Big Ideas - Full Program Podcast

Shelter was found for the homeless, the unemployed were paid a living wage, banks offered loan repayment holidays, and we rediscovered our local communities. The pandemic seemed to have a silver lining. But can a major crisis deliver long term social change? How do we achieve a change in how we think, and act?

Changing the world begins in your own household, with the tree in your street and the bike path in your neighbourhood. Jess Scully has travelled the world, exploring the many ways of reshaping our world into a fairer and more sustainable place. She talks about how you can help. And that’s not only through public protests, but also through actively participating in council community consultations.

It’s difficult to initiate social change - not only to make people understand that change is needed, but to get them to alter their behaviour and maybe even to get them to give up some things. Two young activists discuss strategies of how to motivate crowds and the power of taking action.

Is a pandemic the right time to change careers or extend your working life? A career change expert talks about the way to reinvent yourself, business analysts discuss career change over an extended working life and gender equity advocates outline the special needs of working women in the economic recovery after the pandemic.

The fallout from one dreadful day when he seven years old, and the realisation his father was incapable of loving him, traumatised writer Rick Morton in a way he’s never truly understood. Rick discusses his Complex PTSD diagnosis, and how, as a result, he’s decided to live life as he has never lived it before: openly and vulnerably.

Following the first light to the dawn of the cosmos. New technology allows us to glimpse more of the earliest beginnings of the universe and with that it helps us to predict the future. Join a constellation of astrophysicists as they explore what the first stars looked like, the nature of dark energy and how the acceleration of the universe might end.

Modern slavery takes many forms. There's forced marriage , child labour and workers toiling in sweatshop conditions. Poorly paid workers are often behind the cheap consumer goods we buy and some of those workers will be in bondage to traffickers. Human trafficking is a feature of many global industries and we know that the victims we find are just the tip of the iceberg.

How do you feel about the Evil Queen in Snow White? Yes - she tried to kill her stepdaughter three times, but is she really the villain? The evil witches in fairy tales reflect cultural anxieties and they fight against set norms of society. The aging witch against the virgin beauty – did it ever occur to you that the Evil Queen and Snow White might be the same person?

Victoria was the first state in Australia to legalise Voluntary Assisted Dying. The law came into effect in 2019.  Western Australian and Tasmania have now passed similar laws, but they are yet to take effect.  After nearly two years of operation in Victoria, how are the laws working, and where is the debate at? 

The extent of sexual abuse in our society has been laid bare in recent months. Survivors of abuse have courageously stepped forward to tell their stories in the media and on social media. One of those people is Australian of the Year, Grace Tame , recognized for her campaign to shine a light on the way we deal with sexual assault. Grace speaks to Kerry O'Brien about her personal experience and her call for a national taskforce to deal with this issue.

Stress is one of the big health and wellbeing problems of modern life. It seems there is no way to escape it: too many work demands, social tensions, juggling all the tasks in your day done, financial pressures - even your leisure time can get too busy. On Big Ideas, three experts explain the science of stress: How our bodies and brains react to it and how we can improve coping with it.

The Treaty of Versailles was supposed to bring ‘peace without victory’ and end all wars. Far from it, most conflicts of the past century can be traced back to that unprecedented peace conference in Paris. Big Ideas a panel of historians discusses the shortcomings of the Treaty of Versailles and explain how it more or less laid out the roadmap for the 20th century.

Writer, Monica Dux, grew up a devout Catholic, once telling a high school friend she wanted to be a nun. But, over time, she lost her religion, and eventually became so disillusioned with the Catholic Church she decided to quit. She discovered, “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave”.

In just over 100 years the computer has come a long way. Early devices were huge, clunky machines; a 1000-word memory was considered a lot; and the capacity of doing 29 equations simultaneously was a break-through. Despite its limitations, a lot of the old technology is still at the basis of today’s ubiquitous high-tech computers. Big Ideas takes you on a journey through the history of the modern computer.

We can recycle to put materials to new uses not just to replace the original product. We hear how textiles and plastics are repurposed to make building tiles and how the fashion industry is trying to reduce, reuse and recycle. Mass produced clothes currently contribute enormous amounts to landfill and generate pollution in the manufacturing process.

US president Joe Biden has pledged a reformed approach to China and the United States’ relationship with the outside world. So, what would a changing US-China relationship mean for the rest of the world? And does the US look for more cooperation with Europe on dealings with China? A panel of China and international security experts explores the complex geopolitics connecting America and China.

Alan Finkel, Australia's former Chief Scientist, plots a course for moving away from carbon emitting fossil fuels, towards a zero emissions world. Solar, wind, as well as battery storage of renewables, will meet more of energy needs.  But the great hope, down the track, is hydrogen power.

Psychedelic drugs were a feature of 1960s counter-culture and the subject of serious medical research from the 1940s onwards. Research was halted after psychedelics were declared dangerous and banned but new research is finding them to be powerful medicine. And, with the coronavirus pandemic in full swing, why are there so few drugs to treat viruses?

Joe McCarthy is the figurehead of the anti-communist crusades of the 1950s-era. Thousands of Americans were investigated as alleged communists and Soviet agents during the 'Red Scare'. McCarthyism became the synonym for hysterical intolerance – and some say it’s prevalent again today. Historian Richard Norton Smith explores the rise of Joe McCarthy and the dangerous legacy he left behind.

It’s over 50 years since the equal pay decision when the Arbitration Commission endorsed the principle of equal pay for equal work. But 50 years on there’s still a gender pay gap. Despite campaigns for gender equality Australian women earn ,  on average , 13.4 percent less than men. So why is there this persistent gap and how can we fix it? The Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency wants employers to be agents of change.