The Big Q
Questions - Ideas - Scholarship - DebatesProject for Public Interest Media
Politics & Society
Arms and influence: What is the fallout from the Khashoggi affair?
President Trump’s reaction to the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi reveals important details about the declining influence of the U.S. in the Middle East.
Representation, fairness and turnout: how is our electoral system delivering?
Is New Zealand’s electoral system delivering? Maryam Hamid investigates.
Grim history: How did the Catholic Church cover up abuse?
Brian Clites looks back at the Catholic Church’s grim history of ignoring pedophilia and silencing whistleblowers.
What is wrong with the US Supreme Court and how can it be fixed? 🔊
Maria Armoudian spoke with one of the preeminent constitutional law scholars in the United States Erwin Chemerinsky about what is wrong with the Supreme Court and how it can be fixed.
Could New Zealand suffer an act of cyberwar?
Could New Zealand suffer an act of cyberwar? Hannah Brown explores.
How does the media conflate Islam with Islamist terrorism?
Audrey Courty and Halim Rane explores why the media needs to be more responsible for how it links Islam and Islamist terrorism.
Science & Technology
What does The Goblin tell us about the outer reaches of our solar system?
What does the discovery of a new dwarf planet tell us about the outer parts of our Solar System?
Climate change: Do we need to start moving people away from coastal areas?
Luciana Esteves warns of the dangers of living near the coast and suggests it is time we moved people away from some areas.
Why don’t more women win science Nobels?
One of the 2018 Nobel Prizes in physics went to Donna Strickland but why don’t more women win science Nobels?
Debate: Should we edit the genomes of human embryos?
The introduction of genome editing signals a dramatic departure from the usual pathway through reproductive care. However, the use of genetic technologies in reproduction is frequently criticised for harbouring eugenic undertones.
A decade of commercial space travel – what’s next?
What next for space travel? Joel Wooten investigates.
The world’s appetite for meat is growing. How will we satisfy it?
In the near future, “meat” could mean a lot more than it does now.
Business & Economics
Taxing carbon may sound like a good idea but does it work?
Paul Griffin explores whether taxing carbon would work as a policy to combat fossil fuel emissions.
A decade of commercial space travel – what’s next?
What next for space travel? Joel Wooten investigates.
How is New Zealand tourism making money off the land?
In 2015 tourism overtook dairying to become New Zealand’s largest export earner. Harvey Perkins and Christopher Rosin discuss how the tourism industry has made money off the land.
How is ‘new NAFTA’ different? A trade expert explains
Amanda M. Countryman explains how the “new” NAFTA is different from the old one.
New Zealand dairying in question?
In an extract from the new book “The New Biological Economy: How New Zealanders are Creating Value from the Land,” Richard Le Heron brings into question the future of dairying in New Zealand.
What does it mean to be responsible? 🔊
What does it mean to be responsible? And how has neoliberalism changed our conception of personal responsibility? Maria Armoudian speaks to Susanna Trnka about the factors that shape our lives, and our ways of being: ideas, events, and what she calls ‘traversing’.
Arts & Culture
125 years of women’s suffrage: A small country leading the world?
Raewyn Dalziel, Emeritus Professor of History, celebrates a moment when New Zealand was at the forefront of world-leading reform.
Killing orders: what are the facts of the Armenian Genocide and Turkey’s long-standing denial? ▶
In a lecture given at the University of Auckland, Taner Akçam talks about his new book “Killing Orders,” a book which brings to light documents that show the Turkish Government did order the Armenian Genocide.
Is protecting heritage a human right?
Is protecting heritage a human right? George Nicholas looks into the responsibilities and concerns about the political, ethical and social dimensions of archaeological research and heritage management.
Facebook isn’t cool anymore: what killed it?
Claudia Russell looks into why Facebook is not cool anymore.
Remembering Chile’s 9/11: What happened, and how do we know?
On September 11 1973, Chilean president Salvador Allende was toppled destroying the longest standing democracy in Latin America. How much do we know now about what really happened in Chile in what is considered the ‘Other 9/11’?
Can you be Christian and support the death penalty?
Matthew Schmalz explores whether it is okay to be a Christian and support the death penalty.