Big Brain Channel

  John, David & Emeritus Professor Purnendra Jain discuss SIA's report on the power dynamics of the Indo-Pacific & its recommendations. In this welcome back to the STRATEGIKON podcast, the discussion revolved around what has been keeping these intellectuals so busy! We are looking forward to creating more podcasts for you as the ever-changing world develops new and interesting dynamic...

This week, our intrepid Word Docs dig down into the relationship between writers and their words. Can you separate the fiction on the page from the reality of its wider context? Which matters more, the message of the author or the impact of the work? And what happens when your favourite creator turns out to be an appalling human? Join Amy T. Matthews, Sean Williams and a particularly hyper Alex Vi...

Robert Putnam is an American Social Scientist who was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama for "deepening our understanding of community in America" in 2013. Clearly being recognised for his outstanding work in social sciences for the benefit of democracy it would make sense to actively incorporate his studies into the American political system. So why was it aft...

Albert Camus' 'The Plague' has regained significance in 2020 with very obvious parallels to the COVID-19 crises that have faced communities across the world. Perhaps less obvious is the relevance of Camus' commentary on how individuals and societies deal with the frailty of life and the attempts to control the chaos of human nature. Camus' fascination with the absurd brings with it wonderful image...

There’s no getting around the fact that we live in strange and difficult times, from a global pandemic to a ‘Leader of the Free World’ who refuses to concede defeat ––  but, never fear, the Word Docs are here to provide their remedies! Join Amy, Alex and Sean as they unpack the ups and downs of creating new work and telling new stories in the midst of isolation a...

Inspired by the birth of a new family member, Tim has been considering what it takes to raise a child that contributes to society in a meaningful way. David raises the challenges faced by modern parents and explains how spread out the responsibility is of raising children in western society. Neither David nor Tim are parents, but in continuing the discussion about making a good society, it is a lo...

In this episode, we compare submitting your work to setting up a profile on Tinder. How far can we take this metaphor? Too far. Much, much too far. As a Tinder virgin (metaphorically speaking), Alex is grilling the pros (not a metaphor, although they do get paid for it) on how to submit your work to agents and publishers.  How do you find them? How do you talk to them? When are you being too...

Responding to a question from Bill Richardson, Tim and David discuss whether civilians could contribute to a discussion about veterans, or a man could contribute to a debate about abortion. Shrouded in the complexity we describe as identity politics lies age-old questions of human knowledge and commonality of experience. This fascinating conversation serves as a toolkit for people participating in...

The 2020 Presidential election in the United States of America is as emotionally charged as any election before it, and a lot seems to be at stake, but what are your options? On one side you have someone who is so emotionally directed that they seem unpredictable and rash (among other descriptions. On the other side, you have someone who seems to follow a mould, with their strings being pulled by...

Are you ever confronted by particularly obtuse or inept people in your life? Whether it be at work, in politic, or at the post office, sometimes you can use all of the swear words available to you to describe the frustrations of dealing with people and it still not encapsulate what they are. David has found some words to describe people and it profoundly explains a chunk of society. Though we're t...

Satirising war from a WWII Bombardier's perspective, Joseph Heller's most famous work Catch 22 is now synonymous with absurdity and bureaucracy. Like the main protagonist of the story, Joseph Heller served as a bombardier and had significant insight into war and the military which he satires, making the book all the more poignant. Like many works that precede this, Catch 22's "Tragicomdedy" narrat...

In this episode we're talking about how we juggle multiple projects, completely unaided by clones (lazy bastards). This week the Word Docs cram the muse back in her box and adopt a pragmatic approach to this juggling thing. Anti-romantic to the core, we tackle how to be multiple people at once, how to be one person on multiple projects, how to have a life, and whether balance is possible. Just ign...

Eddie Jaku is a German Jew who has lived a glorious 100 years and is still going strong. Born in 1920, by the time Eddie was 18, his homeland was a very different country than when he was born. On November 10th 1938 Eddie Jaku was arrested, beaten, and taken to a concentration camp before eventually being taken to Auschwitz, the deadliest camp of the Holocaust. By virtue of some miracles, Eddie ma...

