Big Ideas

ABC

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SOCIETY & CULTURE
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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.

1 DAY AGO

Bob Brown on the role of defiance in the climate crisis — with Gardening Australia's Hannah Moloney

For more than 50 years, Dr Bob Brown has been breaking and making laws to protect the environment. Now aged 81, he is hoping to give strength to new generations who are facing the climate and extinction crises front on. This event was recorded at the Theatre Royal Hobart on 1 October 2025. Speakers Bob BrownPresident, Bob Brown FoundationFormer Greens Senator for Tasmania (1996-2012)Author, Defiance: Stories from Nature and Its Defenders Hannah Moloney (host)Presenter, Gardening Australia, permaculture educator, community worker, designer, author, Why We Garden: On the Joy and Wonder of Growing Things, Even when We Don't Have to (out in March 2026) Further information: Tasmania's Forgotten Opera Star Returns: Amy Sherwin Statue Unveiling and Festival

55 min
2 DAYS AGO

War is changing and the laws meant to protect civilians aren't cutting it anymore

International humanitarian law, the law of armed conflict, was meant to protect civilians from the worst of war. But in today's wars civilians have become targets, and the rules meant to shield them are breaking down. What happens when the law of war no longer works? And can it be rebuilt to protect civilians once again? Presented by the American Academy in Berlin. Speakers Oona HathawayGerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law, and Founder and Director of the Center for Global Legal Challenges at Yale Law School; president of the American Society of International LawAuthor of War Unbound: Gaza, Ukraine, and the Breakdown of International Law Daniel BenjaminPresident of the American Academy in Berlin

54 min
6 DAYS AGO

Stan Grant — when words fail us, reclaiming the language of love

Most of us, in our lives, will witness things we cannot comprehend, when words fail to do justice to the moment. In those moments, to whom or what can we turn? To God? To philosophy? To music? To ourselves, or to our fellow humans? In a noisy world, Stan Grant wrestles with the fragility of language, and the power of silence, and of listening, to find a path to connection, compassion, and love. The Simone Weil Lecture on Human Value was held at the School of Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University. Speakers Stan GrantProfessor of TheologyVice Chancellor's Chair of Australian/Indigenous Belonging at Charles Sturt UniversityAuthor, Talking to My Country, The Queen is Dead, Australia Day and the soon to be published, When Words Fail Us: Truth beyond time (May 2026, UNSW Press)

57 min
28 JAN

How conspiracy theories get inside our heads and take hold — Ariel Bogle, Cam Wilson, Gavin Fang, Tracey Kirkland

Conspiracy theories have always been with us, but now they're finding new ways to get inside our heads and take hold — and Australia is seeding some uniquely homegrown varieties. Investigative technology journalists Ariel Bogle and Cam Wilson went down the rabbit hole for their book Conspiracy Nation: Exposing the dangerous world of Australian conspiracy theories. To discuss the why, what, and how of conspiratorial thinking, they join seasoned editorial leaders Gavin Fang and Tracey Kirkland, co-editors of Age of Doubt: Building Trust in a World of Misinformation and Pandemedia: How COVID changed Journalism. This event was held at the 2025 Canberra Writers Festival. Speakers Ariel BogleInvestigations reporter specialising in technology, internet and the lawGuardian Australia Cam WilsonAssociate Editor, CrikeyJournalist specialising in technology, internet culture, and politicsEditor of the daily technology newsletter, The Sizzle Tracey KirklandManaging editor, ABC NewsJournalistGavin Fang (host)Editorial director, Australian Broadcasting CorporationJournalist and editor

58 min
28 JAN

PRESENTS — The Challenger Legacy

Forty years ago this January, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated on its way into orbit. All seven astronauts on board were killed. Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and Fiona Pepper investigate how the Challenger disaster unfolded – and what that has meant for space exploration from 1986 to now. In the days after the tragedy, the world wanted answers. What really caused the shuttle to explode? And should the launch have been stopped altogether? The Challenger Legacy is a five-part series from Science Friction and is out now.

5 min
27 JAN

If we can make space accessible, we can make any space accessible

Meet Dwayne Fernandes, a man training to be the first double amputee in space. He brings you a powerful perspective based on his lived experience: in zero gravity, his disability disappears and human potential soars free. He explores how the social model of disability transforms our understanding of accessibility, showing that environments either create barriers or unlock possibility. His message is both challenging and hopeful: if we can make space accessible, we can make any space accessible. The 2025 Disability Oration presented by the Disability Leadership Institute Speakers Dwayne FernandesAstroAccess Flight 2 Ambassador, accessibility consultant with IDEA Services, co-founder of Minds at Play, and advocate with the Australian Space Diversity Alliance Christina RyanCEO and Founder of the Disability Leadership Institute

49 min
26 JAN

The Great Debate — that Australia's history unites us

From the world's oldest continuous living culture, to the arrival of Captain Cook, the goldrush to the ANZACs, from Federation to elections to referendums, and beyond, our understanding of Australian history has evolved dramatically over recent years. Six esteemed scholars have six minutes each to wrestle with how our past unites, divides, and defines us. Who will win? The Great Debate was recorded for Social Sciences Week with the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the National Library of Australia. Speakers Affirmative team Frank BongiornoProfessor of historyDirector of the University of Canberra's Centre of Public IdeasAuthor, Dreamers and Schemers: A Political History of Australia and more Jakelin TroyNgarigu woman from the Snowy Mountains of NSWProfessor of AnthropologyDirector of Indigenous Research at the University of Sydney Georgina DownerCEO of the Robert Menzies Institute, University of Melbourne Negative team Michelle ArrowProfessor of modern history, Macquarie UniversityPresident of the Australian Historical AssociationAuthor, Women and Whitlam: Revisiting the Revolution and more Vonda MaloneFormer member of the Queensland Truth Telling and Healing InquiryFormer CEO of the Torres Strait Regional AuthorityFirst female Mayor of the Torres Shire Council Dan WoodmanProfessor in Sociology at the University of Melbourne Judges Richard HoldenProfessor of Economics, University of NSWFormer school debating champion Chris UhlmannPolitical contributor, Sky News, columnist, The Australian Kate Darian-SmithPresident of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia

55 min
22 JAN

Trump's USA — is it fascism yet? Masha Gessen, Anna Funder, Jason Stanley

He’s been called a “hypercapitalist”, a “new authoritarian” and a “post fascist”. Twelve months into Donald Trump’s second term as United States President, he has certainly reshaped the country and the world in ways that have shocked and surprised. So how should we understand his political ideology? The conversation Is It Fascism Yet? was recorded at the Sydney Opera House on 28 September 2025. Speakers Jason Stanley Professor of Philosophy and Linguistics, Chair of American Studies at the University of Toronto Author, How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, and more M. Gessen Opinion writer for the New York Times Author, Surviving Autocracy, The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia and more Anna Funder (host) Author, Wifedom, Stasiland, All That I Am Further information: One Year of Trump. The Time to Act Is Now, While We Still Can. M.Gessen, The New York Times, 18 January 2026 Why I Fled Trump's AmericaJason Stanley, Zeteo, 26 July 2025

55 min

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Paul Barclay

Host
Natasha Mitchell

Host
Oona Hathaway

Guest
Daniel Benjamin

Guest
Frank Bongiorno

Guest
Jakelin Troy

Guest
Georgina Downer

Guest
Dr Michelle Arrow

Guest
Vonda Malone

Guest
Dan Woodman

Guest

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.