Big Ideas

Should we criminalise coercive control - an insidious form of domestic violence, used to control, humiliate, and intimidate another person? Women, and older Australians, are often the targets of coercive and controlling behaviour, but it is difficult to prevent and police. Some argue this is because existing laws are inadequate. Would a criminal offence outlawing coercive control make a difference?

India’s struggle to contain the COVID 19 virus made international headlines. ABC South Asia Correspondent James Oaten witnessed the devastating mark the pandemic left on the country firsthand.

The international think tank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), has called for a wholesale review of monetary policy in Australia, but what should be up for discussion?

Professor Stuart Lee's Reith lectures explore the role of Artificial Intelligence and what it means for the way we live our lives. What he says is "the most profound change in human history"

A study examining the safety and security of migrant and refugee women in Australia found one in three of those surveyed experienced some form of domestic and family violence, including coercive and controlling behaviour. This was often exacerbated by insecure visas. Many migrant and refugee women found it difficult to seek help, and there was a lack of trust in the institutions that are meant to assist them

We can recycle to put materials to new uses not just to replace the original product. We hear how textiles and plastics are repurposed to make building tiles and how the fashion industry is trying to reduce, reuse and recycle. Mass produced clothes currently contribute enormous amounts to landfill and generate pollution in the manufacturing process.

Australia's mental health system is broken and needs to change. On this, psychiatrists, as well as those with a mental illness, agree. But what needs to be done? Are we pathologizing normal human distress, and prescribing too much medication? Could psychedelic drugs, and therapy, be part of the solution?

International negotiations on climate change and biodiversity often put the scientific case behind economic and political interests. So, people increasingly turn to the courts to get justice for the environment. What makes those court cases successful? And what does a new form of environmental justice that connects nature with economic and social rights looks like? The new way of getting just rights for nature is to fall back on the very old legal tradition of Chthonic law.

Love it or hate it, technology rules the world. Our social systems and values are bent out of shape by innovative technology. Ideas we used to hold dear like privacy are suddenly negotiable in the online world and tech companies set the rules with governments struggling to catch up. So is it possible to regain control of your data and can governments control disruptive technology?

Joe McCarthy is the figurehead of the anti-communist crusades of the 1950s-era. Thousands of Americans were investigated as alleged communists and Soviet agents during the 'Red Scare'. McCarthyism became the synonym for hysterical intolerance – and some say it’s prevalent again today. Historian Richard Norton Smith explores the rise of Joe McCarthy and the dangerous legacy he left behind.