Big Ideas
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Your front row seat to big thinkers at the best live events, forums, and festivals. Feed your mind. Be provoked. One big idea at a time. Your brain will love you for it. We love hearing from you about the show or events you are planning. Get in touch! Email: [email protected] SMS line for ABC Radio National: 0418 226 576 Airs Monday to Thursday 8pm, repeated Tuesday to Friday 12pm, on ABC Radio National.
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Advance Australia Fair? Is "trickle-down racism" damaging social cohesion?
Australia's national anthem proclaims that: "for those who've come across the seas we've boundless plains to share". But with Australia's immigration program once again under the political spotlight, is that …
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Australia's national anthem proclaims that: "for those who've come across the seas we've boundless plains to share". But with Australia's immigration program once again under the political spotlight, is that really true? How does what leaders say about refugees and migrants ripple out into the community, and what attitudes and behaviours does it give license to?
Mariam Veiszadeh was born in Afghanistan and moved to Australia as a child. She's devoted her life's work to creating a fairer Australia for refugees and migrants. She explores what it might take to foster social cohesion and a sense of belonging in Australia, and to ensure that everyone gets a fair go.
The 2026 Kaldor Centre Oration was recorded on 20 October 2026 at the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law in partnership with the Centre for Ideas at the University of New South Wales.
Speakers:
Mariam VeiszadehLawyer, executive, diversity and inclusion consultant and human rights advocateFounder and director, Islamophobia Register AustraliaFormer and inaugural CEO of Media Diversity Australia
Nicole AbadeeJournalist and professional moderator
The Witches at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas - Lucianne Tonti, Emma Quilty, Caroline Tully with Natasha Mitchell
Is the witch back? The word, the craft, the movement, and as a viral social media phenomenon #witchtok? Did the witch ever really disappear? Women who don't conform or who challenge certain kinds of power have …
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Is the witch back? The word, the craft, the movement, and as a viral social media phenomenon #witchtok? Did the witch ever really disappear? Women who don't conform or who challenge certain kinds of power have long been persecuted as witches. An eye-opening conversation about the past and present of witchy women. Witchcraft is both ancient and modern. Could it be the radical response we need right now — in a world increasingly detached from Nature? This event was hosted by the 2026 Festival of Dangerous Ideas and The Ethics Centre
Speakers
Lucianne Tonti Author of Good Witch: In search of our lost feminine power (2026) Fashion editor of The Saturday Paper, sustainability editor-at-large for Elle Australia, and contributor to The Guardian. Dr Emma Quilty Author of Witch Power: Hexing the Patriarchy with Feminist Magic (2026) Anthropologist and postdoctoral research fellow at Monash University’s ARC Centre for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Dr Caroline Tully Archaeologist, University of Melbourne's School of Historical and Philosophical Studies. Author, The Society of Diana Witch-flight and the Mysteries of the Night Queen (2026). Practising pagan and witch for over four decades.
AI data centres — exploring the boom and the backlash
AI data centre developments are raising concerns in affected communities across Australia. The industry and its critics come together to cover the pros, the cons, and the concerns, at an event in the heart of a …
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AI data centre developments are raising concerns in affected communities across Australia. The industry and its critics come together to cover the pros, the cons, and the concerns, at an event in the heart of a city where data centres have become a political hot potato in the lead up to the Victorian state election.
This event hosted by RMIT University for Social Sciences Week was recorded on 17 September 2026.
Speakers:
Lisa GivenDirector & Co-Founder, Centre for Human-AI Information Environments, Distinguished Professor of Information Sciences in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University
Priya RajagopalanDirector of the Post Carbon Research Centre for Infrastructure and the Built Environment and Associate Dean (Research and Innovation) in the school of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
Belinda DennettCEO of Data Centres Australia
Michael HelmerChief Risk Officer at NEXTDC
Dr Sarah MansfieldGP, Deputy Leader of the Victorian Greens, MLC for Western Victoria
Margaret Paul (host) Suburbs reporter, ABC News Victoria
The Odyssey — a nearly 3,000-year-old myth we can’t stop retelling
Homer’s Odyssey is back into the spotlight. Not just with Christopher Nolan’s new record breaking movie. Greek mythology is a publishing phenomenon with enduring appeal. So why are we reaching back to ancient …
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Homer’s Odyssey is back into the spotlight. Not just with Christopher Nolan’s new record breaking movie. Greek mythology is a publishing phenomenon with enduring appeal. So why are we reaching back to ancient myths for life lessons and a deeper understanding of the human condition? What was life actually like in Homer’s world... and where does history end and myth begin?
