Big Ideas

American music journalist Liz Pelly interrogates the ways Spotify and other streaming giants are reshaping music, not just for listeners, but also for the people who make it. This conversation was recorded on 28 August 2025 in partnership with The Wheeler Centre and Now or Never Festival . Discover more talks and bold conversations by following The Wheeler Centre wherever you get your podcasts or...

Australian Indigenous art is celebrated around the world – but how much is understood about its pivotal role in Indigenous culture, country, politics and law?  For the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land, art is more than just aesthetic, it is a means of cultural diplomacy, and a respectful assertion of power in its diverse forms, from sovereignty to influence, authority and control, to energy...

Join a full house at the Sydney Opera House with Nobel winning scientist Jennifer Doudna and Big Ideas' presenter Natasha Mitchell to discuss the huge social, ethical, and scientific implications of the CRISPR gene editing revolution her groundbreaking discovery with Emmanuelle Charpentier and colleagues kicked off. From curative therapies to gene edited babies - will we use it to hack our own evo...

Stories help us to understand what is happening in the world and how it impacts us. Stories help us to relate to the experience of 'the Other' and their suffering building an emotional understanding. Journalist and academic Helen Vatiskopoulos describes the power of stories to share information to the masses and the problems that arise when the narrative is distorted. What is the responsibility of...

For 85 years, Meanjin has published the essays of Australian writers. The magazine's founding editor, Clem Christesen, wanted Meanjin's writers 'to reveal and clarify our life by showing it to us though a vision different from ours and deeper." In the wake of the news the magazine is closing, Big Ideas explores and celebrates the essay in all its forms. This conversation was recorded at the Words...

It's water and fireproof, versatile, warm and tough wearing. Wool not only expanded the British Empire, and created prosperity in the colonies, it also changed the nature of war and warfare. But wool's fortunes didn't last forever. This is the story of the rise and fall of wool. This conversation was recorded at the National Library of Australia on 31 July 2025. Speakers Trish Fitzsimons Documenta...

Has your doctor ever told you to go on a diet? Does that conversation put you off going to them in the first place, even if you need treatment for something not related to your weight? Has being in a larger body ever meant you can't access surgery or IVF? Some are pushing for a weight-inclusive approach to healthcare, which de-centres obesity, and focuses on 'health-at-every-size'. But what does t...

In a world where rules are increasingly being broken, what role should business play in upholding human rights, international and domestic law, and environmental protection? And what are the rules and responsibilities of business to ensure supply chains, hiring practices, workplace safety, environment and social governance practices abide by global human rights standards? This event was recorded a...

Rock star and maverick Jimmy Barnes celebrates heritage, family, friends, music and the adventure of a grand life on stage. Get up close to the lead singer of Cold Chisel, author of Working Class Man and Working Class Boy. Learn how terrible experiences of family violence, but also a close bond to his brother shaped him into the performer he is now. Get a look behind the scenes of his music world,...

Thirteen years ago, US political journalist Hanna Roisin wrote a book called The End of Men: and the Rise of Women. Since then, there's been President Donald Trump x 2, the manosphere, the broligarchy, and more. So what happened? This event was recorded at the 2025 Women in Media Conference on 15 August 2025. Speakers Hanna Rosin — Senior Editor, The Atlantic, host Radio Atlantic, author, The End...

Nuclear power is banned in Australia, and has been for decades, whilst some countries tilt towards nuclear energy again. Should or could Australia? The politics and power play over nuclear in the Sunburnt country, why the Coalition failed with the nuclear card at the last federal election, and what next? Join Big Ideas host and science journalist Natasha Mitchell and guests Simon Holmes à Court, G...

Meet two men on a lifelong mission. They've ruffled a lot of feathers along the way. Some revere them, others revile them. John Wamsley set up Australia's first wildlife sanctuary, but he's perhaps best known as the "cat-hat-man" (sorry, cat lovers!). World renowned forest ecologist David Lindenmeyer has copped heat from Australia's forestry industry for his science. But these two trailblazing env...

