UNSW Centre for Ideas

Sharp, tough, funny and humane, Roxane Gay’s work spans fiction, non-fiction and commentary. Since she came to global notice with ‘Bad Feminist’, she has published essays, stories and a memoir that take on questions of race, misogyny, trauma and body-shaming. Hear Roxane in conversation with UNSW academic Nicole Watson, a Murri woman who works on Indigenous storytelling.

Presented by the UNSW Centre for Ideas and supported by the Sydney Opera House. 

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What defines Australia in 2022? We’ve always pinned our identity on land and sea. As an island full of unique animals and home to the oldest living culture in the world, we’ve lived off the land one way or another – be it from bush tucker or mining the minerals in our red earth. But as our environment suffers, and pressures from the outside world and our biggest trading partner China loom, we are at a turning point.  

At the heart of our identity the Uluru process – so pivotal and full of potential – remains unrealised, the Great Barrier Reef is in grave danger, and koala populations are heading towards extinction. Can we resolve our relationship with our Indigenous people? Can we save our environment? Can we adapt to changing global power dynamics?  

In this excerpt from Australia's Turning Point, Dan Ilic closes proceedings with his unique take on what we can all do to save Australia. 

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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There are no jobs on a dead planet, so we must find a way for capitalism and the environment to coexist in harmony. The pursuit of ever-increasing profits has seen us hurtling towards the point of no return, because for the longest time, companies did not have to care about how much they polluted the environment. So how can we incentivise the world’s biggest polluters to choose the planet over profit? According to UNSW academic Bernardo García Pola, the answer could be game theory and reimagined market design so that it is in everyone’s interests to do the right thing for the planet.

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

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What defines Australia in 2022? We’ve always pinned our identity on land and sea. As an island full of unique animals and home to the oldest living culture in the world, we’ve lived off the land one way or another – be it from bush tucker or mining the minerals in our red earth. But as our environment suffers, and pressures from the outside world and our biggest trading partner China loom, we are at a turning point.  

At the heart of our identity the Uluru process – so pivotal and full of potential – remains unrealised, the Great Barrier Reef is in grave danger, and koala populations are heading towards extinction. Can we resolve our relationship with our Indigenous people? Can we save our environment? Can we adapt to changing global power dynamics?  

UNSW Centre for Ideas Director Ann Mossop chairs this critical discussion on national identity and action, drawing on perspectives from journalists Peter Hartcher and Stan Grant, and marine biologist Emma Johnston.

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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Imagine if medical side effects were all in your head… turns out more than half of them might be. A lot of people have heard of the placebo effect; where taking a sugar pill can cause healing or health improvements, but far fewer are familiar with the nocebo effect – the dark side of placebo – where an innocent sugar pill can cause serious negative side effects. Research shows most medical side effects are likely to be caused by the nocebo effect, so if the majority of these feelings could be overcome by the simple power of thought, how can medical researchers break this cycle. Health psychologist Kate Faasse’s work explores how to ensure nocebo effects don’t prevent us from getting the right medical treatment.

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

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Grace Tame | Kyllie Cripps | Emma A Jane | Michael Salter

2021 was tumultuous. 

The year kicked off with a women’s March 4 Justice and ended with several cabinet ministers tendering their resignations. We saw high profile defamation trials and a reckoning in Canberra which culminated in Kate Jenkins publishing her damning report into parliamentary behaviour…and all in the wake of a global pandemic. 2021 offered a glimpse into the galvanising force of women’s collective voices, which, when harnessed can change history.  

Fierce females are not a recent phenomenon, but last year, the steady march towards equality has gained a rolling momentum which has been heard the loudest on the doorsteps of power.  

And through it all, Grace Tame was one of the powerful women leading the charge for change.  

Grace dedicated her tenure as Australian of the Year to holding those in power to account, to reframing the way we understand child sexual abuse and to encourage survivors to feel equipped to share their stories without shame or judgement. Her tireless work with policy makers has seen a real shift in the way our media and legal systems support survivors rather than perpetrators.  

Join Grace with UNSW criminologist Michael Salter, co-Convenor of UNSW’s Gendered Violence Research Network Kyllie Cripps and media, gender and cultural studies expert Emma A Jane for a panel discussion hosted by Ann Mossop, Director UNSW Centre for Ideas. 

Please be aware that this panel discusses sexual abuse and trauma which may be distressing for some people. Resources and support can be found here: unsw.to/sexualmisconductsupport.

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While many of us (sorry Melbourne) spent 2020 believing we had escaped the worst of the pandemic, 2021 brought forth the ugly reality of living with the virus. Even as the nation returns to something that feels like normal, beneath the thrill of gigs, gatherings and barista coffee, it’s clear the pandemic has changed the picture for good.   

We’ve seen our governments and fellow citizens succeed at some things, fail badly at others, and discovered who ‘essential’ workers really are. After two years of arguing about how to ‘balance’ public health and the economy, what have we actually learned?  

Chaired by author and broadcaster Benjamin Law and featuring economist Richard Holden and business leader and CEO Sam Mostyn, this talk explores how the last two years have challenged our health systems, and shown us what went missing as we globalised our economy.   

What will happen as fortress Australia wakes up from the COVID spell? 

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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The way we educate needs a rethink. All the elements we need are already in front of us, we just need fresh eyes to examine them. One way is to stop differentiating between ‘academics’ and ‘students’. We should all just be 'learners', all constantly challenging the status quo. Isabella Dobrescu and Alberto Motta emphasise that learning must both reflect and fit into our lives, and be a bold experience that is personal, interactive and fun...because who said education can’t be as entertaining as Netflix or Super Mario? Or both?

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

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The human brain is the most complicated computer in the world, but we tend to take it for granted. By linking neuroscience and computer technologies, engineers and scientists are creating neural implants to unlock better pain management strategies, accessibility tools for people living with disabilities, and potential human enhancements. As we move into the most connected and information rich age in human history, how can we ensure that we keep our focus on this kind of big picture science so that those most vulnerable are receiving the help they need? Neuroscientist Felix Aplin has some answers. 

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

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Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating in the USA, Dr Anthony S. Fauci has remained a voice of authority and reason, bringing scientific evidence to the fore. 

Throughout an extraordinary career as a scientist, a physician and a public servant, Dr Anthony S. Fauci has been an adviser to seven US presidents on HIV/AIDS, and domestic and global health issues. A key figure in the global response to HIV/AIDS, his experience of this epidemic has informed his career ever since. 

As the world struggles to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Anthony S. Fauci sat down with Tegan Taylor, co-host of the ABC’s Coronacast, in April to discuss the past, the present and the future – from what we learned from the HIV/AIDS epidemic to what the ongoing impact of COVID-19 will be.  

The inaugural David Cooper Lecture honours the legacy of the Kirby Institute’s Founding Director. Professor David Cooper AC, who passed away in 2018, was an internationally renowned scientist and HIV clinician, who laid the foundations for Australia’s ongoing global leadership in the fight against the global HIV epidemic.

This conversation was recorded in April 2021. 

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