Big Ideas

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

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