This event was hosted at the Greek-Australian Writers’ Festival in Adelaide.
Speakers
Dr Alexandra TheodoropoulouGreece’s Consul-General in South Australia
Dr Emlyn DoddLecturer in Archaeology and Classical Studies, University of Adelaide
Petra KaliveArtistic Director, State Theatre Company South Australian
Dr Helen Vatsikopoulos (host)Director of the Greek-Australian Writers’ Festival Journalist; Industry Professional Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney
The meaning of loss — whether it devastates you or saves you
When you lose people and places, you can't bear to be without - or the baggage that weighs you down, is loss really nothing more than change? This conversation goes looking for loss in all its shapes: the …
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When you lose people and places, you can't bear to be without - or the baggage that weighs you down, is loss really nothing more than change? This conversation goes looking for loss in all its shapes: the identity we misplace growing up between cultures, the self we lose and remake as our bodies change and the strange, unsettling experience of coming face to face with who we used to be.
Griffith Review: Lost and Found was presented at the Melbourne Writers Festival
Speakers
Dr Ahona Guha Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, author, media consultant and speakerAuthor of Reclaim: understanding complex trauma and those who abuse and Life Skills for a Broken World
Madison GriffithsAuthor of Sweet Nothings and Tissue
Georgia MaluPoet, writer and editor. Boigu Island woman from the Umu Mere and Umai Lag clans
Carody Culver (host)Editor of the Griffith Review
Get neurospicy with The Bachelorette's Osher Günsberg and Kill Your Boomers author Fiona Wright
Two neurospicy minds talk neurodiversity, creativity, and what it's like to get a diagnosis like Autism or OCD as an adult. Can it bring clarity, upheaval, grief, or all of the above? And how can writing about …
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Two neurospicy minds talk neurodiversity, creativity, and what it's like to get a diagnosis like Autism or OCD as an adult. Can it bring clarity, upheaval, grief, or all of the above? And how can writing about it help? Host of The Bachelor and Bachelorette, podcaster, and mental health advocate Osher Günsberg and poet, essayist, editor and author of Kill Your Boomers Fiona Wright join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell. This event was held at the 2026 Byron Writers Festival on Bundjalung Nation Country. Speakers
Osher Gunsberg Host of TV shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, and of the Better Than Yesterday podcast. Author of Back, After the Break (2018). Co-author of So What? Now What?: How to Stop Being Stuck and Start Living (2026) with illustrator Campbell Walker aka Struthless.
Fiona Wright Poet, writer, editor 2024 Judy Harris Writer in Residence, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney Author, Small Acts of Disappearance: Essays on Hunger (2015); Kill Your Boomers (2026), and contributor to the Someone Like Me anthology of autistic writers.
Rupture — Niki Savva and Waleed Aly on how our politics is being transformed
From the rise of One Nation at home, to surprising election results abroad, recent events suggest that people feel that politics as usual is no longer delivering for them. So what alternatives are they reaching …
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From the rise of One Nation at home, to surprising election results abroad, recent events suggest that people feel that politics as usual is no longer delivering for them. So what alternatives are they reaching for?
This conversation Political Rupture: Identity, Equality and Opportunity was recorded at the Canberra Writers Festival on 17 October 2026.
Speakers:
Niki SavvaAuthor, Earthquake: the election that shook Australia and morePolitical commentator and columnist with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapersFormer press secretary to Liberal Treasurer Peter Cosetllo
Waleed AlyAuthor, Chaos: Dispatches from disorder, Time of Monsters: What Future for Liberalism? (Quarterly Essay #103) and moreCo-host (with Scott Stephens) of The Minefield, ABC Radio NationalAdjunct Professor at Monash UniversityColumnist with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspaper
Jordan McSwiney (host)Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy, University of Canberra2026 ABC Top 5 Humanitites Scholar
The end of neoliberalism? A guide to Trumpian world-making
Is there method in Donald Trump's madness? His plans for Venezuela, Iran, Ukraine, Greenland — even Canada. His disdain for global institutions and democratic processes. His preference for traditional values …
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Is there method in Donald Trump's madness? His plans for Venezuela, Iran, Ukraine, Greenland — even Canada. His disdain for global institutions and democratic processes. His preference for traditional values. What is the logic behind "Trumpian world making", and how is it reshaping the globe?
