Great Ideas

Megan Whelan looks at how language shapes - and is shaped by - our understanding of the world, with Dr Sasha Calhoun, Professor Paul Warren and Associate Professor Stephen Epstein.

What does it mean when something is 'lost in translation'? Why isn't there an English word for 'schadenfreude'?

In part two of Great Ideas, Megan Whelan looks at how language shapes - and is shaped by - our understanding of the wor...

Megan Whelan look at how revolutions shape - and are shaped by - fashion, literature and the visual arts, with Dr David Maskill, Dr Margaret Medlyn and Dr James Meffan.

Does the best creative work emerge in times of strife?

In part three of Great Ideas, Megan Whelan looks at how revolutions shape - and are shaped by - fashion, literature and the visual arts.

Participants: Dr David Maskill, Dr Margaret Medlyn and Dr James Meffan

What is...

The Reformation has had a major influence on thought and ideas far and above its religious beginnings. Megan Whelan talks with Dr Geoff Troughton, Professor Kathryn Walls and Dr Derek Woodard-Lehman.

In this episode, Megan Whelan is joined by Dr. Geoff Troughton; Professor Kathryn Walls; Dr. Derek Woodard-Lehman.

2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the publication of Martin Luther's 95 Theses, which most people think marks the s...

"Government of of the people, by the people, and for the people" - so goes Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. But does that describe 21st century democracy?

"Government of of the people, by the people, and for the people" - so goes Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. But does that describe 21st century democracy?

2016 caused many people to ask if democracy is the best form of government, or, if as Winston Church...

Charles Darwin's theories did not really 'come out of the blue'- there were others working with the same ideas and theories. Megan Whelan leads a discussion with Dr Rebecca Priestly, Associate Professor Joe Zuccarello and Professor Joe Bulbulia.

This week, Megan Whelan is joined by Dr. Rebecca Priestley, Associate Professor Joe Zuccarello and Professor Joe Bulbulia.

In 1835, Charles Darwin visited New Zealand and left with not a lot...

In the first episode of Great Ideas season 2, Megan Whelan discusses the future of leisure with three experts from AUT. Once the robots have taken all of our jobs, what will we do with all that time?

When was the last time you were bored?

Nearly 100 years ago, British economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that by now, we'd all be working 15-hour weeks and the biggest crisis facing people would be what to do with their spare ti...

This week, Great Ideas looks at how technology might impact the work that we do, where we do it, and how we survive when we can't work.

"If X = poop, do not clean," might be the future of house cleaning. How else to stop your robot vacuum cleaner spreading the new puppy's leavings all over the house?

In 2017 the media is full of stories about robots taking over our jobs, but how likely is that really? How will we make ...

This week, Great Ideas looks at the future of communication - how we'll be chatting, and what language we'll be doing it in. And could your fridge teach you te reo?

In the past 20 years, the way people communicate has undergone the biggest revolution since the printing press.

But how might we be talking in fifty years, and what language will be speaking?

And how will we know if we're getting the information and entertainment we n...

Great Ideas looks at the future of families - with more single people, more multi-generational families, and a more multi-cultural New Zealand, what happens to our family law?

Great Ideas looks at the future of families - with more single people, more multi-generational families, and a more multi-cultural New Zealand, what happens to our family law?

By 2038, it's predicted that there will be more than 5.5 million people living i...

In the final episode of this series, three experts discuss the future of food - whether we will all be eating crickets, what is a balanced meal anyway, and will turmeric save us all?

Could science ever create the perfect food? Nutritionally sound, tasty, and filling?

"We have eggs, don't we?" says AUT senior lecturer Dr Caryn Zinn.

An emphatic no is professor of food science Owen Young's answer.

"Would we even ...