Ockham's Razor - Program Podcast

What do you call an insomniac anaesthetist? Michael Toon.

Can we bring back mammals from extinction? It will take more than just technology, says evolutionary geneticist Andrew Pask.

Computers write poems and jokes, and generate music and images. But is it art?

What have the Wallace Line, Confucius and plane crashes got in common? Taxonomy, as it happens.

Australia was once home to a range of massive animals - giant wombats, oversized kangaroos and mega-lizards that would have rivalled those of the Serengeti.

In times gone by we used animals as an indicator of danger. Dogs warned us of predators and unfamiliar people.  Fish showed the water was clean and birds indicated air quality.

Fred Pearce’s book Fallout is a fascinating insight into a few of the disastrous episodes which took place during the hasty and ill-informed projects of the nuclear age, Dr Helen Caldicott says.

An ill-conceived midnight skinny-dip, a remote beach, hurricane-stirred waters … and the nature of the universe, with astrophysicist Professor Tamara Davis.

Have you seen a robot outside, or as roboticists like to say 'in the wild' this week? This year?

Blue sky thinking is a feature of much discussion around the future of our cities — but will it really help us create the sustainable cities of the next century?

How does our collective fascination with DNA ancestry testing interact with our ideas and conversations about race?

This is the tale of Ernest John Christopher Polge and his substantial contribution to the field of reproductive biology.

Australia has the highest mammal extinction rate in the world. And of those that do remain, many are in danger of going the same way — including the eastern bettong.

A rice grain with more nutrients, high fibre and low calories could be a solution to the double burden of obesity and malnutrition in many countries around the world.

Professor Anna Moore has some bold predictions for the future of space technology … and how it might affect Australia.

Negative stories in the media, and the focus on problems, can reinforce negative stereotypes about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

More and more, we rely on the internet for the quick recall of facts, figures, dates and events.

Imagine waking up one day in intensive care — flat on your back, staring at the ceiling, not even breathing for yourself.

Tempestuous times often throw up revolutionary innovations — and we need the right people to harness them.

When you hear the name Beatrix Potter, what springs to mind? Is it those beautiful illustrations of rabbits, mice and squirrels? Or is it … mushrooms?