Ideas at the House

Looking into the future, we can see the possibility of severe occurrences that threaten human extinction. Until recently, we haven’t taken this seriously and are therefore putting the future of humanity at risk. When looking at existential risk, there is a difference between natural disasters such as asteroids and the human-created risks inherent in the rapid advancements of areas like artificial...

We like to think of Australia as an egalitarian country where social mobility is real and the concept of equality is unchallenged. But the reality is that, along with our English speaking peers, we are in the top third of OECD countries in terms of economic inequality. This inequality is getting worse, and continues to influence education, health and housing. Accusations of ‘class warfare’ are thr...

Since it emerged from its disreputable romantic beginnings, the novel replaced history and poetry to become the most significant vehicle for storytelling and the transmission of cultural values. Readers were sent to the novel to cultivate their empathy, develop moral principles and explore ideas, and it survived the rise of film with its influence intact. But a new generation of television creator...

At a time when the world is coming to grips with tragic fate of MH17, and looking for answers, it is more important than ever to discuss how to deal with Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime. It’s been 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, 23 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and 15 years since Putin came to power. During that time, Russia has gone from financial shock therapy...

While we’ve been focusing on the rise of women in the workplace, we have failed to notice the dramatic effect this has had on young men. Are we witnessing a male culture in profound decline? Young women are making more money, getting more education and are more reluctant to have children and settle down, while young men are drifting in ‘pre-adulthood’. Women want to win at work and expect equality...

What does the future hold? A reign of world peace with stunning medical breakthroughs conquering death, illness and disease? Or a world where human beings have destroyed the web of living things and put our own existence at risk by playing with science we don’t fully understand? Must we think in terms of these extremes to create a positive future or prevent disaster? Join a panel of brilliant opti...

With the threat of climate change and damage to other elements of the biosphere, we may be in the process of creating a world where human existence is marginalised and modern civilisation is crushed. Even if we manage to cling to the more hospitable corners of this grave new world, nuclear war, bioterrorism or malicious use of nanotechnology or artificial intelligence could render human beings ext...

Surrogacy—or contract pregnancy—has become a global industry, growing at unprecedented speed. In India alone, this industry is valued at over US$450 million per year. Whereas the sex industry is increasingly targeted by legislators as exploitation, the surrogacy industry retains a rosy image. Helping an infertile couple to have a baby of their own is seen as a generous and compassionate gesture fr...

(In Russian with translation.) Pussy Riot became a global symbol of dissent in Russia with their idiosyncratic blend of feminist art and activism. When they were sent to prison, they became part of the extraordinary group of Russian writers, artists, and activists who have lived and died in the Gulag. Although the Gulags became ‘corrective labour colonies’ after Stalin’s death, what Pussy Riot mem...

Anyone who has written a book whose title refers to Australia as “The Stupid Country” is not afraid of the odd dangerous idea, and it turns out that Jane Caro has plenty. She is well-known as an advocate for public education, and as one of the instigators of ‘Destroy the joint’ on Twitter, taking a hatchet to sexism in Australia. But she doesn’t stop there, and will be bringing you dangerous ideas...

Good governance is the buzzword of the day. Conventional wisdom has it that less corruption would translate into more economic growth, a healthier body politic and reduced likelihood of conflict. But what if this isn’t always the case? In Indonesia, patronage and corruption serve as the glue that keeps an otherwise fractious country together. Although there are cases where corruption has promoted...

To try and avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change, 190 countries have committed to limiting global temperature increase to below 2°C. To achieve this, 60-80% of the world’s existing carbon or fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground. Nevertheless, billions of dollars of investments in coal, oil and gas have gone ahead, resting on the speculative bubble of climate change denia...

More of us now live in cities than ever before, and the spaces we live in are increasingly governed by agendas of safety and security. Arguing against safety may seem counter-intuitive. However, a culture of safety brings limitations and fears that have the capacity to turn us into passive spectators in our own lives, especially in cities where high land values create dense areas of exclusion. Yet...

