Ideas at the House

At a time when the world is coming to grips with tragic fate of MH17, and looking for answers, it is more important than ever to discuss how to deal with Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime.It’s been 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, 23 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and 15 years since Putin came to power. During that time, Russia has gone from financial shock therapy to oligarchy to authoritarian energy superpower via the Chechen wars and the annexation of Crimea. Squarely in command, Putin appears to have seen off all challenges with an utter disregard for internal opposition and external western pressure. From the inside, fighting Putin is the only option for Russian activists. From the outside, what are the strategic options for western countries? Will military action or economic sanctions work? Or do we need to consider less orthodox approaches?This session is a broad discussion with Russian journalist and activist Masha Gessen and foreign policy analyst Tom Switzer. A variety of different views will be presented that will test different ideas about how to approach Vladimir Putin and his regime.Masha Gessen is a Russian journalist and author of a biography of Vladimir Putin, The Man Without a Face and Words Will Break Cement: The passion of Pussy Riot.Tom Switzer is a Sydney-based journalist, researcher and commentator. He is the editor of Spectator Australia and American Review, and a research fellow at the University of Sydney's United States Study Centre.Tom Switzer appears with the support of the United States Studies Centre. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While we’ve been focusing on the rise of women in the workplace, we have failed to notice the dramatic effect this has had on young men. Are we witnessing a male culture in profound decline? Young women are making more money, getting more education and are more reluctant to have children and settle down, while young men are drifting in ‘pre-adulthood’. Women want to win at work and expect equality at home, which doesn’t leave much room for the traditional male breadwinner role. Until young men create viable alternatives, this gender mismatch is a recipe for unhappiness. Maybe it’s time to man up?Kay Hymowitz is an American writer, researcher, and is the William E. Simon Fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. She is the author of four books, including Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Has Turned Men Into Boys.Kay Hymowitz appears with the support of The Centre for Independent Studies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does the future hold? A reign of world peace with stunning medical breakthroughs conquering death, illness and disease? Or a world where human beings have destroyed the web of living things and put our own existence at risk by playing with science we don’t fully understand? Must we think in terms of these extremes to create a positive future or prevent disaster? Join a panel of brilliant optimists and pessimists to understand some of the amazing risks and opportunities that lie before us.Tim Flannery is an Australian scientist, activist, author and editor of over twenty books, former Chief Scientist at the federal Climate Commission, and currently leader of the independent Climate Council.Elizabeth Kolbert is an American environmental journalist and author. She is a staff writer at the New Yorker and the author of several books, including Field Notes from a Catastrophe and The Sixth Extinction: An unnatural history.Steven Pinker is an experimental psychologist and one of the world’s foremost writers on language, mind, and human nature. He is currently Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and his most recent book is The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why violence has declined.Jaan Tallinn is a founding engineer of Skype and Kazaa, a co-founder of personalised medicine company MetaMed, and a co-founder of the Centre for Study of Existential Risk at Cambridge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the threat of climate change and damage to other elements of the biosphere, we may be in the process of creating a world where human existence is marginalised and modern civilisation is crushed. Even if we manage to cling to the more hospitable corners of this grave new world, nuclear war, bioterrorism or malicious use of nanotechnology or artificial intelligence could render human beings extinct. From the point of view of the universe, human existence doesn’t matter. Are we doomed to come round to this perspective ourselves, or will we inevitably cling to our human-centred picture of world?Rebecca Newberger Goldstein received her doctorate in philosophy from Princeton University. Her award-winning books include the novels The Mind-Body Problem and 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A work of fiction, and her latest nonfiction effort, Plato at the Googleplex.Francesca Minerva is a philosopher and medical/bio ethicist. She is currently the Deputy Director of CAPPE Melbourne (Centre of Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics).Huw Price is the Bertrand Russell Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge University and co-founder of the Centre for Study of Existential Risk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Surrogacy—or contract pregnancy—has become a global industry, growing at unprecedented speed. In India alone, this industry is valued at over US$450 million per year. Whereas the sex industry is increasingly targeted by legislators as exploitation, the surrogacy industry retains a rosy image. Helping an infertile couple to have a baby of their own is seen as a generous and compassionate gesture from a woman who can help: a sign of female empowerment and free will. In this way, everyone can have their own genetic children without having to undergo pregnancy, and poor women can earn some extra money. It looks like a win-win situation. But is it? At a closer glance, the surrogacy industry has more to do with prostitution than we might think. Not only is it exploitation of women's bodies—in fact surrogacy is nothing but baby trade.Kajsa Ekis Ekman is is a Swedish journalist, writer and activist. She is the founder of Feminists Against Surrogacy and the climate action group, Klimax. Her latest book is Being and Being Bought: Prostitution, surrogacy and the split self. