Are some people born evil? If modern science could identify ‘evil’ people, would we have the responsibility to remove them from society? What is the difference between evil and merely bad? On Big Ideas a panel of experts explores the meaning of evil in a contemporary and historic sense. Evil is often seen as “profound immorality”. Yet at the same our notion of evil varies with culture, century and context.

The second part of a discussion examining the future of the university in a post-COVID19 world. The university has been an enduring institution, going back nearly a thousand years, but it is confronting a time of massive disruption. How should universities change and adapt to meet the new challenges, without compromising their essential values?

Should we give up on justice for peace? Peace negotiations often include amnesty clauses for human right crimes. Renee Jeffery explores the moral complexities and political nuances at work in peace talks.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly entering the realm of art and also advertising. What does that mean for our notion of creativity? And how do persuasive algorithms work?

Indigenous women who are victims of family violence often also suffer from multiple disadvantage. A specialist indigenous legal service provides culturally appropriate support and counselling. And the long struggle for indigenous women to gain equal voting rights with their white sisters.

Courts of law exist for good reason, but the judicial process can also retraumatize, rather than heal, victims and witnesses who are exposed to it. Therapeutic jurisprudence offers a different approach

A hundred years from now, will you be taking a pill or using your own cells to cure disease? This is just one of the predictions from four futurists who imagine how some of our biggest challenges will play out. Can we save species from the effects of climate change or protect our privacy from the prying eyes of governments and corporations? Perhaps surveillance technology might prove to be our friend by keeping us accountable for our actions.

Small is beautiful as the saying goes. But there’s small and then there’s nano small. Engineers who work in the nano world are working with single atoms. Nanotechnology helps to power your mobile phone and nano machines might one day be working in your body to deliver medical treatment.

Most every society has fermented alcoholic beverages - Mexican pulque, Peruvian chicha, Japanese sake, Indian palm toddy, African sorghum beer. But the German lager beer has largely displaced these local brewing traditions over the last 200 years to become a global consumer icon. That has many reasons—trade, migration, colonialism—but the success of lager lies also in the fact that it's so bland.

Paul Robeson was an African American singer, film star, scholar, athlete, civil rights champion and radical political activist. What is his legacy today?

This year is crunch time for determining whether it is still possible to save our planet. In 2020, all major conventions dealing with climate change and biodiversity will meet and decide on the emission levels ambitions that every nation must adopt. While leaving no doubt about the urgency of action on climate change, conservationist Aila Keta is optimistic. She sees very encouraging new initiatives coming out of the finance and the banking sector.

Fungi are the unsung heroes of recycling. They play a vital role in breaking down organic matter for plants to use. Now we've discovered fungi can clean up oil and plastic. And their root systems are being used to create alternatives to plastic, wood and bricks. Who knew the humble mushroom could be so versatile?

Trust is in short supply. Surveys have long indicated declining trust in institutions, and in political leaders. We are also suspicious of expertise, and of the experts who provide it. Faced with the threat of a pandemic, who can we trust?

It’s 250 years since the arrival of Captain James Cook. In maritime circles he’s celebrated as a great navigator and map-maker. But for First Nations people, Cook is the symbol of the European invasion which decimated their communities. So how should Cook be remembered today? Author Peter Fitzsimons and historian Professor John Maynard discuss the man and the myth.

Will personal freedom always give way to social control in China? Families have lived through a wave of revolutions in communist China and the legacy flows down the generations. Three authors talk about the cycle of openness and repression from the Cultural revolution to Tiananmen Square as individual freedoms are tolerated and then repressed to meet the goals of China's communist rulers.

How do you fancy a theory describing everything in the world and the whole universe? Physicists have been trying to find a universal theory for centuries. Progress has been made: BBC’s Jim Al-Khalili describes the three pillars of modern physics: quantum theory, relativity, and thermodynamics. But is physics any closer to finding the ONE theory that explains it all?

Malcolm Turnbull reflects on his time on politics, his achievements and the challenges he has faced during his time as 29th prime minister. In the past decade of climate and energy warfare in Australian federal politics, Malcolm Turnbull is the only leader to have lost his job over the issue twice. He talks with Annabelle Crabb about his new memoir A Bigger Picture.

For a long time she was misunderstood, erroneously known as the “last of her race”, and almost invariably depicted as tragic figure.  But there is so much more to indigenous Tasmanian woman, Truganini.

Despite encouraging signs of a slowdown in infection rates, we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic. The economic and social effects of Covid-19 will be far-reaching. On the other side of this pandemic will there be a new world order? How is the virus affecting the US-China relationship, South-East Asia and the global balance of power?  

It's been just over three decades since most of us first heard about global warming. Meanwhile, the 20 hottest years on record have all occurred in the last quarter century. The implications of extreme weather and climate change are now being felt. Why have we done relatively little in response? Richard Aedy goes looking for answers in a four-part series on RN. Look for RN Presents in the ABC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts.

At least eight US states are blocking health clinics from providing abortions, describing the procedure as non-essential during the pandemic.

National Cabinet is due to meet again this week to decide on the easing of nationwide COVID-19 restrictions on movement and businesses.

Treasury forecasting an 85 per cent plunge in net arrivals next financial year if border restrictions continue beyond Christmas.

Minister for Population Alan Tudge said "the temporary migrant system is an important part of our economy".

While the National Cabinet has shown considerable unity throughout the COVID-19 crisis, the one point of tension has been schools and whether they should be open for face-to-face lessons.

The COVID-19 death toll at the Newmarch nursing home rose to 14 over the weekend, while a further 63 infections have been linked to staff and other residents.

Auslan interpreters have been in high demand this year as they convey critical and life-saving information to the deaf and hard of hearing community.

The Auckland-based club arrived in Tamworth in the New England region of NSW yesterday for a 14-day period of training and quarantine.

Over the next couple of days we'll pass through the densest part of the long trail of ancient dust left by Halley's comet.

Two reviews are already underway but the tragedy has led to calls for the Aged Care Royal Commission to investigate.

Two local leaders who rose to national prominence during the summer bushfires will likely slug it out for the major parties in the Eden Monaro by-election in southern New South Wales.

Labor's Home Affairs spokesperson Kristina Keneally has sparked controversy after declaring the COVID-19 crisis should force a revamp of the temporary migration program.

The Morrison Government is pushing ahead with a plan to become a world leading producer and exporter of hydrogen.

News Corp Australia claimed CSIRO's Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong Victoria has been collaborating with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Retailers have been at the economic epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with mass shutdowns in place for the past five weeks.

There are questions around Indonesia's coronavirus death toll following reports thousands of people have died with COVID-19 symptoms but not recorded as victims of the disease.

The case could have ramifications for climate challenges worldwide, including in Australia.

The economic impact of the pandemic on Australia's regional towns and cities is varied, but with a smaller population base, the path back to recovery is likely to be longer and harder for many.

A study of riverbank sediment found there used to be a massive lake in the Lower Murray Darling, spanning hundreds of kilometres.

National Cabinet will meet on Friday to start lifting restrictions in a three stage process to lock in what the Prime Minister is calling "a sustainable COVID safe economy".

US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insist they've seen intelligence proving that the virus began in a lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

The Prime Minister is laying the groundwork for Australia to re-open for business and wants what he calls a "COVID-19 safe economy" by July.

The former South Australian Premier said it's now time for states and territories to take control of childcare and treat them more like schools.