Festival of Dangerous Ideas

Lee Vinsel and Tyson Yunkaporta speak with Ann Mossop about the passing age, apocalypses, and the cyclical nature of eras. Their conversation is anchored in language: both speak of systems, entropy, the roles of maintainers or custodians, and the machines and languages of capitalism. Tyson explains entropy by connecting an incident of Aboriginal people spearing Dutchmen centuries ago to the modern-day experiences of colonialism, and Lee speaks of entropy as the natural breaking down of systems. Lee Vinsel is an associate professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Virginia Tech. Tyson Yunkaporta is an Aboriginal scholar, founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab at Deakin University in Melbourne. Produced by The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, The Ethics Centre and Audiocraft.

We hear the recorded sound of the invisible electromagnetic landscape that humans created unintentionally, allowing us to tune in to what our environment has to endure. Against a backdrop, we hear the voices of anonymous FODI listeners, recording their hopes and fears for the future of humanity, and a poem by Sylvie Barber and Simon Longstaff. Anthropocene is a response to Sam Mostyn and Peter Singer’s discussion.

A conversation between business sustainability advisor Sam Mostyn and moral philosopher Peter Singer, moderated by Simon Longstaff. Sam and Peter discuss the role of business in sustainability and climate action, the discrepancies between our values and monetary donations for global aid, and the ethics of responsibility we have toward the generation of humans who don’t yet exist. They touch on how the pandemic has highlighted gender and class divisions, along with the significance of community and care. Sam Mostyn is a businesswoman and sustainability adviser, with a long history of executive and governance roles across business, sport, climate change, the arts, policy, and NFP sectors. Peter Singer is an Australian moral philosopher, best known for his work on Animal Liberation and writings about global poverty. Produced by The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, The Ethics Centre and Audiocraft.

Sydney-based writer Tasnim Hossain records her written take on the meandering histories of Enlightenment discussed by Joya Chatterji and Stephen Fry, and the experimental sounds of the first known recordings of the human voice. Music is composed from sounds found in the archives of firstsounds.org, and recordings taken from a museum of mechanical music (fairgroundfollies.com). Produced by The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, The Ethics Centre and Audiocraft.  

In a conversation moderated by Simon Longstaff, historians Joya Chatterji and Stephen Fry discuss whether the age of Enlightenment is truly coming to an end. They share varying Enlightenment narratives that cross geographical, cultural and class borders and challenge the attempt to define an era of history as linear, with a definitive start and end point. Joya Chatterji is a Professor of South Asian History.  Stephen Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director. Produced by The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, The Ethics Centre and Audiocraft.

FODI: The In-Between is an audio time capsule recording this moment in time. It asks: Are we in-between two eras? And if so, what does this mean about the past and the future? 8 conversations between 16 of the world’s biggest thinkers, featuring Stephen Fry, Roxane Gay, Waleed Aly, Peter Singer, Sam Mostyn, Slavoj Žižek, Naomi Klein and more . Accompanied by 8 short creative sound responses to the themes that will be released alongside each conversation. Two new episodes dropping weekly. Subscribe now to join us at the in-between. Produced by The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, The Ethics Centre and Audiocraft.

When it comes to good governance, 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? Although there are cases where corruption has promoted conflict, in other instances it has helped restore peace in a 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.

A.C. Grayling says “to read is to fly”. The distinguished philosopher who has dedicated his life to examining knowledge believes we need a revolution in education. But many of us grapple with the question: what is education for? And is this the right question to ask?   A.C. Grayling is a distinguished philosopher notable for his ability to make philosophy relevant to contemporary readers and audiences. He is Master of the New College of the Humanities, and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. Associated with the new atheism movement and is sometimes described as the 'Fifth Horseman of New Atheism', he has written and edited more than 30 books on philosophy and other subjects.

In our current state of the world, are scientists the new gods? Do we increasingly rely on science to solve our problems, and are we stretching the scientific method to mystique? If we can’t trust scientists, is it possible to still trust science?   Tim Flannery is a scientist and one of Australia’s leading writers on climate change. Alok Jha is the science correspondent for ITV News in the UK.  Natasha Mitchell is a multi-award winning journalist and presenter of flagship ABC Radio National programs. Lee Vinsel is an Assistant Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Stevens Institute of Technology. 

If we don’t think our fellow citizens are capable of making the right choices about what they eat and drink, why do we think they are capable of voting? Since researcher Chris Berg presented this 2015 FODI talk, this question rings eerily true to what many individuals are experiencing today. Who is best placed to make the decisions for us – we the people, or the state?   Chris Berg is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs, where he specialises in civil liberties, the political economy of regulation, and media and technology policy.