Getting Older: Elders in Conversation: Barry Jones

Barry Jones is a living treasure. Literally: he’s one of Australia’s 100 Living National Treasures, as voted by over 10,000 Australians.

He led the campaign for scrapping the death penalty, and in 1984, as Minister for Science, was the first Australian politician to raise the issue of anthropogenic climate change. His long career in local, national and international politics has included five years as a Victorian MP, over two decades as a Federal MP (including Minister for Science from 1983 to 1990), and tenure as Australia’s UNESCO and World Heritage Council representative in Paris.

Jones is the author of books including A Thinking Reed, Dictionary of World Biography and the best-selling Sleepers, Wake!. He’s the only person to have been elected to all four of Australia’s Learned Academies (Australian Academy of Science, Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, Australian Academy of the Humanities and Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering). He’s also been a teacher, media personality, lawyer, university lecturer and quiz champion.

Join host Jill Singer for a conversation with one of the nation’s true polymaths.