Feed your mind. Be provoked. One big idea at a time. Your brain will love you for it. Grab your front row seat... more
It's only eight years until the torch will be passed on to Brisbane. The countdown is on: Are we prepared?... more
Join a full house at the Sydney Opera House with Nobel winning scientist Jennifer Doudna and Big Ideas' host Natasha... more
Who's watching your local council, keeping you abreast of issues in your neighbourhood, and celebrating your community's achievements? That used... more
Moral philosopher and writer Raimond Gaita wrestles with the moral and ethical dimensions of the Israel-Gaza war to try to... more
In the shadow of the AI revolution, as the tech giants vie for our data, our attention, and our money,... more
Join Natasha Mitchell and guests for a conversation full of surprises on the bonds that make us and sometimes break... more
For many Indigenous performers publicity comes with the burden of being a role model. Their only options seem to be... more
Recent elections overseas have shown a rise in the popularity of far-right politics in Europe and elsewhere, fuelled by anti-immigration... more
In some parts of the United States, you're more likely to see a book banned in public libraries and schools,... more
From land rights to health and education, working within the system or outside of it, what makes a great Indigenous... more
Democracy is not necessarily the winner of the recent elections in Asia. More than a billion people across the region... more
In NAIDOC Week, is reconciliation between Black and White Australians dead, buried, or in need of re-imagining? The fallout of... more
From loneliness, to our technology addiction, growing inequality and our shrinking middle class, our faith in God, to the complex... more
Join Natasha Mitchell and guests in a coal country heartland. Communities in Muswellbrook and Singleton in the NSW Upper Hunter... more
Throughout history, empires and civilisations have risen to greatness and then fallen into decline and vanish, leaving only ruins and... more
Through the lens of her own middle-class family, prolific British journalist Polly Toynbee explores the guilt of privilege, the myth... more
You wouldn't be human if you hadn't from time to time wondered what the meaning of all of this is.... more
Join Natasha Mitchell and guests for a poetic discussion on the ways you can create space to grieve for species... more
Leading Australian climate scientist Dr Joelle Gergis takes a timely look at Australia's perilous future in a warming world. "Most Australians... more
A huge number of ancient artefacts, First Nations' ceremonial objects and precious art sits in museums, galleries, private collections all... more
Author, essayist and speechwriter Don Watson says that the price of democracy is energy, imagination, and unstinting hard work. Through... more
On the doorstep of Gaza comes the remarkable story of the world's first peace treaty — a 3200-year-old text. Egyptologist... more
Disadvantaged and marginalised students often don't get the financial and teaching support that they need. Equity everyone, regardless of their... more
Award winning playwright S. Shakthidharan has described his groundbreaking theatre work Counting and Cracking as "a radical act of belonging".... more
Drawing on his experiences working across continents in the "shatter zones" of society — jails, war zones, refugee shelters –... more
Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at the 2024 Ocean Lovers Festival in Bondi. From deep sea mining to illegal fishing... more
It took until the late 1990s for Australia to decriminalise homosexuality. Since then, the law has changed and evolved in... more
Firstly, make sure you become a grandparent. It apparently adds five years to your life. And it can make you... more
It's often said that democracies can't function well without a strong opposition to hold the government of the day to... more
From stopping the boats to building a wall, countries have gone to great lengths to stop the flow of people... more
Humanity faces two existential threats: catastrophic climate change and nuclear annihilation, according to former US Deputy Secretary of Energy turned nuclear... more
Laura Tingle delivers the 2024 John Button Oration at the Melbourne Writers Festival, looking at how our public discourse has... more
Australians love a drink, or at least, that's a perception that's deeply ingrained in our national identity... but how true... more
Join Natasha Mitchell and guests to grapple with some gritty paradoxes about science and religion. In this era of misinformation,... more
When you're faced with the reality that your home, livelihoods and culture will be swallowed up by the rising seas... more
You might think humans have escaped biology and evolution altogether with our strange and different ways: Women live well past... more
As violence continues in Europe and the Middle East and as positive collective action on urgent global-scale issues seems out... more
Join Natasha Mitchell as she speaks to Tibetan master Venerable Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, along with an Indian philosopher of mind... more
You would think that times of intense progress and technological innovation are good for societies, but history shows that's when... more
Since the announcement of the AUKUS plan for nuclear submarines, we’ve been hearing a lot about Australia’s maritime security. But... more
Australia's unique biodiversity, a product of almost 50 million years of glorious evolutionary isolation, is in freefall. The threats are... more
Join Natasha Mitchell and guests for a robust conversation about forging a shared future between Black and White Australians through deeper... more
For more than half a century, the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle allowed and covered up an extensive network of paedophile... more
Through sinister marketing and loose regulation, the tobacco industry has hooked a whole new generation of kids on smoking. How... more
What lessons can we learn from J. Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the nuclear bomb? How should we govern and... more
Smaller conflicts than those we're witnessing right now have set off world wars. Who will be the crucial superpowers and... more
We are living in an "age of crises," says former New Zealand prime minister, Helen Clark. With her leadership experience... more
Women’s refuges are now a central part of our response to family violence, with hundreds operating across Australia. But that... more
As Donald Trump makes his case for re-election in 2024, under a cloud of criminal prosecutions, how can journalists better... more
New York writer Jonathan Rosen’s memoir The Best Minds: a story of friendship, madness, and the tragedy of good intentions... more
As Donald Trump makes his case for re-election in 2024, under a cloud of criminal prosecutions, how can journalists better cover such... more