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What if the way we think about rivers as resources to be allocated, infrastructure to be managed, problems to be solved, is just fundamentally wrong. What if they are in fact living entities with rights? From Indigenous law to ecological soundscapes to frontline water justice, this panel of Indigenous leaders, scientists and artists share stories, sounds and strategies for protecting and changing your relationships with waterways.
River Listening was recorded live at the annual 2026 WOMADelaide festival, produced and presented as part of their Planet Talks program, held on the traditional lands of the Guarna people.
Listen to Big Ideas – Students win fight for climate justice before the world's highest court
Speakers
Dr Dan HikuroaMāori earth systems scientist, Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, UNESCO NZ Commissioner for Culture
Grant RigneyNgarrindjeri man, current Deputy Chair and past Chair of the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN)
Dr Leah BarclayAward-winning sound artist, researcher and environmental activist
Jo Shulman (host)CEO of the Environmental Defenders Office
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Forget climate change, forget nuclear Armageddon, did you know that the universe is unravelling? It's probably aeons away, but according to physics, dark energy could end us all. Join award winning theoretical physicist Tony Padilla at this Sophia Club live philosophy event, to explore the torrid birth of the early universe, traverse the twisted hearts of black holes, skip through the harmonic vibrations of string theory, and ponder how, according to physics, it all might one day end.
This event was recorded for the Sophia Club live philosophy in London on 21 April 2026.
Speakers:
Tony PadillaProfessor of physics, University of NottinghamAssociate Director of the Nottingham Centre of GravityHost, NumberfileAuthor, Fantastic numbers and where to find them: A Journey to the Edge of Physics
Sally DaviesEditorial lead for the Sophia ClubEditor, AEON magazine
Music by Oliver CoatesCellist, film composer and electronic music producer (Pillion, Aftersun and more)
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Need a mid-Winter pick me up? Well this is the conversation for you! You could call Astrid Jorgensen a choir conductor, but that really doesn’t capture what she does and the global phenomenon she’s created. On any one night, anywhere in the world, you’ll find Astrid on a stage in front of a few thousand people singing their hearts out. She’s the founder, the composer, and the host of Pub Choir — which has been described as the world’s biggest one night stand in song. But for a while there she could have become a nun. Yes, there's so much more to her story, and she joins Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell to tell it.
This event, organised by Northern Books, was held at the Fitzroy Town Hall in Naarm/Melbourne.
This episode was first aired on the 10 December 2025.
Speaker
Astrid JorgensenFounder and conductor of Pub ChoirAuthor, Average At Best (Simon and Schuster Australia, 2025)
Further information
How Astrid Jorgensen turned a suburban pub choir into a worldwide musical phenomenon (Australian Story/ABC News, 2025)
Watch Australian Story episode about Astrid on Youtube (2025)
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The gambling industry is targeting young people through digital platforms, personalised algorithms and the blurring line between gaming and betting. But also off-line, at the pokies, we see younger faces. We explore the strategies behind this trend, the human costs and what it would actually take to change the culture and the regulation around gambling in Australia.
This conversation is a cooperation with Shaun Micallef's Going for Broke, the new ABC three-part documentary series that you can find on ABC iView.
Speakers
Dr Charles LivingstoneAssociate Professor in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Mark KempsterLived Experience Advocate with the Alliance for Gambling Reform
Reverend Stu CameronCEO and Superintendent of Wesley Mission
Dr Sally GainsburyAssociate Professor of Psychology and co-Director of the University of Sydney Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic
Steve Cannane (host)Reporter with the ABC's Investigations UnitABC Four Corners by Steve Cannane – Losing Streak
Further information
National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858
Wesley Mission Gamble Aware
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The arc of the moral universe may bend toward justice, but not without a whole lot of committed individuals doggedly banging on about it. Even when no one's listening, even when it's boring, even when it takes years or even lifetimes. So in this time of division and fracture, when hearts and minds seem out of reach, is there still value in preaching to the like-minded?
The 2026 Sheila Drummond Memorial Lecture was recorded at the Woodend Winter Arts Festival on 6 June 2026.
Speakers:
David MarrPresent Late Night Live, ABC Radio NationalAuthor, Killing for Country: A Family Story, Patrick White. A Life, Political Animal: The Making of Tony Abbott (Quarterly Essay) and more
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It is replacing our work, our relationships, even our capacity to think. It's the combined sum of all human knowledge — so how long until artificial intelligence surpasses our own? Are we already there? In her latest Quarterly Essay, Anna Goldsworthy confronts a near future where humans are no longer the most intelligent beings, inviting us to consider what is irreplaceable in us, in what we do, and what we want for our lives.
