Big Ideas

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 can embracing death change the way we live our lives and remind us of what's important?This conversation explores topics of grief, philosophies of life and death, and the practical consideration of planning for the inevitable.This conversation was recorded at the Clunes Booktown Festival on 22 March 2026.SpeakersHannah GouldSenior lecturer and fellow with the Death Tech Research Team at the University of MelbourneAuthor of How to Die in the 21st Century: A whole new way to talk about death and moreAntonia PontYogiAssociate Professor Writing, Literature & Culture, Deakin UniversityAuthor, Plain Life: on thinking feeling and deciding and moreMarieke Hardy (host)Co-founder of the spoken-word art salon, Better Off Said: Eulogies for the Living and Dead, Host of the podcast Marieke Hardy Is Going To DieScreenwriter and playwright, forthcoming Melbourne Theatre Company play, Losing Face (June 2026)

Three savvy political mind get up close and very personal with power to consider where it succeeds and struggles. And they've sure got some stories to tell about Australia's prime ministers past and present (and their mothers)! When Canada's Prime Minister took to the World Economic Forum stage in Davos this year, staking a claim for middle powers and standing up against the bullies across his border, the world took notice. Is that what good political leadership looks like? How does Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stack up? 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 leaders made rather than born? And what do the mothers Australia's prime ministers have in common?Join Natasha Mitchell and guests with a lively audience at the 2026 Sorrento Writers Festival.SpeakersJennifer HewettBusiness journalist and a national affairs columnist, Australian Financial Review.Troy BramstonSenior journalist, The AustralianAuthor and political biographerAuthor, Gough Whitlam: The Vista of the New (Harper Collins Australia, 2025)Paul StrangioHistorian and Emeritus Professor of politics, Monash UniversityAuthor, The Alchemy of Leadership: Seven Australian Prime Ministers in a Turbulent 21st Century (Melbourne University Publishing, 2026)Thanks to Festival director Corrie Perkin, Isabel Pinkster, and colleagues.

 From rags ... to riches ... to a prison cell. He could have stayed wealthy and silent, but chose not to. What happens when power decides that a free press is a threat? Hong Kong's Jimmy Lai launched newspapers that dared to challenge Beijing, advocate for democracy, and report the truth when the truth was dangerous. Now Jimmy Lai faces a life sentence under China's crackdown on press freedom. But his story sends a warning to us all, everywhere.This event, The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, and China's Most Feared Critic was presented by the SpeakersMark CliffordPresident of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong FoundationAuthor of The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, and China's Most Feared CriticEvan Osnos (host)Staff writer at The New Yorker

These days, more Australians get their news from their social media feed than traditional media outlets. Meanwhile artificial intelligence is supercharging the war on information, and distorting the news media's business model, while politicians flood the zone with sh*t as a deliberate media strategy. So what do AI and the algorithms mean for the news and for journalism, and how can we regain control of our information ecosystem?The conversation Truth, Lies and the Algorithm was recorded at the Brimbank Writers and Readers Festival on 15 March 2026.SpeakersIan DuntUK political columnist, The I PaperAuthor, How Westminster Works and Why it Doesn't, Conspiracy Theory: The Story of an Idea (with Dorian Lynskey), and moreDr Mathew MarquesSenior Lecturer in Psychology, La Trobe UniversityRita ArrigoAI consultantLuke Siddham Dundon (host)Radio journalist and news presenter, ABC Radio National Breakfast and the Breakfast Wrap

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 divide between rich and poor across the western world — including in Australia.This conversation was recorded at the Melbourne Town Hall on 28 February 2026 with thanks to Thinkable events.SpeakersGary Stevenson Author, The Trading Game: A Confession host, Gary Economics Youtube Channel, former Citibank financial traderAlison Pennington (host) Chief Economist, McKell Institute, author, Gen F'd? How Young Australians Can Reclaim Their Uncertain Futures

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 Minister Albanese and his cabinet erring on the side of caution in this second term?  What allowed notable reformer prime ministers in the past to prosecute ambitious agendas? Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the Sorrento Writers Festival with three seasoned and savvy politics watchers, journalists and authors Paul Kelly, Niki Savva, and Amy Remeikis. A lively conversation not to miss as we head towards the May Federal budget.SpeakersAmy RemeikisSenior political analyst, The Australia InstituteContributing editor, The New DailyCommentator as Pyjama PoliticsAuthor, Where it All Went Wrong: The Case Against John Howard (Simon and Schuster Australia, 2026)Niki SavvaPolitical journalist and authorAuthor, Earthquake: the election that shook Australia (Scribe, 2025)Bulldozed: Scott Morrison’s Fall and ANthony Albanese’ Rise (Scribe, 2022)Paul KellyEditor-at-Large, The AustralianAuthor of The Twilight of Exceptionalism: the Liberal and Conservative Era (Melbourne University Publishing,  forthcoming in July 2026)Thank you to Sorrento Writers Festival founder and director Corrie Perkin, Isabel Pinkster, Mark Bollenberg, and the whole festival team.

