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.
90episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
These Palestinians and Israelis are talking to each other − determined to make peace real in Gaza
1w ago00:54:12Tap to summarizePalestinians and Israelis are building common ground for peace where most say there is none. Since October 7 and the war in Gaza, the idea of cross-community dialogue seems impossible. But behind the headlines, more than 550 leaders from both communities, across politics, security, business, media, and civil society have come together to shape a peaceful future - for both peoples.What does a just and peaceful solution actually require? Who is doing the work to get there? And is there a role for Australia to play? Presented by the New Israel Fund AustraliaSpeakersHiba QasasFounding Executive Director of Principles for Peace, former senior UN officialDr Gil MurcianoCEO of the “Mitvim Institute", a foreign policy research organisation in IsraelDr Sally Warhaft (host)Writer, journalist and host of the Wheeler Centre’s The Fifth Estate series
Transcribe →8 Million Ways to Happiness with Hiroko Yoda — what we can all learn about life, love, and loss from Japan’s flexible spirituality
1w ago00:54:36Tap to summarizeWhen writer Hiroko Yoda's mother died, she found herself unmoored. They'd argued a fair bit over the years — as daughters and their mothers can — some things were unresolved. So now what? She found herself setting off an odyssey to understand Japan's surprisingly flexible, practical, pluralistic approach to spirituality, its infinite number of spiritual beings, its affection for angry ghosts, and the curious possibility of embracing belief and non-belief at the same time. She poured it all into a beautiful book called 8 Million Ways to Happiness. Yes, 8 Million! How can that be!? Find out in this poignant conversation she shares with Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell on peace, grief, meaning, and overcoming the mountains within.This event was recorded live at the 2026 Melbourne Writers Festival. To explore more of the festival's events and talks, visit mwf.com.au.SpeakerHiroko YodaTokyo-based author, translator, folklorist, and certified kimono consultantAuthor, Eight Million Ways to Happiness: Find your own way to inner peace with the wisdom of Japan (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2026)
Transcribe →
What is the role of the writer in troubled times? Tony Birch with Michael Williams on the ethical imagination
1w ago01:09:08Tap to summarizeWriters have access to endless worlds, perspectives and experiences — both real and imagined. So what should they do with that privilege? Do they have a responsibility to try to change the world? To cultivate empathy and understanding? Or to simply bear witness?The Melbourne Writers Festival closing night address was recorded on Sunday 10 May 2026.Speakers:Professor Tony BirchAuthor, The White Girl, Women and Children, Ghost River, Blood and moreBoisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature at the University of MelbourneHistorian, activist, teacher, long distance runnerMichael Williams (host)Editor, The Monthly magazineHost, Read This podcast
Transcribe →If a river is declared a legal “person” — can it talk, remember, feel?
1w ago00:54:40Tap to summarizeWhat if the way we think about rivers as resources to be allocated, infrastructure to be managed, problems to be solved, is just fundamentally wrong. What if they are in fact living entities with rights? From Indigenous law to ecological soundscapes to frontline water justice, this panel of Indigenous leaders, scientists and artists share stories, sounds and strategies for protecting and changing your relationships with waterways.River Listening was recorded live at the annual 2026 WOMADelaide festival, produced and presented as part of their Planet Talks program, held on the traditional lands of the Guarna people.Listen to Big Ideas – Students win fight for climate justice before the world's highest courtSpeakersDr Dan HikuroaMāori earth systems scientist, Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, UNESCO NZ Commissioner for CultureGrant RigneyNgarrindjeri man, current Deputy Chair and past Chair of the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN)Dr Leah BarclayAward-winning sound artist, researcher and environmental activistJo Shulman (host)CEO of the Environmental Defenders Office
Transcribe →
Is the cosmos unravelling? With theoretical physicist Tony Padilla
2w ago00:54:36Tap to summarizeForget climate change, forget nuclear Armageddon, did you know that the universe is unravelling? It's probably aeons away, but according to physics, dark energy could end us all. Join award winning theoretical physicist Tony Padilla at this Sophia Club live philosophy event, to explore the torrid birth of the early universe, traverse the twisted hearts of black holes, skip through the harmonic vibrations of string theory, and ponder how, according to physics, it all might one day end.This event was recorded for the Sophia Club live philosophy in London on 21 April 2026.Speakers:Tony PadillaProfessor of physics, University of NottinghamAssociate Director of the Nottingham Centre of GravityHost, NumberfileAuthor, Fantastic numbers and where to find them: A Journey to the Edge of PhysicsSally DaviesEditorial lead for the Sophia ClubEditor, AEON magazineMusic by Oliver CoatesCellist, film composer and electronic music producer (Pillion, Aftersun and more)
Transcribe →
A song for every feeling? Pub Choir founder Astrid Jorgensen has a big story to tell (REPEAT)
2w ago01:04:07Tap to summarizeNeed a mid-Winter pick me up? Well this is the conversation for you! You could call Astrid Jorgensen a choir conductor, but that really doesn’t capture what she does and the global phenomenon she’s created. On any one night, anywhere in the world, you’ll find Astrid on a stage in front of a few thousand people singing their hearts out. She’s the founder, the composer, and the host of Pub Choir — which has been described as the world’s biggest one night stand in song. But for a while there she could have become a nun. Yes, there's so much more to her story, and she joins Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell to tell it.This event, organised by Northern Books, was held at the Fitzroy Town Hall in Naarm/Melbourne.This episode was first aired on the 10 December 2025.SpeakerAstrid JorgensenFounder and conductor of Pub ChoirAuthor, Average At Best (Simon and Schuster Australia, 2025)Further informationHow Astrid Jorgensen turned a suburban pub choir into a worldwide musical phenomenon (Australian Story/ABC News, 2025)Watch Australian Story episode about Astrid on Youtube (2025)
Transcribe →The gambling industry is targeting your children - how, why and what can be done?
