Tibetan master Venerable Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche experienced terrifying panic attacks as a little boy. What did he learn about suffering, the Self, and the nature of our mind through coming to understand his own mind? He joins Natasha Mitchell along with an Indian philosopher of mind and a Sufi scholar to wrestle with the self and its dissolution. This event Beyond Self — A journey to connection and wellbeing was organised by Tergar Australia and the Monash Centre for Consciousness and Contempla...
Jan 01, 2025•53 min
You wouldn't be human if you hadn't from time to time wondered what the meaning is of all of this. Who am I? Is there a purpose? Why am I here? And how can I live a good life? Well of course you're not alone – some of history's biggest thinkers have been coming up with answers to these questions for thousands of years. So what can we learn from their conclusions? This event was recorded at the Melbourne Writers Festival on 11 May, 2024. It was first broadcast on Big Ideas on 27 June 2024. Speake...
Dec 31, 2024•55 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...
Dec 30, 2024•54 min
From loneliness, to our technology addiction, growing inequality and our shrinking middle class, our faith in God, to the complex legacy of the Baby Boomers, Hugh McKay paints a compelling portrait of modern Australia, and asks some pointy questions about its future. This event was recorded at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia on May 16, 2024. First broadcast on Big Ideas on 4 July 2024. Speakers Hugh Mackay Social psychologist and researcherAuthor, The ...
Dec 26, 2024•56 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. In The House That Joy Built, Holly Ringland explains how to 'get unstuck' and to give yourself permission to be creative. This conversation was presented at the Readin...
Dec 25, 2024•54 min
A wooden sarcophogas is sold in a Cairo market in the 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? This event was ...
Dec 24, 2024•57 min
The internet was supposed to make the world more open and connected, but things seem to have taken a dark turn. Scottish author Andrew O'Hagan makes an impassioned case for the role of readers and writing as "frontline workers" in the fight for reality. These events were recorded at the Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival on 17 and 19 May 2024. Originally broadcast on Big Ideas on 18 July 2024. Speakers Andrew O'Hagan Author Caledonian Road, Mayflies, and moreEssayist and editor-at-lar...
Dec 23, 2024•54 min
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...
Dec 19, 2024•54 min
They use of shark nets to protect us from sharks is highly controversial. Do they work, what do they do to marine life, are there alternatives, and why are sharks so political? This is an issue that ignites passions. Join Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell and guests at the 2024 Ocean Lovers Festival for a robust interrogation of the harms and benefits. Original broadcast April 17, 2024. Speakers Lawrence Chlebeck Marine biologist and campaigner Humane Society International Dr Chris Pepin-Neff S...
Dec 18, 2024•55 min
At a time when family violence wasn't even recognised by the law, a group of women broke into two vacant houses in Sydney and claimed squatters' rights, changing lives and attitudes to family violence forever. This event was recorded at the Elsie Conference on 15 March 2024. Original Big Ideas broadcast on 6 May 2024. Speakers Professor Di Otto Halfway House Victoria Bobbie Townsend Former resident and worker, Elsie Women's Refuge Vivien Johnson Founding member of Marrickville Women's Refuge Col...
Dec 17, 2024•54 min
Australia's unique biodiversity, a product of almost 50 million years of glorious evolutionary isolation, is in freefall. The threats are not just the rabbits, the cane toads, the cats and foxes – the common culprits. Let's not forget the small but impactful smooth newt or the fierce red fire ants, and the many invasive weeds. Twenty new weeds will establish in the wild in Australia this year – and every year to come … unless things change. But is it possible to stop this ongoing invasion? How d...
Dec 16, 2024•54 min
From Vincent Namatjira's painting of Gina Rinehart, to Jonathan Yeo's take on King Charles, what do portraits say about those they represent, those who create them, and the broader context of the time? The Andrew Sayers Memorial Lecture was recorded at the National Portrait Gallery on 31 July 2024. The National Gallery of Australia's annual lecture with Lindy Lee was recorded on 24 October 2024. Speakers Benjamin Law Writer, broadcaster and cultural commentator Sarah Oakes (host) Director, Exter...
