How many times have you checked your phone today? How many tabs are open in your web browser? Do you feel in control of your attention? In the digital age, attention is now a commodity. Can practices like meditation and mindfulness help us feel more free to focus on what really matters? This event was hosted at the Brunswick Ballroom by the Sophia Club in partnership with the University of Melbourne's Contemplative Studies Centre . Speakers Jess Huon Meditation trainer, authorised Dharma teacher...
Mar 18, 2025•54 min
The structures of our families have become more bespoke, complex, sometimes messier. Some find comfort in a 'chosen family', choosing friends over blood-relatives as kin. Patchwork families are increasingly common. You can a birth mother, a genetic mother and a social mother. How is the family changing and with what impacts? Meet three writers here to help you re-imagine the ties that bind. Presented at the Byron Writers Festival , supported by the Byron Shire Council. Speakers Kon Karapanagioti...
Mar 17, 2025•55 min
The Murray Darling Basin is the most important river system in Australia, and the most contested. What does it mean to live by those rivers, through the droughts, the floods, and the water politics that shape these communities. A beautiful and evocative history of the Murray Darling Basin, as told by people who live there. This speech was recorded at the History Council of Victoria's annual lecture at the State Library of Victoria on 14 November 2024. Speakers Katie Holmes Professor in History a...
Mar 13, 2025•54 min
How has the fossil fuel industry wielded influence over Australian governments and their policies? What does it take to make ambitious change in the public interest, without vested interests getting in way? Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at Adelaide Writers Week. Speakers Dr Richard Denniss Economist and Executive Director of The Australia Institute Author of BIG: The Role of the State in the Modern Economy (2022) Ross Garnaut EconomistProfessor Emeritus in business and economics, University o...
Mar 12, 2025•54 min
The citizens of France have a notoriously conflicted relationship with the state. Their suspicion, if not resentfulness, of state power has played out in myriad revolts over the centuries and continues with repeated protests and riots to this day. It shapes the country's political and social fabric … from the set-up of their local sports clubs to their global foreign politics ambitions. The picture that emerges is one of a nation struggling to reconcile its core political values with the realiti...
Mar 11, 2025•54 min
The International Criminal Court has issued high-profile arrests warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over their conduct in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. But although the court's role is to end impunity for war crimes, many are now questioning whether it has the power to perform that vital duty. This event was recorded at the University of Tasmania on 11 February 2025. Speakers Alex Whiting Professor of Practice, Harvard Law SchoolFormer Act...
Mar 10, 2025•54 min
A "Homeric struggle", a desperate night-ballet, an ethical training ground for boys and men. Aussie Rules is a multimillion-dollar industry, but at its heart, to thousands of people, it's much more than that. Including to Australian literary great, Helen Garner. This event was recorded at the National Library of Australia on 20 February 2025. Speakers Helen GarnerAuthor, The Season, Monkey Grip, The Children's Bach, The First Stone, Joe Cinque's Consolation, The Spare Room, This House of Grief a...
Mar 06, 2025•54 min
Donald Trump's return to The White House is up-ending the way America works — at home and on the global stage. Does it herald the potential social, political, and constitutional collapse of United States? The world has watched nations sleepwalk into ultranationalist fascism before, is this that moment? Or is American democracy more resilient than any one demagogue? Are we on the cusp of new world order, and how will Australia play its cards if the USA no longer has our back? This event was prese...
Mar 05, 2025•54 min
A trip to Bunnings, a Medibank or Optus account, a new smart car or vacuum, every facet of our daily lives is now up for grabs. So should privacy continue to be our individual responsibility, or is it time for governments do more? This event was recorded at the State Library of Victoria on 19 November 2024. Speakers Hugh de Kretser President, Australian Human Rights Commission Lizzie O'Shea Founder and chair of Digital Rights Watch Principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn Ed Santow Co-Director of t...
Mar 04, 2025•54 min
Europe needs to rethink its strategies and policies to protect the continent in the future. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, China's predatory mercantilism, and the rise of populist neoisolationism in the United States mean that depending on the status quo won't cut it anymore. But after decades of neglect, restoring Europe's military capacity, economic competitiveness, and strategic autonomy will be difficult. Can NATO evolve into a more balanced team, and may the time finally have come for a Euro...
Mar 03, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Humans have a conflicted relationship with animals: We love our pets and admire our wildlife. But we continue the industrial production of dairy, meat and eggs, that often leaves animal suffering in dreadful conditions. We create a division between US and THEM, if it suits us. What does that say about how we value animals in our lives? Presented at the Byron Writers Festival Speakers Peter Singer Bioethicist and author of Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, and The Buddhist and the EthicistFoun...
Feb 24, 2025•44 min
Seeing a whale in the wild takes your breath away. But so much of what they do remains mysterious. Join Natasha Mitchell with two world leading whale researchers unearthing the secret world of cetaceans. You'll want to change jobs when you hear what they get up to! Thousands of humpback whales will soon leave their Summer feeding grounds in Antarctica with full bellies to begin the world's longest mammalian migration. How do they live, breed, behave, survive, thrive? Commercial whaling might hav...
Feb 24, 2025•54 min
Cherished companions, or cunning predators? Cats kill five million native animals in Australia every day — so how can we better manage our feline friends? Listen to the rest of our special series Animals — Us and Them? Speakers Alex Patton Invasive species ecologist and PhD candidate, University of Tasmania Noel Hunt CEO, Ten Lives Cat Centre Dr Catherine "Cat" Young Biodiversity coordinator, NRM South Dr Tiana Pirtle (host)Conservation officer, Invasive Species Council Further information: Cats...