This conversation was recorded on 8 June 2026 at Woodend Winter Arts Festival.
Speakers:
Anna GoldsworthyAuthor, The God we made — the threat and promise of artificial intelligence, Quarterly Essay #102 and many moreClassical pianist, founding member, Seraphim TrioDean of the Elder Conservatorium of Music and School of Performing Arts, Adelaide University, and incoming Artistic Director of the Australian National Academy of Music
Jacqueline OgeilHarpsichordist, conductor, music teacherFounder and director, Woodend Winter Arts Festival
Further information:
Magnifica Humanitas - on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence - Encyclical letter by Pope Leo XIV
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Is there an art to forgiveness? Join Natasha Mitchell with popular Play School presenter, writer, actor, yoga and meditation teacher Rachael Coopes to explore why it's so hard to forgive people, why it's not what you think it is, and how it can be good for your health to try. Forgiveness may be hard work, but so is hanging on to hurt, hate, or a grudge — that can eat away at you or keep you tethered to the original harm — with consequences for your wellbeing, your relationships and your ability live to your full potential. Rachael Coopes has written a new book The Art of Forgiveness: Let Go, Find Peace. Join her and Natasha for this rich conversation about a complicated act.
This event was held at the 2026 Make Good Festival at Bundanon in NSW, on the traditional lands of the Dharawal and Dhurga people.
Speaker
Rachael CoopesActor, author, presenter of the long-running children's ABC TV show Play SchoolYoga and meditation teacherAuthor, The Art of Forgiveness: Let Go, Find Peace (2025)
Thanks to Make Good Festival guest curator Danielle Harvey and the whole team at Bundanon, NSW.
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They say we are what we eat, and in this big, migrant nation, every dish tells a story, about culture, about connection, about identity. But when traditional cuisines become mainstream, does cultural appreciation risk becoming cultural appropriation? Can you own a recipe?
This event was recorded at the Oz Asia Festival in Adelaide.
Speakers:
Durkhanai AyubiAuthor, Parwana: Recipes and stories from an Afghan kitchen and She Who Tastes, Knows
Elana BenjaminAuthor, Indian-Jewish Food: Recipes and Stories from the Backstreets of Bondi, and My Mother's Spice Cupboard: A Journey from Baghdad to Bombay to Bondi
Dr Sukhmani Khorana (host)Associate Professor of media and cultural studies, University of New South WalesCo-Director of the university's Media Futures HubAuthor, The Tastes and Politics of Inter-Cultural Food in Australia and more
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He is considered the first Hollywood action hero and had a rapid rise to stardom. But Errol Flynn also was on trial for rape and had relationships with underage girls. Behind the Hollywood legend — the sword fights, the swagger, the smouldering screen presence — is a far more complicated and surprising story.
This conversation was part of the Meet the Author series at the Australian National University.
Listen to Big Ideas – The rise of Australian actors in Hollywood
Speakers
Patricia O’BrienAdjunct Professor in the Asian Studies Program at Georgetown University; Honorary Associate Professor in the Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National UniversityAuthor of Errol Flynn: The True Story of Australia's Hollywood Icon
Frank Bongiorno (host)Donald Horne Professor of History and Public Ideas, University of Canberra
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It may be the least worst form of government, but faith in its leaders and its institutions is waning. From the US to the UK to Australia, democracy has also paradoxically delivered representatives who are proudly anti-democratic and openly undermine democratic institutions like electoral systems, the judiciary and a free media. So why do people see the likes of Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, and Pauline Hanson as the answer?
The Future of Democracy was recorded at the 2026 Sydney Writers Festival in partnership with the Resilient Democracy Lab at the University of New South Wales.
