Ideas at the House

Deciding whether to have kids is more complex than ever. This thoughtful conversation unpacks the deeply personal choice of parenthood alongside its broader political, financial, and environmental implications. With birth rates falling and uncertainty rising, more women are choosing not to have children. Plug in and hear candid conversations about climate anxiety, economic pressures, and social ex...

Wondering what’s behind ballerina farms, #mormonmoms and the simple life? As the Trad Wife phenomenon rises up the algorithm, clips of women collecting newly laid eggs and baking bread are finding their way into “For You” pages everywhere. Jump down the rabbit hole as this conversation examines how these influencers perform the roles of wife and mother for public consumption and how feminism fits...

An urgent panel discussion on Australia’s escalating crisis of violence against women. Experts share personal accounts and professional insights into the rise in partner homicides, tech-enabled abuse, and the disproportionate impact on First Nations women. As governments acknowledge the issue but fail to act effectively, this conversation asks: why is the danger increasing, and what must be done t...

Co-Medical Director of the Melanoma Institute Australia, Professor Richard Scolyer AO is a world-leading clinician and researcher who has spent years alongside his colleagues transforming melanoma treatment, Australia’s deadliest cancer. At the peak of his career, his world was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with an incurable Grade 4 glioblastoma. Refusing to accept the status quo—where...

From humble beginnings in the remote Pilbara, Dr Tracy Westerman was the first Aboriginal person in Australia to complete a PhD in Clinical Psychology and has risen to become one of the country’s leading psychologists. In an event that marked the publication of her powerful memoir  Jilya , Westerman spoke to journalist and Wiradjuri man Stan Grant, and drew on decades of client stories of tra...

A future where artificial intelligence intersects with human cognition, consciousness, and even life itself couldn’t actually become a reality anytime soon…right? Esteemed experts including renowned quantum physicist and cosmologist Paul Davies AM, cognitive scientist Inês Hipólito and neuroscientist Brett Kagan sat down with University of Sydney's AI expert Sandra Peter to unveil life-altering de...

He’s a global household name who needs no introduction - from the famous moment of discovery at London’s River Café to selling 50 million books 24 years later, Jamie Oliver popped into Sydney for an Australian exclusive conversation covering the breadth of his career. Moderated by former Masterchef Australia judge Melissa Leong, hear Jamie’s insights into his triumphs and challenges, the meaning o...

The world is on the cusp of extraordinary changes - from cures for intractable illnesses to dramatic reductions in greenhouse gasses - thanks to Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna. Listen to her thoughts in this fascinating discussion with Natasha Mitchell and learn about the benefits and threats in the revolution of gene editing. This event was recorded live at Sydney Opera House on 21 May 2024....

In this Australian exclusive event, psychiatrist and trauma research pioneer Bessel van der Kolk, MD, sat down with Sarah Kanowski and discussed his New York Times best selling book  The Body Keeps The Score. Hear his insights into how traumatic experiences can disconnect our body and mind leaving us with a physical imprint of our psychic wounds, and explore the treatments proving effective,...

For a long time, the word 'influencer' conjured stereotypes of activewear and dubious hot takes. But it's 2024 and social media has well-and-truly revolutionised the public square. Today, the word influencer can refer to an activist or academic who shares short videos on TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram to explain complex concepts on niche subjects for a global audience.     From Subst...

Pop culture has embraced a surge of complex female anti-heroes, from con-women to avengers, challenging traditional narratives of female perfection with their flaws and moral ambiguity. However, this trend predominantly features white women, leaving Women of Colour marginalized as exceptions rather than the rule.     Featuring an all-star First Nations panel, Steph Tisdell, Barkaa a...

When Anna Funder turned to her literary hero, George Orwell, for inspiration, she discovered not just that Eileen O’Shaughnessy, his first wife's, contribution had been ignored by his biographers but that Orwell himself had blatantly downplayed both her work and her contribution.     In her book Wifedom , Funder forensically proves Orwell’s deliberate erasure of his wife and not onl...

