Counterpoint

Is there such a thing as the mind and if there is where is it? Do you believe in weird things? What will the world look like after humans? Will there still be life? There is a lot of plastic in the ocean and so far we don't have any method to remove to remove it. Why not?

Did you know that each year around 4.5 million people are bitten by venomous snakes resulting in 138,000 deaths? How can we stop that? Are the hand gestures that we use when speaking universal or do they differ from country to country? What happened when the first women in America to become dean of a medical school took her students to a clinical medical lecture and how important was Iceland in th...

Have you heard of seafood slavery? Right now thousands of men are stuck on boats at seas, what will happen to them? How innovative is language and just how and why does it change? How did Ancient Rome treat outsiders and the various ethnic tribes surrounding it? How important are black swans to both European and Indigenous history?

Have you ever walked out of one room and into another and forgotten why you were there? Should we be planting more and more trees wherever there is a space or should we be thinking more carefully about where to put them? Are bees and other insects about to die out, never to return

Was the decline of the Roman Empire a very good thing for humanity? We can learn a lot about a population by what they flush down their toilets. Why are Americans so hesitant to engage in waste water studies? How can you argue well and why do you need to and why does the Japanese Navy have a Curry Friday? ?

How much have captives' or slaves influenced those who took them? It turns out, quite a lot! What makes someone a genius? High IQ or something else? Why do we think think that Africa didn't have scripts and what has it got to do with the fall of Carthage? Anyone for a glass of zesty lime green tree ant infused gin?

Did gunpowder change the world, especially the Medieval World? What is an emotion and why is it so complicated. The changing nature of loss aversion and poo. We generate a lot of it, what can we do with it?

Why is Iran joining the Shanghai Cooperation organisation? How easy is it to succumb to tyranny? The changing way wars will be fought and the remarkable story of Dr Alice Hamilton.

Right now it seems like everybody wants to be engaged with Southeast Asia, where does Australia fit in? Is longtermism a dangerous way to think? Who was Benjamin Jetsy and what does he have to do with the smallpox vaccine and a new citizen science project in Tasmania that is helping with conservation.

Does ASEAN have a position on Myanmar? Are you a fox or a hedgehog when it comes to globalization? What makes a good literary hoax and is the recent one in Spain harmless or not? Will our dogs survive if humans are no longer on the earth?

Can positive discrimination do more harm than good? Mandatory vaccinations have been around for centuries so just how effective are they? Do humans perceive time differently to nature and why are birds egg coloured?

Is there more to AUKUS than nuclear powered submarines? What is China doing in Guinea in West Africa and what does it mean for Australia? What is the Non-Aligned Movement and what happened at it's 60th anniversary commemorative summit and how does a country chose what its national language will be?

Does the Biden Presidency have a plan for the Indo-Pacific? Doesn't seem like it. Can the Bible be read as work of literature rather than a scripture? How important were female healthcare givers in the medieval world and do humans and animals have the same moral value?

Power can good and bad. How can we make sure that it's good? Responsibility is key. Madam Curie changed the world with the discovery of radium including how old the earth could be and how long it might last. Opossums play dead when they need to but what do we mean by playing dead and the wonderful world of birds.

How did the 'culture wars' begin and what keeps it going? It's more than the left/right divide. How much of Angela Merkel's success can be attributed to the fact she is a scientist? What is tongue therapy and why are being people getting their tongues cut? There is a lot of plastic in the ocean and so far we don't have any method to remove to remove it. Why not?

Working from home over the last 18 months or so has been one of the greatest disruptions to work in generations, so what have we learnt about the way in which we work? When we say The West what do we actually mean? Can you toilet train a cow and why would you want to? The fabulous tale of a an eagle that lived in South Australia around 25 million years ago.

Is there more to AUKUS than nuclear-powered submarines? The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has depended on ordering vaccines from overseas. Why can't we make our own? Is there a link between cancel culture and torture and can air pollution be captured and turned into something else?

Do the shifting demands of climate change, COVID and China mean that we need some new thinking around trade, investment and the economy? Is it time to open our borders and stop being fortress Australia? Did you know that adding rock dust to soil can help get carbon into the ground and the fascinating and cautiously optimistic world of tuna.

Has the US withdrawal from Afghanistan created a power vacuum in the region that will be filled by either China or Russia and what might that mean for the Gulf states? Is there such a thing as the mind and if there is where is it? Indigenous technology could benefit all of society and could help us all connect with Indigenous culture that continues to grow. Is there any future for the fishers and...

After the seemingly chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan should the United States pivot away from nation-building and toward global governance? Mass vaccinations mean that the end of COVID-19 is coming ever closer. Does the thought of reopening society make you anxious? Are the hand gestures that we use when speaking universal and the fascinating history of a most unlikely bird of prey.

Are we about to see a new kind of globalisation or it already here? Who is ranked first in the Economist Intelligence Unit's Safe City Index of 2021 and did any cities in Australian make the top ten? The dangers of light pollution and how did the Orangutan get its name?

Although a military conflict between China and Australia is highly unlikely, if it did happen would we be prepared? The story of ANZUS and Percy Spender and might you be a Luddite? Should you be one? Can todays woke ideology be compared to Stalinist Russia?

Has civil society become a luxury good? How can you argue well and why do you need to? Did you know that there are still people who believe that the earth is flat and why has the night sky dimmed?

Are there foreign agents working in Australia right now and if so, where are they from? We have a huge supply of rare-earth minerals in this country so why are we exporting them rather than manufacturing them? What happened when the smallpox vaccine was rolled out and what do you think birds use to make their nests nowadays?

Who are the sense-makers today? It used to be the clergy and the educated class including journalists but who is it now? Does society really benefit by acting in your own self interest or are we more connected than we ever thought possible? Are bees and other insects about to die out, never to return and how much do we really know about Neanderthals and their children?