Martin Luther King III knows what the long fight for equity looks like. His father was the late great Martin Luther King Jr who led the modern American civil rights movement. And he's got something important to say to corporate Australia. Why are you missing out on Indigenous talent? Ignore it at the peril of Australia's future economic growth, he argues. It's more than a social or equitable good. Join Martin Luther III with Australian cultural and corporate leaders at this Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and CareerTrackers event.SpeakersMartin Luther King IIICivil Rights Leader and Global HumanitarianLinda BurneyFormer Minister for Indigenous AustraliansMelinda CilentoChief Executive CEDARenee Wootton TomlinFounder and CEO New Era EnergyBen WyattFormer WA Treasurer and Non Executive Director of serval companiesAdam Davids (host)CEO and Managing Director CareerTrackers

Are Royal Commissions just a lawyer's picnic? A political witch hunt? Or, a necessary reckoning? 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 or systems failures are exposed. The lowdown with three people who have seen how they work up close.The conversation How do Royal Commissions work? And How Do We Assess Their Impact? was recorded at the Sorrento Writers Festival on Friday 24 April 2026.SpeakersBetty King QCFormer Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria (2005 - 2015), former County Court judge, former state prosecutor, former criminal barristerChairperson of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review BoardJack Rush KC Barrister, counsel assisting the Victorian Royal Commission into the 2009 Black Saturday BushfiresJon Faine (host)Journalist and former longtime presenter Mornings, ABC Radio MelbourneFormer lawyerVice Chancellor's Fellow, University of MelbourneAuthor, Apollo & Thelma: A True Tall Tale

Malcolm Fraser's legacy remains contested territory in Australian politics. Decades after he left office, we still can't quite figure him out. The Prime Minister who came to power in controversy, governed for seven years, then spent the rest of his life surprising everyone with his increasingly progressive views. Whether Fraser was cautious conservative, pragmatic reformer, or something more complex entirely, this discussion seeks to understand both the man and the government he led during a pivotal period in Australian history.Presented at the Malcolm Fraser Symposium by the Trinity College, University of Melbourne.Listen to Big Ideas - The Art of oppositionSpeakersTroy BramstonSenior writer and columnist with The AustralianAuthor of Gough Whitlam: The Vista of the New (2025)Dr Scott PrasserFormer Senior Adviser to three Federal Cabinet Ministers, Academic and independent researcherGeorgina Downer (host)Chief Executive Officer of the Robert Menzies Institute

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 — the hostage crisis, the war in Gaza, and the global response — has reverberated in communities far beyond the Middle East, including here in Australia. For Jewish Australians, it has turned their lives, their careers, their relationships and their identities upside-down. Four Jewish Australian women share their personal experiences of the profound rift they've felt in the wake of that day, and their hopes and attempts to mend it.This conversation was recorded at Manly Writers' Festival on 22 March 2026.SpeakersJoanne FedlerAuthor of The Whale's Last Song and more, writing teacher, former lawyerDr Kylie Moore-Gilbert Research Fellow in Security Studies, Macquarie UniversityAuthor, The Uncaged SkyFormer political prisoner in IranElana Benjamin Author of Indian-Jewish Food, Recipes and Stories from the Back Streets of Bondi, and moreLee KofmanAuthor of The Writer Laid Bare: Mastering Emotional Honesty in a Writer's Art, Craft and Life and more, writing coach and co-editor, Ruptured: Jewish Women in Australia Reflect on Life Post-October 7Suellen Dainty (host) Journalist and author, An Invisible Tattoo and more

Through the stories of five women across three generations of his family, the influential Greek economist, author, politician and public intellectual Yanis Varoufakis tells the tumultuous tale of Greece's modern history, and reflects on its parallels with the once again global rising tides of fascism, authoritarianism, and the actions of those who resist.This conversation was recorded on 6 March 2026 at the Sydney Greek Festival.SpeakersYanis VaroufakisEconomist, former Greek Finance Minister (2015), founder and General Secretary MeRA25Author, Raise your soul: A Personal History of Resistance, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism? and moreDr Helen Vatsikopoulos (host)Journalist, Doctor of Creative Arts University of Technology Sydney

Every scientist dreams of a breakthrough — a new discovery that will change everything. Professor Georgina Long is someone who has done it — as a pioneer of life saving cancer treatments. So what are the ingredients for breakthroughs to occur? And why are the conditions that can lead to new discoveries under threat right now?The 2026 Ann Moyal lecture When groundbreaking cancer treatments save 50% of patients, what happens to the other half? was recorded at the National Library of Australia on 19 March 2026.SpeakersProfessor Georgina LongMedical Director of the Melanoma Institute of AustraliaChair of Melanoma Medical Oncology and Translational Research, University of SydneyCo-recipient (with Professor Richard Scolyer) of the 2024 Australian of the Year AwardFurther information:Patient Zero - Richard Scolyer - Australian Story 2024Dr Richard Scolyer speaks on his fight with brain cancer - ABC 730, 30 October 2025

