Big Ideas

Join Bruce Pascoe and Professor Ray Norris with Natasha Mitchell to discuss their eye-opening new book Big Sky: When the Emu Left the Earth. Then go outside, look up, and wonder about what connects humans rather than divides us. Humans have always gazed at the night sky, and (when we could) into the far reaches of our galaxy, to make meaning and sense of life here on Earth. The stories we tell about stars, planets, the Sun, the Moon, and more offer powerful lessons for us all — and for our relationships.This event was hosted by the Melbourne Writers Festival (find out more at mwf.com.au), Scienceworks, Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre on the country of the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation and the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation.SpeakersBruce PascoeAuthor, poet, Aboriginal farmer based on Yuin CountryAuthor of Dark Emu and coauthor, Big Sky: When the Emu Left the Earth (Magabala Books, 2006)Professor Ray NorrisAstrophysicist and honorary fellow at CSIROCoauthor, Big Sky: When the Emu Left the Earth (Magabala Books, 2006)Thanks to Dr Tanya Hill, Senior Curator of Astronomy at the Scienceworks, and Veronica Sullivan, CEO and Director of the Melbourne Writers Festival.

Rising authoritarianism, splintering alliances and an organised backlash against women's rights, gender equality and international development are threatening progress towards justice and equality. Can the United Nations' women, peace, and security agenda still help ensure stable international relations? Does it need to be modernised? Feminist Answers in a Dangerous World: Gender, Peace and Security in a Precarious Geopolitics — the 2026 Pamela Denoon Lecture was presented by National Foundation for Australian Women and the Gender Institute at the ANU.SpeakersCaroline MillarFormer Australian Ambassador to the European Union, NATO, Belgium and Luxembourg; former Deputy Secretary for National Security, in the Department of the Prime Minister and CabinetDr Elise StephensonDeputy Director at the Global Institute for Women's leadership at the ANUAsha ClementiPrincipal of the Persephone Network, 2022 ACT Young Women of the Year

From GP appointments and hospital procedures, to medical research and clinical trials, for centuries, women's health has historically been dismissed, diminished, or misdiagnosed. But in recent years, there are some signs that the medical system is slowly coming to terms with the fact that women — their bodies, their symptoms, their experiences, are different from men's, and need to be treated as such.This event was recorded at All About Women at Sydney Opera House on 8 March.Speakers:Dr Zoe WainerInaugural Director General of the Australian Centre for Disease ControlCardiothoracic surgeonFormer deputy secretary, Victorian health department, conducted Australia's first ever public inquiry into women's painSummer May Finlay Associate Professor in Indigenous Health, University of WollongongGabrielle Jackson (host)Deputy editor, Guardian AustraliaAuthor, Pain and Prejudice: How the Medical System Ignores Women and What We Can Do About It

Australia's 29th Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull joins former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland to deliver a candid appraisal of the shifting sands of global politics, from Donald Trump to AUKUS to rising right wing populism in liberal democracies.This conversation was recorded at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University on 16 April 2026.Speakers:Malcom TurnbullAustralian Prime Minister, 2015 to 2018President of the International Hydropower AssociationChrystia Freeland (host)Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard UniversityEconomic advisor to the President of UkraineFormer Canadian deputy prime minister and finance minister 2019 to 2024Author, Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else, and Sale of the Century: Russia's Wild Ride from Communism to Capitalism

The untold story of Evelyn Marsden and the woman who rowed against the tide. You've heard of the Titanic disaster. Luxury ship. Largest ever. Impossible to sink. Hits iceberg. Catastrophic. Few survivors. Wreckage still under the sea 114 years later. Hollywood film starring Kate Winslet. But have you heard of Evelyn, the Titanic's only Australian survivor? She was a young nurse from rural South Australia with a sense of adventure. Journalist and former The Today Show and The Project co-host Lisa Wilkinson went digging, and what she unearthed is gobsmacking. Lisa joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at this event organised by Northern Books in Castlemaine, Victoria.SpeakerLisa WilkinsonJournalist, TV presenter, former co-host of The Project and Today ShowAuthor, The Titanic Story of Evelyn (Hachette Australia, 2026).

