Terra nullius was long ago exposed as a myth – and this was enshrined in law with the Mabo case in 1992.If we acknowledge that Australia was colonised on a lie, then what should we do about it? How d…
Having worked in tobacco control for 20 years, Jane Martin saw that the processed food and advertising industry were targeting children using similar marketing techniques. She is now using her…
Bill Garner – historian, playwright and television writer – is just an ordinary camper with perhaps an unusually dogged curiosity. A casual conversation at Wilson’s Promontory several years ago…
Western women today enjoy unprecedented freedom and power – but it can sometimes seem to be a game of two steps forward, one step back.Yes, Julia Gillard is our first female prime minister … but her …
The Country Women’s Association is not often thought of as a feminist organisation … if at all. But with the current interest in women’s rights and spaces, it’s arguably a ready-made grassroots…
These days, classrooms seem packed with children who report to the office to take medication at lunchtimes – or whose behaviour problems come with labels that didn’t exist when their parents were…
Body image, bullying, cyber-safety, school exams, risk-taking, identity, authority, drugs and alcohol … the list of pressures teenagers face is endless. And let’s face it, it’s not an easy time for p…
How does climate change threaten your savings? And how do your savings threaten climate change? Can you do anything about it?One of the world’s fastest-growing social movements calls for citizens…
The iconic Australian ideal of the ‘fair go’ is under threat, says Nick Cater.He identifies a new breed of ‘sophisticated’ Australians, who hate corporations, miners and the Murdoch media – as well a…
There are two ways to be ordinary: either true ordinary or the false kind.To be true ordinary you forgo the temptation to be better than you are. You feel no great effort in this. You feel perfectly …
Articles and commentaries on Asperger’s Syndrome are rife with references to the ‘condition’, ‘sufferers’ and ‘disability’. But many people who live with an Asperger’s diagnosis – for themselves or t…
Sylvia Nasar is best known as the author of A Beautiful Mind, which the New York Times called ‘perhaps the best economics-related book of the past quarter-century’. In her latest book, Grand…
The front page of today’s Age pictures a newlywed Altona couple, aged 25 and 27, as examples of the typical Australian, worried about rising costs of living.They earn $130,000 a year between them…
The plucky bravery of the Anzacs is one of our great national stories – it plays into our idea of who we are. But why is one of the touchstones of our identity based on a historic defeat?Some are…
The plucky bravery of the Anzacs is one of our great national stories – it plays into our idea of who we are. But why is one of the touchstones of our identity based on a historic defeat?Some are…
A co-presentation with Melbourne Conversations.(M)an has not grown less cruel with the passage of that illusory thing called time;though in many parts of the world he has become a far greater…
By Greg Foyster In the midst of a stellar advertising career, Greg Foyster came to the realisation that the work he was doing had grave consequences for the health of the planet. He became a walking…
‘Advertising’s re-branded public image troubles me. I’m an old employee of the industry, and The Gruen Transfer reminds me of conversations I had within the walls of advertising agencies, where…
By Jill Stark What’s the place of alcohol in our lives? When does fun become a habit too hard to break? And how are the culture, alcohol companies, Australian sports and even our friends lined up to…
Visiting from the United States for the Rationalist Society of Australia, Sean Faircloth speaks to the issues raised in his book Attack of the Theocrats: How the Religious Right Harms Us All – and…
Visiting from the United States for the Rationalist Society of Australia, hear Sean Faircloth speak to the issues raised in his book Attack of the Theocrats: How the Religious Right Harms Us All &ndash…
A co-presentation with Melbourne Conversations.It used to be that the ability to tell the truth was the keystone to an honourable life, but in the last 20 years that has changed. Today, your…
Jill Stark, a Sunday Age writer specialising in alcohol and public health issues, came to write her first book, High Sobriety, after one big night too many. On January 1 2011, she woke up with the…
We live in the foodie age – where celebrity chefs are the new rock stars. But while organic food is a must-have fashion accessory, obesity and food intolerances are on the rise.But there are good…
