Podcast
Big Ideas
Hosted by ABC Australia · EN
Your front row seat to big thinkers at the best live events, forums, and festivals. Feed your mind. Be provoked. One big idea at a time. Your brain will love you for it.
We love hearing from you about the show or events you are planning. Get in touch!
Email: Bigideas@abc.net.au
SMS line for ABC Radio National: 0418 226 576
Airs Monday to Thursday 8pm, repeated Tuesday to Friday 12pm, on ABC Radio National.
69episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Dark Emu's Bruce Pascoe and astrophysicist Ray Norris — can Aboriginal astronomy unite humanity under one big sky?
Yesterday00:52:51Tap to summarizeJoin Bruce Pascoe and Professor Ray Norris with Natasha Mitchell to discuss their eye-opening new book Big Sky: When the Emu Left the Earth. Then go outside, look up, and wonder about what connects humans rather than divides us. Humans have always gazed at the night sky, and (when we could) into the far reaches of our galaxy, to make meaning and sense of life here on Earth. The stories we tell about stars, planets, the Sun, the Moon, and more offer powerful lessons for us all — and for our relationships.This event was hosted by the Melbourne Writers Festival (find out more at mwf.com.au), Scienceworks, Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre on the country of the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation and the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation.SpeakersBruce PascoeAuthor, poet, Aboriginal farmer based on Yuin CountryAuthor of Dark Emu and coauthor, Big Sky: When the Emu Left the Earth (Magabala Books, 2006)Professor Ray NorrisAstrophysicist and honorary fellow at CSIROCoauthor, Big Sky: When the Emu Left the Earth (Magabala Books, 2006)Thanks to Dr Tanya Hill, Senior Curator of Astronomy at the Scienceworks, and Veronica Sullivan, CEO and Director of the Melbourne Writers Festival.
Transcribe →Hard-won progress in women's rights is dismantled — and it threatens global security
2d ago00:54:35Tap to summarizeRising authoritarianism, splintering alliances and an organised backlash against women's rights, gender equality and international development are threatening progress towards justice and equality. Can the United Nations' women, peace, and security agenda still help ensure stable international relations? Does it need to be modernised? Feminist Answers in a Dangerous World: Gender, Peace and Security in a Precarious Geopolitics — the 2026 Pamela Denoon Lecture was presented by National Foundation for Australian Women and the Gender Institute at the ANU.SpeakersCaroline MillarFormer Australian Ambassador to the European Union, NATO, Belgium and Luxembourg; former Deputy Secretary for National Security, in the Department of the Prime Minister and CabinetDr Elise StephensonDeputy Director at the Global Institute for Women's leadership at the ANUAsha ClementiPrincipal of the Persephone Network, 2022 ACT Young Women of the Year
Transcribe →
Medical misogyny — how the health system overlooks women's pain and how it's finally adapting
3d ago00:53:39Tap to summarizeFrom GP appointments and hospital procedures, to medical research and clinical trials, for centuries, women's health has historically been dismissed, diminished, or misdiagnosed. But in recent years, there are some signs that the medical system is slowly coming to terms with the fact that women — their bodies, their symptoms, their experiences, are different from men's, and need to be treated as such.This event was recorded at All About Women at Sydney Opera House on 8 March.Speakers:Dr Zoe WainerInaugural Director General of the Australian Centre for Disease ControlCardiothoracic surgeonFormer deputy secretary, Victorian health department, conducted Australia's first ever public inquiry into women's painSummer May Finlay Associate Professor in Indigenous Health, University of WollongongGabrielle Jackson (host)Deputy editor, Guardian AustraliaAuthor, Pain and Prejudice: How the Medical System Ignores Women and What We Can Do About It
Transcribe →When Turnbull met Trump — and what it means for today’s changing world order
1w ago00:53:51Tap to summarizeAustralia's 29th Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull joins former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland to deliver a candid appraisal of the shifting sands of global politics, from Donald Trump to AUKUS to rising right wing populism in liberal democracies.This conversation was recorded at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University on 16 April 2026.Speakers:Malcom TurnbullAustralian Prime Minister, 2015 to 2018President of the International Hydropower AssociationChrystia Freeland (host)Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard UniversityEconomic advisor to the President of UkraineFormer Canadian deputy prime minister and finance minister 2019 to 2024Author, Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else, and Sale of the Century: Russia's Wild Ride from Communism to Capitalism
Transcribe →The untold Titanic story of Evelyn with Lisa Wilkinson
1w ago00:55:18Tap to summarizeThe untold story of Evelyn Marsden and the woman who rowed against the tide. You've heard of the Titanic disaster. Luxury ship. Largest ever. Impossible to sink. Hits iceberg. Catastrophic. Few survivors. Wreckage still under the sea 114 years later. Hollywood film starring Kate Winslet. But have you heard of Evelyn, the Titanic's only Australian survivor? She was a young nurse from rural South Australia with a sense of adventure. Journalist and former The Today Show and The Project co-host Lisa Wilkinson went digging, and what she unearthed is gobsmacking. Lisa joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at this event organised by Northern Books in Castlemaine, Victoria.SpeakerLisa WilkinsonJournalist, TV presenter, former co-host of The Project and Today ShowAuthor, The Titanic Story of Evelyn (Hachette Australia, 2026).
