Big Ideas

It's only eight years until the torch will be passed on to Brisbane. The countdown is on: Are we prepared? What are the challenges? What is the politics involved? And how important is children participating in sport to ensure that the games have a future?Presented at the Bond Business Leaders Forum, Bond University.SpeakersIan ChestermanPresident of the Australian Olympic CommitteePat HowardFormer rugby international player and coach for the Leicester Tigers; Executive General Manager of Strategy, Insights & Innovation at the Australian Sports CommissionPatrick JohnsonKaanju man from Far North Queensland, Olympian, Commonwealth Games Bronze Medallist in the 4x 100 metres relay; board member for the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee; Chair of Australian Olympic Committee Indigenous Advisory CouncilElia HillDirector, Commercial Opportunities and Investment, at the Queensland Department of Tourism and SportWilliam Tuffley (host)Partner, Business Services at the audit and accounting consultancy BDO Australia

Join a full house at the Sydney Opera House with Nobel winning scientist Jennifer Doudna and Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell to discuss the huge social, ethical, and scientific implications of the CRISPR gene editing revolution. From curative therapies to gene edited babies - will we use it to hack our own evolution?This event was presented by the Sydney Opera House, Big Questions Institute (BQI), Sydney Writers’ Festival, UNSW Sydney.Speaker:Professor Jennifer Doudna2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry co-winner Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s ChairProfessor, Departments of Chemistry and of Molecular and Cell BiologyFounder, Innovative Genomics InstituteUniversity of California, BerkeleyInvestigator, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteSenior investigator, Gladstone InstitutesFurther information and listens:Doudna LabJennifer Doudna in conversation with Natasha Mitchell at an event in 2018World's first CRISPR gene edited babies born - are we ready?(2018 Science Friction episode with Natasha Mitchell)The CRISPR gene-edited babies and the doctor who made them - what really happened? (2019 Science Friction episode with Natasha Mitchell)Out of jail, is the CRISPR-baby scandal scientist at it again? (2023 Science Friction episode with Natasha Mitchell)Feral science or solution? Unleashing gene drives (Science Friction episode with Natasha Mitchell)Making happier animals? Gene editing in the farmyard (Science Friction episode with Natasha Mitchell)Hear Natasha Mitchell learn how to do CRISPR gene editing (as part of her 4-part Earshot series The Hidden History of Eugenics (2016))The science and ethics of genome editing with Jennifer Doudna and Kevin Esvelt (video of event hosted by Natasha Mitchell in 2018)Natasha Mitchell's review of Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Gene: An Intimate History

Who's watching your local council, keeping you abreast of issues in your neighbourhood, and celebrating your community's achievements? That used to be the role of your local newspaper, but now many of us don't have one.This event was recorded at the Willy Lit Fest on Sunday 16 June 2024.SpeakersMargaret Simons Honorary Professorial Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of MelbourneAuthor, Tanya Plibersek: on her own terms, Penny Wong: Passion and Principle, and othersJosie Vine Senior Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, RMIT UniversityAuthor, Larrikins, Rebels and Journalistic Freedom in AustraliaRates, roads and rubbish reporter, The Westsider community newspaperAlice Pung Author, Unpolished Gem, Her Father's Daughter, Laurinda, Close to HomeEditor, Growing Up Asian in AustraliaAdjunct Professor in the School of Media and Communication at RMITJohn Weldon (host) Associate Professor, Victoria University

Moral philosopher and writer Raimond Gaita wrestles with the moral and ethical dimensions of the Israel-Gaza war to try to make sense of the incomprehensible.The Jim Carlton Integrity Lecture, "The Urgency of Ethical Challenges Facing the World" was recorded at the Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne on May 8, 2024.SpeakerRaimond Gaita Honorary professorial fellow, Melbourne Law School, University of MelbourneEmeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy, King's College LondonFellow, Australian Academy of the HumanitiesAuthor, Justice and Hope: Essays, Lectures and Other Writings, (and many other books)Editor Gaza: Morality, Law and Politics

