Big Ideas
736 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsBig Ideas brings you the best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world, casting light on the major social, cultural, scientific and political issues
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Episodes
Do you hold the key to happiness?
July 11, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBIs happiness the natural order of things and, if so, should you be worried if you’re not happy? Psychologist Paul Bloom says that happiness isn’t guaranteed if you only do the things you find instantly easy and pleasurable . He says happiness is on the other side of tough and uncomfortable challenges and experiences. The key is to find meaning and purpose in the challenge.
Foreign correspondents and the news of the world
July 07, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBIn a global community it’s more important than ever to understand what’s going on in the rest of the world. Despite instant communication over the internet there's nothing like the considered view of a seasoned foreign correspondent. They bring you the news from conflict zones, at high powered summits, or the views of ordinary citizens . But are they telling you the stories you want to hear? Who sets the news agenda? ...
Why too much medical treatment is causing more harm than good
July 06, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 50.3 MBMuch of medicine doesn’t do what it is supposed to do: improve health. That is the view of orthopaedic surgeon, Ian Harris. Ian believes too many drugs are being prescribed, too much surgery is being performed, and there are too many unhelpful tests, scans, and overdiagnosis. The 'business' of medicine, he says, is taking precedence over what the science tells us. We should go back to the first principles of the Hippocratic oath and ‘first, do no h...
European security, the EU and Ukraine
July 05, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBThe European Union has become a focal point for the pushback against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It now has a greater focus on European defence and security with more states wanting to join. Meanwhile the war in Ukraine continues with no diplomatic solution in sight and no-one sure of Russia’s ultimate goal.
Is the tension between science and religion for real?
July 04, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBScience and religion – for some they are strict opposites (and always shall be), for others they are in broad harmony with one another (and always shall be). Religious scholar Nick Spencer explores how science and religion have, do and can relate to one another. And how the connection of the two is shaping the world we live in. It’s a relationship that has very practical implications.
Building trust in workplace AI
June 30, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBSoftware programs can be a marvellous co-worker and make your life easier. Alternatively, you might feel that an algorithm is now the boss of your working life. Workplace analyst Professor David De Cremer says that organizations too often focus on the technical capabilities of AI rather than understanding how their workers relate to it. Organizations need to build trust and a positive workplace culture to get the best out of artificial intelligence. ...
What do Australian books and plays tell us about our national identity?
June 29, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 50.3 MBAustralian national ‘identity’ has long been contested, as has the narrative of the foundation of Australia. What does the history of Australian literature and theatre tell us about who we are, and how we have changed? Are we now ready to put the history and culture ‘wars’ behind us? This discussion brings together the authors of three books - all of which delve into our cultural history, and our shifting notions of identity and nationhood. ...
Environmental law to tackle climate change
June 28, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBWithout serious action by 2025 the planet is set to warm beyond one and a half degrees. That’s the unequivocal assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. To reach the target, the IPCC says that governments should not approve more fossil fuel projects yet in Australia we continue to do so. A social scientist says our environmental protection laws need to be redesigned to give greater weight to the protection of future generations wh...
A life without sex
June 27, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBIs sex really a good thing? It’s one of the most broadly accepted assumptions of society. But a group of people begs to differ. They call themselves Asexuals and insist that no-sex is a distinct sexual identity. What do these contrasting ways of thinking about abstinence tell us about modern sexual anxieties?
The Marshall Plan and the Cold War
June 23, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBWars cost a punishing amount of money and, after they’re over, there's the cost of reconstruction. Western Europe received a life-saving injection of money under the Marshall Plan following the second world war. Other countries since , facing the devastation of war , have asked for a similar scheme. The Marshall Plan was successful but also cemented the Cold War rivalry between America and the Soviet Union according to economist Ben Steil. ...
How to foster innovation and create the next Silicon Valley.
June 22, 2022 10:05 - 55 minutes - 50.7 MBDigital technologies are changing how we live, driving innovation and new industries. Governments are eager to foster Silicon Valley-like innovation hotspots in their state or local region. What role should government play in stimulating new industries? Why do plans for high tech digital ‘hubs’ often not come to fruition?
