Ideas at the House

Drug taking has moved from being outlawed behaviour, seen only on the fringes of society, to a widely accepted activity, even when illegal. In Britain, for all the talk of a "war on drugs," no one ever tried to wage one. Instead, drug taking has become more and more legally and socially acceptable. We frame drug-taking as either a harmless diversion or, when taken to excess in the form of addictio...

When natural resources like timber, water and mineral deposits can be extracted from ecosystems, they become assets with dollar values that can be bought and sold internationally and enable developing countries to grow and participate in the global economy. If growth is the key to emerging from poverty, then this might seem like a good thing. But what if these same resources being sold to richer n...

When someone commits a crime, we want them punished. If wrongdoers go to prison more often and for longer, everyone seems happy. But we live in a system where people do eventually come out of prison and rejoin the community. And this is where what has happened to them in prison really starts to matter. If prisons are a rank breeding ground for recidivism, where drug use is unchecked and non-violen...

In the US, 40% of women are out earning their partners; females are recipients of more -- and higher -- degrees than their male counterparts; and 75% of couples in fertility clinics are requesting girls over boys. While men once dominated thanks largely to their size and strength, this advantage has been eroded in a post-industrial society. Male-dominated sectors like manufacturing continue to dec...

Few people would argue with the wonders of connectivity, communication and access to infinite quantities of information that the Internet has enabled. But our understanding of the digital future is shaped by those who are making it, and they often have a vested commercial interest in a mass audience buying what they offer. If we take off our rose-coloured glasses, we see that the wonder-gadgets an...

There's a flaw in the way we choose our life partners. We pair up based (mostly) on preferences outside of the bedroom, and hope that what happens in the bedroom will match up. Infidelity is not the end of the world, it's a reality of long-term relationships. We accept the good and the bad when it comes to our partner's jobs, families, and failures, but quickly default to divorce when we yield to...

The latest science suggests that it is too late to prevent human-induced climate change. Technological optimists are now turning their minds to mitigation through techniques of geo-engineering, like giant space mirrors or seeding the oceans with iron to prompt carbon-absorbing algal blooms. But projects to alter the entire planet will expose all life to massive risk. So, why not address the source...

In the US, almost 40% of working wives out-earn their husbands. The proportion is smaller in Australia, but the trend is unmistakeably moving in the same direction. Join award-winning journalist and best-selling author Liza Mundy as she looks at the impact on relationships, families and institutions to come with this change, and considers whether the goal of feminisms, for equality, has actually p...

Superficial charm, a tendency to be bored easily, a lack of empathy and remorse, coupled with a grandiose sense of self-worth: these are the hallmarks of the psychopath. After a look at the world around us, some investigative journalism that took him to prisons and CEO offices, Jon Ronson came to the conclusion that not only do these qualities characterise some of the most successful people in all...

The roles of governments and corporations in the future of the internet, and their use and abuse of data, have been put under the global spotlight. In the wake of Manning, Snowden and Wikileaks, we finally have the scope to properly debate the need for government transparency and the trade-off between privacy and security. Watch our expert panel discuss the implications of the war on whistleblower...

As political change sweeps the streets, parliaments and presidential palaces of the Arab world, Shereen El Feki has been looking at the upheaval inside the family home -- specifically, in the bedroom, and the sexual lives of Arab men and women. Sex is entwined in religion and tradition, politics and economics, making it the perfect lens for examining the region's complex social landscape. Shereen...

Richard Holloway is a former Bishop of Edinburgh and acclaimed writer-commentator of books such as 'Goodness Morality.' Dubbed the 'barmy bishop' by UK tabloids and denounced by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Holloway was never a typical churchman, troubled by questions posed by life in the church. Holloway joins Ideas at the House to discuss his life and times both inside and outside the priesthoo...

Declared a 'prophet' by TIME magazine, John Ralston Saul's critically acclaimed works have been translated into 22 languages in 30 countries, displaying a growing impact on world political and economic thought. A long-term champion of freedom of expression, watch John Ralston Saul in intimate conversation on the state of the world today; from economic stability, unemployment and poverty to inequal...

