Big Ideas

ABC listen

0.0 (0)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
UPDATED DAILY

Feed your mind. Be provoked. One big idea at a time. Your brain will love you for it. Grab your front row seat to the best live forums and festivals with Natasha Mitchell.

1 DAY AGO

What’s the secret to governments making wise decisions?

Take folly, friction, pain and empathy … mix well, and you get wise governmental decisions. If it only was that simple. Zachary Shore looks at the personal qualities, group dynamics, and historical conditions that have made wise decisions more or less likely to arise. The world’s current troubles would be more manageable, he contends, if we understood more clearly what produces wisdom and how to apply it. So what can we learn from history? A Wiser World: The Global Quest for Good Judgement was presented by the American Academy in Berlin Zachary Shore Professor in the department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, National Security Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution Daniel Benjamin President of the American Academy in Berlin

54 min
2 DAYS AGO

Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life — how fungi do things differently, and inspire us to as well

Have you noticed mushrooms are having a moment? Merlin Sheldrake's New York Times bestselling book Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures has captivated readers worldwide. Be enchanted by a world unseen – one without which you wouldn't exist - and which might inspire you to re-imagine how you think about yourself and your relationships. Merlin and guests join Natasha Mitchell at the Now or Never Festival of Art, Ideas, Sound, Technology and the Melbourne Museum. Dr Merlin Sheldrake Biologist, writer, speaker, brewer, fermenter, musician Author, Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures Dr Tom May Mycologist and Senior Research Scientist Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria Author, Wild Mushrooming in Australia. Amanda Morgan CEO and head of R&D Fungi Solutions Thanks to Melbourne Museum event producer Alice Gibbons and to the museum's sound engineering team.

54 min
3 DAYS AGO

Nicky Winmar and Rhoda Roberts − showing racism in sport the red card

Nicky Winmar's iconic stand against racism was a wakeup call more than 30 years ago. But how much has really changed? Racism on and off the field continues to be an issue across Australia, when we should be celebrating Indigenous sport icons. Presented by the Byron Writers Festival, supported by First Nations Australia Writers Network FNAWN. Listen to Big Ideas - Australia's sporting myths Speakers Rhoda Roberts Producer, artistic director, journalist and broadcaster and author of My Cousin Frank Woman of the Bundjalung Nation Nicky Winmar Noongar man, AFL player and author of Nicky Winmar: My Story Naomi Moran (host) CEO of Koori Mail, First Nations newspaper Nyangbal and Arakwal woman from the Bundjalung nation

43 min
4 DAYS AGO

Chopsticks or fork? — Jennifer Wong and Lin Jie Kong with Annabel Crabb

Almost every country town across Australia has a Chinese restaurant. Why is that? And what role do they play in the story of immigration and multiculturalism, as well as the life and tastebuds of regional communities? This event was recorded at Sydney's Gleebooks. Speakers Jennifer Wong Comedian, writer, tv presenter, columnist, curator, host and co-author of Chopsticks or Fork? Lin Jie Kong Producer, director, editor, co-author Chopsticks or Fork? Annabel Crabb (host) Writer and presenter, ABC Further information Watch Chopsticks or Fork on ABC iView

52 min
23 JAN

Writers who rock — on the art of music writing

Three of Australia's best music writers share their craft, and reveal what it's like to sit down with some of music's biggest names.

54 min
22 JAN

How surfing writer Tim Baker and doctor Peter Goldsworthy learnt to live well and laugh with cancer

Meet two men who will change the way you think about an experience most of us fear but will be touched by in some way. In Patting the Shark, surfing writer Tim Baker describes his wild ride to reclaim a sense of control and agency after a cancer diagnosis. Celebrated author and GP Peter Goldsworthy’s memoir The Cancer Finishing School started out as a journal but became so much more.They join Natasha Mitchell for intimate an intimate, revelatory, funny, and generous conversation about the Big C and how medicine needs to change. This event was hosted by the 2024 Queenscliffe Literary Festival Speakers Tim Baker Journalist, editor, patient advocate, PhD candidate Author, Patting the Shark: A surfer's journey — learning to live well with cancer (Ebury Australia/Penguin, 2022) Dr Peter Goldsworthy GP, author, librettist, poet Author, The Cancer Finishing School —lessons in laughter, love, resilience (Penguin, 2024)

54 min
21 JAN

The fight to protect abortion in the United States — with Dr Angel Foster

What does Donald Trump's return to the White House mean for reproductive health in America?

53 min
20 JAN

The Knowledge Gene — the incredible story of the supergene that gives us human creativity

Prepare to have your mind blown with a sweeping saga that connects human evolution, brains, genes, art, music, creativity, knowledge, dyslexia, autism, Indigenous memory systems, and more. A big, beautiful and biological saga about how to learn like a human again. Joining Natasha Mitchell are Australian Senior Memory Champion, scientist and author Dr Lynne Kelly with artist Jane Rusden and musician and educator Hilary Blackshaw. This event was hosted by the 2024 Mountain Festival in Macedon, Victoria. Speakers Dr Lynne Kelly Science writer Author, The Knowledge Gene: the incredible story of the supergene that gives us human creativity (Allen and Unwin, 2024) Author, The Memory Code (Allen and Unwin, 2016) Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University Honorary Fellow, School of Physics, University of Melbourne Hilary Blackshaw Musician and musical educator Bendigo Musical Instrumental Program Jane Rusden Artist

54 min

See All (1.4K)

Feed your mind. Be provoked. One big idea at a time. Your brain will love you for it. Grab your front row seat to the best live forums and festivals with Natasha Mitchell.