We live in the foodie age – where celebrity chefs are the new rock stars. But while organic food is a must-have fashion accessory, obesity and food intolerances are on the rise.But there are good…
Late last year, the Wheeler Centre hosted a Fifth Estate discussion of food culture. ‘It seems to me it’s become out of control,’ said host Sally Warhaft, of our current obsession with food.‘I’m…
Popular comedian and contrarian John Safran is known as a seeker of awkward and unusual truths. He infiltrates a secret world of madness, agitation and unrest. In this event, he’ll present his…
A co-presentation with Melbourne Conversations.Popular comedian and contrarian John Safran is known as a seeker of awkward and unusual truths. He infiltrates a secret world of madness, agitation and …
The Wall Street Journal calls Jared Diamond ‘a star among public intellectuals’.The big-brained anthropologist built his own brand of intellectual blockbuster with the Pulitzer Prize-winning Guns…
Once the Apple Isle, Tasmania’s size and isolation made it the butt of mainland jokes. But those qualities – and its stunning natural environment – are now seen as major advantages. And the buzz…
Once the Apple Isle, Tasmania’s size and isolation made it the butt of mainland jokes. But those qualities – and its stunning natural environment – are now seen as major advantages. And the buzz…
Joyful Strains, as the title suggests, is a new anthology exploring the sometimes bittersweet experiences of new migrants to Australia. From the relief of being welcomed to a new homeland, to…
Melbourne is famously multicultural – but the past year has proven that racism is also rife.For instance, a VicHealth survey reported 97% of Aboriginal Victorians had experienced racism in the past 1…
Melbourne is famously multicultural – but the past year has proven that racism is also rife.For instance, a VicHealth survey reported 97% of Aboriginal Victorians had experienced racism in the past 1…
A co-presentation with Melbourne Conversations.You are funny. We are funny. Everyone is funny. Some celebrate the use of humour; others merely come across it. Some are completely unaware of it. But a…
By Andie FoxMiddle age can make you a more savvy audience for art … but also a lazier one, as it must be squeezed into an ever-more time-poor life. Andie Fox realises that she’s become so risk…
Acclaimed novelist Charlotte Wood is also a passionate home cook – and her latest book, Love and Hunger, is a warm and lovely celebration of the pleasures of simple food, well made. It’s the perfect …
The obsession with the perfect diet, germ-free homes, selective socialising, harm minimisation through choice of the correct fabrics, risk minimisation with helmets, knee and elbow pads, stranger…
There has never been more time, energy and thought spent on the raising of babies, toddlers and children – and it is detrimental, counterproductive and narcissistic, argues 1970s parent Catherine…
Michael Leunig is best loved as our wizard of whimsy, creator of quirky characters like Mr Curly, the duck and Vasco Pyjama. Asked how those creations were born, he says, ‘I felt maybe society…
Michael Leunig is a national treasure – one of those rare Australians we recognise by one name only.Leunig is best loved as our wizard of whimsy, creator of quirky characters like Mr Curly, the duck …
In today’s wired-up world, we can be with anyone, anywhere at any time. We have hundreds of ‘friends’, habitually ‘follow’ strangers and work from virtual offices. What does all this mean for…
In today’s wired-up world, we can be with anyone, anywhere at any time. We have hundreds of ‘friends’, habitually ‘follow’ strangers and work from virtual offices. What does all this mean for…
Geordie Williamson, one of our leading literary critics, approaches books and writing with the ardour of an enthusiast – though he’s also alarmed at the way classic Australian literature is falling o…
Geordie Williamson, one of our leading literary critics, approaches books and writing with the ardour of an enthusiast – though he’s also alarmed at the way classic Australian literature is falling o…
Romney’s ‘binders full of women’. Pro-choice versus right-to-life. The rise of China and the slump of the American economy. These are just some of the issues that will decide the results of the…
We all know Jonathan Franzen is a twitcher. But did you know Tom Hanks likes to collect 1940s typewriters? Or that Johnny Depp likes to play with dolls?Sadly, Tom and the two Johnnies couldn’t join u…
Some believe that multiculturalism is ‘a racism of anti-racists’ that ‘chains people to their roots’, as controversial French writer Pascal Bruckner has said.But curator Damian Smith believes that…
Richard Gill has worked in music and education for 50 years – and has never missed a chance to sing the praises of both. In a frank and fearless new memoir that will get tongues wagging, he shares…