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 in the Iran war. It happened in 2022 when Russian forces occupied the Chernobyl exclusion zone. A new way of weaponising nuclear power. What have we learned from the worst nuclear accident in history — and what have we failed to learn?This conversation was presented by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and the Ukrainian Institute London.SpeakersSerhii PlokhyMykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History; Director, Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard UniversityEglė RindzevičiūtėProfessor of Criminology and Sociology at Kingston University LondonJonathon TurnbullAssistant Professor of Human Geography at Durham UniversityDr Sasha Dovzhyk (host)Writer, Curator and Head of INDEX: Institute for Documentation and Exchange (Lviv, Ukraine). Editor of the London Ukrainian Review

Is President Trump a new Nero, or a contemporary Caligula? The Roman Empire was full of merchants of chaos, power-hungry emperors, epic wars, backstabbing, betrayals — the whole horror show. And it was a time of civilisational scale change. As we grapple with a rewriting of the world order,  does Ancient Rome have lessons for us today — about the building and breaking of empires, or the rise and fall of autocrats? Or are these sorts of comparisons with the past fraught with complication? Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at this Melbourne Museum event to coincide with the opening of the ROME: Empire, Power, People exhibition.SpeakersRhiannon EvansCo-host of the Emperors of Rome podcastAuthor, Utopia Antiqua: Readings of the Golden Age and decline at Rome (Routledge, 2007)Adjunct Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient HistoryLa Trobe University Nick BisleyAuthor, Asian Crucible: Globalization, Geopolitics and the Contest for the Future (Bristol University Press, 2026); The Belt and Road Initiative and the Future of Regional Order in the Indo-Pacific (Rowman and Littlefield, 2020), Issues in 21st Century World Politics, 3rd Edition (Palgrave, 2017) and Great Powers in the Changing International Order (Lynne Rienner, 2012)Professor of International RelationsPro Vice-Chancellor ResearchLa Trobe University Thanks to event producer Jennifer Brookings, Nick Marchand (Director of Global Engagement at Museums Victoria), and team the Melbourne Museum.

What happens to a community when it punishes its most vulnerable instead of protecting them Drawing on her own story of addiction, imprisonment, and recovery, as well as her frontline work supporting women behind bars and post-release, Tahlia Issac challenges the "tough on crime" narrative. The typical incarcerated woman in Australia is First Nations, a mother, a survivor of violence, and imprisoned for a low-level offence. Locking her up doesn't make communities safer — it makes them more fragile.This is the 2025 International Women's Day Address at the National Press Club of Australia.SpeakersTahlia IsaacFounder and CEO of Project: herself with lived experience as a woman in prisonEmma MacdonaldAssociate Editor or Her Canberra, an online media company, magazine, and community hub tailored specifically for women, and Canberra Convenor of Women in Media

Australians love a holiday in Southeast Asia. But our proximity to this region also makes it key to our national security and prosperity. Yet Australia has hitched its security and foreign policy wagon to an increasingly unpredictable United States, while China asserts in dominance in our own backyard. So are we taking Southeast Asia for granted?This conversation was recorded at Readings Bookshop on 23 March 2026.SpeakersMichael WesleyProfessor of International Relations and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Global Culture and Engagement, University of MelbourneFormer head of the Lowy Institute, former dean of ANU's College of Asia and the PacificAuthor, Blind spot: Southeast Asia and Australia's Future (Quarterly Essay # 101) and moreGeoff RabyFormer Australian diplomat to China 2007 — 2011Author, Great Game On: The Contest for Central Asia and Global Supremacy and more

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 happened in the past — scraping behaviours, experiences and other data to shape its outputs. In this sense, AI is a new kind of historian — but operating without guardrails, ethics, or any sense of doubt.This annual lecture for the History Council of Victoria, Can I Help You? Recognising and Improving Artificial Intelligence as History Maker was recorded on 16 October 2025.SpeakersMarnie Hughes-WarringtonBradley Distinguished Professor at the University of AdelaideCo-editor, History from Loss and The Routledge Companion to History and the Moving Image

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 documentary, or was Mulder deluded? Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell from the stage of the 2026 World Science Festival Brisbane for an hilarious hour of science and comedy.TEAM ALIENS ALIVEDr Joel Gilmore (Team Captain)Energy specialist, physicist, science communicator, improv theatre buff, dancerDr Sara WebbAstrophysicist, author, and science communicatorAuthor of The Little Book of Cosmic CatastrophesSwinburne UniversityGeorgina HumphriesComedian, two time Raw Comedy finalistGeorgina's show Rogue at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy FestivalTEAM EARTHLINGS UNITEDProfessor Tamara Davis (Team Captain)AstrophysicistPrincipal Investigator, OzDES (Dark Energy Survey)ABC TV documentary presenter, ultimate Frisbee and triathlon competitorUniversity of QueenslandNate ByrneMeteorologist, oceanographer. science communicatorABC TV Breakfast host and weathermanSean ChoolburraComedian, dancer, actorThanks to the event producers Dr Rob Bell, Jane O'Hara, Bec Redsell and the whole World Science Festival Brisbane team.