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(In Russian with translation.)Pussy Riot became a global symbol of dissent in Russia with their idiosyncratic blend of feminist art and activism. When they were sent to prison, they became part of the extraordinary group of Russian writers, artists, and activists who have lived and died in the Gulag. Although the Gulags became ‘corrective labour colonies’ after Stalin’s death, what Pussy Riot members Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alekhina found were harsh physical conditions, slave labour, malnutrition and physical violence. They have since founded an NGO to defend prisoners’ rights called Zona Prava, because with almost one million people imprisoned in Russia, this is not something that can be ignored – by Russians or the West.Nadezhda (Nadya) Tolokonnikova and Maria (Masha) Alekhina are Russian conceptual artists and political activists. They are founding members of the art collective Pussy Riot. In August 2012, they were sentenced to two years' imprisonment following an anti-Putin performance in Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. In March 2014 Tolokonnikova and Alekhina announced the opening of Mordovia office of Zona Prava, their newly created prisoners’ rights NGO. Tolokonnikova and Alekhina are Lennon Ono Grant for Peace recipients. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anyone who has written a book whose title refers to Australia as “The Stupid Country” is not afraid of the odd dangerous idea, and it turns out that Jane Caro has plenty. She is well-known as an advocate for public education, and as one of the instigators of ‘Destroy the joint’ on Twitter, taking a hatchet to sexism in Australia. But she doesn’t stop there, and will be bringing you dangerous ideas about atheism, schools, politics, men, women and advertising just for a start.Jane Caro is an Australian writer, lecturer, social commentator, and award-winning advertising writer—or, in her own words, a "feminist, atheist, media tart, wife, mother & stirrer." She is a regular panellist on The Gruen Transfer/Gruen Planet, and is the co-author of books such as The F Word: How we learned to swear by feminism and The Stupid Country: How Australia is Dismantling Public Education. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Good governance is the buzzword of the day. Conventional wisdom has it that less corruption would translate into more economic growth, a healthier body politic and reduced likelihood of conflict. But what if this isn’t always the case? In Indonesia, patronage and corruption serve as the glue that keeps an otherwise fractious country together. Although there are cases where corruption has promoted conflict, in other instances it has helped restore peace in the country. A more nuanced and less ideological view of "corruption" is needed if countries are to fight graft without undermining peaceful co-existence.Elizabeth Pisani is a London-based journalist and epidemiologist, best known for her work on HIV/AIDS. Her latest book is Indonesia etc., which looks at one of our most important neighbours and how they live. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To try and avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change, 190 countries have committed to limiting global temperature increase to below 2°C. To achieve this, 60-80% of the world’s existing carbon or fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground. Nevertheless, billions of dollars of investments in coal, oil and gas have gone ahead, resting on the speculative bubble of climate change denial or delay. If these assets become stranded by climate action, their revaluation could trigger the next (larger) global financial crisis. So, what’s at risk? Our economy and your retirement savings. Australia’s economy depends on coal exports and around 55% of your superannuation is invested in high-carbon, high-risk assets. Our political system looks chronically incapable of dealing with climate change—but can we trust our financial institutions to do better?John Hewson is the former leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and Chair of the Asset Owners Disclosure Project. He has worked as an economist for the Australian Treasury, the Reserve Bank, the International Monetary Fund and also as an advisor to two successive Federal Treasurers and the Prime Minister.John Hewson appears with the support of The Climate Institute. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More of us now live in cities than ever before, and the spaces we live in are increasingly governed by agendas of safety and security. Arguing against safety may seem counter-intuitive. However, a culture of safety brings limitations and fears that have the capacity to turn us into passive spectators in our own lives, especially in cities where high land values create dense areas of exclusion. Yet there is always a city within the city to explore. Underground and in the sky, the secret arteries of infrastructure and the forbidden heights of buildings are open to urban explorers who want to reclaim lost history and their right to roam the urban wilds. Bradley Garrett argues that rather than accepting the pre-packaged, safe, passively consumed entertainment on offer, we must make our own adventures by embracing the unsafe city as our playground.Bradley Garrett is an American researcher, explorer and social/cultural geographer at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Explore Everything: Place-hacking the city, an ethnographic account of the activities of urban exploration group London Consolidation Crew (LCC). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.