Big Ideas

International humanitarian law, the law of armed conflict, was meant to protect civilians from the worst of war. But in today's wars civilians have become targets, and the rules meant to shield them are breaking down. What happens when the law of war no longer works? And can it be rebuilt to protect civilians once again?

Presented by the American Academy in Berlin.

Speakers

Oona HathawayGerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law, and Founder and Director of the Center for Global Legal Challenges at Yale Law School; president of the American Society of International LawAuthor of War Unbound: Gaza, Ukraine, and the Breakdown of International Law

Daniel BenjaminPresident of the American Academy in Berlin

Most of us, in our lives, will witness things we cannot comprehend, when words fail to do justice to the moment. In those moments, to whom or what can we turn? To God? To philosophy? To music? To ourselves, or to our fellow humans? In a noisy world, Stan Grant wrestles with the fragility of language, and the power of silence, and of listening, to find a path to connection, compassion, and love.

The Simone Weil Lecture on Human Value was held at the School of Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University.

Speakers

Stan GrantProfessor of TheologyVice Chancellor's Chair of Australian/Indigenous Belonging at Charles Sturt UniversityAuthor, Talking to My Country, The Queen is Dead, Australia Day and the soon to be published, When Words Fail Us: Truth beyond time (May 2026, UNSW Press)

Conspiracy theories have always been with us, but now they're finding new ways to get inside our heads and take hold — and Australia is seeding some uniquely homegrown varieties. Investigative technology journalists Ariel Bogle and Cam Wilson went down the rabbit hole for their book Conspiracy Nation: Exposing the dangerous world of Australian conspiracy theories. To discuss the why, what, and how of conspiratorial thinking, they join seasoned editorial leaders Gavin Fang and Tracey Kirkland, co-editors of Age of Doubt: Building Trust in a World of Misinformation and Pandemedia: How COVID changed Journalism.

This event was held at the 2025 Canberra Writers Festival.

Speakers

Ariel BogleInvestigations reporter specialising in technology, internet and the lawGuardian Australia

Cam WilsonAssociate Editor, CrikeyJournalist specialising in technology, internet culture, and politicsEditor of the daily technology newsletter, The Sizzle

Tracey KirklandManaging editor, ABC NewsJournalistGavin Fang (host)Editorial director, Australian Broadcasting CorporationJournalist and editor

Forty years ago this January, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated on its way into orbit. All seven astronauts on board were killed. Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and Fiona Pepper investigate how the Challenger disaster unfolded – and what that has meant for space exploration from 1986 to now.

In the days after the tragedy, the world wanted answers. What really caused the shuttle to explode? And should the launch have been stopped altogether?

The Challenger Legacy is a five-part series from Science Friction and is out now. 

Meet Dwayne Fernandes, a man training to be the first double amputee in space. He brings you a powerful perspective based on his lived experience: in zero gravity, his disability disappears and human potential soars free. He explores how the social model of disability transforms our understanding of accessibility, showing that environments either create barriers or unlock possibility. His message is both challenging and hopeful: if we can make space accessible, we can make any space accessible.

The 2025 Disability Oration presented by the Disability Leadership Institute

Speakers

Dwayne FernandesAstroAccess Flight 2 Ambassador, accessibility consultant with IDEA Services, co-founder of Minds at Play, and advocate with the Australian Space Diversity Alliance

Christina RyanCEO and Founder of the Disability Leadership Institute

From the world's oldest continuous living culture, to the arrival of Captain Cook, the goldrush to the ANZACs, from Federation to elections to referendums, and beyond, our understanding of Australian history has evolved dramatically over recent years. Six esteemed scholars have six minutes each to wrestle with how our past unites, divides, and defines us. Who will win?

The Great Debate was recorded for Social Sciences Week with the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the National Library of Australia.

Speakers

Affirmative team

Frank BongiornoProfessor of historyDirector of the University of Canberra's Centre of Public IdeasAuthor, Dreamers and Schemers: A Political History of Australia and more

Jakelin TroyNgarigu woman from the Snowy Mountains of NSWProfessor of AnthropologyDirector of Indigenous Research at the University of Sydney

Georgina DownerCEO of the Robert Menzies Institute, University of Melbourne

Negative team

Michelle ArrowProfessor of modern history, Macquarie UniversityPresident of the Australian Historical AssociationAuthor, Women and Whitlam: Revisiting the Revolution and more

Vonda MaloneFormer member of the Queensland Truth Telling and Healing InquiryFormer CEO of the Torres Strait Regional AuthorityFirst female Mayor of the Torres Shire Council

Dan WoodmanProfessor in Sociology at the University of Melbourne

Judges

Richard HoldenProfessor of Economics, University of NSWFormer school debating champion

Chris UhlmannPolitical contributor, Sky News, columnist, The Australian

Kate Darian-SmithPresident of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia

He’s been called a “hypercapitalist”, a “new authoritarian” and a “post fascist”. Twelve months into Donald Trump’s second term as United States President, he has certainly reshaped the country and the world in ways that have shocked and surprised. So how should we understand his political ideology? 

