Big Ideas

Don't miss these previously unheard and powerful stories of ordinary people surviving extraordinary circumstances.  Cyclone Tracy destroyed 80 percent of Darwin and killed 66 people.  It's impact was harrowing. Beyond the despair are also memories of small blessings and surprising impacts long after that fateful Christmas of 1974.Presented by the Northern Territory Writers FestivalSpeakersRichard Creswick Author and former ABC journalistDerek PughHistorian and authorJared ArchibaldCurator of Territory History at the Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory Kylie Stevenson (host)Award-winning journalist and audio producerFurther informationWebsite with memories of Cyclone TracyYouTube - When Will the Birds Return

In outback New South Wales, on the dried up, ancient clay shores of Lake Mungo, is a story that has become emblematic for profoundly deaf Worimi man Dr Scott Avery: what can it teach us about disability inclusion, leadership, and excellence?The 2024 Disability Leadership Oration was recorded at the National Archives of Australia on 26 November 2024.SpeakersDr Scott Avery Professor of Indigenous Disability and Wellbeing at the University of Technology SydneyChristina Ryan (host) Founder and chief executive, Disability Leadership InstituteFurther informationDisability Leadership InstituteABC News page on people with a disabilityAustralians with disability tell their stories for International Day of People with Disability 2024ABC Press releaseUnited Nations 2024 International Day Of Persons With Disabilities (IDPD)

Can a single seed tell the story of a civilisation? What do the scars on the skins of 200-year old whales tell about our ancestors? Can ancient trees reveal hidden histories of human frailty and fabulousness? Can Nature be a timekeeper? Joining Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell are Dave Witty (author of What the Trees See: A Wander through Millennia of Natural History), Fiona McMillan-Webster (author of The Age of Seeds: How Plants Hacked Time and Why Our Future Depends on It) and Satyajit Das (author of Wild Quests: Journeys into Ecotourism and the Future of Animals).This event was hosted by the Brisbane Writers Festival.SpeakersSatyajit DasAuthor, former banker, consultantDr Fiona McMillan-WebsterScience writer and scientistDave WittyAuthor

Human rights are meant to be universal, but what happens when those rights conflict with one another? For example, a religious school's right to practice its faith, versus the right of others to be free from discrimination?The 2024 Higinbotham Lecture was recorded at RMIT University on 21 October 2024.SpeakerJustice Mordy Bromberg, President, Australian Law Reform CommissionFurther informationRead the full report Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws from the Australian Law Reform Commission