your mind. Be provoked. One big idea at a time. Your brain will love you for it. Grab your front row seat to the best live forums and festivals with Natasha Mitchell.
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Episodes

Mary Beard — Empress of Rome

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

Ripples, resilience, and rivers – the politics of water with Natasha Mitchell and guests

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

Forging a fire ready future

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

What makes a charity successful?

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

Julia Baird on how grace saves us from a dark world

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

Bessel van der Kolk on The Body Keeps the Score

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

Why are young people more unhappy and worried?

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

Are we all liberals at heart?

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

The Atomic Revolution and the Quantum Promise (2023 Boyer Lectures 1 and 2)

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

I've Been to a Parallel World

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

The education gap between rural and metropolitan Australia is costing us billions

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

Solving the mysteries of the universe − with philosophy

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

How Russia’s war on Ukraine ends

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

Spending time with Laurie Anderson

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

Finding your creativity with Holly Ringland

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

Nature for people – how the natural world affects our health

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

Swiftposium – the academics of Taylor Swift

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

Intuition — the science of knowing WHAT without knowing WHY

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
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