Experience ANU

Ross Garnaut is in conversation on his new book, Reset: Restoring Australia after the Pandemic Recession, in which Garnaut shows how the COVID-19 crisis offers Australia the opportunity to reset its economy and build a successful future - and why the old approaches will not work. Garnaut develops the idea of a renewable superpower, calls for a basic income and explores what the 'decoupling' of China and America will mean for Australia. In the wake of COVID-19, the world has entered its deepest recession since the 1930s. Shocks of this magnitude throw history from its established course - either for good or evil. In 1942 - in the depths of war - the Australian government established a Department of Post-War Reconstruction to plan a future that not only restored existing strengths but also rebuilt the country for a new and better future. As we strive to overcome the coronavirus challenge, we need new, practical ideas to restore Australia. This book has them. Ross Garnaut AC is Professorial Research Fellow in Economics at the University of Melbourne. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences and a Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Society of Australia. He was principal economic adviser to Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Australian Ambassador to China (1985-88). In 2008, he produced the Garnaut Climate Change Review for the Australian government and a follow-up review in 2011. He is the author of many books, including the bestselling Dog Days and Superpower. Dr Steven Kennedy, Secretary to the Australian Treasury since 2 September 2019, has held numerous senior positions in the public service in a 30 year career. He was the Head of Secretariat of the Garnaut Climate Change Review - Update 2011 and was awarded a Public Service Medal in 2016 for outstanding public service in the area of climate change policy. Dr Kennedy holds a PhD and a Masters in Economics from the Australian National University, and a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of Sydney. Welcome and introduction delivered by Professor Brian P. Schmidt, ANU Vice-Chancellor. Vote of thanks given by Professor Helen Sullivan, Director of the Crawford School of Public Policy ANU.

Andrew Leigh is in conversation with Brian Schmidt on Andrew's new book with Joshua Gans, Innovation + Equality: How to Create a Future That Is More Star Trek Than Terminator. Is economic inequality the price we pay for innovation? The amazing technological advances of the last two decades-in such areas as artificial intelligence, genetics, and materials-have benefited society collectively and rewarded innovators handsomely: we get cool smartphones and technology moguls become billionaires. This contributes to a growing wealth gap; in the United States; the wealth controlled by the top 0.1 percent of households equals that of the bottom ninety percent. Is this the inevitable cost of an innovation-driven economy? Joshua Gans and Andrew Leigh make the case that pursuing innovation does not mean giving up on equality-precisely the opposite. In this book, they outline ways that society can become both more entrepreneurial and more egalitarian. All innovation entails uncertainty; there's no way to predict which new technologies will catch on. Therefore, Joshua Gans and Andrew Leigh argue, rather than betting on the future of particular professions, we should consider policies that embrace uncertainty and protect people from unfavourable outcomes. To this end, they suggest policies that promote both innovation and equality.

The ANU Energy Update is the ECI's annual flagship event - a one-day summit that brings together energy researchers, policymakers, industry and the public to provide an overview of the latest world energy trends. This day features national and international presenters from government, research and the private sector discussing a range of energy issues including global and regional outlooks, new technologies, energy security, energy access and energy productivity.

The ANU Energy Update is the ECI's annual flagship event - a one-day summit that brings together energy researchers, policymakers, industry and the public to provide an overview of the latest world energy trends. This day features national and international presenters from government, research and the private sector discussing a range of energy issues including global and regional outlooks, new technologies, energy security, energy access and energy productivity.

The ANU Energy Update is the ECI's annual flagship event - a one-day summit that brings together energy researchers, policymakers, industry and the public to provide an overview of the latest world energy trends. This day features national and international presenters from government, research and the private sector discussing a range of energy issues including global and regional outlooks, new technologies, energy security, energy access and energy productivity.

The ANU Energy Update is the ECI's annual flagship event - a one-day summit that brings together energy researchers, policymakers, industry and the public to provide an overview of the latest world energy trends. This day features national and international presenters from government, research and the private sector discussing a range of energy issues including global and regional outlooks, new technologies, energy security, energy access and energy productivity.

The ANU Energy Update is the ECI's annual flagship event - a one-day summit that brings together energy researchers, policymakers, industry and the public to provide an overview of the latest world energy trends. This day features national and international presenters from government, research and the private sector discussing a range of energy issues including global and regional outlooks, new technologies, energy security, energy access and energy productivity.

The Hon. Robert French AC speaks on the future legal issues of formalising a treaty agreement with Australia's First Nations people. Mr French served as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia from November 1986 until his appointment as Chief Justice of the High Court on 1 September 2008. From 1994 to 1998 he was the President of the National Native Title Tribunal. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia and Monash University, a Distinguished Honorary Professor at the Australian National University and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at Melbourne University Law School. Mr French was elected as Chancellor of the University of Western Australia in December 2017.

