Glyphosate is the most widely used weed-killer in the world. It’s the active ingredient in Roundup, the flagship agricultural herbicide sold by Monsanto, and it’s used in more than 130 countries including Australia. Glyphosate is in our parks, gardens, golf-courses and playgrounds. And it’s in our food and water.

Veteran investigative journalist Carey Gillam has spent decades exploring the links between big business, biotech and agriculture in America. In her new book, Whitewash, she looks into the growing body of research about glyphosate’s health risks – and reveals the legal and marketing strategies Monsanto has employed to prevent and conceal damaging revelations about their product.

With Sally Warhaft – and in the immediate aftermath of a landmark US ruling on Roundup's links to a cancer case – this tenacious Kansas-based journalist talks corporate power, public health and reporting Roundup.

Presented in partnership with Bendigo Writers Festival.

Enjoyed talking to ⁦@careygillam⁩ at ⁦@bgowritersfest⁩ last night. Not sure where she found the American sized beverage in rural Victoria but not surprised. She’s been on Monsanto’s case for 20 years. pic.twitter.com/HmhUlOKvTZ

— Sally Warhaft (@SallyWarhaft) August 12, 2018

Natasha Mitchell and David Eagleman — Photo: Jon Tjhia

Creativity and ingenuity are the qualities that set our species apart, argues neuroscientist David Eagleman. ‘Obviously, a little bit of credit needs to go to the opposable thumb and larynx, but fundamentally it’s about this massive mashup of ideas that we have … Most of them stink, but occasionally, something gets generated that works for our society.’

Eagleman has dedicated his life to understanding the inner workings of the brain, through his books The Brain: The Story of You and Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain and the television series The Brain with David Eagleman. For the past few years, the Stanford University professor has turned his attention to the link between the brain and creativity.

With composer Anthony Brandt he’s co-authored a book, The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World, which explores the key components and possibilities of creativity through the lens of neuroscience. The pair propose that there are three key elements to all acts of human creativity: bending, blending and breaking.

At the Athenaeum Theatre, Eagleman joins Natasha Mitchell to expand on these ideas, explaining how the human brain can remake the world.