Science Friction

Two teams. Scientists and science journalists. Brains vs brains. Boys vs Girls. From the small (bed bug sex) to the big (er, the whole cosmos), it's the year in science with a tongue firmly in our cheeks.

The long prison sentence given to Sydney climate protester Deanna 'Violet' Coco for blocking traffic on the Sydney Harbour bridge has surprised many, including her fellow protester Jay, who spent 42 days under house arrest. Are new laws suppressing fundamental human rights to protest, or a proportionate response to disruptive blockades? Note: Since making the show, Violet Coco, has been released o...

We make machines, but do our machines make us? And who's in control really? Superstar anthropologist, technologist, futurist, cyberneticist, and Silicon Valley insider Genevieve Bell and guests talk machines, minds and messing with the code to make the world so much better.

If the universe began with a big bang, how will it end? This question has suddenly got very personal for acclaimed science poet Alicia Sometimes. Physicists have got some hair-raising ideas, from the Big Crunch to the Big Rip. The personal, the poetic, and the physical of endings this week on Science Friction. Hear Part 1: What Came Before the Big Bang Guests: Alicia Sometimes Poet, writer, broadc...

Should solving climate change be left to politicians? What if YOU could drive policy without ever running for an election? WHO'S GONNA SAVE US? is an ABC podcast about the people who are trying to map out a better future in the face of the climate crisis. France gave so-called 'deliberative democracy' a crack, where lay citizens are assembled to deliberate and shape vital policies. Europe is ahead...

Saul Griffith has an ambitious plan to save the planet. It all begins at home and it's completely electrifying! WHO'S GONNA SAVE US? is an ABC podcast about the people who are trying to map out a better future in the face of the climate crisis. Catch up on the whole series HERE , or wherever you get your podcasts. Guests: Saul Griffith, Andrew Davies, Cameron Gardiner Host: Jo LauderReporters: Joe...

Science and culture ... with extra spice. All species welcome.

When intrepid botanist Tim Collins went sleuthing in the wilds of Australia in pursuit of a papery daisy's DNA, little did he know he'd find himself at the heart of an historical saga, a complicated romance, and a botanical mystery.  A floral story of love, exile and serendipity. Oh, and an Emperor and Empress!

Too much. Not enough. Too weird. Not weird enough. Sex is enjoyed, explored, exploited, and policed in countless ways. The pleasure and pain of writing about sex … with authors Jennifer Mills (The Airways, Dyschronia), evolutionary biologist Rob Brooks (Artificial Intimacy: Virtual Friends, digital lovers, and algorithmic matchmakers), and Josephine Taylor (Eye of a Rook).

2022 Hugo Award winning science fiction author, Becky Chambers , is loved by fans for her brilliantly hopeful imagined worlds in her Monk and Robot and Wayfarers book series. Archaeologist  Dr Emma Rehn  investigates the ancient relationship between humans and fire. Science Friction brings Becky and Emma together to share a conversation about worlds past, future, real, and imagined.

What came before time as we know it began? A time before. Can we ever really know?

Four big minds on the next steps for our species.

Sex is complicated. Oh yes indeed.

Science is way personal.

 Three rising stars in science on why they can’t come back.  

An explosive love triangle with a difference.

They hold their secrets close. But these scientists are getting Tasmania's "living fossil" trees to talk. And whoa, we need to listen!

There's a wild tale inside every trunk. The trees join us alongwith Peter Wohlleben (The Hidden Life of Trees & The Heartbeat of Trees) and other tree lovers.

Comedian Craig Reucassel (The Chaser, The War on Waste), mathematician Barbara Holland and their teams are out to change your mind.

Flower power, and a botanical battle that divided nations.

What’s violent nationalism got to do with Nature?

It's out there somewhere... they just have to find it

Follow the silvery trail and enter the world inside a shell. To be or not to be.

You just never know when you'll need a rat will save your life.

Some people dream of changing the world. Others do. Thank the flies.