Big Ideas

The planet is getting hotter, due to climate change. As with COVID-19, it is older Australians most at risk from climate-induced health impacts. The pandemic has hit older Australians hard, none more so than those in residential aged care. If this was not enough, the aged care system itself is broken, and in desperate need of repair. How we can address these challenges?

We live in a time when trust is in short supply. We don’t trust our politicians or institutions like we used to and conspiracy theories thrive on social media. Then along comes a pandemic to add fuel to the fire. Conspiracy theories and anti-science deniers were alive and well before COVID-19 and they’ll be there after. So why is denial such a common reaction to uncertainty and threat?

We live in a time when trust is in short supply. We don’t trust our politicians or institutions like we used to and conspiracy theories thrive on social media. Then along comes a pandemic to add fuel to the fire. Conspiracy theories and anti-science deniers were alive and well before COVID-19 and they’ll be there after. So why is denial such a common reaction to uncertainty and threat?

When choosing a university degree is the job market uppermost in your mind? The federal government has reduced the cost of what they say are job-relevant degrees like health and teaching and increased the cost of the humanities. Statistics show that humanities graduates are finding jobs but the government wants graduates to choose courses with clear job links in growth areas like STEM . So are job skills the main game for universities now and , if so, is this the end of the arts degree?

When choosing a university degree is the job market uppermost in your mind? The federal government has reduced the cost of what they say are job-relevant degrees like health and teaching and increased the cost of the humanities. Statistics show that humanities graduates are finding jobs but the government wants graduates to choose courses with clear job links in growth areas like STEM . So are job skills the main game for universities now and , if so, is this the end of the arts degree?

As part of Radio National's The Big 20: Our century so far we remember Australia's first female Prime Minister. Five years after leaving politics , Julia Gillard speaks about the dynamics of power and gender from the boardroom to politics to sexual politics in the workplace. Our image of leadership is still a man in a suit.

As part of Radio National's The Big 20: Our century so far we remember Australia's first female Prime Minister. Five years after leaving politics , Julia Gillard speaks about the dynamics of power and gender from the boardroom to politics to sexual politics in the workplace. Our image of leadership is still a man in a suit.

Cyber trolling is causing serious real world harm and police and social media companies like Facebook and Twitter are not doing enough to combat it.

Cyber trolling is causing serious real world harm and police and social media companies like Facebook and Twitter are not doing enough to combat it.

The first two decades of this century will be remembered for the #MeToo movement. It started with the scores of abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein. As part of Radio National's The Big 20: Our Century So Far, Big Ideas brings you Ronan Farrow's harrowing account of his investigation. It’s not a story about sex, but about the abuse of power. He shows up a system created by rich and connected men that’s permitted that type of behaviour. A network of gatekeepers from media, politics and business made sure that the victims stayed quiet.