Humankind stands at a crossroads: are we condemned to climate change, war and inequality or can we learn from our errors to forge a fairer, more liveable tomorrow? In a colossal contest of persuasion and wit, two teams of our best and brightest debate whether the future is worth waiting for, or if it’s just a question of telling our best stories while it all goes up in flames. Featuring team captains Annabel Crabb and David Marr, along with teammates Tom Ballard, Jean Hinchliffe, Bo Seo and Amy Thunig and adjudicator Yumi Stynes.
Supported by the City of Sydney.
This event is fitted with assistive listening systems.
Tom Ballard (Australian)
Tom Ballard is the fearlessly funny voice of a generation. Tom is one of Australia's favourite comic talents and has performed and won acclaim as a stand-up all around the world. Tom hosts a political interview podcast called Like I'm a Six Year Old and he is also the co-creator and co-host of green politics podcast Serious Danger alongside Emerald Moon. In 2022 Tom released his first book I, Millennial a self-styled "screed against Boomers, Billionaires and Everything Else."
Bo Seo (International)
Bo Seo is a two-time world champion debater and former coach of the Australian and Harvard debate teams. He was national reporter at the The Australian Financial Review, and has contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic. He is currently a student at Harvard Law School.
Jean Hinchliffe (Australian)
Jean Hinchliffe is a climate justice activist and writer. She founded the Sydney contingent of School Strike 4 Climate in 2018, and has since organised extensively within the group on a local, national and global level. Jean is passionate about social, political, and environmental issues and began her activism at age 13 when she volunteered with the Yes campaign for marriage equality. She has also worked with organisations such as GetUp! and Stop Adani. Her first book, Lead the Way: How to change the world from a teen activist and school striker was published in 2021 by Pantera Press.
Amy Thunig (Australian)
Dr Amy Thunig (B.Arts, M.Teach, PhD) is a Gomeroi/Gamilaroi/Kamilaroi yinarr and mother who resides on Awabakal Country. A full-time academic in the field of education, Amy is also an author, with their first book Tell Me Again released in November 2022 via UQP. Amy is a Director at Story Factory in Redfern, contributes on various committees and councils including the AECG, and is a media commentator and panellist, regularly appearing on television programs such as ABC's The Drum.
Annabel Crabb (Australian)
Annabel Crabb is a writer and presenter for the ABC. She's also a keen amateur podcaster and co-hosts the inexplicably popular Chat 10, Looks 3 podcast with her colleague Leigh Sales, who lends credibility to the exercise. Annabel has worked extensively in newspapers, radio and TV as a political journalist and won a Walkley Award for Stop At Nothing: The Life and Adventures of Malcolm Turnbull. She published a bestselling book about gender and work, The Wife Drought in 2014, and has published two cookbooks with childhood friend Wendy Sharpe, the latest of which is Special Guest. Her most recent Quarterly Essay is Men at Work.
David Marr (Australian)
David Marr is a journalist and broadcaster who writes for The Guardian. He’s published a couple of biographies and a number of books about politics, censorship and immigration. Over the last 10 years he has written a number of Quarterly Essays. His latest is The White Queen: One Nation and the Politics of Race. He previously presented Media Watch and appears regularly on Insiders and The Drum. His most recent book is My Country, an anthology of essays.
Yumi Stynes (Australian)
Yumi Stynes hosts a national radio show on the KiiS network The 3pm Pickup and has written a series of guidebooks, including Welcome to Consent which was recently named one of the New York Public Library's top 50 books of 2021. In spite of her history of TV presenting, Yumi is now best known for Ladies, We Need to Talk which has been a cult podcast since it first dropped in 2017, spawned its own book and numerous ‘book’ clubs where women get together and unpack what they've heard after each new episode. If she dies tomorrow, she'll be glad that she got to co-write the definitive guidebook on what to do when you get your period.