This event was recorded at the Ultimo Institute at the University of Technology Sydney on 14 October 2026.
Speakers:
Gary GerstleEmeritus Paul Mellon Professor of American History at the University of CambridgeAuthor, The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era
Roy Green (host)Emeritus Professor and Special Innovation Advisor at the University of Technology Sydney
Does fuel reduction burning make us safer?
The fire season is changing across Australia, becoming hotter, drier and longer. The evidence about the best ways to protect lives, property, and the environment is changing too. While fuel reduction burning …
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The fire season is changing across Australia, becoming hotter, drier and longer. The evidence about the best ways to protect lives, property, and the environment is changing too. While fuel reduction burning has become a vital tool in the arsenal for land managers in every state and territory, some are now questioning whether we are doing it right - or whether we should be doing it all.
The Burning Conversation was recorded at the Royal Society of Victoria on 21 September 2026.
Speakers:
Professor Trent Penman Bushfire risk modeler and Team Leader of FLARE Wildfire Research at the University of Melbourne
Dr Phil Zylstra Adjunct professor, Curtin University and the Australian National University
Gregg Borschmann (host) Writer and oral historian, Driector, Talking Country
In 2046 women run the world — what's changed?
The year is 2046. After 2026, a whole lot changed in the world. Citizens started to vote women into power in parliaments everywhere. What happened next? Four Far North Queensland leaders are leaping into a …
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The year is 2046. After 2026, a whole lot changed in the world. Citizens started to vote women into power in parliaments everywhere. What happened next? Four Far North Queensland leaders are leaping into a tardis to hurtle twenty years into the future. Jump in, if you want the world to be different, this could be the ride of your life. Join Natasha Mitchell and guests in Cairns on Yidinji Country at the 2026 WOW (Women of the World) Festival.
Speakers
Dr Rana DadpourResearch Fellow at The Cairns Institute at James Cook University.Director of AUSIRAN, an advocacy group for Australian Iranians.
Francoise LaneDescendant of the Meriam and Kaurareg peoples of Zenadth KesArtist, curator, designerCo-founder and director of Indij Architecture and DesignFounder, Francoise Lane FashionFormer Artistic Director, Cairns Indigenous Arts Fair.
Claudia KurowskiYear 12 student and 2026 Youth Mayor of Cairns2026 Cairns Young Citizen of the Year, 2025 Cairns Young Woman, and co-founder of The Gratitude Initiative.
Anita VeiversExecutive Director, Centacare Far North QldChair, Cairns Regional Jobs CommitteeBoard Member, Regional Development Australia Tropical North.
Further information
Women of the World WOW AustraliaThe stigma of obesity and what it means for your healthcare
Has your doctor ever told you to go on a diet? Does that conversation put you off going to them in the first place, even if you need treatment for something not related to your weight? Has being in a larger …
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Has your doctor ever told you to go on a diet? Does that conversation put you off going to them in the first place, even if you need treatment for something not related to your weight? Has being in a larger body ever meant you can't access surgery or IVF?Some are pushing for a weight-inclusive approach to healthcare, which de-centres obesity, and focuses on 'health-at-every-size'. But what does that really mean, and why does it matter?
This event was held at the 11th Annual Weight Stigma Conference at Griffith University.
Original broadcast on September 17, 2025.
Speakers
Ana Ximena Torres, clinical psychologist and founder of the practice, Elemental Collective.
Dr Fiona WillerDietitian, bioethicist, President of Dietitians AustraliaLecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at Queensland University of TechnologyFounder, Health, Not Diets consultancyHost, Unpacking Weight Science podcast.
Tracy Taylor-BeckManager, Strategy and Health Promotion (interim CEO at the time of this event)Women's Health in the North, a women's health promotion and advocacy organisation in Melbourne's North.
Thanks to Dr Lily O'Hara from Griffith University, convenor of the conference.
Gut health: Is the food on your plate quietly rewriting your brain chemistry?
