Big Ideas

If you’ve booked a Covid vaccination online, it’s likely that artificial intelligence helped find you the nearest and soonest appointment. It’s one of many ways AI makes our lives easier. But it's long been known that AI is also dangerous. So, how can its benefits be better balanced against its harms? AI expert Kate Crawford urges us to look behind the technology. She’s speaking to Fenella Kernebone from Sydney Ideas.

What economic strategy creates the most jobs? What economic theory is best for society? Economist Tim Thornton says that outdated economics is holding us back, and we must make way for a better theory to re-imagine what our economy and society could look like. AND – the duty to rescue another person in an emergency. The legal responsibility varies enormously from country to county. Where does Australia sit?

Witnesses giving evidence in court and during inquests from behind a screen and under pseudonym names. Sometimes there are highly sensitive investigative techniques involved, or undercover assets who could be put at risk. But Law Professor Leslie Thomas says it’s too often simply to spare state agents from embarrassment. And that’s not a good enough reason for the families and a treat to open justice.

What does a dissenting judgement, from High Court in the 1930’s, tell us about a brilliant, but polarising, Australian. HV Evatt, better known as Doc, was an internationally recognised jurist, and a leading politician. Evatt was Australia's youngest ever High Court judge, but remains best known for taking Labor into the political wilderness during the Menzies years. A new, The Brilliant Boy, seeks to set the record straight.

Eastern Europe is not a region characterized by “ancient hatred” as it’s often stated. But why has the region seen so much conflict? Historian John Connelly says it’s a place where people possess a disturbing knowledge: that in the course of history, nations come and go. Some disappear. Therefore, maintaining your culture and language has become a necessity. Big Ideas explores their particular form of nationalism in Eastern Europe.

Do you worry about the teenagers in your life? If so, you’re in good company. Socrates, Aristotle and even Shakespeare wrote of the impulsiveness and peer influence of adolescents. Once, hormones were blamed. Now, MRIs tell us their brains haven’t finished developing - in key areas associated with much-maligned teenage behaviour. These include planning, self-awareness, inhibiting inappropriate actions and even understanding other people. So, given the brain changes through adolescence, how might the pandemic impact its development, along with teenage mental health?

Food connects us with family and builds community. For migrants it offers a taste of the old country and an entrée into the new. For indigenous Australians, it’s sixty thousand years of knowledge about bush tucker. We visit two multicultural festivals to discover food and cultural identity.

What does a brutal murder tell us about our attitudes to land ownership, farming, and the natural environment? There are laws in Australian limiting the clearing of native vegetation. These laws have long been controversial, and many farmers fiercely oppose them. But none have ever gone as far as farmer Ian Turnbull, who shot and killed environmental compliance officer, Glen Turner.

Paul Barclay speaks with Kate Holden, who tells the story in her book, The Winter Road

Eighteen months of Covid restrictions have bent daily life and the health system out of shape. The pandemic has put other health conditions to one side. Cancer screening, mental health, elective surgery and dental check-ups are delayed or rescheduled. How can we make sure they're not forgotten?

Sifting truth from statistical chaff is more important than ever in these times of misinformation and information overload. From numbers on COVID cases and vaccination to numbers on elections and unemployment, the correct interpretation of statistics is crucial to help you understand the world around you. The secret is being open-minded without being gullible, maintaining a healthy scepticism without lapsing into cynicism. Above all, being curious.