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

0:53:01

Is AI our modern-day Frankenstein? Jeanette Winterson...

Big Ideas ·

2025/07/17

Acclaimed British author Jeanette Winterson argues that 200 years ago, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, was a message in a bottle, a prophesy, of today's AI revolution.This conversation was recorded at the Sydney Writers' Festival, in partnership with the University of New South Wales's Centre for Ideas on 21 May 2025.SpeakersJeanette WintersonAuthor, 12 Bytes: How artificial intelligence will change the way we live and love, Oranges are not the only fruit, and many moreProfessor of

en

0:54:04

ABC's CITIZEN JURY — Would you live inside a modern...

Big Ideas ·

2025/07/16

Citizen Jury is ABC Radio National's experiment in citizen-led democracy. The ingredients? A gnarly issue + a jury of citizens = conversations + ideas for solutions + a public event to share them. Join Big Ideas presenter Natasha Mitchell in Dubbo, NSW for our first Citizen Jury. We all want electricity at the flick of a switch, but who bears the brunt of making that happen? Join citizens who live in Australia's first official Renewable Energy Zone or REZ where millions of solar

en

0:53:59

Radical economics — what can we learn from the life...

Big Ideas ·

2025/07/15

John Maynard Keynes was an economist whose dreams went beyond balance sheets and into political ideas and cultural movements.He advised world leaders during world wars, witnessed the great depression first hand and counted himself as one of the Bloomsbury group, a set of London's most influential writers and intellectuals like Virginia Woolf.This discussion from CUNY Graduate Center is an in depth look at the life of JohnMaynard Keynes and explores his influence on 20th century

en

0:54:41

Life behind the lens — with photojournalists Lorrie...

Big Ideas ·

2025/07/14

Photojournalism can define a moment, a movement, an era or even a whole generation. It can lift a weary spirit, move opinions, or change the way we view the world. Three of Australia's best photojournalists tell the stories behind some of Australia's most iconic photographs, and reflect on the profession's past, present and future.This event was recorded at the National Library of Australia on 27 May 2025.SpeakersLorrie GrahamPhotojournalistRick StevensPhotojournalistMike Bowers

en

1:01:11

Can citizen juries put the people back in democracy?

Big Ideas ·

2025/07/10

Australia faces many big challenges, but is our democracy up to the job of solving these, or are we experiencing a decision deadlock?One process that could help governments meet the moment is known as citizen jury or assembly, where a cross section of ordinary people deliberate together over a thorny policy issue, then provide advice.How do these work, are they effective, and should they play a more central role in Australia's democracy?The session, The Place for Citizens

en

0:53:11

Join Jodi Edwards and her Sea Kin on a journey that...

Big Ideas ·

2025/07/09

We bathe in the amniotic fluid our mother's womb. Our cells are full of water. For Walbanja woman, artist, educator and researcher Dr Jodi Edwards, this ocean-within intimately connects her to the ocean she grew up with on Sea Country. From saving the Sea kin to sensing the Gaia imperative — join Jodi with Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell, and also hear from award-winning author James Bradley and CEO-turned-climate-action advocate Mark Rowland as they explore why the ocean's

en

0:53:22

Behrouz Boochani and Arnold Zable on the radical act...

Big Ideas ·

2025/07/08

The Kurdish poet Behrouz Boochani and the Australian writer Arnold Zable explore the power of friendship as an act of resistance, nourishment and healing.This event was recorded with the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne 29 April 2025.SpeakersBehrouz BoochaniKurdish-Iranian writer, journalist, scholar, cultural advocate, filmmaker, and public advocate for human rightsAuthor, No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison, and Freedom Only FreedomAdjunct

en

0:53:44

Where to now — transforming anger into action after...

Big Ideas ·

2025/07/07

In October 2023, Australians voted no to a Voice to Parliament for First Nations people. In this panel from the 2025 Melbourne Writers Festival, four speakers who saw the campaign up close discuss what went wrong, and even whether the whole endeavour was worth it. Ultimately they’re all trying to answer the question, where do we go from here? Speakers Thomas MayoKaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander, author, activist and 'yes' campaignerBen

en

0:54:13

What would a feminist utopia look like?

Big Ideas ·

2025/07/03

What would religion, work, sex or technology look like if we lived in a truly feminist world? In a perfect world would the messy stuff make the cut? Or would stuff that makes us human be left in the real world? Join two big thinkers who unpack it all as they build their own feminist utopia in this episode of Big Ideas. This was a live philosophy event presented in London at the Sophia Club, from the creators of Aeon and Psyche magazines. You can find out more about the series at

en

0:57:19

Dark tourism, death, design, and the macabre — should...

Big Ideas ·

2025/07/02

Dark tourism is increasingly popular. Sites of suffering like old gaols, asylums, orphanages hold a certain allure. Can we honour their dark heart and histories, whilst also re-imagining their future? Should some 'traumascapes' be left untouched so the scars of the past are never forgotten, or can we turn them into happier settings with sensitivity? How do designers, developers, and historians tread such tricky terrain? This event was organised by Open House Melbourne and held in

en

0:54:08

Is language power? With American linguist John McWhorter

Big Ideas ·

2025/07/01

Language is always evolving, and reflecting back to us our society, politics and identity. From profanity, to personal pronouns, to the politics of translation and cultural appropriation, why do we use the words we do?This event was recorded at the University of Sydney.SpeakersJohn McWhorterAssociate Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Colombia UniversityAuthor, Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words, Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter, Woke

en

0:52:56

Hard new world — our post-American future, with Hugh...

Big Ideas ·

2025/06/30

Under Donald Trump's second presidency, America's retreat from global leadership has been swift and erratic. With Russia's war in Ukraine still raging on Europe's doorstep, and China and India on the move, how is the international rules based order being reshaped? And how should Australia position itself in this dangerous, volatile, hard new world?This conversation was recorded at the Australian National University on Tuesday 17 June 2025.SpeakersHugh WhiteEmeritus Professor of

en

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

623 results

Similar Podcasts

Voices of Life

APG Mannheim

Promo Estereo Podcast

Promo Estereo

Talking Timelines Podcast

Talkingtimelines

גיקונומי

ראם שרמן ודורון ניר

Drømmefanger

Drømmefanger