Former BBC presenter and host of the hit podcast The News Agents, Emily Maitlis, gives a fearless assessment of modern news coverage, public broadcasting, and the royal family's handling of Andrew Mountbatten-Windor's arrest. The event No Spin, No Compromise was recorded live at the Sydney Opera House for the 2026 All About Women festival.SpeakersEmily MaitlisCo-host, The News Agents and The News Agents USA podcastsAuthor, Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making NewsFormer BBC journalist and longtime anchor of BBC NewsnightJanine Perrett (host)Finance and foreign affairs journalist and presenter, The Australian, Channel 9, Sky News, ABCFurther information:Emily Maitlis full interview with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, BBC Newsnight, 2019

Todd Ley exposes a high-pressure world where talent is everything, but protection is rare; where overzealous parents, manipulative coaches, hungry sponsors and indifferent associations can push young athletes to their breaking point. It's not just a story about tennis, it's about what happens when a child's identity is consumed by a dream that may not be their own and the long road back to self-worth after the cheering stops.Presented at the 2025 Byron Writers FestivalSpeakersTodd LeyFormer world's top Junior tennis playerAuthor of SMASHED: Prodigies, parents and parasitesAnna FeatherstoneAuthor; non-fiction advisor to the Alliance Independent Authors, publishing consultant for the Australian Society of Authors

Comedians are increasingly being forced to navigate a world where the right punchline at the expense of the wrong politician carries the risk of personal and professional consequences. So when poking fun at the powerful could get you cancelled, sued, land you in jail — or worse — who's afraid of a joke?This episode was recorded on 28th March 2026 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in partnership with The Wheeler Centre, Australia's first dedicated centre for Books, Writing and Ideas. Explore more discussions like this one on The Wheeler Centre podcast — available wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow @wheelercentre for updates.SpeakersSam JayComedian, TV writer Saturday Night Live, host of HBO's Pause with Sam Jay, 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival show We the PeopleBahaa DabbaghStand-up comedian, Syrian refugee advocate, 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Comedy ZoneLeon FilewoodStand-up comedian, winner, Deadly Funny, 2018 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2026 Moosehead Recipient, 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Holding SpaceTom Ballard (host)Comedian, broadcaster, writer, former host of ABC TV's Tonightly with Tom Ballard and Triple J's Breakfast with Tom and Alex, 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Be Funny Challenge (Impossible)Further information:Jon Stewart acceptance speech, 2022 Mark Twain Prize, Kennedy Centre

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 not to love?! Sex historian Dr Esme Louise James is creator of the viral Kinky History TikTok series and does a Sextistics show with her mathematician mother. The complexity of the human clitoris can no longer be ignored by science, thanks to the world-changing work of urologist and surgeon Professor Helen O’Connell. And biologist Professor Robbie Wilson will help you channel your inner animal – masturbating monkeys, tiny testicled-gorillas, amorous antechinus and more. This event was hosted at the 2026 World Science Festival Brisbane/Meanjin.SpeakersDr Esme Louise JamesHistorian, perfomer, author, Kinky History: A Rollicking Journey Through Our Sexual Past, Present, and Future (2024)Creator, the viral Kinky History TikTok series.Professor Helen O'Connell A.OUrologist and urological surgeonUniversity of MelbourneProfessor Robbie WilsonBiologist, head of The Performance LabUniversity of QueenslandThanks to World Science Festival Brisbane producer and maestros Dr Rob Bell, Jane O'Hara, Bec Redsell.Further readingAnatomy of the clitoris Helen E O'Connell, Kalavampara V Sanjeevan, John M HutsonJournal of Urology, Volume 174(4 Pt 1): October 2005, Pages1189-95Anatomical Relationship Between Urethra And ClitorisHelen E. O'connell, John M. Hutson, Colin R. Anderson, Robert J. PlenterThe Journal of Urology, Volume 159, Issue 6, June 1998, Pages 1892-1897Magnetic resonance imaging of male and female genitals during coitus and female sexual arousal Willibrord Weijmar Schultz, Pek van Andel, Ida Sabelis, Eduard MooyaartBMJ, 1999The Anatomy of the Distal Vagina: Towards Unity Helen E. O'Connell , Norm Eizenberg, Marzia Rahman, Joan CleeveThe Journal of Sexual Medicine, Volume 5, Issue 8, August 2008, Pages 1883–1891Magnetic resonance imaging of male and female genitals during coitus and female sexual arousal Willibrord Weijmar Schultz, Pek van Andel, Ida Sabelis, Eduard MooyaartBMJ, 1999

