Ideas at the House

Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of best-selling memoir 'Eat Pray Love,' a chronicle of Gilbert's travels around the world in search of healing and wisdom following a messy divorce. Gilbert appeared at Sydney Opera House in conversation with Caroline Baum about the pressures and expectations of commercial success, fame, and the inevitable question of what comes next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...

Michael Palin’s comic exploits with Monty Python and in films such as 'A Fish Called Wanda' are the stuff of legend, but his recent adventures travelling and filming the world have won him a vast and loyal new following. Watch as Palin guides us – in his inimitable way – from his early acting career and comic exploits through to traversing the globe for his latest BBC TV series, 'Brazil'. Hosted o...

For former refugee and politcian Ayaan Hirsi Ali: "It is a matter of principle that women are free and equal". This means zero tolerance of cultural practices such as honour violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). In her talk, Hirsi Ali challenges the audience with questions such as whether multiculturalism is indifference disguised as tolerance, and what do Western feminist...

Joint Nobel Peace Prize winner and Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee delivers a powerful talk about harnessing the power of African women to affect change. Moving between the personal and the universal, Gbowee demonstrates the impact of misogynist laws on females and broader society, and the potential in embedded in often-disenfranchised women and girls. Watch the talk that drew tears and two standi...

Martin Seligman is a bestselling author, world leading psychologist and expert adviser on wellbeing at the highest level of international public policy. According to Seligman, happiness is not the result of good genes or luck, and well-being is more than just the absense of ill-being. Real, lasting happiness comes from focusing on personal strengths and working with them to improve all aspects of...

While daughters can be a learning experience for fathers, mothers with feminist convictions sometimes fall into the trap of seeing their daughter as the next stage in the march towards 'liberation' or 'equality'. In an age of analogue parents and digital daughters, what do girls need from their parents? Join our panel Nigel Marsh, Maya Newell and Barbara Toner (Chair: Dannielle Miller). Hosted on...

The mystique of 'leadership' is such that it has become the Holy Grail for anyone trying to understand why organisations succeed or fail. But being a leader is not something where there are a series of clear instructions to follow. Because it brings together the personal and the professional, finding out how to lead can be harder to explain but more satisfying than any of the other challenges that...

With the Delhi gang rape case in everyone's mind, focus on the specific situation of women in India and India's 'rape culture' were put into perspective by a US case in Steubenville Ohio where an unconscious girl was repeatedly assaulted and onlookers and participants posted images and film all over the internet. If rape happens everywhere, but 'rape culture' is specific to local circumstances, wh...

A recent survey of media coverage of the US Election showed that over 70% of print stories were written by men and less than 20% percent of coverage was of women, making women almost invisible at the highest levels in public life and in the media. But are there advantages to invisibility? If anonymity comes with the freedom to do and say what you want, does this mean that the power that comes with...

Noam Chomsky is one of the most celebrated public intellectuals of our time. He is a linguist, philosopher, historian, and social commentator among other things, and author of books influential books such as 'Manufaturing Consent.' In this convesation with Mary Kostakidis, Chomsky addresses a range of questions on the theme of knowledge and freedom, covering areas such as linguistics, global polit...

Alain de Botton is a best-selling author and one of the world's most celebrated philosophers. Watch as he discusses his latest book, 'Religion for Atheists,' about the parts of religion that he thinks atheists too often overlook. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Stoppard is one of the world's greatest dramatists, with a body of work that includes 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,' 'The Real Inspector Hound,' and 'Shakespeare in Love.' Watch Stoppard in conversation with Australian writer Jonathan Biggins at the Sydney Opera House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Celebrated Edinburgh novelist Alexander McCall Smith is the creator of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which has sold over a million copies in Australia. Smith is wise, witty, and full of observations on life and infectious good humour in this conversation at the Sydney Opera House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sir Terry Pratchett is best known for his Discworld series of comic fantasy novels that have been translated into 32 languages and sold 65 million copies. In 2007, he was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's and subsequently began a public discussion about the disease and physician-assisted suicide. Watch as Pratchett leads a lively discussion about his life and work. Hosted on Acast. See acast....

Germaine Greer has been a recognisible public figure since the publication of her best-selling book, 'The Female Eunich.' Watch Greer deliver her speech on feminism in a global context as part of our mini-festival, 'The F-Word.' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Naomi Wolf is a leading feminist and best-selling author of books such as 'The Beauty Myth.' Watch Wolf deliver her speech on the direction and importance of feminism in the future as part of our mini-festival, 'The F-Word.' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'The F-Word' at Sydney Opera House was a day of discussion and debate about the state of feminism in a global context and its direction in and importance for the future. The event culminated in forum featuring keynote speakers Germaine Greer and Naomi Wolf, Australian writer and activist, and American journalist Eliza Griswold. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Suzuki is a Canadian scientist and environmental activist. Watch Suzuki's profound and moving lecture as he shares a lifetime of lessons about our impact on the planet and his hope for the future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This talk brings together a range of international and Australian experts to deiver both sides of the debate as they dissect recent events in the Middle East and consider what they mean for the future, including the prospect of peace. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.