The Pitchforks are Coming (2024) - Myra Hamilton, Carl Rhodes & Jordan van den Berg

The Pitchforks are Coming (2024) - Myra Hamilton, Carl Rhodes & Jordan van den Berg

Author: Festival of Dangerous Ideas May 15, 2025 Duration: 1:00:24

Ordinary citizens are starting to realise that their dwindling share of our common wealth is no accident, but the inevitable result of the current system. As life becomes more precarious, has the time come when the 'discontented majority' will flex their muscles and seize, by whatever means, a fairer share of the economic and social pie? Or will the world's wealthiest 1% step back from the precipice by realising that inequality is as much of a problem for them as it is for everyone else? 

Myra Hamilton is an Associate Professor in Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School. She is a sociologist and social policy scholar whose work identifies and challenges inequalities arising from gender, age and social disadvantage. Among other things, her most recent work challenges the notion of the 'generation wars' and seeks to uncover the workings of elite privilege and its harms.

Carl Rhodes is Dean and Professor of Organization Studies at the University of Technology Sydney Business School. Carl writes about the ethical and democratic dimensions of business and work. His work endeavours to question and reformulate the role of business in society so prosperity can be shared by all. 

Jordan van den Berg, an office-worker in Melbourne, is known for his reviews and visits of the worst rentals Australia has to offer by his audience on TikTok, Instagram, and Youtube as purplepingers. Alongside his reviews, Jordan also uses his platform to passionately contribute to Australian political discourse, educating his audience on anything and everything that society failed to educate young Australians.

Chaired by philosopher, writer, and public commentator, Gwilym David Blunt.


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
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