Big Ideas

Every day, science and technology are being used to enhance the abilities of human beings — helping people hear, walk, see, think and more. But at the extreme end, transhumanism has become an obsession of the rich and powerful: Vladmir Putin wants to live forever, Elon Musk wants to merge your brain with AI, while eugenics has also become popular again. So what are the ethics of transhumanism? Where do we draw the line?
The 2026 Plunkett Lecture for the Plunkett Centre for Ethics was recorded at the Australian Catholic University.
Speakers:
Jason T. EberlHubert Mäder Chair in Bioethics, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Albert Gnaegi Center for Bioethics at Saint Louis University

In a world where AI rules, what will it mean to be creative? First Nations poet and author Evelyn Araluen (The Rot, Dropbear) is already self-censoring because of AI theft. The characters in Steve Tolz's new novel A Rising of the Lights find weird ways to sabotage the robots amongst them. Digital safety expert and educator Kirra Pendergast is seeing AI reshape childhood - for better or worse - with an important warning for parents, carers, and educators. This event was organised by the 2026 Byron Writers Festival on Bundjalung Country.
Speakers 
Dr Evelyn Araluen Goorie and Koori poet, editor, educator Stella Prize winning author, Dropbear (2021) and The Rot (2025) Co-editor, Overland literary journal Senior lecturer of Indigenous arts and culture, Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne Steve Tolz Booker Prize nominated author for A Fraction of Whole (2008) Author, A Rising of the Lights (2026) Screenwriter and producer
Kirra Pendergast Digital safety advisor and educator Co-founder, Safe on Social and Crlt/Shift Co-author with Maggie Dent of Digital Freedom: A guide to less screen time for safer, happier and healthier families (2026) 
Thanks to Artistic Director of the Byron Writers Festival Jessica Alice, and team.

In just 32 years, more than 160,000 children were adopted internationally under China's One-Child Policy. About half were sent to the United States — almost all of them were girls.Award-winning journalist Barbara Demick's latest book tells the story of twin sisters who were separated as toddlers, with one adopted by a family in Texas, while the other stayed with her birth family in rural China. This event was recorded live at the 2026 Sydney Writers' Festival at Carriageworks.
Speakers:
Barbara DemickAuthor, Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins, Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (Baillie Gifford prize-winner) and more
Katrina StricklandSenior Writer, Good Weekend Magazine (Nine Newspapers)

From the fall of Rome to the climate crisis unfolding right now, history shows up a common pattern for how empires rise and fall. And two important factors are humans’ relationship with the natural world, as well as the unequal distribution of power and wealth. What can the wreckage of past civilisations teach us about avoiding our own? 
This event was recorded live at the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival at Carriageworks.
Listen to Big Ideas – Why civilisations vanish
Speakers
Amitav Ghosh Indian-born novelist, essayist, and public intellectual
Author of The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis and Wild Fictions
Luke KempResearch Affiliate, Centre for the Study of Existential Ris, University of CambridgeAuthor of Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse
Clare Wright (host)Professor of History and Professor of Public Engagement, La Trobe University and award-winning author

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