In today’s show we wanted to introduce to you a new podcast we think you might enjoy. It’s called 'The Solutionists', with Mark Scott. 

Big challenges need big solutions. Meet the minds making it happen.

Join Mark Scott, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Sydney, and get ready to view the world from a different perspective.

From our own wellbeing to the preservation of the planet, The Solutionists dives into the most pressing issues of our time and introduces you to the people unearthing the seeds of remarkable solutions.

You'll discover a world of progress and possibility.

Take a listen to episode one of The Solutionists, with Mark Scott, which is about how to cool your body and survive in extreme heat. For more info, notes and the transcript, visit The Solutionists website: https://bit.ly/3QbJGvo

Next time at Sydney Ideas, explore 'What art ought to be' and 'Activating allies for gender equality.' Join us live at the University of Sydney campus in November or stay tuned for the podcast. Get the details: https://bit.ly/491QvYP

Introducing The Solutionists, with Mark Scott

Welcome back to City Road. In this episode, we reflect on 2024's Festival of 'Public' Urbanism and its panel discussion on how the public life of great cities takes place in our cultural buildings and civic spaces – from libraries to museums, town halls, streets, parks and playgrounds. 

This special Denis Winston memorial lecture, delivered by Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon, State Librarian and award-winning author and curator, celebrates our crucial public infrastructure as the cornerstone of public and democratic life. 

The keynote address is followed by an eminent panel conversation between Dr Rob Stokes, former Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, and Professor Jennifer Barrett, Professor in Museum Studies and Pro-Vice Chancellor Indigenous at the University of Sydney. 

The annual Festival of Urbanism is brought to you by the Henry Halloran Research Trust with the assistance of the University of Sydney School of Architecture Design and Planning. 

Thanks for listening. 

See you next time on City Road. 

Host: Bill Code
Editor: Mikayla McGuirk-Scolaro

113. The Golden Thread in Public and Democratic Life

With housing *the* hot topic this election, a panel of experts at the recent Festival of Urbanism battled to convince a live audience that the private market could (or could not) solve Australia's housing crisis.  

This debate features:
- The Hon Doug Cameron, Former Senator
- Sharath Mahendran, Urban Planner and creator of YouTube channel Building Beautifully
- Emily Sims, Uralla Shire Council
- Stephanie Barker, Executive Director, Strategy and Engagement, Willowtree Planning
- Luke Cass,  editor, Honi Soit Newspaper 2023
- Emeritus Professor Peter Phibbs, Henry Halloran Research Trust, the University of Sydney 
Commentary

This debate also features commentary from Michael Koziol, Sydney editor, The Sydney Morning Herald and is chaired by Professor Nicole Gurran, Director, Henry Halloran Research Trust.

Thanks for listening.

See you next time on City Road.

Host: Bill Code
Editor: Mikayla McGuirk-Scolaro

114. Can the Private Market Solve Australia’s Housing Crisis?

Why are nations around the world racing to secure critical minerals? What’s at stake, and what does it mean for you? In this conversation, our expert panel will break down what you need to know about critical minerals – their role in the net zero transition, the geopolitical issues, and the environmental and community impacts.

Hear insights from Professor Marjorie Valix, the Net Zero Institute’s (NZI) critical minerals pillar lead, global governance expert Professor Susan Park, the founder and managing director of Critical Minerals Association Namali Mackay and Andrew Petersen, the CEO of the Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia. Professor Deanna D’Alessandro, Director of NZI, hosts this discussion. 

This podcast is a recording of a live public event held on 20 May 2025. For more links and resources, including the transcript, visit Sydney Ideas website: https://bit.ly/4mzZZRS

Critical minerals: The global race for resources

What is ‘public’ about our urban and regional transport systems - and how public should they be? Are our leaders actually serving public interests and values around public transport? Should a stick in the ground really count as a bus stop? And what the heck is a 'beg button'? In this episode of City Road a rich panel of speakers delve into the big questions surrounding public transport at the recent Festival of Urbanism, including Dr Ian Woodcock, Emma Bacon, Neill Miller, David Babineau, Dr Rebecca Clements and Dr Crystal Legacy. Photo: Andrew Thomas/Flickr

Putting the 'public' in public transport

Australia is in the midst of a housing crisis. But amidst the political and media debate about the fixes to our housing woes, public housing has slipped from view. There's concern that funding commitments are a far cry from the broad based approach to public rental housing which has supported so many Australians in the past, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. So where does Australia go from here? Join Rebecca Pinkstone, Chief Executive of Homes NSW, Alistair Sisson of Macquarie University, City of Sydney Councillor Sylvie Ellsmore, plus public housing tenants Norrie May-Welby and Karyn Brown at this Festival of Urbanism event recorded in late 2024. Photo: Wedge-Tail Pictures

The future of Australia's public housing

Science has shown us the universe began with a Big Bang but what about its endgame? Will everything burn out and freeze over, or collapse in on itself, or rip into shreds? How far away are we from this happening?

