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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.

Big Ideas

Doctor Who has acted as a mirror to more than six decades of social, technological and cultural change. It's been able to evolve and adapt more radically than any other fiction. Why we are so addicted to fiction, and why does this wonderful wandering time traveller mean so much to so many. This talk was provided by the York Festival of Ideas. The Festival is led by the University of York, UK.

Original broadcast on July 21, 2025.

Speaker

John HiggsAuthor of Exterminate/Regenerate: The Story of Doctor Who (Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2025)

Doctor Who at 60 — still as attractive as ever

The connection between body and mind is well established. But mental health expert Daniel Fung also includes the soul in this 'ecosystem' that shapes your overall wellbeing. He envisions a future for mental health services, that is person-centred, holistic and consciously uses digital tools and social media.

Beautiful minds, Loving hearts: Asian Mental Health Ecosystems in 2050 was presented at TheMHS (Mental Health Services) conference 2025 in Brisbane

Listen to Big Ideas — How to overcome the fear and anxiety that are holding you back

Speakers

Daniel Fung - CEO Institute of Mental Health, Singapore

Barbara Disley - Board Member, TheMHS Learning Network

Further information

Mindline - digital first-stop touchpoint for mental health in Singapore

The role of spirituality and religion in mental health care

From innocently conning controversial radio duo Kyle and Jackie O as a kid, time in a Zambian convent as a teen, to nearly becoming an air traffic controller before finding her real passion - helping others find their voice - Astrid Jorgensen has quite a story to tell. Her new memoir is called Average At Best. She is anything but. She is anything but. On any one night, anywhere in the world, you’ll find Astrid on a stage in front of a few thousand people singing their hearts out. But to call Astrid Jorgensen a choir conductor doesn’t really capture the incredible global phenomenon she’s created. She’s the founder, composer, and host of Pub Choir, described as the “world’s biggest one night stand in song”. 

This event was organised by Northern Books in Castlemaine and held at the Fitzroy Town Hall in Naarm/Melbourne.

Speaker

Astrid JorgensenFounder and conductor of Pub ChoirAuthor, Average At Best (Simon and Schuster Australia, 2025)

Further information

How Astrid Jorgensen turned a suburban pub choir into a worldwide musical phenomenon (Australian Story/ABC News, 2025)

Watch Australian Story episode about Astrid on Youtube (2025)

A song for every feeling? Pub Choir's Astrid Jorgensen with Natasha Mitchell

Australia now has its first treaty with this country's first peoples. After nearly a decade of formal consultation and negotiation, the Victorian Statewide Treaty has become law, and will come into effect from early December. This address outlines the long road to achieving the treaty, why it's important, and what comes next.

The 25th Dr Charles Perkins Oration was recorded on 28 October 2025 at the University of Sydney.

Speakers

Ngarra MurrayCo-chair, Victorian First People's Assembly

Victoria's new treaty with First Peoples — a turning point for Australia?

Humans are by nature creative, but how do we turn a spark of inspiration into something more tangible? Author Emily Maguire draws inspiration from some of the world's most creative minds — from Lin Manuel Miranda, to Susan Sontag, to explore the ingredients of a truly creative life.

The 2025 Colin Roderick Memorial Lecture, hosted by the Foundation of Australian Literary Studies at James Cook University in partnership with the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, was recorded on 29th July 2025 in Townsville.

Speakers

Emily MaguireAuthor, Rapture, An Isolated Incident, Love Objects, and moreTeacher of writing, Writing NSW

The Vanya QuartetElder Conservatorium, University of AdelaidePlaying Saoirse, composed by Belle Smibert

Pay attention — writer Emily Maguire finds promiscuous curiosity and cultural receptivity in the creative process

As we grow older, changes to our bodies and minds are inevitable. But what if science could help us age better? Our experts on Big Ideas uncover the latest science behind healthy brain aging. What's possible in the fight against cognitive decline and dementia? How might you live a longer, healthier, and more meaningful life?

Presented by Sydney Ideas, the talk program at the University of Sydney

Speakers

Associate Professor Eleanor DrummondSenior Lecturer (Neuroscience), School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney

Olivier PiguetNHMRC Leadership Fellow and Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology, University of Sydney

Gilbert KnaggsSociology PhD candidate, University of Sydney

Elfy Scott (host)award-winning journalist, podcaster, and presenter

Can science keep dementia at bay and keep your brain sharper − for longer?

