Pussy Riot Members To Speak At Festival Of Dangerous Ideas

Two former members of the infamous punk activist group Pussy Riot will speak at Sydney's Festival Of Dangerous Ideas Festival this August.

Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alekhina will appear at the event and speak on being jailed for hooliganism in late 2012. The pair were released last December. They will also discuss their new not-for-profit charity Zona Prava and talk about their activisim with journalist Masha Gessen joining them.

Other guests include acclaimed and controversial author Salman Rushdie, former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, The Sixth Extinction author Elizabeth Kolbert and experimental psychologist Steven Pinker.

The festival will take place at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 August, with tickets available Wednesday 2 July at 9am. Multi-ticket packages are available next Monday 30 June. It is co-curated by the Opera House and the St James Ethics Centre.

Head to the Sydney Opera House website for more info.

Here is the full list of names:

Salman Rushdie, Pussy Riot, Masha Gessen, Steven Pinker, Malcolm Fraser, Lydia Cacho, Bradley Garrett, Alissa Nutting, John Hewson, Bettina Arndt, Glenn Robbins, John Pilger, Jane Caro, Elizabeth Kolbert, Noelle Janaczewska, Anne Manne, Uthman Badar, Elizabeth Pisani, Jaan Tallinn, Ragip Zarakolu, Kajsa Ekis Ekman, Dan Ilic, Tim Flannery, Kay Hymowitz, Francesca Minerva, Mark Latham, David Baker, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, Emily Nussbaum, Huw Price, A Rational Fear