Big Ideas

An investigation of the doomsday cult known as The Family, and its charismatic leader, Anne Hamilton Byrne

Where are the jobs of the future ? What kind of training will I need? These aren’t easy questions to answer as automation and artificial intelligence transforms the economy. A recent report suggests that up to five million Australians will be changing careers in the next decade as jobs come and go.

The received idea of Native American history has been that with the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 Native civilization died. David Treuer puts up a different narrative, because the Indian culture didn’t disappear.

Surveys suggest that most Australians support immigration and see the benefits but we’re worried about our capacity to absorb the rapidly growing population. People complain about traffic gridlock and overcrowding in capital cities, housing prices and environmental damage. So is it time to reduce the annual intake of migrants?

Can we better conserve our ecosystems and biodiversity by placing an economic value on it?

Migrant or refugee women are often particularly vulnerable to domestic violence. Not because there is more violence in these communities, but because they have more problems accessing help services.

The economy of the future will be built on science and technology and if we stand still we'll be left behind. Science and business leader David Thodey says Australia's quality of life will depend on the application of digital technologies together with policies to manage the workplace transition.

Cambodia's construction boom is based on blood bricks. The huge demand for bricks is met by debt-bonded families working in the kilns under horrible conditions. It's modern-day slavery.

In Australia we compel citizens to vote, or at least to submit a ballot paper. But this is not the only way Australia does elections differently

You don’t have to be a sports fan to enjoy watching athletes in action. Whether it be the Olympics or a time-trial, there’s always the possibility that a record will fall. But will those records keep falling or are we fast reaching our limits? Athletes and sports scientists debate the physical and mental boundaries of elite sport.