It's estimated that one third of Australian school children can't read proficiently, and debates about the best way to teach reading have raged for years. Now, for the first time, explicit instruction is official policy in all states and territories - so can it turn things around? This speech was recorded at the Advancing Effective Education Summit hosted by Multilit on 30 May 2025.  Speakers Jenn...

Students are dropping out, academics are burning out, so is enough being done to save higher education? It's a multibillion-dollar sector, employing and educating millions, with expectations it can deliver the solutions and the workers Australia needs. But Emeritus Professor Graeme Turner says universities are in serious trouble. This conversation was recorded at Readings Books on 15 July 2025. Sp...

Some boys are being radicalised by misogynist online subcultures like the 'Manosphere' and the 'incel' (involuntarily celibate) scene. Parents are anxious and boys are confused. What's happening, why, and what can be done? Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell and guests at the 2025 Byron Writers Festival for an insightful exploration with three influential Australians. Speakers Jess Hill , investi...

Is the world really in the midst of an AI revolution, or is it all just clever marketing, powered by immense amounts of money, capital and hype? This episode arms you to spot AI hype in all its guises, expose the exploitation and power-grabs it aims to hide, and push back against it at work and daily life. The conversation with Emily M Bender was recorded at RMIT University in partnership with Rea...

Barry Jones and Kerry O'Brien - Two titans of Australian political and social commentary share insights into how to think well, how to act well and how to make sense of politics, history, the fragility of civilisation, science and love. Presented at the Byron Writers Festival Speakers Barry Jones Former science minister, Labor member of the Victorian and Commonwealth parliaments, author Kerry O'Br...

They cook, make babies, and look impossibly perfect while doing it. Tradwives are using social media to redefine femininity and womanhood… or are they just setting it waaaayyy back? The Tradwives Club was presented by the Sydney Opera House at the 2025 All About Women Festival. Speakers Megan Agnew — Senior Features Writer (New York), The Times of London Rosie Waterland — Comedian, author of Broke...

Esther Freud’s first semi-autobiographical novel Hideous Kinky became a film starring Kate Winslet and told the wild story of two little girls living in Morocco with their bohemian mother.  More than 30 years on, those girls are back and growing up fast in her sequel, My Sister and Other Lovers.  Esther joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the Byron Writers Festival to explore the ties that bi...

What happens when the harsh realities of our daily lives — death, war, illness, hardship — invade that most private of realms — our sleep? Four poets and writers explore how things show up in dreams that otherwise can't be expressed, and how they've used the subconscious to inspire their creative work. This conversation was recorded at the Addi Road Writers Festival on 17 May 2025. Speakers Mireil...

With Donald Trump mediating conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, what has become of the United States' strategy in the Asia Pacific region? The event Asia Disrupted: Trump's First Six Months was recorded at La Trobe Asia on 1 August 2025. Speakers Daniel Flitton — Managing Editor, The Interpreter The Lowy Institute Dr Lupita Wijaya — Research fellow, La Trobe Asia Ambika Vishwanath — Principal...

Even years later, children's books can hold a special place in our hearts, and they also teach, comfort, inspire, and grow young minds, and set kids up for life. Two of Australia's best loved children's authors explore the importance of storytelling for children, and reflect on the books that have changed their lives. This talk was recorded at the Sorrento Writers Festival on 24 April 2025. Speake...

From  finding the right language to connect to Country, making the world a more poetic place for kids, to a Vulcan salute between two lovers — communication makes the world go round. Three brilliantly creative communicators join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the 2025 Byron Writers Festival to consider ways we communicate and how we can do it better. With great communication comes deep connect...

A brass band, goulash cooking in giant pots over open flames, people dancing around a bonfire — a pan-European picnic at the border between Hungary and Austria in 1989 was the beginning of the end of the Cold War. Suddenly hundreds of East Germans stormed the border into the West and freedom. It's a moment in history where the power of ordinary people changed the world. An Escape to Freedom and th...

Without permission, or payment, artificial intelligence has stolen the published words of thousands of Australian writers, and it seems that they have little power to stop it.  What does this mean for the future of human creativity? Anna Funder's speech was recorded live at the 2025 Sydney Writers Festival . The panel discussion, Can Australian literature survive in the age of streamers & AI?...