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 forgiveness is something far more complex than a simple act of letting go. Is it a generous moral gift, or a burden placed on those who've been wronged? What really happens when we forgive? And is sometimes withholding forgiveness the more honest response?2025 Anderson Fellows Lecture — Forgiveness: Do We Really Need it? presented by the University of SydneySpeakersLucy AllaisProfessor of Philosophy at both the University of the Witwatersrand and Johns Hopkins UniversityLuke RussellProfessor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia has some 120 embassies, high commissions, consulates-general and representative offices located across five continents. So when an Australian gets into trouble overseas, or a politician travels abroad on government business, or other countries take actions that damage Australia's national interest, it's likely a diplomat is not far away. In their recent books, two former diplomats reveal what the job is really like as Australia's representatives abroad.This event was recorded at the 2025 Canberra Writers Festival.SpeakersLachlan StrahanFormer Australian diplomatAuthor, The Curious Diplomat: A Memoir from the Frontlines of DiplomacyGrant DooleyFormer Australian diplomatAuthor, Bomb Season in Jakarta — A personal account of a turbulent period in Australian diplomacyKaren Middleton (host)Political journalistAuthor, Albanese: Telling it Straight

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 ourselves, about resilience, about persistence, and about doing the things we love. Over six years, Siang Lu received more than 200 rejections from publishers for three manuscripts — before going on to publish a Miles Franklin award winning novel. What did he learn about failure, and what did it teach him about success?The 2025 E.W Cole Lecture was recorded on 20 November 2025 at The Wheeler Centre, Australia's first dedicated centre for books, writing and ideas. Explore more discussions like this one on The Wheeler Centre podcast — available wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow @wheelercentre for updates.SpeakersSiang LuAuthor, Ghost Cities (2025 Miles Franklin Award), The WhitewashCo-founder (with Jonathan O'Brien), The Beige IndexToni Jordan (host)Author, Tenderfoot, Addition, Dinner with the Schnabels and more

Misinformation, disinformation, deep fakes,  false news — do you feel confident spotting them? They’re doing real harm to our relationships, our communities, our health, even to the future health of our democracy. New research has found 73% of Australians believe disinformation will be a major threat to our national security in the next decade. Former Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers believes we can’t afford to be complacent. Australia is only one of 29 fully fledged democracies in the world and three quarters of the global population lives in autocracies, the highest since the 1980s. Join Natasha Mitchell and guests to discuss why media literacy matters. This event was organised by ABC Education with the Australian Media Literacy Alliance. Watch The Matter of Facts with Hamish Macdonald on ABC Iview.SpeakersTom Rogers Former Australian Electoral Commissioner  Distinguished advisor, ANU National security College Australia’s advisor to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). Professor Michael Dezuanni Chair of the Australian Media Literacy Alliance Chief investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child Program Leader, Digital Inclusion and Participation QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Paula Kruger CEO, Media Diversity Australia Former journalist and broadcaster Former manager, community radio station 2SER. Thanks to head of ABC Education Annabel Astbury and event producer Grace Ernestine.

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 seen the profound ways Canada has failed to uphold universal human rights, both at home and abroad. In his final Massey Lecture, he lays out his vision for a way forward.Lecture five and last of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

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 any map of the world.” In his fourth Massey Lecture, Alex Neve reflects on moments when people power won the Lecture four of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

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 until the day we die. But in his third Massey Lecture, Alex Neve argues the powerful have made human rights a ‘club.’Lecture three of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

The ideals behind the concept of human rights — such as the sacredness of life, reciprocity, justice and fairness — have millennia-old histories. After the carnage of the Second World War and the Holocaust, these ideas took a new legal form. In his second Massey Lecture, Alex Neve considers six dizzying years that laid out a blueprint for a new world.Lecture two of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

Human rights are universal, right? For everyone, everywhere, without exception. That promise, born out of the Holocaust and World War II, has been broken repeatedly. But in a time of fear and fracture,  can we renew it? World-renowned Canadian human rights activist and lawyer Alex Neve has seen the best and worse of humanity. He's worked in war zones in Darfur and Eastern Chad, with detainees in Guantánamo Bay, on reconciliation for Indigenous communities in Canada, and beyond. In this special series, his stirring words will cut deep, bring clarity, shine a spotlight on the past, and offer hope for troubled times.Don't miss this first lecture "Renewing the promise of human rights" in his 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldLecture one of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

This episode explores the past and present expectations and experiences of Australian fathers, in the workforce, domestic duties, and child-rearing, and examines how their roles have also shaped the lives of mothers, children, and society.These conversations were recorded at the launch of the book Fathering: An Australian History at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria.SpeakersFathering and Mothering:Professor Jacqui McDonaldConvenor of the Australian Fatherhood Research Consortium, Deakin UniversityAssociate Professor Richard FletcherFathers and Families Research Program at the University of NewcastlePrincipal Investigator with the SMS4dads & SMS4DeadlyDads support linesEmeritus Professor Alistair ThomsonMonash UniversityCo-author, Fathering: An Australian HistoryDr Johnny BellMonash UniversityCo-author, Fathering: An Australian HistoryProfessor Michelle Arrow (host)President of the Australian Historical AssociationFathering and Work:Belinda ProbertSocial scientist, academic and author, Bill's Secrets: Love, War and AmbitionProfessor Sean ScalmerUniversity of MelbourneAuthor, A Fair Day's Work: The Quest to Win Back TimeEmeritus Professor John MurphyUniversity of MelbourneCo-author, Fathering: An Australian History

