Big Ideas

Despite your best efforts do you struggle to get enough sleep or to wake up feeling refreshed ? Tiredness is a common complaint as the working day extends and we do more and more . But getting enough sleep isn’t as simple as it sounds. You might be out of step with your body clock or have a sleep disorder. Three sleep specialists tackle the secrets of sleep.

Writing about 'place' is more than parachuting into an unfamiliar location, meeting a few people, rehashing well-worn clichés, then flying out again. Three writers discuss the places they written about, and how to capture the essence of people and place.

Jan Fran campaigns for the power of girls.

Why is it that girls are still less likely to work and learn than boys? Why are girls still expected to adapt and keep the peace instead of speaking out?

A major factor that empowers girls, is it to give them self-confidence at an early age and to tell them that the world is theirs to conquer.

Mahatma Gandhi lived a life committed to social justice and human rights. In this year's lecture to honour his memory five Australian women talk about their work in indigenous communities, for people with disabilities, refugees , LGBTIQ and campaigns to reduce domestic violence.

When you look in the mirror you might see your mothers eyes or your father’s chin. But have you inherited more than these physical characteristics? Beyond a genetic predisposition to illness , can you inherit a tendency to be religious or obese? Are the life experiences of previous generations shaping the way you behave now?

Is modern capitalism, itself, a threat to the survival of capitalism? Or will corporations always find a way to monetise misery? Paul Barclay speaks to Yanis Varoufakis and Antony Loewenstein

A compelling account of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident . Not only did the fallout contaminate half of Europe it changed the course of history. When the nuclear reactor exploded it set off another explosion that no-one had predicted -the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Why might the court intervene when a devout Jehovah Witness parent refuses a life-saving blood transfer to their child?

What about cultural and traditional beliefs that clash with new ‘norms’ of society? More specific descriptions of what make a family of defines gender for example.

Has the law has kept up with the changing society it regulates?

Political philosopher Michael Sandel argues that mainstream political parties fail to understand the social alienation that drives people to embrace populist politics.  He says there’s a big gap between the dream of becoming successful through individual effort and talent and the reality of growing inequality.  Social mobility has stalled and people in low socio-economic groups feel ignored and left behind.

Refugee advocates are unrelenting in their criticism of offshore detention and turn-back-the boats. Yet successive governments remain unmoved. We welcomed refugees en masse after the second world war and after the Vietnam War. So why is it so different now? Historian Joy Damousi takes the long view on immigration and refugee policy.