Big Ideas

Homer’s Odyssey is back into the spotlight. Not just with Christopher Nolan’s new record breaking movie. Greek mythology is a publishing phenomenon with enduring appeal. So why are we reaching back to ancient myths for life lessons and a deeper understanding of the human condition? What was life actually like in Homer’s world... and where does history end and myth begin? This event was hosted at the Greek-Australian Writers’ Festival in Adelaide.SpeakersDr Alexandra TheodoropoulouGreece’s Consul-General in South AustraliaDr Emlyn DoddLecturer in Archaeology and Classical Studies, University of AdelaidePetra KaliveArtistic Director, State Theatre Company South AustralianDr Helen Vatsikopoulos (host)Director of the Greek-Australian Writers’ Festival Journalist; Industry Professional Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney

When you lose people and places, you can't bear to be without - or the baggage that weighs you down, is loss really nothing more than change? This conversation goes looking for loss in all its shapes: the identity we misplace growing up between cultures, the self we lose and remake as our bodies change and the strange, unsettling experience of coming face to face with who we used to be.Griffith Review: Lost and Found was presented at the Melbourne Writers FestivalSpeakersDr Ahona Guha Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, author, media consultant and speakerAuthor of Reclaim: understanding complex trauma and those who abuse and Life Skills for a Broken WorldMadison GriffithsAuthor of Sweet Nothings and TissueGeorgia MaluPoet, writer and editor. Boigu Island woman from the Umu Mere and Umai Lag clansCarody Culver (host)Editor of the Griffith Review

Two neurospicy minds talk neurodiversity, creativity, and what it's like to get a diagnosis like Autism or OCD as an adult. Can it bring clarity, upheaval, grief, or all of the above? And how can writing about it help? Host of The Bachelor and Bachelorette, podcaster, and mental health advocate Osher Günsberg and poet, essayist, editor and author of Kill Your Boomers Fiona Wright join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell. This event was held at the 2026 Byron Writers Festival on Bundjalung Nation Country. SpeakersOsher Gunsberg Host of TV shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, and of the Better Than Yesterday podcast.  Author of Back, After the Break (2018). Co-author of So What? Now What?: How to Stop Being Stuck and Start Living (2026) with illustrator Campbell Walker aka Struthless. Fiona Wright Poet, writer, editor 2024 Judy Harris Writer in Residence, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney Author, Small Acts of Disappearance: Essays on Hunger (2015); Kill Your Boomers (2026), and contributor to the Someone Like Me anthology of autistic writers. I was unseen even to myself: as many as half of people with anorexia are autistic (Fiona Wright in The Conversation, 2026)

From the rise of One Nation at home, to surprising election results abroad, recent events suggest that people feel that politics as usual is no longer delivering for them. So what alternatives are they reaching for?This conversation Political Rupture: Identity, Equality and Opportunity was recorded at the Canberra Writers Festival on 17 October 2026.Speakers:Niki SavvaAuthor, Earthquake: the election that shook Australia and morePolitical commentator and columnist with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapersFormer press secretary to Liberal Treasurer Peter CosetlloWaleed AlyAuthor, Chaos: Dispatches from disorder, Time of Monsters: What Future for Liberalism? (Quarterly Essay #103) and moreCo-host (with Scott Stephens) of The Minefield, ABC Radio NationalAdjunct Professor at Monash UniversityColumnist with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspaperJordan McSwiney (host)Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy, University of Canberra2026 ABC Top 5 Humanitites Scholar

Is there method in Donald Trump's madness? His plans for Venezuela, Iran, Ukraine, Greenland — even Canada. His disdain for global institutions and democratic processes. His preference for traditional values. What is the logic behind "Trumpian world making", and how is it reshaping the globe?This event was recorded at the Ultimo Institute at the University of Technology Sydney on 14 October 2026.Speakers:Gary GerstleEmeritus Paul Mellon Professor of American History at the University of CambridgeAuthor, The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market EraRoy Green (host)Emeritus Professor and Special Innovation Advisor at the University of Technology Sydney