Democracy is on the decline, so could Plato help? Irish scholar Dr David Horan spent 16 years translating Plato's complete works, including his dialogues on the world's first democracy in ancient Greece. So what lessons can we learn from Plato today?This event was recorded at the School of Practical Philosophy in Sydney.Speakers:Dr David HoranLeader of the School of Philosophy and Economic Science in IrelandMember of the Plato Centre at Trinity College DublinAuthor/ translator, The Dialogues of Plato

Communities that once built their future around coal and agriculture are asking: what do we become next? Regional Australia usually gets left behind when industries change and young people leave. But it's also — quietly, persistently — reinventing itself. Remote work is reshaping where jobs can be done. AI and digital innovation are opening new doors.Presented at the SEGRA National Regional and Economic Development Summit in Lithgow, New South Wales, in partnership with the City of Lithgow and their Lithgow Emerging Economy Project (LEEP)SpeakersJackie SchirmerDirector of Environmental Governance, University of Canberra. Founded the Regional Wellbeing Survey in 2013Dr Jess JenningsRegional and Rural Consultant and former mayor of Bathurst regional councilBjorn JarvisHead of Workforce Futures Program at Jobs and Skills AustraliaAshley Bland (host)Chair of the SEGRA Foundation Board; Associate Partner and Business Development Manager for Green Homes InternationalFurther informationRegional Wellbeing Survey

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, 2026SpeakersPetrina BarsonDirector of the Centre for a Compassionate SocietyKon Karapanagiotidis OAM Founder and CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Author, The Power of Hope and Philoxenia - A Seat At My Table

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.SpeakersAssociate 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.

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 AffairsSpeakersRose GottemoellerWilliam J. Perry Lecturer, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; former Deputy Secretary General of NATOLaura 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 ViennaGraham AllisonDouglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School; Former Director, Belfer Center for Science and International AffairsMatthew 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 AffairsMeghan L. O'Sullivan (host)Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs and Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy SchoolFurther InformationTaskforce 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

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 FestivalSpeakersAlita BrydonRelationships expert, author of How To Date Like A Dangerous Woman and Bad Dates of Melbourne founderNelly ThomasComedian, MC and host of the Dear Nelly Podcast

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.SpeakersHannah 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 moreAntonia PontYogiAssociate Professor Writing, Literature & Culture, Deakin UniversityAuthor, Plain Life: on thinking feeling and deciding and moreMarieke 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)

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.SpeakersJennifer 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.

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 CenterSpeakersMark CliffordPresident of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong FoundationAuthor of The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, and China's Most Feared CriticEvan Osnos (host)Staff writer at The New Yorker

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.SpeakersIan 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 moreDr Mathew MarquesSenior Lecturer in Psychology, La Trobe UniversityRita ArrigoAI consultantLuke Siddham Dundon (host)Radio journalist and news presenter, ABC Radio National Breakfast and the Breakfast Wrap

He's got a rags to riches origin story, a hit Youtube channel and a bestselling memoir. Now Gary Stevenson is using his platform to fight the growing divide between rich and poor across the western world — including in Australia.This conversation was recorded at the Melbourne Town Hall on 28 February 2026 with thanks to Thinkable events.SpeakersGary Stevenson Author, The Trading Game: A Confession host, Gary Economics Youtube Channel, former Citibank financial traderAlison Pennington (host) Chief Economist, McKell Institute, author, Gen F'd? How Young Australians Can Reclaim Their Uncertain Futures

A year on from its landslide victory, has Labor used its historic win to deliver big on BIG ideas to set Australia up for the future? Or is Prime Minister Albanese and his cabinet erring on the side of caution in this second term?  What allowed notable reformer prime ministers in the past to prosecute ambitious agendas? Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the Sorrento Writers Festival with three seasoned and savvy politics watchers, journalists and authors Paul Kelly, Niki Savva, and Amy Remeikis. A lively conversation not to miss as we head towards the May Federal budget.SpeakersAmy RemeikisSenior political analyst, The Australia InstituteContributing editor, The New DailyCommentator as Pyjama PoliticsAuthor, Where it All Went Wrong: The Case Against John Howard (Simon and Schuster Australia, 2026)Niki SavvaPolitical journalist and authorAuthor, Earthquake: the election that shook Australia (Scribe, 2025)Bulldozed: Scott Morrison’s Fall and ANthony Albanese’ Rise (Scribe, 2022)Paul KellyEditor-at-Large, The AustralianAuthor of The Twilight of Exceptionalism: the Liberal and Conservative Era (Melbourne University Publishing,  forthcoming in July 2026)Thank you to Sorrento Writers Festival founder and director Corrie Perkin, Isabel Pinkster, Mark Bollenberg, and the whole festival team.

