Mary-Anne Waldren has sourced a variety of people to take part in events she has run, including:

Authors
The late author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
Geneticist and author Steve Jones
Writer, lecturer and broadcaster Dr Susan Blackmore

Astronauts
America's first female astronaut Sally Ride
NASA's Franklin Chang-Diaz

Comedians
Tom Gleeson
The Good News Week team and special guests
The How Green Is My Cactus radio team

Creativity specialists
Author of The Creative Economy John Howkins
Author and advisor to governments around the world Charles Landry
Pioneer on the knowledge economy Kate Oakley

Entrepreneurs
Vacuum cleaner baron James Dyson
Freedom Furniture co-founder and Fantastic Furniture MD Julian Tertini
Ron Murray from Murrays Travel
Real estate's John McGrath and Richard Luton
Property developer John Hindmarsh
Event organiser Suzi Dafnis
Roses Only's James Stevens

Environmentalists
Sir David Bellamy
Harry Butler
Photographer Steve Parish

Inventors
Inventor of the Triton Workbench George Lewin
Maternity belt inventor and journalist Christine Kininmonth
Inventor of the dripless teapot Damini Kumar

Journalists
ABC presenters such as Robyn Williams, Julie McCrossin, Sandy McCutcheon, Maxine McKew, Ross Solly, Bernie Hobbs, Paul Willis, Dr Norman Swan, Alan Saunders and Chris Uhlmann
New Scientist Editor Alun Anderson
The New Inventors' James O'Loughlin
The Australian's Peter Switzer and Asa Wahlquist
Computing commentator MS Megabyte

Politicians
Ranging from ACT Chief Ministers and Governors General to Australian Science Ministers and the Prime Minister

Science communicators
IVF pioneer Lord Robert Winston
Britain's Chief Scientist Sir Robert May and Australia's former Chief Scientist Dr Robin Batterham
Director of Britain's Royal Institution Baroness Susan Greenfield
Time Magazine's first "hero of the planet" marine biologist Dr Sylvia Earle
Neurologist Professor Colin Blakemore
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and Adam Spencer
Deane Hutton and Rob Morrison from the Curiosity Show
Mathematician Marc Abrahams

Thinkers
The man who coined the term "lateral thinking" Edward DeBono
Nobel Prize winner Peter Doherty