Join Natasha Mitchell for a very special event live under our stunning Southern night sky, with guests and listeners from around Australia in National Science Week. We crisscross the nation to observatories and dark sky sanctuaries to hear from astronomers, amateur sky nerds, and you. What's your most memorable night sky experience? And when did you last see a truly dark sky at night? Light pollution spells big trouble for creatures, culture, science, and your health. What can we all do to prote...
Aug 15, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast What led to this current era of superpower conflict, and what will the outcome of the 2024 US presidential race will mean for the geopolitical dynamics shaping the world? Speakers David E. Sanger National Security and White House Correspondent, New York TimesAuthor New Cold Wars: China's rise, Russia's invasion, and America's struggle to defend the West and others Dr Michael Green CEO, United States Studies Centre , University of Sydney...
Aug 14, 2024•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Your biological responses to fear are at the core of depression, anxiety, failed relationships and much of human misery. But you can change how your body reacts to threats – some steps are as simple as adjusting your breathing. Fear has evolved as a set of powerful physical reactions for surviving predators. In modern life we face very different threats, but the same ancient, automatic fear responses are triggered. And that doesn't end well. It has a huge impact on our physical and mental health...
Aug 13, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Humans have long had a morbid fascination with murder and other crimes, as shown through the popularity of shows like CSI and Silent Witness. But how close are these tv dramas to the real thing? Three forensic pathologists spill the beans on what it's really like to work in the science of death. This Sisters in Crime event was recorded on 24 May 2024 as part of Victorian Law Week. Speakers Associate Professor Linda IIes Head of forensic pathology services, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicin...
Aug 12, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Global South has vital perspectives in addressing the most pressing issues of our times, including inequality, the climate catastrophe, the mass displacement of humans, and the technologisation of life. Why aren't we listening? … Listening also to African diasporic writers when they correct the often unflattering stories about their home countries. Speaking from the South was presented by the University of Adelaide Africa Now was presented by the Sydney Writers Festival Speakers Abdulrazak G...
Aug 08, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Eric Beecher joins Natasha Mitchell to discuss his riveting and excoriating new book The Men Who Killed the News: The inside story of how media moguls abused their power, manipulated the truth, and distorted democracy. A longtime journalist, editor and media proprietor, Erich Beecher is chair and the largest shareholder of Private Media, which owns the news website Crikey. In 2023, Fox Corporation’s Lachlan Murdoch paid Crikey $1.3million in legal costs after withdrawing his much publicised defa...
Aug 07, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you been online recently and noticed the internet is changing? Everything from your Google searches to your social media profiles are now being used to train artificial intelligence. So, do you have a problem with that? This event was recorded at the Vice-Chancellor's Annual Democracy Forum at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on June 19, 2024. Speakers Meredith Whittaker President, Signal Professor Peta Wyeth Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, UTS Associate Pr...
Aug 06, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Whether in conflicts around the world or within society, irreconcilability seems to be the hallmark of our present times. But it doesn't have to be that way. Many thought that reconciliation between West Germany and the UK and France after World War II was absolutely impossible. History taught us otherwise. What's the lesson of this process for today? What are the tools that lead to successful and lasting peace? Analysing Reconciliation and Irreconcilability from a Historical Perspective: The Ex...
Aug 05, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast World conflicts can be overwhelming, or sometimes they feel very remote. But for many Australians, they are deeply personal, raw, and real. So what's it like when world news is not about 'other' people, but about 'your' people? This lively forum was hosted by Benjamin Law for QPAC and Multicultural Australia as part of the Changing the Conversation series on June 25, 2024. Speakers Amok Dhuol South Sudanese Australian youth mentor, advocate with the Queensland African Communities Council Arunn J...
Aug 01, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast One day Ariane Beeston looked at her baby son in his pram and saw a dragon looking back at her. In her memoir Because I am Not Myself You See: A memoir of madness, motherhood and coming back from the brink Ariane takes us inside her visceral experience of postnatal psychosis. Her extraordinary book could save lives — and cleaves open the secrets and stigma around maternal mental health, perfectionism, eating disorders, maternal love, dance school culture, and much more. She joins Natasha Mitchel...
