Big Ideas

Caste based discrimination and oppression is a daily reality – not only in contemporary India but even in Indian communities in the US and Australia. That’s why journalist Yashica Dutt has hidden her Dalit heritage, the caste of the ‘untouchable’, the ‘impure’ for many years ... until she ‘came out’. In her book

Coming out as Dalit she describes the guild of denying her history and the inequities of the caste system.

If you love overseas travel, and you’re used to jumping on a plane, the pandemic’s been especially trying.  International borders opened and closed , airlines reduced flights and quarantine rules could see you stranded in a hotel for two weeks at your own expense. British journalist Monisha Rajesh believes it’s the journey not the destination and as the pandemic gathered steam she decided to tour the world by train.

Universities are not what they used be. Some argue they are now quasi-businesses, competing with one another for market share, and revenue. How have universities drifted from their original mission? Might the covid pandemic, and the climate emergency, trigger a conversation about how we can reimagine higher education? Richard Hil and Kristen Lyons hope so

When it comes to understanding human behaviour do you lean towards nature or nurture? Social scientists tend to put more emphasis on the nurture side of the equation. But genetic discoveries have the potential to change the balance in the nature-nurture debate. An American psychologist believes genetics should be understood as another tool in addressing social inequality.

Have we recently seen prove of alien life from a distant star? Avi Loeb thinks so,and he is one of Harvard University’s top astronomers. He argues that a strange object sighted in the skies over Hawaii might be an artificial piece of technology created by a civilisation from outside our solar system. What

implications would such a visitation have - for science, for religion, and for the future of our species and our planet?

After a six week election campaign, Australia is off to the polls. Throughout the campaign, the spotlight has not only been on the political aspirants, and the policies of the competing parties and candidates, but also on the performance of the media. In this Editors Election forum, Australia’s top editors to discuss how the media has covered the election campaign.

Women are warned that as they get older their fertility declines. The popular view is that men can father children at any age. But age is also a factor for fertility problems in men.  There’s also a pronounced global decline in sperm counts. 

Four fertility specialists discuss what men can do to boost their chances of becoming a father.

Two Nobel Laureates discuss the pandemic, climate change and the need to boost science research funding to meet the many challenges we face. Professor Brian Schmidt and Professor Peter Doherty also share personal stories of what it’s like to win the Nobel prize and why they engage in debates on social media.

The impacts of climate change on our health are growing, as surely as global temperatures and sea levels are rising. So how can we strive to live as healthy people on an increasingly sick planet? What are the major ways global warming is threatening human health?

China has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and opposed the sanctions imposed by the west. So what are the lessons of Ukraine for China? Will America’s focus on Ukraine encourage China to be more assertive in our region? Or is the protracted war a cautionary tale for the use of force against Taiwan?