Tim Harford is the best-selling author of 'The Uncover Economist' and 'The Logic of Life.' In his latest book, 'Adapt,' Harford argues that we need to rethink the conditions for making progress in science, business and society in a fundamental way: we need to lose our fear of failure, embrace opportunity, and take risks. We need to stop looking for leaders who provide us with safe answers, and stop punishing those with the courage to search for radical solutions. We need to understand that to adapt to the challenges of the future, we must make mistakes - and lots of them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Jesse Bering is a psychologist and author of 'Perv: The Sexual Deviant' in all of us and 'Why Is The Penis Shaped Like That?' In his talk, Bering considers that while we may be much more comfortable with sexuality than our parents were, will we take the next step and acknowledge that we are all, in fact, sexual perverts? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of best-selling memoir 'Eat Pray Love,' a chronicle of Gilbert's travels around the world in search of healing and wisdom following a messy divorce. Gilbert appeared at Sydney Opera House in conversation with Caroline Baum about the pressures and expectations of commercial success, fame, and the inevitable question of what comes next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Palin’s comic exploits with Monty Python and in films such as 'A Fish Called Wanda' are the stuff of legend, but his recent adventures travelling and filming the world have won him a vast and loyal new following. Watch as Palin guides us – in his inimitable way – from his early acting career and comic exploits through to traversing the globe for his latest BBC TV series, 'Brazil'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For former refugee and politcian Ayaan Hirsi Ali: "It is a matter of principle that women are free and equal". This means zero tolerance of cultural practices such as honour violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). In her talk, Hirsi Ali challenges the audience with questions such as whether multiculturalism is indifference disguised as tolerance, and what do Western feminists have to offer to the life and death problems of women from the developing world? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joint Nobel Peace Prize winner and Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee delivers a powerful talk about harnessing the power of African women to affect change. Moving between the personal and the universal, Gbowee demonstrates the impact of misogynist laws on females and broader society, and the potential in embedded in often-disenfranchised women and girls. Watch the talk that drew tears and two standing ovations from a packed Sydney Opera House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin Seligman is a bestselling author, world leading psychologist and expert adviser on wellbeing at the highest level of international public policy. According to Seligman, happiness is not the result of good genes or luck, and well-being is more than just the absense of ill-being. Real, lasting happiness comes from focusing on personal strengths and working with them to improve all aspects of your life. Watch as he speaks about everything from positive emotions and relationships to the politics and economics of well-being. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the Delhi gang rape case in everyone's mind, focus on the specific situation of women in India and India's 'rape culture' were put into perspective by a US case in Steubenville Ohio where an unconscious girl was repeatedly assaulted and onlookers and participants posted images and film all over the internet. If rape happens everywhere, but 'rape culture' is specific to local circumstances, what needs to happen in Australia and everywhere to make it a thing of the past?Join our panel Kiran Grewal and Dixie Link-Gordon (Chair: Clementine Ford). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A recent survey of media coverage of the US Election showed that over 70% of print stories were written by men and less than 20% percent of coverage was of women, making women almost invisible at the highest levels in public life and in the media. But are there advantages to invisibility? If anonymity comes with the freedom to do and say what you want, does this mean that the power that comes with visibility isn't all that it is cracked up to be?Join our panel of authors Tara Moss, Nikki Gemmel, and Brooke Magnanti (Chaired by Rebecca Huntley). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While daughters can be a learning experience for fathers, mothers with feminist convictions sometimes fall into the trap of seeing their daughter as the next stage in the march towards 'liberation' or 'equality'. In an age of analogue parents and digital daughters, what do girls need from their parents?Join our panel Nigel Marsh, Maya Newell and Barbara Toner (Chair: Dannielle Miller). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.