Boyer Lectures

By ABC AustraliaSociety & Culture

Boyer Lectures episodes

November 08, 2009 Lecture 1: National Security at the Breakfast Table?
He's spent a lifetime puzzling over national security and in his first lecture, General Peter Cosgrove makes mention of all the wars we've been involved in since WW2 and talks about their place in the Australian psyche. They might have been considered other people's wars, but we knew intuitively they were ours as well.
38 min
November 08, 2009 Lecture 1: National Security at the Breakfast Table?
He's spent a lifetime puzzling over national security and in his first lecture, General Peter Cosgrove makes mention of all the wars we've been involved in since WW2 and talks about their place in the Australian psyche. They might have been considered other people's wars, but we knew intuitively they were ours as well.
38 min
December 07, 2008 Lecture 6: The 21st century: comforting the afflicted. And afflicting the comfortable
The Oxford of Rupert Murdoch's youth was one of the most privileged places on earth. But freedom and information have changed the order of things. On a global scale more people than ever are taking advantage of the revolution. And that's how it should be.
23 min
December 07, 2008 Lecture 6: The 21st century: comforting the afflicted. And afflicting the comfortable
The Oxford of Rupert Murdoch's youth was one of the most privileged places on earth. But freedom and information have changed the order of things. On a global scale more people than ever are taking advantage of the revolution. And that's how it should be.
23 min
November 30, 2008 Lecture 5: The global middle class roars
Rupert Murdoch's recent trips to China and India have convinced him of one thing: there is no alternative to economic growth as a remedy for poverty. Caste and communism have condemned hundreds of millions to wretched lives.
26 min
November 30, 2008 Lecture 5: The global middle class roars
Rupert Murdoch's recent trips to China and India have convinced him of one thing: there is no alternative to economic growth as a remedy for poverty. Caste and communism have condemned hundreds of millions to wretched lives.
26 min
November 23, 2008 Lecture 4: Fortune favours the smart
An important theme of the lectures is the pressing need for Australia to develop human capital. But to do this successfully our schools need serious reform, otherwise the global bar will seem set far beyond our reach.
29 min
November 23, 2008 Lecture 4: Fortune favours the smart
An important theme of the lectures is the pressing need for Australia to develop human capital. But to do this successfully our schools need serious reform, otherwise the global bar will seem set far beyond our reach.
29 min
November 16, 2008 Lecture 3: The future of newspapers: moving beyond dead trees
Rupert Murdoch at heart is a traditional newspaperman. But he sees the wood for the trees. Newspapers will thrive in the 21st century if proprietors fully comprehend what it means to be alive in the era of information.
22 min
November 16, 2008 Lecture 3: The future of newspapers: moving beyond dead trees
Rupert Murdoch at heart is a traditional newspaperman. But he sees the wood for the trees. Newspapers will thrive in the 21st century if proprietors fully comprehend what it means to be alive in the era of information.
22 min

About Boyer Lectures

From the publisher's feed

2025 ABC Boyer Lecture Series: Australia: A Radical Experiment in Democracy

Curated and hosted by respected journalist, author and broadcaster, Dr Julia Baird, this year's Boyer Lecture Series explores the theme Australia: A Radical Experiment in Democracy, through five distinct orations examining the strengths and challenges of our democracy as we navigate unprecedented global changes in politics, society and technology.

The speakers—drawn from academia, literature, and policy— reflect on the paradox of Australians' declining trust in politicians alongside their continued faith in the integrity of electoral processes.

This year's keynote is Justin Wolfers, Professor of Economics and Public Policy from the University of Michigan and visiting professor at the University of NSW, whose lecture "Australia is Freaking Amazing", is enthusiastic about our strong institutions and asks whether Australia needs a form of conservative radicalism?

The second lecturer is the Hon John Anderson, AO, farmer, grazier and former deputy prime minister, whose talk, 'Our Civilisational Moment' argues that Australia lacks the spirit, not the machinery of democracy.

Our third lecturer is Larissa Behrendt, a Euahleyai/Gamillaroi woman, Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Technology, Sydney, and host of the ABC Radio National's Speaking Out program. Her lecture, 'Justice, Ideas and Inclusion' outlines the strengths and pitfalls of our country's legal system, and how our democracy might be enriched by our First Nations' peoples' wisdom of interdependence.

Amelia Lester, a deputy editor at Foreign Policy magazine, our fourth lecturer, examines how Artificial Intelligence could potentially undermine democracy here, in her lecture entitled 'AI, On Australia's Terms'.

And in the final lecture, James Curran, author and professor of modern history at the University of Sydney, will argue that the US Presidency holds advantages for Australia, if we are brave enough to take them, and to confront possible changes in our historic alliance, in his speech, 'Trump's Gift'.

The keynote lecture will be broadcast on October 18 on ABC-TV and on consecutive Sundays starting October 19 on ABC Radio National's Sunday Extra program, at 8.05am.

Sunday 26th October at 8.05am you can hear Hon John Anderson's lecture

Sunday 2nd November at 8.05am tune in to hear Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt

Sunday 9th November at 8.05am on Radio National Amelia Lester will give her lecture

Sunday 16th November at 8.05am on Radio National you can hear Professor James Curran's lecture 'Trump's Gift'

All lectures can also be watched via ABC iview and heard at any time on the ABC ListenApp.