In the shadow of the AI revolution, as the tech giants vie for our data, our attention, and our money, beloved Scottish author Andrew O'Hagan makes an impassioned case for the role of readers and writers as "frontline workers" in the fight for reality.These events were recorded at the Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival on 17 and 19 May 2024.SpeakersAndrew O'Hagan Author, Caledonian Road, Mayflies,and many moreEssayist, editor-at-large of the London Review of BooksGillian O'Shaughnessy (host) Writer, moderator, journalist, broadcaster

Join Natasha Mitchell and guests for a conversation full of surprises on the bonds that make us and sometimes break us. Bad dates, spaceships, surviving cults, the creature within, mother love, loss, and more — how do our attachments shape our minds and lives?Thanks to Griffith Review and the Brisbane Writers Festival for organising this event.Speakers:Anna McGahanActor, playwright, screenwriter, Vogel Award winnerAuthor, Immaculate (Allen and Unwin 2023), and Metanoia: a memoir of a body, born again (Acorn Press, 2020)Ceridwen DoveyAuthor, Only the Astronauts (Penguin, 2024), Only the Animals (Penguin, 2015), and other titles.Dr Ahona GuhaClinical and forensic psychologist, writerAuthor, Life Skills for a Broken World (Scribe Publications, 2024) and Reclaim: Understanding complex trauma and those who abuse (Scribe Publications, 2023)Further information:Griffith Review: Edition 84 Attachment StylesGriffith Review's editor Carody Culver on getting attached

For many Indigenous performers publicity comes with the burden of being a role model. Their only options seem to be a pedestal or oblivion, particularly if they are women.What are the challenges for them to find their place on stage and in life?Who has the right to be 'bad' in a society that expects women to be flawless?A panel of Indigenous cultural commentators explores stereotypes and puts them in the bin.Presented at the All About Women Festival by the Sydney Opera House.SpeakersBarkaaMalyangapa, Barkindji rapper from Western New South Wales, now living in South West Sydney on Gandangara landSteph TisdellYdinji comedian and actressRudi Bremer (host)Gamilaraay woman, broadcaster and presenter of RN's Awaye!Listen to Big Ideas – Indigenous arts

Recent elections overseas have shown a rise in the popularity of far-right politics in Europe and elsewhere, fuelled by anti-immigration sentiment, economic woes and other grievances. So what does this mean for far-right movements back here in Australia?This event was recorded at the University of Canberra on May 16, 2024.SpeakersJordan McSwiney Author, Far-Right Political Parties in Australia: Disorganisation and Electoral FailurePostdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of CanberraKristy Campion Senior Lecturer in Terrorism Studies, Charles Sturt UniversityAriel Bogle Investigations reporter, Guardian Australia

In some parts of the United States, you're more likely to see a book banned in public libraries and schools, than efforts towards gun control. Advocacy organisation PEN America has documented more than 10,000 book bans since 2021. Momentum to censor books is growing, and also spreading to places like Australia. So what's it like to write and sell books in this climate?This event was recorded at the Melbourne Writers Festival on the 12 May, 2024.SpeakersAnn PatchettAuthor of Tom Lake, Bel Canto, Truth and Beauty, and many more; Owner, Parnassus Books, Nashville TennesseeLauren GroffAuthor The Vaster Wilds, Fates and Furies, Florida, and many more; Owner, The Lynx Books, Gainsville FloridaTony BirchAuthor, Women and Children, Ghost River, Shadowboxing; Boisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature at Melbourne UniversityChristine Gordon (host)Programming and Engagement manager, Readings; Director, Victorian Women's Trust Board; Founding Director of the Stella PrizeFurther informationThe Book Show, ABC RN: Banned Books podcast

From land rights to health and education, working within the system or outside of it, what makes a great Indigenous leader, and how do we create the right conditions for leadership to flourish?The 2024 Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture was recorded by James Cook University in Cairns on May 16, 2024.SpeakerProfessor Ngiare Brown Chancellor, James Cook University, Yuin Nation

