Category: Podcast

Podcast

Ep 93. Cannabis, legalisation and pill testing with Samuel Banister

The cannabis plant is useful for everything from textiles to medicine, however our ability to use these plants has been hampered by its association with illegal drugs. People are beginning to make very big claims about the use of cannabinoids to treat almost every ailment under the sun, however the evidence still just isn’t there. Samuel Banister is a medicinal chemist at the Lambert Initiative … Continue reading Ep 93. Cannabis, legalisation and pill testing with Samuel Banister

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Podcast

Ep 92. Bird brains, documentaries and serial killers with Lucy Farrow

Humans have the biggest brains of any animals… well, kind of… only if we correct for body size… which is important… we think. Understanding animal intelligence is difficult, especially when brains are so complex that our own brains might be incapable of understanding themselves. When it comes to animals, brain size has been a primary indicator of intelligence, however showing that having bigger brains leads … Continue reading Ep 92. Bird brains, documentaries and serial killers with Lucy Farrow

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Podcast

Ep 91. Forensics, photography and the CSI effect with Glenn Porter

The science of forensics has been popularised by the success of TV crime shows, but the reality of how criminal investigations occur, and the science behind evidence gathering is often nowhere near as glamorous as these shows imply. While we may not be able to work the magic they show on TV, new technologies are aiding forensic scientists in more effectively gathering and presenting evidence. … Continue reading Ep 91. Forensics, photography and the CSI effect with Glenn Porter

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Podcast

Ep 90. Beards, phobias and implicit biases with Belinda Craig

How well can we read other people’s faces? And how good are we at faking our own emotional responses? Turns out not to great. In the absence of other contextual cues people are not very good at reading peoples facial expressions. Add to that the fact that cultural differences can have a huge impact on what emotions are expressed and how. As humans we are … Continue reading Ep 90. Beards, phobias and implicit biases with Belinda Craig

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Podcast

Ep 89. Tiny gardeners and environmental educators with Matthew McKenzie

Matthew McKenzie is the principal and head teacher of a public school with a difference. Thalgarrah Environmental Education Centre is located in the woodlands outside of Armidale in regional NSW. It is part of a network of environmental and zoo education centres across NSW that provide other schools with a base for excursions, camps and experiences focussed on using nature as a learning and teaching … Continue reading Ep 89. Tiny gardeners and environmental educators with Matthew McKenzie

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Podcast

Ep 88. Video games, dentistry and ageing basketballers with Michael Kasumovic

After a brief stint trying to become a dentist, Michael Kasumovic found his true calling studying the ecology and evolution of spiders. That was until he found another calling studying everything else from performance in professional athletes, how income can affect facial preferences, and how sex and social status can influence people’s behaviour in online videogames. Not content with simply being a prolific research scientist … Continue reading Ep 88. Video games, dentistry and ageing basketballers with Michael Kasumovic

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Podcast

Ep 87. Communication, education and science speed dating with Isabelle Kingsley

From school teacher, to science communicator, to events producer, and now researcher, Isabelle Kingsley has spent her career spanning widely different areas of science education and outreach. She founded the Sydney Science Festival in 2015 which has grown into an annual festival attended by over 80,000 people. While she was running the Sydney Science Festival she began to wonder what sort of educational impact public … Continue reading Ep 87. Communication, education and science speed dating with Isabelle Kingsley

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Podcast

Ep 86. Science puns and stand-up comedy with Benji Kessler

Benji Kessler is a man of many talents, he studies the behaviour of spiders, teaches mathematics to school kids, does stand-up comedy and looks great in a Spider-Man costume. Benji is currently visiting Australia from the USA where he is doing his PhD at the University of California. He was nice enough to sit down for a chat to talk about how a severe arachnophobe … Continue reading Ep 86. Science puns and stand-up comedy with Benji Kessler

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Podcast

Ep 85. Theory vs reality, and dancing in the middle with Alva Curtsdotter

Some scientists go out in to the field, collect data and conduct experiments to test their hypotheses. Other scientists conduct their experiments inside a computer. Alva Curtsdotter is a theoretical ecologist at the University of New England that studies the behaviour of animal populations across natural landscapes,  but instead of spending her time surveying and measuring real world populations she runs computer simulations to see … Continue reading Ep 85. Theory vs reality, and dancing in the middle with Alva Curtsdotter

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Podcast

Ep 84. Barns, broilers and big things with Natalie Morgan

Chicken is big business and the science behind poultry nutrition is an incredibly precise mix of chemistry and biology. As the market for poultry continues to increase worldwide there is ongoing need to industry to improve the efficiency and sustainability of chicken feed. Natalie Morgan is a poultry nutrition expert who works to understand how the diets fed to livestock can be modified to improve … Continue reading Ep 84. Barns, broilers and big things with Natalie Morgan

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