Martin Luther King III knows what the long fight for equity looks like. His father was the late great Martin Luther King Jr who led the modern American civil rights movement. And he's got something important to say to corporate Australia. Why are you missing out on Indigenous talent? Ignore it at the peril of Australia's future economic growth, he argues. It's more than a social or equitable good. Join Martin Luther III with Australian cultural and corporate leaders at this Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and CareerTrackers event.SpeakersMartin Luther King IIICivil Rights Leader and Global HumanitarianLinda BurneyFormer Minister for Indigenous AustraliansMelinda CilentoChief Executive CEDARenee Wootton TomlinFounder and CEO New Era EnergyBen WyattFormer WA Treasurer and Non Executive Director of serval companiesAdam Davids (host)CEO and Managing Director CareerTrackers

Are Royal Commissions just a lawyer's picnic? A political witch hunt? Or, a necessary reckoning? They're Australia's highest form of inquiry on matters of public importance. But they've also become the go-to solution when corruption, misconduct or systems failures are exposed. The lowdown with three people who have seen how they work up close.The conversation How do Royal Commissions work? And How Do We Assess Their Impact? was recorded at the Sorrento Writers Festival on Friday 24 April 2026.SpeakersBetty King QCFormer Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria (2005 - 2015), former County Court judge, former state prosecutor, former criminal barristerChairperson of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review BoardJack Rush KC Barrister, counsel assisting the Victorian Royal Commission into the 2009 Black Saturday BushfiresJon Faine (host)Journalist and former longtime presenter Mornings, ABC Radio MelbourneFormer lawyerVice Chancellor's Fellow, University of MelbourneAuthor, Apollo & Thelma: A True Tall Tale

Malcolm Fraser's legacy remains contested territory in Australian politics. Decades after he left office, we still can't quite figure him out. The Prime Minister who came to power in controversy, governed for seven years, then spent the rest of his life surprising everyone with his increasingly progressive views. Whether Fraser was cautious conservative, pragmatic reformer, or something more complex entirely, this discussion seeks to understand both the man and the government he led during a pivotal period in Australian history.Presented at the Malcolm Fraser Symposium by the Trinity College, University of Melbourne.Listen to Big Ideas - The Art of oppositionSpeakersTroy BramstonSenior writer and columnist with The AustralianAuthor of Gough Whitlam: The Vista of the New (2025)Dr Scott PrasserFormer Senior Adviser to three Federal Cabinet Ministers, Academic and independent researcherGeorgina Downer (host)Chief Executive Officer of the Robert Menzies Institute

October 7 has become synonymous with the Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023, in which more than 1200 Jewish people were murdered. What has followed — the hostage crisis, the war in Gaza, and the global response — has reverberated in communities far beyond the Middle East, including here in Australia. For Jewish Australians, it has turned their lives, their careers, their relationships and their identities upside-down. Four Jewish Australian women share their personal experiences of the profound rift they've felt in the wake of that day, and their hopes and attempts to mend it.This conversation was recorded at Manly Writers' Festival on 22 March 2026.SpeakersJoanne FedlerAuthor of The Whale's Last Song and more, writing teacher, former lawyerDr Kylie Moore-Gilbert Research Fellow in Security Studies, Macquarie UniversityAuthor, The Uncaged SkyFormer political prisoner in IranElana Benjamin Author of Indian-Jewish Food, Recipes and Stories from the Back Streets of Bondi, and moreLee KofmanAuthor of The Writer Laid Bare: Mastering Emotional Honesty in a Writer's Art, Craft and Life and more, writing coach and co-editor, Ruptured: Jewish Women in Australia Reflect on Life Post-October 7Suellen Dainty (host) Journalist and author, An Invisible Tattoo and more

Through the stories of five women across three generations of his family, the influential Greek economist, author, politician and public intellectual Yanis Varoufakis tells the tumultuous tale of Greece's modern history, and reflects on its parallels with the once again global rising tides of fascism, authoritarianism, and the actions of those who resist.This conversation was recorded on 6 March 2026 at the Sydney Greek Festival.SpeakersYanis VaroufakisEconomist, former Greek Finance Minister (2015), founder and General Secretary MeRA25Author, Raise your soul: A Personal History of Resistance, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism? and moreDr Helen Vatsikopoulos (host)Journalist, Doctor of Creative Arts University of Technology Sydney

Every scientist dreams of a breakthrough — a new discovery that will change everything. Professor Georgina Long is someone who has done it — as a pioneer of life saving cancer treatments. So what are the ingredients for breakthroughs to occur? And why are the conditions that can lead to new discoveries under threat right now?The 2026 Ann Moyal lecture When groundbreaking cancer treatments save 50% of patients, what happens to the other half? was recorded at the National Library of Australia on 19 March 2026.SpeakersProfessor Georgina LongMedical Director of the Melanoma Institute of AustraliaChair of Melanoma Medical Oncology and Translational Research, University of SydneyCo-recipient (with Professor Richard Scolyer) of the 2024 Australian of the Year AwardFurther information:Patient Zero - Richard Scolyer - Australian Story 2024Dr Richard Scolyer speaks on his fight with brain cancer - ABC 730, 30 October 2025

