Sydney Ideas

The unprecedented challenges on our collective horizon require a shift in thinking from the factional to the civic.

Are we as a nation prepared to embrace a bold vision to craft a long-term future for our country? What might that vision look like?

The Honourable Kevin Rudd AC and Professor Marc Stears, Director of the Sydney Policy Lab, discuss alternative visions for Australia’s future.

This conversation was recorded on Thursday 29 August, 2019 at the University of Sydney. For more details, visit the website: http://bit.ly/2M5wPMm

What are the consequences of the choices we make when we feed our animal companions>? How does this affect other animals, the environment and even our own wellbeing?

Hear from experts including:

- Dr Michelle Shaw, Taronga Conservation Society Australia

- Professor David Raubenheimer, University of Sydney

- Dr Roger Bektash, past President of Pet Food Industry of Australia

- Dr Andrea Harvey, Independent Veterinary Consultant in Feline Medicine

- Dr Anne Fawcett, University of Sydney

- (Chair) Dr Bidda Jones, RSPCA Australia

This conversation was recorded on Wednesday 28 August at the University of Sydney. The event was presented in collaboration with the Centre for Veterinary Education, in memory of the late Dr Robert Dixon. Visit the website for more details about the event and speakers: http://bit.ly/2MWXomS

Ageing is the main cause of chronic diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Given this inexorable link, can we extend our lifespan without risking our health and quality of life?

For further reading, Professor Luigi Fontana from the Charles Perkins Centre shares his key tips on how your dietary habits can help you to live longer and reduce risk of heart attack. Visit the website to learn more: http://bit.ly/2m1alAF

What does national security, data security and the changing face of legislation mean for free speech and our right to know? Reporter Vicky Xiuzhong Xu, The Chaser's Julian Morrow and political theorist Professor Tim Soutphommasane examine the state of affairs.

As the online world increasingly spills into the real world, urgent questions are being asked about the need to regulate the world’s digital platforms. How do we govern and enforce internet controls? Where is the cyber frontier, and how is it being weaponised? What big data and privacy issues we should be thinking about?

This conversation was recorded on Thursday 15 August, 2019 at a Sydney Ideas event, as part of the ASEAN Forum. Learn more: http://bit.ly/31XAMXm

What is the limit of our brain capacity and how can we translate potential brainpower into powerful discoveries?

Fernando Calamante from Sydney Imaging talks about mapping structural networks in the brain. Neurologist Michael Barnett, from Brain and Mind Centre, follows on to explain how these networks can be affected in disease. Physicist Céline Boehm explores the recent images of black holes and dark matter. Philosopher David Braddon-Mitchell brings these ideas together, and to close, is a performance by sound artist Benjamin Carey.

This conversation was chaired by Duncan Ivison, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research at the University of Sydney.

It was recorded on Tuesday 20 August at a Sydney Ideas event, as part of Innovation Week 2019, which celebrates landmark discoveries and transformative inventions by the University's academics and students. Learn more: http://bit.ly/2Ltpgid

How does our identity determine how we use our time? Economist Daniel Hamermesh will discuss the role of income inequality and how it affects the things we buy and do. He presents a radical proposal to reassess what we value with our time.

This event was recorded on Monday 12 August at the University of Sydney. More details and to check out our reading list: https://bit.ly/2KXpFab

Polar regions are increasingly at the centre of environmental, geo-political and cultural shifts.

Our panel discuss how our relationship with the polar regions has changed in the 21st century and what the polar regions reveal about the broader environmental challenges facing the world today, as we collectively combat climate change and unpack its deeper implications.

Hear from Tim Stephens, Rohan Howitt, Elizabeth Leane, with Glenda Sluga moderating the conversation.

This event was recorded on Tuesday 6 August at the University of Sydney. More details and to check out our reading list: http://bit.ly/33yMaea

As global movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp rapidly gain momentum in exposing systemic sexual assault and abuse, the military appears to have been left behind.

To unpack this issue, and discuss how we might address it, are a panel of world leading experts including:

- Ellen Haring, Service Women's Action Network

- Eda Gunaydin, University of Sydney

- Shannon Sampert, University of Winnipeg

- Antonieta Rico, Women in International Security

- Samantha Crompvets, Rapid Context

- Megan Mackenzie (chair), University of Sydney

This event was recorded on Wednesday 17 July at the University of Sydney. Learn more at http://bit.ly/2GEYH5L.

Hear from one of the greatest astrophysicists and role models of our time. Best known for her discovery of pulsars, Jocelyn Bell Burnell has paved a path for furthering scientific knowledge and education.

This talk was recorded on Tuesday 16 July, 2019 at the University of Sydney. Visit this page for more: https://bit.ly/2JAlj8m