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 media warped our sense of self, other aggressive forces were at work, hellbent on exploiting feminism for profit, and taking women down while they did. Sophie Gilbert, a Pulitizer-nominated culture writer with The Atlantic, investigates the impacts in her eye-opening book Girl on Girl: How pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves.This event was hosted and produced by The Wheeler Centre in Naarm/Melbourne. Check out its full event schedule.SpeakersSophie GilbertStaff writer, The AtlanticAuthor, Girl on Girl: How pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves (2025)Kate Jinx (host)Writer, critic, film curatorSenior programmer, Melbourne International Film Festival

She's attracted controversy and cancellation, but Palestinian Australian author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah has not been deterred from speaking out about the plight of Palestinians in the war on Gaza, and the experience of Muslim Australians since 9/11. At this event organised in the wake of the cancellation of Adelaide Writers' Week, she joins that festival's former Director Louise Adler, to talk about her latest novel, Discipline, and the experience of art imitating life.This conversation was recorded at the Adelaide Town Hall as part of the Constellations: Not Writers' Week festival on 1 March 2026.SpeakersDr Randa Abdel-FattahAuthor, Discipline (winner of the People's Choice Award at the 2026 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards), Does My Head Look Big in This? and Coming of Age in the War on TerrorFuture Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Macquarie UniversityLouise Adler (host) Former Director, Adelaide Writers' WeekFormer CEO, Melbourne University PressFormer editor-at-large, Hachette Australia

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, the connections drawn, has consequences that ripple far beyond the news cycle. For people living with schizophrenia or psychosis, irresponsible reporting isn't just frustrating. It affects how neighbours treat them, how employers see them, and how they see themselves. For the general public, sensationalised coverage quietly builds a picture of mental illness that is distorted, fear-driven and simply not accurate.Mad, Bad or Misrepresented? Media, Mental Illness and the Stories We Tell was presented on last year's World Mental Health Day by Mental Ill-Health Stigma Researchers Australia Network (MISRA), the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, and the Melbourne School of Global and Population Health.SpeakersDr Anna RossSenior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Population and Global HealthTim HeffernanFormer NSW Deputy Mental Health Commissioner; Chair of the advocacy organisation BEING — Mental Health ConsumersGayle McNaughtManager, StigmaWatch SANE AustraliaDr Chris Groot (host)Senior Lecturer, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences; Co-founder of Mental Ill-Health Stigma Researchers Australia Network (MISRA)Further informationStigmaWatchMindframe and the Mindframe guidelines

Over five decades, one single, sprawling dominion, from Yemen to Myanmar, became twelve modern nations. This is the story of how the actions of politicians in London and revolutionaries in Delhi, princes in remote palaces and soldiers in trenches, redrew the map of British India, uprooting millions, and leaving a legacy that explains much about the region today.This conversation was recorded at the Ubud Writers Festival in Bali, Indonesia.SpeakersSam Dalrymple Author, Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern AsiaCo-founder, Project DastaanFilmmaker, Child of Empire, Lost MigrationsHusnara KhanomPoet, writer, and researcher

Nobel Prize winning work often happens in a young scientist's 20s or 30s — early in their careers. Are the conditions right in Australian universities today for young, hungry minds to do what Nobel laureates Brian Schmidt, Peter Doherty and Rolf Zinkernagel did in the 1990s and 1970s at the Australian National University in Canberra? The three join Big Ideas presenter Natasha Mitchell and a huge crowd at the ANU to talk curiosity, discovery, the future of science, and more.This event was organised and hosted by the Australian National University and the Embassy of Switzerland in AustraliaSpeakersProfessor Peter DohertyImmunologist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine University of MelbourneProfessor Brian SchmidtAstrophysicist and winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize for PhysicsAustralian National UniversityProfessor Rolf Zinkernagel Immunologist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine University of Zurich, SwitzerlandWith thanks to Swiss Ambassador His Excellency Mr Nikolas Stürchler, ANU Deputy Vice Chancellor (academic) Professor Joan Leach, and ANU's Jamie Kidston, Dharmesh Panvelkar, and technical team.Further readingBrian Schmidt on securing Australia's sovereign research capability, National Press Club, 2025Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt is ‘scared’ about Australia’s research capacity – this is why (The Conversation, 2025)Brian P. Schmidt's submission in response to the Australian Universities Accord Discussion PaperThe Knowledge Wars by Peter Doherty (Melbourne University Publishing, 2025)

