Brains Matter

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 […]

In this episode, I talk to Kellie Caught, Head of Climate Change for WWF Australia, about the Say Yes Campaign. Topics discussed include: – Kellie’s background – The background of the carbon price in Australia and worldwide – Kyoto – How long has the EU had Emissions Trading Schemes? – What is the ‘say yes’ […]

In this episode, I speak to Michael Roache, the Program Manager for Threatened Species at the World Wildlife Fund – Australia. He spoke to me about: – Michael’s background – National Threatened Species Day – How many threatened species do we have in Australia? – What are macropods? – The relationship between threatened species and […]