Big Ideas

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.SpeakersDr 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 waterRoyce KurmelovsFreelance journalistAuthor of Slick: Australia's Toxic Relationship with Big Oil (2024)

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.SpeakersDr Kaya BarryCultural Geographer, artist, senior lecturer, DECRA Research FellowCentre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith UniversityNunes CosbarMusician, photographer, horticultural employee in Australia on a PALM visa. Band member with Lian Husi TimorKen DachiCoordinator, Welcoming Workplaces with Welcoming AustraliaEma 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 informationTimorese abattoir workers perform at Port Fairy Folk Festival after call for musos (ABC Australia short film)

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.SpeakerDr Simon Longstaff — Executive Director, The Ethics Centre

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.SpeakersMark MaguireProfessor of anthropology at Maynooth University, co-author, Trapped: Life Under Security Capitalism and How to Escape ItSetha 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 ItAlex Vitale (host)Professor of sociology and coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center

 "Homeric struggle", a desperate night-ballet, an ethical training ground for boys and men. Aussie Rules is a multimillion-dollar industry, but at its heart, to thousands of people, it's much more than that. Including to Australian literary great, Helen Garner.This event was recorded at the National Library of Australia on 20 February 2025.Original broadcast March 6, 2025.SpeakersHelen GarnerAuthor, The Season, Monkey Grip, The Children's Bach, The First Stone, Joe Cinque's Consolation, The Spare Room, This House of Grief and moreBeejay Silcox (host)Critic, writer, outgoing Artistic Director, Canberra Writers Festival

We’re past the brink of civilisational collapse. And many environmentalists are pushing a “fake green fairytale”. Jem Bendell’s arguments have inspired the Extinction Rebellion movement’s civil disobedience pushing for climate change action. But Jem doesn’t think protest is enough now. Find out why the self-confessed eco-libertarian and author of Breaking Together: A freedom-loving response to collapse thinks we should break together not apart. Jem joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the 2024 Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI)Original broadcast on February 19, 2025.SpeakerJem Bendell Author, Breaking Together: A freedom-loving response to collapse (2023)Author, Deep Adaptation: A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy (2018, 2020)Co-founder of Bekandze Farm - Regenerative Training CentreFounder, the Deep Adaptation ForumBand member, the Barefoot StarsEmeritus Professor of Sustainability Leadership, University of CumbriaSenior Distinguished Fellow, Schumacher Institute

We know them as Zuckerberg, Musk, Bezos, Gates, Jobs. But to Kara Swisher, they're Mark, Elon, Jeff, Bill, and Steve. She was once a Silicon Valley insider, but now she's one of big tech's most vocal critics.This event was recorded at Adelaide Writers Week on Monday 3 March 2025.Original broadcast on April 15, 2025.SpeakersKara SwisherAuthor, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, aol.com: How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates, Nailed the Netheads and Made Millions in the War for the Web and There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere: The AOL Time Warner Debacle and the Quest for a Digital FutureHost of podcast On with Kara Swisher, and co-host of podcast, Pivot (with NYU Professor Scott Galloway)Former tech journalist with Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, contributing opinion editor New York TimesMarc Fennell (host)Host of new podcast, Noone saw it coming ABC Radio NationalCreator and host Stuff the British Stole ABC Radio National and ABC TVFormer host, Download this Show ABC Radio National

Imagine a world where your brain is enhanced through cutting-edge technologies and next-generation AI, blurring the lines between organic and digital realms … and unlocking unprecedented potential. We are already some steps on the way in such a future. What would this mean for intelligence, human agency and consciousness?Your Brain on AI From organoids to consciousness was presented by the Sydney Opera House.Original broadcast on February 11, 2025.SpeakersPaul DaviesTheoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist, Arizona State University and best-selling authorDr Inês HipólitoAssistant Professor of Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, Macquarie UniversityDr Brett J. KaganChief Scientific Officer at Cortical LabsDr Sandra PeterDirector of  Sydney Executive Plus, Associate Professor the University of Sydney Business School

