1. People Magazine Investigates: Cults: Jonestown Massacre
2. Critical thinking

Author of wildly successful novel Burial Rites about double murderer Agnes Magnusdottir (last woman executed in Iceland, 1830), Hannah Kent talks to Steven Gale about her novel: poetic, grisly and at one with the bleak scenery.

Big Ideas presents the best public talks, debates and lectures from Australia and around the world, with a focus on arts and culture.

Dame Margaret Drabble makes such a good interview, settled here in her very sensible shoes with no sense of weariness in talking over much earlier novels. She's in conversation here at Adelaide Writers Week with Cath Keneally.

Alain de Botton appearing for The Wheeler Centre at Dallas Brooks Centre in Melbourne, talking about his latest work, 'The News: A Users Manual'. What's news? Newsworthy? Ethical? He raises these unanswered questions for public debate.

Morbidly obese, the discomforting description of central character in Lionel Shriver's latest novel, 'Big Brother'. Shriver is unsentimental about her brother's condition she speaks with Paul Barclay at Brisbane Powerhouse.

Bad guys. Mean girls. Why do we love the villains, the floozies and the cads? We're talking opera - Opera Queensland and their production of Verdi's Rigoletto. Enjoy some great music and interesting discussion by industry greats.

Martin Amis has a wide ranging chat with Q and A's Tony Jones at the Perth Writers Festival about the genius of Nabokov; his dad, Kingsley Amis; scope and inspiration for his last two novels and homage to his friend Christopher Hitchens.

Is the Western assumption that democracy always leads to a more liberal and tolerant society correct? Events in Ukraine, Thailand, Egypt and Venezuela might imply not.

Should God and the Prophets enjoy protection from insult? Or is it time to expand the scope of protected free speech so that one may mock or insult God and the Prophets?

Adelaide-Born actress Muriel Matters made headlines in 1909 as 'that daring Australian girl' for her bold escapades in the struggle for women's rights in Britain.

On the verge of international recognition, 28-year-old Simon Stone is a director, writer and actor to watch. We capture his fearless energy while he's still working in Australia.

As China grows in power, does Australian security lie with the US? US Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich and Professor Zhu Feng, from Peking University are among the debaters.

Comic Book Heroes follows passionate mavericks Wolfgang and Skye and their talented team of artists and writers as they get set to take on the American comic book industry - Australian style.

Creativity defines the human species, it underpins our favourite technology, lies behind our music and arts and has allowed us to journey beyond our own planet. For a long time, it was seen as a gift of the gods, something beyond scientific explanation. This film finds out what really happens in your brain before you have a great idea, discovers how day-dreaming can help you become a creative genius and explores the link between obsession and great ideas.

A two-part documentary series that tells the inside story of two ambitious Australian comic book creators and their battle to penetrate the American market.

This week it's L-Z and begins with the concept of 'Liking' things, endemic in social media, and a first reaction to a lot of art, but we wonder, is that good enough? Then we take a look at Laughter, at being funny on purpose, and at being a joke. We have a quick quiz on Modernism - can you tell from our examples which ones are contemporary art works?

Don't know your biennale from a triennale? Can't tell your old media from your new? Are notions leaving you baffled? The A-Z of Contemporary Art is a bluffer's guide to the often-impenetrable world of contemporary art, from artists, art works and galleries to new media, forms and theories.

In the final episode, comedian Andrew Maxwell takes five British creationists to the West Coast of America, to try to convince them that evolution is true and their ideas are, well, crackers.