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3 days ago | 
abc.net.au | Natasha Mitchell |Claire Slattery |Steve Fieldhouse |David Le May
Are fermented foods really good for us? Do antibiotics destroy our gut flora? And have you heard about poo transplants? Our gut is teeming with trillions of microbial cells, and we are learning more all the time about how this affects everything from our digestion, to immunity, to mental health. So crack open your kombucha, because these leading researchers will cut through the noise with some hard facts and pioneering science about the microbiome.
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5 days ago | 
abc.net.au | Natasha Mitchell |Claire Slattery |Tegan Nicholls
Murderers, fraudsters, mobsters, dodgy doctors, and corrupt politicians. Kate McClymont has exposed all manner of shady characters, and lives to tell the tale. Here, she reveals some of the perils of investigative journalism over her career, and what she sees are the threats and promises for its future. The 2025 Brian Johns Lecture, in partnership with the Copyright Agency and Macquarie University, was recorded at the State Library of NSW on 1 May 2025.
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1 week ago | 
abc.net.au | Natasha Mitchell |Claire Slattery |Tegan Nicholls |David Le May
Knowledge lies at the heart of a healthy democracy, and its many custodians include libraries, universities, cultural institutions, and a free and independent media. So what happens when these institutions are intimidated, dismantled or destroyed, as is happening in America right now, under the government of President Donald Trump? This event was recorded at the University of Technology Sydney's Vice Chancellor's Democracy Forum on 14 May 2025.
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1 week ago | 
abc.net.au | Natasha Mitchell |Claire Slattery |David Le May
In 2017, the Uluru Statement called for Voice, Treaty and Truth as a roadmap to reconciliation. With the Voice defeated, what is the path now to meaningful reform that will improve the lives of Indigenous Australians? From the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, to Victoria's truth-telling Yoorrook Justice Commission, two Indigenous leaders argue that their people must be given the power, the resources and the authority to make decisions about the issues that affect their lives.
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2 weeks ago | 
abc.net.au | Natasha Mitchell |Claire Slattery |David Le May
Warren Ellis is best known as the charismatic violinist with legendary Australian instrumental rock trio Dirty Three and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Justin Kurzel's new documentary Ellis Park is a both portrait of Ellis as he comes to terms with his Ballarat childhood, and a film about the devastating impacts of wildlife trafficking, and why Ellis was driven to buy land in Sumatra to home rescued animals.
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3 weeks ago | 
abc.net.au | Natasha Mitchell |Claire Slattery |David Le May
What's happening in Gaza is horrifying and shocking. As the world watches on, how are different Jewish communities reckoning with a war being waged in their name by Israel, against Hamas and the Palestinian people? This event was recorded at The Wheeler Centre on 27 May 2025 in partnership with the Jewish Council of Australia.
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3 weeks ago | 
abc.net.au | Natasha Mitchell |Claire Slattery |Simon Branthwaite |David Le May
Words can mean everything, or nothing at all: it all depends on how they're delivered. This relationship between writer, script, actor and audience creates a particular tension that lies at the heart of performance. Who gives meaning to the words, interprets the creative material, who holds the power? This is a lecture, but not as you know it, by members of the multi award-winning British theatre company Forced Entertainment.
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3 weeks ago | 
abc.net.au | Natasha Mitchell |Claire Slattery |Matthew Crawford |David Le May
Gina Chick made her name as the inaugural winner of Alone Australia, but her story begins a long time before that. It involves unimaginable hardship, death grief, illness and injury. How has she learnt to sit with all that life has thrown at her, and remain joyful and true to herself, in the face of adversity? This event was recorded at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne, with thanks to Readings Books.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Natasha Mitchell |Claire Slattery |Tim Jenkins |David Le May
At the time of colonisation, there were more than 250 Indigenous languages spoken in Australia, but these days, all are considered endangered. Many First Nations people are working hard to revive and reclaim their mother tongues. In the anthology, Words to Sing the World Alive: Celebrating First Nations Languages, 40 Indigenous Australians share words and phrases that are meaningful to them. This event was recorded at the Clunes Booktown Festival on on Dja Dja Wurrung Country on 22 March 2025.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Natasha Mitchell |Claire Slattery |Bethany Stewart |David Le May
Music has been around for at least as long as humans, and possibly even back to the Neanderthals. How have forces like religion, the economy, society and technology, shaped music over time? And why, in lullabies and concert halls, songlines and streaming services, have humans always been irresistibly drawn to making it? This event was recorded at Sydney's Gleebooks.