William Dalrymple is in conversation with Meera Ashar on William's new book, The Anarchy. The Relentless Rise of the East India Company. In his most ambitious and riveting book to date, The Anarchy, William Dalrymple tells the timely and cautionary tale of the rise of the East India Company, the first global corporate power. In August 1765 the East India Company defeated the young Mughal emperor and forced him to establish in his richest provinces a new administration run by English merchants who collected taxes through means of a ruthless private army - what we would now call an act of involuntary privatisation. The East India Company became something much more unusual: an aggressive colonial power in the guise of a multinational business. In less than four decades it had trained up a security force of around 200,000 men - twice the size of the British army - and had subdued an entire subcontinent, conquering first Bengal and finally, in 1803, the Mughal capital of Delhi itself. The Company's reach stretched until almost all of India south of the Himalayas was effectively ruled from a boardroom in London. 'Dalrymple is a superb historian with a visceral understanding of India ... A book of beauty' - Gerard DeGroot, The Times "[A] rampaging, brilliant, passionate history ... Dalrymple gives us every sword-slash, every scam, every groan and battle cry. He has no rival as a narrative historian of the British in India ... A gripping tale of bloodshed and deceit, of unimaginable opulence and intolerable starvation ... shot through with an unappeasable moral passion" - Wall Street Journal

Recorded at Australia House, London on 22 October 2019 with introduction by the Hon George Brandis QC, High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. The remarkable contribution to Australian political life made by Andrew Fisher, Australia’s fifth Prime Minister, has only just begun to receive a measure of the recognition it deserves. Employed as a pit boy in the Scottish coal mines as a nine-year old, Fisher eventually migrated to Queensland aged 22, in 1885, and shortly after joined the fledgling Queensland Labor Party. While never a charismatic politician, he was liked on both sides of the political divide for his honesty, integrity and unswerving dedication to the attainment of a more just Australia. Prime Minister no less than three times (between 1908 and 1915), and the first Prime Minister to enjoy a majority in both houses of Parliament, his governments legislated on the basis of fairness. His word was his bond. Fisher is probably best known for his statement at the outset of the Great War that Australia would support Great Britain to its ‘last man’ and ‘last shilling’, yet the devastating loss of life in that unprecedented global conflict aged him terribly. Gallipoli horrified him. By the end of the war his hair was snow white, his inherent optimism in tatters, his memory in trouble. Fisher’s pacifist instincts had been violated. He never really recovered. David Headon is a cultural consultant and historian. Formerly Director of the Centre for Australian Cultural Studies, Cultural Adviser to the National Capital Authority and History and Heritage Adviser for the Centenary of Canberra, he is now a Foundation Fellow at the Australian Studies Institute (ANU), a Parliamentary Library Associate and the Canberra Raiders club historian. This lecture is part of the First Eight Project, a collaborative project between the Australian Studies Institute (ANU), Australian Parliamentary Library, National Archives of Australia, National Museum of Australia, and Victorian Parliamentary Library to enliven interest in this formative period of the nation’s history. The Australian Studies Institute thanks The Britain-Australia Society for hosting this event.

Lock up your tubas and your fairy wrens! In partnership with ANU Meet The Authors series, Chat 10 Looks 3 comes to Canberra for a live recording of the beloved podcast's bumper Christmas episode. Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb discuss their favourite books, TV shows, movies and recipes from 2017. Make a list of what to read in your Christmas holidays! Note ideas for the perfect gifts! Crabb's rider includes a fully stocked bar and the removal of all pianos from the premises while Sales just wants to know if ANU is providing a driver.

Associate Professor Ben Penny discusses the significance of the Classical Chinese text 'Daodejing' ('Tao Te Ching'). Books that Changed Humanity is a book club with a difference. Each month, the ANU Humanities Research Centre hosts an expert from one of a variety of disciplines, who will introduce and lead the discussion of a major historical text. All of these texts, which are drawn from a variety of cultural traditions, has had a formative influence on society and humanity. The series aims to highlight and revisit those books which have informed the way we understand ourselves, both individually and collectively, as human beings. hrc.anu.edu.au/books-that-changed-humanity

In this podcast, Professor Ian McAllister, Dr Jill Sheppard and Sarah Cameron reveal the results of the latest Australian Election Study live from Parliament House. Spoiler: The 2016 survey shows significant changes of opinion that should act as a wake-up call to the major parties.

This talk gives an insiders account of Australia's national intelligence organisation as it grappled with continuing espionage from foreign agents and the rise of terrorist attacks on Australian soil during the years of the Fraser and Hawke governments. John Blaxland uncovers behind the scenes stories of the Hilton bombing in Sydney, assassinations of diplomats, the Combe-Ivanov affair, and the new threat from China. It reveals that KGB officers were able to recruit and run agents in Australia for many years, and it follows ASIO's own investigations into persistent allegations of penetration by Soviet moles.

