x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Big Ideas

Feed your mind. Be provoked. One big idea at a time. Your brain will love you for it. Grab your front row seat to the best live forums and festivals with Natasha Mitchell.

society & culture politics

All Episodes

0:53:28

Baby boycott — the fertility crisis and the big decision

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/26

When you enter your childbearing years, it can feel like everyone from the treasurer, your mum, and probably your Instagram reels really wants you to have a kid. But is it the right decision? Few women escape this conundrum of modern family-making, and unfortunately there is no easy or simple answer. But in this talk presented by the Sydney Opera House at the All About Women Festival 2025, you’ll get the context, prompts and profound reflections to help you think through this

en

0:51:09

Love your gut — understanding the microbiome

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/25

Are fermented foods really good for us? Do antibiotics destroy our gut flora? And have you heard about poo transplants?Our gut is teeming with trillions of microbial cells, and we are learning more all the time about how this affects everything from our digestion, to immunity, to mental health.So crack open your kombucha, because these leading researchers will cut through the noise with some hard facts and pioneering science about the microbiome.This event was recorded at the World

en

0:53:41

Adapt or collapse — can we meet the moment of...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/24

Do humans really have what it takes to change our lives – our world – to arrest climate collapse?It might be the defining question we face as a society, and the panellists from this WOMADelaide Festival discussion are throwing everything they’ve got at this intractable issue, drawing on knowledge from the oldest continuing culture in the world and the fields of architecture, urban planning and of course, community organising to avoid collapse. This episode was recorded live at

en

0:56:56

Kate McClymont on the complete insanity of...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/23

Murderers, fraudsters, mobsters, dodgy doctors, and corrupt politicians. Kate McClymont has exposed all manner of shady characters, and lives to tell the tale. Here, she reveals some of the perils of investigative journalism over her career, and what she sees are the threats and promises for its future.The 2025 Brian Johns Lecture, in partnership with the Copyright Agency and Macquarie University, was recorded at the State Library of NSW on 1 May 2025.SpeakersKate McClymontChief

en

0:54:43

The second coming of quantum – the next scientific...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/19

There are some leaps in science and technology that change everything. Scientists say we’re living through the second quantum revolution, so we're going deep into the quantum world with leaders at the forefront of this field. If you think quantum is all about computers think again – like how could this vast science help female athletes reach their peak? Thanks to the World Science Festival for this talk “Welcome to the Second Quantum Revolution”. Speakers Belinda SmithABC Science

en

0:57:51

The past is a foreign country — Santilla Chingaipe,...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/18

When Santilla Chingaipe stumbled on the names of enslaved Africans who arrived on the First Fleet in 1788 she couldn't look away. For Steve Vizard, an argument with his adult kids lead him to the battlefields of Gallipoli. When Sita Sargeant threw a mattress in a car and drove around Australia, what hidden herstories did she unearth?At school, the history we learn is often incomplete, mythologised, or is riddled with silences and absences. But when you start looking, the ghosts of

en

0:54:47

Can American democracy withstand the dark enlightenment?

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/17

Knowledge lies at the heart of a healthy democracy, and its many custodians include libraries, universities, cultural institutions, and a free and independent media. So what happens when these institutions are intimidated, dismantled or destroyed, as is happening in America right now, under the government of President Donald Trump?This event was recorded at the University of Technology Sydney's Vice Chancellor's Democracy Forum on 14 May 2025.SpeakersSarah ChurchwellProfessor of

en

1:00:31

We are the evidence — empowering change in Indigenous...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/16

In 2017, the Uluru Statement called for Voice, Treaty and Truth as a roadmap to reconciliation. With the Voice defeated, what is the path now to meaningful reform that will improve the lives of Indigenous Australians?From the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, to Victoria's truth-telling Yoorook Justice Commission, two Indigenous leaders argue that their people must be given the power, the resources and the authority to make decisions about the issues that affect their

en

0:54:39

From Bangalore to Balmain – Padma Raman’s lifelong...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/12

The racism and resilience Padma Raman’s parents experienced lit a social justice fire in her early on. She landed on the sunny shores of Sydney in the 1980s and watched both her parents face racism and discrimination seeking work. She’s gone on to dedicate her career to making the world a better place for women and girls. It’s taken her to the halls of Federal Parliament and the United Nations. The Pamela Denoon lecture is presented by the ANU Gender Institute and the National

en

0:58:10

Fashion's fails — we can fix its toxic legacy! Kit...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/11

Australians have a hardcore addiction to fast fashion. That means dyes in our waterways, microplastics in our bodies, and hundreds of thousands of tonnes of textiles dumped in landfill. Fashionista or not, do you feel powerless to change an industry dominated by global fashion giants making giant profits? Meet four passionate crusaders with fashion, finance, tech, textile, and industry know-how who are already finding ways.They join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the 2025 Ocean

en

0:54:06

Warren Ellis on why he bought a Sumatran wildlife...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/10

Warren Ellis is best known as the charismatic violinist with legendary Australian instrumental rock trio Dirty Three and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Justin Kurzel's new documentary Ellis Park is a both portrait of Ellis as he comes to terms with his Ballarat childhood, and a film about the devastating impacts of wildlife trafficking, and why Ellis was driven to buy land in Sumatra to home rescued animals.The pair join the ABC's Zan Rowe at the film's premiere to talk about their

en

0:46:56

To infinity – who's in charge of outer space?

