Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2013

Overview

"An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all," Oscar Wilde once famously quipped. Sydney's Festival of Dangerous Ideas puts such a claim to the test. For three days, the event transforms the Opera House into a simmering cauldron of probabilities, possibilities and impossibilities. There's no question that can't be asked, no convention that can't be challenged, no notion that can't be overturned.

Now in its fifth year, the Festival promises to penetrate the territory of the taboo deeper than ever before. The programme, announced today, features 82 speakers from 10 different countries and 33 hours of discussion across 32 various subjects.

Journalist David Simon (creator of The Wire and Treme) will bring his intellectual might and downtown experience to the statement 'Some people are more equal than others', exploring the searing divide that undermines America's claim to the provision of equal opportunity. The perpetual question of gender and power will receive a 21st-century treatment, with Hannah Rosin considering the aftermath of 'The end of men',before joining a panel discussion proposing 'The world is not ready for women in power'. Then there'll be debates on 'monogamy vs. monogomish', the 'death of journalism', and John Safran masquerading as a white supremacist. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Already feeling fired up? Tix, available in a range of multipacks, go on sale on Monday September 2. FODI runs from 2-4 November.