Big Ideas

Need a mid-Winter pick me up? Well this is the conversation for you!  You could call Astrid Jorgensen a choir conductor, but that really doesn’t capture what she does and the global phenomenon she’s created. 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. She’s the founder, the composer, and the host of Pub Choir — which has been described as the world’s biggest one night stand in song. But for a while there she could have become a nun. Yes, there's so much more to her story, and she joins Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell to tell it.
This event, organised by Northern Books, was held at the Fitzroy Town Hall in Naarm/Melbourne.
This episode was first aired on the 10 December 2025.
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)

The gambling industry is targeting young people through digital platforms, personalised algorithms and the blurring line between gaming and betting. But also off-line, at the pokies, we see younger faces. We explore the strategies behind this trend, the human costs and what it would actually take to change the culture and the regulation around gambling in Australia.
This conversation is a cooperation with Shaun Micallef's Going for Broke, the new ABC three-part documentary series that you can find on ABC iView.
Speakers
Dr Charles LivingstoneAssociate Professor in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Mark KempsterLived Experience Advocate with the Alliance for Gambling Reform
Reverend Stu CameronCEO and Superintendent of Wesley Mission
Dr Sally GainsburyAssociate Professor of Psychology and co-Director of the University of Sydney Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic
Steve Cannane (host)Reporter with the ABC's Investigations UnitABC Four Corners by Steve Cannane – Losing Streak
Further information
National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858
Wesley Mission Gamble Aware

The arc of the moral universe may bend toward justice, but not without a whole lot of committed individuals doggedly banging on about it. Even when no one's listening, even when it's boring, even when it takes years or even lifetimes. So in this time of division and fracture, when hearts and minds seem out of reach, is there still value in preaching to the like-minded?
The 2026 Sheila Drummond Memorial Lecture was recorded at the Woodend Winter Arts Festival on 6 June 2026.
Speakers:
David MarrPresent Late Night Live, ABC Radio NationalAuthor, Killing for Country: A Family Story, Patrick White. A Life, Political Animal: The Making of Tony Abbott (Quarterly Essay) and more

It is replacing our work, our relationships, even our capacity to think. It's the combined sum of all human knowledge — so how long until artificial intelligence surpasses our own? Are we already there? In her latest Quarterly Essay, Anna Goldsworthy confronts a near future where humans are no longer the most intelligent beings, inviting us to consider what is irreplaceable in us, in what we do, and what we want for our lives.
This conversation was recorded on 8 June 2026 at Woodend Winter Arts Festival.
Speakers:
Anna GoldsworthyAuthor, The God we made — the threat and promise of artificial intelligence, Quarterly Essay #102 and many moreClassical pianist, founding member, Seraphim TrioDean of the Elder Conservatorium of Music and School of Performing Arts, Adelaide University, and incoming Artistic Director of the Australian National Academy of Music
Jacqueline OgeilHarpsichordist, conductor, music teacherFounder and director, Woodend Winter Arts Festival
Further information:
Magnifica Humanitas - on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence - Encyclical letter by Pope Leo XIV

Is there an art to forgiveness? Join Natasha Mitchell with popular Play School presenter, writer, actor, yoga and meditation teacher Rachael Coopes to explore why it's so hard to forgive people, why it's not what you think it is, and how it can be good for your health to try. Forgiveness may be hard work, but so is hanging on to hurt, hate, or a grudge — that can eat away at you or keep you tethered to the original harm — with consequences for your wellbeing, your relationships and your ability live to your full potential. Rachael Coopes has written a new book The Art of Forgiveness: Let Go, Find Peace. Join her and Natasha for this rich conversation about a complicated act.
This event was held at the 2026 Make Good Festival at Bundanon in NSW, on the traditional lands of the Dharawal and Dhurga people.
Speaker
Rachael CoopesActor, author, presenter of the long-running children's ABC TV show Play SchoolYoga and meditation teacherAuthor, The Art of Forgiveness: Let Go, Find Peace (2025)
Thanks to Make Good Festival guest curator Danielle Harvey and the whole team at Bundanon, NSW.