Embark on a cosmic journey to the end of the universe with astrophysicist, science communicator, and author of The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking), Katie Mack. 

In a public talk, Katie takes us through the latest scientific tolls and data, from space telescopes to particle colliders, to explain the big ideas and key theories of the death of the universe.

Professor Tara Murphy, Head of the School of Physics, hosts this event. 

This podcast is a recording of a live public event held on 10 July 2025. For more links and resources, including the transcript, visit Sydney Ideas website:  bit.ly/40WQfb3

Katie Mack: The end of everything

Is Australia still the Lucky Country? In public opinion polling, more and more Australians believe things are, on the whole, getting worse than better. 

Various data such as the longstanding Scanlon Social Cohesion Report point to society becoming polarised. A culture of suspicion continues to grow around our most important institutions, and loneliness and social isolation is common across our community.

Against such concerning trends, what can be done? In this open discussion led by one of Australia’s foremost social researchers, author and University of Sydney alumna Dr Rebecca Huntley, we address three key, interconnected issues that will have a defining impact on national progress and prosperity, for generations to come. 

Featuring Dr Marlee Bower (Matilda Centre and Sydney Environment Institute), digital innovation expert Dr Raffaele F. Ciriello, refugee advocate and UN Women Australia MBA scholar ('24) Chantal Mousad, and economist Dr Suneha Seetahul (Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion at Work).

This podcast is a recording of a live public event held on 29 July 2025. For more links and resources, including the transcript, visit Sydney Ideas website: https://bit.ly/45pcUhU

The Ideas Roundtable: Is Australia alright?

Is the growing trend in e-bike and e-scooter use the key to reducing congestion on our roads - or a menace for unsuspecting pedestrians, drivers, and riders themselves? Reports of accidents are filling the airwaves as experts question how governments can best manage the rapid growth in sales of electric bikes and scooters. So, how best to regulate the confusing landscape of e-micromobility? City Road's Bill Code welcomes Dr Yuting Zhang of the University of Sydney and president of Better Streets, cycling advocate Sara Stace.

E-bikes and e-scooters – a growing menace or city congestion saviour?

Join University of Sydney experts for fresh insights and evidence unlocking our understanding of healthy brain ageing. How might we all live – and stay – well, for longer, at any stage of life? 

Leading researchers at the Brain and Mind Centre are finding solutions for dementia, the second leading cause of death among all Australians and soon it will be the first, according to Dementia Australia. 

Neuroscientist Eleanor Drummond recently made some exciting headway in identifying proteins that are altered in the brain in the very first stages of Alzheimer’s disease and discovery of a new potential biomarker, and is currently working on translating this into the development of new drugs and biomarkers.

Clinician and researcher Olivier Piguet specialises in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and related younger-onset dementias. His successful intervention methods targeting behaviour and language have shown to improve quality of life and independence in patients and their families, reducing burden of care.  

Gilbert Knaggs is a researcher in sociology, and brings perspective on the ethics of dementia prevention, as well as concepts of ageing well and healthy ageing in society.

This podcast is a recording of a live public event held on 24 September 2025. For more links and resources, including the transcript, visit Sydney Ideas website: bit.ly/3JLDqv9

Slow ageing with University of Sydney Experts

How can we eat well to live longer, feed future populations, and sustain planetary health? What's the science behind creating the world's most resilient hybrid wheat?

Food makes us who we are. The ways we eat together change lives and communities. In this Sydney Ideas event, we bring together some of the best brains to cook up new ideas and solutions to shift how we think about food for the better. They serve inspired visions for changing the way we eat, produce and understand why food is so important.

- Juliet Bennett, a researcher applying critical social theory to systems of food production and consumption;
- Rebecca Cross, rural and environment geographer with insight into sustainable, regenerative farming and agricultural practices;
- Shadia Djakovic, a dietician bringing extensive experience in nutrition and health promotion;
- Sophie Gee (host), English professor, co-host of the popular literary classics podcast The Secret Life of Books, and author of The Barbarous Feast: Writing and Eating in the Eighteenth-Century World (forthcoming, Princeton University Press);

This Sydney Ideas event was presented on 22–23 October at Riverside Theatres, with the support of City of Parramatta as part of Parramatta Lanes, one of Sydney’s most exciting street festivals, transforming the city's streets, laneways and car parks into a playground of Eats, Beats and Art.

This podcast is a recording of a live public event held on 22 October 2025. For more links and resources, including the transcript, visit Sydney Ideas website: bit.ly/3LRYhNV

The social life of food - Part 1

Sydney Ideas is the University of Sydney's premier public lecture series program, bringing the world's leading thinkers and the latest research to the wider Sydney community.