Big Ideas

The only certainty in life is that we will all some day die. Most of us don't know when that day will come. But others must face their mortality front on. Mark Rafael Baker was no stranger to death, losing three loved ones in seven years — and then he was confronted with his own.

This event was recorded at Readings Bookshop Melbourne in October 2024.

Speakers

Michelle LeshLecturer at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne

Raimond GaitaEmeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy, King's College LondonHonorary Professorial Fellow, Melbourne Law School, University of MelbourneAuthor, Romulus, My Father, Justice and Hope, and more

Paul Barclay (host)Journalist, broadcaster and moderatorFormer host, Big Ideas

Join Natasha Mitchell and guests to grapple with some gritty paradoxes about science and religion, and in this era of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and existential angst — are they serving the needs they used to? Science drives much of modern life, and yet fewer people are drawn to studying it at school putting scientific literacy at risk. There's been a rise in anti-science sentiment and a questioning the authority of scientific expertise. Many societies are becoming more secular with fewer people claiming to follow a formal religion, yet religious fundamentalists and populists are being elected to power throughout the world.

This episode was first published on 29 May 2024

Speakers

Peter HarrisonHead, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of QueenslandAuthor, Some New World: Myths of Supernatural Belief in a Secular Age

Anik WaldowProfessor of Philosophy, University of SydneyAuthor, Experience Embodied: Early Modern Accounts of the Human Place in Nature

Charles WolfeProfessor of Philosophy, University of Toulouse-2 Jean-JauresAuthor, The Philosophy of Biology Before Biology: A History of Vitalism

This event was hosted by the University of Sydney's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Department of Philosophy at a conference in honour of the eminent scholar of history of philosophy of science, the late Stephen Gaukroger.

We know them as Zuckerberg, Musk, Bezos, Gates, Jobs. But to Kara Swisher, they're Mark, Elon, Jeff, Bill, and Steve. She was once a Silicon Valley insider, but now she's one of big tech's most vocal critics.

This event was recorded at Adelaide Writers Week on Monday 3 March 2025.

Speakers

Kara SwisherAuthor, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, aol.com: How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates, Nailed the Netheads and Made Millions in the War for the Web and There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere: The AOL Time Warner Debacle and the Quest for a Digital FutureHost of podcast On with Kara Swisher, and co-host of podcast, Pivot (with NYU Professor Scott Galloway)Former tech journalist with Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, contributing opinion editor New York Times

Marc Fennell (host)Host of new podcast, Noone saw it coming ABC Radio NationalCreator and host Stuff the British Stole ABC Radio National and ABC TVFormer host, Download this Show ABC Radio National

Jobs vs the environment. Profits vs environmental protection.  One pitted against the other. That dominant story has defined environmental regulation in Australia, drowning out the stories scientists or environmental campaigners want to tell.  Scientist, environmentalist, and government insider, Peter Cosier, has worn all the hats and he wants to change how we think and talk about Nature. An eye opening account of Australian environmentalism and its politics.

Presented at the Lyrebird Festival

Speakers

Peter CosierChair of Accounting for NatureFounding Member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, Former Policy Adviser to the Australian Environment Minister Robert Hill

Gregg BorschmannOral Historian for the National Library of Australia, Writer & Radio Producer

Is prison time for violent offenders mostly about appeasing a sense of revenge? And if so, are there better ways to rehabilitate perpetrators? Dr Gwen Adshead assesses the effectiveness and impact of therapeutic interventions and restorative justice - and she's looking at how Norway does it.

The 2024 BBC Reith lecture series

Speakers

Dr Gwen AdsheadAward-winning forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, author of The Devil You Know. Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry

Anita Anand (host)BBC Radio presenter and journalist

Further information

Transcript of this Reith lecture

The long term impact of childhood trauma on your body and mind is profound and devastating. Many perpetrators of violent crimes have suffered abuse themselves. But is it as easy as to say that trauma causes violence? There are many more people who have lived through trauma and don’t start hurting others.

The 2024 BBC Reith lecture

Speakers

Dr Gwen AdsheadAward-winning forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, author of The Devil You Know. Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry

Olivia PhelpsGovernor, HMP Grendon

Richard ShukerHead of Clinical Services, HMP Grendon

Anita Anand (host)BBC Radio presenter and journalist

Further information

Transcript of this Reith lecture

You all have the capacity for evil behaviour in you — given the right mix of circumstances. Rigidity of thinking about others, egocentricity, setting your moral rule book and dehumanising victims are contributing factors. But just as innate to you is the antidote to evil: goodness. Find out how to maintain this fine balance on Big Ideas.

This is the second 2024 BBC Reith lecture

Speakers

Dr Gwen AdsheadAward-winning forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, author of The Devil You Know. Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry

Anita Anand (host)BBC Radio presenter and journalist

Further information

Transcript of this Reith lecture

What then are the tipping points that drive some to kill? Is violence unnatural? Or is it normal because, deep down, we are all capable of cruelty and can experience, even briefly, the urge to hurt others? The daily news, as well as our cultural landscape, is filled with stories of acts of violence. The impact of violence on the individual, families and communities can be devastating.

This is the first 2024 BBC Reith lecture in the series: Four questions about violence

Speakers

Dr Gwen AdsheadAward-winning forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, author of The Devil You Know. Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry

Anita Anand (host)BBC Radio presenter and journalist

Further information

Transcript of this Reith lecture

Teenagers 'live' online and on social media. How can they reap the many benefits that social media can offer? There are plenty of them: an endless pool of knowledge and curiosity. But parents need to help them navigate the risk and threats online — of which there're also plenty.

On Big Ideas, we have a panel of experts with a plethora of valuable information, advice and resources.

Presented by the Raising Children Network and hosted at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

Check out the ABC TV series 'Role of a Lifetime' on iview with more details about parenting in the social media era.

Speakers

Derek McCormackDirector of Raising Children Network

Dr. Julie Inman GrantAustralia's eSafety Commissioner

Dr. Sarthak GandhiHeadspace Board Youth Advisor and Researcher at Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Professor Marie YapResearch Professor at Monash University and Psychologist with expertise in Parenting & Youth Mental Health

Beverley Wang (host)ABC's National Culture Correspondent

Further information

Raising Children Network

eSafety Commissioner

Headspace

Kits Helpline

Reach Out Parent line

Youth Safe

Two of Australia’s most influential and legendary storytellers, author Tim Winton and filmmaker Rachel Perkins, join Natasha Mitchell at WOMADelaide’s Planet Talks to discuss the power of stories and the role of artists to create change in the world.

SpeakersRachel PerkinsMulti-award-winning filmmaker, and founder of Blackfella filmsDirector, presenter, co-writer, co-producer The Australian Wars series (available on SBS On Demand)Co-director, co-writer, co-producer First AustraliansTim WintonMulti-award-winning author of Juice, Dirt Music, Cloudstreet and more.Patron of the Australian Marine Conservation Society Host and writer, Ningaloo Nyinggulu series (available on ABC Iview)Activist, Protect Ningaloo and Exmouth Gulf campaign

This event was recorded live at the annual 2025 WOMADelaide festival produced and presented as part of its Planet Talks program, held on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people. Thanks to Planet Talks producer Rob Law.