Big Ideas

ABC Australia

Your front row seat to big thinkers at the best live events, forums, and festivals. Feed your mind. Be provoked. One big idea at a time. Your brain will love you for it.

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Email: Bigideas@abc.net.au
SMS line for ABC Radio National: 0418 226 576

Airs Monday to Thursday 8pm, repeated Tuesday to Friday 12pm, on ABC Radio National.

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Avg 55 min
English

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Thursday · 54 min
It's an ancient Hindu poem, so why does The Ramayana still resonate?
It's been called "The Odyssey of the East", and the ancient Hindu poem remains central to Asian cultures and traditions from India to Indonesia 2500 years after it was written. From the names of Thai kings, to traditional Javanese shadow puppets, the ancient temples of Cambodia's Angkor Wat to contemporary Indian politics, the journeys of Rama and his wife Sita are deeply embedded. Why does this story endure? The conversation The Ramayana reimagined: storytelling across cultures was recorded at
Wednesday · 54 min
Why literary giants like Margaret Atwood, Nobel laureate Han Kang and Amitav Ghosh wrote books that will never be read in their lifetime
The Future Library is filled with unpublished books written for readers yet to be born. Every year a new literary work is commissioned to be held in trust in a special room in the National Library of Norway. And in a forest just outside Oslo, 1,000 Spruce are growing - waiting until 2114 to fulfil their role: To be pulped and transform these unseen words into print. This hundred-year literary artwork by Scottish artist Katie Paterson is one of the most internationally acclaimed long-term cultura
Tuesday · 54 min
When you trust social media influencers more than your GP — what can only go wrong?
From doctors spruiking untested therapies to celebrities selling "revolutionary wellness hacks", self-styled health gurus promise results traditional medicine can't. Social media transforms a healthcare system that struggles with GP wait times and short face-to-face appointments. Because when it comes to trust, it turns out fame competes surprisingly well with scientific evidence. Bad Influence: How the internet hijacked our health was recorded at the York Festival of Ideas. The festival is led
Monday · 54 min
Alice Pung's Unpolished Gem and her conversations with the teenagers who've studied it
Alice Pung started writing her first published book as a teenager. Now, it's been read and studied by two generations of Australian teenagers through the school curriculum. On the 20th anniversary of her irreverent, loving memoir of her migrant family's 's everyday struggles and bittersweet triumphs, she reflects on the book's endurance and the various reactions it's provoked in her young readers. The 2026 EW Cole Lecture was recorded by The Wheeler Centre Australia's first dedicated centre for
September 17 · 55 min
ABC National Forum — migration and the kind of country Australia wants to be
Migration has shaped modern Australia, but as the country grows, debates around immigrants and multiculturalism are intensifying. Join David Speers for the ABC’s latest National Forum. We bring together Australians from all walks of life to ask: Is our migration system still working? And just what is our National Identity? It’s a big discussion about the kind of country we want to be. Panellists Dr Abdul Rizvi Former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Immigration John Anderson Former Deput
September 16 · 57 min
Buying and Selling the Poor at The Festival of Dangerous Ideas — Rick Morton, Mark Considine, Emily Roy with Natasha Mitchell
Being poor has become big business in Australia, but not for people who need work. Billions spent. Millions of profits. But who's getting them? Why do unemployment and poverty continue to be stigmatised? And does the legacy of the Robodebt scandal live on? The Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research concluded in a new excoriating report Who’s rorting who? The failure of outsourced job services that the system is "filling the pockets of private equity and millionaires"
September 15 · 1 hr 15 min
Helen Garner reflects on five decades of writing — an ABC Radio National Top 100 Books countdown special
Helen Garner is one of Australia's most significant and renowned writers, known for her precise and observational writing style, disarming honesty and piercing curiosity about her fellow human beings. Here, she reflects on a lifetime of writing, from her groundbreaking 1977 debut Monkey Grip, to her work in the courtroom covering some of Australia's most shocking crimes, to her keen observations of daily life in her collections of letters and diaries. To celebrate ABC Radio National's Top 100 A
September 14 · 54 min
Why Diego Bonetto wants you to eat weeds
Foraging and eating wild food is nothing new in Australia. First Nations people have done it for over 50,000 years. Even your grandparents often still used to search for eatable weeds, mushrooms and nuts at the edge of their fields and in the woods. This knowledge is lost today. But attitudes to weeds have also changed. We don’t see weeds as a valuable resource anymore, only as a pest to get rid of. Is it time to change that and to rediscover the traditional knowledge of foraging? And what would
September 10 · 54 min
Feminist trailblazer Gloria Steinem with Natasha Mitchell and guests on travels that transformed them
Trailblazing feminist, political activist, journalist, and founder of Ms Magazine Gloria Steinem died this week at age 92 after a big life changing lives. In her memoir My Life on the Road she recounted how taking to the road fundamentally changed her understanding of the world and who she could be. Médecins Sans Frontières co-founder, French diplomat and novelist Jean-Christophe Rufin worked in war zones as a doctor and walked the Camino de Santiago as a pilgrim. Acclaimed poet and Yankunytjat
September 9 · 55 min
Are kid's books too moralistic, worthy, or 'woke'? Andy Griffiths, Hilary Rogers, Tamuz Ellazam for Radio National's Top 100 Books
