Big Ideas

In just over 100 years the computer has come a long way. Early devices were huge, clunky machines; a 1000-word memory was considered a lot; and the capacity of doing 29 equations simultaneously was a break-through. Despite its limitations, a lot of the old technology is still at the basis of today’s ubiquitous high-tech computers. Big Ideas takes you on a journey through the history of the modern computer.

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.

US president Joe Biden has pledged a reformed approach to China and the United States’ relationship with the outside world. So, what would a changing US-China relationship mean for the rest of the world? And does the US look for more cooperation with Europe on dealings with China? A panel of China and international security experts explores the complex geopolitics connecting America and China.

Alan Finkel, Australia's former Chief Scientist, plots a course for moving away from carbon emitting fossil fuels, towards a zero emissions world. Solar, wind, as well as battery storage of renewables, will meet more of energy needs.  But the great hope, down the track, is hydrogen power.

Psychedelic drugs were a feature of 1960s counter-culture and the subject of serious medical research from the 1940s onwards. Research was halted after psychedelics were declared dangerous and banned but new research is finding them to be powerful medicine. And, with the coronavirus pandemic in full swing, why are there so few drugs to treat viruses?

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.

It’s over 50 years since the equal pay decision when the Arbitration Commission endorsed the principle of equal pay for equal work. But 50 years on there’s still a gender pay gap. Despite campaigns for gender equality Australian women earn ,  on average , 13.4 percent less than men.

So why is there this persistent gap and how can we fix it? The Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency wants employers to be agents of change.

Former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, talks to Paul Barclay about how to diversify the news media, the dominance of the Murdoch papers, why Australian needs a big population and larger defence force, China, and how Labor can win government, nationally.

Mata Hari - the erotic dancer was executed during World War I as one of several ‘evil female spies’. The ‘spy-mania’ at the time was influenced by the assumption that women were innately deceptive. It was also believed that women exploited the war to gain social and economic privileges that belonged previously for men only. Historian Joanne Bourke explains what made Mata Hari the perfect scape goat.

Europeans well know the risks of ultra nationalism and authoritarian leaders. So why is populism making a comeback? That’s what American historian Anne Applebaum sets out to discover. Living for a time in Poland she witnessed first-hand conservative friends moving further to the right to embrace populist politics. Why are these movements so seductive and how can we protect democracy?