Big Ideas

Do you argue across the dinner table about saving the world? Some say it’s up to individuals, others want governments to fix the problem. Then there’s the follow-the-money view that business and the market will save us. But is capitalism part of the problem not the solution?

How do we reign in the social media juggernauts?

The power of Facebook, Google, Twitter etc, is well recognised, as are the harms caused by these monoliths: breaches of privacy, fake news that can threaten democracy, manipulation, abuse, and hate speech.

Most agree we need better governance of digital platforms, but how can we regulate them, without over-reaching?

Does history exist without the witness of an historian? Bruce Pascoe is reminding us that history is constantly changing as we learn new facts or new interpretations of the past. Who is to write our history? Only academics or can everyone do it? How much is history shaped by the views of the ones in power? This question is particularly pertinent for Indigenous history prior to European settlement.

Bob Hawke loomed large in Australian politics in the 1980s and continued to be an influential Labor thinker until the end. Fondly remembered as a true blue Aussie, a new biography charts his public success and private demons.

The state of biodiversity in Australia and around the world is a sad and sobering affair. 96 per cent of mammals are humans and their farm animals, all the other mammals combined – globally – make up the remaining 4 per cent. And yet we are killing them at an alarming rate. Ian Lowe assesses our efforts to reverse biodiversity loss, to fight climate change and possibly save a planet for us to live on.

It is one of only two certainties in life, as the saying goes, but most of us go out of our way to avoid thinking about it: death. Talking about death, and dying, has long been a taboo subject. But, maybe, this is changing. A panel explores how we understand death, dying, and grieving; how we discuss death with children; and the stories we tell ourselves, and our loved ones about it, as adults.

Presenter - Paul Barclay

Producer - Paul Barclay

Soundengineer - David Le May

As Australia’s population expands wild places shrink. To protect the remaining patches we want to lock it up and keep people out. But what exactly is wilderness? Is it a place untouched by human hands? An indigenous geographer says that what we call wilderness is not nature left to its own devices but the result of thousands of years of indigenous landcare.

We're trying to increase green space in the urban jungle by planting on walls, rooftops , verges , in parks and community gardens.   And not just because plants are pretty to look at.

They’re vital for our survival from the air we breathe,  to the food we eat, to keeping us cool and they help offset carbon emissions.

China is ramping up its power and influence in our neighbourhood. We were blindsided by their recent security agreement with the Solomons and now our government is on a charm offensive to restore Australia’s position and influence across the Pacific.  So what are the risks for Australia of China’s strong presence in our region and in particular, the security pact with the Solomon Islands.

All around the world, national security laws are being used to muzzle journalists, and constrain the operation of a free media.

In Australia, a raft of national security legislation has been used against journalists – including those at the ABC and News Corp.

Journalist, Peter Greste, was imprisoned in Egypt under that country's anti- terrorism laws, and he believes Australia needs a Media Freedom Act, to protect public interest journalism.