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STREAM
FODI Festival

DATE & TIME
30 AUGUST 2014

LOCATION
SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

Are some ideas too dangerous to talk about?  

With back-to-back talks on punk feminism, national silence and Russia, FODI 2014 refused to shy away from the difficult conversations.

Brain-chewy questions abound at FODI in 2014. Is Russia a penal colony? Are there some authorities we shouldn’t question? How many dangerous ideas can one person have? Are borders relevant in a global context?  

Controversial thinkers including Pussy Riot, John Pilger, Sir Salman Rushdie, and Emily Nussbaum challenged ideas and revealed biases. The FODI 2014 program explored what our future holds in this world of shifting borders and alliances.

Catch up

If you missed a talk or want to re-live it, check out the 2014 YouTube playlist. Hit the top left of the media player below to expand into a complete list of available talks on play-back.

Speakers

Black and white portrait of two women at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. One wears glasses, the other a dark jacket.

Pussy Riot

is a Russian feminist punk rock group who were imprisoned for protesting.

Black and white portrait of a smiling man in a bow tie for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. He has white hair and a suit jacket.

John Pilger

is an Australian journalist and BAFTA award-winning documentary filmmaker.  

Salman Rushdie at Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. Black and white portrait of author with glasses, beard, and suit. Smiling.

Sir Salman Rushdie

is a Booker Prize winning novelist and essayist. 

Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014: Woman with curly hair and glasses, holding a microphone, laughing while seated on a chair.

Emily Nussbaum

is a Pulitzer Prize winning American critic for The New Yorker. 

Black and white portrait of a speaker at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. Person with short dark hair and a dark t-shirt.

Masha Gessen

is a Russian-American journalist, author and outspoken activist.

Black and white portrait of a speaker at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014, featuring a man with curly hair in a suit.

Steven Pinker

is a Canadian-American experimental psychologist.

Black and white portrait of an older man wearing glasses, a suit, and a tie for Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014.

Malcolm Fraser

was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia.

Black and white portrait of a speaker at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014, with a microphone in front of her.

Lydia Cacho

is a Mexican investigative journalist, womens rights, and human rights activist.

Headshot of speaker at Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. Smiling man with glasses, wearing a jacket and dress shirt. Black and white photo.

Bradley Garrett

is a social and cultural geographer at the University of Sydney.

Black and white portrait of a woman with short hair and a leather jacket, possibly a speaker at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014.

Alissa Nutting

is an outspoken author of Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls andTampa

Black and white portrait of a speaker at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014, smiling in a suit and tie.

John Hewson

is a former Australian political leader of the Liberal Party.

Black and white portrait of a woman for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. She has short hair and is wearing a dark shirt.

Bettina Arndt

is one of Australia’s first sex therapists.

Black and white portrait of Eva Cox at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. Cox has curly hair and is wearing a necklace.

Elizabeth Pisani

is journalist and scientist, specialising in infectious disease epidemiology.

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Jane Caro

is an Australian author, journalist, broadcaster and documentary filmmaker.

Black and white portrait of a smiling man in a suit for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. He has short hair and a collared shirt.

Glenn Robbins

is an Australian comedian and writer.

Black and white portrait of speaker at Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. Woman with curly hair and dark shirt.

Elizabeth Kolbert

is an American journalist and environmental commentator.

Black and white portrait of a woman with glasses at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014, with a bookshelf behind her.

Noelle Janaczewska

is a performer and art activist.

Black and white portrait of speaker at Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014, woman with dark hair, hand to face, thoughtful expression.

Anne Manne

is a writer and social philosopher.

Black and white portrait of a man for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. He's sitting on steps, wearing a suit jacket and patterned shirt.

Jaan Tallinn

is a Turkish publisher and Human Rights activist.

Black and white portrait of a smiling woman, speaker at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. She has long blonde hair and is fair-skinned.

Kajsa Ekis Ekiman

 is a Swedish journalist, writer, and activist on Women’s rights and Capitalism.

Black and white portrait of a bearded man for Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. He's smiling slightly, wearing a dark v-neck shirt.

Dan Ilic

is an Australian presenter, comedian and filmmaker.

Black and white portrait of a speaker at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. The man has a beard and his hands are clasped near his face.

Tim Flannery

 is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, scientist and environmentalist.

Black and white portrait of a smiling woman with short hair. Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014 speaker.

Kay Hymowitz

is an American author who writes on family issues and cultural change.

Black and white portrait of a smiling woman for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. She has dark, curly hair and is wearing a dark blouse.

Francesca Minerva

is an outspoken former Oxford University ethicist.

Black and white portrait of a man in a suit for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. The man has short hair and is wearing a pinstripe suit.

Mark Latham

is an Australian political commentator and politician.

Black and white portrait of a smiling man for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2014. He has short, curly hair and is wearing a dark sweater.

David Baker

is an American biochemist and computational biologist.

Rebecca Newberger Goldstein

is an American philosopher, novelist and public intellectual.

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Who is it for?


  • THE ACTIVIST
  • THE FUTURIST
  • THE PROVOCATEUR
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What you'll take away


  • 01A COMMITMENT TO BEING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY
  • 02BELIEFS CHALLENGES AND BIASES REVEALED
  • 03NEW IDEAS ON CURRENT ISSUES
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Things to think about