Adam Tooze (2022) | F=Fail

Adam Tooze (2022) | F=Fail

Author: Festival of Dangerous Ideas November 1, 2022 Duration: 40:58

The 21st century was supposed to be better than this.  As we confront the impacts of climate change, wars old and new, the pandemic and its aftermath, and a dangerously fragile global financial system, it's time to ask 'Why can't we get our act together and solve the issues that matter?' As we find ourselves dealing with a multitude of challenges that we predicted would arrive, but seem unable to prevent, acclaimed historian Adam Tooze looks back to see a better future.

Prize-winning historian, writer and economic commentator, Adam Tooze combines deep historical expertise with up to date economic analysis to answer questions about current and future political power and economical shifts that could be used to navigate in our dynamic contemporary world. Tooze teaches at Columbia University where he is the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of History and the Director of the European Institute.


For more than a decade, the Festival of Dangerous Ideas has curated a space where provocative thinking isn't just welcomed, it's the entire point. This podcast is a direct line to that stage, offering an archive of talks that deliberately unsettle comfortable opinions and interrogate the stubborn problems we often agree to ignore. Each episode captures a live conversation from Australia's original disruptive ideas festival, presenting arguments that can be exhilarating, uncomfortable, and vitally important. You’ll hear from a compelling roster of festival alumni-including leading experts, intellectual troublemakers, and visionary authors-who share perspectives that conventional discourse frequently sidelines. The discussions here aren't theoretical exercises; they grapple with the pressing and difficult issues shaping our society and culture right now. Tuning in means granting yourself access to a decade-long tradition of intellectual courage, where the core assumption is that some truths are only reached by first entertaining a dangerous idea. It’s a chance to listen as boundaries are pushed, not for shock value, but for clarity. The result is a consistently challenging and refreshing audio experience that complicates simple narratives and expands what feels possible to talk about.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Festival of Dangerous Ideas
Podcast Episodes
Masha Gessen (2024) - The War of the Narratives [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:25
In an age of creeping authoritarianism, anyone who questions the logic of competing narratives when it comes to historical conflicts risks being silenced. Russian American journalist Masha Gessen says however, in order t…
Tariq Ali (2015) | The Twilight of Democracy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:25
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…
Dennis Glover (2015) | Winners and Losers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:23
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 wea…
Molly Crabapple (2016) | From the frontline [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:55
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 possi…
Drawing Truth to Power (2022) | Badiucao, Dan Ilic & Cathy Wilcox [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:05
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, leade…
Steven Pinker (2022) | Enlightenment or Dark Age? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:04
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 problem…