The explosion of reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is not only a story of the past. Right now, nuclear plants are weaponised in the Iran war. It happened in 2022 when Russian forces occupied the Chernobyl exclusion zone. A new way of weaponising nuclear power. What have we learned from the worst nuclear accident in history — and what have we failed to learn?This conversation was presented by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and the Ukrainian Institute London.SpeakersSerhii PlokhyMykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History; Director, Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard UniversityEglė RindzevičiūtėProfessor of Criminology and Sociology at Kingston University LondonJonathon TurnbullAssistant Professor of Human Geography at Durham UniversityDr Sasha Dovzhyk (host)Writer, Curator and Head of INDEX: Institute for Documentation and Exchange (Lviv, Ukraine). Editor of the London Ukrainian Review

Is President Trump a new Nero, or a contemporary Caligula? The Roman Empire was full of merchants of chaos, power-hungry emperors, epic wars, backstabbing, betrayals — the whole horror show. And it was a time of civilisational scale change. As we grapple with a rewriting of the world order,  does Ancient Rome have lessons for us today — about the building and breaking of empires, or the rise and fall of autocrats? Or are these sorts of comparisons with the past fraught with complication? Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at this Melbourne Museum event to coincide with the opening of the ROME: Empire, Power, People exhibition.SpeakersRhiannon EvansCo-host of the Emperors of Rome podcastAuthor, Utopia Antiqua: Readings of the Golden Age and decline at Rome (Routledge, 2007)Adjunct Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient HistoryLa Trobe University Nick BisleyAuthor, Asian Crucible: Globalization, Geopolitics and the Contest for the Future (Bristol University Press, 2026); The Belt and Road Initiative and the Future of Regional Order in the Indo-Pacific (Rowman and Littlefield, 2020), Issues in 21st Century World Politics, 3rd Edition (Palgrave, 2017) and Great Powers in the Changing International Order (Lynne Rienner, 2012)Professor of International RelationsPro Vice-Chancellor ResearchLa Trobe University Thanks to event producer Jennifer Brookings, Nick Marchand (Director of Global Engagement at Museums Victoria), and team the Melbourne Museum.

What happens to a community when it punishes its most vulnerable instead of protecting them Drawing on her own story of addiction, imprisonment, and recovery, as well as her frontline work supporting women behind bars and post-release, Tahlia Issac challenges the "tough on crime" narrative. The typical incarcerated woman in Australia is First Nations, a mother, a survivor of violence, and imprisoned for a low-level offence. Locking her up doesn't make communities safer — it makes them more fragile.This is the 2025 International Women's Day Address at the National Press Club of Australia.SpeakersTahlia IsaacFounder and CEO of Project: herself with lived experience as a woman in prisonEmma MacdonaldAssociate Editor or Her Canberra, an online media company, magazine, and community hub tailored specifically for women, and Canberra Convenor of Women in Media

Australians love a holiday in Southeast Asia. But our proximity to this region also makes it key to our national security and prosperity. Yet Australia has hitched its security and foreign policy wagon to an increasingly unpredictable United States, while China asserts in dominance in our own backyard. So are we taking Southeast Asia for granted?This conversation was recorded at Readings Bookshop on 23 March 2026.SpeakersMichael WesleyProfessor of International Relations and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Global Culture and Engagement, University of MelbourneFormer head of the Lowy Institute, former dean of ANU's College of Asia and the PacificAuthor, Blind spot: Southeast Asia and Australia's Future (Quarterly Essay # 101) and moreGeoff RabyFormer Australian diplomat to China 2007 — 2011Author, Great Game On: The Contest for Central Asia and Global Supremacy and more

Artificial intelligence has been defined as a cluster of technologies of and for the future. But like most humans, AI is built using what has happened in the past — scraping behaviours, experiences and other data to shape its outputs. In this sense, AI is a new kind of historian — but operating without guardrails, ethics, or any sense of doubt.This annual lecture for the History Council of Victoria, Can I Help You? Recognising and Improving Artificial Intelligence as History Maker was recorded on 16 October 2025.SpeakersMarnie Hughes-WarringtonBradley Distinguished Professor at the University of AdelaideCo-editor, History from Loss and The Routledge Companion to History and the Moving Image

