University of Sydney podcasts

Latest episodes
	Prof Eric Foner: The Idea of Freedom in the US, 1776-2008 Professor Eric Foner at Sydney Ideas, the University of Sydney's international public lecture series. In this exclusive Sydney lecture, Professor Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, traces how Americans have thought about the key concept of freedom through the course of history. He argues that freedom has never been a single idea, but has been the source of considerable disagreement and conflict. (Running time 100:38) Listen to the podcast.
	Frank Sartor spoke at the 125th Faculty of Engineering Anniversary & 25th Anniversary of The Warren Centre Frank Sartor spoke at this celebratory event, as did Mr Peter North, Mr George Maltabarow and Mr John Grill - all esteemed alumni of the Faculty of Engineering. Listen to podcasts of their speeches.
	American Foreign Policy After Bush: Professor Francis Fukuyama In this exclusive public lecture, renowned American political scientist, thinker and author Professor Francis Fukuyama conversed with US Studies Centre Chief Executive Professor Geoffrey Garrett on a wide range of issues, including the foreign policy of a new administration in Washington, the rise of China, the use of hard and soft power and the impact of climate change. (Running time 82:40) Listen to the podcast
	Dear Mr Rudd: Ideas for a better Australia In the lead up to the Australia 2020 Summit, Sydney Ideas presents a panel of Australian experts in key areas of national importance, and gives them an opportunity to propose their ideas for a better Australia to the new Prime Minister. (Running time 81:36) Listen to the podcast
	Despots masquerading as democrats: Ken Roth The validity of new "democracies" and their unwillingness to uphold human rights came into the spotlight when the head of New York-based Human Rights Watch spoke at Sydney Ideas. In his lecture titled "Despots Masquerading as Democrats: Why are they doing so, and why are we letting them?", Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, presents riveting evidence of how "autocrats pose as democrats" in order to avoid basic human rights obligations. (Running time 81:14) Listen to the podcast
	The Logic of Life: Tim Harford "I've always thought the whole idea of economics is to solve people's problems," says Harford, who has continued his insightful and witty application of new economics in his latest book The Logic of Life (Little, Brown). "Economics isn't necessarily about money. It's about power, information, trying to tell whether people are telling the truth, credibility commitments, making promises, proving you can keep promises." (Running time 92:47) Listen to the podcast
	Nanotechnology and the environment: Heinrich Rohrer Nobel Laureate Dr Heinrich Rohrer, a Swiss physicist, discusses the uses of nanotechnology in sustaining our environment. Nanotechnology refers to the study of atomic and molecular matter, and over the past three centuries, this field of applied science has resulted in some extraordinary technical advances. Dr Rohrer explains the potential impact of using nanotechnology to reduce energy consumption. Dr Rohrer, who currently works at IBM Research, was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics for his design of the scanning tunnelling microscope. The microscope allows viewers to explore surfaces at an atomic level, paving the way for nanotechnology to become easier, faster, and more accessible. (Running time 73:03) Listen to the podcast
	21st Century America: Reflections, Aspirations and Challenges - The United States Studies Centre A panel of American and Australian experts engage in a lively discussion on US politics, foreign policy, business and society as part of the US Studies Centre's National Summit. Features Professor Michael Nacht (UC-Berkeley), Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter (Princeton University), Professor Richard Vietor (Harvard University), Professor Bill Chafe (Duke University), Michael Gawenda (former editor of The Age), and Peter Thompson (ABC Television). (Running time 96:01) Listen to the podcast
	The Parthenon: Who owns Cultural Heritage? As part of the Parthenon Project hosted by The University of Sydney, a panel of Greek and Australian experts used the example of the Parthenon marbles to raise the broader issues of who owns cultural heritage. They addressed many questions including: what if the marbles had been taken 1,000 years ago rather than 250 years ago? And what are the moral, ethical, historical, social and political issues that resonate through all cutural heritage that has been removed from its place of origin? (Running time: 108:19) Listen to the podcast
	Sydney Democracy Forum Professor Allan Stam, a rising star of US Political Science, presents a public lecture exploring what role popular consent plays in the decision of democratic governments to go to war. (Running time: 98:34) Listen to the podcast
	Charles Firth : the differences between Australia and the US Editor-in-chief of Manic Times, and The Chaser co-founder, Charles Firth gives his unique spin on the differences between Australia and the US when he speaks at Sydney Ideas at the University of Sydney. (Running time: 86:11) Listen to the podcast