Why environmentalists and conservationists can be a problem for the environment
June 21, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBQueensland Chief Scientist Hugh Possingham is very annoyed with his fellow scientists as well as environmentalist and conservationists: They are too conservative, don’t debate respectfully, are too obsessed with growing their own organisations and can’t compromise a bit.
Housing stress
June 20, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBIf you want an animated conversation in Australia mention first home buyers, investment properties, building costs , interest rates or negative gearing. Home ownership is our national obsession. But as house prices boom, people on low or moderate incomes are pushed further to the margins. They struggle with high rents and face long waiting lists for public housing. And some will experience homelessness. How can we ensure that every Australian has a r...
Natasha Stott Despoja and the level playing field
June 16, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBThere’ve been many shots fired in the gender wars over the last two years most notably the MeToo movement and the outcry over the treatment of women in federal parliament. On the positive side womens sport is on the up and up. So does this mean progress across the board or has the pandemic had an unequal effect on women? Natasha Stott Despoja looks at the on-going struggle for a level playing field.
QANON and internet conspiracy cults
June 15, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBConspiracy theories are not a new phenomenon, but the internet has turbocharged the dissemination of misinformation and disinformation. A disturbing number of people are now getting sucked into online conspiracy cults. One of the most prominent is QAnon, whose believers think a cabal of Satanic worshipping paedophiles operate a global child sex trafficking ring, and conspired against former U.S. President, Donald Trump. Van Badham spent a year underco...
Julia Gillard and workplace gender equality
June 14, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBDespite years of campaigning we still don’t have gender equality in the workplace. We have a persistent gender pay gap, not as many women in top management or on company boards and rising childcare costs which act as a disincentive to return to work. Julia Gillard hosts a panel on the buttons we need to push to achieve workplace equality.
Phasing out coal – lessons from Germany
June 13, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBCoal regions around the world are feeling the pinch of the move to renewable energy. What do we owe these regions? Is supporting them a moral reckoning with the trade-offs we have made in building the world we live in? With all the modern conveniences we now enjoy? Big Ideas up next looks to experiences of the coal exit in Germany – and what we can learn from them.
Dynastic rule in the Philippines and Japan's security challenges
June 09, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBThe recent election in the Philippines confirmed the power of political families. The president and the vice-president are the children of a former , and current , president. And Japan is promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific as it feels the heat from the the three nuclear armed states on its doorstep.
Kylie Moore-Gilbert on being imprisoned in Iran for 804 days
June 08, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBAustralian, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, endured a living nightmare. She was arrested and convicted of espionage in Iran, and then sentenced to 10 years in prison. The charges were baseless; the trial was a sham. Kylie became a pawn in a high stakes geo-political negotiation. How did she survive over 800 days of interrogation, psychological torture, and imprisonment in Iran? What did it take to free her?
The Great Depression and it’s lasting impact on liberalism
June 07, 2022 10:05 - 55 minutes - 50.6 MBThe threat of trade wars that the world faces today can be traced back to the handling of the Great Depression in the 1930s. The response to this crisis was not just based on monetary and financial considerations, but rather on geopolitical and national interests. This remade democratic capitalism and eventually led to embedded liberalism.
The Great Depression and its lasting impact on liberalism
June 07, 2022 10:05 - 55 minutes - 50.6 MBThe threat of trade wars that the world faces today can be traced back to the handling of the Great Depression in the 1930s. The response to this crisis was not just based on monetary and financial considerations, but rather on geopolitical and national interests. This remade democratic capitalism and eventually led to embedded liberalism.
Social justice and empowering girls
June 06, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBThe late Joan Kirner was a social justice campaigner and a successful politician and she’s the inspiration behind an annual lecture. Another former politician, Nicola Roxon, delivers this year’s Joan Kirner Social Justice Oration. And the campaign to educate girls, end female genital mutilation and child marriage in Kenya.
INTRODUCING — Return Ticket
June 04, 2022 16:30 - 3 minutes - 3.06 MBPack your bags! Come with us on a journey of the mind…to destinations both near and far-flung, the familiar and the unexpected… in search of what the tourist never sees. An armchair travel show that scratches the surface of the world around us.
David Williamson 50 years
June 02, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBDavid Williamson is our most prolific playwright. His frank and revealing memoir was published last year to mark his five decades as a writer for stage and screen. In that time he's delivered stories about Australian masculinity , identity , sexual politics and power. David Williamson talks to Kerry O'Brien about his life and work.