Scientists are uncovering the surprising power of the trillions of microbes living inside you and how they can shape your mood, your thinking, even your sense of self. How might the health of your gut change …
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Scientists are uncovering the surprising power of the trillions of microbes living inside you and how they can shape your mood, your thinking, even your sense of self. How might the health of your gut change the course of serious mental illness? This a deep dive into the mind-body connection offers a glimpse of where the future of mental and physical health might be headed.
Healthy microbiome. Happy brain? was presented at the World Science Festival Brisbane.
Speakers
Gordon ParkerScientia Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales and founder of the Black Dog InstituteAuthor of A Gut Mood Solution
Associate Professor Heidi StaudacherDietitian and lead of the Diet, Gut and Brain Group at Monash University
Damien KeatingMatthew Flinders Professor of Physiology in the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI) and Head of the Gut Sensory Systems research group
Julia Baird (host)Award-winning journalist and co-host of the podcast Not Stupid on ABC Listen
Wrapped? Or Warped? How the internet changed music criticism
Once, a musician’s success could live or die on the opinions of its reviewers. But now, music culture is being shaped by algorithms and PR companies. So what is the future of music journalism?This podcast …
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Once, a musician’s success could live or die on the opinions of its reviewers. But now, music culture is being shaped by algorithms and PR companies. So what is the future of music journalism?
This podcast episode was originally recorded on 19 August 2026 in partnership with The Wheeler Centre and Now or Never Festival. Discover more talks and bold conversations by following The Wheeler Centre wherever you get your podcasts or at wheelercentre.com.
Speakers
Al Newstead Double J music and pop culture reporter Author, Tame Impala's Currents
Sose Fuemoli Host of Sista Sounds and On the Record on ABC Radio AustraliaMusic correspondent, ABC News BreakfastHost of, Window Seat, Triple R
Sarah Smith Former music editor at The Big Issue magazineFormer editor of Faster Louder Host, Sometimes Always, Triple R
Simon Winkler (host)Double J Assistant Music DirectorFormer music coordinator (for 18 years) Triple RFormer co-host of Breaking and Entering, Triple RCo-founder, Good Question
What stops you from becoming homeless? 2026 Australian Homelessness Conference with Natasha Mitchell and guests
What will stop you slipping into homelessness? In a cost-of-living crisis, it's getting harder to keep a secure roof over your head. And did you know that 14% of people accessing specialist homelessness …
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What will stop you slipping into homelessness? In a cost-of-living crisis, it's getting harder to keep a secure roof over your head. And did you know that 14% of people accessing specialist homelessness services in Australia are unaccompanied children? That's thousands of children, homeless, alone. A conversation about what kind of community we want to create together, and how to prevent a crisis before it comes. Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell and guests at the 2026 Australian Homelessness Conference on Larrakia Country in Darwin.
Speakers
Professor Kerry ArabenaDescendant of the Meriam people from the Torres StraitManaging Director, Karabena ConsultingFormer co-Chair of the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples, Executive Director of Apunipima Cape York Health Council, and Chair of Indigenous Health at the University of Melbourne. Former president of Ecohealth International.
Rebecca PinkstoneChief Executive, Homes NSW, NSW GovernmentNon-executive director, Australian Housing and Urban Research InstituteFormer CEO of a social housing provider
Catherine RobinsonAssociate Professor in Communities and Social Justice, University of TasmaniaNon-executive board director of Homelessness Australia, the Youth Network of Tasmania and Home Base. Co-host, Filthy Rich and Homeless on SBS TV
Further information
Reimagining Indigenous Housing, Health, and Wealth report (2020)Example: Denver Basic Income Project (Example of unconditional cash transfers approach)
Example: Community of Schools and Services (COSS) model
Example: Safe and Connected Youth Program (ACT Conflict Resolution Service)
Example: Housing stabilisation initiative (Canada)
Better futures: Supported accommodation for unaccompanied children and young people experiencing homelessness (AHURI, 2026)Yes, we see you. Why a national plan for homelessness must make thousands of children on their own a priority (The Conversation, 2023)NSW Homelessness Strategy 2025-2035NSW Homelessness Strategy Action plan 2025-2027Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) (organises the biennial Australian Homelessness Conference and National Housing Conference).
