UNSW Centre for Ideas

Violence against women is on the news everyday. It's happening in the workplace, on the streets and in people's home. Ending this violence starts with men, their behaviours and attitudes. And changing the social structures and norms which enable domestic violence and harassment starts with a conversation. Unfortunately, discussing gender equality is not always a top priority in pubs, locker rooms and Parliament House. But if men are willing to listen and reflect on their behaviour, we could see real societal transformation, so how do we encourage men to put women on the agenda? Joyce Wu’s research has taken her across the globe, and her insights could make a real difference.

A UNSW Centre for Ideas project, with podcast editing and music composition by Bryce Halliday.

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What shapes the way we think about sex?

Amia Srinivasan, one of the most exciting feminist thinkers today, examines the political and cultural implications of sex. Combining philosophical arguments, popular culture, and political theory, her book The Right to Sex explores male sexual entitlement, the tension between sex positivity and porn’s hold on the imagination, and the inadequate way we talk about consent.

What are the political forces that instruct the types of bodies we find attractive? And can we change who we desire to liberate sex from the distortions of oppression? Hosted by Associate Professor Emma A Jane, this talk is an unflinching exploration of the way our sexual lives reflect the political context of the wider world - and how to challenge these inequalities and blind spots, within ourselves and society.

Presented in partnership with Sydney Opera House.

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Our race for renewables has a dark side, with some of the most important clean energy technologies, such as lithium-ion batteries, bringing unexpected and damaging consequences for human rights and the environment. Although the goals are different, mining for ingredients of lithium-ion batteries can be just as damaging as extraction of some fossil fuels. UNSW academic Andy Symington researches how our clean energy demands need to not lead to further exploitation of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. But as consumers, can we help ensure that our transition to a sustainable planet isn’t achieved at the expense of the less fortunate?

A UNSW Centre for Ideas project, with podcast editing and music composition by Bryce Halliday.

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The transition to zero carbon will be one of the biggest shifts in the history of humankind. Transitioning to renewables means immense opportunities for jobs, security, equity and common resilience. Right now, renewable energy in the form of solar and wind is the cheapest it has ever been, and with it comes immense opportunities in employment, economic growth and equality. So what are the technological breakthroughs we need to tackle climate change today? Australia could be a global leader in renewable innovation, we already have the tools and technology required, so what’s stopping us from investing in our future? Fiacre Rougieux is one of renewable energy’s biggest supporters, with solutions on how to facilitate this shift.

A UNSW Centre for Ideas project, with podcast editing and music composition by Bryce Halliday.

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Australia doesn’t have a problem with generating renewable energy... but it turns out we do have a problem with using it. Our vast country has an almost infinite capacity for solar, wind, and hydro energy, but converting those forms of energy to function correctly within our existing electricity grids is going to be the real challenge. Switching to renewables is fundamental to combat climate change, so how do we overcome the technical challenges of integrating clean energy generation into our electricity grid and start utilising our country's wealth of clean energy? Matthew Priestley has some ideas.

A UNSW Centre for Ideas project, with podcast editing and music composition by Bryce Halliday.

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We are in the midst of a climate emergency, so it’s about time we wrote a new social contract that will bring our economy into line with what the planet can afford. To create a regenerative economy where humanity can thrive, we are going to need something called legal imagination – the ability to weave rules, entitlements and principles into responsive and creative structures. Think of a world where rivers had human rights, corporations were regulated by their stakeholders, ecocide was a crime, and money looked entirely different. UNSW academic Bronwen Morgan ponders, where can legal imagination take us?

A UNSW Centre for Ideas project, with podcast editing and music composition by Bryce Halliday.

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More than a third of food is wasted globally, generating more greenhouse gases than all countries except the USA and China. It’s clear: when it comes to food, our eyes are bigger than our globe can stomach. 

Join pioneering expert on wasted food, Christian Reynolds in conversation with UNSW’s Chris McElwain, as they bust some myths about wasted food and argue it’s high time to close the loop on food production. 

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If we are going to save the planet, Tema Milstein says we need to start hugging trees. Westernised humans tend to believe they are separate from nature, which shapes thinking and actions toward the environment. But seeing the world with humans at its centre has massive ramifications – from climate crisis to mass extinction. What stands in the way of more of us remembering we are embedded in the natural world and its intricate networks? And how do we override anthropocentrism, and start seeing ourselves as one with the flowers?

A UNSW Centre for Ideas project, with podcast editing and music composition by Bryce Halliday.

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Politics has been transformed by the COVID era, with national power siphoned towards state premiers, the allergy to massive government spending cured and scientific advice brought to the fore. But as well as new developments, the pandemic has placed existing fault lines in our relationship with politics and politicians under the microscope.   

What do Australians want from their governments? Who can we trust if our politicians don’t represent us or tell us the truth? If corruption and pork barrelling in politics are no longer a source of shame, what else will we be willing to accept?  

Watch Fran Kelly chair a discussion between political correspondent Laura Tingle, Constitutional lawyer Rosalind Dixon, and political commentator and author George Megalogenis.

The Reckoning is presented by the UNSW Centre for Ideas and Sydney Festival. UNSW Sydney is the Education Partner of the 2022 Sydney Festival.  

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We are on the brink of a technological revolution. The rapid development of quantum computing and the power that it will bring means we are on the cusp of solving problems that we cannot solve with classical computers. But the question that UNSW Sydney’s quantum physicist Danielle Holmes says we should be asking is, what will happen to AI when the computational quantum power behind it increases dramatically? How can we thrive once intelligence decouples from human consciousness?

A UNSW Centre for Ideas project, with podcast editing and music composition by Bryce Halliday.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.