Big Ideas

New York writer Jonathan Rosen’s memoir The Best Minds: a story of friendship, madness, and the tragedy of good intentions is a story of tenderness, heartache, and horror as he explores the vexed tensions between civil rights, medical power, and the complexities of recognising and treating severe psychotic illness. He joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell with psychiatrist Patrick McGorry for a powerful, moving conversation at the 2024 Adelaide Writers WeekOriginal broadcast on May 1, 2024Speakers:Jonathan RosenWriter and editorAuthor, The Best Minds: a story of friendship, madness, and the tragedy of good intentionsPatrick McGorryPsychiatristExecutive Director, OrygenProfessor of Youth Mental Health, University of MelbourneFounding Director, Headspace (National Youth Mental Health Foundation)Further information and support services:Lifeline Australia24x7 Crisis Support line on 13 11 14Beyond BlueMensLine AustraliaSANE AustraliaReachOut AustraliaAFRAFMI - supporting friends and carers of people with mental illnessOne Door Mental Health (formerly the Schizophrenia Fellowship of NSW)Hearing Voices NetworkMental Health First Aid AustraliaAustralians for Mental Health - advocating for better mental health policy and services in Australia

For decades, Mary Beard has forged her own path through the male dominated field of academia, from the ruins of Rome to the trenches of Twitter, to become "the world's most famous classicist". From the wise Augustus to the hypocritical Tiberius and the barking mad Caligula, Mary Beard uses these Roman rulers as a lens to examine life in their empire, and asks what lessons they can teach us about the world today.This event was recorded at Adelaide Writers' Week and originally broadcast on Big Ideas on 9 April 2024.SpeakersMary BeardAuthor Emperor of Rome, (also Pompeii, Confronting the Classics, SPQR, Women & Power, Twelve Caesars)Professor Emerita of Classics at Cambridge UniversityJonty ClaypoleWriter, documentary producer and arts administratorCEO, Red Room PoetryFormer Director of Arts, BBC

We are living in an "age of crises," says former New Zealand prime minister, Helen Clark. With her leadership experience and expertise in governance, politics, and policy, Helen Clark and a panel of health and international relation experts explore the challenges facing the world today and what is needed to achieve a healthier and thriving future for all. proWhile it's easy to feel overwhelmed by complex problems, speaking up about inequality can make a difference. Helen Clark urged everyone to "raise the issues, never give up, and relentlessly campaign".Politics, policy, and a healthy human future was hosted by ANU College of Health and Medicine with the Australian Global Health AllianceOriginal broadcast on May 7, 2024SpeakersHelen ClarkFormer Prime Minister of New Zealand and former UNDP AdministratorSharon FrielProfessor of Health Equity and an ARC Laureate Fellow in Planetary Health Equity at the ANU School of Regulation and Global GovernanceBina D'CostaProfessor at the Department of International Relations, ANU Coral Bell School of Asia-Pacific AffairsDr Arnagretta Hunter (host)Human Futures Fellow at ANU College of Health and Medicine, a cardiologist, a physician, and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at ANU Medical School

Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world's foremost experts on trauma, discusses his pioneering research into traumatic stress and its impact on our brains and bodies. Traumatised people experience incomprehensible anxiety, numbing and intolerable rage. Trauma affects their capacity to concentrate, to remember, to form trusting relationships, and even to feel at home in their own bodies. And he explains promising treatments, including neurofeedback, psychedelic therapy, psychodrama … and dance.This talk was presented by the Sydney Opera HouseOriginal broadcast on March 26, 2024SpeakersDr Bessel van der KolkDutch psychiatrist, author, researcher and educatorAuthor of The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking Press, 2014Sarah KanowskiPresenter of Conversations on RNHelplines1800 737 732 / 1800RESPECT or visit https://www.1800respect.org.auBlue Knot Helpline and Redress Support Service 1300 657 380 or visithttps://blueknot.org.au/survivors/blue-knot-helpline-redress-support-service/