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. 11 HR AGO

    Love for your neighbour: how to cultivate radical empathy in a disenchanted world

    From running a massage clinic for homeless men to running the largest independent human rights organisation in the country, Kon Karapanagiortidis has always had a strong sense of his moral duty to help the people around him. Not just his friends and family, but anyone that might be called a neighbour. He even named his bestselling cookbook Philoxenia, a Greek word that means having love for the stranger. Kon's life has been defined by refusing to turn his back on those in need but that comes with a cost. Every year he receives thousands of hateful messages from people that he says have allowed themselves to become numb to the plight of others. Hear how he maintains his empathy and motivation while helping thousands of refugees through The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre with the radical simplicity of seeing the humanity in everyone. The conversation Compassion in Action, was recorded at the Centre for a Compassionate Society on 15 March, 2026 Speakers Petrina BarsonDirector of the Centre for a Compassionate Society Kon Karapanagiotidis OAM Founder and CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Author, The Power of Hope and Philoxenia - A Seat At My Table

    55 min

  2. 1 DAY AGO

    What makes Putin tick — and how will his iron-fist rule of Russia end? Natasha Mitchell with guests

    Some say Russian president Vladimir Putin is growing increasingly paranoid, as his war with Ukraine wages on. It's hard to know from the outside looking in. What makes the elusive Putin tick? How has he changed during his 26 years in power? And where will it all end? Putin's not a fan of Soviet era communism, so what's drives him? And what's his thing with Trump?  Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell with two seasoned Russia watchers at the 2026 Sorrento Writers Festival. Speakers Associate Professor Will PartlettMelbourne Law SchoolFellow, Centre for Public IntegrityAuthor, Why the Russian Constitution Matters: The Constitutional Dark ArtsCoauthor, The Post-Soviet as Post-Colonial and The People's Guide to the Australian Constitution. Dr Elizabeth BuchananSenior fellow, Australian Strategic Policy InstituteCo-founder and co-director of polar warfare studies at West Point Military Academy's Modern War InstituteFormer, Head of Research for the Royal Australian Navy’s Sea Power Centre, Department of Defence.Author,  Red Arctic: Russian Strategy under Putin and So you want to own Greenland: Lessons from the Vikings to Trump. Thanks to Corrie Perkin, founding director and programmer of the Sorrento Writers Festival.

    54 min

  3. 2 DAYS AGO

    Is nuclear war a real threat again? Ex-NATO and Atomic Energy Agency officials weigh in at Harvard

    The global treaty for preventing nuclear proliferation is under serious strain. The last review conferences for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty have ended in deadlock. And this year, last treaty limiting U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals has expired. This new risk comes at a moment when new nuclear actors are asserting themselves, and the diplomatic tools that once managed these dangers are weakening. What's at stake when the nuclear guardrails come down? Presented by the Institute of Politics (IOP), Harvard Kennedy School; Co-Organizer Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Speakers Rose GottemoellerWilliam J. Perry Lecturer, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; former Deputy Secretary General of NATO Laura S. H. HolgateSenior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School; former U.S. Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations Office in Vienna Graham AllisonDouglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School; Former Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Matthew BunnJames R. Schlesinger Professor of the Practice of Energy, National Security, and Foreign Policy, Harvard Kennedy School; Co‑Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Meghan L. O'Sullivan (host)Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs and Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Further Information Taskforce Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Nuclear Threat Initiative — Preventing an Era of Nuclear Anarchy: Nuclear Proliferation and American Security

    55 min

  4. 3 DAYS AGO

    How to date from a position of power, with the creator of Bad Dates of Melbourne Alita Brydon

    Have you ever heard of something called Chatfishing? From to AI profiles to cat-face filters, finding true love has never felt more difficult. And yet, dating is still fundamentally unchanged. It relies on good communication and mutual respect. After creating the social media juggernaut Bad Dates of Melbourne, who better to help you navigate the pitfalls and dealbreakers of dating in the modern world than Alita Brydon. Her first book is called How To Date Like A Dangerous Woman and it is full of straight talk with radical self-love at the heart of it all. This event was hosted at the Brimbank Writers and Readers Festival Speakers Alita BrydonRelationships expert, author of How To Date Like A Dangerous Woman and Bad Dates of Melbourne founder Nelly ThomasComedian, MC and host of the Dear Nelly Podcast