It's Team 'Aliens Alive' versus Team 'Earthlings United'. Get out of this world, hear the arguments, and you decide. Was the X-Files really a documentary, or was Mulder deluded? Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell from the stage of the 2026 World Science Festival Brisbane for an hilarious hour of science and comedy.TEAM ALIENS ALIVEDr Joel Gilmore (Team Captain)Energy specialist, physicist, science communicator, improv theatre buff, dancerDr Sara WebbAstrophysicist, author, and science communicatorAuthor of The Little Book of Cosmic CatastrophesSwinburne UniversityGeorgina HumphriesComedian, two time Raw Comedy finalistGeorgina's show Rogue at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy FestivalTEAM EARTHLINGS UNITEDProfessor Tamara Davis (Team Captain)AstrophysicistPrincipal Investigator, OzDES (Dark Energy Survey)ABC TV documentary presenter, ultimate Frisbee and triathlon competitorUniversity of QueenslandNate ByrneMeteorologist, oceanographer. science communicatorABC TV Breakfast host and weathermanSean ChoolburraComedian, dancer, actorThanks to the event producers Dr Rob Bell, Jane O'Hara, Bec Redsell and the whole World Science Festival Brisbane team.

Former BBC presenter and host of the hit podcast The News Agents, Emily Maitlis, gives a fearless assessment of modern news coverage, public broadcasting, and the royal family's handling of Andrew Mountbatten-Windor's arrest. The event No Spin, No Compromise was recorded live at the Sydney Opera House for the 2026 All About Women festival.SpeakersEmily MaitlisCo-host, The News Agents and The News Agents USA podcastsAuthor, Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making NewsFormer BBC journalist and longtime anchor of BBC NewsnightJanine Perrett (host)Finance and foreign affairs journalist and presenter, The Australian, Channel 9, Sky News, ABCFurther information:Emily Maitlis full interview with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, BBC Newsnight, 2019

Todd Ley exposes a high-pressure world where talent is everything, but protection is rare; where overzealous parents, manipulative coaches, hungry sponsors and indifferent associations can push young athletes to their breaking point. It's not just a story about tennis, it's about what happens when a child's identity is consumed by a dream that may not be their own and the long road back to self-worth after the cheering stops.Presented at the 2025 Byron Writers FestivalSpeakersTodd LeyFormer world's top Junior tennis playerAuthor of SMASHED: Prodigies, parents and parasitesAnna FeatherstoneAuthor; non-fiction advisor to the Alliance Independent Authors, publishing consultant for the Australian Society of Authors

Comedians are increasingly being forced to navigate a world where the right punchline at the expense of the wrong politician carries the risk of personal and professional consequences. So when poking fun at the powerful could get you cancelled, sued, land you in jail — or worse — who's afraid of a joke?This episode was recorded on 28th March 2026 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in partnership with The Wheeler Centre, Australia's first dedicated centre for Books, Writing and Ideas. Explore more discussions like this one on The Wheeler Centre podcast — available wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow @wheelercentre for updates.SpeakersSam JayComedian, TV writer Saturday Night Live, host of HBO's Pause with Sam Jay, 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival show We the PeopleBahaa DabbaghStand-up comedian, Syrian refugee advocate, 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Comedy ZoneLeon FilewoodStand-up comedian, winner, Deadly Funny, 2018 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2026 Moosehead Recipient, 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Holding SpaceTom Ballard (host)Comedian, broadcaster, writer, former host of ABC TV's Tonightly with Tom Ballard and Triple J's Breakfast with Tom and Alex, 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Be Funny Challenge (Impossible)Further information:Jon Stewart acceptance speech, 2022 Mark Twain Prize, Kennedy Centre

