Big Ideas

Democracy is in retreat, authoritarianism on the rise. But this has happened before. So how did big thinkers of the past respond to the threats to democracy, and what can we learn from them?

The Humanities Research Centre 50th Anniversary Distinguished Lecture was recorded at the Australian National University on 31 July 2024.

Speakers

Scott Stephens Co-presenter (with Waleed Aly) The MinefieldDigital editor, ABC Religion and EthicsCo-author of Quarterly Essay 87, Uncivil Wars: How Contempt is Corroding Democracy (2022)Editor of Justice and Hope: Essays, Lectures and Other Writings by Raimond Gaita (2023)

Dr Kim Huynh Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Deputy Director of the Humanities Research Centre

When you're swimming in the ocean, do you ever startle at a piece of seaweed? Mistake a wave for a fin? Does the thought of sharks cross your mind at all? Nearly 50 years ago, a little movie by the name of Jaws, changed everything.

This event was recorded at the National Film and Sound Archive, in partnership with the Australian National University, on 28 February 2024.

Speakers

Dr Hannah Calich Postdoctoral research fellow, Australian National University

Professor Kenneth Lampl Convenor, Composition for Film and Video Games, School of Music, Australian National University

Dr Anna-Sophie Jürgens Senior Lecturer in Science Communication, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of ScienceHead of Popsicule, ANU's Science in Popular Culture and Entertainment Hub

Remember the 8cm living worm found inside a woman's brain last year? Where the hell did it come from? Parasites have bizarre and whacky stories to tell. Join Natasha Mitchell to meet three scientists listening to what they have to say. The science, medicine, and mayhem of parasites. You'll have a whole new respect for these clever survivors and their biology.

Thank you to the event organisers, the 2024 World Science Festival Brisbane and Queensland Museum

Speakers

Professor Katherine Andrews Parasitologist, malaria researcher Founder of the That’s RAD! Science project     Author of My mum is a parasite scientist. That’s RAD! Associate Professor Vincent Ho Gastroentorologist The Gut Doctor (GutDr) on Youtube Western Sydney University 

Dr Terry Miller Ecologist and parasitologist Head of Biodiversity and Geosciences at Queensland Museum 

Irish Times columnist and author Fintan O'Toole draws on the Irish experience to explain the rise of populism and authoritarianism in the United States.

This event was recorded at the Vice-Chancellor's Democracy Forum at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on 26 September 2024.

Speakers

Fintan O'Toole Columnist with the Irish TImesLiterary Editor with the New York Review of BooksAuthor of We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Ireland Since 1958, Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain, and Ship of Fools: How Stupidity and Corruption Sank the Celtic TigerProfessor of Irish letters at Princeton University

Anna Funder (host) Author, Wifedom, Stasiland, All That I AmLuminary and Ambassador, UTS

Roy Green (host) Emeritus Professor and Special Innovation Advisor, UTSFormer Dean, UTS Business School

David McAllister invites you backstage and reveals gloriously gossipy anecdotes about the stars he's met in his long dancing career. But it's not all tutus and tiaras: ballet is at the top of transforming sport science.

Presented at the Brisbane Writers Festival.

Speakers

David McAllisterGuest artistic director of the West Australian Ballet, former principal dancer, former artistic director of The Australian BalletAuthor of Ballet Confidential: A personal behind-the-scenes guide, Thames & Hudson Australia 2024

Leanne BenjaminQueensland Ballet's Artistic Director, former principal dancer

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has fought against antisemitism worldwide for over a century. It is now documenting a dangerous rise in antisemitism, and the connection between conspiracy theorists, white supremacy, pro-Palestine anti-war protests, and hate speech.

ADL board member, prominent Iranian-American Jewish philanthropist and academic Dr. Sharon Nazarian presents the inaugural Gahl Hodges Burt Lecture in Policy at the American Academy in Berlin.

Speaker

Dr Sharon Nazarian Board member and former Senior Vice President for International Affairs, Anti-defamation League (ADL)Founder, Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, University of California Los Angeles

Two Australians who are intimately connected to the conflict in the Middle East, one Jewish, one Palestinian, make their pleas for peace, and share their deeply personal stories of how it has affected them.

The 13th annual UN International Day of Peace Brisbane lecture was recorded at St John's Anglican Cathedral on September 21, 2024.

Speakers

Peter CatDean, St John's Cathedral Brisbane

Louise AdlerDirector, Adelaide Writers Week

Nasser MashniPresident, Australians for Palestine

Further information

Olive Kids

One of Australia's most seasoned political journalists Niki Savva has seen the fractures in our democracy up closer than most. Hear her timely advice for journalists, politicians and citizens.

This 2024 Speaker's Lecture was recorded at Parliament House in Canberra on 9 September 2024.

SOS DEMOCRACY airs on Tuesdays 8pm and Saturdays 10pm in October and November, and on the ABC Listen app.

Speakers

Niki Savva Columnist, Nine NewspapersAuthor, The Road to Ruin, Plots and Prayers and Bulldozed

Milton Dick Speaker of the House of Representatives, Labor MP

Are you a gazelle or a grizzly bear when you run? The bounce in your step defines whether you're a stronger sprinter or long-distance runner — and choosing the right sport for your biomechanics determines whether you can get to the top of the podium. Find out more about the secret weapon of biomechanics, the theory of optimal speed control within racing endurance, and how performance psychology has an impact both on and off the track.

The Science of Sport was presented at the York Festival of Ideas. The Festival is led by the University of York, UK.

Speakers

Professor Amandine AftalionMathematician and a senior scientist, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)Author of Be a Champion: 40 Facts You Didn't Know About Sports and Science

Dr Brian HanleyReader in Sport and Exercise Biomechanics, Leeds Beckett University

Colonel Dame Kelly HolmesBritish athlete, double Olympic gold medallist at the 2004 Athens Olympics Games for the 800m and 1500m

Adam NichollsProfessor of Psychology within the School of Sport, Exercise, and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Hull

Sharon Shortle (host)BBC Radio York

Can you have a wedding between the graves? Why not! – as long as it's respectful. The future of cemetery design is multi-functional, as public spaces just like our gardens and parks. And also as a refuge for animals in the midst of our cities and suburbs. They can be places for the living as well as the dead. How can cemeteries play a broader role in our communities?

Six Feed Under: Design and Death Symposium, Melbourne Design Week. Presented by Open House Melbourne.

Speakers

Hamish CoatesPrincipal Designer, Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust 

Bec LyonsPresident, Natural Death Advocacy Network

Bjorn NansenSenior Lecturer, Media and Communications, and member of the DeathTech research team, University of Melbourne 

Tania Davidge (host)Executive Director, Open House Melbourne

Listen to Big Ideas: Talking about death