Clive Myrie on what Africa taught a foreign correspondent about our common humanity
He's covered wars, elections and everything in between. But what happens when a hardened foreign correspondent goes looking for a lighter travel story - and comes home changed?Hear what his road trip to Africa …
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He's covered wars, elections and everything in between. But what happens when a hardened foreign correspondent goes looking for a lighter travel story - and comes home changed?
Hear what his road trip to Africa taught him about our shared humanity. This talk was provided by the York Festival of Ideas. The Festival is led by the University of York, UK.
Speakers
Clive MyrieMulti-award-winning journalist, BBC foreign correspondents, host of Mastermind and Clive Myrie's African AdventureAuthor of Everything Is Everything: A Memoir of Love, Hate & Hope
Joan Concannon (host)Director of York Festival of Ideas
Bringing Brett Whiteley's studio back to life — with Wendy Whiteley
A rundown t-shirt factory in Sydney's Surry Hills became the studio and home where Australian artist Brett Whiteley would spend the final years of his life. Now an art gallery, the building has recently …
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A rundown t-shirt factory in Sydney's Surry Hills became the studio and home where Australian artist Brett Whiteley would spend the final years of his life. Now an art gallery, the building has recently reopened after an extensive two-year restoration, with a new exhibition celebrating Whiteley's life and legacy, Coming Home, featuring his artworks and personal items. His former wife, muse and champion, Wendy Whiteley, reflects on the history of the studio, her life with Brett Whiteley, and his artistic practice.
This event was recorded at Brett Whiteley's Studio for Art Gallery of New South Wales on 24 July 2026.
Speakers
Wendy Whiteley Creator of Wendy's Secret Garden, Lavender Bay, artist, and former wife and muse of Brett Whiteley
Wayne Tunnicliffe (host)Director of collections and exhibitions, Art Gallery of New South Wales
The ethics of transhumanism
Every day, science and technology are being used to enhance the abilities of human beings — helping people hear, walk, see, think and more. But at the extreme end, transhumanism has become an obsession of the …
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Every day, science and technology are being used to enhance the abilities of human beings — helping people hear, walk, see, think and more. But at the extreme end, transhumanism has become an obsession of the rich and powerful: Vladmir Putin wants to live forever, Elon Musk wants to merge your brain with AI, while eugenics has also become popular again. So what are the ethics of transhumanism? Where do we draw the line?
The 2026 Plunkett Lecture for the Plunkett Centre for Ethics was recorded at the Australian Catholic University.
Speakers:
Jason T. EberlHubert Mäder Chair in Bioethics, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Albert Gnaegi Center for Bioethics at Saint Louis University
AI, art, and staying human - is creativity at a crossroad? Evelyn Araluen, Steve Tolz, Kirra Pendergast
In a world where AI rules, what will it mean to be creative? First Nations poet and author Evelyn Araluen (The Rot, Dropbear) is already self-censoring because of AI theft. The characters in Steve Tolz's new …
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In a world where AI rules, what will it mean to be creative? First Nations poet and author Evelyn Araluen (The Rot, Dropbear) is already self-censoring because of AI theft. The characters in Steve Tolz's new novel A Rising of the Lights find weird ways to sabotage the robots amongst them. Digital safety expert and educator Kirra Pendergast is seeing AI reshape childhood - for better or worse - with an important warning for parents, carers, and educators. This event was organised by the 2026 Byron Writers Festival on Bundjalung Country.
Speakers
Dr Evelyn Araluen Goorie and Koori poet, editor, educator Stella Prize winning author, Dropbear (2021) and The Rot (2025) Co-editor, Overland literary journal Senior lecturer of Indigenous arts and culture, Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne Steve Tolz Booker Prize nominated author for A Fraction of Whole (2008) Author, A Rising of the Lights (2026) Screenwriter and producer
Kirra Pendergast Digital safety advisor and educator Co-founder, Safe on Social and Crlt/Shift Co-author with Maggie Dent of Digital Freedom: A guide to less screen time for safer, happier and healthier families (2026)
Thanks to Artistic Director of the Byron Writers Festival Jessica Alice, and team.