Feb 24, 2025•54 min
Zoos are changing — they are no longer just places for us humans to gawk at animals in cages. In the midst of a global extinction crisis, they are now playing a vital role. So what is their future? This event was recorded at the International Society of Behavioural Ecology Congress in Melbourne on 2 October 2024, with thanks to organiser Professor Andy Bennett from the University of Melbourne. Listen to the rest of our special series Animals — Us and Them? Speakers Dr Sally Sherwin Director of W...
Feb 24, 2025•52 min
Satyajit Das presents a provocative examination of the use and abuse of images of wild animals, and how they shape our relationships with the natural world. These pictures can create an impression of abundance and untouched ecosystems, and lull us into a false sense of security, at a time when the natural world faces ecological calamity. The Attenborough Effect — Shaping Our Relationship With Wild Animals was presented by the Australian National Maritime Museum . Speaker Satyajit DasAuthor of Wi...
Feb 20, 2025•43 min
We’re past the brink of civilisational collapse. And many environmentalists are pushing a “fake green fairytale”. Jem Bendell’s arguments have inspired the Extinction Rebellion movement’s civil disobedience pushing for climate change action. But Jem doesn’t think protest is enough now. Find out why the self-confessed eco-libertarian and author of Breaking Together: A freedom-loving response to collapse thinks we should break together not apart. Jem joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the 20...
Feb 19, 2025•54 min
For 30 years, Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia exposed corruption and wrong doing in her country. Her youngest son, Paul Caruana Galizia, details the impact of her life, her assassination in a car bomb explosion in 2017, and how her legacy lives on.
Feb 18, 2025
The British Empire was once the biggest in the world. But now, some countries are cutting ties, and some want reparations. So just what is the legacy of British imperialism? This event was recorded at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in October 2024. Speakers Sathnam Sanghera Author, Empireworld: how British Imperialism shaped the globe and Empireland: how Modern Britain is Shaped by its Imperial Past, and moreColumnist with the Sunday Times Gill Westaway Owner-operator at Villa Karingal, L...
Feb 18, 2025•42 min
Being who we are in public (with our mental illness) is the only way to create lasting change. Amanda Tattersall, co-founder of the campaigning organisation Get-Up, speaks powerfully about her experience of living with bipolar disorder and its role in driving social change. Hear how storytelling, sharing lived experiences, and forging solidarity through difference can make all the difference. Her keynote address: Making Change and Mental Illness — reimagining how we make a difference from the in...
Feb 17, 2025•53 min
Cancel culture has ruined careers and lives — but did they deserve it? What consequences should people face for what they say and do? And what does redemption look like in the digital age? This event was recorded at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney on 25 August 2024. Speakers Roxane Gay Editor, social commentator, contributing opinion writer for The New York TimesAuthor, Bad Feminist, Hunger: A Memoir of My Body , Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Bu...
Feb 13, 2025•54 min
Sara Shams had both legs amputated at age six — it became her superpower. 15-year-old Taylor Ladd-Hudson turned a shark experience into something bigger. Amy Parry got subversive after she was told women's stories on screen were too niche. Jody Rallah wanted to make sense of the world and art led the way. And Anisa Nandaula turns it all into performance poetry. Meet these changemakers joining Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the Women of the World (WOW) Festival in Brisbane in October 2024. Sp...
Feb 12, 2025•53 min
Imagine a world where your brain is enhanced through cutting-edge technologies and next-generation AI, blurring the lines between organic and digital realms … and unlocking unprecedented potential. We are already some steps on the way in such a future. What would this mean for intelligence, human agency and consciousness? Your Brain on AI From organoids to consciousness was presented by the Sydney Opera House . Speakers Paul Davies Theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist, Arizona Stat...
Feb 11, 2025•54 min
With more than 3 billion people playing video games worldwide, they have the potential to wield tremendous power and influence. So is it time to take video games more seriously? This event was recorded at the Melbourne International Games Week on 3 October 2024. Speakers George Osborn Founder, Half-Space Consulting Rad Yeo (host)Television and podcast presenter, video game critic, and technology journalist...
Feb 10, 2025•52 min
When Kasey Chambers was growing up, her dad had one simple, yet profound piece of advice. Just don't be a d***head. This event was recorded at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne, with thanks to Readings bookshop. Speakers Kasey Chambers Musician, 13th album BackboneAuthor, Just Don't Be A D**khead And Other Profound Things I've Learnt Youngest female inductee, ARIA Hall of Fame (2018)24-time Golden Guitar winner Clare Bowditch (host) MusicianAuthor, Your Own Kind of Girl...
Feb 06, 2025•54 min
President Donald Trump’s administration is already muzzling government-funded scientists. Closer to home, Australian scientists have their own stories to tell about science censored, stymied or watered down when its findings aren’t convenient to industry or politicians. Should scientists stand up as things fall down? A Tasmanian panel argue why scientists should speak up, and consider the tensions between advocacy and impartiality when they do. Speakers Alexandra de Blas Science and environmenta...
Feb 05, 2025•54 min
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. Speakers George Megalogenis Journalist, author, Quarterly Essay #96 Minority Report: The New Shape of Australian Politics Tory Shepherd (host) Senior reporter, Guardian Australia...
Feb 04, 2025•53 min
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 th...
Feb 03, 2025•51 min
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 p...
Jan 30, 2025•54 min
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 Melbourn...
Jan 29, 2025•54 min
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 myths Speakers Rhoda RobertsProducer, artistic director, journalist and broadcaster and author of My Cousin Fran...
Jan 28, 2025•43 min