When acclaimed Australia author Christos Tsiolkas was invited to give the 2025 Ray Mathew Lecture at the National Library of Australia, he had in mind what he wanted to say, as difficult as it was. Then he got a rage-filled message from a longtime friend. How did Christos respond? Is fence-sitting an indulgence in an ethically troubled, divisive, dislocated world? Or, is 'speaking across the fence' something writers and other creatives can offer us?

"We're urged at all times — and for every occasion — to take a position. Yet is there a utility, both practical and ethical, in taking a breath, a pause, and refusing to land definitively on a stance?" — Christos Tsiolkas

Speaker

Christos TsiolkasAuthor of The Slap, The In Between, Barracuda, DamascusPlaywright and screenwriter

Further information

More about the annual Ray Mathew Lecture, including the transcript and video of the 2025 lecture

Acclaimed author Christos Tsiolkas on fence-sitting in a time of fracture

From The Don to Warny, the Gabba to the G, from its legacy of British colonialism, to the Asian powerhouse nations of today — cricket is not just a sport, but also a reflection of the societies who play it. Drawing on a wealth of writing about the sport, including novels, biographies, and media reporting, this lecture explores the cultural and historical legacy of cricket.

This event was recorded at the Australian Catholic University on 30 October 2025.

Speakers

Paul Giles Professor of English, Australian Catholic University

Gideon Haigh Journalist and author of The Cricket War, The Summer Game and On WarneEditor and host, Cricket Et Al podcast and newsletterOpening batsman, South Yarra Cricket Club

The stories we tell about cricket — with Paul Giles and Gideon Haigh

Born in apartheid South Africa, she became the country's first female high court judge. She sat on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and helped to establish sexual violence and rape as war crimes in international law. At a time of global conflict and instability, the work and achievements of Navi Pillay are a reminder of what can be achieved when accountability trumps impunity, when the law defeats lawlessness, and justice prevails over injustice.

The 2025 Sydney Peace Prize Lecture, hosted by the Sydney Peace Foundation, was recorded at the Sydney Town Hall on 6 November 2025.

Speakers

Navi PillayFormer Chair of the United Nation's Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian TerritoryFormer United Nations High Commissioner for Human RightsFormer President and Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for RwandaSouth Africa's first female High Court Judge

Chris SidotiMember of the United Nation's Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian TerritoryFormer Australian Human Rights CommissionerFormer Chair of the Australian Law Reform Commission

Rawan ArrafFounder and Executive Director of the Australian Centre for International Justice

Nour Haydar (host)Journalist and co-host, Full Story, Guardian Australia

Judge Navi Pillay on the fight for human rights, justice and accountability

Young Australians are losing faith that our politics, our civic institutions and the mainstream media are working for them. Why is this? And how can our democracy adapt to win back the trust and engagement of new generations?

The 2025 Speaker's Lecture was recorded at Parliament House on 27 October 2025.

Speakers

Holly Rankin - Musician and recording artist Jack River, founder, Sentiment, director, Teach Us Consent

Milton Dick - Speaker of the House of Representatives, Labor Member for Oxley

Further information:

SOS Democracy with Niki Savva — Can politicians and journalists do better?2024 Speaker's Lecture - Big Ideas, ABC Radio National, 15 October 2024

Musician Holly Rankin on why young Australians feel that politics isn't delivering for them

Seeing a whale in the wild takes your breath away. But so much of what they do remains mysterious. Join Natasha Mitchell with two world leading whale researchers unearthing the secret world of cetaceans. You'll want to change jobs when you hear what they get up to! Thousands of humpback whales will soon leave their Summer feeding grounds in Antarctica with full bellies to begin the world's longest mammalian migration. How do they live, breed, behave, survive, thrive? Commercial whaling might have declined, but can we work out what these magnificent creatures make of what's happening in their home now — from offshore oil drilling and seismic testing to ship collisions and climate change? 

This event was hosted by the Island Whale Festival Phillip Island. Find out more about the festival held annually in July. 

Listen to the rest of our special series Animals — Us and Them?

Speakers

Dr Barry McGovern Cetacean scientist Australian Research Associate, Pacific Whale Foundation

Dr Pete Gill Cetacean scientist Founder and CEO of The Blue Whale Study

Animals — Us and them? Are you having a whale of a time?

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