The stories of Anders Behring Breivik and Lance Armstrong may seem to have little in common, but each shows the consequences of the epidemic of narcissism that marks our age. Our lives no longer centre on social and family groups, but have become highly individualistic. We are primed for narcissism by consumer culture, changing family dynamics and growing inequality. A society full of people who a...

Life is painful. It's full of doubt and uncertainty. And it ends, in this world anyway, with death. For many, the antidote to this pain has been religion. The appeal is obvious: comforting stories, a clear sense of right and wrong and eternal life as the carrot at the end. Even New Atheists such as Alain De Botton have retrieved some of the comfort traditionally offered by the church. But has the...

A legal figure like no other, Michael Kirby carefully trod the line between judicial impartiality and outspoken human rights advocacy throughout a distinguished thirty five year career that included thirteen years on the High Court of Australia. Watch as Kirby returns to Sydney Opera House to discuss his new and very intimate authorised biography Michael Kirby: Law, Love & Life. Hosted on Acast. S...

Remote assistants respond to calls and emails. Life coaches assist with personal decisions. Smartphone apps tell us where to eat dinner. Nameologists help choose names for babies that will be raised by live-in au pairs. Welcome to an emerging world, where the individual is a client in every interaction. Traditional functions of family and friends have been replaced by hired help and consultants. I...

In the course of his career, Geoffrey Robertson has been involved in many of the key human rights issues of recent history. In his session at the Opera House he talks about his latest book 'Mullahs without Mercy' which brings together his thinking about nuclear weapons and their dangers in the Iranian context, but also looks at the human rights record of the Iranian regime. Hosted on Acast. See ac...

There are two Americas. In one, bankers get golden parachutes, insider traders return to society as well-paid consultants, and influence is for sale. In the other, opportunity is scarce and forgiveness scarcer, jail awaits those caught possessing recreational drugs, and cries for help are ignored. Society preaches forgiveness for the rich and retribution for the poor. Entrenched inequality and its...

One of the most extraordinary things about the history of sexuality has been the lack of evidence-based information about women's sexual needs and desires. From folklore to Freud, hysteria to penis-envy, women as sexual beings have been misunderstood, brainwashed, silenced and demonised. Daniel Bergner brings together all of the research on the topic, old and new, in a definitive and groundbreakin...

It's been more than 20 years since we first became anxious about sports shoes made in sweatshops, and yet cheap and fashionable clothing still seems like an unqualified good -- another gift of the globalisation boom years to consumers in developed countries. But as the recent factory fires in Bangladesh have reaffirmed, it's a gift that comes at a terrible cost not only to others but also to the e...

In 2010, journalist Jennifer Senior's magazine story, All Joy and No Fun, became an overnight sensation with its blunt declaration that parents love their children and hate their lives. Anyone who experiences or observes the agony and ecstasy of modern parenting knows that children bring both happiness and misery. We spend more time with our children, but feel guilty about the quality of our paren...

When civil war broke out in Somalia in 1991, Elman Ali Ahmed became an ardent peace activist, spreading the mantra "put down the gun, pick up the pen" until his assassination in 1996. Three years ago, his 19-year-old daughter Ilwad Elman returned to Somalia and now runs the Elman Peace and Human Rights Center in Mogadishu with her mother, Fartun Adan. In a country ranked the fifth worst place in t...

Egyptian-American journalist Mona Eltahawy has been one of the most visible reporters of the dramatic events in Egypt in recent years. In parallel with her coverage of revolutionary politics has been her call for social and sexual revolutions. Beaten, sexually assaulted and detained by riot police in Cairo in 2011, she called for a holistic campaign against sexual violence in Egypt. Her views on m...

The news is everywhere and we check it constantly - but what is it doing to our minds? A part of modern society that we take for granted, almost a replacement for religion, the news can be all consuming – but at what cost to the individual? Alain de Botton, bestselling author of Religion for Atheists and sell out success at the Opera House in 2012, dismantles our fixations and neuroses on a range...