You've got half an hour with Lou Reed/ Nick Cave/ Courtney Love: what do you ask them? Three of Australia's best music writers share their craft, and reveal what it's like to sit down with some of music's biggest names.This event was recorded on 2 November 2024 at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.Original broadcast on January 23, 2025.SpeakersStuart Coupe Author, journalist, radio broadcaster, music commentator, publicist at Stuart Coupe PublicityJane Gazzo Music Journalist, TV Presenter, Author ( her new book is I Hear Motion), MC, Public Speaker, founder and presenter Action Time Vision - ATVMichael Dwyer Music journalist, lecturer and member of David Bowie ukulele tribute band The Thin White UkesZan Rowe (host) ABC Music correspondent, Double J and Take 5 hostFurther information:The exhibition From Medieval to Metal: The art & evolution of the guitar is on at the Art Gallery of Ballarat until 2 February 2024

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.Original broadcast on April 2, 2025.SpeakersRachel PerkinsMulti-award-winning filmmaker, and founder of Blackfella filmsDirector, presenter, co-writer, co-producer The Australian Wars series (available on SBS On Demand)Co-director, co-writer, co-producer First AustraliansTim WintonMulti-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 campaignThis 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.

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 BerlinOriginal broadcast on April 1, 2025.SpeakerJefferson CowieJames G. Stahlman Professor in American History at Vanderbilt UniversityAmerican Academy in Berlin, Axel Springer Fellow — Class of Spring 2025

How many times have you checked your phone today? How many tabs are open in your web browser? Do you feel in control of your attention? In the digital age, attention is now a commodity. Can practices like meditation and mindfulness help us feel more free to focus on what really matters?This event was hosted at the Brunswick Ballroom by the Sophia Club in partnership with the University of Melbourne's Contemplative Studies Centre.Original broadcast on March 18, 2025.SpeakersJess HuonMeditation trainer, authorised Dharma teacher, writer (The Dark Wet)Nicholas Van DamDirector of the Contemplative Studies Centre at the University of MelbourneAssociate professor, School of Psychological Sciences, University of MelbourneBrigid Hains (host)Editorial director, Aeon MediaMatthias Schack-Arnott Musician

Satyajit Das presents a provocative examination of the use and abuse of images of wild animals, and how they shape our relationships with the natural world. These pictures can create an impression of abundance and untouched ecosystems, and lull us into a false sense of security, at a time when the natural world faces ecological calamity.The Attenborough Effect — Shaping Our Relationship With Wild Animals was presented by the Australian National Maritime Museum.Listen to the rest of our special series Animals — Us and Them?Original broadcast on February 20, 2025.SpeakerSatyajit DasAuthor of Wild Quests. Journeys into Ecotourism and the Future for Animalsformer banker, recognised as one of the world's leading financial thinkers.

Prepare to have your mind blown with a sweeping saga that connects human evolution, brains, genes, art, music, creativity, knowledge, dyslexia, autism, Indigenous memory systems, and more. A big, beautiful and biological saga about how to learn like a human again. Joining Natasha Mitchell are Australian Senior Memory Champion, scientist and author Dr Lynne Kelly with artist Jane Rusden and musician and educator Hilary Blackshaw. This event was hosted by the 2024 Mountain Festival in Macedon, Victoria.Original broadcast January 20, 2025.SpeakersDr Lynne KellyScience writerAuthor, The Knowledge Gene: the incredible story of the supergene that gives us human creativity (Allen and Unwin, 2024)Author, The Memory Code (Allen and Unwin, 2016) Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe UniversityHonorary Fellow, School of Physics, University of MelbourneHilary BlackshawMusician and musical educatorBendigo Musical Instrumental ProgramJane RusdenArtist

