Australia’s original festival of disruptive ideas returns to Sydney this August to provide a “Sanctuary” for curious minds with a taste for danger. For its 2024 edition, the Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI) presents an expansive roster of international experts, bestselling authors, cutting edge academics and innovative thinkers; all appearing in-person.
In addition to the previous announcement about Roxane Gay coming to FODI for an exclusive Sydney appearance, the festival has dropped the full program – featuring 87 speakers and artists, including 16 international guests appearing in 88 sessions across two packed days. Aside from spicy talks, there is also an array of other out-of-the-box events, art installations, interactive theatre, and even an intimate phone-free dinner function coming to Carriageworks from August 24–25. With so much to take in, we had a quick chat with festival director Danielle Harvey to help us wrap our heads around the festival which always has a way of setting – or resetting – the current affairs agenda.
“What people consider dangerous is always evolving, and we respond to the times. I think the Festival of Dangerous Ideas exists for times such as these. There are increasing complexities, and we need time and a place where we can robustly test ideas,” says Danielle. “I think at a time when we are surrounded by bad ideas and bad faith, where information is cheap and shallow, we need a place where we can come together and be curious – where we can engage with each other, we can challenge ideas, and ultimately be inspired.”
Who is coming to the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in 2024?
Danielle says that it is always a pleasure to bring Roxane Gay to Australia, adding “she is a true contrarian, in the most flattering way”. She is also excited to have US psychologist Jean Twenge appearing exclusively at FODI, who was one of the first voices to raise the alarm about the negative impact of the smartphone and associated social media apps – especially on young people. Years on, her research has never been more relevant or urgent. She’ll explore how these handheld devices are doubling depression rates of American teens, amplifying feelings of loneliness amongst Australian young people and in some circumstances, killing our kids.
Russian-American journalist and writer Masha Gessen will also be bringing pertinent discussion to FODI about the writing and rewriting of historical conflicts. From the Holocaust, to Israel and Gaza, Russia and Ukraine, Gessen examines the intersection of history, propaganda and censorship as today’s players race to control their narratives.
The “Internet’s OB/GYN” Jen Gunter is also bringing her taboo-busting mission to dismantle the maze of myths (and misogyny) surrounding women's health to FODI. “She is the person that told Gwyneth Paltrow where she could shove her Jade eggs, and it’s not where you think!” says Danielle. “She's just a fabulous communicator.”
One year on from releasing the provocative documentary podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, host Megan Phelps-Roper and producer Andy Mills (both from the US) will discuss the role their podcast played in highlighting tensions in the debate about the intersection of gender diversity and feminism, exclusively at FODI. When asked about what she hoped to gain from giving a platform to this duo, Danielle explains: “Megan and Andy embarked on that podcast with an attempt to wade into having a very challenging conversation, and they got unprecedented access to somebody that has a huge amount of power when talking about gender online.”
She continues: “This is an opportunity for them to reflect on whether their podcast could achieve all that it wanted to. They're going to be using this as an opportunity to really think about what they achieved, what they think that they left unanswered, and what it was like trying to balance all of the different voices. Can you even do that on a medium like a podcast?”
In addition to all the international guests who will be appearing in-person, there are also speakers and topics that keep it close to home. Former ABC Radio journalists Antoinette Lattouf and Josh Szeps will join Andy Mills for Speaking Bluntly, a panel about identity politics in journalism. TikTok sensation Jordan van den Berg (aka Purple Pingers, or your real estate agent’s worst nightmare) is also getting in on the action, joining Myra Hamilton and Carl Rhodes for The Pitchforks are Coming, a discussion about why the 1% should be afraid. And anyone who has been yearning for Stan Grant’s grounded presence on QandA will also be inspired to see the beloved journalist and presenter joining a couple of panel discussions – including Australia is Breaking: The Minefield Live, discussing eroding social cohesion alongside Waleed Aly and Scott Stephenson; and Anatomy of Evil, a meditation on genocide with Simon Longstaff.
What art installations and special events are happening at FODI 2024?
Artists including Louise Adler, Brook Andrew, Violette Ayad, Gil Beckwith, Emile Sherman and others will join the panel for Art is Always Political, a discussion on how the culture wars are affecting our pages and stages. This chat perfectly complements the daring art installations and happenings FODI has lined up for 2024. Danielle is particularly excited about an exclusive installation called ‘Tape’ by Austrian and Croatian artists and designers Numen / For Use.
“[‘Tape’] is going to be an amazing installation that will be built in situ, and it's made entirely of sticky tape. It's suspended above the floor, and you can climb inside it, if you feel brave enough to go inside a structure made of just sticky tape,” explains Danielle. “I love this as both a representation of the Sanctuary theme, but also that idea about danger being deceptive – you're up there in this cocoon-like structure held by beautiful organic shapes and art. I think that that will be really spectacular for people to see, and for the brave.”
Danielle is also excited to get festival visitors off-site with experiences like Stacks of Danger, a shocking treasure hunt amongst the underground stacks of the State Library of NSW. She explains: “You're getting to look at the history that's held by one of our great public institutions up close and personal, with a range of materials that don't often see the light of day.”
Off the back of the runaway success of Aussie-made horror flick Talk to Me, writer-director (and RackaRacka YouTuber) Danny Philippou invites audiences to embark on a heart-pounding journey into the realm of horror cinema at True Horror – a special screening of three of his favourite horror films of all time. (Those who survive until midnight will be rewarded.) An Aussie performance collective that Time Out loves to keep an eye on, re:group (POV, Coil) is bringing a live “jailbreak”' experiment to FODI. Keep Your Head Up is a deep-dive into the casualisation of the care industry, the politics of incarceration and art-making-as-escape – utilising re:group’s knack for live video magic to create a prison escape live on stage, it features Mirielle Gabriel and her old friend Steve Wilson-Alexander as they reconnect and share stories from both sides of the NDIS. For another work that will challenge your perception of reality, check out Divinations in Transit, a new surrealist interactive work from performance mischief artists Vicki Van Hout and Marian Abboud that invites courageous participants to traverse the Carriageworks site and question whether you are truly living in the present.
One event that is absolutely going to sell out quickly is The Last Supper – a special no-holds-barred event that invites guests to take a pause mid-festival to unpack the big issues of the day over a glass of wine and dinner with fellow Festival-goers, joined by local and international talent from the FODI lineup. “There's no phones, and what happens stays at the dinner party,” says Danielle.
Do you have any tips for attending the Festival of Dangerous Ideas?
“The way to tackle FODI is to come and see something or somebody that you love, or a talk about an idea that you want to hear more about, that you instantly feel attracted to. And then, pick something that gets your hackles up, that makes you go, ‘Oh, I don't think I'm going to agree with that!’” says Danielle. “Look, you might not walk away agreeing with them, but you might just learn something new about the world that we all live in.”
When is the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, and how do I book tickets?
FODI returns to Carriageworks from August 24–25, 2024. Early access to purchase tickets is available to FODI and Ethics Centre subscribers from 7am on Tuesday, June 25. Tickets are available to the general public from 7am on Wednesday, June 26. Select sessions will be available to stream, with livestream tickets on sale in August. Find out more and snap up your tickets at festivalofdangerousideas.com.
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