Dec 12, 2024•54 min
A freckle-faced kid from Bondi, Pauline Menczer fought the entrenched sexism of the pro-surfing scene to became women's world surfing champion and pave the way...er, waves..for girl grommets today. But all the while she was also fighting another battle inside her own body’s cells. Ironwoman and surf lifesaving champion Bonnie Hancock became the fastest and youngest person, and the first Australian woman, to circumnavigate Australia on a small surf ski, solo. What possessed her to paddle 12,700 k...
Dec 11, 2024•54 min
Do you want to live in Putin’s vision of a world in which ‘the big boys’ dominate …. or in one in which smaller nations have a voice? If it’s the latter, so the President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel, you need to support Ukraine. This war isn’t just about the borders in Ukraine or security in Europe, it affects the world and our principles of sovereignty, integrity, freedom, and the right of smaller nations to decide their own future. Hear from one of Europe’s foremost voices on global secur...
Dec 10, 2024•54 min
Born a refugee of the Vietnam War, and now a Pulitzer Prize winning American author, Viet Thanh Nguyen unpacks the refugee experience, and the politics and the personal weight of remembering, and forgetting. This event was recorded at the Melbourne Writers Festival on 11 May 2024 . Speakers Viet Thanh Nguyen Author, A man of two faces, The Sympathizer, Simone (children's book) and more Andre Dao (host) Author, Anam (winner of the 2024 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction )Postdoctoral Res...
Dec 09, 2024•56 min
There's been a move by Australian newsrooms to foster and champion the diversity of their staff. But when it comes to covering the conflict between Israelis & Palestinians, and the war in Gaza, does this push for diversity only run skin deep? Who gets to shape the story? The 2024 AN Smith Memorial Lecture was recorded at the University of Melbourne's Centre for Advancing Journalism on 26 November 2024. Speakers Nour Haydar Senior Audio producer and co-host, Full Story podcast, Guardian Austr...
Dec 05, 2024•59 min
Don't miss these previously unheard and powerful stories of ordinary people surviving extraordinary circumstances. Cyclone Tracy destroyed 80 percent of Darwin and killed 66 people. It's impact was harrowing. Beyond the despair are also memories of small blessings and surprising impacts long after that fateful Christmas of 1974. Presented by the Northern Territory Writers Festival Speakers Richard Creswick Author and former ABC journalist Derek Pugh Historian and author Jared Archibald Curator o...
Dec 04, 2024•53 min
In outback New South Wales, on the dried up, ancient clay shores of Lake Mungo, is a story that has become emblematic for profoundly deaf Worimi man Dr Scott Avery: what can it teach us about disability inclusion, leadership, and excellence? The 2024 Disability Leadership Oration was recorded at the National Archives of Australia on 26 November 2024. Speakers Dr Scott Avery Professor of Indigenous Disability and Wellbeing at the University of Technology Sydney Christina Ryan (host) Founder and c...
Dec 03, 2024•53 min
Can a single seed tell the story of a civilisation? What do the scars on the skins of 200-year old whales tell about our ancestors? Can ancient trees reveal hidden histories of human frailty and fabulousness? Can Nature be a timekeeper? Joining Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell are Dave Witty (author of What the Trees See: A Wander through Millennia of Natural History), Fiona McMillan-Webster (author of The Age of Seeds: How Plants Hacked Time and Why Our Future Depends on It) and Satyajit Das (au...
Dec 02, 2024•54 min
Human rights are meant to be universal, but what happens when those rights conflict with one another? For example, a religious school's right to practice its faith, versus the right of others to be free from discrimination? The 2024 Higinbotham Lecture was recorded at RMIT University on 21 October 2024. Speaker Justice Mordy Bromberg , President, Australian Law Reform Commission Further information Read the full report Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws from the Aust...
Nov 28, 2024•52 min
Rhonda Magee grew up in segregated North Carolina in an abusive household. She knows firsthand the deep divides that define America right now. She draws on her life, and her work as a law professor and leading mindfulness meditation teacher in her book The inner work of racial justice: Healing ourselves and transforming our communities through mindfulness. Mariam Tokhi is a writer and GP in a refugee and asylum seeker health service in Melbourne. She has created a trailblazing narrative medicine...