China's one-child policy and a true tale of abduction, adoption and separated twins
In just 32 years, more than 160,000 children were adopted internationally under China's One-Child Policy. About half were sent to the United States — almost all of them were girls.Award-winning journalist …
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In just 32 years, more than 160,000 children were adopted internationally under China's One-Child Policy. About half were sent to the United States — almost all of them were girls.Award-winning journalist Barbara Demick's latest book tells the story of twin sisters who were separated as toddlers, with one adopted by a family in Texas, while the other stayed with her birth family in rural China. This event was recorded live at the 2026 Sydney Writers' Festival at Carriageworks.
Speakers:
Barbara DemickAuthor, Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins, Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (Baillie Gifford prize-winner) and more
Katrina StricklandSenior Writer, Good Weekend Magazine (Nine Newspapers)
Amitav Ghosh and Luke Kemp on learning from collapsed empires
From the fall of Rome to the climate crisis unfolding right now, history shows up a common pattern for how empires rise and fall. And two important factors are humans’ relationship with the natural world, as …
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From the fall of Rome to the climate crisis unfolding right now, history shows up a common pattern for how empires rise and fall. And two important factors are humans’ relationship with the natural world, as well as the unequal distribution of power and wealth. What can the wreckage of past civilisations teach us about avoiding our own?
This event was recorded live at the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival at Carriageworks.
Listen to Big Ideas – Why civilisations vanish
Speakers
Amitav Ghosh Indian-born novelist, essayist, and public intellectual
Author of The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis and Wild Fictions
Luke KempResearch Affiliate, Centre for the Study of Existential Ris, University of CambridgeAuthor of Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse
Clare Wright (host)Professor of History and Professor of Public Engagement, La Trobe University and award-winning author
Eddie Woo asks — should AI be in the classroom? With Leslie Loble
Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally reshaping education and learning in Australian schools, with 80 per cent of students and two thirds of teachers now using AI tools. So how can we take advantage of the …
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Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally reshaping education and learning in Australian schools, with 80 per cent of students and two thirds of teachers now using AI tools. So how can we take advantage of the technology, and avoid the risks?
This event was recorded at the University of Technology Sydney on 17 June 2026.
Speakers:
Leslie LobleIndustry Professor, University of Technology SydneyChair of the Australian Network for Quality Digital Education, Chair of the Council on Early Childhood Development, Deputy Chair of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting AuthorityFormer Deputy Secretary in the NSW Department of EducationAuthor, Artificial intelligence, cognitive offloading and implications for education
Eddie WooHigh school maths teacherLeader of teacher growth for the New South Wales Education DepartmentHost of the popular Youtube channel Wootube Ultimate Classroom (Channel 10), Teenage Boss (ABC ME)Professor of Practice at the School of Education and SocialWwork, University of SydneyAuthor, Woo's Wonderful World of Maths, It's a Numberful World: How math is hiding everywhere and more
You Must Take Part in Revolution — journalist Melissa Chan and artist-in-exile Badiucao
If authoritarianism was pressing in, what personal choices would you make to resist? Foreign correspondent Melissa Chan and artist-in-exile Badiucao have collaborated on the gobsmacking new graphic novel You …
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If authoritarianism was pressing in, what personal choices would you make to resist? Foreign correspondent Melissa Chan and artist-in-exile Badiucao have collaborated on the gobsmacking new graphic novel You Must Take Part in Revolution. It's set in a dystopian near future. A proto-fascist USA is at war with the full-throttled techno-surveillance state of China, with Taiwan wedged in the middle. Three young characters confront questions of loyalty, legacy, and courage. But for Melissa and Badiucao, their fictional scenario started to feel all to real. They know. They've lived it. They join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at their Australian launch event in Naarm/Melbourne.
Speakers
Melissa ChanEmmy nominated Hong Kong-Taiwanese-American foreign correspondentCo-author, You Must Take Part in Revolution (Simon and Schuster Australia, 2026)Former Beijing correspondent with Al Jazeera
BadiucaoChinese-Australian artist-in-exile and activistWalkley-Award-winning cartoonist, The AgeCo-author, You Must Take Part in Revolution (Simon and Schuster Australia, 2026)Winner, Human Rights Foundation's Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent.
Thank to Readings Bookshop events manager Christine Gordon.
