Big Ideas

Ever felt that no one is really listening? At a time when we're more connected than ever, why does it seem like we can barely talk to each other? Civic and civil discourse have deteriorated, and the air is raw with anger and misunderstanding on all sides.Award-winning Canadian author and poet Ian Williams is reviving the lost art of conversation in his CBC Massey Lecture series What I mean to say — remaking conversation in our time.These lectures were recorded live across Canada in November 2024. The first lecture Why we need to have a conversation about conversations took place in Sydney, Nova Scotia.SpeakersIan WilliamsPoet and author, Reproduction (Scotiabank Giller Award winner), Disorientation. Being Black in the World, Word problems (Raymond Souster Award 2021), and moreProfessor of English and director of the Creative Writing program at the University of TorontoSteve SutherlandCBC local radio host, Sydney, Nova ScotiaWendy BergfeldtCBC local radio host, Sydney, Nova ScotiaFurther information:Since 1961, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has produced the Massey Lectures featuring leading Canadian thinkers asking questions that make us better human beings. The lectures are a partnership between CBC, House of Anansi Press, and Massey College in the University of Toronto.

In his influential 1964 book The Lucky Country, Donald Horne wrote that Australians played an aristocratic role in Asia: "rich, self-centred, frivolous, blind". A lot has changed in 60 years, but does Australia still think it's better than its neighbours?Recorded at the Australian Academy of the Humanities annual symposium, The Ideas and Ideals of Australia — The Lucky Country turns 60, on 13 — 15 November 2024 at the Australian National University.SpeakersLouise EdwardsEmeritus Scientia Professor of Chinese History, University of New South WalesNick HorneEditor, Donald Horne: Selected Writings (2017)

Australia's housing crisis hasn't always been with us. So what choices created it, and what choices are now needed to fix it?  Buying a house is now out of reach if you're on an average wage, and rental options are expensive and precarious. If we don't address the issues urgently, generations to come will face homelessness or profound poverty paying rents on a pension. There are solutions. Are politicians courageous enough to try them? Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at Adelaide Writers Week.SpeakersMaiy AzizeDeputy Director of Anglicare AustraliaNational spokesperson, Everybody's Home campaignAlan KohlerFinance journalist and presenter with ABC NewsAuthor, Quarterly Essay: The Great Divide: Australia's Housing Mess and How to Fix it (2023)Amy Remeikis aka @PyjamaPoliticsChief Political Analyst, The Australia InstituteJordan van den Lamb aka @PurplePingersRental activist and advocate2025 Senate candidate, Victorian SocialistsThank you to Adelaide Writers Week and to Anna Chang from the Australia Institute.

How many times have you checked your phone today? How many tabs are open in your web browser? Do you feel in control of your attention? In the digital age, attention is now a commodity. Can practices like meditation and mindfulness help us feel more free to focus on what really matters?This event was hosted at the Brunswick Ballroom by the Sophia Club in partnership with the University of Melbourne's Contemplative Studies Centre.SpeakersJess HuonMeditation trainer, authorised Dharma teacher, writer (The Dark Wet)Nicholas Van DamDirector of the Contemplative Studies Centre at the University of MelbourneAssociate professor, School of Psychological Sciences, University of MelbourneBrigid Hains (host)Editorial director, Aeon MediaMatthias Schack-Arnott Musician

The structures of our families have become more bespoke, complex, sometimes messier. Some find comfort in a 'chosen family', choosing friends over blood-relatives as kin.  Patchwork families are increasingly common. You can a birth mother, a genetic mother and a social mother. How is the family changing and with what impacts? Meet three writers here to help you re-imagine the ties that bind. Presented at the Byron Writers Festival, supported by the Byron Shire Council.SpeakersKon KarapanagiotidisCEO and Founder of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre; author of A Seat at My Table: PhiloxeniaMarina KamenevFormer deputy arts editor of the Moscow Times, author of KinMolly SchmidtWriter and journalist, author of Salt River RoadRosemarie MilsomFounding director of Newcastle Writers Festival, journalist and broadcaster Also listen to Future Tense: The greatest demographic shift in a century is being ignored: single living

The Murray Darling Basin is the most important river system in Australia, and the most contested. What does it mean to live by those rivers, through the droughts, the floods, and the water politics that shape these communities. A beautiful and evocative history of the Murray Darling Basin, as told by people who live there.This speech was recorded at the History Council of Victoria's annual lecture at the State Library of Victoria on 14 November 2024.SpeakersKatie HolmesProfessor in History and Director of the Study of the Inland at La Trobe UniversityAuthor, Mallee Country: land, people, history, Reading the Garden: the Settlement of Australia and more

How has the fossil fuel industry wielded influence over Australian governments and their policies? What does it take to make ambitious change in the public interest, without vested interests getting in way? Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at Adelaide Writers Week.SpeakersDr Richard DennissEconomist and Executive Director of The Australia InstituteAuthor of BIG: The Role of the State in the Modern Economy (2022)Ross GarnautEconomistProfessor Emeritus in business and economics, University of MelbourneBoard director of renewable energy company ZEN ENERGYAuthor of Let's Tax Carbon: And other ideas for a better Australia (2024), Superpower: Australia's Low Carbon Opportunity (2019)Sarah Hanson-YoungSenator for South AustraliaGreens spokesperson for arts and communications, and environment and waterRoyce KurmelovsFreelance journalistAuthor of Slick: Australia's Toxic Relationship with Big Oil (2024)

The citizens of France have a notoriously conflicted relationship with the state. Their suspicion, if not resentfulness, of state power has played out in myriad revolts over the centuries and continues with repeated protests and riots to this day. It shapes the country's political and social fabric … from the set-up of their local sports clubs to their global foreign politics ambitions. The picture that emerges is one of a nation struggling to reconcile its core political values with the realities of a diverse society.Presented at FASStival, the University of Technology Sydney Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences FestivalSpeakerEmile ChabalProfessor of Contemporary European History at the University of Edinburgh, Author of France

The International Criminal Court has issued high-profile arrests warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over their conduct in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. But although the court's role is to end impunity for war crimes, many are now questioning whether it has the power to perform that vital duty.This event was recorded at the University of Tasmania on 11 February 2025.SpeakersAlex WhitingProfessor of Practice, Harvard Law SchoolFormer Acting Specialist Prosecutor for the Kosovo Tribunal in The HagueFormer Investigation Coordinator and then Prosecution Coordinator in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The HagueTrial Attorney and then a Senior Trial Attorney with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, 2002-2007Regina Weiss (host)Barrister, Tasmanian BarFormer war crimes prosecutor, International Criminal CourtCounsel to the ICC on victims, defense, sexual and gender-based violenceChair of the Australian Red Cross — Tasmania International Humanitarian Law CommitteeTim McCormack (host)Professor of International Law, University of TasmaniaFormer Special Adviser on War Crimes to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (2010-2024)

Helen Garner, a celebrated Australian author known for impactful works like "Monkey Grip" and "The First Stone", shares her insights on life, family, and Australian Rules Football. She humorously reflects on the joys and challenges of being a footy fan while documenting her grandson's growth in the sport. Garner discusses the invisibility of older women in a male-dominated realm and explores the emotional lessons learned through football. Her anecdotes blend the dynamics of family, the complexities of masculinity, and the rich tapestry of community tied together by sport.