Natural resources are the biggest source of unaccountable power in the world. For decades resource-fuelled authoritarians and extremists have forced endless crises on the West—and the ultimate source of their resource money is consumers, paying at the gas station and the mall. Leif Wenar explores how the ‘resource curse’ threatens the West—and searches for the hidden global rule that puts shoppers into business with today’s most dangerous men. He discovers the same rule that once licensed the slave trade and genocide and apartheid—a rule whose abolition has marked humanity’s greatest victories, yet that still breeds tyranny and war and extremism through today’s global resource trade. Australia could now abolish this archaic law for resources—and lead the world to lift its oil curse. Leif Wenar holds the Chair of Philosophy and Law at King’s College London. He has been a Visiting Professor at ANU, Stanford and Princeton, and a Fellow of the Carnegie Council Program in Justice and the World Economy.

Evolution was the theme of the fifth in the Conversations Across the Creek series. Our speakers tackled this subject from their differing research viewpoints: the philosophy of biology; phylogenetics and why some things evolve faster than others; the migration of people in the Pacific; and communication in healthcare. This session’s speakers were: Dr Rachael Brown (School of Philosophy; College of Arts and Social Sciences), Dr Rob Lanfear (Research School of Biology; College of Medicine, Biology and Environment), Dr Hilary Howes (School of Archaeology and Anthropology; College of Arts and Social Sciences), Professor Diana Slade (School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics; College of Arts and Social Sciences). The Conversations Across the Creek series is an initiative of the Humanities Research Centre and the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science. ‘Conversations’ seeks to highlight the commonalities and interesting intersections that exist across the university through TED-style talks delivered by academics from both sides of Sullivan’s Creek.

The inaugural 2006 Last Lecture was given by Professor Chris Reus-Smit. Professor Reus-Smit delivered a fascinating lecture on the topic of 'Sources of Insecurity and Instability in the Contemporary World'. With a long teaching experience and exceptional rapport with students, it is no wonder so many students wanted to hear Professor Reus-Smit speak at the Last Lecture! He self-evidently loves teaching, and gives to his classes the same enthusiasm he has given to his many publications, including American Power and World Order (Polity Press) and the Oxford Handbook on International Relations. Despite his less than formal high school education, Chris’s intellect has been recognised. At ANU in 2006 he was a Professor, the Head of the Department of International Relations in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, and Deputy Director of RSPAS.

Books that Changed Humanity is a book club with a difference. Each month, the ANU Humanities Research Centre hosts an expert from one of a variety of disciplines, who will introduce and lead the discussion of a major historical text. All of these texts, which are drawn from a variety of cultural traditions, has had a formative influence on society and humanity. The series aims to highlight and revisit those books which have informed the way we understand ourselves, both individually and collectively, as human beings. Professor Iain McCalman gave the third lecture about On the Origin of Species. Prof. McCalman is professor of history and the humanities at the University of Sydney. http://hrc.anu.edu.au/events/books-changed-humanity-3-origin-species

ABC elections analyst, Antony Green, spoke at the ANU School of Politics and International Relations on 12 October 2016. In a lively and entertaining with students and staff, he discusses the findings of his analysis of the 2016 Senate Federal election and the implications of the Senate's new voting system. Placing these changes in their historical context, he finds that the new system has worked well and that some of the more surprising results were likely the result of the double dissolution rather than the reforms. Antony also discusses some possible future implications for the change

For the Northern Territory, 2016 is the year of two big anniversaries: the 50th anniversary of the Wave Hill walk-off and the 40th anniversary of the Commonwealth Parliament's passing the Northern Territory Aboriginal Land Rights Act. Next year will also mark the 10th anniversary of the Commonwealth's Northern Territory Emergency Response - the Intervention. What benefits have government policies delivered to Indigenous peoples over those decades? How would Nugget Coombs rate the quality of advice and programs that have emanated from government bureaucracies, NGOs and powerful individuals, as they have applied to Indigenous affairs? The passage of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act remains its acme. Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory have been so distracted gaining, then defending, their rights that they simply have not secured their future. Developing the North is a hollow mantra without real inclusion of Indigenous peoples: the need for them to be consulted is ignored and self-management continues to elude them. Closing the Gap targets remain unmet. In the Northern Territory, social determinants of health for Aboriginal people are stagnant while the rates of imprisonment are ever increasing. The scandalous treatment of Aboriginal juveniles by the Northern Territory's justice system has led to a Royal Commission; at least its appointment will, to the relief of the Aboriginal population, help dispel for a long time the possibility of Statehood. The failure of public policies in the Northern Territory leads only to the conclusion that Aboriginal people themselves must seize the agenda for change, in order to achieve social and economic development on their own terms for themselves and for the nation. About the presenter Joe Morrison is the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Land Council. He was born and raised in Katherine and has Dagoman and Torres Strait Islander heritage. He holds a tertiary qualification from the University of Sydney and has over 25 years' experience working with Indigenous people across northern Australia and internationally on the management and development of traditional lands and waters. His experience includes extensive community development, research and policy creation focused on land and water rights, climate change, Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous ranger employment and Indigenous governance. Joe was the founding Chief Executive of the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance, a small not for profit company that brings western science-focused research into local community based settings across tropical northern Australia. During this period NAILSMA provided high-level policy, research and advice to Governments and Indigenous organisations on Indigenous Rangers, climate change and carbon economies, water policy and community development. He has been intrinsically involved in the 'Northern Development' agenda advocating the importance of Indigenous control over our lands and waters through the creation of Indigenous development prospectus that sustains people, culture and future generations. Joe has authored and co-authored many articles relating to Indigenous rights, management of country, economic development and of northern development. Presented by The Australian National University and Charles Darwin University