Jul 31, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast A vintage ute, a novelty cheque, shearing prize ribbons, a household trunk and blanket – even the simplest of things can tell a powerful story, connect a community and showcase our history. In the ABC TV series 'Extraordinary Things', Tony Armstrong is on a journey to discover and celebrate the things we treasure. And an exhibition at the National Museum of Australia brings together the objects Tony found, the people who cherish them and the extraordinary stories they reveal. The exhibition is r...
Jul 30, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jimmy Lai was once considered Hong Kong's quintessential rags to riches success story. But now, the newspaper publisher and democracy supporter is facing a life sentence in jail under China's crackdown on press freedom and opposition in the city. How did it come to this? And what does it mean for Hong Kong? This event was recorded on Thursday July 4 with the Melbourne Press Cub and PEN Melbourne , supported by the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne . Speakers Sebastia...
Jul 29, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's only eight years until the torch will be passed on to Brisbane. The countdown is on: Are we prepared? What are the challenges? What is the politics involved? And how important is children participating in sport to ensure that the games have a future? Presented at the Bond Business Leaders Forum , Bond University. Speakers Ian Chesterman President of the Australian Olympic Committee Pat Howard Former rugby international player and coach for the Leicester Tigers; Executive General Manager of ...
Jul 25, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Join a full house at the Sydney Opera House with Nobel winning scientist Jennifer Doudna and Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell to discuss the huge social, ethical, and scientific implications of the CRISPR gene editing revolution. From curative therapies to gene edited babies - will we use it to hack our own evolution? This event was presented by the Sydney Opera House , Big Questions Institute (BQI), Sydney Writers’ Festival , UNSW Sydney . Speaker: Professor Jennifer Doudna 2020 Nobel Prize for...
Jul 24, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Who's watching your local council, keeping you abreast of issues in your neighbourhood, and celebrating your community's achievements? That used to be the role of your local newspaper, but now many of us don't have one. This event was recorded at the Willy Lit Fest on Sunday 16 June 2024. Speakers Margaret Simons Honorary Professorial Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of MelbourneAuthor, Tanya Plibersek: on her own terms , Penny Wong: Passion and Principle , and others Josie Vi...
Jul 23, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Moral philosopher and writer Raimond Gaita wrestles with the moral and ethical dimensions of the Israel-Gaza war to try to make sense of the incomprehensible. The Jim Carlton Integrity Lecture , "The Urgency of Ethical Challenges Facing the World" was recorded at the Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne on May 8, 2024. Speaker Raimond Gaita Honorary professorial fellow, Melbourne Law School, University of MelbourneEmeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy, King's College LondonFellow...
Jul 22, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the shadow of the AI revolution, as the tech giants vie for our data, our attention, and our money, beloved Scottish author Andrew O'Hagan makes an impassioned case for the role of readers and writers 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. Speakers Andrew O'Hagan Author, Caledonian Road , Mayflies,and many moreEssayist, editor-at-large of the London Review of Books Gillian O'Shaugh...
Jul 18, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Join Natasha Mitchell and guests for a conversation full of surprises on the bonds that make us and sometimes break us. Bad dates, spaceships, surviving cults, the creature within, mother love, loss, and more — how do our attachments shape our minds and lives? Thanks to Griffith Review and the Brisbane Writers Festival for organising this event. Speakers: Anna McGahan Actor, playwright, screenwriter, Vogel Award winnerAuthor, Immaculate (Allen and Unwin 2023), and Metanoia: a memoir of a body, b...
Jul 17, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast For many Indigenous performers publicity comes with the burden of being a role model. Their only options seem to be a pedestal or oblivion, particularly if they are women. What are the challenges for them to find their place on stage and in life? Who has the right to be 'bad' in a society that expects women to be flawless? A panel of Indigenous cultural commentators explores stereotypes and puts them in the bin. Presented at the All About Women Festival by the Sydney Opera House. Speakers Barkaa...