Presenting a road map to a world with fewer Putins and Kim Jong Uns. Political scientist Marcel Dirsus exposes the precarious reality behind the façade of the dictator's absolute power, and the remarkable ways in which even the most ruthless despots can be felt. Gareth Evans, Geoffrey Robertson, Tobias Buck and Dorcy Rugama take a closer look at crimes against humanity. When is reconciliation possible? Are international courts still useful? How important is truth telling?How Tyrants rise (and fall) was recorded live at the 2025 Sydney Writers' Festival at Sydney Town Hall.SpeakerDr Marcel DirsusPolitical scientist, author of How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations SurviveNon-Resident Fellow at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University (ISPK); member of the Standing Expert Committee Terrorism and Interior Security at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in GermanyCrimes against Humanity was presented at Adelaide Writers' WeekSpeakersTobias BuckManaging Editor of the Financial TimesAuthor of Final Verdict: A Holocaust Trail in the Twenty-first CenturyGeoffrey RobertsonAustralian-British barrister, academic, broadcaster and author — among others of Crimes Against HumanityDorcy RugambaRwandan writer, playwright, and director.Author of Hewa Rwanda, Letter to the Absent Gareth Evans AC (host)Former cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor governments, former president and CEO of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group

The inaugural ABC National Forum is a live, televised panel discussion bringing together Jewish Australians to examine their lives in Australia in 2026, amid a sharp rise in antisemitism since October 7, 2023. Moderated by Insiders presenter and National Political Lead David Speers, the forum launches a new series designed to create a space for Australians to confront major national challenges and seek common ground.

The roots of antisemitism run deep. Christians and Muslims have told stories for centuries about Jewish people. Stories that have weaponised the relationships among these world religions.  In a world of ongoing conflict, how do we recognise, and then bridge, the divide of religious prejudice? This is a special episode of Big Ideas, prepared by the ABC's specialist religion and ethics team.The best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world.GuestsAmy-Jill LevineRabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace.Magda Teter Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies and Professor of History at Fordham University. Adis Duderija Associate Professor of Islam and Society at Griffith University. Geoffrey Levey  Associate Professor of Political Science at University of New South Wales.Rabbi Zalman KastelFounder of Together for Humanity.

A global pandemic, a foreign war, a failed referendum on Indigenous rights, increasing inequality and a fractured media — these and other forces have been causing deep divisions in Australian society. So how can we instead focus on the ties that bind this country together, to reconcile our differences and foster community? What can be done to strengthen our social cohesion?The 2026 Menzies Oration was recorded at Federation University with the Menzies Leadership Foundation on 18 February 2026.SpeakersHugh de Kretser President, Australian Human Rights CommissionerLiz Gillies (host) CEO, Menzies Leadership Foundation

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 online protests across the country, with women and girls posting videos of themselves singing, using the hashtag "I am my song". Aged just 14, Nila Ibrahimi's song, Boro Bakhair Ba Maktab or "Go to school" became an anthem of the movement.The 2025 Gandhi Oration was recorded at University of NSW Centre for Ideas on 2 October 2025.SpeakersNila IbrahimiAfghan refugee, advocate and activist, co-founder and president Herstory, winner of the 2024 International Children's Peace Prize, university studentVerity Firth (host) Professor of Practice at the School of Education, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, Vice-President Societal Impact, Equity and Engagement, University of New South Wales, former New South Wales Minister for Women and Minister for EducationFurther informationCommunity Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRSA) program, based on the Canadian modelCommunity Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP)Support Association for the Women of Afghanistan (SAWA) 

The Panopticon was a prison design by the famous philosopher and social reformer Jeremy Bentham which placed prison guards in a central tower overlooking inmates. So why does scientist and climate advocate Tim Flannery want us to re-imagine the Panopticon as a path towards a more compassionate society? And why does he find warmth and connection even in conflicted communities angry about climate change policies?This event was hosted by RMIT University and Now or Never, Melbourne's festival of art, ideas, sound, technology.SpeakerTim FlanneryPaleontologist, climate and environment advocate, author, and former Australian of the Year.Hilary Harper (host)ABC Radio National presenter

Join acclaimed author and human rights advocate Thomas Mayo and media icon Ray Martin AM as they deliver two powerful orations on justice, reconciliation, and the future of Australia. Thomas Mayo invites us to imagine a reconciled Australia that has learned from its history and forged new pathways forward. Ray Martin is demanding we stop talking and start acting on social justice for Aboriginal people. Two voices. Two generations of advocacy. One urgent question: who will we become?The Walyalup Oration is a centrepiece of the City of Fremantle's annual Truth-telling and Focus First Nation Films Program. In The Walyalup Oration leading thinkers in the fields of Indigenous/colonial relations offer their insights into creating a fairer, (re)conciled and more prosperous future for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.The Joan Kirner Social Justice Oration was hosted by the Institute of Community Directors Australia as part of the Communities in Control series.SpeakersThomas MayoKaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander human rights advocate and renowned author among other books of Always Was, Always Will Be (2024) and Dear Son: Letters and Reflections from First Nations Fathers and Sons (2021)Ray MartinAward-winning journalist and television presenter who has reported for and/or presented some of TV's highest-profile current affairs and variety shows of recent decades.

