Big Ideas

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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.

HACE 1 DÍA

Jason Stanley, M. Gessen and Anna Funder — Is it fascism yet?

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
HACE 2 DÍAS

Meet Australia’s next woman prime minister? Four changemakers here to WOW

Don't miss meeting these four resilient women creating the change they want to see in the world. At 20, Monique “Mermaid” Murphy’s had a catastrophic accident. Two years later she won Silver at the Paralympics. At 21, Larisha Jerome turned homelessness into buying her first home. Now she advocates for financial justice for other First Nations people. At 14, Nasteho Mukhtar arrived in Australia with her mother and siblings as a refugee from Somalia. Now the social enterprise founder, poet, and Muay Thai fighter helps other women find their power. At 16, Claudia Kurowski is Cairns Young Woman of the Year, a charity-founder, youth parliamentarian, and wants young people to consider politics. Their stories will WOW you, as they join Natasha Mitchell on stage at the WOW (Women of the World) Australia School’s Day in Meanjin/Brisbane. Speakers Larisha Jerome Proud Jarowair, Wakka Wakka and Wulli Wulli womanman Chair, Jarowair Aboriginal Corporation Board director, the Happy Boxes Project Founder, Liberate with Larisha Monique Murphy Silver medal-winning Paralympian swimmer Nasteho Mukhtar Program coordinator, ETHNI Co-founder and manager, Maua Boutique Claudia Kurowski Year 12 student, Cairns State High School 2025 Cairns Young Woman of the Year Co-founder of the youth-led charity, the Gratitude Initiative Parliamentarian and Youth Minister of the Health, YMCA Queensland Youth Parliament. Thank you to event producers Kaylah Tyson and Jo Pratt.

55 min
HACE 3 DÍAS

James Bond and Jason Bourne move over – a real spy talks about his workday

He jumped off a plane, exchanged the notorious briefcase on a park bench and got his identity blown by an asset under torture. Sounds like fiction? But the real stories still differ remarkably from novels and films. A discussion about the realities of espionage and the stories that surround it - filled with intrigue and hidden truths for your ears only. Spies, Lies and Secretes was recorded live at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival at Carriageworks. Speakers Ben MacintyreBestselling author of books including The Siege, Colditz, Agent Sonya, SAS: Rogue Heroes, The Spy and the Traitor, Agent Zigzag, Operation Mincemeat and A Spy Among Friends Jack Beaumont (pseudonym)Former operative of the French foreign secret service, the DGSE, Author of The Frenchman and Dark Arena Matthew Condon (host)Prize-winning Australian novelist and journalist

55 min
HACE 4 DÍAS

Finding skeletons in the closet — the ethics of DNA testing in family history research

DNA testing has helped family history researchers fill in the blanks in their family trees. While that can be a good thing, it can also lead to unexpected consequences. From "non-parental events", to big data hacks, to unauthorised use of DNA in criminal investigations, this is everything you need to know about genetic genealogy. This event was recorded at the State Library of NSW for Family History Month 2025. Speakers Claire Aird Journalist, presenter of the podcast series, Secrets We Keep: Should I Spit? Vanessa CassinEducation Manager, Society of Australian Genealogists Professor Tanya Evans Director of the Centre for Applied History, Macquarie UniversityPresident of the International Federation of Public HistoryAuthor, Family History, Historical Consciousness and Citizenship: A new social history and more Adria Castellucci (host)Lead, Family History team, State Library of New South Wales Further information: How a church-run DNA donation led Michael to be falsely accused of murder SBS News, 6 July 2025

56 min
15 ENE

Vested interests vs public interest? The relation of Australian governments with the fossil fuel industry

How has the fossil fuel industry wielded influence over Australian governments and their policies? What does it take to make ambitious change in the public interest, without vested interests getting in way? Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at Adelaide Writers Week. Origninal broadcast on March 12, 2025. Speakers Dr Richard DennissEconomist and Executive Director of The Australia InstituteAuthor of BIG: The Role of the State in the Modern Economy (2022) Ross GarnautEconomistProfessor Emeritus in business and economics, University of MelbourneBoard director of renewable energy company ZEN ENERGYAuthor of Let's Tax Carbon: And other ideas for a better Australia (2024), Superpower: Australia's Low Carbon Opportunity (2019) Sarah Hanson-YoungSenator for South AustraliaGreens spokesperson for arts and communications, and environment and water Royce KurmelovsFreelance journalistAuthor of Slick: Australia's Toxic Relationship with Big Oil (2024)

54 min
14 ENE

We asked for workers and got people — life on the controversial visa putting food on your plate

A workforce we rarely hear about, lives in limbo, and stories from the coalface. From economic gains and cultural exchanges to exploitation and absconding, what are the successes and problems of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme? Who picks and processes those yummy strawberries you're about to put in your shopping trolley, or the crisp veggies you might stir-fry tonight? Did you know it could be a nurse or a police officer from a Pacific Island or Timor Leste on a temporary seasonal visa? Join Natasha Mitchell and guests for this event organised by Griffith University and the Australian National University, and held at the ANU. Original broadcast on June 4, 2025. Speakers Dr Kaya BarryCultural Geographer, artist, senior lecturer, DECRA Research FellowCentre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University Nunes CosbarMusician, photographer, horticultural employee in Australia on a PALM visa. Band member with Lian Husi Timor Ken DachiCoordinator, Welcoming Workplaces with Welcoming Australia Ema VuetiPresident, Pacific Islands Council of Queensland (PICQ) Thanks also to James Lees (Griffith University), Dr Matt Withers (ANU South Asia Research Institute), and Dr Kirstie Petrou (School of Humanities and Social Sciences, UNSW Canberra) Further information Timorese abattoir workers perform at Port Fairy Folk Festival after call for musos (ABC Australia short film)

55 min
13 ENE

When thinking together goes wrong — exploring the dark side of collaboration

At face value, collaboration sounds like a good thing: collaboration in the classroom, with colleagues, or between nations. But throughout history, collaboration was not always considered a virtuous act, and those who were identified as collaborators were shunned, humiliated or worse. This talk explores how people justify their involvement in wrongdoing, and how, when collaboration devolves into conformity, it risks silencing dissent. This event was recorded at the Bundanon Art Museum. Original broadcast on July 28, 2025. Speaker Dr Simon Longstaff — Executive Director, The Ethics Centre

54 min
12 ENE

House security systems – who really benefits?

Your personal safety is big business, so much so that it’s given rise to “security capitalism”, a phenomenon where attempts to buy personal safety shape the world around us. As security becomes just another status symbol, do these gadgets make us safer or do they create a whole new list of anxieties – a self-fulfilling prophecy of perceived threat and risk aversion? This conversation 'Trapped: Does the security industry make us less safe?' was recorded at the CUNY Graduate Centre. Original broadcast on May 29, 2025. Speakers Mark MaguireProfessor of anthropology at Maynooth University, co-author, Trapped: Life Under Security Capitalism and How to Escape It Setha LowProfessor of psychology, anthropology, earth and environmental sciences, and women's and gender studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, co-author, Trapped: Life Under Security Capitalism and How to Escape It Alex Vitale (host)Professor of sociology and coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center

55 min

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Paul Barclay

Presentador(a)
Natasha Mitchell

Presentador(a)

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.