Big Ideas

Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally reshaping education and learning in Australian schools, with 80 per cent of students and two thirds of teachers now using AI tools. So how can we take advantage of the technology, and avoid the risks?
This event was recorded at the University of Technology Sydney on 17 June 2026.
Speakers:
Leslie LobleIndustry Professor, University of Technology SydneyChair of the Australian Network for Quality Digital Education, Chair of the Council on Early Childhood Development, Deputy Chair of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting AuthorityFormer Deputy Secretary in the NSW Department of EducationAuthor, Artificial intelligence, cognitive offloading and implications for education
Eddie WooHigh school maths teacherLeader of teacher growth for the New South Wales Education DepartmentHost of the popular Youtube channel Wootube Ultimate Classroom (Channel 10), Teenage Boss (ABC ME)Professor of Practice at the School of Education and SocialWwork, University of SydneyAuthor, Woo's Wonderful World of Maths, It's a Numberful World: How math is hiding everywhere and more

If authoritarianism was pressing in, what personal choices would you make to resist? Foreign correspondent Melissa Chan and artist-in-exile Badiucao have collaborated on the gobsmacking new graphic novel You Must Take Part in Revolution. It's set in a dystopian near future. A proto-fascist USA is at war with the full-throttled techno-surveillance state of China, with Taiwan wedged in the middle. Three young characters confront questions of loyalty, legacy, and courage. But for Melissa and Badiucao, their fictional scenario started to feel all to real. They know. They've lived it. They join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at their Australian launch event in Naarm/Melbourne.
Speakers
Melissa ChanEmmy nominated Hong Kong-Taiwanese-American foreign correspondentCo-author, You Must Take Part in Revolution (Simon and Schuster Australia, 2026)Former Beijing correspondent with Al Jazeera
BadiucaoChinese-Australian artist-in-exile and activistWalkley-Award-winning cartoonist, The AgeCo-author, You Must Take Part in Revolution (Simon and Schuster Australia, 2026)Winner, Human Rights Foundation's Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent.
Thank to Readings Bookshop events manager Christine Gordon.

Forensics has gripped pop culture for decades. But what’s the reality of this job? From the crime scene to the laboratory, our expert panel examines the evidence, explains the science and reveals how the truth gets uncovered. In the real world, by people who do this work for a living. 
Forensics: The Science of Blood, Body Bags and Biohazards was presented at the World Science Festival Brisbane. The UQ Impact Series is presented in partnership with The University of Queensland.
Speakers 
Inspector Donna StewartQuality Manager of the Queensland Police Service’s Forensic Services Group
Dr Kristen ClarkeSenior Research Officer within the Forensic Services Group at the Queensland Police Service (QPS)
Dr Jack GarlandSpecialist forensic pathologist with Queensland Health
Dr Jeremy WatherstonDeputy Director, Forensic Operations for Forensic Science Queensland
Dr Jonathan Webb (host)Science journalist and broadcaster, Science editor at ABC Radio National

From the blue-collar man, to the professional woman. From the multigenerational Australian born citizen, to a predominantly migrant nation. From the inner city to the suburbs to the bush. Australia has changed. But have our politicians?
This event was recorded at the Hawke Centre at Adelaide University on 20 August 2026.
Speakers:
George MegalogenisPolitical journalist, author, Three Shocks: Who We Are Becoming in the 21st Century, The Australian Moment (winner the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-fiction and the 2012 Walkley Award for Non-fiction), four Quarterly Essays, and more
Tory Shepherd (host)Senior Reporter, Guardian Australia

Jane Goodall’s radical ideas that animals have individual personalities, relationships and even emotions reshaped how we understand primates. It also sparked fierce ethical debates that are still playing out today: Do great apes have rights? What responsibilities do researchers carry when studying minds so much like our own? Jan Goodall wasn't just a trailblazing scientist. She became one of the most influential conservationists of the last century and created the foundation of modern primatology. 
City of Science: Jane Goodall and Her Legacy was presented at the CUNY Graduate Center
Speakers
Kristin AndrewsProfessor of Philosophy, CUNY Graduate Center
David LahtiAssociate professor of Biology and Psychology at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center
Jessica RothmanProgram director in Human Biology and professor of Anthropology at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center
Dr Mark Hauber (host)Professor of Biology and Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center and executive director of the Advanced Science Research Center