2w ago00:55:17Tap to summarizeThe gambling industry is targeting young people through digital platforms, personalised algorithms and the blurring line between gaming and betting. But also off-line, at the pokies, we see younger faces. We explore the strategies behind this trend, the human costs and what it would actually take to change the culture and the regulation around gambling in Australia.This conversation is a cooperation with Shaun Micallef's Going for Broke, the new ABC three-part documentary series that you can find on ABC iView.SpeakersDr Charles LivingstoneAssociate Professor in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash UniversityMark KempsterLived Experience Advocate with the Alliance for Gambling ReformReverend Stu CameronCEO and Superintendent of Wesley MissionDr Sally GainsburyAssociate Professor of Psychology and co-Director of the University of Sydney Gambling Treatment and Research ClinicSteve Cannane (host)Reporter with the ABC's Investigations UnitABC Four Corners by Steve Cannane – Losing StreakFurther informationNational Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858Wesley Mission Gamble Aware
Transcribe →
David Marr on preaching to the converted
2w ago00:55:55Tap to summarizeThe arc of the moral universe may bend toward justice, but not without a whole lot of committed individuals doggedly banging on about it. Even when no one's listening, even when it's boring, even when it takes years or even lifetimes. So in this time of division and fracture, when hearts and minds seem out of reach, is there still value in preaching to the like-minded?The 2026 Sheila Drummond Memorial Lecture was recorded at the Woodend Winter Arts Festival on 6 June 2026.Speakers:David MarrPresent Late Night Live, ABC Radio NationalAuthor, Killing for Country: A Family Story, Patrick White. A Life, Political Animal: The Making of Tony Abbott (Quarterly Essay) and more
Transcribe →The God we made — safeguarding humanity in the age of AI
3w ago00:58:48Tap to summarizeIt is replacing our work, our relationships, even our capacity to think. It's the combined sum of all human knowledge — so how long until artificial intelligence surpasses our own? Are we already there? In her latest Quarterly Essay, Anna Goldsworthy confronts a near future where humans are no longer the most intelligent beings, inviting us to consider what is irreplaceable in us, in what we do, and what we want for our lives.This conversation was recorded on 8 June 2026 at Woodend Winter Arts Festival.Speakers:Anna GoldsworthyAuthor, The God we made — the threat and promise of artificial intelligence, Quarterly Essay #102 and many moreClassical pianist, founding member, Seraphim TrioDean of the Elder Conservatorium of Music and School of Performing Arts, Adelaide University, and incoming Artistic Director of the Australian National Academy of MusicJacqueline OgeilHarpsichordist, conductor, music teacherFounder and director, Woodend Winter Arts FestivalFurther information:Magnifica Humanitas - on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence - Encyclical letter by Pope Leo XIV
Transcribe →The art of forgiveness and why it's not what you think it is — with Rachael Coopes and Natasha Mitchell
3w ago00:56:07Tap to summarizeIs there an art to forgiveness? Join Natasha Mitchell with popular Play School presenter, writer, actor, yoga and meditation teacher Rachael Coopes to explore why it's so hard to forgive people, why it's not what you think it is, and how it can be good for your health to try. Forgiveness may be hard work, but so is hanging on to hurt, hate, or a grudge — that can eat away at you or keep you tethered to the original harm — with consequences for your wellbeing, your relationships and your ability live to your full potential. Rachael Coopes has written a new book The Art of Forgiveness: Let Go, Find Peace. Join her and Natasha for this rich conversation about a complicated act.This event was held at the 2026 Make Good Festival at Bundanon in NSW, on the traditional lands of the Dharawal and Dhurga people.SpeakerRachael CoopesActor, author, presenter of the long-running children's ABC TV show Play SchoolYoga and meditation teacherAuthor, The Art of Forgiveness: Let Go, Find Peace (2025)Thanks to Make Good Festival guest curator Danielle Harvey and the whole team at Bundanon, NSW.
Transcribe →