Richard Gill has worked in music and education for 50 years – and has never missed a chance to sing the praises of both. In a frank and fearless new memoir that will get tongues wagging, he shares…
The revolutionary potential of rock and roll has long been a worn-out cliché in the West, where the Rolling Stones do commercials and rappers hang with royalty. But in contemporary China, rock (or…
Australia has long been haunted by the spectre of ‘cultural cringe’ – nowhere more so, perhaps, than in our arts.But in the globalised new millennium, has all that changed? Have we finally stopped…
The revolutionary potential of rock and roll has long been a worn-out cliché in the West, where the Rolling Stones do commercials and rappers hang with royalty. But in contemporary China, rock (or…
Step into a time capsule and go back 20 years … Paul Keating is prime minister of Australia. The Twin Towers dominate New York’s skyline and September 11 is the date of a Chilean coup. Pauline…
What does it mean to be Lord Mayor of one of the world’s most liveable cities? And how can we keep that ‘liveable’ status – and the relaxed lifestyle we enjoy – in the face of pressures like a…
It’s been an extraordinary fortnight for any Australian passionate about questions of gender and equality.The Alan Jones affair. The Brunswick peace march for Jill Meagher. Margie Abbott and the…
The Alan Jones affair. The Brunswick peace march for Jill Meagher. Margie Abbott and the Downton Abbey Defence. Peter Slipper’s texts and Julia Gillard’s speech. All of these events sparked debates o…
What do we expect from a 21st-century university? Which ideals have survived the transition to our brave new education world? And what does it mean when students become customers? Moral philosopher R…
Today’s consumer culture persistently uses girls as icons of sexual attractiveness in advertising, film and television. In the nineteenth century, print media did not dare positively associate girls …
Today’s consumer culture persistently uses girls as icons of sexual attractiveness in advertising, film and television. In the nineteenth century, print media did not dare positively associate girls …
For many, multiculturalism has come to mean a flawed approach to integrating migrants. But has it been a failure? Political philosopher and commentator Tim Soutphommasane puts forward his case for…
For many, multiculturalism has come to mean a flawed approach to integrating migrants. But has it been a failure? Political philosopher and commentator Tim Soutphommasane puts forward his case for…
China is fast becoming the next world superpower, while India – with its vast young population, booming jobs market and burgeoning economy – is on the march. Meanwhile, Wall Street has plunged the…
China is fast becoming the next world superpower, while India – with its vast young population, booming jobs market and burgeoning economy – is on the march. Meanwhile, Wall Street has plunged the…
Michael H. Shuman argues that there are a number of initiatives communities must take to support local economies and small business – and that the knock-on effects of local investment are vast…
From the old days of The Brady Bunch and Bewitched to today’s ‘golden age of television’, where screenwriters and show-runners like Joss Whedon and Matthew Weiner have become household names –…
From the old days of The Brady Bunch and Bewitched to today’s ‘golden age of television’, where screenwriters and show-runners like Joss Whedon and Matthew Weiner have become household names –…
When President Obama was welcomed for his ‘night of friendship’ dinner with Prime Minister Gillard in Canberra last year, he feasted on ‘a macadamia and thyme encrusted lamb canon with avocado cream …
by Stephanie Honor ConveryIn the wake of the book-reviewers-for-hire furore, Stephanie Honor Convery examines the scandal’s context: a proliferation of ‘consumer review spaces’ and a shift from the…
Hiroshi Ishiguro is one of the top 100 geniuses alive in the world today – and the creator of some of the most life-like robots ever made.Ishiguro’s shockingly human androids (including his own…
Hiroshi Ishiguro is one of the top 100 geniuses alive in the world today – and the creator of some of the most life-like robots ever made. Ishiguro’s shockingly human androids (including his own…
In a passionate attack on the idea that gender equality has been reached and feminism is irrelevant, Clementine Ford explains why there is much left to be achieved – and presents a slew of…
Q: What’s as Australian as Vegemite and as American as apple pie? A: The new issue of McSweeney’s, the US literary journal so hip it should be wearing black-framed glasses and riding a bicycle.…
