Michael Kirby & Bo Seo – Sydney Writer’s Festival

Two-time world debating champion Bo Seo and former High Court justice Michael Kirby examine how we might better listen to and disagree with each other in an era of increasingly harsh and divisive discourse. They discuss Bo’s new book, Good Arguments, part memoir of how he discovered the art of debating as a shy, conflict-adverse child, and part treatise on why the pillars of good debate – fact finding, reason and persuasion – offer an antidote to political spin, fake news and social media slugfests.

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.

Michael Kirby is an international jurist, educator and former judge. He served as a Deputy President of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission (1975-83); Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission (1975-84); Judge of the Federal Court of Australia (1983-4); President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal (1984-96); President of the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands (1995-96) and Justice of the High Court of Australia (1996-2009).

This event is for adults aged 18 years or older.

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• Access to free events is only one of the benefits of library membership. If you are not already a library member, please join at https://library.mackay.qld.gov.au/Montage/Join.aspx