    55 min

  5. 14 MAY

    How to live and die well — with Marieke Hardy, Hannah Gould and Antonia Pont

    It's the only sure thing in life: that we will all die some day. But many of us are scared to think about death — our own, or our loved ones'.  How can embracing death change the way we live our lives and remind us of what's important? This conversation explores topics of grief, philosophies of life and death, and the practical consideration of planning for the inevitable. This conversation was recorded at the Clunes Booktown Festival on 22 March 2026. Speakers Hannah GouldSenior lecturer and fellow with the Death Tech Research Team at the University of MelbourneAuthor of How to Die in the 21st Century: A whole new way to talk about death and more Antonia PontYogiAssociate Professor Writing, Literature & Culture, Deakin UniversityAuthor, Plain Life: on thinking feeling and deciding and more Marieke Hardy (host)Co-founder of the spoken-word art salon, Better Off Said: Eulogies for the Living and Dead, Host of the podcast Marieke Hardy Is Going To DieScreenwriter and playwright, forthcoming Melbourne Theatre Company play, Losing Face (June 2026)

    59 min

  6. 13 MAY

    Wounded narcissist, visionary, team player, a mother's love? The alchemy of good (and bad) political leadership

    Three savvy political minds get up close and (very) personal with power to consider where it succeeds and struggles. They've got gripping stories to tell — about Australia's prime ministers past and present — and their mothers! What traits do you look for in an effective political leader? Are leaders made rather than born?  When Canada's Prime Minister took to the World Economic Forum stage in Davos this year, staking a claim for middle powers and standing up against the bullies across his border, the world took notice. Is that what good political leadership looks like, or not? How does Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stack up? Join Natasha Mitchell and guests with a lively audience at the 2026 Sorrento Writers Festival. Speakers Jennifer HewettBusiness journalist and a national affairs columnist, Australian Financial Review. Troy BramstonSenior journalist, The AustralianAuthor and political biographerAuthor, Gough Whitlam: The Vista of the New (Harper Collins Australia, 2025) Paul StrangioHistorian and Emeritus Professor of politics, Monash UniversityAuthor, The Alchemy of Leadership: Seven Australian Prime Ministers in a Turbulent 21st Century (Melbourne University Publishing, 2026) Thanks to Festival director Corrie Perkin and team.

    1 hr

  7. 12 MAY

    Why jailed Jimmy Lai's plight is a warning for press freedom and us all, everywhere

    From rags, to riches, to a prison cell. He could have stayed wealthy and silent, but chose not to. Hong Kong's Jimmy Lai launched newspapers that dared to challenge Beijing, advocate for democracy, and report the truth when the truth was dangerous. Now Jimmy Lai faces a life sentence under China's crackdown on press freedom. But his story sends a warning to us all, everywhere.What happens when power decides that a free press is a threat?  This event, The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, and China's Most Feared Critic was presented by the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center Speakers Mark CliffordPresident of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong FoundationAuthor of The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, and China's Most Feared Critic Evan Osnos (host)Staff writer at The New Yorker

    55 min

  8. 11 MAY

    Can you trust AI in the news? UK's Ian Dunt and guests on deepfakes, dodgy headlines and more

    These days, more Australians get their news from their social media feed than traditional media outlets. Meanwhile artificial intelligence is supercharging the war on information, and distorting the news media's business model, while politicians flood the zone with sh*t as a deliberate media strategy. So what do AI and the algorithms mean for the news and for journalism, and how can we regain control of our information ecosystem? The conversation Truth, Lies and the Algorithm was recorded at the Brimbank Writers and Readers Festival on 15 March 2026. Speakers Ian DuntUK political columnist, The I PaperAuthor, How Westminster Works and Why it Doesn't, Conspiracy Theory: The Story of an Idea (with Dorian Lynskey), and more Dr Mathew MarquesSenior Lecturer in Psychology, La Trobe University Rita ArrigoAI consultant Luke Siddham Dundon (host)Radio journalist and news presenter, ABC Radio National Breakfast and the Breakfast Wrap

    55 min
See All (1.4k)

Hosts & Guests

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    ABC Australia
  • Years Active
    2006 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.4k
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All right reserved.
  • Show Website
    Big Ideas

More From ABC Podcasts

You Might Also Like