Big Ideas

Love for your neighbour: how to cultivate radical empathy in a disenchanted world

21 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From running a massage clinic for homeless men to running the largest independent human rights organisation in the country, Kon Karapanagiortidis has...

What makes Putin tick — and how will his iron-fist rule of Russia end? Natasha Mitchell with guests

20 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Some say Russian president Vladimir Putin is growing increasingly paranoid, as his war with Ukraine wages on. It's hard to know from the outside look...

When the safety net frays − nuclear weapon risks in a new era

19 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The global treaty for preventing nuclear proliferation is under serious strain. The last review conferences for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ...

How to date from a position of power, with Bad Dates of Melbourne creator Alita Brydon and Nelly Thomas

18 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever heard of something called Chatfishing? From to AI profiles to cat-face filters, finding true love has never felt more difficult. And ye...

How to date from a position of power, with the creator of Bad Dates of Melbourne Alita Brydon

18 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever heard of something called Chatfishing? From to AI profiles to cat-face filters, finding true love has never felt more difficult. And ye...

How to live and die well — with Marieke Hardy, Hannah Gould and Antonia Pont

14 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It's the only sure thing in life: that we will all die some day. But many of us are scared to think about death — our own, or our loved ones'. How...

Is there an alchemy to good leadership? And why Prime Ministers should love their mums

13 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What traits do you look for in a political leader? Honesty? Authenticity? An ego probably helps, but what about knowing how to manage it?  Are leade...

Jimmy Lai's fight for press freedom and democracy in Hong Kong

12 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A man, who could have stayed wealthy and silent, chose not to. Jimmy Lai launched newspapers that dared to challenge Beijing, publications that told ...

From deepfakes to dodgy headlines, what’s going on in your newsfeed? — journalism, AI and the algorithm

11 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

These days, more Australians get their news from their social media feed than traditional media outlets. Meanwhile artificial intelligence is superch...

Why working-class kid turned millionaire banker Gary Stevenson wants you to join the fight against economic inequality

07 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

He's got a rags to riches origin story, a hit Youtube channel and a bestselling memoir. Now Gary Stevenson is using his platform to fight the growing...

Dear Prime Minister Albanese: Where are all the BIG IDEAS?

06 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A year on from its landslide victory, has Labor used its historic win to deliver big on BIG ideas to set Australia up for the future? Or is Prime Min...

Martin Luther King III on why Indigenous employment is essential for Australia's prosperity

05 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Indigenous participation in the economy is not just a social imperative — it's a strategic economic opportunity crucial to Australia's long-term gr...

How do Royal Commissions work (and are they worth it)? With Betty King, Jack Rush and Jon Faine

04 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

They're Australia's highest form of inquiry on matters of public importance. But they've also become the go-to solution when corruption, misconduct o...

Was Malcolm Fraser a conservative warrior or a closet progressive?

30 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Malcolm Fraser's legacy remains contested territory in Australian politics. Decades after he left office, we still can't quite figure him out. The Pr...

"Here I am, here we are" Jewish Australian women reflect on the rupture of October 7 2023

29 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

October 7 has become synonymous with the Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023, in which more than 1200 Jewish people were murdered. What has followed — ...

Resistance — Yanis Varoufakis with Helen Vatsikopoulos on the people who fought back against fascism

28 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Through the stories of five women across three generations of his family, the influential Greek economist, author, politician and public intellectual...

What lies behind the scientific breakthrough? Professor Georgina Long on medicine's third space

27 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Every scientist dreams of a breakthrough — a new discovery that will change everything. Professor Georgina Long is someone who has done it — as a...

40 years after Chernobyl we face a new nuclear risk — this time as a weapon of war

23 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The explosion of reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is not only a story of the past. Right now, nuclear plants are weaponised i...

Is Trump a new Nero, Caligula, Caesar? Can the Roman Empire help us make sense of today's chaos? And other burning questions

22 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Is President Trump a new Nero, or a contemporary Caligula? The Roman Empire was full of merchants of chaos, power-hungry emperors, epic wars, backst...

