We're living in increasingly brittle times. Ideas that once provoked argument, now provoke outrage – and the art of debate has now shattered. What does it mean to think freely about our world when speech itself is treated as a hazard?

Through his experiences, writer Salman Rushdie speaks about the major themes of his writing, freedom of expression, religion, East-West relations and the role of the artist in the contemporary world.

Salman Rushdie is the best-selling author of twenty-two books, including Midnight's Children, which won both the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker; Shame, The Satanic Verses, The Moor's Last Sigh, and Quichotte, all of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize; East West a collection of stories; Joseph Anton a memoir; The Jaguar Smile a work of reportage; and three collections of essays, including Languages of Truth. His most recent book, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, was a finalist for the 2024 National Book Award for nonfiction. Rushdie is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. He is a former president of PEN America and the recipient of the PEN Centenary Courage Award. His books have been translated into over forty languages. In 2023, he was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of the Year, and has received a Queen's knighthood for his 'services to literature'.

Heading into its 13th festival, FODI exists thanks to supporters who don't flinch at difficult topics. Brave minds. Bold hearts. Dangerous conversations. We've built a reputation for dragging the world's sharpest provocateurs and thought leaders to Sydney IRL. From 21–23 August 2026, FODI returns. Our Opening Night event with Salman Rushdie will ignite a jam-packed weekend, where global thought leaders, trail-blazing artists and fearless experts converge upon some of Sydney's most iconic venues. But a festival with global reach doesn't come cheap. To keep tickets accessible and to stay fiercely independent, FODI relies on people like you. Big ideas don't fund themselves. Donate to help us lock in extraordinary speakers and artists for this year's program at festivalofdangerousideas.com.au.

Drawing from her experience as an author and cultural critic who consistently challenges predictable opinions, Roxane Gay urges us to embrace the danger and discomfort of dissent. But in an age of polarised opinion warfare, this comes at a personal and professional cost. Courage is an essential ingredient in this strategy, but it can only take you so far. When the tide of viral criticism, is both toxic and overwhelming, it can seem rational either to give up on nuance or withdraw. What does it take to stand your ground and fight for complex and difficult ideas?

Roxane Gay's writing appears in Best American Nonrequired Reading 2018, Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, Harper's Bazaar, A Public Space, McSweeney's, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times where she also writes the "Work Friend" column. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, The New York Times' bestselling Bad Feminist, the nationally bestselling Bad Feminist and The New York Times' bestselling Hunger: A Memoir of My Body and the nationally bestselling Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business. She is also the author of the Eisner Award winning World of Wakanda for Marvel and the editor of Best American Short Stories 2018. She is currently at work on film and television projects, a book of writing advice, an essay collection about television and culture, and a YA novel entitled The Year I Learned Everything. In 2018, she won a Guggenheim fellowship. She is also the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

Humanity has demonstrated, time and again, a horrific tendency to destroy its own kind – often to eliminate difference and impose uniformity of identity. At its worst, this tendency has led to the destruction of whole peoples – the crime against humanity of genocide.

However, in our politically charged climate, the term genocide carries a massive moral weight, and we must be cautious about where to apply it. If we're too restrictive, it will make us blind to evil in the world. But if we're too loose, it will desensitise us to its significance.

Philosophers Stan Grant and Simon Longstaff explore what genocide is, and respond to its presence in the world.

Stan Grant is Distinguished Professor and Chair of Yindyamarra Nguluway Trust at Charles Sturt University. He has a Doctorate of Theology and was formerly ABC's Global Affairs and Indigenous Affairs Analyst and host of news program Q+A. He is one of Australia's most respected and awarded journalists, with more than 40 years experience in radio and television news and current affairs.

Simon Longstaff commenced his work as the first Executive Director of The Ethics Centre in 1991. He began his working life on Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory of Australia. He is proud of his kinship ties to the Anindilyakwa people. After a period studying law in Sydney and teaching in Tasmania, he pursued postgraduate studies as a Member of Magdalene College, Cambridge. In 2013, he was made an officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for "distinguished service to the community through the promotion of ethical standards in governance and business, to improving corporate responsibility, and to philosophy." Simon is an Adjunct Professor of the Australian Graduate School of Management at UNSW, a Fellow of CPA Australia, the Royal Society of NSW and the Australian Risk Policy Institute.

Economist John N. Friedman has made a career researching the causes of inequality and its long-term consequences for children in the US. His findings are grim. Social mobility is in sharp decline. Where you live and go to school increasingly determines your success and future.

Friedman explores how policy can harness schools, neighbourhoods, universities, and social capital to reverse this trend, and revive a fading "American Dream" of progress and social mobility. And what this could mean in a country like Australia.

John N. Friedman is the Briger Family Distinguished Professor of Economics and International and Public Affairs at Brown University, as well as a founding co-Director of Opportunity Insights. His work uses big data to study the causes and consequences of inequality for kids, as well as policies to improve opportunity for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. His work has appeared in top academic journals as well as in major media outlets, has been cited by President Obama in his 2012 State of the Union Address, and has shaped policies at the federal, state, and local level. He worked as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy at the National Economic Council in the White House. He is also a Research Associate at NBER and Co-Editor at the flagship journal in the profession, the American Economic Review. He currently serves as Chair of the Brown University Economics Department and is a member of the Treasury Advisory Council on Racial Equity (TACRE).

