Big Ideas
Episodes
Andrew O'Hagan — Literature and truth in the era of fake news, algorithms and artificial intelligence
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Eric Bogle tells it all — his songs and his life
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 writ...
The debate over shark nets: killers or life savers? With Natasha Mitchell and guests
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Meet the mothers of Australia's women's refuge movement
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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' righ...
Is Australia overrun by feral animals? With Gardening Australia's Costa Georgiadis
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Australia's unique biodiversity, a product of almost 50 million years of glorious evolutionary isolation, is in freefall. The threats are not just th...
Benjamin Law’s butt, and the power and politics of portraiture
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 w...
The surfer and circumnavigator — the gobsmacking feats of Pauline Menczer and Bonnie Hancock
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 pa...
President Petr Pavel – on why the war in Ukraine is a fight for geopolitical stability worldwide
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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’...
Memory, refugees and the Vietnam War — with Pulitzer Prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Born a refugee of the Vietnam War, and now a Pulitzer Prize winning American author, Viet Thanh Nguyen unpacks the refugee experience, and the politi...
Who gets to shape the story? Reporting on the conflict in the Middle East — with The Guardian’s Nour Haydar
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 I...
50 years after Cyclone Tracy — powerful memories of horror and hope
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Don't miss these previously unheard and powerful stories of ordinary people surviving extraordinary circumstances. Cyclone Tracy destroyed 80 perce...
Deaf defying: disability leadership as an act of resistance — with Dr Scott Avery
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Trees, seeds, and ecotourism — the hidden histories Nature reveals about us
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The right to discriminate? Religious schools and Australian human rights law
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 prac...
Is it still possible for empathy to trump hate? Here's how. Rhonda Magee and Mariam Tokhi with Natasha Mitchell
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rhonda Magee grew up in segregated North Carolina in an abusive household. She knows firsthand the deep divides that define America right now. She ...
Busting the myths around menstruation and menopause, with Dr Jennifer Gunter
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ta...
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, 30 years on
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 Pr...
Together, or together alone? Teens and adults debate social media's good, bad and ugly
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Australian federal government wants to restrict social media to those aged over 16. Would that work? Adult and teen experts mount their arguments...
ADHD, autism, depression — is social media causing social contagion? Jean Twenge, Sonny Jane Wise, Alice Dawkins, Sandersan Onie with Natasha Mitchell
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is social media a contagious force harming young minds, a life saver helping people find their neurodiverse tribes and support, or, for better or wor...
Negotiating peace against the odds can be murky business
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mediation in armed conflicts means sitting down with brutal war lords, hiding your true values and in an open dialogue trying to really understand ...
The 4-Day-Week − creating a better work life balance or just more stress?
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 h...
From Mumbai to Studio 54 — how Asha Puthli became India's first disco star
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 amazi...
Joanna Murray-Smith — You’re Right, I’m Wrong: The Artist's Role in a Shifting World
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The leading playwright Joanna Murray-Smith makes a powerful case for the role of the arts in Australian public life, arguing that moral righteousness...
The future of remembering wars past — school students speak frankly with Natasha Mitchell at the Shrine
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 jo...
Ending homelessness is possible
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It needs strong leadership and good coordination. But most of all, it needs public opinion to rise up and push policy makers to tackle this crisis. C...
What's wrong with death? Sophia Club live philosophy with Natasha Mitchell and guests
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When you're alive, the idea of dying feels weird, remote, alien. Yet it's the one experience we will all have. Can philosophy help us make sense of t...
From Gatsby to Huck Finn — American literature in an age of polarisation
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From To Kill a Mockingbird to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there are no shortage of options to include on those lists of "The Great American N...
Old, new, best, true — the joy, power and heartache of friends
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Friends are among the most important relationships we will have in our lives. So what makes someone a friend, how do we hold on to them, and how do t...
Unconventional women — a hidden story of nuns with Natasha Mitchell and guests
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why did acclaimed actor Melissa Jaffer step away from the spotlight and the swinging 60s to enter a strict cloister of Australian nuns for 4 years? S...
Candice Fox, Matthew Conon, Benjamin Stevenson – on the ethics of crime writing
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Literature on crime is huge. Many of you just love to read about a good murder. But do you prefer a soft touch around violent scenes? Or do you want ...
SOS Democracy with Jon Faine — Can democracy survive social media?
27 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From mis and disinformation to election interference, parts of the internet have become dystopian, due to a lack of regulation. What is this doing to...
SOS Democracy with Niall Ferguson and Barrie Cassidy — Is democracy doomed?
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ninety years ago, in the face of communism, fascism, and the Great Depression, Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, asked the question 'Is democ...
SOS Democracy with Scott Stephens — Saving democracy with decency
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Democracy is in retreat, authoritarianism on the rise. But this has happened before. So how did big thinkers of the past respond to the threats to de...
