Big Ideas

Meet the world's smallest superheroes. Insects are ecological warriors, but through the brilliance of biomimicry, they're also inspiring all sorts of human inventions.

From new medicines to air safety systems — don't underestimate the larger-than-life impact of the planet's tiniest beings.

Presented at the World Science Festival Brisbane.

Speakers

Dr Chris BurwellQueensland Museum Senior Scientist and Curator of insects

Dr Andrew WalkerPostdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland

Professor Elena IvanovaAnobiotechnologist/biophysicist, RMIT University

Rebecca Levingston (host)Presenter and broadcast ABC Radio Brisbane

Join Natasha Mitchell for a very special event live under our stunning Southern night sky, with guests and listeners from around Australia in National Science Week. We crisscross the nation to observatories and dark sky sanctuaries to hear from astronomers, amateur sky nerds, and you. What's your most memorable night sky experience? And when did you last see a truly dark sky at night? Light pollution spells big trouble for creatures, culture, science, and your health. What can we all do to protect the darkness (and we don’t just mean embracing your inner Goth!). 

Speakers 

Dr Tanya HillSenior Curator of Astronomy at Museums Victoria

Rebecca TaylerVolunteer at Woomera Observatory 

Bill StentAstronomical Society of Victoria

Dr Ellie SansomDirector of the Australian Desert Fireball Network and Global Fireball ObservatorySenior lecturer, Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy, Curtin University

Peter SwantonResearch Associate, School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Australian National UniversityGamilaraay/Yuwaalaraay man from Mackay, Queensland

Marnie OggFounder of the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance

Further information

Science Week at the ABC: The amazing night sky and the impact of light pollution

How to take a stunning photo of the Milky Way with your smartphone: a beginner's guide

Dark skies are a 'library' for Indigenous knowledge systems, but light pollution threatens them

All in the Mind - Turning sleeplessness into stargazing

Future Tense - We're losing the dark sky and you can already feel the consequences

ABC Classic playlist - Sounds of the Night Sky

What led to this current era of superpower conflict, and what will the outcome of the 2024 US presidential race will mean for the geopolitical dynamics shaping the world?

Speakers

David E. Sanger National Security and White House Correspondent, New York TimesAuthor New Cold Wars: China's rise, Russia's invasion, and America's struggle to defend the West and others

Dr Michael Green CEO, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney

Your biological responses to fear are at the core of depression, anxiety, failed relationships and much of human misery. But you can change how your body reacts to threats – some steps are as simple as adjusting your breathing. Fear has evolved as a set of powerful physical reactions for surviving predators. In modern life we face very different threats, but the same ancient, automatic fear responses are triggered. And that doesn't end well. It has a huge impact on our physical and mental health, our behaviour, our capacity to think clearly and our ability to relate to each other.

Reflections on Fear, Anxiety and Depression was provided by the York Festival of Ideas. The Festival is led by the University of York, UK

Speaker

Michael GuildingPsychotherapist and trainer

Further information

Michael Guilding's articles on complex trauma

Humans have long had a morbid fascination with murder and other crimes, as shown through the popularity of shows like CSI and Silent Witness. But how close are these tv dramas to the real thing? Three forensic pathologists spill the beans on what it's really like to work in the science of death.

This Sisters in Crime event was recorded on 24 May 2024 as part of Victorian Law Week.

Speakers

Associate Professor Linda IIes Head of forensic pathology services, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine

Dr Melanie Archer Forensic entomologist and pathologist, Victorian Institute of Forensic MedicineAdjunct senior lecturer, Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University

Dr Samantha Robotham Forensic Anthropologist, Victorian Institute of Forensic MedicineAdjunct Research Fellow, Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University

Liz Porter (host) Author, Written On The Skin: An Australian forensic casebook, Cold Case Files: Past crimes solved by new forensic science and morePhD, LaTrobe University

The Global South has vital perspectives in addressing the most pressing issues of our times, including inequality, the climate catastrophe, the mass displacement of humans, and the technologisation of life. Why aren't we listening? … Listening also to African diasporic writers when they correct the often unflattering stories about their home countries.

Speaking from the South was presented by the University of Adelaide

Africa Now was presented by the Sydney Writers Festival

Speakers

Abdulrazak GurnahZanzibar-born Nobel-prize winning author of 10 novels, his latest is Afterlives

Oliver TwistWriter, actor and Comedian – shows Jali and Griot

Sara El SayedEgyptian-born writer and Sessional Academic working at the Queensland University of TechnologyAuthor of Muddy People

Professor Tina Steiner (host – Speaking from the South)Chair of the English Department at Stellenbosch University in South Africa

Sisonke Msimang (host – Africa Now)Columnist and author of Always Another Country: A memoir of Exile and Home

Eric Beecher joins Natasha Mitchell to discuss his riveting and excoriating new book The Men Who Killed the News: The inside story of how media moguls abused their power, manipulated the truth, and distorted democracy.  A longtime journalist, editor and media proprietor, Erich Beecher is chair and the largest shareholder of Private Media, which owns the news website Crikey. In 2023, Fox Corporation’s Lachlan Murdoch paid Crikey $1.3million in legal costs after withdrawing his much publicised defamation suit against the publication over an opinion piece about Fox News, the Capitol Hill riots, and election fraud allegations. 

This event was organised by Christine Gordon of Readings Bookshop and held at the Cinema Nova in Naarm/Melbourne.

Speaker:

Eric BeecherJournalist, editor, media proprietorChair and largest shareholder of Private Media (owner of Crikey and various other news websites)Author, The Men Who Killed the News: The inside story of how media moguls abused their power, manipulated the truth, and distorted democracy (Simon & Schuster, 2024)Chair, Australian Communities Foundation

Have you been online recently and noticed the internet is changing? Everything from your Google searches to your social media profiles are now being used to train artificial intelligence. So, do you have a problem with that?

This event was recorded at the Vice-Chancellor's Annual Democracy Forum at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on June 19, 2024.

Speakers

Meredith Whittaker President, Signal

Professor Peta Wyeth Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, UTS

Associate Professor Ramona Vijeyarasa Director of the Juris Doctor Program, Faculty of Law, UTSChief Investigator with the Gender Legislative Index

Edward Santow (host) Co-founder and Director of Policy and Governance, Human Technology Institute, UTS

Whether in conflicts around the world or within society, irreconcilability seems to be the hallmark of our present times. But it doesn't have to be that way. Many thought that reconciliation between West Germany and the UK and France after World War II was absolutely impossible. History taught us otherwise. What's the lesson of this process for today? What are the tools that lead to successful and lasting peace?

Analysing Reconciliation and Irreconcilability from a Historical Perspective: The Example of Germany and Britain was presented by the German Historical Institute London.

Speaker

Christine KrügerProfessor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Bonn

World conflicts can be overwhelming, or sometimes they feel very remote. But for many Australians, they are deeply personal, raw, and real. So what's it like when world news is not about 'other' people, but about 'your' people? 

This lively forum was hosted by Benjamin Law for QPAC and Multicultural Australia as part of the Changing the Conversation series on June 25, 2024.

Speakers

Amok Dhuol South Sudanese Australian youth mentor, advocate with the Queensland African Communities Council

Arunn Jegan  humanitarian affairs lead, Médecins Sans Frontières, curator of Ted-X Sydney

Professor Peter Greste Adjunct Professor, University of Queensland, former foreign correspondent

Benjamin Law (host) Writer, broadcaster, screenwriter, author of The Family Law, Gaysia, Moral Panic (Quarterly Essay), and editor of Growing Up Queer in Australia