Synopsis
A soap box for all things scientific, with short talks about research, industry and policy from people with something thoughtful to say about science.
Episodes
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A pinch of salt with that news headline, please
14/04/2018 Duration: 10minWhat questions should you ask of research, a press release, or a journalist's article about that new health or science development to make sure it's legit?
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The blurry line between human and animal health
07/04/2018 Duration: 11minUnderstanding the links between animal and human health is key to preventing the next viral pandemic.
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Taking control of what you own
31/03/2018 Duration: 11minDo you have any input into the design of the products you buy and consume day-to-day? Your phone, laptop, clothes, even your food?
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Nature, nurture and gender
24/03/2018 Duration: 11minHow do we have meaningful advances in our understanding of gender when biologists and gender theorists are at odds?
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Baron, scholar, spy
17/03/2018 Duration: 10minFranz Nopcsa — a troubled aristocrat, a brilliant scientist, a one-time spy ... and a co-founder of the field of paleobiology.
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The economic impact of refugees
10/03/2018 Duration: 11minHow do you know what effect refugee populations have on the economy of the countries they become a part of?
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Thinking out-of-this-world to inspire schoolkids
03/03/2018 Duration: 11minWould teenagers be more interested in science if they were literally sending objects into space?
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John Stapp, the daredevil who pushed our understanding of G forces
24/02/2018 Duration: 11minJohn Stapp was a pioneering researcher into the effects of 'rapid human deceleration' — otherwise known as a plane crash — on the body.
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A new solar reality
17/02/2018 Duration: 10minProfessor Martin Green queries how we dispel the lingering pessimism in Canberra over solar and expand the use of this remarkable technology?
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Traditional medicine and malaria
10/02/2018 Duration: 11minOn first blush, they might seem worlds apart. But modern drug research and ancient medicine intertwine in this tale of the fight against malaria's history.
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Bridging the discipline divide
03/02/2018 Duration: 11minCross disciplinary research, undergraduate study, postgraduate study, double degrees!
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Making humility great again
27/01/2018 Duration: 11minProfessor Tom Frame thinks much of what we take for leadership in Canberra and across the country needs to change.
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Remembering Maryam Mirzakhani
20/01/2018 Duration: 11minAustralian mathematician Nalini Joshi pays a personal tribute to the life and legacy of Maryam Mirzakhani, the first female winner of the Fields Medal, who died in 2017.
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Is the world real?
13/01/2018 Duration: 10minThe idea that there is something bogus about reality goes back a long way.
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Stopping the poachers
06/01/2018 Duration: 10minThere are villains out there, trying to make the most of the rarity of Australia's species by tracking down their locations for the purposes of poaching.
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Australia's history of grog
30/12/2017 Duration: 08minPlonk and moonshine, rum and port — it's all a part of Australia's early story.
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The books we love and need
23/12/2017 Duration: 11minWhy write books? For some, it's necessary — to find out what we think, and to get the record down for all of history to see.
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Celebrity 'science'
16/12/2017 Duration: 10minA trail of outlandish endorsements, supplements, fad diets — and claims sprinkled with the lightest dose of science. These are the hallmarks of a celebrity-turned-'scientist.'
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Improving the prospects of PhDs
09/12/2017 Duration: 10minWhy is Australia doing badly at launching careers in academic science — and what can be done?
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Food sensitivity and the known unknowns
02/12/2017 Duration: 10minWhat's safe, and how can we be taken seriously if we think we are food sensitive?