Democracy is not necessarily the winner of the recent elections in Asia. More than a billion people across the region have voted. But that doesn't ensure democratic ideals and processes are uphold. We look at Indonesia, India and Taiwan to put the election results into context and learn how they impact democracy not just in their own countries, but across the region and the globe.Presented by La Trobe Asia.SpeakersKevin MageeAdjunct Fellow at the Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney; Former Australian ambassador to Taipei (2011-2014)Dr Priya ChackoAssociate Professor of International Politics, University of AdelaideProfessor Vedi HadizDirector and Professor of Asian Studies at the Asia Institute, University of MelbourneDr Ruth Gamble (host)Senior Lecturer in History and Deputy Director of La Trobe Asia, La Trobe University

In NAIDOC Week, is reconciliation between Black and White Australians dead, buried, or in need of re-imagining? The fallout of the Voice Referendum has left many jaded, confused, angry or indifferent.Two galvanising reflections on what all Australians can learn from the referendum, with visions for what next.SpeakersProfessor Tom Calma AOAboriginal Elder from the Kungarakan tribal group and a member of the Iwaidja and Woolwonga tribal groups in the Top End of the NT. Former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, 2023 Senior Australian of the Year.The Lowitja O’Donoghue Oration was recorded at the Don Dunstan Foundation at Adelaide University on May 29, 2024. Professor Andrew GunstoneDirector National Centre for Reconciliation, Truth, and JusticeAssociate Deputy Vice-Chancellor Reconciliation and Professor Indigenous Studies Federation University Co-Chair Reconciliation VictoriaErin LangChair of Reconciliation Queensland, Bundjalung womanThis event was recorded at the Brisbane Writers Festival 31 May 2024Further InformationBook Reflections on the Voice: During and After the Campaign by Professor Andrew GunstoneNAIDOC Week 7-14 July 2024

From loneliness, to our technology addiction, growing inequality and our shrinking middle class, our faith in God, to the complex legacy of the Baby Boomers, Hugh McKay paints a compelling portrait of modern Australia, and asks some pointy questions about its future.This event was recorded at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia on May 16, 2024.SpeakersHugh McKay Social psychologist and researcherAuthor, The Way We Are. Lessons from a lifetime of listeningJulia Lester (host)Journalist, broadcaster, presenter

Join Natasha Mitchell and guests in a coal country heartland. Communities in Muswellbrook and Singleton in the NSW Upper Hunter are living at the coalface  — quite literally — of the vexed debate over Australia's slow transition to a post-Carbon future. Australia's oldest coal-fired Liddell power station {"Lady Liddell") was shut down by AGL last year, AGL's Bayswater Power Station will close within a decade, coal mines are being closed, others expanded, and now the Coalition is proposing a nuclear power station for the Liddell site, but AGL has other plans. This event was organised by Arts Upper Hunter as part of the LIDDELLWorks exhibition and artists' residency, and held at the Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre.Speakers: Professor Glenn AlbrechtEnvironmental philosopher Creator of the concept "Solastalgia"Author, Earth Emotions: New Words for A New World.Associate Professor Hedda AsklandFutures anthropologistLeader, MyMuswellbrook research projectRob CooperCorporate and community affairs manager (Liddell and Bayswater power stations)AGLFiona LeeArtist and climate activistOne of the 16 artists shown in the LIDDELLworks exhibitionFurther information:Liddell: Layers of Language in the Landscape (essay by Glenn Albrecht as part of the Liddellworks project)Artworks story on Fiona LeeLiddell and Bayswater Power Stations, including Liddell demolition pansInformation from AGL about 500MW battery development at Liddell siteHunter Energy Hub HyResource backgroundInformation on solar recycling proposal at Liddell siteHunter Renewal Community Blueprint