Why should you spend time going to the theatre, or listening to music when you could read a book or practice a physical discipline instead? Blind Insights has so far addressed how easy it is to get distracted from productive things by lounging with Netflix. While these habits are difficult to kick and we don't need any encouragement to relax with a movie, the cultural and personal significance of...

Our brains are complex systems, ones that we don't always have as much control over as we like. We're especially less adaptable than we'd like and there's a good explanation for why, and good work being done on how to combat it. Britt Andreatta is the author of Wired to Resist, and after David read the book we knew we had to talk to her. Between her portfolio with places like LinkedIn and her Ted...

This week the Docs are exploring some of their guilty reading pleasures, although as usual they don't stick to the topic and other guilts are exposed, not least of them someone's fantasies about Kevin Bacon's shorts. Prepare for the over-caffeinated enthusiasm, as we learn who was the bane of their primary school librarians, who has a sadistic streak, and who is a secret sports buff. High art/ low...

We know that there’s an existential problem with climate change and an uptick in environmentalism hitting products and advertising, but can we even articulate what our actions do for the environment? It’s often too complicated and too detached from our everyday struggles to even justify trying to learn the massive literature out there, and climate activists shouting in the streets and...

COVID-19 threw us headlong into online teaching at a moment's notice, requiring flexibility, agility and the fleet-footedness of a moscato-soaked gazelle. Well, it threw Alex and Sean into online teaching and moscato. Amy was on study leave. Now as Semester Two hits, Amy's joining them on the frontlines, but swapping out the moscato for a nice Clare riesling or a McLaren Vale grenache. What tips c...

Trade economics is something we begrudgingly hear on the news as usually constraining or disrupting global relationships, where people win and lose and agreements are made and dismantled in the name of fairness. But the current paradigm is hardly fair. As it stands, $2 Trillion a year is extracted from the poorest countries and funnelled into the richest, and we don't know how to deal with that un...

What have we been doing this year? Other than teaching through lockdown, eating too much chocolate, drinking moscato, and yapping away on this podcast... In this episode we get to catch up on the Word Docs' latest projects, which involve a theatre/film project which is not a porno (but does feature a dominatrix), music made in the Hall of Possibility, and more pseudonyms for the woman who has ever...

Albert Camus is a French 20th-century writer who has influenced much of existential philosophy, despite disliking being called a philosopher. One of his earliest works, titles " A Happy Death " was published post-humously and went on to heavily influence David's unfinished Ph. D. Joining Tim and David to discuss this book in a mini-book club, is Luke, who found us through David's Appearance on The...

Also titled Blind Drunk - Celts, Creatives, and Chords , this special episode which started with some fine drinks supplied by Pirate Life and Bridge Road Brewery at the Oxford Hotel , gave some fantastic insights into the processes and lifestyles of creating. Joined by the talented Lucas Day (Liz and Lucas) & the skillful Pat Murray (Tig Junkie) , David and Tim discover the inner workings of t...

In which Sean comes down from the mount, stomps out the burning bush and hands down the ten (and a half - don't forget the half) commandments of writing. After a healthy dose of heckling, his disciples agree they're pretty good. No 'thou shalt not covet thy neighbours ass' kind of good, but 'don't be a dick' is definitely a keeper.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Blind Insights, David and Tim are joined by James Nestor, author of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art . Joining the podcast for a second time , James Nestor brings his new research and insights after expanding his understanding of breathing in freediving to examining the fields of anthropology and archaeology. James has done fascinating work involving many experts and some o...

The boys from the Auscast Network are back! Joining Tim and David as they explore some of the many fine beers on tap at the wonderful Crafers Hotel . Between the Lobethal Bierhaus Chocolate Oatmeal Stout , the Little Bang Brewing Brown Flacon IPA , and the Mismatch Brewing Hazy IPA , our hosts were already pretty sloshed before starting this one. Featured in the episode is also the Mountain Goat 2...