Transcribe →What can Plato teach us about democracy today?
1w ago00:53:42Tap to summarizeDemocracy is on the decline, so could Plato help? Irish scholar Dr David Horan spent 16 years translating Plato's complete works, including his dialogues on the world's first democracy in ancient Greece. So what lessons can we learn from Plato today?This event was recorded at the School of Practical Philosophy in Sydney.Speakers:Dr David HoranLeader of the School of Philosophy and Economic Science in IrelandMember of the Plato Centre at Trinity College DublinAuthor/ translator, The Dialogues of Plato
Transcribe →Regional Australia at the crossroad
1w ago00:54:36Tap to summarizeCommunities that once built their future around coal and agriculture are asking: what do we become next? Regional Australia usually gets left behind when industries change and young people leave. But it's also — quietly, persistently — reinventing itself. Remote work is reshaping where jobs can be done. AI and digital innovation are opening new doors.Presented at the SEGRA National Regional and Economic Development Summit in Lithgow, New South Wales, in partnership with the City of Lithgow and their Lithgow Emerging Economy Project (LEEP)SpeakersJackie SchirmerDirector of Environmental Governance, University of Canberra. Founded the Regional Wellbeing Survey in 2013Dr Jess JenningsRegional and Rural Consultant and former mayor of Bathurst regional councilBjorn JarvisHead of Workforce Futures Program at Jobs and Skills AustraliaAshley Bland (host)Chair of the SEGRA Foundation Board; Associate Partner and Business Development Manager for Green Homes InternationalFurther informationRegional Wellbeing Survey
Transcribe →Could self-driving cars & other innovations end the tyranny of distance in regional Australia?
1w ago00:54:36Tap to summarizeCommunities that once built their future around coal and agriculture are asking: what do we become next? Regional Australia usually gets left behind when industries change and young people leave. But it's also — quietly, persistently — reinventing itself. Remote work is reshaping where jobs can be done. AI and digital innovation are opening new doors.Presented at the SEGRA National Regional and Economic Development Summit in Lithgow, New South Wales, in partnership with the City of Lithgow and their Lithgow Emerging Economy Project (LEEP)SpeakersJackie SchirmerDirector of Environmental Governance, University of Canberra. Founded the Regional Wellbeing Survey in 2013Dr Jess JenningsRegional and Rural Consultant and former mayor of Bathurst regional councilBjorn JarvisHead of Workforce Futures Program at Jobs and Skills AustraliaAshley Bland (host)Chair of the SEGRA Foundation Board; Associate Partner and Business Development Manager for Green Homes InternationalFurther informationRegional Wellbeing Survey
Transcribe →
Love for your neighbour: how to cultivate radical empathy in a disenchanted world
2w ago00:54:36Tap to summarizeFrom running a massage clinic for homeless men to running the largest independent human rights organisation in the country, Kon Karapanagiortidis has always had a strong sense of his moral duty to help the people around him. Not just his friends and family, but anyone that might be called a neighbour. He even named his bestselling cookbook Philoxenia, a Greek word that means having love for the stranger. Kon's life has been defined by refusing to turn his back on those in need but that comes with a cost. Every year he receives thousands of hateful messages from people that he says have allowed themselves to become numb to the plight of others. Hear how he maintains his empathy and motivation while helping thousands of refugees through The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre with the radical simplicity of seeing the humanity in everyone.The conversation Compassion in Action, was recorded at the Centre for a Compassionate Society on 15 March, 2026SpeakersPetrina BarsonDirector of the Centre for a Compassionate SocietyKon Karapanagiotidis OAM Founder and CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Author, The Power of Hope and Philoxenia - A Seat At My Table
Transcribe →What makes Putin tick — and how will his iron-fist rule of Russia end? Natasha Mitchell with guests
2w ago00:53:33Tap to summarizeSome say Russian president Vladimir Putin is growing increasingly paranoid, as his war with Ukraine wages on. It's hard to know from the outside looking in. What makes the elusive Putin tick? How has he changed during his 26 years in power? And where will it all end? Putin's not a fan of Soviet era communism, so what's drives him? And what's his thing with Trump? Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell with two seasoned Russia watchers at the 2026 Sorrento Writers Festival.SpeakersAssociate Professor Will PartlettMelbourne Law SchoolFellow, Centre for Public IntegrityAuthor, Why the Russian Constitution Matters: The Constitutional Dark ArtsCoauthor, The Post-Soviet as Post-Colonial and The People's Guide to the Australian Constitution.Dr Elizabeth BuchananSenior fellow, Australian Strategic Policy InstituteCo-founder and co-director of polar warfare studies at West Point Military Academy's Modern War InstituteFormer, Head of Research for the Royal Australian Navy’s Sea Power Centre, Department of Defence.Author, Red Arctic: Russian Strategy under Putin and So you want to own Greenland: Lessons from the Vikings to Trump.Thanks to Corrie Perkin, founding director and programmer of the Sorrento Writers Festival.
Transcribe →