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Once, a musician’s success could live or die on the opinions of its reviewers. But now, music culture is being shaped by algorithms and PR companies. So what is the future of music journalism? This podcast episode was originally recorded on 19 August 2026 in partnership with The Wheeler Centre and Now or Never Festival. Discover more talks and bold conversations by following The Wheeler Centre wherever you get your podcasts or at wheelercentre.com. Speakers Al Newstead Double J music and pop culture reporter Author, Tame Impala's Currents Sose Fuemoli Host of Sista Sounds and On the Record on ABC Radio AustraliaMusic correspondent, ABC News BreakfastHost of, Window Seat, Triple R Sarah Smith Former music editor at The Big Issue magazineFormer editor of Faster Louder Host, Sometimes Always, Triple R Simon Winkler (host)Double J Assistant Music DirectorFormer music coordinator (for 18 years) Triple RFormer co-host of Breaking and Entering, Triple RCo-founder, Good Question

What will stop you slipping into homelessness? In a cost-of-living crisis, it's getting harder to keep a secure roof over your head. And did you know that 14% of people accessing specialist homelessness services in Australia are unaccompanied children? That's thousands of children, homeless, alone. A conversation about what kind of community we want to create together, and how to prevent a crisis before it comes. Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell and guests at the 2026 Australian Homelessness Conference on Larrakia Country in Darwin.  Speakers Professor Kerry ArabenaDescendant of the Meriam people from the Torres StraitManaging Director, Karabena ConsultingFormer co-Chair of the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples, Executive Director of Apunipima Cape York Health Council, and Chair of Indigenous Health at the University of Melbourne. Former president of Ecohealth International. Rebecca PinkstoneChief Executive, Homes NSW, NSW GovernmentNon-executive director, Australian Housing and Urban Research InstituteFormer CEO of a social housing provider Catherine RobinsonAssociate Professor in Communities and Social Justice, University of TasmaniaNon-executive board director of Homelessness Australia, the Youth Network of Tasmania and Home Base. Co-host, Filthy Rich and Homeless on SBS TV Further information Reimagining Indigenous Housing, Health, and Wealth report (2020)Example: Denver Basic Income Project (Example of unconditional cash transfers approach) Example: Community of Schools and Services (COSS) model Example: Safe and Connected Youth Program (ACT Conflict Resolution Service) Example: Housing stabilisation initiative (Canada) Better futures: Supported accommodation for unaccompanied children and young people experiencing homelessness (AHURI, 2026)Yes, we see you. Why a national plan for homelessness must make thousands of children on their own a priority (The Conversation, 2023)NSW Homelessness Strategy 2025-2035NSW Homelessness Strategy Action plan 2025-2027Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) (organises the biennial Australian Homelessness Conference and National Housing Conference).

He's covered wars, elections and everything in between. But what happens when a hardened foreign correspondent goes looking for a lighter travel story - and comes home changed? Hear what his road trip to Africa taught him about our shared humanity. This talk was provided by the York Festival of Ideas. The Festival is led by the University of York, UK. Speakers Clive MyrieMulti-award-winning journalist, BBC foreign correspondents, host of Mastermind and Clive Myrie's African AdventureAuthor of Everything Is Everything: A Memoir of Love, Hate & Hope Joan Concannon (host)Director of York Festival of Ideas

A rundown t-shirt factory in Sydney's Surry Hills became the studio and home where Australian artist Brett Whiteley would spend the final years of his life. Now an art gallery, the building has recently reopened after an extensive two-year restoration, with a new exhibition celebrating Whiteley's life and legacy, Coming Home, featuring his artworks and personal items. His former wife, muse and champion, Wendy Whiteley, reflects on the history of the studio, her life with Brett Whiteley, and his artistic practice. This event was recorded at Brett Whiteley's Studio for Art Gallery of New South Wales on 24 July 2026. Speakers Wendy Whiteley Creator of Wendy's Secret Garden, Lavender Bay, artist, and former wife and muse of Brett Whiteley Wayne Tunnicliffe (host)Director of collections and exhibitions, Art Gallery of New South Wales

Every day, science and technology are being used to enhance the abilities of human beings — helping people hear, walk, see, think and more. But at the extreme end, transhumanism has become an obsession of the rich and powerful: Vladmir Putin wants to live forever, Elon Musk wants to merge your brain with AI, while eugenics has also become popular again. So what are the ethics of transhumanism? Where do we draw the line? The 2026 Plunkett Lecture for the Plunkett Centre for Ethics was recorded at the Australian Catholic University. Speakers: Jason T. EberlHubert Mäder Chair in Bioethics, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Albert Gnaegi Center for Bioethics at Saint Louis University

