Brains Matter

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the classic science fiction show, Doctor Who. I spoke to actor and comedian (and honourary 10th Time Lord) Rob Lloyd, also known as the Number 1 Doctor Who fan in the world, about the show. This is the second part of a two part interview. Topics we discuss [...]

Something a bit different for this episode – this year marks the 50th anniversary of the classic science fiction show, Doctor Who. I spoke to actor and comedian (and honourary 10th Time Lord) Rob Lloyd, also known as the Number 1 Doctor Who fan in the world, about the show. This is the first of [...]

In today’s episode, I talk to Dr Michael Brown from Monash University about the peer review process in science. We talk about: – What the Peer Review Process is – How the Peer Review Process helps – The issues with Peer Review – What is the issue with positive and negative scientific results? – The [...]

In today’s episode, I talk to Dr Michael Brown from Monash University about the mis-use of statistics in the public sphere, and specifically, about the American National Rifle Associations misrepresentations of data. We talk about: – The Australian context – Australian gun control laws – The subsequent experience after the implementation of these laws – [...]

In today’s episode, I talk to Sir Harold Kroto, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the co-discovery of carbon-60, or Buckminsterfullerine. We continue the discussion from episode 160, and talk about – Stereotypes of scientists – Science and natural philosophy – What are non-science people interested in? – Kids as scientists – [...]

In today’s episode, I talk to Sir Harold Kroto, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the co-discovery of carbon-60, or Buckminsterfullerine. He talked to me about the discover of carbon-60, as well as the state of science in the UK and worldwide. This is part 1 of a 2 part interview. Today’s [...]

In today’s episode, I speak to Alom Shaha, a science teacher and communicator from the UK. Alom has worked on television shows researching science, and is well known in science communication circles. He recently published a book called The Young Atheists Handbook, and spoke to me about his views on science, religion, freedom from religion, [...]

In today’s episode, I talk to Dr Duncan Galloway, ARC Future Fellow at Monash University. His interest is in Neutron Star Binaries and I talked to him about this: – Duncan’s background – What is a neutron star? – How big is a neutron star? – How does a neutron star stay together? – The [...]

In today’s episode, I talk to Brains Matter regular, Dr Corin Storkey, from the Heart Research Centre in Sydney. He talks to us about new research into a type of sugar that could prevent heart disease! We talk about: – the patent that has been filed on a new sugar based compound – how the [...]

In today’s episode, I talk to Dr Robyn Pickering from the University of Melbourne, with an update on the status of research regarding the discovery of Australopithecus Sedeba. Topics discussed include: – the age of the Australopithecus Sedeba has been confirmed – how the more accurate dates were determined – how does this relate to [...]