How did sex begin? How did it evolve to become so varied and complex in humans? And what could sex look like for future generations? 

Hosted by evolutionary biologist Rob Brooks, this blush-worthy panel discussion features sex historian Esmé Louise James and historian David Baker. Esmé adapted her wildly popular TikTok series into a book, Kinky History: The Stories of Our Intimate Lives, Past and Present, and David’s Sex: Two Billion Years of Procreation and Recreation charts sex’s evolution from early life to sexbots.

Listen now to bone up on carnal knowledge across the centuries and find out what the future of fornication holds.  

This event was presented by the Sydney Writers' Festival and supported by UNSW Sydney. 

How did sex begin? How did it evolve to become so varied and complex in humans? And what could sex look like for future generations?&nbsp; Hosted by evolutionary biologist Rob Brooks, this blush-worthy panel discussion features sex historian Esm&eacute; Louise James and historian David Baker. Esm&eacute; adapted her wildly popular TikTok series into a book,&nbsp;Kinky History: The Stories of Our Intimate Lives, Past and Present, and David&rsquo;s&nbsp;Sex: Two Billion Years of Procreation and Recreation&nbsp;charts sex&rsquo;s evolution from early life to sexbots. Listen now to bone up on carnal knowledge across the centuries and find out what the future of fornication holds. &nbsp; This event was presented by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.swf.org.au/">Sydney Writers' Festival</a>&nbsp;and supported by UNSW Sydney.&nbsp;

An initiative of UNSW Sydney, the Centre for Ideas is a thought-provoking program of events and digital content from the globe's leading thinkers, authors and artists.

An initiative of UNSW Sydney, the Centre for Ideas is a thought-provoking program of events and digital content from the globe's leading thinkers, authors and artists.

UNSW Centre for Ideas

An initiative of UNSW Sydney, the Centre for Idea…

UNSW Centre for Ideas | All Episodes

History of Sex

Acclaimed Indonesian author Norman Erikson Pasaribu and award-winning Australian writer Dylin Hardcastle explore the joy, tenderness and triumphs of queer storytelling.  

Norman, best known for Happy Stories, Mostly, and their latest book My Dream Job, crafts tender yet sharp narratives about identity, faith and belonging, challenging the expectations of queer life in Indonesia. While Dylin, acclaimed for A Language of Limbs, offers an Australian perspective on intimacy, loss and transformation. Together their work embraces and reclaims; highlighting how storytelling becomes an act of survival and resistance for lives too often kept in the margins.   

Hear Norman and Dylin, alongside UNSW’s Christy Newman, as they explore how literature creates space for voices long silenced – and how the most powerful stories are the ones that heal.

Acclaimed Indonesian author Norman Erikson Pasaribu and award-winning Australian writer Dylin Hardcastle explore the joy, tenderness and triumphs of queer storytelling.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Norman, best known for Happy Stories, Mostly, and their latest book My Dream Job, crafts tender yet sharp narratives about identity, faith and belonging, challenging the expectations of queer life in Indonesia. While Dylin, acclaimed for A Language of Limbs, offers an Australian perspective on intimacy, loss and transformation. Together their work embraces and reclaims; highlighting how storytelling becomes an act of survival and resistance for lives too often kept in the margins.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Hear Norman and Dylin, alongside UNSW&rsquo;s Christy Newman, as they explore how literature creates space for voices long silenced &ndash; and how the most powerful stories are the ones that heal.

Queer Life, Love & Identity

Beneath the ocean’s surface, fibre-optic cables pulse with the entirety of our human existence – memes and messages, stock trades and state secrets. But when these fragile threads break, so too can the connections that bind us. 

Hear award-winning author Colum McCann join The Daily Aus’ Sam Koslowski to explore truth, misinformation and human connection in a world driven by technology, and his latest book Twist. 

Together they unpack the power of fiction to reflect societal truths, rupture, repair and resilience in an age of hyper-communication, asking: how do we navigate a world where information is abundant, but authenticity is elusive? And in an era of digital disarray, can we still mend the severed connections of our society?

Beneath the ocean&rsquo;s surface, fibre-optic cables pulse with the entirety of our human existence &ndash; memes and messages, stock trades and state secrets. But when these fragile threads break, so too can the connections that bind us.&nbsp;
Hear award-winning author Colum McCann join The Daily Aus&rsquo;&nbsp;Sam Koslowski to explore truth, misinformation and human connection in a world driven by technology, and his latest book&nbsp;Twist.&nbsp;
Together they unpack the power of fiction to reflect societal truths, rupture, repair and resilience in an age of hyper-communication, asking: how do we navigate a world where information is abundant, but authenticity is elusive? And in an era of digital disarray, can we still mend the severed connections of our society?

Colum McCann: The Truth Disconnect

Machines lead the charge on today’s battlefields, but what does this mean for the people caught in the crossfire? 

Learn from journalist Antony Loewenstein, whose Walkley Award-winning investigation, The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World, uncovered the widespread commercialisation and global deployment of Israeli weaponry tested in Palestinian territories. Antony is joined by AI expert Toby Walsh, whose new book, Faking It: Artificial Intelligence in a Human World, explores how AI impersonates human intelligence.  

Listen to this vital conversation with host Michael Richardson about the intersection of technology, conflict, occupation and surveillance.

This event is presented by the Sydney Writers' Festival and supported by UNSW Sydney. 

Machines lead the charge on today’s battlefields, but what does this mean for the people caught in the crossfire?  Learn from journalist Antony Loewenstein, whose Walkley Award-winning investigation, The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World, uncovered the widespread commercialisation and global deployment of Israeli weaponry tested in Palestinian territories. Antony is joined by AI expert Toby Walsh, whose new book, Faking It: Artificial Intelligence in a Human World, explores how AI impersonates human intelligence.   Listen to this vital conversation with host Michael Richardson about the intersection of technology, conflict, occupation and surveillance. This event is presented by the <a href="https://www.swf.org.au/">Sydney Writers' Festival</a> and supported by UNSW Sydney.

History of Sex

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