Big Ideas

With more than 3 billion people playing video games worldwide, they have the potential to wield tremendous power and influence. So is it time to take video games more seriously?

This event was recorded at the Melbourne International Games Week on 3 October 2024.

Speakers

George OsbornFounder, Half-Space Consulting

Rad Yeo (host)Television and podcast presenter, video game critic, and technology journalist

When Kasey Chambers was growing up, her dad had one simple, yet profound piece of advice. Just don't be a d***head.

This event was recorded at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne, with thanks to Readings bookshop.

Speakers

Kasey Chambers Musician, 13th album BackboneAuthor, Just Don't Be A D**khead And Other Profound Things I've LearntYoungest female inductee, ARIA Hall of Fame (2018)24-time Golden Guitar winner

Clare Bowditch (host) MusicianAuthor, Your Own Kind of Girl

President Donald Trump’s administration is already muzzling government-funded scientists. Closer to home, Australian scientists have their own stories to tell about science censored, stymied or watered down when its findings aren’t convenient to industry or politicians. Should scientists stand up as things fall down? A Tasmanian panel argue why scientists should speak up, and consider the tensions between advocacy and impartiality when they do.  

Speakers

Alexandra de BlasScience and environmental communicator, consultantMember, Tasmanian Independent Science Council

Louise CherrieEnvironmental management consultantDr Lila LandowskiNeuroscientist and science communicatorCollege of Health and Medicine, University of TasmaniaBoard director, Science & Technology Australia 

The Honourable Megan (Meg) Webb Independent Member for NelsonTasmanian Legislative Council

Robyn WilliamsHost of The Science Show, ABC Radio National 

Dr Lisa-ann GershwinBiologist, marine scientist, authorMember, Tasmanian Independent Science Council

From the inner cities to the outer suburbs, to rural and regional Australia, just what is going on in minds of voters as we embark on another federal election? 

This event was recorded at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia.

Speakers

George Megalogenis Journalist, author, Quarterly Essay #96 Minority Report: The New Shape of Australian Politics

Tory Shepherd (host) Senior reporter, Guardian Australia

Australia resettled fascists, even war criminals after World War II as part of a worldwide program led by the International Refugee Organisation. The background of these immigrants was known to all political parties, but they were regarded as cheap – and white – labour. Historian Jayne Persian explores the impact of these characters on the trajectory of postwar politics — a phenomenon well documented in other parts of the world but with which Australia has barely begun to reckon.

Presented by the Brisbane Writers Festival

Jayne PersianAssociate Professor in History, University of Southern QueenslandAuthor of Fascists in Exile: Post-War Displaced Persons in Australia and Beautiful Balts: From Displaced Persons to New Australians

Anthony CooperAuthor of best-selling Darwin Spitfires and Dispatch from Berlin, 1943

Take folly, friction, pain and empathy … mix well, and you get wise governmental decisions. If only it was that simple. Zachary Shore looks at the personal qualities, group dynamics, and historical conditions that have made wise decisions more or less likely to arise. The world’s current troubles would be more manageable, he contends, if we understood more clearly what produces wisdom and how to apply it. So what can we learn from history? 

A Wiser World: The Global Quest for Good Judgement was presented by the American Academy in Berlin

Zachary ShoreProfessor in the department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, National Security Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution

Daniel BenjaminPresident of the American Academy in Berlin

Have you noticed mushrooms are having a moment? Merlin Sheldrake's New York Times bestselling bookEntangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures has captivated readers worldwide. Be enchanted by a world unseen – one without which you wouldn't exist - and which might inspire you to re-imagine how you think about yourself and your relationships.  Merlin and guests join Natasha Mitchell at the Now or Never Festival of Art, Ideas, Sound, Technology and the Melbourne Museum.

Dr Merlin SheldrakeBiologist, writer, speaker, brewer, fermenter, musicianAuthor, Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures

Dr Tom MayMycologist and Senior Research ScientistRoyal Botanical Gardens VictoriaAuthor, Wild Mushrooming in Australia.  

Amanda MorganCEO and head of R&DFungi Solutions

Thanks to Melbourne Museum event producer Alice Gibbons and to the museum's sound engineering team.

Nicky Winmar's iconic stand against racism was a wakeup call more than 30 years ago. But how much has really changed? Racism on and off the field continues to be an issue across Australia, when we should be celebrating Indigenous sport icons.

Presented by the Byron Writers Festival, supported by First Nations Australia Writers Network FNAWN.

Listen to Big Ideas - Australia's sporting myths

Speakers

Rhoda RobertsProducer, artistic director, journalist and broadcaster and author of My Cousin FrankWoman of the Bundjalung Nation

Nicky WinmarNoongar man, AFL player and author of Nicky Winmar: My Story

Naomi Moran (host)CEO of Koori Mail, First Nations newspaperNyangbal and Arakwal woman from the Bundjalung nation

Almost every country town across Australia has a Chinese restaurant. Why is that? And what role do they play in the story of immigration and multiculturalism, as well as the life and tastebuds of regional communities? This event was recorded at Sydney's Gleebooks.

Speakers

Jennifer Wong Comedian, writer, tv presenter, columnist, curator, host and co-author of Chopsticks or Fork?

Lin Jie Kong Producer, director, editor, co-author Chopsticks or Fork?

Annabel Crabb (host) Writer and presenter, ABC

Further information

Watch Chopsticks or Fork on ABC iView

You've got half an hour with Lou Reed/ Nick Cave/ Courtney Love: what do you ask them? Three of Australia's best music writers share their craft, and reveal what it's like to sit down with some of music's biggest names.

This event was recorded on 2 November 2024 at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.

Speakers

Stuart Coupe Author, journalist, radio broadcaster, music commentator, publicist at Stuart Coupe Publicity

Jane Gazzo Music Journalist, TV Presenter, Author ( her new book is I Hear Motion), MC, Public Speaker, founder and presenter Action Time Vision - ATV

Michael Dwyer Music journalist, lecturer and member of David Bowie ukulele tribute band The Thin White Ukes

Zan Rowe (host) ABC Music correspondent, Double J and Take 5 host

Further information:

The exhibition From Medieval to Metal: The art & evolution of the guitar is on at the Art Gallery of Ballarat until 2 February 2024