In a world where AI rules, what will it mean to be creative? First Nations poet and author Evelyn Araluen (The Rot, Dropbear) is already self-censoring because of AI theft. The characters in Steve Tolz's new novel A Rising of the Lights find weird ways to sabotage the robots amongst them. Digital safety expert and educator Kirra Pendergast is seeing AI reshape childhood - for better or worse - with an important warning for parents, carers, and educators. This event was organised by the 2026 Byron Writers Festival on Bundjalung Country. Speakers  Dr Evelyn Araluen Goorie and Koori poet, editor, educator Stella Prize winning author, Dropbear (2021) and The Rot (2025) Co-editor, Overland literary journal Senior lecturer of Indigenous arts and culture, Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne Steve Tolz Booker Prize nominated author for A Fraction of Whole (2008) Author, A Rising of the Lights (2026) Screenwriter and producer Kirra Pendergast Digital safety advisor and educator Co-founder, Safe on Social and Crlt/Shift Co-author with Maggie Dent of Digital Freedom: A guide to less screen time for safer, happier and healthier families (2026)  Thanks to Artistic Director of the Byron Writers Festival Jessica Alice, and team.

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

From the blue-collar man, to the professional woman. From the multigenerational Australian born citizen, to a predominantly migrant nation. From the inner city to the suburbs to the bush. Australia has changed. But have our politicians? This event was recorded at the Hawke Centre at Adelaide University on 20 August 2026. Speakers: George MegalogenisPolitical journalist, author, Three Shocks: Who We Are Becoming in the 21st Century, The Australian Moment (winner the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-fiction and the 2012 Walkley Award for Non-fiction), four Quarterly Essays, and more Tory Shepherd (host)Senior Reporter, Guardian Australia

Jane Goodall’s radical ideas that animals have individual personalities, relationships and even emotions reshaped how we understand primates. It also sparked fierce ethical debates that are still playing out today: Do great apes have rights? What responsibilities do researchers carry when studying minds so much like our own? Jan Goodall wasn't just a trailblazing scientist. She became one of the most influential conservationists of the last century and created the foundation of modern primatology.  City of Science: Jane Goodall and Her Legacy was presented at the CUNY Graduate Center Speakers Kristin AndrewsProfessor of Philosophy, CUNY Graduate Center David LahtiAssociate professor of Biology and Psychology at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center Jessica RothmanProgram director in Human Biology and professor of Anthropology at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center Dr Mark Hauber (host)Professor of Biology and Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center and executive director of the Advanced Science Research Center

Australia's population is getting older. In fact, by 2076, 45 per cent of us - that's 18 million people - will be aged over 65. What will ageing look like in 50 years time? Will science keep us healthier for longer? What role will older people play in the workforce, in the economy, and in our communities? Will robots wipe our bottoms, or keep us company? How will we respond to major health challenges—like dementia, already our leading cause of death— and the growing burden of chronic disease? This conversation explores the ethical and social challenges facing our ageing country, and the planning, research and policy systems needed to ensure a dignified, safe and healthy life for older people by 2076. This event was recorded at the fiftieth National Ageing Research Institute annual summit with the theme Imagine Australia in 50 years on 22 July in Melbourne. Speakers:  Mark Dreyfus Former Attorney General, MP Member for Isaacs Professor Jenny Waycott Professor and Deputy Head of School (Research) in the School of Computing and Information Systems, Melbourne University Professor Andy Philp Head of the Centre for Healthy Ageing at the Centenary Institute and leads the healthy ageing research at the University of Technology Sydney where he leads the Biology of Ageing Laboratory in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Professor Tim Adair Demographer and Principal Research Fellow in the Nossal Institute for Global Health at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. Jacinta Parsons (host) Broadcaster, author and speaker

What does the future look like to you? How can you prepare yourself for what's coming down the line? And how does what you do today, change what will happen tomorrow? Join three forward-looking thinkers for a conversation about how to shape a better tomorrow, today. The conversation Brave New Futures was recorded live at the annual 2026 WOMADelaide festival, produced and presented as part of their Planet Talks program, held on the traditional lands of the Guarna people. Speakers: Richard KingCritic, cultural commentator and author, Brave New Wild: Can Technology Really Save the Planet? Clare MarshallAward-winning futurist, former lead of the National Futures Initiative at The Australian Centre for Social Innovation Grace VegasanaClimate justice organiser and youth advocate, National Director of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC), co-founder of The People of Colour Climate Network Lee Constable (host)Environmental communicator, TV presenter, author, How to Save the Whole Stinkin' Planet: A Garbological Adventure, and more