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Talks & Ideas

All About Women of Colour Mentorship
For All About Women 2023, the Sydney Opera House partnered with Western Sydney-based literacy movement Sweatshop on an emerging writers mentorship program for women and non-binary First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse writers.
Four writers worked on short fiction pieces, responding to Tarana Burke’s #MeToo movement, under the guidance of Sweatshop judges and mentors Winnie Dunn and Sarah Ayoub.

The recipes that made her famous: Alison Roman’s internet-breaking meals
From the flavorful Spiced Chickpea Stew with Coconut and Turmeric to the legendary Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread, Alison Roman’s simple but oh-so-delicious creations have amassed millions of shares, likes, and followers around the world.

Your Liane Moriarty-inspired stories brought to life
To celebrate Liane Moriarty's chat with Anabelle Crab on Stream, available now on-demand, we asked for your best Moriarty-inspired story ideas... and you delivered. Here are our three winners, brought to life by a roster of talented illustrators.

Mother tongues and minor feelings
Recipient of the Antidote and Sweatshop Mentorship for Diverse Emerging Writers Joyce Chew on family, language and the “glittering visage of the Australian ‘fair go’”.

There’s a bomb in my closet
Adrian Mouhajer, recipient of the Highly Commended award as part of Antidote's Mentoring Program for Emerging Writers from Diverse Backgrounds, writes about the complexities of being queer, Arab and Muslim in Australia 20 years after 9/11.

Now you see us
Recipient of the Antidote and Sweatshop Mentorship Program for Diverse Emerging Writers Patricia Arcilla writes about the “tidiness” of #StopAsianHate in the face of deeper systemic problems.

Soul-searching with Pepe the Frog
In the final piece out of the Antidote and Sweatshop Writing Mentorship, Tiffany Fong looks at the dangerous, cult-like appeal of the alt-right to a generation seeking community and meaning.

Sydney Opera House: A Grand Design
Go behind the scenes of legendary TV designer Kevin McCloud's Opera House visit.

Annabel Crabb on Australia’s parenthood trap
Following Annabel Crabb’s live talk at the Opera House, read an extract from her Quarterly Essay ‘Men at Work: Australia’s Parenthood Trap’.

Little Country Syndrome
Why does Australia look abroad for solutions to our racial anxieties? For Antidote 2018, Nayuka Gorrie reflected on the work of Ta-Nehisi Coates

The education conversation Australia has to have
Finnish educator and author Pasi Sahlberg writes on the chasm of inequality that exists in the Australian school system.

Watch highlights from Nigella Lawson’s talk: Home cooking, community and #MeToo
Watch the celebrity chef talk home cooking, community and #MeToo.

Escaping reality with Yeonmi Park
The first in our series deconstructing the people and the movements that made them as part of Antidote, the Opera House's newest festival of ideas, art & action.

The best writing about the world we’re now living in
Edwina Throsby, Head of Talks & Ideas, on reading thoughtfully during the pandemic

All About... Jo Dunkley
One of the youngest female astrophysics professors on the planet, Jo Dunkley's knowledge is out of this world.

Cheat sheet: Christopher Wylie
What don’t they want us to know? These are the questions to ask.

Read up on: David Sedaris
A savant of razor-sharp and sardonic wit - don’t miss this evening with one of the world’s pre-eminent humour writers.

Dancing with Zadie Smith
Sisonke Msimang on the playful call and response of the British writer