Australia's Broken Social Contract — Tahlia Isaac wants to protect women in prison

21 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What happens to a community when it punishes its most vulnerable instead of protecting them Drawing on her own story of addiction, imprisonment, and ...

Australia's broken social contract — Tahlia Isaac wants to protect women in prison

21 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What happens to a community when it punishes its most vulnerable instead of protecting them Drawing on her own story of addiction, imprisonment, and ...

Is Southeast Asia Australia's blind spot? — with Michael Wesley and Geoff Raby

20 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Australians love a holiday in Southeast Asia. But our proximity to this region also makes it key to our national security and prosperity. Yet Austral...

The future of the past — how artificial intelligence is changing history

16 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence has been defined as a cluster of technologies of and for the future. But like most humans, AI is built using what has happene...

Aliens exist (and the truth is out there)!? Science Smackdown at World Science Festival Brisbane 2026

15 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It's Team 'Aliens Alive' versus Team 'Earthlings United'. Get out of this world, hear the arguments, and you decide. Was the X-Files really a documen...

British journalist Emily Maitlis on THAT Prince Andrew interview and news in a post truth world

14 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

She is best known for her 2019 grilling of then Prince Andrew over his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But Emily Maitlis has...

Tennis prodigy Todd Ley on the underbelly of elite junior sport

13 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Todd Ley exposes a high-pressure world where talent is everything, but protection is rare; where overzealous parents, manipulative coaches, hungry sp...

Who's afraid of a joke? Comedy in an authoritarian age — with comedians Sam Jay, Tom Ballard, Bahaa Dabbagh and Leon Filewood

09 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Jon Stewart called comedians the "banana peel in the coal mine" when democracy is under threat. From Trump's America to Bashar al-Assad's Syria, come...

The science of SEX! Natasha Mitchell and guests at World Science Festival Brisbane

08 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Get bonkers on bonking with Natasha Mitchell and guests at the 2026 World Science Festival Brisbane. It’s a sexy, fun, and educational – what's n...

Forgiveness — a generous gift or social pressure disguised as a virtue?

07 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

You often hear that forgiveness is the key to healing and moving on — but is it always the right thing to do? This conversation explores how forgiv...

The diplomats — the ups and downs of life in Australia's foreign embassies

06 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia has some 120 embassies, high commissions, consulates-general and representative o...

Six years of writing, 200 rejections — how Miles Franklin award-winning writer Siang Lu learned to live with failure

02 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Failure is a part of life, whether we like it or not. While most of us don't ever want to fail, failure does have things to teach us — about oursel...

Disinformation, deep fakes, and other dodgy doings — the threat to Australian security, democracy, and you

01 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Misinformation, disinformation, deep fakes,  false news — do you feel confident spotting them? They’re doing real harm to our relationships, o...

A human rights agenda for Canada (2025 CBC Massey lecture 5)

31 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In more than 40 years on the front lines of international human rights Alex Neve has heard Canada described as ‘the land of human rights’ — and...

How people power makes human rights real (2025 CBC Massey Lecture 4)

30 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that universal human rights begin in “small places, close to home — so close and so small that they cannot be seen on...

Human Rights don't have to be earned (2025 CBC Massey lecture 3)

26 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Our inherent human rights belong to us from the moment we are born. There is nothing we need to do to earn them, and they are supposed to apply to us...

The six years that remade human rights (2025 CBC Massey Lecture 2)

24 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The ideals behind the concept of human rights — such as the sacredness of life, reciprocity, justice and fairness — have millennia-old histories....

Renewing the broken promise of universal human rights. Alex Neve (2025 CBC Massey lecture 1)

23 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Human rights are universal, right? For everyone, everywhere, without exception. That promise, born out of the Holocaust and World War II, has been br...

From breadwinners to Bluey's Bandit — a history of Australian fathers and their families

19 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This episode explores the past and present expectations and experiences of Australian fathers, in the workforce, domestic duties, and child-rearing, ...

