Big Ideas

Writers have access to endless worlds, perspectives and experiences — both real and imagined. So what should they do with that privilege? Do they have a responsibility to try to change the world? To cultivate empathy and understanding? Or to simply bear witness?

The Melbourne Writers Festival closing night address was recorded on Sunday 10 May 2026.

Speakers:

Professor Tony BirchAuthor, The White Girl, Women and Children, Ghost River, Blood and moreBoisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature at the University of MelbourneHistorian, activist, teacher, long distance runner

Michael Williams (host)Editor, The Monthly magazineHost, Read This podcast

What if the way we think about rivers as resources to be allocated, infrastructure to be managed, problems to be solved, is just fundamentally wrong. What if they are in fact living entities with rights? From Indigenous law to ecological soundscapes to frontline water justice, this panel of Indigenous leaders, scientists and artists share stories, sounds and strategies for protecting and changing your relationships with waterways.

River Listening was recorded live at the annual 2026 WOMADelaide festival, produced and presented as part of their Planet Talks program, held on the traditional lands of the Guarna people.

Listen to Big Ideas – Students win fight for climate justice before the world's highest court

Speakers

Dr Dan HikuroaMāori earth systems scientist, Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, UNESCO NZ Commissioner for Culture

Grant RigneyNgarrindjeri man, current Deputy Chair and past Chair of the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN)

Dr Leah BarclayAward-winning sound artist, researcher and environmental activist

Jo Shulman (host)CEO of the Environmental Defenders Office

Forget climate change, forget nuclear Armageddon, did you know that the universe is unravelling? It's probably aeons away, but according to physics, dark energy could end us all. Join award winning theoretical physicist Tony Padilla at this Sophia Club live philosophy event, to explore the torrid birth of the early universe, traverse the twisted hearts of black holes, skip through the harmonic vibrations of string theory, and ponder how, according to physics, it all might one day end.

This event was recorded for the Sophia Club live philosophy in London on 21 April 2026.

Speakers:

Tony PadillaProfessor of physics, University of NottinghamAssociate Director of the Nottingham Centre of GravityHost, NumberfileAuthor, Fantastic numbers and where to find them: A Journey to the Edge of Physics

Sally DaviesEditorial lead for the Sophia ClubEditor, AEON magazine

Music by Oliver CoatesCellist, film composer and electronic music producer (Pillion, Aftersun and more)

Need a mid-Winter pick me up? Well this is the conversation for you!  You could call Astrid Jorgensen a choir conductor, but that really doesn’t capture what she does and the global phenomenon she’s created. On any one night, anywhere in the world, you’ll find Astrid on a stage in front of a few thousand people singing their hearts out. She’s the founder, the composer, and the host of Pub Choir — which has been described as the world’s biggest one night stand in song. But for a while there she could have become a nun. Yes, there's so much more to her story, and she joins Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell to tell it.

This event, organised by Northern Books, was held at the Fitzroy Town Hall in Naarm/Melbourne.

This episode was first aired on the 10 December 2025.

Speaker

Astrid JorgensenFounder and conductor of Pub ChoirAuthor, Average At Best (Simon and Schuster Australia, 2025)

Further information

How Astrid Jorgensen turned a suburban pub choir into a worldwide musical phenomenon (Australian Story/ABC News, 2025)

Watch Australian Story episode about Astrid on Youtube (2025)

The gambling industry is targeting young people through digital platforms, personalised algorithms and the blurring line between gaming and betting. But also off-line, at the pokies, we see younger faces. We explore the strategies behind this trend, the human costs and what it would actually take to change the culture and the regulation around gambling in Australia.

This conversation is a cooperation with Shaun Micallef's Going for Broke, the new ABC three-part documentary series that you can find on ABC iView.

Speakers

Dr Charles LivingstoneAssociate Professor in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University

Mark KempsterLived Experience Advocate with the Alliance for Gambling Reform

Reverend Stu CameronCEO and Superintendent of Wesley Mission

Dr Sally GainsburyAssociate Professor of Psychology and co-Director of the University of Sydney Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic

Steve Cannane (host)Reporter with the ABC's Investigations UnitABC Four Corners by Steve Cannane – Losing Streak

Further information

National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858

Wesley Mission Gamble Aware

The arc of the moral universe may bend toward justice, but not without a whole lot of committed individuals doggedly banging on about it. Even when no one's listening, even when it's boring, even when it takes years or even lifetimes. So in this time of division and fracture, when hearts and minds seem out of reach, is there still value in preaching to the like-minded?