Nov 27, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Is menstruation linked to the moon? Do women's periods sync up when they live together? Are girls getting their first period younger? Why don't we talk about menstruation and menopause more? Popular US-based physician and bestselling author Dr Jen Gunter is on a mission to change the conversation about women's health. This event was recorded as part of National Science Week at the University of NSW's Centre for Ideas on 15 August 2024. Speakers Dr Jen Gunter Obstetrician and gynaecologistAuthor,...
Nov 26, 2024•53 min
Back in 1994, it was a pretty wild pitch for a movie: a troupe of drag queens road tripping across the Australian outback, in a lavender bus named Priscilla. But The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, put the Australian film industry on the global map, and these days it's become an icon of Australian cinema. This event was recorded on 11 September, 2024 , at the Capitol Theatre, RMIT University, as part of Social Sciences Week. Speakers Rebel Penfold-Russell Executive Producer, Prisci...
Nov 25, 2024•50 min
The Australian federal government wants to restrict social media to those aged over 16. Would that work? Adult and teen experts mount their arguments for and against social media and its harms and benefits. The Great Debate was presented by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia as part of 2024 Social Sciences Week , recorded at the National Library of Australia on 10 September 2024. Speakers STUDENT DEBATEFeaturing Year 7 and 8 students at University of Canberra High School Kaleen Host...
Nov 21, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Is social media a contagious force harming young minds, a life saver helping people find their neurodiverse tribes and support, or, for better or worse, a bit of both? From the Festival of Dangerous Ideas , join Natasha Mitchell with renowned social psychologist Jean Twenge, neurodiversity advocate Sonny Jane Wise, technology policy campaigner Alice Dawkins, suicide prevention researcher Dr Sandersan Onie. Young people depressed, distressed, and anxious. ADHD and Autism diagnoses on the increase...
Nov 20, 2024•54 min
Mediation in armed conflicts means sitting down with brutal war lords, hiding your true values and in an open dialogue trying to really understand all sides of the parties involved. In the most pressurised environments, there are nearly always possible pathways to a win-win outcome — but finding the way requires a combination of imagination, goodwill, timing, and street smarts. Reflections on Diplomacy and Peace Mediation was presented at the TheMHS Conference 2024 Speaker Paul Dziatkowiec Direc...
Nov 19, 2024•44 min
Pressing a full-time workload into four days sounds like simply adding more stress to your job – even if you keep your pay. But many people who have tried this model say that one would need to pay them double their salary to make them go back to a standard work week. And businesses enjoy better staff retention and get a completive edge on the job market. Presented by UQ ChangeMakers Speakers Debbie Bailey Consultant Partner, 4 Day Week Global Shannan Quain Chief People Officer, Australian Digita...
Nov 18, 2024•53 min
She was Andy Warhol's muse, she's been sampled by Notorious BIG, and her music was once voted on the ten best songs to dry-hump to. This is the amazing true story of how Indian-born singer Asha Puthli became a music legend. This event was recorded at Rising Festival on 7 June 2024 . Speakers Asha Puthli Singer Adriana Lazaridis (host) DJ...
Nov 14, 2024•53 min
The leading playwright Joanna Murray-Smith makes a powerful case for the role of the arts in Australian public life, arguing that moral righteousness is stifling artistic expression. The last ever Stephen Murray-Smith Memorial Lecture was recorded at the State Library of Victoria on 8 October 2024. Speaker Joanna Murray-Smith Playwright, screenwriter and novelist...
Nov 13, 2024•57 min
How should we reflect on wars, past and present? Do the rituals of Remembrance Day and Anzac Day hold meaning for young people? Natasha Mitchell is joined by a crowd of high school students and special guests with opinions on the future of commemoration. This event was hosted and organised by Victoria's Shrine of Remembrance to mark its 90th anniversary. Speakers: Che Weon (Michelle) LeeMasters of architecture student, University of Melbourne School of Design Granddaughter of Korean war veteran(...
Nov 11, 2024•55 min
