…

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. We love hearing from you about the show or events you are planning. Get in touch! 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.

#248

Sperm shortages, shady Facebook groups, and other intimate stories of modern donor conception

Donor-sperm conception has become even more difficult in Australia. Would-be parents are n... more

16 hrs Ago

55 MINS

55:16

16 hrs Ago

#247

How can we design our way out of Australia's housing crisis? With Anthony Burke and Tim Ross

From embracing the future of new technologies, materials and innovations, to returning to ... more

04 Jun 2026

58 MINS

58:07

04 Jun 2026

#246

Dark Emu's Bruce Pascoe and astrophysicist Ray Norris — can Aboriginal astronomy unite humanity unde...

Join Bruce Pascoe and Professor Ray Norris with Natasha Mitchell to discuss their eye-open... more

03 Jun 2026

53 MINS

53:30

03 Jun 2026

#245

Hard-won progress in women's rights is dismantled — and it threatens global security

Rising authoritarianism, splintering alliances and an organised backlash against women's r... more

02 Jun 2026

54 MINS

54:35

02 Jun 2026

#244

Medical misogyny — how the health system overlooks women's pain and how it's finally adapting

From GP appointments and hospital procedures, to medical research and clinical trials, for... more

01 Jun 2026

53 MINS

53:39

01 Jun 2026

#243

When Turnbull met Trump — and what it means for today’s changing world order

Australia's 29th Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull joins former Canadian Deputy Prime Minist... more

28 May 2026

53 MINS

53:51

28 May 2026

#242

The untold Titanic story of Evelyn with Lisa Wilkinson

The untold story of Evelyn Marsden and the woman who rowed against the tide. You've heard ... more

27 May 2026

55 MINS

55:18

27 May 2026

#241

What can Plato teach us about democracy today?

Democracy is on the decline, so could Plato help? Irish scholar Dr David Horan spent 16 ye... more

26 May 2026

53 MINS

53:42

26 May 2026

#240

Could self-driving cars & other innovations end the tyranny of distance in regional Australia?

Communities that once built their future around coal and agriculture are asking: what do w... more

25 May 2026

54 MINS

54:36

25 May 2026

#239

Love for your neighbour: how to cultivate radical empathy in a disenchanted world

From running a massage clinic for homeless men to running the largest independent human ri... more

21 May 2026

54 MINS

54:36

21 May 2026

#238

What makes Putin tick — and how will his iron-fist rule of Russia end? Natasha Mitchell with guests

Some say Russian president Vladimir Putin is growing increasingly paranoid, as his war wit... more

20 May 2026

53 MINS

53:33

20 May 2026

#237

Is nuclear war a real threat again? Ex-NATO and Atomic Energy Agency officials weigh in at Harvard

The global treaty for preventing nuclear proliferation is under serious strain. The last r... more

19 May 2026

54 MINS

54:36

19 May 2026

#236

How to date from a position of power, with Bad Dates of Melbourne creator Alita Brydon and Nelly Tho...

Have you ever heard of something called Chatfishing? From to AI profiles to cat-face filte... more

18 May 2026

54 MINS

54:37

18 May 2026

#235

How to live and die well — with Marieke Hardy, Hannah Gould and Antonia Pont

It's the only sure thing in life: that we will all die some day. But many of us are scared... more

14 May 2026

58 MINS

58:37

14 May 2026

#234

Wounded narcissist, visionary, team player, a mother's love? The alchemy of good (and bad) political...

Three savvy political minds get up close and (very) personal with power to consider where ... more

13 May 2026

59 MINS

59:37

13 May 2026

#233

Why jailed Jimmy Lai's plight is a warning for press freedom and us all, everywhere

From rags, to riches, to a prison cell. He could have stayed wealthy and silent, but chose... more

12 May 2026

54 MINS

54:35

12 May 2026

#232

Can you trust AI in the news? UK's Ian Dunt and guests on deepfakes, dodgy headlines and more

These days, [more Australians get their news from their social media feed] (https://www.th... more

11 May 2026

54 MINS

54:35

11 May 2026

#231

Why working-class kid turned millionaire banker Gary Stevenson wants you to join the fight against e...

He's got a rags to riches origin story, a hit Youtube channel and a bestselling memoir. No... more

07 May 2026

54 MINS

54:34

07 May 2026

#230

Dear Prime Minister Albanese: Where are all the BIG IDEAS?

A year on from its landslide victory, has Labor used its historic win to deliver big on BI... more

06 May 2026

1 HR 01 MINS

1:01:50

06 May 2026

#229

US civil rights leader Martin Luther King III on why corporate Australia shouldn't be shy of 'DEI'

Martin Luther King III knows what the long fight for equity looks like. His father was the... more

05 May 2026

55 MINS

55:07

05 May 2026

#228

Do Royal Commissions really work (and are they worth the money)? Betty King KC, Jack Rush KC, Jon Fa...