AI and the rise of smart machines
June 01, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBArtificial Intelligence (AI) will revolutionise medicine, and help to combat climate change. But it also threatens to usher in a new age of automated drone warfare. With smart machines poised to take more decisions out of our hands, how can we ensure these decisions are ethical, moral, and in our interest? Paul Barclay talks to Professor Toby Walsh.
India's two-way bet on Russia and the United States
May 31, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBTensions with China have caused Australia to think again about other friends in the region. India is now a greater focus both strategically and as a trade partner. But it’s not a straightforward relationship despite our joint membership of the Quad Security Dialogue. India is juggling close ties with both Russia and the US-led western alliance.
Caste oppression in modern India - Living as Dalit
May 30, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBCaste based discrimination and oppression is a daily reality – not only in contemporary India but even in Indian communities in the US and Australia. That’s why journalist Yashica Dutt has hidden her Dalit heritage, the caste of the ‘untouchable’, the ‘impure’ for many years ... until she ‘came out’. In her book Coming out as Dalit she describes the guild of denying her history and the inequities of the caste system. ...
Seeing the world by train
May 26, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBIf you love overseas travel, and you’re used to jumping on a plane, the pandemic’s been especially trying. International borders opened and closed , airlines reduced flights and quarantine rules could see you stranded in a hotel for two weeks at your own expense. British journalist Monisha Rajesh believes it’s the journey not the destination and as the pandemic gathered steam she decided to tour the world by train.
Reimagining higher education
May 25, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBUniversities are not what they used be. Some argue they are now quasi-businesses, competing with one another for market share, and revenue. How have universities drifted from their original mission? Might the covid pandemic, and the climate emergency, trigger a conversation about how we can reimagine higher education? Richard Hil and Kristen Lyons hope so
The genetic lottery
May 24, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBWhen it comes to understanding human behaviour do you lean towards nature or nurture? Social scientists tend to put more emphasis on the nurture side of the equation. But genetic discoveries have the potential to change the balance in the nature-nurture debate. An American psychologist believes genetics should be understood as another tool in addressing social inequality.
Intelligent life beyond Earth?
May 23, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBHave we recently seen prove of alien life from a distant star? Avi Loeb thinks so,and he is one of Harvard University’s top astronomers. He argues that a strange object sighted in the skies over Hawaii might be an artificial piece of technology created by a civilisation from outside our solar system. What implications would such a visitation have - for science, for religion, and for the future of our species and our planet? ...
Editors discuss how the media has covered the election campaign
May 19, 2022 10:05 - 1 hour - 59.9 MBAfter a six week election campaign, Australia is off to the polls. Throughout the campaign, the spotlight has not only been on the political aspirants, and the policies of the competing parties and candidates, but also on the performance of the media. In this Editors Election forum, Australia’s top editors to discuss how the media has covered the election campaign.
Male fertility
May 18, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBWomen are warned that as they get older their fertility declines. The popular view is that men can father children at any age. But age is also a factor for fertility problems in men. There’s also a pronounced global decline in sperm counts. Four fertility specialists discuss what men can do to boost their chances of becoming a father.
A Nobel view of covid, climate change and science funding
May 17, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBTwo Nobel Laureates discuss the pandemic, climate change and the need to boost science research funding to meet the many challenges we face. Professor Brian Schmidt and Professor Peter Doherty also share personal stories of what it’s like to win the Nobel prize and why they engage in debates on social media.
Being healthy on a sick planet, how climate change impacts health
May 16, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBThe impacts of climate change on our health are growing, as surely as global temperatures and sea levels are rising. So how can we strive to live as healthy people on an increasingly sick planet? What are the major ways global warming is threatening human health?
Ukraine and the prospect of great power conflict in the Indo-Pacific
May 12, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBChina has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and opposed the sanctions imposed by the west. So what are the lessons of Ukraine for China? Will America’s focus on Ukraine encourage China to be more assertive in our region? Or is the protracted war a cautionary tale for the use of force against Taiwan?
A police shooting in Yuendumu
May 11, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBIn late 2019, 19 year old Aboriginal man, Kumunjayi Walker, was shot and killed by Northern Territory police constable, Zachary Rolfe, in the remote community of Yuendumu. Rolfe was charged with murder and two alternative offences of manslaughter and engaging in a violent act. In March, Zachary Rolfe was acquitted of all charges. Writer, Anna Krien has been following the story.