Don Watson joins Professor Bates Gill in conversation to discuss his new Quarterly Essay, 'Enemy Within. American Politics in the Time of Trump' which takes the reader on a journey into the heart of the United States in the year 2016. Watson, with characteristic wit and acuity, places Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in a larger frame. He considers the irresistible pull - for Americans - of American exceptionalism, and asks whether this creed is reaching its limit. He explores alternative paths the United States could have taken, and asks where its present course might lead Australia as a dutiful ally. "The best book by an outsider about America since - forever," David Sedaris, on Don Watson's American Journeys. Don Watson is a historian, author and public speaker. After writing political satire for Max Gillies and speeches for the Victorian premier John Cain, he became Paul Keating's speechwriter in 1992 and wrote the award winning biography Recollections of a Bleeding Heart: Paul Keating Prime Minister (2002). His Quarterly Essay, Rabbit Syndrome - Australia and America, won the inaugural Alfred Deakin essay prize in the Victorian Premier's literary awards. His other books include Death Sentence: The Decay of Public Language, American Journeys and Bendable Learnings: The Wisdom of Modern Management. Dr Bates Gill is Professor of Asia-Pacific Strategic Studies, Coral Bell School of Asia and Pacific Affairs, ANU. From 2012 to 2015 he was CEO of the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and from 2007 to 2012 served as the Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Dr Gill has also led major research programs at US public policy think tanks, Brookings Institution and Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC and the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

'Albanese: Telling it Straight' is Karen Middleton's new biography of Anthony Albanese. Through interviews with more than 70 friends, relatives, colleagues, associates and adversaries, and more than 40 interviews with Albanese himself, respected political journalist Karen Middleton has gained unprecedented insight into the man behind the politician; a beloved son brought-up with a strong sense of social justice, a political activist with a firebrand reputation; a charismatic young leader; an independent thinker who antagonized both the soft-left and the right of his own party; a strategist with a remarkable memory and an uncanny knack for numbers. Middleton charts the trajectory of Albanese's political career detailing the student shenanigans and factional power-plays of his rise through Young Labor; the influence of his mentor, Tom Uren; the manoeuvring ahead of his preselection - and eventual election - as Member for Grayndler in Sydney's inner west; his years in Opposition, and finally, the role he played in the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd leadership spills. But above all, it is the deeply moving story of one man's search for answers to the universal questions of identity and belonging. Middleton reveals family secrets as Albanese, until his teenage years, believed his mother had been widowed before his birth. This is the story - revealed for the first time - of the random events and extraordinary coincidences that finally led to an emotional family reunion. Middleton will also reflect on the complexities of writing a biography when the subject is still active in public life. Karen Middleton is Chief Political Correspondent for The Saturday Paper. Karen has worked in the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery since 1989 and previously, she was Chief Political Correspondent for SBS Television. Karen appears on ABC TV's political talk show Insidersand is a contributor to ABC radio, Monocle24 Radio UK and Radio New Zealand. Alex Sloan is the host of the Afternoons program on 666 ABC Canberra.

Books that Changed Humanity is a book club with a difference. Each month, the ANU Humanities Research Centre hosts an expert from one of a variety of disciplines, who will introduce and lead the discussion of a major historical text. All of these texts, which are drawn from a variety of cultural traditions, has had a formative influence on society and humanity. The series aims to highlight and revisit those books which have informed the way we understand ourselves, both individually and collectively, as human beings. Dr Rick Kuhn gave the second lecture on ‘The Communist Manifesto.’ Dr Kuhn is an Honorary Associate Professor, Marxian economist and ANU Adjunct Reader in Sociology. http://hrc.anu.edu.au/events/books-changed-humanity-2-communist-manifesto

Acclaimed Indonesian writer and man of letters, Goenawan Mohamad joins ANU Emeritus Professor James Fox in conversation on Goenawan's new book, In Other Words, a volume of essays edited and translated by Jennifer Lindsay, who also participated in the conversation. In this podcast Jennifer discusses some challenges of selecting and translating Goenawan's essays, written between 1968 to 2014, which demonstrate the breadth of his perceptive and elegant commentary on literature, faith, mythology, politics, history and Indonesian life. Goenawan Mohamad has been at the forefront of Indonesian intellectual and cultural life since his early twenties, and a crusader for press freedom since his university days. He was founder of the Indonesian language weekly journal Tempo in 1971 and its chief editor from 1971-94, and again in 1998. In the last seventeen years, Goenawan has been particularly involved with establishing alternative spaces for cultural and intellectual activity in Jakarta, writing, and as theatre director and producer. He is frequently invited nationally and internationally as guest speaker and commentator, and has received numerous prestigious awards. ANU will be the only public appearance by Goenawan following his appearance at the Melbourne Writers' Festival