Throughout history, empires and civilisations have risen to greatness and then fallen into decline and vanish, leaving only ruins and some artefacts. Why? Are there common features of collapse? From the great societies of Mesopotamia to those of Khmer and the Maya and Aztec of the Americas; from the Roman empire to Carthage. They all follow a similar route. What are the lessons for our civilisation and our future?Presented at the York Festival of Ideas. The festival is led by the University of York, UK.SpeakerPaul CooperHost and producer of the podcast Fall of Civilizations, author of Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and DeclineListen to Big Ideas: Our fascination with ancient Rome

Through the lens of her own middle-class family, prolific British journalist Polly Toynbee explores the guilt of privilege, the myth of mobility and the role of class in British society and politics.This event was recorded at the UNSW Centre for Ideas on March 11, 2024.SpeakersPolly Toynbee Columnist, The GuardianAuthor, An Uneasy Inheritance, my family and other radicalsNick Bryant Journalist, author and commentator

You wouldn't be human if you hadn't from time to time wondered what the meaning of all of this is. Who am I? Is there a purpose? Why am I here? And how can I live a good life? Well of course you're not alone – some of history's biggest thinkers have been coming up with answers to these questions for thousands of years. So what can we learn from their conclusions?This event was recorded at Melbourne Writers Festival on May 11, 2024. SpeakerAC Grayling Professor of Philosophy, Northeastern University London Supernumerary Fellow, St Anne's College, OxfordAuthor, Philosophy and Life, Exploring the Great Questions of How to Live (Penguin Books)

Join Natasha Mitchell and guests for a poetic discussion on the ways you can create space to grieve for species that are going, going, gone. Powerful interests collude to tell us that expressing emotion is hysterical, and that humans are separate from Nature, but proper mourning paves the way for what to do next — and places us right back where we belong.SpeakersProfessor Thom van Dooren Environmental philosopherProfessor of Environmental HumanitiesDeputy Director of the Sydney Environment Institute, University of SydneyAuthor, Flight Ways: Life and Loss at the Edge of ExtinctionThe Wake of Crows: Living and Dying in Shared WorldsA World in a Shell: Snail Stories for a Time of ExtinctionsDr Blanche VerlieClimate change educator, sociologistLecturer in Gender and Cultural StudiesSydney Horizon Fellow, University of Sydney.Author, Learning to Live With Climate Change: From Anxiety to TransformationAssociate Professor Zoe SadokierskiBook designer, writer, creative producerCo-director, Visualisation Institute, University of Technology Sydney.Author, Father, Son and Other Animals

Leading Australian climate scientist Dr Joelle Gergis takes a timely look at Australia's perilous future in a warming world."Most Australians aren't aware how bad things are and how much worse they will get." — Joelle GergisThis event was recorded at Gleebooks in Sydney on Tuesday June 4, 2024.SpeakersDr Joelle Gergis Climate scientistAuthor, Highway to Hell — Climate Change and Australia's Future (Quarterly Essay #94, Black Inc Books)Marian Wilkinson Journalist and author

A huge number of ancient artefacts, First Nations' ceremonial objects and precious art sits in museums, galleries, private collections all over the world — with polite plaques. But their history is often messier than the plaques suggest. Throughout its reign, the British Empire 'stole' a lot of stuff. One of the arguably most controversial examples are the Parthenon Marbles, a collection of sculptural reliefs from the temple of Athena (the Parthenon) on the Acropolis in Greece. The second season of the TV documentary Stuff The British Stole has started on ABC TV and ABC iView. This discussion was presented by the National Gallery of Australia. The ABC acknowledges the National Gallery of Australia for their support with setting up this event and their assistance to guest speakers and ABC staff.SpeakersMarc FennellHost of the podcast and TV series Stuff the British StoleWakely-award winning journalist and documentary-makerAdjunct Professor Margo Ngawa NealeEmeritus Curatorial Fellow: First Nations at the National Museum of Australia, former Head of the Centre for Indigenous Knowledges. Born and raised on Gunai/ Kurnai country with other clan affiliations to Gumbaynggirr and Wiradjuri nationsDr Nick MitzevitchDirector of the National Gallery of AustraliaSantilla Chingaipe (host)Zambian-born Australian historian, journalist, and filmmaker