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/09

How do nations work together to control access to our vast universe, negotiate who gets what resources, or even who gets to set up new colonies on far away planets? And how do we ensure that we don’t just export earthly conflicts on take-off? ‘Unlocking Cooperation: Space Diplomacy’ is a talk from the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. SpeakersDr Diane HowardFormer Director of Commercial Space Policy at the National Space Council in The White HouseMai'a

en

0:55:06

Being Jewish after the destruction of Gaza — with...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/05

What's happening in Gaza is horrifying and shocking. As the world watches on, how are different Jewish communities reckoning with a war being waged in their name by Israel, against Hamas and the Palestinian people?This event was recorded at The Wheeler Centre on 27 May 2025 in partnership with the Jewish Council of Australia.SpeakersPeter BeinartAuthor, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning and The Crisis of ZionismProfessor of Journalism and Political Science at

en

1:06:04

We asked for workers and got people — inside the...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/04

Who picks and processes those yummy strawberries you're about to put in your shopping trolley, or the crisp veggies you might stir-fry tonight? Did you know it could be a nurse or a police officer from a Pacific Island or Timor Leste on a temporary seasonal visa? A workforce we rarely hear about, lives in limbo, and stories from the coalface. From economic gains and cultural exchanges to exploitation and absconding, what are the successes and problems of the Pacific Australia

en

1:00:01

The unbearable intimacy of voicing someone’s words —...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/03

Words can mean everything, or nothing at all: it all depends on how they're delivered. This relationship between writer, script, actor and audience creates a particular tension that lies at the heart of performance. Who gives meaning to the words, interprets the creative material, who holds the power?This is a lecture, but not as you know it, by members of the multi award-winning British theatre company Forced Entertainment.The 15th annual Rex Cramphorn Memorial Lecture was

en

0:55:06

Gina Chick on what dark nights of the soul can teach...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/02

Gina Chick made her name as the inaugural winner of Alone Australia, but her story begins a long time before that. It involves unimaginable hardship, death grief, illness and injury. How has she learnt to sit with all that life has thrown at her, and remain joyful and true to herself, in the face of adversity?This event was recorded at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne, with thanks to Readings Books.SpeakersGina ChickAuthor, We Are the Stars (Winner of the Australian Book

en

0:54:04

Safe at home – who profits when you’re afraid of your...

Big Ideas ·

2025/05/29

Your personal safety is big business, so much so that it’s given rise to “security capitalism”, a phenomenon where attempts to buy personal safety shape the world around us. As security becomes just another status symbol, do these gadgets make us safer or do they create a whole new list of anxieties – a self-fulfilling prophecy of perceived threat and risk aversion? This conversation 'Trapped: Does the security industry make us less safe?' was recorded at the CUNY Graduate

en

0:56:43

The ghosts are here — Tasma Walton, Darren Rix, Craig...

Big Ideas ·

2025/05/28

The ghost people arrived by boat. They never left. But the stories of first encounters and what came next live large, 250 years later, in First Nations families and communities. An ambitious journey to reclaim the names and stories disappeared by Captain James Cook, but never lost. A deeply personal excavation of herstories and the women wrenched from their Country by colonial sealers. A Polish freedom fighter and the fight for the mountain that bears his name. Join Big Ideas host

en

0:54:05

Words to sing the world alive — waking up First...

Big Ideas ·

2025/05/27

At the time of colonisation, there were more than 250 Indigenous languages spoken in Australia, but these days, all are considered endangered. Many First Nations people are working hard to revive and reclaim their mother tongues. In the anthology, Words to Sing the World Alive: Celebrating First Nations Languages, 40 Indigenous Australians share words and phrases that are meaningful to them.This event was recorded at the Clunes Booktown Festival on on Dja Dja Wurrung Country on 22

en

0:52:45

From vulture bone flutes to ‘organised sound’—...

Big Ideas ·

2025/05/26

Music has been around for at least as long as humans, and possibly even longer. How have forces like religion, the economy, society and technology, shaped music over time? And why, in lullabies and concert halls, songlines and streaming services, have humans always been irresistibly drawn to making it?This event was recorded at Sydney's Gleebooks.SpeakersAndrew FordHost, The Music Show, ABC Radio NationalAuthor, The Shortest History of Music, and moreAward-winning composerKirsty

en

631 results

Similar Podcasts

Voices of Life

APG Mannheim

Promo Estereo Podcast

Promo Estereo

Talking Timelines Podcast

Talkingtimelines

גיקונומי

ראם שרמן ודורון ניר

Drømmefanger

Drømmefanger