Introduction by Boyd Hunter (PhB Convenor, CASS) Launching the 2016 PhB Symposium—Professor Brian Schmidt (Vice Chancellor, ANU) Ten PhB Student Presentations (in order) 1. Possibilities for innovative Native Title mapping—Mia Sandgren (PhB CASS) 2. How can playing ‘molecular Lego’ help us to understand the malaria parasite?—Lachlan Arthur (PhB Science) 3. Diagnosing Bottled Stars—Adrian Hindes (PhB Science) 4. Chemical Keyrings—Todd Harris (PhB Science) 5. Digital disruption in the academy—Oliver Friedmann (PhB CAP) 6. Writing Wrongs: Women and the Glass Ceiling of Literature—Rosalind Moran (PhB CASS) 7. Poking at Vibrations in Crystals—Kay Song (PhB Science) 8. Chemical weavings and coloured nets—Benjamin Thompson (PhB Science) 9. Gifted Underachievement: Causes and Interventions—Jessy Wu (PhB CASS) 10. Walt Whitman’s Civil War Poetry: Transcendentalism … or Jingoism?—Harry Dalton (PhB CASS)

In this discussion forum, four internationally recognised researchers will present their own research on different aspects of Australian biodiversity. They will look back at historical evidence to show how Australian plants and animals evolved and what factors have influenced them. By analysing the variety of animals and plants in Australia today, the researchers will propose ways they can be managed, protected and used effectively. The presenters then come together in a panel moderated by Dr Rod Lamberts (Deputy Director of the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science) to discuss the future of Australia's biodiversity and what factors, including climate change, are likely to influence it. Researchers Dr Marcel Cardillo, ANU Research School of Biology Professor Craig Moritz, Centre for Biodiversity Analysis, ANU Research School of Biology Dr Carsten Kulheim, ANU Research School of Biology Professor Adrienne Nicotra, ANU Research School of Biology

Bestselling American author Justin Cronin - in his only Canberra appearance between the Melbourne and Brisbane Writers Festival - discusses his life and books with Colin Steele, particularly his recently completed post-apocalyptic Passage trilogy. The Weekend Australian has commented that the trilogy,The Passage (2010), The Twelve(2012) and The City of Mirrors (2016), is "part dystopian essay, FBI procedural, vampire saga and military novel. There are echoes of John Steinbeck, Cormac McCarthy, Bram Stoker, Tom Clancy and Stephen King". King himself has commented that the trilogy "is remarkable for the unremitting drive of its narrative, for the breathtaking sweep of its imagined future, and for the clear lucidity of its language". Film rights have been sold to Ridley Scott. Harvard educated Cronin is also the author of Mary and O'Neil (which won the PEN/Hemingway Award and the Stephen Crane Prize), and The Summer Guest. He has been a Fellow of the US National Endowment for the Arts and is a Distinguished Faculty Fellow at Rice University. Colin Steele is an ANU Emeritus Fellow and is Convenor of the Meet the Author series.

Peter is joined in conversation by Jack Waterford AM, former Editor-at-large at The Canberra Times to discuss his new book Hack in a Flak Jacket. Hack in a Flak Jacket is a startlingly honest account of experiencing war and terrorism from the frontline by Peter Stefanovic, one of Australia's leading journalists and foreign correspondents. For almost ten years Peter Stefanovic was Channel 9's foreign correspondent in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. During that time he witnessed more than his fair share of death and destruction - all while putting his own personal safety very much in the firing line. This is his memoir of those experiences - from wars and conflicts in the Middle East, to terrorist attacks in London and Norway through to royal weddings. His time spent covering these world events has opened his eyes to the human condition - and in many ways affected him personally. Peter Stefanovic was the Europe, Africa, and Middle East correspondent for the Nine Network, from 2008 to 2015. He reported from the scene of major news events around the world for Nine News, the Today Show, and A Current Affair. In 2014 Peter Stefanovic was nominated for a Walkley Award for his coverage of the war in Gaza. He is currently the co-host of Weekend Today.

The fourth in the Conversations Across the Creek series was a lively discussion about ethical issues with various technologies such as drones used in warfare, Artificial Intelligence, the benefits and concerns with police body cameras, and machine learning. This session’s speakers were: Dr Adam Henschke (National Security College; College of Asia & Pacific), Professor Marcus Hutter (Research School of Computer Science), Dr Emmeline Taylor (School of Sociology; College of Arts and Social Sciences), Associate Professor Lexing Xie (Research School of Computer Science). The Conversations Across the Creek series is an initiative of the Humanities Research Centre and the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science. ‘Conversations’ seeks to highlight the commonalities and interesting intersections that exist across the university through TED-style talks delivered by academics from both sides of Sullivan’s Creek.

