Big Ideas

Cherished companions, or cunning predators? Cats kill five million native animals in Australia every day — so how can we better manage our feline friends?

Listen to the rest of our special series Animals — Us and Them?

Speakers

Alex Patton Invasive species ecologist and PhD candidate, University of Tasmania

Noel Hunt CEO, Ten Lives Cat Centre

Dr Catherine "Cat" Young Biodiversity coordinator, NRM South

Dr Tiana Pirtle (host)Conservation officer, Invasive Species Council

Further information:

Cats in Australia - Invasive Species Council

Cat Management Actions for Eastern Quoll on Bruny Island - NRM South

Threat abatement plan for predation by feral cats - Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Zoos are changing — they are no longer just places for us humans to gawk at animals in cages. In the midst of a global extinction crisis, they are now playing a vital role. So what is their future?

This event was recorded at the International Society of Behavioural Ecology Congress in Melbourne on 2 October 2024, with thanks to organiser Professor Andy Bennett from the University of Melbourne.

Listen to the rest of our special series Animals — Us and Them?

Speakers

Dr Sally SherwinDirector of Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria

Professor John WoinarskiConservation biologist, Charles Darwin UniversityAuthor, A Bat's End: The Christmas Island Pipistrelle, Cats in Australia: companion and killer and  moreDirector, Australian Wildlife ConservancyCo-chair, IUCN Australasian Marsupial and Monotreme Specialist GroupMember of the science advisory committees of Zoos Victoria and of Invertebrates Australia

Associate Professor Lee BergerMelbourne Veterinary SchoolFellow of the Australian Academy of Science

Professor Dan BlumsteinProfessor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Professor in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles

Dr Jen Martin (host)Associate Professor in Science Communication, and founder of the Science Communication Teaching Program, University of MelbourneHost, Triple R community radioAuthor, Why am I like this? The science behind your weirdest thoughts and habits

Satyajit Das presents a provocative examination of the use and abuse of images of wild animals, and how they shape our relationships with the natural world. These pictures can create an impression of abundance and untouched ecosystems, and lull us into a false sense of security, at a time when the natural world faces ecological calamity.

The Attenborough Effect — Shaping Our Relationship With Wild Animals was presented by the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Speaker

Satyajit DasAuthor of Wild Quests. Journeys into Ecotourism and the Future for Animalsformer banker, recognised as one of the world's leading financial thinkers.

We’re past the brink of civilisational collapse. And many environmentalists are pushing a “fake green fairytale”. Jem Bendell’s arguments have inspired the Extinction Rebellion movement’s civil disobedience pushing for climate change action. But Jem doesn’t think protest is enough now. Find out why the self-confessed eco-libertarian and author of Breaking Together: A freedom-loving response to collapse thinks we should break together not apart. Jem joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the 2024 Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI)

Speaker

Jem Bendell Author, Breaking Together: A freedom-loving response to collapse (2023)Author, Deep Adaptation: A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy (2018, 2020)Co-founder of Bekandze Farm - Regenerative Training CentreFounder, the Deep Adaptation ForumBand member, the Barefoot StarsEmeritus Professor of Sustainability Leadership, University of CumbriaSenior Distinguished Fellow, Schumacher Institute

For 30 years, Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia exposed corruption and wrong doing in her country. Her youngest son, Paul Caruana Galizia, details the impact of her life, her assassination in a car bomb explosion in 2017, and how her legacy lives on.

The British Empire was once the biggest in the world. But now, some countries are cutting ties, and some want reparations. So just what is the legacy of British imperialism?

This event was recorded at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in October 2024.

Speakers

Sathnam SangheraAuthor, Empireworld: how British Imperialism shaped the globe and Empireland: how Modern Britain is Shaped by its Imperial Past, and moreColumnist with the Sunday Times

Gill Westaway Owner-operator at Villa Karingal, Lombok, IndonesiaFormer British Council employee

Being who we are in public (with our mental illness) is the only way to create lasting change. Amanda Tattersall, co-founder of the campaigning organisation Get-Up, speaks powerfully about her experience of living with bipolar disorder and its role in driving social change. Hear how storytelling, sharing lived experiences, and forging solidarity through difference can make all the difference.

Her keynote address: Making Change and Mental Illness — reimagining how we make a difference from the inside out was presented at the 2024 TheMHS Conference

Speaker

Amanda TattersallAssociate Professor of Practice, Urban Geography, School of Geoscience University of SydneyCo-founder of GetUp, founder of the Sydney Alliance, host of the ChangeMakers podcast

Cancel culture has ruined careers and lives — but did they deserve it? What consequences should people face for what they say and do? And what does redemption look like in the digital age?

This event was recorded at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney on 25 August 2024.

Speakers

Roxane GayEditor, social commentator, contributing opinion writer for The New York TimesAuthor, Bad Feminist, Hunger: A Memoir of My Body, Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business and more

Megan Phelps-RoperFormer member, Westboro Baptist ChurchAuthor, Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to HopePresenter and co-producer, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling

Andy MillsReporter and podcast producer, Reflector, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling and formerly The Daily, Rabbit Hole and Caliphate

David BaddielComedian, screenwriter and television presenter Social Media, Anger and Us (BBC)Author, Jews Don't Count, The God Desire and more

Tim Dean (host)Senior Philosopher and Manos Chair in Ethics at The Ethics Centre

Sara Shams had both legs amputated at age six — it became her superpower. 15-year-old Taylor Ladd-Hudson turned a shark experience into something bigger. Amy Parry got subversive after she was told women's stories on screen were too niche. Jody Rallah wanted to make sense of the world and art led the way. And Anisa Nandaula turns it all into performance poetry. Meet these changemakers joining Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the Women of the World (WOW) Festival in Brisbane in October 2024.

Speakers

Taylor Ladd-Hudson15 year old environmentalist, shark conservationist, social media influencer

Amy ParryFilm-maker, producer, screenwriter

Jody RallahArtist and yuggera-yugggerabul and biri-bindal woman

Sara ShamsPharmacist, disability advocate, speaker, model

Anisa NandaulaSlam poet, stand-up comedian, writerAuthor, Melanin Garden

Imagine a world where your brain is enhanced through cutting-edge technologies and next-generation AI, blurring the lines between organic and digital realms … and unlocking unprecedented potential. We are already some steps on the way in such a future. What would this mean for intelligence, human agency and consciousness?

Your Brain on AI From organoids to consciousness was presented by the Sydney Opera House.

Speakers

Paul DaviesTheoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist, Arizona State University and best-selling author

Dr Inês HipólitoAssistant Professor of Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, Macquarie University

Dr Brett J. KaganChief Scientific Officer at Cortical Labs

Dr Sandra PeterDirector of  Sydney Executive Plus, Associate Professor the University of Sydney Business School