Big Ideas

They're Australia's highest form of inquiry on matters of public importance. But they've also become the go-to solution when corruption, misconduct or systems failures are exposed. So are they just a lawyer's picnic? Or a necessary reckoning?The conversation How do Royal Commissions work? And How Do We Assess Their Impact? was recorded at the Sorrento Writers Festival on Friday 24 April 2026.SpeakersBetty King QCFormer Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria (2005 - 2015), former County Court judge, former state prosecutor, former criminal barristerChairperson of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review BoardJack Rush KC Barrister, counsel assisting the Victorian Royal Commission into the 2009 Black Saturday BushfiresJon Faine (host)Former longtime presenter Mornings, ABC Radio MelbourneFormer lawyerVice Chancellors Fellow, University of MelbourneAuthor, Apollo & Thelma

Get bonkers on bonking with Natasha Mitchell and guests at the 2026 World Science Festival Brisbane. It’s a sexy, fun, and educational – what's not to love?! Sex historian Dr Esme Louise James is creator of the viral Kinky History TikTok series and does a Sextistics show with her mathematician mother. The complexity of the human clitoris can no longer be ignored by science, thanks to the world-changing work of urologist and surgeon Professor Helen O’Connell. And biologist Professor Robbie Wilson will help you channel your inner animal – masturbating monkeys, tiny testicled-gorillas, amorous antechinus and more. This event was hosted at the 2026 World Science Festival Brisbane/Meanjin.SpeakersDr Esme Louise JamesHistorian, perfomer, author, Kinky History: A Rollicking Journey Through Our Sexual Past, Present, and Future (2024)Creator, the viral Kinky History TikTok series.Professor Helen O'Connell A.OUrologist and urological surgeonUniversity of MelbourneProfessor Robbie WilsonBiologist, head of The Performance LabUniversity of QueenslandThanks to World Science Festival Brisbane producer and maestros Dr Rob Bell, Jane O'Hara, Bec Redsell.Further readingAnatomy of the clitoris Helen E O'Connell, Kalavampara V Sanjeevan, John M HutsonJournal of Urology, Volume 174(4 Pt 1): October 2005, Pages1189-95Anatomical Relationship Between Urethra And ClitorisHelen E. O'connell, John M. Hutson, Colin R. Anderson, Robert J. PlenterThe Journal of Urology, Volume 159, Issue 6, June 1998, Pages 1892-1897Magnetic resonance imaging of male and female genitals during coitus and female sexual arousal Willibrord Weijmar Schultz, Pek van Andel, Ida Sabelis, Eduard MooyaartBMJ, 1999The Anatomy of the Distal Vagina: Towards Unity Helen E. O'Connell , Norm Eizenberg, Marzia Rahman, Joan CleeveThe Journal of Sexual Medicine, Volume 5, Issue 8, August 2008, Pages 1883–1891Magnetic resonance imaging of male and female genitals during coitus and female sexual arousal Willibrord Weijmar Schultz, Pek van Andel, Ida Sabelis, Eduard MooyaartBMJ, 1999

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia has some 120 embassies, high commissions, consulates-general and representative offices located across five continents. So when an Australian gets into trouble overseas, or a politician travels abroad on government business, or other countries take actions that damage Australia's national interest, it's likely a diplomat is not far away. In their recent books, two former diplomats reveal what the job is really like as Australia's representatives abroad.This event was recorded at the 2025 Canberra Writers Festival.SpeakersLachlan StrahanFormer Australian diplomatAuthor, The Curious Diplomat: A Memoir from the Frontlines of DiplomacyGrant DooleyFormer Australian diplomatAuthor, Bomb Season in Jakarta — A personal account of a turbulent period in Australian diplomacyKaren Middleton (host)Political journalistAuthor, Albanese: Telling it Straight

Misinformation, disinformation, deep fakes, false news — do you feel confident spotting them? They’re doing real harm to our relationships, our communities, our health, even to the future health of our democracy. New research has found 73% of Australians believe disinformation will be a major threat to our national security in the next decade. Former Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers believes we can’t afford to be complacent. Australia is only one of 29 fully fledged democracies in the world and three quarters of the global population lives in autocracies, the highest since the 1980s. Join Natasha Mitchell and guests to discuss why media literacy matters. This event was organised by ABC Education with the Australian Media Literacy Alliance. Watch The Matter of Facts with Hamish Macdonald on ABC Iview.SpeakersTom Rogers Former Australian Electoral Commissioner Distinguished advisor, ANU National security College Australia’s advisor to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). Professor Michael Dezuanni Chair of the Australian Media Literacy Alliance Chief investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child Program Leader, Digital Inclusion and Participation QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Paula Kruger CEO, Media Diversity Australia Former journalist and broadcaster Former manager, community radio station 2SER. Thanks to head of ABC Education Annabel Astbury and event producer Grace Ernestine.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that universal human rights begin in “small places, close to home — so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world.” In his fourth Massey Lecture, Alex Neve reflects on moments when people power won the Lecture four of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

The ideals behind the concept of human rights — such as the sacredness of life, reciprocity, justice and fairness — have millennia-old histories. After the carnage of the Second World War and the Holocaust, these ideas took a new legal form. In his second Massey Lecture, Alex Neve considers six dizzying years that laid out a blueprint for a new world.Lecture two of the 2025 CBC Massey Lecture series: Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured WorldSpeakerAlex NeveSecretary-General of Amnesty International Canada (2000 to 2020); adjunct Professor in international human rights, University of Ottawa, Human rights lawyerAuthor of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

This episode explores the past and present expectations and experiences of Australian fathers, in the workforce, domestic duties, and child-rearing, and examines how their roles have also shaped the lives of mothers, children, and society.These conversations were recorded at the launch of the book Fathering: An Australian History at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria.SpeakersFathering and Mothering:Professor Jacqui McDonaldConvenor of the Australian Fatherhood Research Consortium, Deakin UniversityAssociate Professor Richard FletcherFathers and Families Research Program at the University of NewcastlePrincipal Investigator with the SMS4dads & SMS4DeadlyDads support linesEmeritus Professor Alistair ThomsonMonash UniversityCo-author, Fathering: An Australian HistoryDr Johnny BellMonash UniversityCo-author, Fathering: An Australian HistoryProfessor Michelle Arrow (host)President of the Australian Historical AssociationFathering and Work:Belinda ProbertSocial scientist, academic and author, Bill's Secrets: Love, War and AmbitionProfessor Sean ScalmerUniversity of MelbourneAuthor, A Fair Day's Work: The Quest to Win Back TimeEmeritus Professor John MurphyUniversity of MelbourneCo-author, Fathering: An Australian History