Big Ideas

ABC listen

4.0 (30)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
UPDATED DAILY

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.

3 DAYS AGO

BBC Reith lecture 4 — Can you change a violent mind?

Is prison time for violent offenders mostly about appeasing a sense of revenge? And if so, are there better ways to rehabilitate perpetrators? Dr Gwen Adshead assesses the effectiveness and impact of therapeutic interventions and restorative justice - and she's looking at how Norway does it. The 2024 BBC Reith lecture series Speakers Dr Gwen Adshead Award-winning forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, author of The Devil You Know. Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry Anita Anand (host) BBC Radio presenter and journalist Further information Transcript of this Reith lecture

54 min
4 DAYS AGO

BBC Reith lecture 3 – Does trauma cause violence?

The long term impact of childhood trauma on your body and mind is profound and devastating. Many perpetrators of violent crimes have suffered abuse themselves. But is it as easy as to say that trauma causes violence? There are many more people who have lived through trauma and don’t start hurting others. The 2024 BBC Reith lecture Speakers Dr Gwen Adshead Award-winning forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, author of The Devil You Know. Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry Olivia Phelps Governor, HMP Grendon Richard Shuker Head of Clinical Services, HMP Grendon Anita Anand (host) BBC Radio presenter and journalist Further information Transcript of this Reith lecture

54 min
5 DAYS AGO

BBC Reith lecture 2 — Goodness as the antidote to evil

You all have the capacity for evil behaviour in you — given the right mix of circumstances. Rigidity of thinking about others, egocentricity, setting your moral rule book and dehumanising victims are contributing factors. But just as innate to you is the antidote to evil: goodness. Find out how to maintain this fine balance on Big Ideas. This is the second 2024 BBC Reith lecture Speakers Dr Gwen Adshead Award-winning forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, author of The Devil You Know. Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry Anita Anand (host) BBC Radio presenter and journalist Further information Transcript of this Reith lecture

54 min
6 DAYS AGO

BBC Reith lecture 1 − Is violence normal?

What then are the tipping points that drive some to kill? Is violence unnatural? Or is it normal because, deep down, we are all capable of cruelty and can experience, even briefly, the urge to hurt others? The daily news, as well as our cultural landscape, is filled with stories of acts of violence. The impact of violence on the individual, families and communities can be devastating. This is the first 2024 BBC Reith lecture in the series: Four questions about violence Speakers Dr Gwen Adshead Award-winning forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, author of The Devil You Know. Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry Anita Anand (host) BBC Radio presenter and journalist Further information Transcript of this Reith lecture

53 min
3 APR

Supporting teenagers to thrive online

Teenagers 'live' online and on social media. How can they reap the many benefits that social media can offer? There are plenty of them: an endless pool of knowledge and curiosity. But parents need to help them navigate the risk and threats online — of which there're also plenty. On Big Ideas, we have a panel of experts with a plethora of valuable information, advice and resources. Presented by the Raising Children Network and hosted at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Check out the ABC TV series 'Role of a Lifetime' on iview with more details about parenting in the social media era. Speakers Derek McCormack Director of Raising Children Network Dr. Julie Inman Grant Australia's eSafety Commissioner Dr. Sarthak Gandhi Headspace Board Youth Advisor and Researcher at Murdoch Children's Research Institute Professor Marie Yap Research Professor at Monash University and Psychologist with expertise in Parenting & Youth Mental Health Beverley Wang (host) ABC's National Culture Correspondent Further information Raising Children Network eSafety Commissioner Headspace Kits Helpline Reach Out Parent line Youth Safe

54 min
2 APR

Can storytellers change the world? Tim Winton and Rachel Perkins join Natasha Mitchell

Two of Australia’s most influential and legendary storytellers, author Tim Winton and filmmaker Rachel Perkins, join Natasha Mitchell at WOMADelaide’s Planet Talks to discuss the power of stories and the role of artists to create change in the world. Speakers Rachel Perkins Multi-award-winning filmmaker, and founder of Blackfella films Director, presenter, co-writer, co-producer The Australian Wars series (available on SBS On Demand) Co-director, co-writer, co-producer First Australians Tim Winton Multi-award-winning author of Juice, Dirt Music, Cloudstreet and more. Patron of the Australian Marine Conservation Society Host and writer, Ningaloo Nyinggulu series (available on ABC Iview) Activist, Protect Ningaloo and Exmouth Gulf campaign This event was recorded live at the annual 2025 WOMADelaide festival produced and presented as part of its Planet Talks program, held on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people. Thanks to Planet Talks producer Rob Law.

54 min
1 APR

Populist rage in America — history, causes and impacts

Populism is part of American political history. It has been and still is the dominant vocabulary of dissent. But the current resurrection of authoritarian politics in the US is different. While the two parties could absorb populist movements in the past, this time populism has absorbed the party. Presented at the American Academy in Berlin Speaker Jefferson Cowie James G. Stahlman Professor in American History at Vanderbilt University American Academy in Berlin, Axel Springer Fellow — Class of Spring 2025

54 min
31 MAR

Good conversations — with writer and poet Ian WIlliams (CBC Massey Lecture 5)

What makes a good conversation? And do good conversations have anything in common? Ian Williams studies his daily conversations and explores how our age has left many people in what he calls a "drought of loving voices." In searching for conversations that feel transcendent, not transactional, he argues that in great conversations, the content is less important than the interaction: the sincerity and openness of the engagement. Good conversation is an art, and you don't know how it will change you by the time it ends. The CBC Massey Lecture series "What I mean to say — remaking conversation in our time" was recorded live across Canada in November 2024. The fifth lecture Good conversations took place in Toronto, Ontario. Speakers Ian Williams Poet and author, Reproduction (Scotiabank Giller Award winner), Disorientation. Being Black in the World, Word problems (Raymond Souster Award 2021), and more Professor of English and director of the Creative Writing program at the University of Toronto Adrian Harewood Associate Professor of Journalism, Carelton University Former CBC radio host Nahlah Ayad CBC Ideas host Further information: Since 1961, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has produced the Massey Lectures featuring leading Canadian thinkers asking questions that make us better human beings. The lectures are a partnership between CBC, House of Anansi Press, and Massey College in the University of Toronto.

58 min

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out of 5

30 Ratings

Always interesting

28/03/2021

Duindobheul

There’s always something interesting or challenging in this podcast. It’s utterly compelling. So many different guests and topics. Fantastic content from ABC. Love listening to this and other content from Australia here at home in Scotland. Thank you for bringing the world closer when everything seems further away.
Love it!

11/06/2014

TanTan91

A great podcast for people who want to be inspired!
covid-19 silence

27/03/2020

picturetalk321

I love this show. I have listened to it regularly and enthusiastically from the UK and Germany for 3 years now. But I am mystifies by the editors' decision to feature nothing on the corona virus. I keep refreshing every two days and can simply not understand it. I've stoppes tuning in. This show is normally so amazingly topical: what has happened? Hope everyone is OK. xx
A short review

06/09/2009

vectr

This is an excellent podcast that presents a counter-balance to the shallow media that predominates discourse. Commendable. As an Aussie living in London, this is the sort of thing that makes me proud even when I'm on the other side of the planet.

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.