Girl on Girl — How pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves with The Atlantic's Sophie Gilbert

18 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Dive into the world of heroin chic and Girl Power to make sense of the mixed messages Millennial women experienced as they came of age. Before social...

Randa Abdel-Fattah and Louise Adler on the cost of speaking out in a time of division

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

She's attracted controversy and cancellation, but Palestinian Australian author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah has not been deterred from speaking o...

Mental illness —Taking stigma out of media reporting

16 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When a violent crime makes the news, mental illness is often part of the story. But how that story is told, the words chosen, the details included, t...

Shattered lands — Sam Dalrymple on the five partitions of British India

12 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Over five decades, one single, sprawling dominion, from Yemen to Myanmar, became twelve modern nations. This is the story of how the actions of polit...

Three Nobels! Are we backing young minds today to pull off what Brian Schmidt, Peter Doherty, Rolf Zinkernagel did?

11 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Nobel Prize winning work often happens in a young scientist's 20s or 30s — early in their careers. Are the conditions right in Australian universit...

The secret of how to topple tyrants and dictators — and crimes against humanity under the microscope

10 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Presenting a road map to a world with fewer Putins and Kim Jong Uns. Political scientist Marcel Dirsus exposes the precarious reality behind the faç...

ABC National Forum

09 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The inaugural ABC National Forum is a live, televised panel discussion bringing together Jewish Australians to examine their lives in Australia in 20...

Religious roots of antisemitism

09 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The roots of antisemitism run deep. Christians and Muslims have told stories for centuries about Jewish people. Stories that have weaponised the rela...

In a time of division, how can we rebuild social cohesion? — with Australian Human Rights Commissioner Hugh de Kretser

09 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A global pandemic, a foreign war, a failed referendum on Indigenous rights, increasing inequality and a fractured media — these and other forces ha...

How a song became a movement for Afghanistan's women and girls — with International Children's Peace Prize winner Nila Ibrahimi

05 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In March 2021, Afghanistan's Taliban rulers banned female students over the age of 12 from singing in public. The prohibition sparked a wave of onlin...

Scientist Tim Flannery — a Panopticon for our times?

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Panopticon was a prison design by the famous philosopher and social reformer Jeremy Bentham which placed prison guards in a central tower overloo...

Two Visions, One Challenge: Building a better Australia

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Join acclaimed author and human rights advocate Thomas Mayo and media icon Ray Martin AM as they deliver two powerful orations on justice, reconcilia...

Can an arts degree change the world? A defence of the study humanities at Australian universities

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Universities are under pressure — particularly the study of subjects like languages, history, social sciences and the creative arts. This lecture l...

Dearest Gentle Reader, a very Bridgerton Big Ideas! Australian novelists dissect the regency era

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As Bridgerton continues to captivate millions and we just marked the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, the Regency era has never been more th...

The Stoic and the introvert — life hacks from Brigid Delaney and Jenny Valentish

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Feeling a little world weary? Is Stoicism the philosophy you need a little more of in your life? Can an introvert be your guide to getting out the fr...

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya fights for a free Belarus − and what are Russia's strategies in Southeast Asia?

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is calling for a braver response to the actions of the Belarusian dictatorship. She explores the impact of the war against U...

Human rights under pressure — responding to the backlash against the LGBTIQA+ community

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The hard fought for gains of one generation can pave the way for the next, but the road to equality is never straight. After meaningful progress for ...

The life of astronauts — with 2026 Australian of the Year Katherine Bennell-Pegg

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What is it really like to be an astronaut? How do you even become one? What happens when an argument breaks out on the International Space Station? A...

Harvard firebrand on intellectual freedom Steven Pinker with Natasha Mitchell

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard psychologist and bestselling author Steven Pinker is a fierce advocate for intellectual and academic freedom — and one of the world’s mos...

What does Labor stand for? With Sean Kelly and Misha Ketchell

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In its second term, the Albanese Government enjoys a large majority in parliament and an opposition in disarray. But faced with a fragmented, fractio...