The concept of success and excellence is fraught with tension between communities within Australia. For non-Indigenous Australians, excellence is almost exclusively an economic concept, founded on stolen and inherited resources and privilege. While for Indigenous people, aspiring to this definition of excellence can involve assimilation and the abandonment of culture and values.

With the equality gap widening, the stakes for Indigenous Australians to succeed is higher than ever. Wiradjuri man and academic, Todd Fernando argues we need to forge new narratives to identify achievement.

As a growing middle class of Indigenous Australians experience the power of excellence, Fernando raises a critical question: Are we ready to accept it?

Todd Fernando, a descendant of the Kalarie Peoples of the Wiradjuri Nation, identifies as queer and uses he/him pronouns. He holds a PhD in Medical Anthropology from The University of Melbourne and is a global expert in intersectional policy reform across government, private, and public sectors. Recently appointed to the Federal Government's Rapid Review into Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence Best Practice Prevention Approaches, Todd has an extensive background as thought leader. As the former Victorian Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ Communities, he spearheaded the development and implementation of the Victorian Government's LGBTIQA+ Strategy. Currently, Todd is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne.

For some, the image of Israel, as a shining example of liberal democratic ideals has been broken by the Netanyahu Government's actions in Gaza since 7 October, 2023. Yet, for others, the positive image projected by Israel has always been a convenient myth, allowing dominant powers within the international community to turn a blind eye to decades of Palestinian suffering.

Academic Saree Makdisi argues that we are living in a culture of denial. He says much of the West is complicit through the act of self-deception. Makdisi offers a possible outcome for both Palestinians and Israelis.

Saree Makdisi is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. His most recent books include Tolerance is a Wasteland: Palestine and the Culture of Denial, Reading William Blake and Making England Western. He is also a frequent contributor to The Nation, n+1, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Is God a story we've just told ourselves to satisfy our own desires?

Comedian and author David Baddiel knows God doesn't exist, but wishes he did. As Baddiel wrestles with his understanding of God and spirituality as a Jewish atheist, his bold thesis uncovers how religion services the deepest needs of humanity.

This session is in conversation with Simon Longstaff and is the inaugural John Caldon Provocation, an annual event at FODI to honour the legacy of businessman John Caldon and his special brand of curiosity.

David Baddiel is an accomplished comedian, author, screenwriter and television presenter. He began his career as writer and star of numerous hit UK TV comedy shows. Also an award-winning author, David has written ten hugely successful children's books, alongside four critically-acclaimed novels, and in 2021 he released the Sunday Times Politics Book of The Year – his polemic Jews Don't Count, which has changed the whole conversation around modern identity politics and antisemitism. David followed the book with a TV documentary on the subject that aired in 2022. David's most recent book, The God Desire, was released in 2023 and explores his keen desire to believe in a deity and why this very desperation to believe proves his atheism correct.

Simon Longstaff began his working life studying law in Sydney and teaching in Tasmania, later pursuing postgraduate studies as a Member of Magdalene College, Cambridge. In 1991, Simon commenced his work as the first Executive Director of The Ethics Centre, a role he continues today. Simon is an Adjunct Professor of the Australian Graduate School of Management at UNSW Sydney, a Fellow of CPA Australia, the Royal Society of NSW and the Australian Risk Policy Institute.

Are we too focused on race? Have recent anti-racist movements like Black Lives Matter abandoned the 'colourblind' spirit of the original civil rights movement? In this live FODI edition of Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps, writer and podcaster Coleman Hughes articulates his vision for a future where individuals are judged by 'the content of their character', not the colour of their skin. He argues for a society that embraces a colourblind ethos, aiming to dismantle divisive narratives and foster a more inclusive culture.

Coleman Hughes is an author, podcaster and opinion columnist who specialises in issues related to race, public policy and applied ethics. Coleman's writing has been featured in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Quillette, City Journal, The Spectator, and the Washington Examiner. He appeared on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2021. In 2019, Hughes testified before the US House Judiciary subcommittee at a hearing on reparations for slavery. In 2024, Coleman released his first book, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America. He has appeared on prominent TV shows and podcasts including The View, Real Time with Bill Maher, the Joe Rogan Experience, and Making Sense with Sam Harris. He is a columnist at the Free Press, and a contributor at CNN.

Josh Szeps is one of Australia's most influential and innovative interviewers. In New York, he was a founding host-producer of the revolutionary US streaming news network, HuffPost Live, where he hosted thousands of hours of live TV with the biggest names in politics, news and entertainment. He won a Webby Award while the organisation won a Pulitzer. Josh also appeared regularly with Al Roker as a contributor on the NBC TODAY Show. On his return to Australia, he co-anchored the national morning television show, Weekend Breakfast, and became a fixture of ABC Radio Sydney. Afternoons with Josh Szeps launched in 2021, a three-hour daily talkback radio show. In 2024, Josh left the legacy media to wrestle freely with ideas in a spicier way. Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps took off as a podcast, Substack publication, live touring enterprise and YouTube channel.