	The Twenty-First Century Enemies of Democracy Professor John Keane was born in Australia and educated at the universities of Adelaide, Toronto and Cambridge. He is Professor of Politics at the University of Westminster and at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin and a Visiting Professor at the University of Sydney. In 1989 he founded the Centre for the Study of Democracy. Among his many books The Media and Democracy (1991, which has been translated into more than 25 languages; Democracy and Civil Society (1988); Civil Society: Old Images, New Visions (1998; the prize-winning biography Tom Paine: A Political Life (1995); and a study of power in twentieth-century Europe, Václav Havel: A Political Tragedy in Six Acts. Listen to the podcast
	Israel's Dilemma in Palestine: The process, the failures and the prospect for a just and workable solution by Dr Ghada Karmi at Sydney Ideas Dr Ghada Karmi is a Palestinian-British author, academic and political commentator and is an honorary research fellow and assistant lecturer at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, UK. (Running time: 95:15) Listen to the podcast
	Sixty Years of Indian Democracy: An Unfinished Project - Niraja Gopal Jayal at Sydney Ideas India's democratic record provides a spirited repudiation of the predictions of the doomsayers of the early post-independence period, who argued that a society marked by multiple ethnic cleavages and desperate poverty could scarcely sustain democratic institutions. Leading Indian academic Professor Niraja Gopal Jayal talked about the success story of India's democratic institutions at Sydney Ideas, the University of Sydney's international lecture series. (Running time: 74:12) Listen to the podcast
	Sydney Uni LIVE! If you couldn't make it to Sydney Uni LIVE! don't despair. Some of the mini-lectures from the day are available as podcasts.
	Everyday Living: the Impact of IT or Ambient Assisted Living - Professor Dieter Rombach at Sydney Ideas How can you live better in your own home with state-of-the-art Information technology? Dieter Rombach, director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering (IESE), discusses this topic at Sydney Ideas, the University of Sydney's international lecture series. (Running time: 79:59) Listen to the podcast
	The Upside of Down: Catastrophe,Creativityand the Renewal of Civilization - Thomas Homer-Dixon at Sydney Ideas Thomas Homer-Dixon, a Toronto-based political scientist who has been described as "one of the best-informed and most brilliant writers on global affairs today", spoke about an impending world catastrophe and what can be done about it, at Sydney Ideas, the University of Sydney's international lecture series. (Running time: 92:35) Listen to the podcast
	APEC and its Pan Pacific Template: Paul Keating The Evatt Foundation proudly presents, the Hon. Paul Keating: APEC and its Pan Pacific Template. A public lecture by the major Australian figure behind the creation of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum, as the current leaders prepare to convene in Sydney. (Running time: 39:08) Listen to the podcast
	Do religious schools raise good children? Stephen Law at Sydney Ideas Best-selling UK-based author and philosopher Stephen Law steps into the current "values in schools" debate when he argues that authoritarian and religious schools are not necessarily the answer to raising good children, at Sydney Ideas, the University of Sydney's international lecture series. (Running time: 102:47) Listen to the podcast
	Professor Julian Savulescu - The Ethics of New Science and Human Enhancement Australian-born ethicist Professor Julian Savulescu discusses the controversial ethics of cloning, genetic selection and drugs in sport at Sydney Ideas, the University of Sydney's international lecture series. (Running time: 96:28) Listen to the podcast

The University of Sydney podcast is also distributed through the News and Events website.

What is podcasting?

Podcasting is the distribution of audio files, in mp3 format, via the web. It enables you to download a radio show, speech or similar to your own computer and listen to it at your convenience.

What's the difference between a podcast and an ordinary audio file?

A podcast is merely an audio file to which a subscription service has been added so that your software automatically downloads the latest file when it become available. This is very effective when applied to things like radio shows.

How to listen a podcast

To listen to a podcast immediately without saving it:

Click on the 'Listen to podcast' link. It should open in your browser or in the program your computer uses for mp3 files.

To save a podcast to listen later:

Richt click on the link to the podcast and save it to your computer in a folder of your choice.

To download on a PC: Right click the 'Listen to the podcast' link, and 'Save Target As'

To download on a Mac: Hold down the Control button and click.

What software?

If you just want the ability to listen to one of our podcasts, any piece of software that handles mp3 files will do. Most computers will have software such as iTunes or Windows Media Player that can do this. Both of these work on PCs and Macs. To subscribe to podcasts you will need a piece of software that can handle RSS feeds. iTunes is sufficient. Many types of software are available though, most are easy to obtain and use.