Festival of Dangerous Ideas

We're  living in increasingly brittle times. Ideas that once provoked argument, now provoke outrage – and the art of debate has now shattered. What does it mean to think freely about our world when speech itself is treated as a hazard?    Through his experiences, writer Salman Rushdie speaks about the major themes of his writing, freedom of expression, religion, East-West relations and the role of...

Heading into its 13th festival, FODI exists thanks to supporters who don't flinch at difficult topics. Brave minds. Bold hearts. Dangerous conversations. We've built a reputation for dragging the world's sharpest provocateurs and thought leaders to Sydney IRL. From 21–23 August 2026, FODI returns. Our Opening Night event with Salman Rushdie will ignite a jam-packed weekend, where global thought le...

Drawing from her experience as an author and cultural critic who consistently challenges predictable opinions, Roxane Gay urges us to embrace the danger and discomfort of dissent. But in an age of polarised opinion warfare, this comes at a personal and professional cost. Courage is an essential ingredient in this strategy, but it can only take you so far. When the tide of viral criticism, is both...

Humanity has demonstrated , time and again , a horrific tendency to destroy its own kind – often to  eliminate difference and impose uniformity of identity. At its worst, this tendency has led to the destruction of whole peoples – the crime against humanity of genocide. However, i n our politically charged climate, the term genocide carries a massive moral weight , and we must be cautious about wh...

Economist John N. Friedman has made a career researching the causes of inequality and its long-term consequences for children in the US. His findings are grim. Social mobility is in sharp decline. Where you live and go to school increasingly determines your success and future.  Friedman explores  how policy can harness schools, neighbourhoods, universities, and social capital to reverse this trend...

The concept of success and excellence is fraught with tension between communities within Australia. For non-Indigenous Australians, excellence is almost exclusively an   economic concept, founded   on stolen and inherited resources and privilege. While for Indigenous people, aspiring to   this definition   of excellence can involve assimilation and the   abandonment of culture and values. With the...

For some, the image of Israel, as a shining example of liberal democratic ideals has been broken by the Netanyahu Government's actions in Gaza since 7 October, 2023. Yet, for others, the positive image projected by Israel has always been a convenient myth, allowing dominant powers within the international community to turn a blind eye to decades of Palestinian suffering.  Academic Saree Makdisi ar...

Is God a story  we've just told ourselves to satisfy our own desires?    Comedian and author David Baddiel knows God doesn't exist, but wishes he did. As Baddiel wrestles with his understanding of God and spirit uality as a Jewish atheist, his bold thesis uncovers how religion services the deepest needs of humanity.   This session is in conversation with Simon Longstaff and is the inaugural John C...

Are we too focused on race? Have recent anti-racist movements like  Black Lives Matter  abandoned the  ' colourblind ' spirit of the original civil rights movement?  In this   live  FODI edition of  Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh  Szep s , writer and podcaster Coleman Hughes   articulate s  his vision for a future where individuals are judged by 'the content of their character ', not the co...

Being open about the female body has always been taboo, risky and dangerous. So , by s mashing ancient menstrual taboos, and demolishing dangerous pseudoscience, the Internet's OB-GYN Jen Gunter has long been on a mission to d estigmatise the myths and misogyny surrounding women's health.  Gunter u rg es women to seize control , reminding them that it shouldn't be an ac t of feminism to know how t...

Ordinary citizens are starting to realise that their dwindling share of our  common wealth  is no accident, but the i ne vitable result of the current system. As life becomes more precarious, has the time come when the 'discontented majority' will flex their muscles and seize, by whatever means, a fairer share of the economic and social pie? Or will the world's wealthiest 1% step back from the pre...

Journalists play a vital role in a democracy, holding power to account. The traditional model of journalism sees journalists as disinterested seekers of the truth, striving for 'objectivity' and suppressing their own opinions. But as newsrooms and editorial pages previously staffed only by white male journalists have evolved, and  as  the internet has driven the rise of opinion journalism, we are...