Spielberg, a tuba, and a shark named Bruce — the cultural impact of Jaws
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When you're swimming in the ocean, do you ever startle at a piece of seaweed? Mistake a wave for a fin? Does the thought of sharks cross your mind at...
Brain amoeba, weird worms and the wild parasites (inside you too!) with Natasha Mitchell and guests
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Remember the 8cm living worm found inside a woman's brain last year? Where the hell did it come from? Parasites have bizarre and whacky stories to te...
SOS Democracy with Fintan O’Toole — The US elections and the politics of self-pity
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Irish Times columnist and author Fintan O'Toole draws on the Irish experience to explain the rise of populism and authoritarianism in the United Stat...
From pointe shoes to jockstraps – David McAllister lifts the curtain on the secrets of ballet
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
David McAllister invites you backstage and reveals gloriously gossipy anecdotes about the stars he's met in his long dancing career. But it's not all...
The dangerous rise in antisemitism – Sharon Nazarian
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has fought against antisemitism worldwide for over a century. It is now documenting a dangerous rise in antisemitism...
A plea for peace in the Middle East — Louise Adler and Nasser Mashni
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Two Australians who are intimately connected to the conflict in the Middle East, one Jewish, one Palestinian, make their pleas for peace, and share t...
SOS Democracy with Niki Savva — Can politicians and journalists do better?
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of Australia's most seasoned political journalists Niki Savva has seen the fractures in our democracy up closer than most. Hear her timely advice...
What makes you a top athlete: science, training or talent?
14 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you a gazelle or a grizzly bear when you run? The bounce in your step defines whether you're a stronger sprinter or long-distance runner — and ...
Cemeteries − the parks and public spaces of the future
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can you have a wedding between the graves? Why not! – as long as it's respectful. The future of cemetery design is multi-functional, as public spac...
The case for controversial ideas — philosopher Peter Singer with Natasha Mitchell
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Renowned and controversial Australian philosopher and bioethicist Peter Singer is no stranger to contentious ideas — wrestling with the ethics of h...
How Edna Walling changed gardening — with Gardening Australia's Millie Ross
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Big Ideas celebrates the blooming daphne with a look at the life, work and legacy of a pioneer of Australian landscape gardening, Edna Walling.This e...
From Gaza to Ukraine — is it harder to build peace, than to start war?
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The United Nations was established after World War II in an attempt to maintain international peace, security, and cooperation. So why now, in the fa...
Superheroes, pop stars, and “good enough tv” — The life of a culture critic in 2024
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We've lived through the age of peak TV, (and wasn't it glorious). Then cinema was BACK, thanks to the hype of Barbenheimer. So, in this post Hollywoo...
Gold, Galahs and the Milky Way: unlocking the universe
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Does the Milky Way have a sibling and how are stars formed? How can a telescope go back over 13 billion years ago to the Cosmic Dawn? The ASTRO 3D C...
Why autistic people make terrific employees
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Every autistic person is different, with their own strengths and challenges. We shouldn’t be asking what jobs are suitable for them. Rather: How ca...
Is depression a form of jetlag? Understanding the circadian rhythm
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Surveys constantly reveal that a huge number of us are not sleeping well. What is that doing to our mental and physical health?This event was recorde...
Restoring the fine art of traditional trades
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The art and ethics of artisanal trades, from stone masonry to roof plumbing to limestone mortar plastering. What can be done to revive many of these ...
What rights for children in care?
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Liana Buchanan is a guardian of the rights of our most precious asset - our children. In a keynote speech, the Principal Commissioner for Children an...
Students win fight for climate justice before the world's highest court
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Student activists from the Pacific Islands successfully got the International Court of Justice to define the responsibilities of nations to combat cl...
Housing as a human right? With Alan Kohler and Kevin Bell
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The median Australian house price is now about $800,000 – almost eight times the average income – and well beyond the reach of many people, witho...
Saving winter — the future of snow in Australia's Alpine region
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Australia's high country is a spectacular and precious place. It's also a place that is changing, with shorter, less predictable snowfall. So, what d...
Busting single motherhood myths
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Frequently described as victims, as failures or even as women without morals, single mothers often get a bad rap. They are part of Australian statist...
How history shapes who we are — with Frank Bongiorno and Peter Stanley
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
History is the stories we choose to tell about ourselves and others. So how have those stories changed over time? And how has that shaped new underst...
Why a scary tale is good for you − Angela Slatter, Kathleen Jennings, Naomi Novik and Shelley Parker-Chan
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is the allure of gothic fiction? How does it give shape to your most unsettling impulses? A panel of masters of the genre explore the creepy hou...
Are we taking Orwell's name in vain?
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is the true meaning of Orwellian and what can George Orwell's writings teach us about navigating the 21st century? Since his book 1984 was publi...
How valid is the Australian Constitution today?
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's the living force of the nation, but how much do we understand our Constitution? Twenty five pages sets out our laws, roles of government and p...