Q: What’s as Australian as Vegemite and as American as apple pie? A: The new issue of McSweeney’s, the US literary journal so hip it should be wearing black-framed glasses and riding a bicycle.…
Feminism’s over, they say. It’s achieved all its goals. Women are equal now, so we should all shut up and go home. But if feminism has really succeeded, why does it still feel like we’ve got so much …
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Faith and Culture: The Politics of Belief was a four-day lecture series which took place from Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 June at BMW Edge, Federation Square.Curated by celebrated…
Australia’s population has become a political hot potato. With forecasts of 30–40 million people by 2050 and up to 60 million by 2100, Australians are becoming increasingly concerned about the…
Australia is famous for its blokey blokes and strong, silent types. But few men fit the lazy stereotype of being obsessed with beer, babes and balls. In ‘What Men Really Think About…’, we slide…
From child soldiers in Sudan to gang violence in Papua New Guinea; tsunamis in the Pacific to earthquakes in New Zealand, we’re confronted with communities in need every day. Who should we help? How …
In Unexpected Passions, host Sam Pang invites familiar faces to share their less familiar obsessions. This time around, Dave Graney drops by to tell us about his passion for explorer Sir Richard…
In 2012’s instalment of the annual Walter Lippmann Memorial Lecture, hear former Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Lindsay Tanner argue that while the mechanical effects of immigration o…
Over four days, our 20 plus speakers – philosophers and theologians, historians and writers, believers and non-believers – will consider what it means to be religious, and what role the voice of…
Over four days, our 20 plus speakers – philosophers and theologians, historians and writers, believers and non-believers – will consider what it means to be religious, and what role the voice of…
Over four days, our 20 plus speakers – philosophers and theologians, historians and writers, believers and non-believers – will consider what it means to be religious, and what role the voice of…
Over four days, our 20 plus speakers – philosophers and theologians, historians and writers, believers and non-believers – will consider what it means to be religious, and what role the voice of…
Over four days, our 20 plus speakers – philosophers and theologians, historians and writers, believers and non-believers – will consider what it means to be religious, and what role the voice of…
Over four days, our 20 plus speakers – philosophers and theologians, historians and writers, believers and non-believers – will consider what it means to be religious, and what role the voice of…
Over four days, our 20 plus speakers – philosophers and theologians, historians and writers, believers and non-believers – will consider what it means to be religious, and what role the voice of…
Over four days, our 20 plus speakers – philosophers and theologians, historians and writers, believers and non-believers – will consider what it means to be religious, and what role the voice of…
Judge John Smallwood is currently the Judge in charge of the County Koori Court which sits in the regional area of the Latrobe Valley. In this presentation, he discusses the concept of the court…
In this panel discussion (which opened our Faith and Culture lectures), series curator Raimond Gaita, Asma Barlas, Susan Neiman, Bernadette Tobin and Scott Stephens examine and expand on the ideas…
In his address to open the Wheeler Centre’s Faith and Culture program, series curator Raimond Gaita makes the case for why, in a world beset by religious conflict on the one hand and ‘the new…
An Incredible Race of People is a highly personal and at times challenging investigation of our politics and industry over many decades: heroes are applauded and pretenders dismissed, urgent issues a…
Leading political journalist Laura Tingle argues that something deep in our culture now amplifies antagonism and complaint. She’s joined in discussion by veteran ABC political correspondent Fran…
Australia seems gripped by a fever of disenchantment. We’ve escaped from the world financial crisis with barely a scrape, yet we rail at the prime minister, whinge about minority government and…
‘Only connect,’ said E M Forster. Could Mr Forster have envisaged a world in which one person connected with another, thousands of miles away, through free video and voice calls, instant messages…
In this instalment of Texts in the City, we look at Hannie Rayson’s Two Brothers. Host Ruby Murray and guest speaker Stephen Armstrong examine the text’s themes of political and social justice…
What role does creativity play in creating liveable environments? What kind of things can squash the creation of a good city? Can we save the post-Spencer St end of our city? Whose job is it to do…