Get bonkers on bonking with Natasha Mitchell and guests at the 2026 World Science Festival Brisbane. It’s a sexy, fun, and educational – what's not to love?! Sex historian Dr Esme Louise James is creator of the viral Kinky History TikTok series and does a Sextistics show with her mathematician mother. The complexity of the human clitoris can no longer be ignored by science, thanks to the world-changing work of urologist and surgeon Professor Helen O’Connell. And biologist Professor Robbie Wilson will help you channel your inner animal – masturbating monkeys, tiny testicled-gorillas, amorous antechinus and more. This event was hosted at the 2026 World Science Festival Brisbane/Meanjin.SpeakersDr Esme Louise JamesHistorian, perfomer, author, Kinky History: A Rollicking Journey Through Our Sexual Past, Present, and Future (2024)Creator, the viral Kinky History TikTok series.Professor Helen O'Connell A.OUrologist and urological surgeonUniversity of MelbourneProfessor Robbie WilsonBiologist, head of The Performance LabUniversity of QueenslandThanks to World Science Festival Brisbane producer and maestros Dr Rob Bell, Jane O'Hara, Bec Redsell.Further readingAnatomy of the clitoris Helen E O'Connell, Kalavampara V Sanjeevan, John M HutsonJournal of Urology, Volume 174(4 Pt 1): October 2005, Pages1189-95Anatomical Relationship Between Urethra And ClitorisHelen E. O'connell, John M. Hutson, Colin R. Anderson, Robert J. PlenterThe Journal of Urology, Volume 159, Issue 6, June 1998, Pages 1892-1897Magnetic resonance imaging of male and female genitals during coitus and female sexual arousal Willibrord Weijmar Schultz, Pek van Andel, Ida Sabelis, Eduard MooyaartBMJ, 1999The Anatomy of the Distal Vagina: Towards Unity Helen E. O'Connell , Norm Eizenberg, Marzia Rahman, Joan CleeveThe Journal of Sexual Medicine, Volume 5, Issue 8, August 2008, Pages 1883–1891Magnetic resonance imaging of male and female genitals during coitus and female sexual arousal Willibrord Weijmar Schultz, Pek van Andel, Ida Sabelis, Eduard MooyaartBMJ, 1999

You often hear that forgiveness is the key to healing and moving on — but is it always the right thing to do? This conversation explores how forgiveness is something far more complex than a simple act of letting go. Is it a generous moral gift, or a burden placed on those who've been wronged? What really happens when we forgive? And is sometimes withholding forgiveness the more honest response?2025 Anderson Fellows Lecture — Forgiveness: Do We Really Need it? presented by the University of SydneySpeakersLucy AllaisProfessor of Philosophy at both the University of the Witwatersrand and Johns Hopkins UniversityLuke RussellProfessor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia has some 120 embassies, high commissions, consulates-general and representative offices located across five continents. So when an Australian gets into trouble overseas, or a politician travels abroad on government business, or other countries take actions that damage Australia's national interest, it's likely a diplomat is not far away. In their recent books, two former diplomats reveal what the job is really like as Australia's representatives abroad.This event was recorded at the 2025 Canberra Writers Festival.SpeakersLachlan StrahanFormer Australian diplomatAuthor, The Curious Diplomat: A Memoir from the Frontlines of DiplomacyGrant DooleyFormer Australian diplomatAuthor, Bomb Season in Jakarta — A personal account of a turbulent period in Australian diplomacyKaren Middleton (host)Political journalistAuthor, Albanese: Telling it Straight

Failure is a part of life, whether we like it or not. While most of us don't ever want to fail, failure does have things to teach us — about ourselves, about resilience, about persistence, and about doing the things we love. Over six years, Siang Lu received more than 200 rejections from publishers for three manuscripts — before going on to publish a Miles Franklin award winning novel. What did he learn about failure, and what did it teach him about success?The 2025 E.W Cole Lecture was recorded on 20 November 2025 at The Wheeler Centre, Australia's first dedicated centre for books, writing and ideas. Explore more discussions like this one on The Wheeler Centre podcast — available wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow @wheelercentre for updates.SpeakersSiang LuAuthor, Ghost Cities (2025 Miles Franklin Award), The WhitewashCo-founder (with Jonathan O'Brien), The Beige IndexToni Jordan (host)Author, Tenderfoot, Addition, Dinner with the Schnabels and more

Misinformation, disinformation, deep fakes,  false news — do you feel confident spotting them? They’re doing real harm to our relationships, our communities, our health, even to the future health of our democracy. New research has found 73% of Australians believe disinformation will be a major threat to our national security in the next decade. Former Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers believes we can’t afford to be complacent. Australia is only one of 29 fully fledged democracies in the world and three quarters of the global population lives in autocracies, the highest since the 1980s. Join Natasha Mitchell and guests to discuss why media literacy matters. This event was organised by ABC Education with the Australian Media Literacy Alliance. Watch The Matter of Facts with Hamish Macdonald on ABC Iview.SpeakersTom Rogers Former Australian Electoral Commissioner  Distinguished advisor, ANU National security College Australia’s advisor to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). Professor Michael Dezuanni Chair of the Australian Media Literacy Alliance Chief investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child Program Leader, Digital Inclusion and Participation QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Paula Kruger CEO, Media Diversity Australia Former journalist and broadcaster Former manager, community radio station 2SER. Thanks to head of ABC Education Annabel Astbury and event producer Grace Ernestine.