She's been called the voice of her generation. The future of journalism. A style icon. A muse. Oh, and she's still in high school. Tavi Gevinson has gone from bedroom blogger to founder and editor-in-chief of website and print series, Rookie, in just a few years. Rookie attracted over one million views within a week of launching, and has featured contributors such as Lena Dunham, Thom Yorke, Joss...

Our economy is based on a model of constant growth - growth in production, growth in consumption, and growth in population. Economic growth has provided rising standards of living in the West, and has seen millions in China and India lifted out of poverty. But this model was disrupted in many countries by the global financial crisis. Will things settle down with growth resuming, or will our econom...

Recorded in 2011 and the beginning of the Arab Spring, Mona Eltahawy reflects on the hunger for freedom and democracy unleashed within Arab populations living under dictatorship. This is considered alongside questions about whether  Saudi Arabia's oil makes western support for freedom and democracy melt away, and whether the west can't afford to prefer Arab democrats to Arab dictators. Mona Eltaha...

For over two decades, Michael Pollan has been opening our eyes to what we put in our body through books like 'Food Rules,' 'In Defense of Food,' and 'The Omnivore's Dilemma.' In this conversation with Rebecca Huntley, Pollan explores the ethical bonds that connect our bodies, farms and food to reveal what our food system has become and just how badly we need to fix it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

From our systems of government to our most intimate relationships, the idea that we determine our own thoughts and actions is fundamental. But neuroscience and psychology have begun to unravel the illusion of free will. What does this mean for our cherished notions of political and social freedom and our focus on individual choice and responsibility? Join philospher and neuroscientist Sam Harris,...

Alan Ball is the wildly dark and inventine midn behind television's 'Six Feet Under' and 'True Blood,' as well as the critically acclaimed film 'American Beauty.' In one of his first ever solo public events, the Academy and Emmy Award-winning writer/producer/director/playwright is joined by Wil Anderson in a discussion of the origins and philosophy of Ball's work and outlook on life. Hosted on Aca...

“It doesn't take remarkable insight to suggest that the defining idea of the coming decade will be the Internet,” says Peter Singer. The compression of time and space enabled by digital technologies is overhauling our traditional understanding of everything from community, identity, sexuality, and information accessibility. While the technology has brought huge advantages, there are still ethical...

Our lust for cheap animal protein and the intensification of factory farming make the torture and degradation of living creatures an integral part of our diet. To keep on enjoying those hamburgers and chicken wings, we lie to ourselves about what is happening in our names. Even as we claim the superiority of the human to the animal, we enjoy the prerogatives of the supreme predator and remain will...

In the late 90's, political theorists, economists and politicians were talking confidently about the end of history and the undisputed triumph of liberal "democratic" capitalism. Communism was written off as dead and buried. But after 9/11, the GFC, the Arab Spring, and the protests spreading over Europe, the ideological gloss of capitalism may be beginning to fade. If the alternative is Putin's m...

Has our invention and mastery of increasingly powerful technology turned humans into gods? From the destructive potential inherent in nuclear technology to the understanding of the building blocks of life represented by the sequencing of the human genome, our technologies have given us the power to create and destroy at a human and planetary scale. Futurist and filmmaker Jason Silva considers the...

Tim Harford is the best-selling author of 'The Uncover Economist' and 'The Logic of Life.' In his latest book, 'Adapt,' Harford argues that we need to rethink the conditions for making progress in science, business and society in a fundamental way: we need to lose our fear of failure, embrace opportunity, and take risks. We need to stop looking for leaders who provide us with safe answers, and sto...

Dr. Jesse Bering is a psychologist and author of 'Perv: The Sexual Deviant' in all of us and 'Why Is The Penis Shaped Like That?' In his talk, Bering considers that while we may be much more comfortable with sexuality than our parents were, will we take the next step and acknowledge that we are all, in fact, sexual perverts? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.