Brains Matter ©

What is Australopithecus Sediba? It’s a newly discovered species of hominid that was discovered recently. I talked to Dr Robyn Pickering at the University of Melbourne, who was involved in this discovery to talk about Sediba. – Why was it called Sediba? – What kind of dating technique was used to work out how old […]

In this episode, I talk to Corin Storkey, from the Bio21 Institute at the University of Melbourne. Corin is a synthetic organic chemist, and spoke to me about some of the research he was doing in synthesising compounds that may one day be used as pharmaceuticals to treat patients suffering from Type 2 Diabetes. We […]

Maria is an editor, writer and attorney from Washington State in the US, and is well known in the Skeptics community in the US. She spoke to me about the Discovery Institute and the agenda they are trying to push in science classes in the USA. – What IS the Discovery Institute? – What are […]

In today’s episode, I talk to both Professor Roger Short and Evan Bittner from the University of Melbourne on several topics related to the Asian Elephant, including the recent “miracle birth” of the baby elephant at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo. Topics we cover include: – Some of the latest news with Prof Short and Evan Bittner’s […]

In this episode, I continue my talk with Evan Bittner from the University of Melbourne in Brains Matter’s continuing series on Asian Elephants. If you missed Episode 110, please go back and listen to that episode first. In this interview, Evan discusses: – What can we do to reduce the impact on the ability to […]

In this episode, I talk to Evan Bittner from the University of Melbourne in Brains Matter’s continuing series on Asian Elephants. Evan discusses: – Elephants and infrasound communications – Determining how to measure elephant reactions to elephant vocalisations – What are the meanings of some of the elephant behaviours we observe? – The follow up […]

A question that everyone asks at some point is – are we alone? We’ve all heard about the Drake Equation, and have had chats about our place in the universe with friends. In this episode, Dr Allie Ford hosts a debate between Professor John Lattanzio and Ms Marion Anderson from Monash University on the topic […]

In this episode I speak to Dr Yin Paradies, who is a senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne. Yin’s research focuses on the health, social and economic effects of racism as well as anti-racism theory, policy and practice. In this interview, some of the topics we talk about include: – What are some […]

We have all heard of the ultraviolet index in weather reports. What is it? What does it mean to the lay person? What is the average person’s perception of the ultraviolet index? I talk to Dr Owen Carter from the CBRCC and Curtin University in Western Australia about his research into this area. – Who […]

The Brains Matter interview with Dr Allie Ford from Monash Uni (highlights version for 365 DoA) was featured on Diffusion Science Radio this week.