Historian Sarah Churchwell takes you on a gripping and confronting journey into America's recent past to explain its extraordinary present, starting with dark story at the heart of that American classic Gone with the Wind. Knowledge lies at the heart of a healthy democracy, and its many custodians include libraries, universities, cultural institutions, and a free and independent media. So what happens when these institutions are intimidated, dismantled or destroyed, as is happening in America, under the government of President Donald Trump?This event was recorded at the University of Technology Sydney's Vice Chancellor's Democracy Forum on 14 May 2025.Original broadcast on June 17, 2025.SpeakersSarah ChurchwellProfessor of American Literature and Chair of Public Understanding of the Humanities at the University of LondonAuthor, The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe, Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and The Invention of The Great Gatsby, Behold, America: A History of America First and the American Dream, and The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America TellsDirector, Being Human festival and Living Literature event seriesJudge, Man Booker PrizeAnna Funder (host)Author, Wifedom, Stasiland and All That I AmLuminary and Ambassador, University of Technology SydneyRoy Green (host)Emeritus Professor and Special Innovation Advisor at University of Technology SydneyFormer Dean of the UTS Business SchoolChair of the UTS Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing HubFurther informationFrom Gatsby to Huck Finn — American literature in an age of polarisation  - Sarah Churchwell on Big Ideas, ABC Radio National 4 November 2024

After five nominations, Ruthie Foster has taken home the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album - affirming her status as an American music legend.  In this intimate conversation, she shares what made her want to be a singer; the roles of her grandmother and mother in her life; why faith is so important to her and why she wants to sing about real people. And much more…A Heartlands Conservation presented at the Blue Mountains Music Festival.Original broadcast May 12, 2025.SpeakersRuthie FosterAmerican singer-songwriter of blues and folk music. 2025 Grammy Award winner for Best Contemporary Blues AlbumGregg Borschmann (host)Writer, radio producer and oral historian for the National Library of Australia

When you enter your childbearing years, it can feel like everyone from the treasurer, your mum, and probably your Instagram reels really wants you to have a kid. But is it the right decision? Few women escape this conundrum of modern family-making, and unfortunately there is no easy or simple answer. But in this talk presented by the Sydney Opera House at the All About Women Festival 2025, you’ll get the context, prompts and profound reflections to help you think through this decision, whether it’s in your own life or for someone you love.  Original broadcast on June 26, 2024

Meet two men who will change the way you think about an experience most of us fear but will be touched by in some way.  In Patting the Shark, surfing writer Dr Tim Baker describes his wild ride to reclaim a sense of control and agency after a cancer diagnosis. Celebrated author and GP Peter Goldsworthy’s memoir The Cancer Finishing School started out as a journal but became so much more.They join Natasha Mitchell for intimate an intimate, revelatory, funny, and generous conversation about the Big C and how medicine needs to change. This event was hosted by the 2024 Queenscliffe Literary FestivalOriginal broadcast on January 22, 2025.SpeakersDr Tim BakerJournalist, editor, patient advocate, and facilitator of the Peter Mac Book GroupResearch Fellow, Prostate Cancer Research Group, Monash Biomedical Discovery InstituteAuthor, Patting the Shark: A surfer's journey — learning to live well with cancer (Ebury Australia/Penguin, 2022)Dr Peter GoldsworthyGP, author, librettist, poetAuthor, The Cancer Finishing School —lessons in laughter, love, resilience (Penguin, 2024)

Are fermented foods really good for us? Do antibiotics destroy our gut flora? And have you heard about poo transplants?Our gut is teeming with trillions of microbial cells, and we are learning more all the time about how this affects everything from our digestion, to immunity, to mental health.So crack open your kombucha, because these leading researchers will cut through the noise with some hard facts and pioneering science about the microbiome.This event was recorded at the World Science Festival Brisbane 30 March 2025.Original broadcast on June 25, 2025.SpeakersPaul GriffinProfessor of Medicine, Clinical Unit Head and Director of Infectious Diseases, University of Queensland and Mater HospitalFelice JackaDistinguished Professor in Nutritional PsychiatryFounder and director, Food and Mood Centre Deakin UniversityAuthor, There's a Zoo in my PooGene TysonMicrobial ecologist, bioinformatician, and founder, Centre for Microbiome research, Queensland University of TechnologyDr Norman Swan (host)Presenter, Health Report and What's That Rash? ABC Radio National

Doctor Who has acted as a mirror to more than six decades of social, technological and cultural change. It's been able to evolve and adapt more radically than any other fiction. Why we are so addicted to fiction, and why does this wonderful wandering time traveller mean so much to so many. This talk was provided by the York Festival of Ideas. The Festival is led by the University of York, UK.Original broadcast on July 21, 2025.SpeakerJohn HiggsAuthor of Exterminate/Regenerate: The Story of Doctor Who (Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2025)