Big Ideas

The leading playwright Joanna Murray-Smith makes a powerful case for the role of the arts in Australian public life, arguing that moral righteousness is stifling artistic expression.

The last ever Stephen Murray-Smith Memorial Lecture was recorded at the State Library of Victoria on 8 October 2024.

Speaker

Joanna Murray-Smith Playwright, screenwriter and novelist

How should we reflect on wars, past and present? Do the rituals of Remembrance Day and Anzac Day hold meaning for young people?

Natasha Mitchell is joined by a crowd of high school students and special guests with opinions on the future of commemoration.

This event was hosted and organised by Victoria's Shrine of Remembrance to mark its 90th anniversary.

Speakers:

Che Weon (Michelle) LeeMasters of architecture student, University of Melbourne School of DesignGranddaughter of Korean war veteran(Michelle's Shrine design is linked to below)

William MuhlhauserYear 9 student, Haileybury CollegeMember, ‘Winjeels’ student club, Moorabbin Air MuseumRecipient of 2024 Spirit of Anzac Prize

Zackary MelvaineYear 11 student, Mill Park Secondary CollegeAustralian army cadetMember of Australian Defense Force's National Drone Racing TeamYouth Mayor of the City of WhittleseaRecipient of 2023 Premier's Spirit of Anzac Prize

Thanks to Sue Burgess and Laura Thomas at the Shrine of Remembrance.

Further information:

"First Songline" Che Weon (Michelle) Lee's design for the Shrine of Remembrance for her Masters degree in ArchitectureVictoria's Shrine of Remembrance 90th anniversary events

Drone warfare, technology and the psyche: an insider speaks [this episode of Science Friction by Natasha Mitchell is mentioned in this program]

What it's really like to live with drone warfare [illustrated feature]

Premier's Spirit of Anzac Prize

Shrine of Remembrance Young Ambassador Leadership program

It needs strong leadership and good coordination. But most of all, it needs public opinion to rise up and push policy makers to tackle this crisis. Canada can teach us a lesson in how to do that. Homelessness is a systemic housing problem – not caused by mental health issues or drug abuse. 

Presented at the Australian Homelessness Conference, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI)

Speakers

Tim RichterFounder, President & CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH)

Carmel HaughSystems and Community Lead for the Brisbane Zero collaboration, Micah Projects

David PearsonCEO Australian Alliance to End Homelessness  

Dr Tom AlvesHead of Development, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI)

Further information

Big Ideas – Housing as a human right? With Alan Kohler and Kevin Bell

When you're alive, the idea of dying feels weird, remote, alien. Yet it's the one experience we will all have. Can philosophy help us make sense of that weirdness?  What can talking about death and dying teach us about living? Natasha Mitchell is joined by a philosopher, funeral director, and a First Nations' songman for an uplifting, insightful conversation on death.

This event is part of the Sophia Club live philosophy event series, presented by Aeon Media, publishers of Aeon and Psyche. 

Speakers:

Kimba GriffithCo-founder and co-owner, The Last Hurrah

Professor Klaus JahnPhilosopherSchool of Historical and Philosophical Studies and Graduate School of Humanities and Social SciencesUniversity of Melbourne

Fred LeoneButchella songman, musician, and performerGarrwa-Mambaliya Clan

Thanks to Sophia Club event creators and producers Brigid Hains (Editorial director, Aeon Media), Rosie Black, Jasmine Walter.

Further information:

LIsten and read a Days Like These feature and podcast about Fred Leone’s family story about a king, escape and connection to country.

From To Kill a Mockingbird to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there are no shortage of options to include on those lists of "The Great American Novel". But which is the real plot in the story of America?

This event was recorded at the University of Melbourne on 24 October 2024.

Speaker

Sarah Churchwell Professor of American Literature and Chair in Public Understanding of the Humanities, University of LondonAuthor, Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and The Invention of The Great Gatsby, The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells, and more

Friends are among the most important relationships we will have in our lives. So what makes someone a friend, how do we hold on to them, and how do they shape who we are?

Why did acclaimed actor Melissa Jaffer step away from the spotlight and the swinging 60s to enter a strict cloister of Australian nuns for 4 years? Sister Marian McClelland is the last of two surviving members of the same Australian order of contemplative nuns. They became nuns at a time of radical change for women worldwide and for the Catholic Church and have extraordinary stories to tell about how faith shaped their sense of identity and purpose. They join Natasha Mitchell with oral historian Dr Sarah Gilbert, author of Unconventional Women: The story of the last Blessed Sacrament Sisters in Australia.

This event was organised by Melbourne University Press and hosted at the Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne.

Speakers:

Dr Sarah GilbertWriter, researcher, producer, and oral historianAuthor, Unconventional Women: The story of the last Blessed Sacrament Sisters in Australia (Melbourne University Press, 2024)

Sister Marian McClellandOrder of the Blessed Sacrament sisters in Australia

Melissa JafferAustralian actor of stage and screen

Further information:

Sisters in arms: Catholic nuns through two millenniaJo Ann Kay McNamaraHarvard University Press, 1998

Literature on crime is huge. Many of you just love to read about a good murder. But do you prefer a soft touch around violent scenes? Or do you want to read it in the drastic, graphic language that shows crime the way it is? Writing crime stories can be a minefield: Do authors have to tell people, if they want to use them in their book? Particularly if they want to paint 'your character' the villain? Can you re-traumatise a victim when you turn their painful experience into a bestseller? A stellar panel of acclaimed crime authors tell how they found their own way to deal with the dilemma of the ethics of writing about murder and corruption.

Presented at the Byron Writers Festival.

Speakers

Matthew CondonAward-winning journalist and author, host of two true crime podcasts – Ghost Gate Road and Dig: Sirens Are Coming

Candice FoxBestselling author, her latest book is 'Devil's kitchen'

Benjamin StevensonAward-winning stand-up comedian and USA Today best-selling author of the 'Ernest Cunningham Mysteries', including 'Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone' and 'Everyone on This Train is a Suspect'

Rosemarie Milsom (host)Founding director of Newcastle Writers Festival, former award-winning print journalist with Fairfax Media and broadcaster with the ABC

From mis and disinformation to election interference, parts of the internet have become dystopian, due to a lack of regulation. What is this doing to our democracies, and how are governments around the world trying to reign the tech giants in?

The 8th annual Sir Zelman Cowan Centre Oration was recorded on 10 October 2024.

Speaker

Jon Faine Vice Chancellor's Fellow at the University of MelbourneFormer ABC Radio hostAuthor, Apollo and Thelma

Ninety years ago, in the face of communism, fascism, and the Great Depression, Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, asked the question 'Is democracy doomed?' Today, we're asking that same question – with some answers that might surprise you.

The 2024 Robert Menzies Oration was presented by the Robert Menzies Institute, recorded on 23 October 2024.

The 2024 Henry Parkes Oration was recorded at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House on 22 October 2024.

Speakers

Sir Niall Ferguson Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Barrie Cassidy Chair, Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House