Universities are under pressure — particularly the study of subjects like languages, history, social sciences and the creative arts. This lecture looks back to a time, post war, when governments turned to universities to transform Australia's economy and society, and backed it up with significant investment and oversight. In the face of contemporary challenges, is it time once again to rethink the purpose of universities — and particularly the study of the humanities — to equip Australia with the skills it needs to survive and thrive in the 21st century?Stephen Garton's Australian Academy of the Humanities Annual Lecture "When Universities Mattered" was recorded on 12 November 2025.An edited version of this lecture is published in the March issue of the Australian Book Review.SpeakersStephen Garton Professor of history, President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Sydney, former Dean of the Faculty of ArtsFrom the archives:Is our university system broken? With Emeritus Professor Graeme Turner and Dr Ben Eltham, Big Ideas, 4 September 2025Further information:Vale Graeme Turner Australian Academy of the Humanities obituary, November 2025

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 thrilling. But how much must you know about corsets and carriages before you can break the rules? What's behind Bridgerton's runaway success? Should we love or loathe what it does with Regency history? Indeed, what would Jane Austen think of it all?Presented at the History Unbound Historical Novel FestivalSpeakersAlison GoodmanWriter of crime, fantasy and historical fiction; her latest release is The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin, the second book in the Ill-Mannered Ladies seriesKelly GardinerAuthor of historical fiction and co-author of the crime novel Miss Caroline Bingley, Private DetectiveSharmini KumarFounder and Artistic Director of 24 Carrot Productions; co-author of the crime novel Miss Caroline Bingley, Private DetectiveElizabeth Leydin (host)Author of Recency romance novels (aka Pamela Hart aka Pamela Freeman)

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 front door? Jenny Valentish's latest book is The Introvert's Guide to Leaving the House: Solid advice for introverts, awkwards, sociophobes and stand-offishes. Brigid Delaney is author of The Secret and the Sage: A Stoic Conversation to Hold you Together in a Fractured World. What happens when a self-described introvert prepared to go out on a limb, and a fan of the Stoics share a stage? Tune in for a few life hacks.Thanks to the Queenscliffe Literary Festival held on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula each year in October.SpeakersBrigid DelaneyJournalist, author, screenwriter (Wellmania), former ministerial speechwriterFounder, Stoic SolutionsAuthor, The Secret and the Sage: A Stoic Conversation to Hold you Together in a Fractured World.Reasons Not to Worry: How to Be Stoic in Chaotic TimesWellmania: Misadventures in the Search for WellnessJenny ValentishJournalist, author, editor, writing teacher and coachAuthor, The Introvert's Guide to Leaving the HouseEverything Harder Than Everyone ElseWoman of Substances: A Journey Into Addiction and TreatmentTracee HutchisonRadio broadcaster, media and arts leaderChair, Green Music Australia

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is calling for a braver response to the actions of the Belarusian dictatorship. She explores the impact of the war against Ukraine on her country, on Europe — and the rest of the world. And what are Putin's strategies for Asia? Has Russia been able to advance its economic and geopolitical interests in Southeast Asia? How did regional states react to Russian aggression against Ukraine and what explains their differing responses to the invasion?"Freedom's Frontier: Belarus and the Battle for Europe's Future" presented by the ANU Centre for European Studies."Putin's Asia Strategy" presented by La Trobe AsiaSpeakersSviatlana TsikhanouskayaNational Leader of Belarus in exile, Head of the United Transition Cabinet, and the President-elect of BelarusDr Ian StoreySenior Fellow of ISAES — Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore and co-editor of Contemporary Southeast Asia, one of ISEAS's three academic journalsAuthor of Putin's Russia and Southeast Asia: The Kremlin's Pivot to Asia and the Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War.Bec Strating (host)Director of the La Trobe Centre for Global Security, Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University

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 LGBTQIA+ people in recent years, that same community is now faced with some setbacks, and a rising hostility,  So why are the human rights of LGBTIQA+ people being challenged, curtailed and politicised right now? The 2025 Higinbotham Lecture at RMIT University was recorded on 15 October 2025.SpeakersJoe BallVictorian Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ CommunitiesDr Shelley Marshall (host) Professor of Law, and Deputy Dean (Research and Innovation) of the School of Law at RMIT University

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? And why are big fashion brands clamouring to design for space? As NASA prepares to return humans to the moon for the first time in 50 years, we hear from a panel of superstar astronauts about life in space.This astronauts' forum was recorded at Sydney Science Festival on 2 October 2025, presented by Sydney's Powerhouse Museum.SpeakersKatherine Bennell-Pegg Director Space Technology, Australian Space Agency, 2026 Australian of the YearJoseph Acaba NASA's chief astronaut, member of NASA Artemis MissionKoichi Wakata Chief technology officer, Asia-Pacific region, Axiom Space, first Japanese commander of the International Space StationTibor Kapu Astronaut, mechanical engineer, mission specialist for Axiom Mission 4Rae Johnston (host) Science and technology journalist, presenter, Download This Show ABC Radio National