While it may be true that nature is red in tooth and claw, it seems that for animals subject to human law – rather than the law of nature – life is much more like a lottery. In this presentation…
The Breakfast Club is a series of talks events, presented in partnership with the Next Wave Festival, and held at breakfast time: on weekdays at 8am, on weekends at 10am.We’re interested in how the w…
The past two years have seen people take to the streets in more and more countries, seeking out change without knowing how to articulate it yet. As Spring warms up the city streets, a different and m…
Tamsin Roberts opened her first gallery in 2005 in Beijing. Now the director of Art Melbourne, previously known as the Affordable Art Fair, she discusses the rise of art within communities…
Eyes on the PrixWinners of this year’s Prix Ars Electronica were announced this week. Celebrating artists and projects at the forefront of media experimentation and digital innovation, the awards…
Who tells the story of a country? What story does a country’s national literature tell about its people and its identity? Is there such a thing as Australian literature at all?Australians are…
Too often, the big issues feel ill-served by parliamentary question time or the 24-hour news cycle. Big issues and bigger ideas deserve informed and passionate consideration. Beyond the soundbites…
Who tells the story of a country? What story does a country’s national literature tell about its people and its identity? Is there such a thing as Australian literature at all?Australians are…
For our brand new season of Texts in the City, we’ve asked schools to nominate which texts on the curriculum they’d most like to see discussed. By presenting speakers who are intimately familiar…
In our series of lectures and discussions on the classics of Australian literature, Ramona Koval and critic Kerryn Goldsworthy bring Helen Garner’s classic book (later a successful film), Monkey…
For full transcripts of all lectures plus audio and video of the events, visit our series archive.A four-day lecture series from Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 June at BMW Edge, Federation Square.A day or …
Join two heavyweights of Foreign Affairs, Gareth Evans and Alexander Downer, in conversation with host Sally Warhaft about the history and nature of the portfolio and its importance in government.How…
In this major new weekly series hosted by Ramona Koval, running in parallel with the university calendar, contemporary writers speak on seminal Australian texts, giving context, sharing their…
Speculation about a change in political leadership seems almost perpetual in Australia—it is a tenuous bargain, with more similarities to street gangs than business enterprises. Glyn Davis…
For the first time in history, humans sit unchallenged at the top of the food chain. To coincide with the publication of the latest Quarterly Essay, Us and Them, Anna Krien investigates the…
In light of Tony Abbott’s newly proposed policy aspiration to extend the childcare rebate to nannies, host Sally Warhaft discusses childcare and family/work life in Australia with Catherine Deveny…
In the second instalment of Unexpected Passions, Sam Pang persuades Noni Hazlehurst and David Bridie to join him in revealing their unheralded pastimes. Bridie discusses his love of suburban…
Who tells the story of a country? What story does a country’s national literature tell about its people and its identity? Is there such a thing as Australian literature at all? In this major new…
Robert Dessaix has long been one of Australia’s foremost essayists. His latest collection, As I Was Saying, is a swirling conversation with the reader on everything from travel to dogs and cats…
More than half of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims, and 60% of the world’s Christians, live along the ‘tenth parallel’. This latitudinal line, spanning the globe ten degrees north of the equator, is t…
Who tells the story of a country? What story does a country’s national literature tell about its people and its identity? Is there such a thing as Australian literature at all?Australians are…
More than half of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims, and 60% of the world’s Christians, live along the ‘tenth parallel’. This latitudinal line, spanning the globe ten degrees north of the equator, is t…
Few thinkers have succeeded in bringing the world of ideas beyond the ivory tower with such clarity and grace as Alain de Botton. In an event that extends one of the Wheeler Centre chief themes for t…
With greater Melbourne growing by thousands every week, how will we ensure bigger really is better? Does high density mean high rise? As we live ever-closer to our neighbours, can we all get along…
