245 episodes
Big Ideas ABC listen
-
- Society & Culture
-
-
3.4 • 9 Ratings
-
Feed your mind. Be provoked. One big idea at a time. Your brain will love you for it. Grab your front row seat to the best live forums and festivals with Natasha Mitchell.
-
The shark net controversy — hear the debate at Bondi's Ocean Lovers Festival
They use of shark nets to protect us from sharks is highly controversial. Do they work, what do they do to marine life, are there alternatives, and why are sharks so political? Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at the 2024 Ocean Lovers Festival for a robust interrogation of of an issue that ignites passions.
-
Life on Mars – and beyond
It's a question that has focused the minds of astronauts, scientists, space entrepreneurs and enthusiasts alike – is there, could there be, life on Mars? The race is on to find out, with NASA hoping to land astronauts there by the late 2030s.
-
A heart-to-heart with Eric Bogle — his songs and his life
Folk legend Eric Bogle is opening up and talks about his life, his thoughts about death, friendship and love and why having a deeper message for writing songs is so much more important than money and fame. It's a rare opportunity to share a conversation with one of the best and most prolific songwriters of the last several decades. His songs have become Australian classics – like The Band Played Waltzing Matilda or No Man's Land. And as a very special treat – you'll hear the world premiere of his latest song … finished on the way to this event.
-
The war in Gaza, Palestinians, and Israelis – what can we learn from the past about the future?
What is the future of Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza strip and surrounding region? Can the past help us understand the tumultuous, horrifying present? And is a two-state solution a realistic response to the war in Gaza or not? Walkley Award-winning Australian journalist John Lyons, Israeli historian and political scientist Ilan Pappé, American essayist and author Nathan Thrall, and American political advisor Bruce Wolpe share their perspectives.
-
A mummified mystery! Sealed shut for decades then scientists opened this coffin lid
A wooden sarcophogas is sold in a Cairo market in the late 1800s, transported to Australia, and held in a University of Sydney collection. It remains closed for over a century. And then scientists opened its lid. What happened next? Two leading Australian Egyptologists join Natasha Mitchell to consider the ethics, history, and science of a quest to understand life and death in Ancient Egypt and get a glimpse into one woman's world over 2500 years ago. But is it really Mer-Neith-It_Es?
-
Mary Beard — Empress of Rome
For decades, Mary Beard has forged her own path through the male dominated field of academia, from the ruins of Rome to the trenches of Twitter, to become "the world's most famous classicist".
Customer Reviews
Yikes
There doesn’t seem to be a fundamentally inclusive panel on many of these discussions. The way in which many of your presenters disregard ancient civilizations and indigenous practices, essentially minimizing them in favor of western Christian ideals and ‘virtue’…society existed prior to Christianity, in fact, in the face of our declining climate and natural resources, many are looking back to these original ancestral practices to inform regulations and land use that is more aligned with prior indigenous living (closer to the earth) and yet many in these episodes prefer to argue in favor of continuing along a proven destructive path of western ‘ideals’, showing a devastating lack of introspection, and (unsurprising) perpetuating oppressive social hierarchies.
A worthy listen
I like this show. It's all quality debates and lectures giving you something to mull over. It is quite varied and not all programs appeal. There are a few that send me to sleep but at the end of the day the show is so prolific that the positives far outweigh the negatives. Worth downloading.