Blockbuster Australian children's authors Andy Griffiths (The Treehouse series), Hilary Rogers aka Maddy Mara (Dragon Girls) and bookseller Tamuz Ellazam join Natasha Mitchell to share the iconic kid's books they'll be voting for in ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books (vote now!) — and weigh in on current controversies in kid's literature. Have children's books become too moralistic, too obsessed with teaching kids how to behave, or with imparting Very Important Messages? Is there a tension betw
September 8 · 54 min
Inside the life of Elizabeth II with royal biographer Robert Hardman
From the drama of her private world to the diplomacy of her position as queen. From the woman her family knew to the public figure the world saw. With unique access to royal family members, senior staff, and advisers Robert Hardman explores the parallel lives of Elizabeth as daughter, wife, mother and sovereign. Inside the Life of Elizabeth II was presented by the Royal Society of Arts, UK Speakers Robert Hardman British author, journalist and documentary filmmaker Author of Elizabeth II: In
September 7 · 1 hr
Tech activist Cory Doctorow says the internet's been enshittified. So is it too late to save it?
Leading tech critic Cory Doctorow coined the term "enshittification" to describe the slow decay of the digital platforms most of us are now forced to rely upon to operate in the modern world. So why and how did the internet get bad, and is it too late for people, countries and governments to reclaim technology as a force for humanity and the common good? This episode was recorded on 25 August 2026 at The Wheeler Centre, Australia's first dedicated centre for Books, Writing and Ideas, in partner
September 3 · 54 min
John Brack once painted his children. Now his adult daughter tells her story of life with the famous artist
She's the little girl in some of her father's most famous paintings, but life as the eldest child of artists John Brack and Helen Maudsley wasn't always easy. Clara Brack explores her childhood — and her parents' complex lives and relationship — in her new book The Secret Landscapes on not [pleasing your mother, which took her 20 years to write. This event was recorded at the Willy Lit Fest on 13 June 2026. Speakers: Clara Brack Author, The Secret Landscapes — on not pleasing your mother Gab
September 2 · 59 min
Roman Krznaric on why the history of human solidarity offers us radical hope, even now
Philosopher Roman Krznaric, author of History for Tomorrow: Inspiration from the Past for the Future of Humanity, The Good Ancestor, and founder of the Empathy Museum has been looking backwards to help us all find a way forward. What he discovered in the global history of human solidarity and social movements was a wellspring of brilliant solutions to current challenges — democracy, fossil fuels, hyper-consumerism, water, AI, racism, even rage bait on social media, and more. Join Roman with Big
September 1 · 54 min
Bob Spitz on the Rolling Stones and why all great music is a threat
From their earliest days as blues-obsessed kids living in freezing squalor, to the first taste of fame and the day they landed in the US and went stratospheric — and all the grit, glamour and gore in between. There are myriad revisions to the conventional narrative which underscore just how in control of their narrative the band has been up to now. But Bob Spitz got unique access to the group's friends and family. And he's sharing the details and examines a creative force whose power shows no si
August 31 · 53 min
Stephanie Alexander with Adam Liaw on 30 years of The Cook's Companion
Since 1996, The Cooks Companion has been a bible for Australian kitchens, a reliable friend who can tell you how to boil an egg, bake some bread, roast a chook, whip up a lemon delicious pudding — and much, much more. What is it about this book that's made it such an enduring go-to for household cooks for generations? This event was recorded live at the Sydney Writers' Festival at Carriageworks on 21 May 2026. Vote now in ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books. Speakers: Stephanie Ale
August 27 · 58 min
Mick Herron, Suzie Miller and Benjamin Law on great adaptations — from the page to the stage to the screen, and back again
When a book becomes a hit TV series, or a play becomes a Hollywood film, what makes it a great adaptation? Meet the creators of these international smash hits as they take you behind the scenes, into the writers' rooms, and inside their creative minds. Suzie Miller's award-winning play Prima Facie has just become a Hollywood film starring Cynthia Erivo, while the sixth season of television's Slow Horses, based on Mick Herron's bestselling spy novels, starts next month. This event was recorded
August 26 · 54 min
Should social media be banned for over-16s too!? The 2026 Beaker Street Festival Great Debate
Interesting idea or nanny-state gone way too far? If babies weren't born to doom scroll, why do we think grown-ups are? Don't miss our hilarious annual battle of brains and bravado with two teams and Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell at the Beaker Street Festival: where science meets art. Australia was the first country in the world to ban under-16s from social media. France just struck down a push for the same. Are adults immune to all the harms of these platforms? Should OVER-16s be banned too
August 25 · 54 min
Kerry O'Brien on the perfect storm destroying our politics — with Richard Flanagan
Acclaimed journalist Kerry O'Brien has seen it all, but nothing like right now. And he's not mincing his words. On AI, neoliberalism, education, equality, gutless governments, and more. For over 50 years, he covered the world's biggest stories and changemakers, and asked tough questions of power. Hear why he thinks a perfect storm threatens our society and our politics, and what he thinks can be done about it. The 2026 Thea Astley Address was recorded at the Byron Writers Festival on Saturday 1
August 24 · 54 min
Why Oz Harvest's Ronni Kahn wants you to join the "Order of the Teaspoon" to end food insecurity and waste
It's estimated that one in three Australian households have experienced food insecurity. At the same time, one third of all food produced in Australia gets thrown out. For more than two decades, Ronni Kahn has been fighting these dual challenges as head of food rescue charity OzHarvest. She argues these ongoing dual challenges show a failure of imagination and of will. The 2026 Kenneth Myer Lecture was recorded at the National Library of Australia in Canberra on 4 August and in Melbourne on 6 A

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