What does liberalism mean today?

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Liberalism is one of the most influential — and contested — political philosophies of the modern age. But what does it actually mean in contempor...

Moral revolution — Dutch historian Rutger Bregman's BBC Reith Lecture 4 — Fighting for humanity in the age of the machine

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Humanity is facing an existential risk posed by unchecked tech and AI. But what if these technologies were used, not to increase the wealth and power...

Moral revolution — Dutch historian Rutger Bregman's BBC Reith Lecture 3 — A conspiracy of decency

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Do you dare to dream of a world that is different? From the Fabians to the Neoliberals, small groups with big ideas, perseverance and long-term visio...

Moral revolution — Dutch historian Rutger Bregman's BBC Reith Lecture 2 — How to start a moral revolution

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Do you have the power to change the world? Do you think the world needs changing? In the past, eras of corruption gave birth to transformative moveme...

Moral revolution — Dutch historian Rutger Bregman's BBC Reith Lecture 1 — A time of monsters

09 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Rutger Bregman believes we are living in a time of moral decay, in a world governed by un-serious elites. But history shows us that we have been here...

The history of money — with Irish economist David McWilliams

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It makes the world go round, but it's also the root of all evil. It hasn't always had a great rap, yet most of us would like more of it. From clay ta...

The Australian Wars with Rachel Perkins and Henry Reynolds — a watershed event at the Australia War Memorial

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, a debate has been waged over whether the colonial massacre and resistance of First Nations Australians should be recognised and memorial...

Bob Brown on the role of defiance in the climate crisis — with Gardening Australia's Hannah Moloney

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

For more than 50 years, Dr Bob Brown has been breaking and making laws to protect the environment. Now aged 81, he is hoping to give strength to new ...

War is changing and the laws meant to protect civilians aren't cutting it anymore

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

International humanitarian law, the law of armed conflict, was meant to protect civilians from the worst of war. But in today's wars civilians have b...

Stan Grant — when words fail us, reclaiming the language of love

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Most of us, in our lives, will witness things we cannot comprehend, when words fail to do justice to the moment. In those moments, to whom or what ca...

How conspiracy theories get inside our heads and take hold — Ariel Bogle, Cam Wilson, Gavin Fang, Tracey Kirkland

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Conspiracy theories have always been with us, but now they're finding new ways to get inside our heads and take hold — and Australia is seeding som...

PRESENTS — The Challenger Legacy

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Forty years ago this January, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated on its way into orbit. All seven astronauts on board were killed.In the days...

PRESENTS — The Challenger Legacy

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Forty years ago this January, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated on its way into orbit. All seven astronauts on board were killed.In the days...

If we can make space accessible, we can make any space accessible

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Meet Dwayne Fernandes, a man training to be the first double amputee in space. He brings you a powerful perspective based on his lived experience: in...

The Great Debate — that Australia's history unites us

26 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the world's oldest continuous living culture, to the arrival of Captain Cook, the goldrush to the ANZACs, from Federation to elections to refere...

Jason Stanley, M. Gessen and Anna Funder — Is it fascism yet?

22 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

He’s been called a “hypercapitalist”, a “new authoritarian” and a “post fascist”. Twelve months into Donald Trump’s second term as Un...

Meet Australia’s next woman prime minister? Four changemakers here to WOW

21 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Don't miss meeting these four resilient women creating the change they want to see in the world. At 20, Monique “Mermaid” Murphy’s had a catast...

James Bond and Jason Bourne move over – a real spy talks about his workday

20 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

He jumped off a plane, exchanged the notorious briefcase on a park bench and got his identity blown by an asset under torture. Sounds like fiction? B...

Finding skeletons in the closet — the ethics of DNA testing in family history research

19 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

DNA testing has helped family history researchers fill in the blanks in their family trees. While that can be a good thing, it can also lead to unexp...

Vested interests vs public interest? The relation of Australian governments with the fossil fuel industry

15 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

How has the fossil fuel industry wielded influence over Australian governments and their policies? What does it take to make ambitious change in the ...