Jul 16, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Recent elections overseas have shown a rise in the popularity of far-right politics in Europe and elsewhere, fuelled by anti-immigration sentiment, economic woes and other grievances. So what does this mean for far-right movements back here in Australia? This event was recorded at the University of Canberra on May 16, 2024. Speakers Jordan McSwiney Author, Far-Right Political Parties in Australia: Disorganisation and Electoral Failure Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Deliberative Democra...
Jul 15, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast In some parts of the United States, you're more likely to see a book banned in public libraries and schools, than efforts towards gun control. Advocacy organisation PEN America has documented more than 10,000 book bans since 2021. Momentum to censor books is growing, and also spreading to places like Australia. So what's it like to write and sell books in this climate? This event was recorded at the Melbourne Writers Festival on the 12 May, 2024. Speakers Ann Patchett Author of Tom Lake, Bel Can...
Jul 11, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast From land rights to health and education, working within the system or outside of it, what makes a great Indigenous leader, and how do we create the right conditions for leadership to flourish? The 2024 Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture was recorded by James Cook University in Cairns on May 16, 2024. Speaker Professor Ngiare Brown Chancellor, James Cook University, Yuin Nation...
Jul 10, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Democracy is not necessarily the winner of the recent elections in Asia. More than a billion people across the region have voted. But that doesn't ensure democratic ideals and processes are uphold. We look at Indonesia, India and Taiwan to put the election results into context and learn how they impact democracy not just in their own countries, but across the region and the globe. Presented by La Trobe Asia . Speakers Kevin MageeAdjunct Fellow at the Australia-China Relations Institute, Universi...
Jul 09, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast In NAIDOC Week, is reconciliation between Black and White Australians dead, buried, or in need of re-imagining? The fallout of the Voice Referendum has left many jaded, confused, angry or indifferent. Two galvanising reflections on what all Australians can learn from the referendum, with visions for what next. Speakers Professor Tom Calma AOAboriginal Elder from the Kungarakan tribal group and a member of the Iwaidja and Woolwonga tribal groups in the Top End of the NT. Former Aboriginal and Tor...
Jul 08, 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 Mackay 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. Speakers Hugh MackaySocial psychologist and researcherAuthor, The Way We Are. Lessons from a lifetime of listen...
Jul 04, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Join Natasha Mitchell and guests in a coal country heartland. Communities in Muswellbrook and Singleton in the NSW Upper Hunter are living at the coalface — quite literally — of the vexed debate over Australia's slow transition to a post-Carbon future. Australia's oldest coal-fired Liddell power station {"Lady Liddell") was shut down by AGL last year, AGL's Bayswater Power Station will close within a decade, coal mines are being closed, others expanded, and now the Coalition is proposing a nucle...
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Throughout history, empires and civilisations have risen to greatness and then fallen into decline and vanish, leaving only ruins and some artefacts. Why? Are there common features of collapse? From the great societies of Mesopotamia to those of Khmer and the Maya and Aztec of the Americas; from the Roman empire to Carthage. They all follow a similar route. What are the lessons for our civilisation and our future? Presented at the York Festival of Ideas . The festival is led by the University of...
Jul 02, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Through the lens of her own middle-class family, prolific British journalist Polly Toynbee explores the guilt of privilege, the myth of mobility and the role of class in British society and politics. This event was recorded at the UNSW Centre for Ideas on March 11, 2024. Speakers Polly Toynbee Columnist, The GuardianAuthor, An Uneasy Inheritance, my family and other radicals Nick Bryant Journalist, author and commentator...
Jul 01, 2024•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast You wouldn't be human if you hadn't from time to time wondered what the meaning of all of this is. 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 Melbourne Writers Festival on May 11, 2024. Speaker AC Grayling Professor of Philosophy, Northeastern Unive...
Jun 27, 2024•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Join Natasha Mitchell and guests for a poetic discussion on the ways you can create space to grieve for species that are going, going, gone. Powerful interests collude to tell us that expressing emotion is hysterical, and that humans are separate from Nature, but proper mourning paves the way for what to do next — and places us right back where we belong. Speakers Professor Thom van Dooren Environmental philosopherProfessor of Environmental HumanitiesDeputy Director of the Sydney Environment Ins...
Jun 26, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