In more than 40 years on the front lines of international human rights Alex Neve has heard Canada described as ‘the land of human rights’ — and seen the profound ways Canada has failed to uphold universal human rights, both at home and abroad. In his final Massey Lecture, he lays out his vision for a way forward.Lecture five and last of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that universal human rights begin in “small places, close to home — so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world.” In his fourth Massey Lecture, Alex Neve reflects on moments when people power won the Lecture four of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

Our inherent human rights belong to us from the moment we are born. There is nothing we need to do to earn them, and they are supposed to apply to us until the day we die. But in his third Massey Lecture, Alex Neve argues the powerful have made human rights a ‘club.’Lecture three of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

The ideals behind the concept of human rights — such as the sacredness of life, reciprocity, justice and fairness — have millennia-old histories. After the carnage of the Second World War and the Holocaust, these ideas took a new legal form. In his second Massey Lecture, Alex Neve considers six dizzying years that laid out a blueprint for a new world.Lecture two of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

Human rights are universal, right? For everyone, everywhere, without exception. That promise, born out of the Holocaust and World War II, has been broken repeatedly. But in a time of fear and fracture,  can we renew it? World-renowned Canadian human rights activist and lawyer Alex Neve has seen the best and worse of humanity. He's worked in war zones in Darfur and Eastern Chad, with detainees in Guantánamo Bay, on reconciliation for Indigenous communities in Canada, and beyond. In this special series, his stirring words will cut deep, bring clarity, shine a spotlight on the past, and offer hope for troubled times.Don't miss this first lecture "Renewing the promise of human rights" in his 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldLecture one of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

This episode explores the past and present expectations and experiences of Australian fathers, in the workforce, domestic duties, and child-rearing, and examines how their roles have also shaped the lives of mothers, children, and society.These conversations were recorded at the launch of the book Fathering: An Australian History at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria.SpeakersFathering and Mothering:Professor Jacqui McDonaldConvenor of the Australian Fatherhood Research Consortium, Deakin UniversityAssociate Professor Richard FletcherFathers and Families Research Program at the University of NewcastlePrincipal Investigator with the SMS4dads & SMS4DeadlyDads support linesEmeritus Professor Alistair ThomsonMonash UniversityCo-author, Fathering: An Australian HistoryDr Johnny BellMonash UniversityCo-author, Fathering: An Australian HistoryProfessor Michelle Arrow (host)President of the Australian Historical AssociationFathering and Work:Belinda ProbertSocial scientist, academic and author, Bill's Secrets: Love, War and AmbitionProfessor Sean ScalmerUniversity of MelbourneAuthor, A Fair Day's Work: The Quest to Win Back TimeEmeritus Professor John MurphyUniversity of MelbourneCo-author, Fathering: An Australian History

Dive into the world of heroin chic and Girl Power to make sense of the mixed messages Millennial women experienced as they came of age. Before social media warped our sense of self, other aggressive forces were at work, hellbent on exploiting feminism for profit, and taking women down while they did. Sophie Gilbert, a Pulitizer-nominated culture writer with The Atlantic, investigates the impacts in her eye-opening book Girl on Girl: How pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves.This event was hosted and produced by The Wheeler Centre in Naarm/Melbourne. Check out its full event schedule.SpeakersSophie GilbertStaff writer, The AtlanticAuthor, Girl on Girl: How pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves (2025)Kate Jinx (host)Writer, critic, film curatorSenior programmer, Melbourne International Film Festival

She's attracted controversy and cancellation, but Palestinian Australian author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah has not been deterred from speaking out about the plight of Palestinians in the war on Gaza, and the experience of Muslim Australians since 9/11. At this event organised in the wake of the cancellation of Adelaide Writers' Week, she joins that festival's former Director Louise Adler, to talk about her latest novel, Discipline, and the experience of art imitating life.This conversation was recorded at the Adelaide Town Hall as part of the Constellations: Not Writers' Week festival on 1 March 2026.SpeakersDr Randa Abdel-FattahAuthor, Discipline (winner of the People's Choice Award at the 2026 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards), Does My Head Look Big in This? and Coming of Age in the War on TerrorFuture Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Macquarie UniversityLouise Adler (host) Former Director, Adelaide Writers' WeekFormer CEO, Melbourne University PressFormer editor-at-large, Hachette Australia