In an era where porn is omnipresent and often celebrated as a symbol of empowerment and personal freedom, Chanel Contos argues that it also perpetuates harmful norms of objectification and violence.    Contos is the creator of the Teach Us Consent movement and author of Consent Laid Bare. In this discussion with Jess Hill she interrogates how the porn industry infiltrates real-life sexua...

For the first time, Sydney audiences heard directly from Cambridge Professor Emerita Dame Mary Beard in an event that delved into the broad range of her career - from the ruins of ancient Rome to the trenches of Twitter.     Dame Mary joins Bri Lee in a broad reaching discussion about how power is skewed along gender lines, her latest book, Emperor of Rome , which gives a nuanced un...

Hot on the heels of her satirical literary sensation Yellowface crushing the bestseller lists, American author Rebecca F. Kuang was joined by Nakkiah Lui for a conversation exploring the complexities of diversity, racism and cultural appropriation today – both through her own eyes and those of her book’s protagonist Juniper Hayward.    This event was recorded at All About Women festival...

It was the ultimate roast session at All About Women , but this time, the target wasn't a person—it was feminism itself! From suffrage struggles to the #MeToo movement, no aspect of feminist history or ideology was safe from the scathing wit of our roasters. A sizzling interrogation of gender and power, this special event was filled with laughs, irreverence, and insights that might make you look a...

For All About Women in 2024, audiences embarked on a journey through the complex landscape of the human body, where strength meets vulnerability, pleasure intertwines with pain, and empowerment dances with trauma. This captivating conversation explored the political battleground that our bodies often become and tackled the societal challenges deeply rooted in our physical forms.    ...

Motherhood is known as one of life’s greatest joys but the complexities that come with raising a child solo while battling systemic barriers such as ableism and racism can turn it into an uphill battle.     Malyangapa, Barkindji artist Barkaa and feminist writer Karen Pickering were joined by moderator Edwina Throsby for a moving and thought-provoking discussion at All About Women ,...

It’s not hard to get caught in the contradictions of the beauty industry. We're told to embrace natural looks, yet we are bombarded with countless products promising to conceal or enhance our features. Additionally, no sooner than we express a desire to champion entrepreneurial women, we turn on them with criticism that outstrips anything said about a male exec.    Fashion, beauty, and w...

The ‘Sad Girl Novel’ has officially reached market saturation. Privileged young female protagonists  are portrayed as unfulfilled by sex and their careers; they are deeply entrenched in their complicated thoughts and feelings, filled with self-loathing and self-absorbed.     It’s as if they have stumbled upon some great insight that the rest of us fail to see, except perhaps th...

In days gone by, raising kids was considered a woman’s job, while men were the breadwinners. Fast forward to 2024, and women are now expected to work, but men are still only taking 12% of primary carer’s leave.    A panel of dads, including Sean Szeps, Osher Günsberg and Amar Singh, joined Jamila Rizvi at All About Women in 2024, to discuss their commitment to equality in the household a...

Our justice system is not functioning as it should. Over 90% of women in prison have faced domestic violence, sexual assault or abuse. One-third of women incarcerated have yet to be found guilty of a crime. First Nations women are disproportionately represented in incarcerated populations. Additionally, there's the issue of mothers and pregnant individuals behind bars.    Eleni Psillakis...

Booker Prize-winning author Anne Enright’s latest novel is The Wren, The Wren , a multigenerational story delving into the inheritance of trauma, the resilience of women and the power of love in its manifold forms. It contemplates the question: how do we live with betrayal and loneliness, yet still love those close to us? Anne Enright joined us at All About Women this year to explore with author M...

Consumerist culture grows stronger every year, particularly with the expansion of marketing and influencers on social media, contributing to the rise in carbon emissions and inequality.    At All About Women this year, fashion activist and writer Aja Barber demystified the structural inequality embedded in the global fashion industry and spoke with moderator Jan Fran about ways we can be...

Content disclaimer: this podcast contains content that is explicit in nature.   For All About Women 2023, the Sydney Opera House partnered with Western Sydney-based literacy movement Sweatshop on an emerging writers mentorship program for women and non-binary First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse writers.    The recipients worked on short fiction pieces, responding to...