Books that Changed Humanity is a book club with a difference. Each month, the ANU Humanities Research Centre hosts an expert from one of a variety of disciplines, who will introduce and lead the discussion of a major historical text. All of these texts, which are drawn from a variety of cultural traditions, has had a formative influence on society and humanity. The series aims to highlight and revisit those books which have informed the way we understand ourselves, both individually and collectively, as human beings. Dr McComas Taylor gave the inaugural lecture on The Ramayana, the Indian epic. Dr Taylor is a Reader in Sanskrit in the ANU College of Asia & the Pacific. http://hrc.anu.edu.au/books-that-changed-humanity

The 2016 John Passmore Lecture for the ANU School of Philosophy By Professor Elizabeth Anderson, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, John Dewey Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan How should a society of equals be organized? Egalitarians themselves have been divided among three visions: individualism, small-scale communalist or cooperativist systems, and large-scale collectivism. In this podcast, Professor Elizabeth Anderson examines why, during the 19th century, the dominant trend among egalitarians moved from individualist toward collectivist visions. Far from settling on the communalist vision as the best compromise between the two, egalitarians today favour a mix of individualist and collectivist institutions. This talk considers why this is so, and discusses some challenges posed by this mixture.

Delivered by Professor Geoffrey Crossick, Director of the United Kingdom’s Arts and Humanities Research Council's Cultural Value Project and author, with Patrycja Kaszynska, of the major 2016 Report: Understanding the Value of Arts & Culture. This talk highlights the diverse contexts of the value of culture and how the digital landscape is playing an increasingly larger role in shaping people’s engagement with arts and culture. Crossick asks: How should we understand the difference that arts and culture makes to individuals and to society? The case is too often presented in terms of benefits that are thought to be important to the government of the day while neglecting some of the more fundamental benefits that matter to us all. Professor Crossick was Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Board from 2002–05, Warden of Goldsmiths College from 2005–10 and Vice-Chancellor of London University from 2010-12.

Most contemporary social epistemology takes as its starting point individuals with sophisticated propositional attitudes and considers (i) how those individuals depend on each other to gain (or lose) knowledge through testimony, disagreement, and the like and (ii) if, in addition to individual knowers, it is possible for groups to have knowledge. In this podcast, Professor Sally Haslanger argues that social epistemology should be more attentive to the construction of knowers through social and cultural practices: socialization shapes our psychological and practical orientation so that we perform local social practices fluently.

Richard Fidler joins ABC 666 Canberra's Alex Sloan in conversation to discuss his new book, Ghost Empire, his popular ABC radio series, Conversations with Richard Fidler, and the Doug Anthony All Stars. Recorded on 28 July 2016 at University House.

In this animated political discussion some of the University's most renowned public policy experts provide a final analysis of the election campaign prior to polling day. Panellists Professor John Hewson Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy Adjunct Professor Bob McMullan Crawford School of Public Policy Dr Jill Sheppard ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods Star of 'Off the Hill', the University's weekly 2016 election wrap up Dr Andrew Hughes Research School of Management, ANU College of Business of Economics Star of 'Off the Hill', the University's weekly 2016 election wrap up Moderated by Paul Bongiorno AM contributing editor for Ten News. The Vote: 2016 Federal Election Series is an opportunity to engage with ANU public policy experts during the 2016 Federal Election.

ANU is a leading centre for the study of climate change, energy change and the environment. In this event ANU experts discuss how these issues are being presented during the election. Panellists: Professor Ken Baldwin Director, Energy Change Institute, ANU Professor Mark Howden Director, Climate Change Institute, ANU Dr Paul Burke Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU Lily Dempster Climate Campaigner and ANU student Mark Kenny - moderator Chief Political Correspondent, Fairfax Media The Vote: 2016 Federal Election Series is an opportunity to engage with ANU public policy experts during the 2016 Federal Election.

The ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences' Second Professoriate Lecture of 2016 - The periodical enlightenment & romantic literature The opening decades of the nineteenth century, which we know as the Age of Romanticism in Britain, was also the great age of periodical literature – The Periodical Enlightenment – at the centre of which were the Edinburgh Review (est. 1802), the Quarterly Review (1809), Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (or Maga) (1817), and the Westminster Review (1824), each offering a politically-inflected conspectus of current knowledge and creative literature that was often aggressively argumentative and assumed greater authority than either the author or the reader. The big Reviews were by no means the only places where the Romantic reader could find clever, scathing, but often well-informed and well-argued reviews, which contributed to the high degree of literary self-consciousness we associate with Romantic literature. This talk looks at the phenomenon of critical reviewing during the Periodical Enlightenment (aka the Romantic period), at the mythologies that grew up around critical reviewing as an institution, and at some of the ramifications of its severity for the evolution of creative literature. Speakers: Dr Ann Evans Associate Dean (Research), College Dean, Professor Paul Pickering, and Professor Will Christie. Will Christie is Head of the Humanities Research Centre and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

