Big Ideas

There's an increasing number of missing persons and unidentified dead bodies in today's conflicts. What are the socio-cultural, political, legal and psychological impacts on the involved communities?

45 years ago, Tasmania’s Lake Pedder, with its glorious pink quartz sand, was flooded to create hydro-electric power for the state. Conservationists are convinced it is a lost jewel in the crown of Australia’s natural environment. Almost from the moment of its inundation, there were calls to restore Lake Pedder it to its past glory. Experts say this is technically feasibly, and once again the idea being discussed. But is restoring Lake Pedder a utopian dream, or a realistic goal?

Money laundering, market rigging, digital 'off-shoring'.

Are some people and corporations above and beyond the law?

A campaign for marriage equality has to be about "real people" and not simply a lofty debate about law, philosophy and religion.

A journey to outer space. After nine and a half years travelling at 53 000 kilometres an hour, the New Horizons team reached Pluto. NASA Astrophysicist Fran Bagenal recounts the journey and the unexpected findings.

There is a myth that great wealth enables our economies to grow, but wealth can actually stand in the way of economic development; inequity can slow us down. Fairness lies at the heart of liberal democracy, and in the face of unfairness, we rebel. Unfairness makes us work less hard to create a good society. Why should I work hard, what's in it for me? Economic inequality inevitably translates into political inequality, which is not what we thought we were working towards. Jennifer Welsh presents the fifth and final of her 2016 Massey lectures, "The Return of Inequality".

Are we witnessing the return of the cold war?

Millions of people around the world are on the move. How do we deal with this "mass flight"?

Half a decade ago, freedom movements were ascendant in a number of countries - Egypt, Tunisia, Libya. But today the gains from the so called 'Arab Spring' seem, mostly, lost. Authoritarian regimes have been winding back the progress in human rights and democracy we thought we were witnessing, and the rules that govern conflict and maintain global peace are being erased. In her second 2016 CBC Massey lecture, called 'The Return of Barbarism', Jennifer Welsh contrasts the world of today with the prediction in 1989 of 'The End of History'.

Have predictions of the 'end of history' proven premature?