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Each year since 1959, the ABC has sparked conversation about critical ideas with the Boyer Lectures.

In 2017, Professor Genevieve Bell’s series is called Fast, Smart and Connected: What is it to be Human, and Australian, in a Digital World?

Latest Programs

Monday 4 Sep 2017

Tuesday 3 Oct 2017

Wednesday 4 Oct 2017

Thursday 5 Oct 2017

Friday 20 Oct 2017

Monday 23 Oct 2017

Past Boyer Lectures

Genevieve Bell, 2017 Boyer Lecturer

Presented by Professor Genevieve Bell

Features

  1. Townspeople in the late 1800s stand under an old fashioned street light, looking up and smiling.

    How a country town beat the big smoke to electric street lights

    The first city in Australia to use electric street lights wasn't Sydney or Melbourne — it was Tamworth. And it all unfolded in a very Aussie kind of way. Boyer Lecturer Professor Genevieve Bell explains.

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  2. A women typing on black typewriters.

    Why the typewriter was a feminist liberation machine

    The typewriter was born from a need to speed up bookkeeping, but its invention triggered a series of unexpected events. Boyer Lecturer Professor Genevieve Bell explains.

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  3. Genevieve Bell dancing with a robot.

    What does the origin story of the robot tell us about our future?

    The first robot wasn't built in a workshop or a lab. It was the subject of a disturbing play — about the downfall of humans. Boyer Lecturer Professor Genevieve Bell explains.

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  4. A women in 70s clothing holds an old style landline telephone.

    What's the piece of technology that's changed your life? Here's what you told us

    Do you remember getting your first home computer? It was probably bigger and noisier than the one you have now. But did it change your life?

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Series

  1. Past Boyer Lecture Series

    Professor Sir Michael Marmot

    Catch up on past Boyer Lecture Series.

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