The past five years have seen a concerted attempt by feminists in the literary world to reveal and shift gender bias in reviewing, awards and publishing. This discussion brings figures from across the literary landscape - writers’ festivals, publishing, reviewing, and academia - to discuss what this literary activism has achieved, and what is left to do. Is the gendering of literature in Australia changing, and why? Speakers: • Dr Julieanne Lamond, lecturer, School of Literature Languages & Linguistics (Facilitator) • Lisa Dempster, Festival Director at Melbourne Writers Festival • Dr Melinda Harvey, Monash University literary studies academic and critic • Imogen Mathew, ANU PhD candidate and 2015 Stella counter • Ashley Orr, ANU PhD candidate and 2015 Stella counter • Zoya Patel, Editor of feminist literature and arts journal Feminartsy and 2015 ACT Young Woman of the Year This public discussion is presented by the ANU School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics and supported by the ANU Gender Institute.

Health policy is at the core of the 2016 Federal Election, regularly ranked as the issue most important to voters. In this event, ANU health policy experts discuss where the parties stand and what's missing from the debate. Panellists: Professor Sharon Friel Director, RegNet, ANU Professor Art Sedrakyan Department of Health Services Research and Policy, Research School of Population Health, ANU Professor Adrian Kay Director of National Professional Development, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU Moderated by Cath McGrath, Chief Political Correspondent for SBS TV The Vote: 2016 Federal Election Series presented in partnership with the ANU Policy Forum is an opportunity to engage with ANU public policy experts during the 2016 Federal Election. Join the ANU community at a weekly panel in the Molonglo Theatre at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy as experts discuss a different public policy issue every week until the election.

The human right to privacy raises global policy, legal and political challenges in the information age. Issues such as data retention, data breaches and the interaction between public security versus private autonomy, are all creating a diversity of public debates in Australia and around the world. In 2015 the UN Human Rights Council responded to these challenges with the appointment of the first Rapporteur for Privacy; Professor Joseph (Joe) Cannataci. His appointment is a significant global milestone in the protection of privacy as a fundamental human right and his work has already attracted significant new interest, debate and awareness of privacy issues. In this talk, as part of Privacy Awareness Week 2016, Professor Cannataci provides his views as a world leading authority in privacy and data protection rights. About the speaker Professor Joe Cannataci: was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy in July 2015. He is the Head of the Department of Information Policy & Governance at the Faculty of Media & Knowledge Sciences of the University of Malta. He also holds the Chair of European Information Policy & Technology Law within the Faculty of Law at the University of Groningen where he co-founded the STeP Research Group.

In this event some of the social policy issues most important to voters will be discussed by an experienced group of policy makers and researchers. Panellists: Professor Matt Gray Director, ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods Professor Peter Whiteford Crawford School of Public Policy Sue Regan Crawford School of Public Policy Associate Professor Sharon Bessell Crawford School of Public Policy Moderated by 666 ABC Canberra's Genevieve Jacobs The Vote: 2016 Federal Election Series is an opportunity to engage with ANU public policy experts during the 2016 Federal Election. Join the ANU community at a weekly panel in the Molonglo Theatre at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy as experts discuss a different public policy issue every week until the election.

Some of the University's most respected economic experts discuss the key tax and economic issues during the 2016 election campaign. Spoiler alert: there's slightly more to the Australian budget predicament than 'jobs and growth'. Panellists: Professor Miranda Stewart Director, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute Associate Professor Maria Racionero Research School of Economics, ANU Dr John Hewson Professor, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU Leader of the Liberal Party 1990 - 1994 Moderated by Steven Long, ABC

Three of the University's leading security and foreign affairs experts look at how the 2016 election might change the way Australia deals with the rest of the world. Panellists: Professor Rory Medcalf Director, National Security College, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific Professor Michael Wesley Director, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific Dr Jill Sheppard Political scientist and survey researcher in the Australian Centre for Applied Social Research Methods, ANU College of Arts and Social Science Moderated by Michael Brissenden, ABC Watch vision of the event at https://youtu.be/0b09e9Qh2Hs

The third in the Conversations Across the Creek series was a lively discussion about neuroscience, the dangerous ideas and influences when performing Shakespearean plays in 19th century Australia, battles between invaders and hosts in bacteria, and the analysis and scalability of history and music. This session’s speakers were: Professor Greg Stuart (Head of the Eccles Institute of Neuroscience at the John Curtin School of Medical Research), Dr Kate Flaherty (School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics), Dr Denisse Leyton (Research School of Biology) and Professor Paul Pickering (Dean, College of Arts and Social Sciences. Hosted by Director of the Humanities Research Centre Professor Will Christie. The Conversations Across the Creek series is an initiative of the Humanities Research Centre and the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science. ‘Conversations’ seeks to highlight the commonalities and interesting intersections that exist across the university through TED-style talks delivered by academics from both sides of Sullivan’s Creek.

