Tariq Ali (2015) | The Twilight of Democracy
Festival of Dangerous Ideas
What is the purpose of democracy when it’s become more challenging than ever to tell the left and right apart? Journalist and filmmaker, Tariq Ali says Western democracy has failed and we are now seeing the emergence of an extreme centre, which ensures no challenges to this form of neoliberal politics is permitted. Tariq Ali is a British-Pakistani political commentator and a prolific writer, journalist and filmmaker. He has been a leading figure of the international left since the 1960s. His books include The Duel: Pakistan on the Flightpath of American Power, The Obama...
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Dennis Glover (2015) | Winners and Losers
Festival of Dangerous Ideas
In modern Australia, productivity is all that matters, or so our leaders tell us. However the way we have pursued economic growth in the last 30 years has prevented many people from sharing the rewards. We now create wealth via exclusion. Writer Denis Glover argues that an economy is not a society. We desperately need to confront the working conditions, jobs and lives we want for ourselves and our families – and to choose a future that is designed to benefit all Australians, not just some. Dennis Glover is an Australian writer and novelist. The son of factory workers, Dennis grew...
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Molly Crabapple (2016) | From the frontline
Festival of Dangerous Ideas
In a time of turmoil, what happens when art and politics collide? From prisons, refugee camps and war zones, artist and journalist Molly Crabapple has documented the astounding courage of people living in the worst possible circumstances. Crabapple wonders whether art is sharp enough to cut through razor wires. Is it time to move art out of galleries and use it as a real agent for change? Molly Crabapple is an artist and writer who has been published in the New York Times, The Paris Review, Vanity Far, The Guardian, The New Yorker and Rolling Stone. She became a journalist...
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Expendable Australians (2022) | Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Peter Greste, Ian Kemish & Sangeetha Pillai
Festival of Dangerous Ideas
We all have assumptions of what citizenship means. However, in recent years we are starting to see the envelop pushed with more common law rights being taken away. From Australia shutting its doors during the pandemic to authoritarian regimes acquiring the habit of turning travellers into political prisoners, where is it becoming too dangerous to go? And if an Australian passport does not protect you, what are you owed by your government? Kylie Moore-Gilbert is a scholar of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. She was falsely charged with espionage and imprisoned in Iran from September...
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Drawing Truth to Power (2022) | Badiucao, Dan Ilic & Cathy Wilcox
Festival of Dangerous Ideas
Drawing truth to power is more dangerous in some parts of the world than others. The combination of satire and anger can make the best political cartoons lethal to politicians, unveiling truths around human rights, leadership and freedom. But where do we draw the line between humour, offence and legality? And for cartoonists trapped between censorship and cancellation, what is there still left to draw? Badiucao is one of the most popular and prolific political artist from China, and he confronts a variety of social and political issues head on in his work. He uses his art to challenge...
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Steven Pinker (2022) | Enlightenment or Dark Age?
Festival of Dangerous Ideas
Are the ideals of the Enlightenment – reason, science and humanism – and the progress they can deliver being undermined by a cynical desire to burn it all down? Pre-eminent psychologist Steven Pinker explains why problems are inevitable and not a reason to destroy the institutions of modernity, with all the resulting chaos and carnage. The use of knowledge to enhance human flourishing will never bring about utopia, but it has given greater life, freedom, equality, safety, peace, and enrichment to billions, and promises still more if we rededicate ourselves to that ideal. Steven...
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Harmful Thoughts (2022) | Jayne Crossling, Emma A. Jane, Georgia Naldrett & Michael Salter
Festival of Dangerous Ideas
Australia is facing a child sexual abuse epidemic. Brought to light by The Royal Commission and stories of high-profile survivors, the numbers are shocking, and the online world is even worse. But this is not a crimewave we can arrest our way out of. Criminal justice is not enough, and the revulsion child sexual abuse inspires can paralyse more effective responses. However, there is a window for child sexual abuse prevention, if we are not too scared to seize it. It’s time to engage earlier with people concerned about their sexual thoughts or behaviours towards children, so...
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Donate to make FODI happen in 2024
Festival of Dangerous Ideas
Since 2009 the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, or FODI to its fans, has curated thought-provoking topics and new approaches to wicked problems. We bring bold speakers, artists and experiences together in ways that are unexpected, and yes, sometimes a bit uncomfortable, but we are always unerringly authentic. We’ve never shied away from truth. So, here’s our dangerous truth: Festival of Dangerous Ideas needs funds to go ahead in 2024. We’re already talking to partners. We’re applying for grants. We're canvassing speakers and artists. We’re telling everyone who will listen about the 11+...
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Stealing Culture (2022) | Daniel Browning, Corrie Chen, Coby Edgar & Luara Ferracioli
Festival of Dangerous Ideas
From musical borrowings and dance moves, to clothing, art and stories, it's time to talk about where to draw the line between legitimate cultural exchange and damaging cultural appropriation. As we see more clearly how power shapes culture, the relationships between artistic freedom and protecting culture is shifting rapidly. It’s time for a bigger discussion about who owns culture, who’s stealing it, who is entitled to borrow, and how to pay a fair price. Daniel Browning is an Aboriginal journalist, radio broadcaster, documentary maker, sound artist and writer. Corrie Chen...
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Claire G. Coleman (2022) | Words are Weapons
Festival of Dangerous Ideas
Stories define who we are, our history and they can be weaponised. Stories can erase an entire culture. History is nothing but a story. Noongar woman and author Claire G. Coleman invites you to consider that Australia has been defined by a story that hasn’t been built on truth. That the stories Australia tells itself about itself are actually dangerous; they disenfranchise and dehumanise people, both the settlers and the First Nations people. Colonisation in Australia is not...
info_outlineTongues is an explicit, potent musical manifesto, exploring having your voice taken away, in response to Roxane Gay and Kate Manne’s discussion. Tongues is written and performed by Tanya Tagaq, a Canadian Inuk improvisational singer, avant-garde composer, bestselling author, and Saul Williams, Sumach Valentine, Jesse Zubot; published by Songs of Six Shooter B (SOCAN), Martyr Loser King (ASCAP), Warp Music Limited (PRS/ASCAP), Jesse Zubot (SOCAN). Courtesy of Six Shooter Records Inc.
Produced by The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, The Ethics Centre and Audiocraft.