Charles Sturt Stories

“As I was through all these beautiful beautiful places, I started noticing all the problems alpine areas are facing – climate change, invasive species. They have really delicate ecosystems and I just decided that was something I wanted to do something about, so I signed up for my degree in the hopes of going into protected area management.” Clay is a Bachelor of Environmental Science and Managemen...

“Even though from an individual perspective COVID-19 might not be serious, from a population health perspective, there are a lot of people who have died from it now around the world and its ability to overwhelm health systems because so many people become infected so quickly is extremely serious….Within a month you might have 14-15 flu infections – or 50 000 coronavirus infections.” Dr Victoria Br...

“Birds and bats are one of the dominant invertebrate groups on earth, they go everywhere and surround us in our lives, so it’s not that surprising that there’s enough overlap every now and then for diseases to spill over…The reality is, we need to isolate the risk and deal with that. We can become so obsessed with wet markets but the last global pandemic arose from the North American pig industry,...

“Journalists are not usually the subject of police raids. With the News Limited raid and the next day, the ABC raids, a precedent was set and police going in and searching around journalist files is a dangerous precedent to be set. The problem is journalism has a role as a watchdog in democracy and having police interfere in that role…threatens the fundamental obligation of journalists to their so...

“Even though fascism was considered to be defeated conventionally after WW2, and while that meant those states were defeated, it didn’t mean the ideology was defeated. From 2009, broadly, we saw right-ring extremism surge internationally and that was echoed in Australia.” How much do we know about the history of right-wing terrorism? How far back does our history of right-wing terrorism go, and ho...

“People wanted democracy, freedom and progress. But authoritarian governments didn’t like it and in Syria, they didn’t relinquish power in peace and that started to cause civil war. And where there is civil war, resistance groups, insurgents, will emerge and some of these will be radical. The radical will take advantage of this to open up new ground for them, and Isis did.” Mehmet shares his thoug...

“In the late 70’s there were bombings in London in Oxford Street and elsewhere and it was a serious business. Everyone was aware of the fact that bombs might go off…but I think people got on with their lives and their jobs. But I remember where I was when 9/11 happened. I was at Scotland Yard and someone came rushing in…and the whole event unfolded before our eyes. We quickly became aware we were...

“The media portrays it in a binary way...that we knew so much about jihadist terrorism and that policing and intelligence communities didn’t have any knowledge of white supremacists and ultra-nationalists. The answer is, these kinds of threats were also on the radar. But it’s true to say that we collectively don’t know as much as perhaps we should on these individuals and these groups.” Patrick sp...

“In my final year of studies in high school, I was admitted to hospital and underwent surgery and without that I wouldn’t have been able to live for any period of time. I guess in that time I transformed… I started to realise I wasn’t all that invincible. It was a recognition that my survival was dependent on others, members of the health workforce, the expertise of doctors and nurses and clinicia...

“We have seen this kind of approach to protestors before. It reminds us of darker times, in the history of Queensland with Joh Bjelke-Petersen where the government made it a priority to stop civil disobedience. The police were encouraged to be heavy handed on protestors. Now of course, climate change is the main issue and economic insecurities, inequalities are growing…we see rich guys getting a b...

“I joined the police just after the Equal Opportunities Act…so it was all a bit unusual to have women doing the full range of police duties. Was there resistance? Yes I think it was fair to say there was a fair bit of resistance! You were breaking new ground all the time.” Trying to avoid the steelworks in Sunderland meant Tracey became the first woman in the detective’s office in the force at tha...

Health conditions such as stroke are more prevalent in the regions but the services available are fewer. Why? Join Lecturer in the School of Community Health Melissa Nott as she chats with host Wes Ward about the ways in which Charles Sturt is leading the provision of key health services in the regions. Mel explains the vital, practical and impactful ways in which CSU staff and students are improv...

What happened to Katrina? Why can't we name children when they go missing in care? In part 2 of this episode, listen to Charles Sturt Associate Professor Kath McFarlane and lecturer Dr Emma Colvin chat to host Hilary Longhurst about what this can mean for missing children. Episode recorded: 22 January 2019 Host: Hilary Longhurst, CSU Media Production: Adam Thompson, 2MCE Due to our many regional l...

Nurses from all over the world come to live and work in Australia. Charles Sturt researcher Sophia Dywili spoke to host Wes Ward about her study of African nurses who travel to regional Australia and the unique experiences they undertake here. Episode recorded: 18 December 2018 Host: Wes Ward, CSU Media Production: Adam Thompson, 2MCE Due to our many regional locations, CSU's podcast recordings ra...

Absconding or gone missing? Why do children in care go missing and how can care providers, legal providers and the police work together to address this often invisible issue? Charles Sturt Associate Professor Kath McFarlane and lecturer Dr Emma Colvin talk to host Hilary Longhurst about this ongoing issue, often with tragic outcomes, and the challenges involved in Part 1 of this episode. Episode r...

There's an engineering school where you don't have assignments, and you don't take exams. There's an engineering school that's more than engineering, it's a social movement. A report commissioned by MIT rated Charles Sturt's engineering school as one of the top emerging schools in the world. Find out why with Foundation Professor Euan Lindsay, chatting to host Jess Mansour-Nahra about the many way...

Have you ever seen this little creature before? Let us answer: no, because this rare albino quoll was discovered in 2018 and Charles Sturt University students Harry Moore and Mitchell Cowan were there! Listen as they chat with host Hilary Longhurst about their experiences with this rare animal during their research work in the Pilbara, Western Australia. Episode recorded: 22 November 2018 Host: Hi...

What do a dentist drill and a vacuum cleaner have in common? ...? We spoke with sound designer and Charles Sturt Associate Professor Damian Candusso to find out! Listen to Damian chat to host Jess Mansour-Nahra about his experiences in designing sound for many, many films including Happy Feet and Australia* and his latest foray into virtual reality and immersive media. *Fun fact: the sound of the...

The Hon Fiona Nash, former Deputy Leader of the National Party of Australia, tirelessly champions the bush and in conversation, sure doesn't beat around it. Fiona talks to host Jess Mansour-Nahra about her predictions for regional Australia, her reflections on the benefits of living regionally and the somewhat surprising "furious agreement" that, while unreported, characterised much of her politic...

How can we support Indigenous communities needs and aspirations? …and why is it essential that we continue research into the behaviour of these communities? Māori Associate Professor and leading human rights activist, Leonie Pihama took some time out from her recent visit to CSU in Wagga and Bathurst, to chat with host Hilary Longhurst about her expertise in Kaupapa Māori research, Māori women’s i...