Bones, CSI, X-Files step aside — here come the real forensic scientists
Forensics has gripped pop culture for decades. But what’s the reality of this job? From the crime scene to the laboratory, our expert panel examines the evidence, explains the science and reveals how the truth …
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Forensics has gripped pop culture for decades. But what’s the reality of this job? From the crime scene to the laboratory, our expert panel examines the evidence, explains the science and reveals how the truth gets uncovered. In the real world, by people who do this work for a living.
Forensics: The Science of Blood, Body Bags and Biohazards was presented at the World Science Festival Brisbane. The UQ Impact Series is presented in partnership with The University of Queensland.
Speakers
Inspector Donna StewartQuality Manager of the Queensland Police Service’s Forensic Services Group
Dr Kristen ClarkeSenior Research Officer within the Forensic Services Group at the Queensland Police Service (QPS)
Dr Jack GarlandSpecialist forensic pathologist with Queensland Health
Dr Jeremy WatherstonDeputy Director, Forensic Operations for Forensic Science Queensland
Dr Jonathan Webb (host)Science journalist and broadcaster, Science editor at ABC Radio National
George Megalogenis on the three shocks reshaping Australian politics
From the blue-collar man, to the professional woman. From the multigenerational Australian born citizen, to a predominantly migrant nation. From the inner city to the suburbs to the bush. Australia has changed …
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From the blue-collar man, to the professional woman. From the multigenerational Australian born citizen, to a predominantly migrant nation. From the inner city to the suburbs to the bush. Australia has changed. But have our politicians?
This event was recorded at the Hawke Centre at Adelaide University on 20 August 2026.
Speakers:
George MegalogenisPolitical journalist, author, Three Shocks: Who We Are Becoming in the 21st Century, The Australian Moment (winner the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-fiction and the 2012 Walkley Award for Non-fiction), four Quarterly Essays, and more
Tory Shepherd (host)Senior Reporter, Guardian Australia
The legacy of Jane Goodall —from chimp whisperer to changing how science understands primates
Jane Goodall’s radical ideas that animals have individual personalities, relationships and even emotions reshaped how we understand primates. It also sparked fierce ethical debates that are still playing out …
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Jane Goodall’s radical ideas that animals have individual personalities, relationships and even emotions reshaped how we understand primates. It also sparked fierce ethical debates that are still playing out today: Do great apes have rights? What responsibilities do researchers carry when studying minds so much like our own? Jan Goodall wasn't just a trailblazing scientist. She became one of the most influential conservationists of the last century and created the foundation of modern primatology.
City of Science: Jane Goodall and Her Legacy was presented at the CUNY Graduate Center
Speakers
Kristin AndrewsProfessor of Philosophy, CUNY Graduate Center
David LahtiAssociate professor of Biology and Psychology at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center
Jessica RothmanProgram director in Human Biology and professor of Anthropology at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center
Dr Mark Hauber (host)Professor of Biology and Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center and executive director of the Advanced Science Research Center
The future of ageing — what will growing old be like in 2076?
Australia's population is getting older. In fact, by 2076, 45 per cent of us - that's 18 million people - will be aged over 65. What will ageing look like in 50 years time? Will science keep us healthier for …
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Australia's population is getting older. In fact, by 2076, 45 per cent of us - that's 18 million people - will be aged over 65. What will ageing look like in 50 years time? Will science keep us healthier for longer? What role will older people play in the workforce, in the economy, and in our communities? Will robots wipe our bottoms, or keep us company? How will we respond to major health challenges—like dementia, already our leading cause of death— and the growing burden of chronic disease? This conversation explores the ethical and social challenges facing our ageing country, and the planning, research and policy systems needed to ensure a dignified, safe and healthy life for older people by 2076. This event was recorded at the fiftieth National Ageing Research Institute annual summit with the theme Imagine Australia in 50 years on 22 July in Melbourne.
Speakers:
Mark Dreyfus Former Attorney General, MP Member for Isaacs
Professor Jenny Waycott Professor and Deputy Head of School (Research) in the School of Computing and Information Systems, Melbourne University
Professor Andy Philp Head of the Centre for Healthy Ageing at the Centenary Institute and leads the healthy ageing research at the University of Technology Sydney where he leads the Biology of Ageing Laboratory in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation
Professor Tim Adair Demographer and Principal Research Fellow in the Nossal Institute for Global Health at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health.
Jacinta Parsons (host) Broadcaster, author and speaker
Can we change the future by reimagining it?