Are Royal Commissions just a lawyer's picnic? A political witch hunt? Or, a necessary reck... more

04 May 2026

54 MINS

54:45

04 May 2026

#227

Was Malcolm Fraser a conservative warrior or a closet progressive?

Malcolm Fraser's legacy remains contested territory in Australian politics. Decades after ... more

30 Apr 2026

55 MINS

55:04

30 Apr 2026

#226

"Here I am, here we are" Jewish Australian women reflect on the rupture of October 7 2023

October 7 has become synonymous with the Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023, in which more th... more

29 Apr 2026

54 MINS

54:43

29 Apr 2026

#225

Resistance — Yanis Varoufakis with Helen Vatsikopoulos on the people who fought back against fascism

Through the stories of five women across three generations of his family, the influential ... more

28 Apr 2026

54 MINS

54:35

28 Apr 2026

#224

Immunotherapy trailblazer Georgina Long on the hidden ingredients in cancer medicine

Every scientist dreams of a breakthrough — a new discovery that will change everything. Pr... more

27 Apr 2026

55 MINS

55:11

27 Apr 2026

#223

40 years after Chernobyl we face a new nuclear risk — this time as a weapon of war

The explosion of reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is not only a st... more

23 Apr 2026

55 MINS

55:52

23 Apr 2026

#222

Is Trump a new Nero, Caligula, Caesar? Can the Roman Empire help us make sense of today's chaos? And...

Is President Trump a new Nero, or a contemporary Caligula? The Roman Empire was full of me... more

22 Apr 2026

59 MINS

59:21

22 Apr 2026

#221

Australia's broken social contract — Tahlia Isaac wants to protect women in prison

What happens to a community when it punishes its most vulnerable instead of protecting the... more

21 Apr 2026

54 MINS

54:35

21 Apr 2026

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

#248

Sperm shortages, shady Facebook groups, and other intimate stories of modern donor conception

#247

How can we design our way out of Australia's housing crisis? With Anthony Burke and Tim Ross

#246

Dark Emu's Bruce Pascoe and astrophysicist Ray Norris — can Aboriginal astronomy unite humanity unde...

#245

Hard-won progress in women's rights is dismantled — and it threatens global security

#244

Medical misogyny — how the health system overlooks women's pain and how it's finally adapting

#243

When Turnbull met Trump — and what it means for today’s changing world order

#242

The untold Titanic story of Evelyn with Lisa Wilkinson

#241

What can Plato teach us about democracy today?

#240

Could self-driving cars & other innovations end the tyranny of distance in regional Australia?

#239

Love for your neighbour: how to cultivate radical empathy in a disenchanted world

#238

What makes Putin tick — and how will his iron-fist rule of Russia end? Natasha Mitchell with guests

#237

Is nuclear war a real threat again? Ex-NATO and Atomic Energy Agency officials weigh in at Harvard

#236

How to date from a position of power, with Bad Dates of Melbourne creator Alita Brydon and Nelly Tho...

#235

How to live and die well — with Marieke Hardy, Hannah Gould and Antonia Pont

#234

Wounded narcissist, visionary, team player, a mother's love? The alchemy of good (and bad) political...

#233

Why jailed Jimmy Lai's plight is a warning for press freedom and us all, everywhere

#232

Can you trust AI in the news? UK's Ian Dunt and guests on deepfakes, dodgy headlines and more

#231

Why working-class kid turned millionaire banker Gary Stevenson wants you to join the fight against e...

#230

Dear Prime Minister Albanese: Where are all the BIG IDEAS?

#229

US civil rights leader Martin Luther King III on why corporate Australia shouldn't be shy of 'DEI'

#228

Do Royal Commissions really work (and are they worth the money)? Betty King KC, Jack Rush KC, Jon Fa...

#227

Was Malcolm Fraser a conservative warrior or a closet progressive?

#226

"Here I am, here we are" Jewish Australian women reflect on the rupture of October 7 2023

#225

Resistance — Yanis Varoufakis with Helen Vatsikopoulos on the people who fought back against fascism

#224

Immunotherapy trailblazer Georgina Long on the hidden ingredients in cancer medicine

#223

40 years after Chernobyl we face a new nuclear risk — this time as a weapon of war

#222

Is Trump a new Nero, Caligula, Caesar? Can the Roman Empire help us make sense of today's chaos? And...

#221

Australia's broken social contract — Tahlia Isaac wants to protect women in prison