When a violent crime makes the news, mental illness is often part of the story. But how that story is told, the words chosen, the details included, the connections drawn, has consequences that ripple far beyond the news cycle. For people living with schizophrenia or psychosis, irresponsible reporting isn't just frustrating. It affects how neighbours treat them, how employers see them, and how they see themselves. For the general public, sensationalised coverage quietly builds a picture of mental illness that is distorted, fear-driven and simply not accurate.Mad, Bad or Misrepresented? Media, Mental Illness and the Stories We Tell was presented on last year's World Mental Health Day by Mental Ill-Health Stigma Researchers Australia Network (MISRA), the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, and the Melbourne School of Global and Population Health.SpeakersDr Anna RossSenior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Population and Global HealthTim HeffernanFormer NSW Deputy Mental Health Commissioner; Chair of the advocacy organisation BEING — Mental Health ConsumersGayle McNaughtManager, StigmaWatch SANE AustraliaDr Chris Groot (host)Senior Lecturer, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences; Co-founder of Mental Ill-Health Stigma Researchers Australia Network (MISRA)Further informationStigmaWatchMindframe and the Mindframe guidelines

Over five decades, one single, sprawling dominion, from Yemen to Myanmar, became twelve modern nations. This is the story of how the actions of politicians in London and revolutionaries in Delhi, princes in remote palaces and soldiers in trenches, redrew the map of British India, uprooting millions, and leaving a legacy that explains much about the region today.This conversation was recorded at the Ubud Writers Festival in Bali, Indonesia.SpeakersSam Dalrymple Author, Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern AsiaCo-founder, Project DastaanFilmmaker, Child of Empire, Lost MigrationsHusnara KhanomPoet, writer, and researcher

Nobel Prize winning work often happens in a young scientist's 20s or 30s — early in their careers. Are the conditions right in Australian universities today for young, hungry minds to do what Nobel laureates Brian Schmidt, Peter Doherty and Rolf Zinkernagel did in the 1990s and 1970s at the Australian National University in Canberra? The three join Big Ideas presenter Natasha Mitchell and a huge crowd at the ANU to talk curiosity, discovery, the future of science, and more.This event was organised and hosted by the Australian National University and the Embassy of Switzerland in AustraliaSpeakersProfessor Peter DohertyImmunologist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine University of MelbourneProfessor Brian SchmidtAstrophysicist and winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize for PhysicsAustralian National UniversityProfessor Rolf Zinkernagel Immunologist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine University of Zurich, SwitzerlandWith thanks to Swiss Ambassador His Excellency Mr Nikolas Stürchler, ANU Deputy Vice Chancellor (academic) Professor Joan Leach, and ANU's Jamie Kidston, Dharmesh Panvelkar, and technical team.Further readingBrian Schmidt on securing Australia's sovereign research capability, National Press Club, 2025Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt is ‘scared’ about Australia’s research capacity – this is why (The Conversation, 2025)Brian P. Schmidt's submission in response to the Australian Universities Accord Discussion PaperThe Knowledge Wars by Peter Doherty (Melbourne University Publishing, 2025)

Presenting a road map to a world with fewer Putins and Kim Jong Uns. Political scientist Marcel Dirsus exposes the precarious reality behind the façade of the dictator's absolute power, and the remarkable ways in which even the most ruthless despots can be felt. Gareth Evans, Geoffrey Robertson, Tobias Buck and Dorcy Rugama take a closer look at crimes against humanity. When is reconciliation possible? Are international courts still useful? How important is truth telling?How Tyrants rise (and fall) was recorded live at the 2025 Sydney Writers' Festival at Sydney Town Hall.SpeakerDr Marcel DirsusPolitical scientist, author of How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations SurviveNon-Resident Fellow at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University (ISPK); member of the Standing Expert Committee Terrorism and Interior Security at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in GermanyCrimes against Humanity was presented at Adelaide Writers' WeekSpeakersTobias BuckManaging Editor of the Financial TimesAuthor of Final Verdict: A Holocaust Trail in the Twenty-first CenturyGeoffrey RobertsonAustralian-British barrister, academic, broadcaster and author — among others of Crimes Against HumanityDorcy RugambaRwandan writer, playwright, and director.Author of Hewa Rwanda, Letter to the Absent Gareth Evans AC (host)Former cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor governments, former president and CEO of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group

The inaugural ABC National Forum is a live, televised panel discussion bringing together Jewish Australians to examine their lives in Australia in 2026, amid a sharp rise in antisemitism since October 7, 2023. Moderated by Insiders presenter and National Political Lead David Speers, the forum launches a new series designed to create a space for Australians to confront major national challenges and seek common ground.