In 2012, Ideas for Melbourne will be the talk of the town.With city elections looming in 2012, we’re kicking off this year’s programming by turning the spotlight on some of Melbourne’s biggest civic …
Portable patriotism. (Source: Stephen Barnett/Flickr)
Today, ideas of national identity, patriotism, community and equity come to the fore in the…
Some time ago, we reported on a tiny phone booth library located in Somerset, England. We even pondered whether it may be the world’s smallest. But it seems the field is thicker with competition
Earlier this week, anti-porn activist Melinda Tankard Reist sought legal advice from a defamation lawyer after a blogger labelled her a “fundamentalist Christian”, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. …
David Nichols concludes his series on urban liveability with a visit to Baltimore.Liveability is a lot about perspective. Melbourne may well be a terribly liveable city from some points of view; a…
On the liveability trail, our intrepid scout David Nichols finds himself nestled amongst dogs, babies and bagels in the biggest smoke of all.New YorkNew York is like some kind of enormous share…
David Nichols continues his series investigating what makes a city liveable with a visit to a town dubbed one of Britain’s ‘funkiest’, and a city built on reclaimed land in the Netherlands.Hebden…
In the third in his series on urban liveability, David Nichols finds a Dublin in uncharacteristically gloomy mood.The ancient Greeks used to build cities to be confusing: the idea was that enemy…
Our liveability ambassador David Nichols continues his highly unscientific international survey of liveability with this look at Tel Aviv.Not only liveable but also lovable, Tel Aviv strikes a…
Melbourne is consistently rated at the top of liveability surveys year in, year out. When Melbourne was rated number 1 in one such 2011 poll, we wondered, just what does liveability mean? We asked…
In Must-Read Histories — an event marking the launch of the History Speaks website — contributors ‘go live’ to discuss the question: what are the indispensable works of Australian history? Hosted by …
In the last Lunchbox/Soapbox event for 2011, Thomas Keneally spins a tale hatched in his Campsie yard as a child of seven — of racial anxiety, wartime politics and the life and death of White…
The Slap
Video · Thu, 24 Nov 2011
The ABC’s television production of The Slap has been a high note in recent Australian drama. Christos Tsiolkas' eponymous novel has lost none of its sting in its journey from page to screen. In a…
Liao Yiwu
Video · Thu, 24 Nov 2011
Liao Yiwu is a Chinese poet, novelist, musician and screenwriter currently living in exile in Germany because of government suppression of his work in China. Imprisoned for four years following…
(Click to watch video.)
“This year two thirds of all world growth has come out of the developing economies. And we think we can have a debate about the…
Opium dens, illegal brothels, and men with names as colourful as their pasts: our panel uncovers Melbourne’s criminal record. Featuring Shane Maloney, LM Robinson, Andrew May and Jeff Sparrow.Melbour…
Paul Keating
Video · Sun, 06 Nov 2011
It was the prime ministerial event we had to have. On this special Sunday evening presentation, Paul Keating joined Robert Manne for a conversational marathon, coinciding with the publication of his …
“This Halloween, give someone a scary book to read.” That’s the message Neil Gaiman is spreading this Halloween in a clip promoting All Hallow’s Read, an attempt to inaugurate a tradition in the UK o…
High density living is great for the environment, right? But what does it do to our heads and hearts? The Australian psyche was moulded by the myth of the ‘wide brown land’, so what might life…
From our Sad/Angry/Happy series, our experts this time turn their eyes to outrage, frustration and fury — from the electrical signals and balance of chemicals that fire up our brains, to the social p…
Ramona Koval is joined by chefs Frank Camorra, Elizabeth Chong and Stephanie Alexander for the culinary journey of a lifetime. From Camorra’s Barcelona to Chong’s Hong Kong and Alexander’s beloved…
Today, Senator Kate Lundy, Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, launched a resource centre for Muslim women. The Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights will b…
For their first issue of 2011, the prestigious literary journal tackles the academy head-on. In the lead essay, John Armstrong, Philosopher-in-Residence at Melbourne Business school, presents a…
At what exact moment ‘alternative’ and ‘yuppy’ became friends, nobody is quite sure. But the rise of the hipster is a well documented one – and not just in Tumblr photo blogs. Advocates celebrate t…