We asked for workers and got people — life on the controversial visa putting food on your plate

14 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A workforce we rarely hear about, lives in limbo, and stories from the coalface. From economic gains and cultural exchanges to exploitation and absco...

When thinking together goes wrong — exploring the dark side of collaboration

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

At face value, collaboration sounds like a good thing: collaboration in the classroom, with colleagues, or between nations. But throughout history, c...

House security systems – who really benefits?

12 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Your personal safety is big business, so much so that it’s given rise to “security capitalism”, a phenomenon where attempts to buy personal saf...

Helen Garner on the beauty and grandeur of footy

08 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

 "Homeric struggle", a desperate night-ballet, an ethical training ground for boys and men. Aussie Rules is a multimillion-dollar industry, but at i...

Jem Bendell, the fake green fairytale, and how to survive civilisational collapse

07 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We’re past the brink of civilisational collapse. And many environmentalists are pushing a “fake green fairytale”. Jem Bendell’s arguments hav...

Kara Swisher and Marc Fennell take on the Tech Bros

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We know them as Zuckerberg, Musk, Bezos, Gates, Jobs. But to Kara Swisher, they're Mark, Elon, Jeff, Bill, and Steve. She was once a Silicon Valley i...

The relationship between brain and machine

05 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine a world where your brain is enhanced through cutting-edge technologies and next-generation AI, blurring the lines between organic and digital...

On the art of music writing — with writers who rcok!

01 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

You've got half an hour with Lou Reed/ Nick Cave/ Courtney Love: what do you ask them? Three of Australia's best music writers share their craft, and...

Can storytellers change the world? Tim Winton and Rachel Perkins join Natasha Mitchell

31 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two of Australia’s most influential and legendary storytellers, author Tim Winton and filmmaker Rachel Perkins, join Natasha Mitchell at WOMADelaid...

History of populist rage in America

30 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Populism is part of American political history. It has been and still is the dominant vocabulary of dissent. But the current resurrection of authori...

Meditation and mindfulness in the digital age

29 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 digit...

The secrets of wildlife documentaries

25 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The Knowledge Gene — an incredible story of the origins of human creativity

24 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Prepare to have your mind blown with a sweeping saga that connects human evolution, brains, genes, art, music, creativity, knowledge, dyslexia, autis...

Sarah Churchwell asks — Will American democracy survive the Dark Enlightenment?

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Sarah Churchwell takes you on a gripping and confronting journey into America's recent past to explain its extraordinary present, starting ...

2025 Grammy winner Ruthie Foster talks about her life and music

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After five nominations, Ruthie Foster has taken home the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album - affirming her status as an American mu...

Childless on purpose — the fertility crisis and the big decision

18 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When you enter your childbearing years, it can feel like everyone from the treasurer, your mum, and probably your Instagram reels really wants you to...

Surfer Tim Baker and doctor Peter Goldsworthy on living well with cancer

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Meet two men who will change the way you think about an experience most of us fear but will be touched by in some way.  In Patting the Shark, surfi...

Understand your microbiome

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Are fermented foods really good for us? Do antibiotics destroy our gut flora? And have you heard about poo transplants?Our gut is teeming with trilli...

Doctor Who at 60 — still as attractive as ever

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Doctor Who has acted as a mirror to more than six decades of social, technological and cultural change. It's been able to evolve and adapt more rad...

The role of spirituality and religion in mental health care

11 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The connection between body and mind is well established. But mental health expert Daniel Fung also includes the soul in this 'ecosystem' that shapes...

A song for every feeling? Pub Choir's Astrid Jorgensen with Natasha Mitchell

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From innocently conning controversial radio duo Kyle and Jackie O as a kid, time in a Zambian convent as a teen, to nearly becoming an air traffic co...

Victoria's new treaty with First Peoples — a turning point for Australia?

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Australia now has its first treaty with this country's first peoples. After nearly a decade of formal consultation and negotiation, the Victorian Sta...