Festival of Dangerous Ideas

Will we run out of water – and if so, when? Will the Earth suffer? Explore how water drives modern conflict and is not about to stop. Alok Jha is the science correspondent for ITV News in the UK. Before that, he did the same job at The Guardian for a decade. He has also reported live from Antarctica and presented many TV and radio programmes for the BBC. Alok's latest book The Water Book looks into water, and how it has shaped the Earth, it's life and our civilisation.

In the late 90s, theorists, economists & politicians were talking confidently about the “end of history” and the undisputed triumph of liberal "democratic" capitalism. But after 9/11, the GFC and the Arab Spring, the gloss of capitalism may be beginning to fade. If the alternative is Putin's Tsarism or China's authoritarianism, then renovating the idea of communism is something that we should demand, no matter how impossible it seems. Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, critical theorist & aut

Has compassion been taken from us by contemporary life? Every day we are being fuelled by violence and trauma from news and media outlets from across the world. The sense of desperation we feel which may be followed by psychical burnout and psychological depletion is real. The diagnosis? Helen Razer blames compassion fatigue and discusses ways to avoid its onset. Helen Razer is a writer, broadcaster and commentator who is now chiefly engaged in the work of writing on social and cultural matters.

Society preaches forgiveness for the rich & retribution for the poor. Entrenched inequality & poverty are the dark side of the American dream for a citizenry united by name, but not by rules. Is the divide fair, or is it built into the system? We know that inequality is bad for the rich & the poor, but this won't bring change by itself. What happens when those with the power to change the divide are those that benefit most from it? David Simon is a journalist & creator of The Wire and Treme.

In a complex and fast-moving world, if we want to move ahead we need to rethink the conditions for making progress. We need to realise there is no 'right way', lose our fear of failure, embrace opportunity and take risks. We need to stop looking for leaders who can provide us with all the answers, and encourage the search for many solutions. In order to adapt to the challenges of the future, we must make mistakes, lots of them. Tim Harford is an author and economist for the Finanicial Times.

The stories of Anders Behring Breivik and Lance Armstrong may seem to have little in common, but each shows the consequences of the epidemic of narcissism that marks our age. Our lives no longer centred on social and family groups, but have become highly individualistic. We are primed for narcissism by consumer culture, changing family dynamics and growing inequality. It’s time we looked at the sources of this epidemic and how it can be stopped. Anne Manne is an Australian writer and social commentator.

The tumultuous 17th century Enlightenment created the modern mind. What were the radical forces that shaped this intellectual world view we still share? And how is this under threat today? A.C. Grayling is the Master of the New College of the Humanities, London, and its Professor of Philosophy, and the author of over thirty books of philosophy, biography, history of ideas, and essays. His book, The Age of Genius, was published by Bloomsbury in April 2016.

We take you back to the unforgettable Christopher Hitchens. Hitch was the opening speaker at the very first Festival of Dangerous Ideas in 2009. Erudite, acerbic and incisive as ever, Hitch's talk - the original dangerous ideas - holds a special place in our hearts.  A Decade of Danger celebrates 10 years of The Festival of Dangerous Ideas and will highlight 10 unmissable speakers from across the festival’s history. Sign up at festivalofdangerousideas.com to find out more about the lineup for FODI 202

Enjoy Dee Madigan's talk on political advertising from FODI 2016. This detailed look at how political propaganda gets made will enlighten, disgust and entertain in equal measures. A Decade of Danger celebrates 10 years of The Festival of Dangerous Ideas and will highlight 10 unmissable speakers from across the festival’s history. Sign up at festivalofdangerousideas.com to find out more about the lineup for FODI 2020.

Revisit Evgeny Morozov's prophetic talk about the future of technology from FODI 2013. It warns of the growing influence of tech corporations in our everyday lives and describes - with eerie accuracy - the world we live in today.  A Decade of Danger celebrates 10 years of The Festival of Dangerous Ideas and will highlight 10 unmissable speakers from across the festival’s history. Sign up at festivalofdangerousideas.com to find out more about the lineup for FODI 2020.

We look back at Philippe Legrain's impassioned talk about immigration from FODI 2016. By flipping current assumptions on their heads, he builds a case for open migration and the potential it has to benefit a nation's society, economy and culture. A Decade of Danger celebrates 10 years of The Festival of Dangerous Ideas and will highlight 10 unmissable speakers from across the festival’s history. Sign up at festivalofdangerousideas.com to find out more about the lineup for FODI 2020.

Revisit Vandana Shiva's speech from FODI 2013 on globalisation and its impacts on environment and society alike. This impassioned rebuttal of modern economic dogma forces us to reframe how we think of healthy economies and communities.   A Decade of Danger celebrates 10 years of The Festival of Dangerous Ideas and will highlight 10 unmissable speakers from across the festival’s history. Sign up at festivalofdangerousideas.com to find out more about the lineup for FODI 2020.

We highlight the work of a FODI favourite, Jon Ronson. Enjoy his unique brand of reporting as he investigates psychopaths at work and at home in 2011’s Psychopaths Make the World Go Round, and uncovers social media’s savage culture of shame in 2015’s Shame Culture. A Decade of Danger celebrates 10 years of The Festival of Dangerous Ideas and will highlight 10 unmissable speakers from across the festival’s history. Sign up at festivalofdangerousideas.com to find out more about the lineup for FODI

Revisit Hanna Rosin’s talk from the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2013. Documenting the tectonic shifts in gender equality taking place across America, this is both an inspiring recap of what we have achieved, but also a reminder of how far we still have to go. A Decade of Danger celebrates 10 years of The Festival of Dangerous Ideas and will highlight 10 unmissable speakers from across the festival’s history. Sign up at festivalofdangerousideas.com to find out more about the lineup for FODI 2020.

In 2014 Swedish Journalist Kajsa Ekis Ekman presented one of most divisive and dangerous talks in the festival’s history. Her talk Surrogacy is Child Trafficking came at a time when the case of Baby Gammy was front of mind in the Australian media. A Decade of Danger celebrates 10 years of The Festival of Dangerous Ideas and will highlight 10 unmissable speakers from across the festival’s history. Sign up at festivalofdangerousideas.com to find out more about the lineup for FODI 2020.