Big Ideas

ABC Australia

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: Bigideas@abc.net.au SMS line for ABC Radio National: 0418 226 576 Airs Monday to Thursday 8pm, repeated Tuesday to Friday 12pm, on ABC Radio National.

  1. 2 GG FA

    40 years after Chernobyl we face a new nuclear risk — this time as a weapon of war

    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. Speakers Serhii PlokhyMykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History; Director, Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University Eglė RindzevičiūtėProfessor of Criminology and Sociology at Kingston University London Jonathon TurnbullAssistant Professor of Human Geography at Durham University Dr Sasha Dovzhyk (host)Writer, Curator and Head of INDEX: Institute for Documentation and Exchange (Lviv, Ukraine). Editor of the London Ukrainian Review

    56 min

  2. 3 GG FA

    Is Trump a new Nero, Caligula, Caesar? Can the Roman Empire help us make sense of today's chaos? And other burning questions

    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. Speakers Rhiannon 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.

    59 min

  3. 4 GG FA

    Australia's Broken Social Contract — Tahlia Isaac wants to protect women in prison

    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. Speakers Tahlia IsaacFounder and CEO of Project: herself with lived experience as a woman in prison Emma MacdonaldAssociate Editor or Her Canberra, an online media company, magazine, and community hub tailored specifically for women, and Canberra Convenor of Women in Media

    55 min

  4. 5 GG FA

    Is Southeast Asia Australia's blind spot? — with Michael Wesley and Geoff Raby

    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. Speakers Michael 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 more Geoff RabyFormer Australian diplomat to China 2007 — 2011Author, Great Game On: The Contest for Central Asia and Global Supremacy and more

    54 min

  5. 16 APR

    The future of the past — how artificial intelligence is changing history

    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. Speakers Marnie Hughes-WarringtonBradley Distinguished Professor at the University of AdelaideCo-editor, History from Loss and The Routledge Companion to History and the Moving Image

    55 min

  6. 15 APR

    Aliens exist (and the truth is out there)!? Science Smackdown at World Science Festival Brisbane 2026

    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 ALIVE Dr Joel Gilmore (Team Captain)Energy specialist, physicist, science communicator, improv theatre buff, dancer Dr Sara WebbAstrophysicist, author, and science communicatorAuthor of The Little Book of Cosmic CatastrophesSwinburne University Georgina HumphriesComedian, two time Raw Comedy finalistGeorgina's show Rogue at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival TEAM EARTHLINGS UNITED Professor Tamara Davis (Team Captain)AstrophysicistPrincipal Investigator, OzDES (Dark Energy Survey)ABC TV documentary presenter, ultimate Frisbee and triathlon competitorUniversity of Queensland Nate ByrneMeteorologist, oceanographer. science communicatorABC TV Breakfast host and weatherman Sean ChoolburraComedian, dancer, actor Thanks to the event producers Dr Rob Bell, Jane O'Hara, Bec Redsell and the whole World Science Festival Brisbane team.

    52 min

  7. 14 APR

    British journalist Emily Maitlis on THAT Prince Andrew interview and news in a post truth world

    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. Speakers Emily 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 Newsnight Janine Perrett (host)Finance and foreign affairs journalist and presenter, The Australian, Channel 9, Sky News, ABC Further information: Emily Maitlis full interview with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, BBC Newsnight, 2019

    1 h

  8. 13 APR

    Tennis prodigy Todd Ley on the underbelly of elite junior sport

    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 Festival Speakers Todd LeyFormer world's top Junior tennis playerAuthor of SMASHED: Prodigies, parents and parasites Anna FeatherstoneAuthor; non-fiction advisor to the Alliance Independent Authors, publishing consultant for the Australian Society of Authors

    53 min
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Descrizione

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: Bigideas@abc.net.au SMS line for ABC Radio National: 0418 226 576 Airs Monday to Thursday 8pm, repeated Tuesday to Friday 12pm, on ABC Radio National.

Informazioni

  • Creatore
    ABC Australia
  • Anni di attività
    2006 - 2026
  • Puntate
    1,4K
  • Classificazione
    Contenuti espliciti
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All right reserved.
  • Sito web del podcast
    Big Ideas

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