The 2026 Sheila Drummond Memorial Lecture was recorded at the Woodend Winter Arts Festival on 6 June 2026.

Speakers:

David MarrPresent Late Night Live, ABC Radio NationalAuthor, Killing for Country: A Family Story, Patrick White. A Life, Political Animal: The Making of Tony Abbott (Quarterly Essay) and more

It is replacing our work, our relationships, even our capacity to think. It's the combined sum of all human knowledge — so how long until artificial intelligence surpasses our own? Are we already there? In her latest Quarterly Essay, Anna Goldsworthy confronts a near future where humans are no longer the most intelligent beings, inviting us to consider what is irreplaceable in us, in what we do, and what we want for our lives.

This conversation was recorded on 8 June 2026 at Woodend Winter Arts Festival.

Speakers:

Anna GoldsworthyAuthor, The God we made — the threat and promise of artificial intelligence, Quarterly Essay #102 and many moreClassical pianist, founding member, Seraphim TrioDean of the Elder Conservatorium of Music and School of Performing Arts, Adelaide University, and incoming Artistic Director of the Australian National Academy of Music

Jacqueline OgeilHarpsichordist, conductor, music teacherFounder and director, Woodend Winter Arts Festival

Further information:

Magnifica Humanitas - on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence - Encyclical letter by Pope Leo XIV

Is there an art to forgiveness? Join Natasha Mitchell with popular Play School presenter, writer, actor, yoga and meditation teacher Rachael Coopes to explore why it's so hard to forgive people, why it's not what you think it is, and how it can be good for your health to try. Forgiveness may be hard work, but so is hanging on to hurt, hate, or a grudge — that can eat away at you or keep you tethered to the original harm — with consequences for your wellbeing, your relationships and your ability live to your full potential. Rachael Coopes has written a new book The Art of Forgiveness: Let Go, Find Peace. Join her and Natasha for this rich conversation about a complicated act.

This event was held at the 2026 Make Good Festival at Bundanon in NSW, on the traditional lands of the Dharawal and Dhurga people.

Speaker

Rachael CoopesActor, author, presenter of the long-running children's ABC TV show Play SchoolYoga and meditation teacherAuthor, The Art of Forgiveness: Let Go, Find Peace (2025)

Thanks to Make Good Festival guest curator Danielle Harvey and the whole team at Bundanon, NSW. 

They say we are what we eat, and in this big, migrant nation, every dish tells a story, about culture, about connection, about identity. But when traditional cuisines become mainstream, does cultural appreciation risk becoming cultural appropriation? Can you own a recipe?

This event was recorded at the Oz Asia Festival in Adelaide.

Speakers:

Durkhanai AyubiAuthor, Parwana: Recipes and stories from an Afghan kitchen and She Who Tastes, Knows

Elana BenjaminAuthor, Indian-Jewish Food: Recipes and Stories from the Backstreets of Bondi, and My Mother's Spice Cupboard: A Journey from Baghdad to Bombay to Bondi

Dr Sukhmani Khorana (host)Associate Professor of media and cultural studies, University of New South WalesCo-Director of the university's Media Futures HubAuthor, The Tastes and Politics of Inter-Cultural Food in Australia and more

He is considered the first Hollywood action hero and had a rapid rise to stardom. But Errol Flynn also was on trial for rape and had relationships with underage girls. Behind the Hollywood legend — the sword fights, the swagger, the smouldering screen presence — is a far more complicated and surprising story.

This conversation was part of the Meet the Author series at the Australian National University. 

Listen to Big Ideas – The rise of Australian actors in Hollywood

Speakers

Patricia O’BrienAdjunct Professor in the Asian Studies Program at Georgetown University; Honorary Associate Professor in the Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National UniversityAuthor of Errol Flynn: The True Story of Australia's Hollywood Icon

Frank Bongiorno (host)Donald Horne Professor of History and Public Ideas, University of Canberra