When it comes our most divisive political, economic and social issues there is a fracture between the views of the old and the young. As older generations continue to monopolise wealth and how policy is shaped, younger generations are becoming more and more disenfranchised. The inequality and anger between generations is growing, and it might just be the biggest threat to our democracy. In a world...

The late philosopher and scientist,  Daniel Dennett talked about 'counterfeit people' as one of the great dangers of AI  –  but are we now willing  to court   the same dangers  through our adoption of  multiple identities  across   the metaverse. Moving from the confinement of physical reality to the landscape of the metaverse, where looks, preferences, and genders are limitless ,  we can each  ac...

Since the dawn of time, our pro-natalist society has implemented certain systems, norms and lenses in which we view child rearing. These often oppressive and coercive conditions make it difficult for many to t hink about their reproductive options. But w ith the emergence of artificial wombs and womb transplants, what impact could this have on reproductive autonomy? And what ethical and political...

Throughout history we have found ways to regulate human behaviour through the threat of social exclusion. But while the idea of 'cancellation' is not new, the online sphere has radically shifted the way we hold people to account and punish perceived wrongdoing .   Is redemption possible in the digital age ? And can narratives of growth and forgiveness help us shift the power from condemnation to c...

D emocracy has often been presented as an ideal , where citizens can participate and benefit from a fair society. But as we face growing inequality, political turmoil, and loss of faith in modern life, the price of preserving democracy might be proving too steep.     Masha Gessen is an opinion columnist for T he New York Times  and a Distinguished Professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of...

The p rocess of global collapse has begun – driven by the damage we have caused to the Earth's natural systems. A nd government s and corporations aren't going to save us .     So are we going to cling to our old individual ways of fighting each other for the final scraps? Or should we adapt and support each other through this transition?   Sociologist Jem Bendell says while it might be too late f...

The increase in mental health and neurodivergent diagnoses in recent years indicates that we're more aware of our brains than ever before .    D oes improved social awareness, self-identification, representation and access mean w e 've reached a turning point in the way we acknowledge and treat mental health and neurodive rgence in society ? Or are we at risk of over-pathologising ourselves and th...

Masculinity has become a battle g round. From the gender pay gap, to domestic violence and rape, the idea of what it means to be a man has been heavily scrutinised in recent times .   Meanwhile the gender wars – fuelled by mainstream conservatives , technology and social medi a – has shifted society's ideas in a dangerous direction . H as the recent focus on women had a negative e ffect on masculi...

In an age of creeping authoritarianism, anyone who questions the logic of competing narratives when it comes to historical conflicts risks being silenced. Russian American j ournalist Masha Gessen says however , in order to learn from hi story w e ha ve to q uestion our world and recognise the signs of when we 're s liding into darkness.   Gessen examines how the intersection of history, memory, p...

The culture wars are seeping out of the real world and infiltrating our pages and stages.   Art has always traversed unfamiliar and even dangerous territory . B ut with recent calls to boycott cultural institutions, donors pulling funding, and the cancellation of works and talent , are some discussions too fraught to engage with? Louise Adler is the Director of Adelaide Writers' Week. She has spen...

The world order that we've lived with for most of our lives is experiencing a tectonic shift. We've experienced unprecedented level s of growth and prosperity  – but as a growing cohort of dema gogues and autocrats continue to lead our world, there is something quite telling in how populations are responding to our levels of ' success ' .   Is our world order functioning the way it was set u p to...

What is the purpose of democracy when it's become more challenging than ever to tell the left and right apart?  Journalist and filmmaker, Tariq Ali  says Western democracy has failed and we are now seeing the emergence of an extreme centre, which ensures no challenge s to this form of neoliberal politics is permitted .   Tariq Ali is a British-Pakistani political commentator and a prolific writer,...

In modern Australia, productivity is all that matters, or so our leaders tell us. However the way we have pursued economic growth in the last 30 years has prevented many people from sharing the rewards. We now create wealth via exclusion.   Writer Denis Glover argues that an economy is not a society. We desperately need to confront the working conditions, jobs and lives we want for ourselves and o...