The conversation Is It Fascism Yet? was recorded at the Sydney Opera House on 28 September 2025. 

Speakers

Jason Stanley  Professor of Philosophy and Linguistics, Chair of American Studies at the University of Toronto Author, How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, and more 

M. Gessen  Opinion writer for the New York Times Author, Surviving Autocracy, The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia and more 

Anna Funder (host)  Author, Wifedom, Stasiland, All That I Am 

 Further information:

One Year of Trump. The Time to Act Is Now, While We Still Can. M.Gessen, The New York Times, 18 January 2026

Why I Fled Trump's AmericaJason Stanley, Zeteo, 26 July 2025

Don't miss meeting these four resilient women creating the change they want to see in the world. At 20, Monique “Mermaid” Murphy’s had a catastrophic accident. Two years later she won Silver at the Paralympics. At 21, Larisha Jerome turned homelessness into buying her first home. Now she advocates for financial justice for other First Nations people. At 14, Nasteho Mukhtar arrived in Australia with her mother and siblings as a refugee from Somalia. Now the social enterprise founder, poet, and Muay Thai fighter helps other women find their power. At 16, Claudia Kurowski is Cairns Young Woman of the Year, a charity-founder, youth parliamentarian, and wants young people to consider politics. Their stories will WOW you, as they join Natasha Mitchell on stage at the WOW (Women of the World) Australia School’s Day in Meanjin/Brisbane.

Speakers

Larisha Jerome Proud Jarowair, Wakka Wakka and Wulli Wulli womanman Chair, Jarowair Aboriginal Corporation Board director, the Happy Boxes Project Founder, Liberate with Larisha Monique Murphy Silver medal-winning Paralympian swimmer Nasteho Mukhtar Program coordinator, ETHNI Co-founder and manager, Maua Boutique Claudia Kurowski Year 12 student, Cairns State High School 2025 Cairns Young Woman of the Year Co-founder of the youth-led charity, the Gratitude Initiative Parliamentarian and Youth Minister of the Health, YMCA Queensland Youth Parliament.

Thank you to event producers Kaylah Tyson and Jo Pratt.

He jumped off a plane, exchanged the notorious briefcase on a park bench and got his identity blown by an asset under torture. Sounds like fiction? But the real stories still differ remarkably from novels and films. A discussion about the realities of espionage and the stories that surround it - filled with intrigue and hidden truths for your ears only. 

Spies, Lies and Secretes was recorded live at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival at Carriageworks. 

Speakers

Ben MacintyreBestselling author of books including The Siege, Colditz, Agent Sonya, SAS: Rogue Heroes, The Spy and the Traitor, Agent Zigzag, Operation Mincemeat and A Spy Among Friends 

Jack Beaumont (pseudonym)Former operative of the French foreign secret service, the DGSE, Author of The Frenchman and Dark Arena  

Matthew Condon (host)Prize-winning Australian novelist and journalist 

DNA testing has helped family history researchers fill in the blanks in their family trees. While that can be a good thing, it can also lead to unexpected consequences. From "non-parental events", to big data hacks, to unauthorised use of DNA in criminal investigations, this is everything you need to know about genetic genealogy.

This event was recorded at the State Library of NSW for Family History Month 2025.

Speakers

Claire Aird Journalist, presenter of the podcast series, Secrets We Keep: Should I Spit?

Vanessa CassinEducation Manager, Society of Australian Genealogists

Professor Tanya Evans Director of the Centre for Applied History, Macquarie UniversityPresident of the International Federation of Public HistoryAuthor, Family History, Historical Consciousness and Citizenship: A new social history and more

Adria Castellucci (host)Lead, Family History team, State Library of New South Wales

Further information:

How a church-run DNA donation led Michael to be falsely accused of murder SBS News, 6 July 2025