This diverse group of panel members from academia, public policy and the media offer their thoughts on the 2016 budget, particularly in the context of what needs to be done both to prepare Australia to deal with the current domestic and global environments and for the medium term future. Convened by Mr Steve Sedgwick AO Deputy Chair, Sir Roland Wilson Foundation, Former Australian Public Service Commissioner Speakers Ms Michelle Grattan AO Chief Political Correspondent at The Conversation & Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Ms Jan Harris Board member, Bendigo Bank & former Deputy Secretary to the Treasury Dr John Hewson AM Former leader of the Opposition & Chair, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Dr Mike Keating AC Former Secretary of the Departments of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Finance Prof Warwick McKibbin AO Chair, ANU Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Prof Miranda Stewart Director of the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt, Professor Bruce Chapman and Dr Ken Henry reflect on their experiences of how power, politics and personality have influenced the ability to introduce innovative policy both here in Australia and in the UK. Using examples such as the policy response to the Global Financial Crisis, the Higher Education Contribution Scheme and the UK’s Congestion Charge, they explore what did and didn’t work in these contexts, the personalities involved and what lessons can be drawn for introducing future complex policies.

There is a widespread view among analysts and policy makers in the Middle East region and beyond that President Barack Obama’s handling of the oil-rich but volatile Middle East has not been deft. His policy actions or lack of them have contributed to regional instability, and disillusioned some of America’s traditional Arab allies, most importantly Saudi Arabia. President Obama has been criticized for not containing the influence of Saudi Arabia’s regional rival, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and therefore the current American administration has been accused of playing into the hands of Tehran, whether in Iraq or Syria or Yemen. The position of the United States has also suffered in other parts of the region. The Arab Spring has come and largely gone, leaving the United States in lower standing in Egypt. The US-led peace talks between Israel and Palestine have failed, despite Secretary Kerry’s energetic efforts. How does Obama’s policy in the Middle East compare to that of the two leading presidential aspirants, namely Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump? What are the best options open to President Obama’s successor? About the speakers Amin Saikal AM, FASSA is a Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Public Policy Fellow, and Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies (Middle East and Central Asia) at The Australian National University. Cynthia P. Schneider, is a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, teaches, publishes, and organises initiatives in the field of cultural diplomacy, with a focus on relations with the Muslim world. Moderated by Mark Kenny Fairfax Media's chief political correspondent.

The Vote: 2016 Federal Election Series, presented in partnership with Policy Forum.net, is an opportunity to engage with ANU public policy experts during the 2016 Federal Election. In this podcast, three ANU public policy experts offer a no holds barred overview of the election, looking at the policy, politics and predictions ahead of us for the next eight weeks. Panellists include: - Quentin Grafton, Professor of Economics, ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, and Editor-in-Chief of PolicyForum.net - Sue Regan, researcher and policy analyst, ANU Crawford School of Public Policy - Bob Cotton, Visiting Fellow, ANU Crawford School of Public Policy Moderated by Catherine McGrath, Chief Political Correspondent for SBS TV.

Iconic Australian, Ken Done talks about his new book, A Life Coloured In, an exuberant memoir by one of Australia's best-loved artists. Ken Done has an extraordinary place in the hearts of Australians - many of whom have worn or decorated homes with his artwork. Taylor Swift was given a specially commissioned Ken Done artwork to commemorate her December 2015 Australian tour. Done donated his fee to UNICEF Australia, for which he is a Goodwill Ambassador. Done's vivid, optimistic images are part of our collective consciousness and have helped define Australia to the world. But what do we know about the man behind the brush and the 'Ken Done' commercial art phenomenon? The sudden loss of his investments from a lifetime's hard work and a resultant stressful court case was closely followed by a shock cancer diagnosis. It was a dark time, but the powerful paintings that subsequently emerged have brought him long-overdue artistic acclaim. Ken Done was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in 1992 and was named Australia's Father of the Year in 1993.

This presentation looks at the unique characteristics of Generations Y and Z, and the implications of these characteristics for society and organisational security. The presentation also looks at the role of these two generations in terrorist groups. Professor Clive Williams MG is an Honorary Professor at the ANU Centre for Military Security and Law, and a Visiting Fellow at the ANU Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. He has a career background in intelligence and security.

The second in the Conversations Across the Creek series was a lively discussion of the abstract beauty of mathematics, the crisis of too much data, the possibilities of a universal language, and the potentials of machine learning within the constraints of making something which doesn't not work. Also mentioned: hammers, certainty, ethics, and Proust. This session’s speakers were: Professor Anna Wierzbicka (Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics), Dr Glenn Roe (Digital Humanities, Centre for Digital Humanities Research), Professor Bob Williamson (Machine Learning, Research School of Computer Science), and Dr Vanessa Robins (Computational Topology, Research School of Physics & Engineering). Hosted by Director of the Humanities Research Centre Professor Will Christie. The Conversations Across the Creek series is an initiative of the Humanities Research Centre and the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science. ‘Conversations’ seeks to highlight the commonalities and interesting intersections that exist across the university through TED-style talks delivered by academics from both sides of Sullivan’s Creek.