Big Ideas
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Big Ideas
Feed your mind. Be provoked. One big idea at a time. Your brain will love you for it. Grab your front row seat to the best live forums and festivals with Natasha Mitchell.
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We’re F**ed! It’s too late to avoid civilisational collapse. 2025 Beaker Street Festival Great Debate
Is the end of the world nigh, or just the end of the world as we know it? Are we set to doom-scroll our way to apocalypse? Or is this the moment we wa...
Who killed the liberal international order (and what comes next)?
Conflict and great power rivalries are on the rise, democracy is in retreat, and multilateral institutions created to maintain global cooperation appe...
Can the Democrats save the threatened democracy in the US?
The Democratic Party in America is in an identity crisis. It's shifting priorities to claw back grounds from the Republicans. But is it too little, to...
Maria Ressa on what Donald Trump learnt from Rodrigo Duterte and other strongman rulers
From Rodrigo Duterte, to Narendra Modi, to Donald Trump, strongman leaders around the world are harnessing big tech to consolidate their power. Social...
Prove It! Elizabeth Finkel's Scientific Guide for the Post-Truth Era
If a stiff dose of medical misinformation is what you're after, look no further than the White House right now. And, on social media and in online for...
John Lennon and Paul McCartney — a partnership that changed cultural history
The Beatles shook the world to its core in the 1960's and, to this day, new generations continue to fall in love with their songs and their story. At...
'Militarism gone mad' — Labor firebrand hits out at party’s support of AUKUS
The world feels more dangerous and unpredictable, but with Australia wedged between our traditional ally, America, and our biggest trading partner, Ch...
Gareth Evans, Yassmin Khadra, Daniel Abot's plea for peace - how the UN and Australia can help end genocides
A frank and impassioned plea for peace by Gareth Evans. As Australia's former Foreign Minister and former president of the International Crisis Group,...
Vale Dr Jane Goodall — why the renowned primatologist and environmentalist held onto hope
Primatologist Jane Goodall once said: "It actually doesn't take much to be a difficult woman. That's why there are so many of us." She spoke up. For a...
Is AI the new coloniser? How to create more life-centred AI before it's too late
AI is an incredible tool, but is AI also a new coloniser? Is there actually anything new or artificial about artificial intelligence? Join Natasha Mit...
Condoleezza Rice — on how to fix the break-up of global cooperation
Former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice assesses the break-up of globalisation and the world order. The way in which countries such as the Unite...
The rise of Spotify and the costs of the perfect playlist — with music journalist Liz Pelly
American music journalist Liz Pelly interrogates the ways Spotify and other streaming giants are reshaping music, not just for listeners, but also for...
Yolngu power — art, culture, country, law — with Marcia Langton and Clare Wright
Australian Indigenous art is celebrated around the world – but how much is understood about its pivotal role in Indigenous culture, country, politics...
Nobel scientist Jennifer Doudna with Natasha Mitchell — the gene editing revolution, radical ethics, and what's next? [Archive episode]
Join a full house at the Sydney Opera House with Nobel winning scientist Jennifer Doudna and Big Ideas' presenter Natasha Mitchell to discuss the huge...
Helen Vatsikopoulos — when the stories of migrants in Australia are silenced it's bad for all of us
Stories help us to understand what is happening in the world and how it impacts us. Stories help us to relate to the experience of 'the Other' and the...
The power of essays — with David Marr, Esther Anatolitis, Brooke Boland and Ashleigh Wilson
For 85 years, Meanjin has published the essays of Australian writers. The magazine's founding editor, Clem Christesen, wanted Meanjin's writers 'to re...
The power of essays
For 85 years, Meanjin has published the essays of Australian writers. The magazine's founding editor, Clem Christesen, wanted Meanjin's writers 'to re...
Fleeced — unravelling the history of wool and war
It's water and fireproof, versatile, warm and tough wearing. Wool not only expanded the British Empire, and created prosperity in the colonies, it als...
What's up with dieting Doc? Rethinking the obesity obsession in 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 som...