Speakers:
Jon SopelCo-host The News AgentsAuthor, Strangeland: How Britain Stopped Making Sense, UnPresidented: Politics, Pandemics and the Race that Trumped All Others and moreFormer editor, BBC North America
Nick Bryant (co-host)Host, Saturday Extra, ABC Radio NationalAuthor, The Forever War: America's Unending Conflict with Itself and moreFormer BBC Washington Correspondent
Rosalind DixonProfessor of Law, University of New South WalesFounder, Resilient Democracy LabAuthor, A People's Guide to the Australian Constitution
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A power panel on the future of truth. In a world of AI hallucinations and corporate algorithms, state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, and misinformation spreading like wildfire on social media — the truth feels more elusive than ever. What can we do to get the truth out of trouble? Join Natasha Mitchell with guests at this event recorded live at the 2026 Sydney Writers Festival at Carriageworks on Gadigal Country.
Speakers
Jimmy WalesEntrepreneur and Founder of Wikipedia: the free encyclopediaAuthor, The Seven Rules of Trust: Why It Is Today's Most Essential Superpower (2025)
Barbara DemickJournalist, former Beijing and Korea bureau chief for the LA TimesAuthor, Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins (2025); Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (2010), Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town (2021);
Professor A.C GraylingPhilosopher and founder of Northeastern University London.Author, The Challenge of the Future: What Should We Keep from Yesterday as We Rush into Tomorrow? (2026); For The People: Fighting Authoritarianism, Saving Democracy (2025)
Professor Toby WalshScientist, Scientia Professor and head of the UNSW AI Institute, University of New South WalesAuthor, Faking It: Artificial Intelligence in a Human World (2023), The Shortest History of AI (2025)
Thanks to Artistic Director Ann Mossop and team at the Sydney Writers Festival.
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The fabric of multicultural Australia is under a kind of pressure it hasn't faced in a long time. Can it be renewed? And what role do artists, activists, and migrants have to shape what comes next? The landmark work The Elgar Companion to the Arts and Global Multiculturalism is asking exactly those questions. It traces multiculturalism from its origins as a political philosophy and as lived cultural practice right through to the complicated present. And it makes a case that the arts have been central to this story all along.
Presented at the Greek Australian Writers Festival
Speakers
Professor Nikos PapastergiadisDirector of the Research Unit in Public Cultures at the University of Melbourne Co-editor of the book The Elgar Companion to the Arts and Global Multiculturalism
Dr Alexandra DelliosSenior Lecturer, Centre for Heritage & Museum Studies, Australian National University
Andrew JakubowiczEmeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Technology Sydney
Dr Helen Vatsikopoulos (host)Journalist, academic and Director of the Greek Australian Writers Festival
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Two authors. Two books. Two very different histories of Australia. Tony Abbott's Australia: A history and Mark McKenna's The Shortest History of Australia were released within weeks of each other. They share similar references, but diverge in key areas, especially when it comes to how the country should reconcile with its Indigenous past. So what is the real story of Australia?
The conversation Australian history's great divide: how writers view our past was recorded at the Sorrento Writers Festival on 23 April 2026.
Speakers:
Tony AbbottAuthor Australia: A history and moreAustralian Prime Minister 2013 to 2015President, Australian Liberal Party
Mark McKennaAuthor, The Shortest History of Australia and moreProfessor of History at the University of New South Wales
Sally Warhaft (host)Anthropologist, writer and broadcasterEditor, Well May We Say…The Speeches That Made Australia
Further information:
The Australian Wars with Rachel Perkins and Henry Reynolds — a watershed event at the Australia War MemorialBig Ideas, ABC Radio National, 4 February 2026
Who can we become? Thomas Mayo and Ray Martin speak Black and White about Australia's futureBig Ideas, ABC Radio National, 3 March 2026
Victoria's new treaty with First Peoples — a turning point for Australia?Big Ideas, ABC Radio National, 9 December 2025
A new future for Black and White Australia — Thomas Mayo, Margo Neale, David Marr with Natasha MitchellBig Ideas, ABC Radio National, 15 May 2024
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Has the Iran War got you thinking about changing to an electric vehicle? Did government subsidies help you go solar or install a home battery? When renewable energy makes good economic sense, and eases cost of living pressures, people want in. As the public's desire for action on climate change is eclipsed by other concerns, and beset by vested interests and mis and dis information, how does climate policy win back ordinary people to galvanise progress once again?
This event was recorded at Readings bookshop on 20 May 2026.
