All Episodes
Big Ideas — 248 episodes · page 2 of 3
40 years after Chernobyl we face a new nuclear risk — this time as a weapon of war
Is Trump a new Nero, Caligula, Caesar? Can the Roman Empire help us make sense of today's chaos? And other burning questions
Australia's broken social contract — Tahlia Isaac wants to protect women in prison
Is Southeast Asia Australia's blind spot? — with Michael Wesley and Geoff Raby
The future of the past — how artificial intelligence is changing history
Aliens exist (and the truth is out there)!? Science Smackdown at World Science Festival Brisbane 2026
British journalist Emily Maitlis on THAT Prince Andrew interview and news in a post truth world
Tennis prodigy Todd Ley on the underbelly of elite junior sport
Who's afraid of a joke? Comedy in an authoritarian age — with comedians Sam Jay, Tom Ballard, Bahaa Dabbagh and Leon Filewood
The science of SEX! Natasha Mitchell and guests at World Science Festival Brisbane
Forgiveness — a generous gift or social pressure disguised as a virtue?
The diplomats — the ups and downs of life in Australia's foreign embassies
Six years of writing, 200 rejections — how Miles Franklin award-winning writer Siang Lu learned to live with failure
Disinformation, deep fakes, and other dodgy doings — the threat to Australian security, democracy, and you
A human rights agenda for Canada (2025 CBC Massey lecture 5)
How people power makes human rights real (2025 CBC Massey Lecture 4)
Human Rights don't have to be earned (2025 CBC Massey lecture 3)
The six years that remade human rights (2025 CBC Massey Lecture 2)
Renewing the broken promise of universal human rights. Alex Neve (2025 CBC Massey lecture 1)
From breadwinners to Bluey's Bandit — a history of Australian fathers and their families
Girl on Girl — How pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves with The Atlantic's Sophie Gilbert
Randa Abdel-Fattah and Louise Adler on the cost of speaking out in a time of division
Mental illness —Taking stigma out of media reporting
Shattered lands — Sam Dalrymple on the five partitions of British India
Three Nobels! Are we backing young minds today to pull off what Brian Schmidt, Peter Doherty, Rolf Zinkernagel did?
The secret of how to topple tyrants and dictators — and crimes against humanity under the microscope
ABC National Forum
Antisemitism's religious roots
In a time of division, how can we rebuild social cohesion? — with Australian Human Rights Commissioner Hugh de Kretser
How a song became a movement for Afghanistan's women and girls — with International Children's Peace Prize winner Nila Ibrahimi
Scientist Tim Flannery — a Panopticon for our times?
Who can we become? Thomas Mayo and Ray Martin speak Black and White about Australia's future
Can an arts degree change the world? A defence of the study humanities at Australian universities
Dearest Gentle Reader, a very Bridgerton Big Ideas! Australian novelists dissect the regency era
The Stoic and the introvert — life hacks from Brigid Delaney and Jenny Valentish
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya fights for a free Belarus − and what are Russia's strategies in Southeast Asia?
Backlash against LGBTIQA+ community — why now? Joe Ball
The life of astronauts — with 2026 Australian of the Year Katherine Bennell-Pegg
Harvard firebrand on intellectual freedom Steven Pinker with Natasha Mitchell
What does Labor stand for? With Sean Kelly and Misha Ketchell
What does liberalism mean today?
The history of money — with Irish economist David McWilliams
The Australian Wars with Rachel Perkins and Henry Reynolds — a watershed event at the Australia War Memorial
Bob Brown on the role of defiance in the climate crisis — with Gardening Australia's Hannah Moloney
War is changing and the laws meant to protect civilians aren't cutting it anymore
Stan Grant — when words fail us, reclaiming the language of love
How conspiracy theories get inside our heads and take hold — Ariel Bogle, Cam Wilson, Gavin Fang, Tracey Kirkland
PRESENTS — The Challenger Legacy
If we can make space accessible, we can make any space accessible
The Great Debate — that Australia's history unites us
Trump's USA — is it fascism yet? Masha Gessen, Anna Funder, Jason Stanley
Meet Australia’s next woman prime minister? Four changemakers here to WOW
James Bond and Jason Bourne move over – a real spy talks about his workday
Finding skeletons in the closet — the ethics of DNA testing in family history research
Vested interests vs public interest? The relation of Australian governments with the fossil fuel industry
We asked for workers and got people — life on the controversial visa putting food on your plate
When thinking together goes wrong — exploring the dark side of collaboration
House security systems – who really benefits?
Helen Garner on the beauty and grandeur of footy
Jem Bendell, the fake green fairytale, and how to survive civilisational collapse
Kara Swisher and Marc Fennell take on the Tech Bros
The relationship between brain and machine
On the art of music writing — with writers who rock!
Can storytellers change the world? Tim Winton and Rachel Perkins join Natasha Mitchell
History of populist rage in America
Meditation and mindfulness in the digital age
The secrets of wildlife documentaries
The Knowledge Gene — an incredible story of the origins of human creativity
Sarah Churchwell asks — Will American democracy survive the Dark Enlightenment?
2025 Grammy winner Ruthie Foster talks about her life and music
Childless on purpose — the fertility crisis and the big decision
Surfer Tim Baker and doctor Peter Goldsworthy on living well with cancer
Understand your microbiome
Doctor Who at 60 — still as attractive as ever
The role of spirituality and religion in mental health care
A song for every feeling? Pub Choir's Astrid Jorgensen with Natasha Mitchell
Victoria's new treaty with First Peoples — a turning point for Australia?
Pay attention — writer Emily Maguire finds promiscuous curiosity and cultural receptivity in the creative process
Can science keep dementia at bay and keep your brain sharper − for longer?
Acclaimed author Christos Tsiolkas on fence-sitting in a time of fracture
The stories we tell about cricket — with Paul Giles and Gideon Haigh
Judge Navi Pillay on the fight for human rights, justice and accountability
Musician Holly Rankin on why young Australians feel that politics isn't delivering for them
What are universities for today? The usefulness of "useless" knowledge
Jane Caro — why Australia is failing our school system
Coming Out and Inviting In — with Zoe Terakes, Nina Oyama, Mon Schafter, Atari Metcalf, Ji Wallace
Searching for convivencia — philosopher AC Grayling makes peace in the culture wars
The Sophia Club live philosophy — what are friends for?
Understanding China's history is crucial for Australia
Universities and other antidotes to authoritarianism
One day, everyone will have always been against this — Omar El Akkad and Peter Greste reckon with Western hypocrisy over Israel's war on Gaza
Fixing Australia's housing crisis — is increasing supply really a silver bullet?
Gough Whitlam's dismissal — why is it still relevant today?
An intriguing story of art and espionage — how a classical scholar turned codebreaker during World War 2
Empire of AI — Karen Hao goes inside the reckless race for total world domination
ABC's CITIZEN JURY — Fixing salmon farming's environmental harms in Tasmania
Anne Summers — 50 Years of Damned Whores and God’s Police
Why we need to cancel cancel culture — with defamation barrister Sue Chrysanthou
Out of this world — with Booker Prize winning author Samantha Harvey
What Artists See? Critic Quentin Sprague helps you get to the messy human heart of art