Doing business ethically in turbulent times — with Helen Clark
In a world where rules are increasingly being broken, what role should business play in upholding human rights, international and domestic law, and en...
Jimmy Barnes – tells all you ever wanted to know about himself
Rock star and maverick Jimmy Barnes celebrates heritage, family, friends, music and the adventure of a grand life on stage. Get up close to the lead s...
Hanna Rosin on what’s happened to the end of men in Trump’s America
Thirteen years ago, US political journalist Hanna Roisin wrote a book called The End of Men: and the Rise of Women. Since then, there's been President...
Nuked or not? The politics and power play over nuclear energy as a climate fix
Nuclear power is banned in Australia, and has been for decades, whilst some countries tilt towards nuclear energy again. Should or could Australia? Th...
Heart-to-heart with John Wamsley and David Lindenmayer — why these trailblazing environmentalists won't back off
Meet two men on a lifelong mission. They've ruffled a lot of feathers along the way. Some revere them, others revile them. John Wamsley set up Austral...
Are the reading wars really over?
It's estimated that one third of Australian school children can't read proficiently, and debates about the best way to teach reading have raged for ye...
Is our university system broken?
Students are dropping out, academics are burning out, so is enough being done to save higher education? It's a multibillion-dollar sector, employing a...
The radicalisation of boys — Jess Hill, George Megalogenis, Thomas Mayo with Natasha Mitchell at Byron Writers Festival
Some boys are being radicalised by misogynist online subcultures like the 'Manosphere' and the 'incel' (involuntarily celibate) scene. Parents are anx...
The AI Con — unpacking the artificial intelligence hype machine
Is the world really in the midst of an AI revolution, or is it all just clever marketing, powered by immense amounts of money, capital and hype? This...
Barry Jones and Kerry O'Brien — on complexity, politics and love
Barry Jones and Kerry O'Brien - Two titans of Australian political and social commentary share insights into how to think well, how to act well and ho...
Tradwives — cosy cottage core fantasy, or something more sinister? With Megan Agnew, Rosie Waterland, Beverley Wang and Nakkiah Lui
They cook, make babies, and look impossibly perfect while doing it.Tradwives are using social media to redefine femininity and womanhood… or are they...
My Sister and Other Lovers — Esther Freud with Natasha Mitchell at Byron Writers Festival
Esther Freud’s first semi-autobiographical novel Hideous Kinky became a film starring Kate Winslet and told the wild story of two little girls living...
When dreams speak truth — exploring the relationship between our realities and the subconscious
What happens when the harsh realities of our daily lives — death, war, illness, hardship — invade that most private of realms — our sleep? Four poets...
The US was meant to pivot to Asia — has Donald Trump changed course?
With Donald Trump mediating conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, what has become of the United States' strategy in the Asia Pacific region?
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Alison Lester and Jane Godwin on how children’s books change lives
Even years later, children's books can hold a special place in our hearts, and they also teach, comfort, inspire, and grow young minds, and set kids u...
From devil horns to deep listening — Maxine Beneba Clark, Debra Dank, Damon Young on the power of communication
From finding the right language to connect to Country, making the world a more poetic place for kids, to a Vulcan salute between two lovers — communi...
How a picnic started the fall of the Iron Curtain
A brass band, goulash cooking in giant pots over open flames, people dancing around a bonfire — a pan-European picnic at the border between Hungary an...
Anna Funder — Bears out there, writing in the age of bots and broligarchs
Without permission, or payment, artificial intelligence has stolen the published words of thousands of Australian writers, and it seems that they have...
The remarkable life of Marie Curie and the women scientists she inspired — with Dava Sobel
Marie Curie is arguably the most famous scientist in history, for her breakthroughs in the field of radioactivity. But Curie also redefined what was p...
Wellness influencers will outlive us all! The Science Smackdown Debate at World Science Festival Brisbane
It's Team Wellness Warriors versus Team Medical Miracles. Hear the arguments and you decide! The wellness industry is booming. It's worth billions and...
How to live an experimental life
The American essayist, philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said that all life is an experiment, and the more experiments you make, the b...