The fire season is changing across Australia, becoming hotter, drier and longer. The evidence about the best ways to protect lives, property, and the environment is changing too. While fuel reduction burning has become a vital tool in the arsenal for land managers in every state and territory, some are now questioning whether we are doing it right - or whether we should be doing it all.The Burning Conversation was recorded at the Royal Society of Victoria on 21 September 2026.Speakers:Professor Trent Penman Bushfire risk modeler and Team Leader of FLARE Wildfire Research at the University of MelbourneDr Phil Zylstra Adjunct professor, Curtin University and the Australian National UniversityGregg Borschmann (host) Writer and oral historian, Driector, Talking Country

The year is 2046. After 2026, a whole lot changed in the world. Citizens started to vote women into power in parliaments everywhere. What happened next? Four Far North Queensland leaders are leaping into a tardis to hurtle twenty years into the future. Jump in, if you want the world to be different, this could be the ride of your life. Join Natasha Mitchell and guests in Cairns on Yidinji Country at the 2026 WOW (Women of the World) Festival.SpeakersDr Rana DadpourResearch Fellow at The Cairns Institute at James Cook University.Director of AUSIRAN, an advocacy group for Australian Iranians.Francoise LaneDescendant of the Meriam and Kaurareg peoples of Zenadth KesArtist, curator, designerCo-founder and director of Indij Architecture and DesignFounder, Francoise Lane FashionFormer Artistic Director, Cairns Indigenous Arts Fair.Claudia KurowskiYear 12 student and 2026 Youth Mayor of Cairns2026 Cairns Young Citizen of the Year, 2025 Cairns Young Woman, and co-founder of The Gratitude Initiative.Anita VeiversExecutive Director, Centacare Far North QldChair, Cairns Regional Jobs CommitteeBoard Member, Regional Development Australia Tropical North.Further informationWomen of the World WOW Australia

Has your doctor ever told you to go on a diet? Does that conversation put you off going to them in the first place, even if you need treatment for something not related to your weight? Has being in a larger body ever meant you can't access surgery or IVF?Some are pushing for a weight-inclusive approach to healthcare, which de-centres obesity, and focuses on 'health-at-every-size'. But what does that really mean, and why does it matter?This event was held at the 11th Annual Weight Stigma Conference at Griffith University.Original broadcast on September 17, 2025.SpeakersAna Ximena Torres, clinical psychologist and founder of the practice, Elemental Collective.Dr Fiona WillerDietitian, bioethicist, President of Dietitians AustraliaLecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at Queensland University of TechnologyFounder, Health, Not Diets consultancyHost, Unpacking Weight Science podcast.Tracy Taylor-BeckManager, Strategy and Health Promotion (interim CEO at the time of this event)Women's Health in the North, a women's health promotion and advocacy organisation in Melbourne's North.Thanks to Dr Lily O'Hara from Griffith University, convenor of the conference.

Scientists are uncovering the surprising power of the trillions of microbes living inside you and how they can shape your mood, your thinking, even your sense of self. How might the health of your gut change the course of serious mental illness? This a deep dive into the mind-body connection offers a glimpse of where the future of mental and physical health might be headed.Healthy microbiome. Happy brain? was presented at the World Science Festival Brisbane.SpeakersGordon ParkerScientia Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales and founder of the Black Dog InstituteAuthor of A Gut Mood SolutionAssociate Professor Heidi StaudacherDietitian and lead of the Diet, Gut and Brain Group at Monash UniversityDamien KeatingMatthew Flinders Professor of Physiology in the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI) and Head of the Gut Sensory Systems research groupJulia Baird (host)Award-winning journalist and co-host of the podcast Not Stupid on ABC Listen

Once, a musician’s success could live or die on the opinions of its reviewers. But now, music culture is being shaped by algorithms and PR companies. So what is the future of music journalism?This podcast episode was originally recorded on 19 August 2026 in partnership with The Wheeler Centre and Now or Never Festival. Discover more talks and bold conversations by following The Wheeler Centre wherever you get your podcasts or at wheelercentre.com.SpeakersAl Newstead Double J music and pop culture reporter Author, Tame Impala's CurrentsSose Fuemoli Host of Sista Sounds and On the Record on ABC Radio AustraliaMusic correspondent, ABC News BreakfastHost of, Window Seat, Triple RSarah Smith Former music editor at The Big Issue magazineFormer editor of Faster Louder Host, Sometimes Always, Triple RSimon Winkler (host)Double J Assistant Music DirectorFormer music coordinator (for 18 years) Triple RFormer co-host of Breaking and Entering, Triple RCo-founder, Good Question