Speakers:
Thom WoodroofeSenior International Fellow, Smart Energy CouncilAuthor, Power, Prosperity & Planet: Climate & Energy Policy for All (In the National Interest, Monash University Publishing)Principal Advisor to Kevin Rudd during his tenure as Australian Ambassador to the United States, and Chief of Staff during his tenure as the Asia Society's President in New YorkDiplomatic adviser to the Marshall Islands in the negotiations of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change
Zoe DanielFormer Independent Member for GoldsteinFormer ABC journalist and foreign correspondentIndependent chair, Mental Health Victoria
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What's the toll when your story becomes the story? What these journalists endured for their work beggars belief, but it hasn't stopped them believing in the role of journalism to hold power to account. Locked in a Chinese jail under 24/7 surveillance for more than 3 years — Cheng Lei is now determined to speak out about freedom and the long tendrils of Chinese state control because others can't or won't. Charlotte Grieve's investigation of a superstar surgeon and his patients' horrifying experiences was subject to one of the longest defamation trials in Australian history — a major test case for the public interest defence.
Hear their extraordinary stories. They join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at this Sorrento Writers Festival event.
Speakers
Cheng LeiAuthor, Cheng Lei: A Memoir of FreedomJournalist and Sky News presenter
Charlotte GrieveInvestigative journalist, ABC Investigations Unit.Former journalist with Nine mediaAuthor, Duty to Warn: Dr Munjed Al Muderis promised hope. A daughter saw danger — and fought for the truth.
Thanks to Sorrento Writers Festival director and curator Corrie Perkin
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Three leaders of three different countries, who decided they would no longer accept the limits placed upon them by the international rules based order. That's all it took for the world as we have known it to unravel. Thomas Wright, a former Senior National Security Council official in the administration of US President Joe Biden, delivers a clear-eyed assessment of the deliberate decisions that have led us here, and weighs up the possible roads ahead.
This event After the unravelling: Confronting the new world order was recorded on 6 May 2026 for the Lowy Institute in Melbourne.
Speakers:
Thomas WrightFormer senior US National Security Council advisor (during the Biden administration)Senior fellow with the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at the Brookings InstitutionNonresident Fellow, Lowy InstituteAuthor, Inflection Point: Biden, Trump, and the Future World Order
Sam RoggeveenProgram Director, International Security Program, Lowy InstituteAuthor, The Echidna Strategy: Australia's Search for Power and Peace
Further information:
How Trump got Iran wrong - by Thomas Wright, published 7 May 2026, The Interpreter, Lowy Institute
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Donor-sperm conception has become even more difficult in Australia. Would-be parents are now facing a shortage of sperm. That's on top of an already complex end confusing process. For solo parents, queer couples, and people navigating fertility the path to parenthood often begins with long clinic waitlists, overseas donor profiles, shady Facebook groups or delicate conversations with friends.
Presented by Sydney Opera House at the All About Women Festival 2026
Speakers
Alisha BurnsFounder of Solo Mum Society, host of the No Need for Prince Charming podcast, author of the children's book My Perfect Family
Maeve MarsdenWriter, Creative Director of Varuna, the National Writers' House, and the Blue Mountains Writers' Festival
Dr Melanie SawardBigambul and Wakka Wakka woman, writer, editor and lecturer of Australian Studies, University of Queensland
Edwina Storie (host)Journalist and the lead for The Feed, SBS's youth media brand
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From embracing the future of new technologies, materials and innovations, to returning to past times of multigenerational and communal living, architecture and design has plenty to offer when it comes to solving Australia's housing crisis. While debate rages about tax settings, government policy, and urban planning, design solutions are there to create the homes, the communities and the lives we need to make us happier and healthier — but is the will?
This event was recorded at Curiosities Live at the University of Technology Sydney on 2 March 2026.
Speakers:
Anthony BurkeProfessor of Architecture at the University of Technology SydneyHost of ABC TV's Grand Designs Australia Grand Designs Transformations and Restoration AustraliaHost of Anthony Burke's By Design ABC Radio National
Tim RossComedianPresenter, ABC TV's Streets of Your Town, Designing A Legacy and moreAuthor, What A Ripper! 60 everyday objects that shaped Australia, Motel — Images of Australia on Holidays and moreCo-host, with Kevin McCloud, Tim & Kev's Big Design Adventure podcastAdjunct Professor at the University of CanberraHonorary member of the Australian Institute of Architects
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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.
Speakers
Bruce 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.
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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.
Speakers
Caroline 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 Cabinet
Dr Elise StephensonDeputy Director at the Global Institute for Women's leadership at the ANU
Asha ClementiPrincipal of the Persephone Network, 2022 ACT Young Women of the Year
- Visa fler