Living with Covid
May 10, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBAfter two years of daily updates on Covid cases , deaths and hospitalisation we’re now in a new stage of the pandemic called ‘living with Covid’. But what exactly does that mean? Since the beginning of the year we’ve had a steep rise in cases and deaths . The Omicron variant isn’t as benign as we like to believe. But who would support a return to masks and home-isolation?
The neuroscience of sleep and its disorders
May 09, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBA good night's sleep is anything but quiet: a myriad of processes occupy our brains, crucial for every aspect of our waking lives. Our increased understanding of the neuroscience of sleep sheds light on why so many of us struggle to simply drift off.
Wild weather and renewables
May 05, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBWeather patterns aren’t following historical trends and we’re seeing record floods and bushfires. A weather forecaster and a storm chaser talk about the science of forecasting and intense weather systems. And making the transition to renewables while protecting the electricity grid and protecting the workers mining lithium for batteries.
Education in Australia ten years after Gonski
May 04, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBTen years have passed since the landmark Gonski Review found the performance of Australian students had declined, across the board, compared to international benchmarks. What has happened since Gonski? What makes for a good & equitable education system? Why are so many teachers demoralised and leaving the profession? Paul Barclay spoke to a Finnish education expert, and a former primary school teacher.
City on fire - Hong Kong's 2019 democracy protests
May 03, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MB"A battle for Hong Kong's very soul" - what led to the explosion of protest, what events proved to be the tipping point? More importantly, what's next?
Resilience and recovery
May 02, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBThe Lismore community is rebuilding physically and psychologically since the catastrophic floods and the prospect of these events happening with greater frequency due to climate change. We also hear from a former refugee about rebuilding her life after a childhood scarred by war and the opportunity of Covid lockdowns to find inner peace.
Empire of pain and political capitalism
April 28, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBHundreds of thousands of Americans have died from their addiction to opioid drugs. The epidemic has being driven by both illegal and prescribed drugs. Investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe traces the history of one of the prescription drugs which got America hooked. And are we in the age of political capitalism ? Businesses are taking political positions on everything from closing down sweatshops to sanctions against Russia. ...
Coral tree of life and weeds
April 27, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBIf you’ve snorkelled on the Great Barrier Reef you’ll be amazed at the colour of the corals and fish of all kinds. Unless of course you’re snorkelling where climate change is causing coral bleaching. Scientists are racing to classify species and breed climate resilient corals. And how weeds can inspire us to adapt to environmental change.
The CIA interrogator
April 26, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBEx CIA spy Glenn Carle—'the interrogator'—talks to Paul Barclay about a top secret operation that went dreadfully wrong. An alleged al Qaeda kingpin terrorist was incarcerated for eight years, and subjected to what most of us would call torture, then released without charge, without apology, his life in ruins. All along, without success, Carle tried to convince the CIA they had the wrong man.
The Glasgow Gifford Lectures 4: 'The end of anthropology? What does the future hold for the world languages and culture?'
April 25, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBWith over 50% of the world's population living in cities, are we still evolving or are we homogenising? What will our cities, languages and cultures look like 100 years from now?
PRESENTS — The Law Report: How Afghan women judges found safety in Australia
April 21, 2022 15:00 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBBeing shot at, going to prison, have your family threatened — that's the experience of female judges in many countries. Shakila Abawi Shigarf was forced to flee Afghanistan when the Taliban retook power in August 2021. The Australian chapter of the International Association of Women Judges was instrumental in helping 17 Afghan judges escape the danger and secure entry to Australia. Members of the association are now helping the judges settle into thei...
Uyghurs in China
April 21, 2022 10:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBGlobal brands are under pressure to eliminate products produced by the forced labour of China’s Uyghurs .Human rights groups say they're working in factories which manufacture goods for the technology, clothing and automotive sectors. China denies that the Uyghurs are living in detention centres and working under forced labour conditions but the satellite images tell a different story.
Passchendaele: did hundreds of thousands die in vain?
April 20, 2022 10:04 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBWhat are the lessons from one of the most terrible battles of WW1?