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. Speaker Dr Angel Foster Professor, University of OttawaCo-founder, Massachusetts Medication Abortion Acce...
Jan 21, 2025•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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, Vic...
Jan 20, 2025•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 w...
Jan 16, 2025•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Week Original broadcast on May 1, 2024 Spea...
Jan 15, 2025•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Id...
Jan 14, 2025•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast We are living in an "age of crises," says former New Zealand prime minister, Helen Clark. With her leadership experience and expertise in governance, politics, and policy, Helen Clark and a panel of health and international relation experts explore the challenges facing the world today and what is needed to achieve a healthier and thriving future for all. proWhile it's easy to feel overwhelmed by complex problems, speaking up about inequality can make a difference. Helen Clark urged everyone to ...
Jan 13, 2025•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Thi...
Jan 09, 2025•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Jan 08, 2025•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Join host Natasha Mitchell and guests for some straight talk that cuts through spin and jargon. Has the way politicians speak ever made you shout at the television, feel bamboozled, helpless, or shut out of democratic debate over our shared future? Pollie-talk can make important issues opaque, the inequitable seem fair, and the fair seem inequitable. Hear from Richard Denniss (author of Econobabble: How to decode political spin and economic nonsense), Yanis Varoufakis (author of Technofeudalism:...
Jan 07, 2025•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Residents of the Pacific and Torres Strait Islands face an existential threat from climate change, as rising sea levels threaten to swallow up their homes and livelihoods. But they are fighting back - calling for Australia and other countries to do more to end investment in fossil fuels and prevent a full blown climate catastrophe. This event was recorded on Kaurna country at WOMADelaide's Planet Talks on March 9, 2024. With thanks also to The Australia Institute. Original Big Ideas broadcast on...
Jan 06, 2025•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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? The Philosophy You Already Have — a Live Philosophy event was p...
Jan 02, 2025•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 