What does the future look like to you? How can you prepare yourself for what's coming down the line? And how does what you do today, change what will happen tomorrow? Join three forward-looking thinkers for a …
Shownotes
What does the future look like to you? How can you prepare yourself for what's coming down the line? And how does what you do today, change what will happen tomorrow? Join three forward-looking thinkers for a conversation about how to shape a better tomorrow, today.
The conversation Brave New Futures was recorded live at the annual 2026 WOMADelaide festival, produced and presented as part of their Planet Talks program, held on the traditional lands of the Guarna people.
Speakers:
Richard KingCritic, cultural commentator and author, Brave New Wild: Can Technology Really Save the Planet?
Clare MarshallAward-winning futurist, former lead of the National Futures Initiative at The Australian Centre for Social Innovation
Grace VegasanaClimate justice organiser and youth advocate, National Director of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC), co-founder of The People of Colour Climate Network
Lee Constable (host)Environmental communicator, TV presenter, author, How to Save the Whole Stinkin' Planet: A Garbological Adventure, and more
Lyse Doucet —The history of Kabul’s finest hotel tells the history of a nation
The Inter-Continental Hotel on a hilltop above Kabul has watched Afghanistan’s modern history unfold from its windows. Built in 1969, it has survived Soviet occupation, multiple coups, a civil war, a foreign …
Shownotes
The Inter-Continental Hotel on a hilltop above Kabul has watched Afghanistan’s modern history unfold from its windows. Built in 1969, it has survived Soviet occupation, multiple coups, a civil war, a foreign invasion and waves of Taliban rule. This is the story of that hotel and of Afghanistan itself, told through forty years of visits, world-making headlines, and the people who called the finest hotel in Kabul home.
This event was recorded live at the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival at Carriageworks.
Speakers
Lyse DoucetBBC Chief International Correspondent and author of The Finest Hotel in Kabul, A People’s History of Afghanistan, Hutchinson Heinemann (2025)
Debbie Whitmont (host)ABC Journalist and author
It's an ancient Hindu poem, so why does The Ramayana still resonate?
It's been called "The Odyssey of the East", and the ancient Hindu poem remains central to Asian cultures and traditions from India to Indonesia 2500 years after it was written. From the names of Thai kings, to …
Shownotes
It's been called "The Odyssey of the East", and the ancient Hindu poem remains central to Asian cultures and traditions from India to Indonesia 2500 years after it was written. From the names of Thai kings, to traditional Javanese shadow puppets, the ancient temples of Cambodia's Angkor Wat to contemporary Indian politics, the journeys of Rama and his wife Sita are deeply embedded. Why does this story endure?
The conversation The Ramayana reimagined: storytelling across cultures was recorded at the Art Gallery of New South Wales as part of the exhibition, Avatar: Forms of Vishnu, on until 5 October 2026.
Speakers:
Dr. Chaitanya SambraniCo-curator (with Melanie Eastburn) of Avatar: Forms of Vishnu exhibition, Art Gallery of New South WalesArt historian, Australian National University
Savanhdary VongpoothornPainter, sculptor and installation artist
Alfira O'SullivanArtistic Director and solo artist with Suara Indonesia Dance
Sunil Badami (host)Writer, broadcaster and academic
Why literary giants like Margaret Atwood, Nobel laureate Han Kang and Amitav Ghosh wrote books that will never be read in their lifetime
The Future Library is filled with unpublished books written for readers yet to be born. Every year a new literary work is commissioned to be held in trust in a special room in the National Library of Norway …
Shownotes
The Future Library is filled with unpublished books written for readers yet to be born. Every year a new literary work is commissioned to be held in trust in a special room in the National Library of Norway. And in a forest just outside Oslo, 1,000 Spruce are growing - waiting until 2114 to fulfil their role: To be pulped and transform these unseen words into print. This hundred-year literary artwork by Scottish artist Katie Paterson is one of the most internationally acclaimed long-term cultural projects of our time.
Presented at the National Library of Australia in partnership with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Canberra.
Speakers
Anne Beate Hovind Norwegian urban developer, curator and cultural producer of Future Library (2014–2114) by Katie Paterson
Kathryn Favelle (host)Director of Community Engagement, National Library of Australia in Canberra
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