Debunks

Excessive screen time is parents’ number one child health concern. But should they be so concerned? Let’s check the research. In this episode, Cosmos journalist Jacinta Bowler exceeds the screentime guidelines to chat with experts Anthea Rhodes, Taren Sanders and Luci Pangrazio to find out whether watching too many episodes of Bluey poses any real risk to young kids. This episode was produced by P...

From girl dinner to fitspiration, there’s no escaping social media – its memes and hashtags - for today’s teens and young people. In this episode, Cosmos journalist Jacinta Bowler does some mindless scrolling. They also DM experts Associate Professor Ivanka Pritchard, Dr Danielle Einstein, Associate Professor Gemma Sharp, and Nicola Palfrey uncover the evidence for whether social media is bad for...

Streaming has changed everything in television and movies, offering us more choice than ever before, even more than titles available at the local video store. In this episode, Cosmos journalist Jacinta Bowler tracks down one of the last video rentals in the country, and then fast forwards to experts Professor Amanda Lotz and Associate Professor Ramon Lobato to view the evidence on whether the rise...

Why is it that so many video games have violent content. And what is it about violent video games that makes them so popular? In this episode, Cosmos journalist Jacinta Bowler levels up by speaking with experts Associate Professor Michael Kasumovic, Associate Professor Jim Sauer and Dr Aaron Drummond to defeat the age-old question – does virtual violence in video games lead to real world aggressio...

For a lot of people, alcohol is associated with partying, celebrating and an all-round good time. But does this social lubricant have its downsides? Is there any truth to the idea that a little bit of alcohol is actually good for you? Or is there no safe limit at all? In this episode, Cosmos journalist Petra Stock pops open the bottle to take a swig of the science of alcohol. She is joined by Dr M...

Many of us love the sweet pleasure that comes with sugar. It brings joy to our taste buds in desserts, soft drinks and fruits. But could sugary goodness be doing harm to our bodies? In this episode, Cosmos journalist Petra Stock gets her bake on to investigate the science of sugar. Joined by Dr Felippe Oliveira, Dr Alexandra Jones and Dr Alan Barclay, they take a syrupy journey to find out if suga...

We all know that cigarettes are bad for our health. But now they’re old news - it’s flavoured puffs of white smoke that are on our minds instead. In this episode, Cosmos journalist Petra Stock puts her investigation hat on to find out what the science is on vaping. Joined by Professor Simon Chapman and Professor Matthew Peters, they cough their way through our understanding of vapes. This episode...

There’s not many of us who don’t wake up to a coffee or tea in the morning. But is this little ritual a good or bad thing for our collective health? In this episode, Cosmos journalist Petra Stock stocks up on caffeine to find out. Joined by Dr Crystal Yates and Kitty Pham, as well as the fantastic baristas at Heartattack and Vine in Melbourne, they grind down myths about coffee, tea and caffeine i...

While the Cosmos office takes a short summer break, we’ve got some bonus summer listening for you. This episode is the full interview Imma Perfetto did with Professor Jim McLennan, an adjunct at La Trobe University. A former psychologist, Jim has been involved in bushfire safety for decades. He researched community perceptions of risk following the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, and also works...

Fire is a part of our history, and it will be a part of our future no matter how much more carbon gets into the atmosphere. But have we always had bushfires as bad as we’re seeing now? Are the fires truly unprecedented? And are they going to get worse? In this episode, Cosmos journalist Imma Perfetto talks to Dr Steve Sutton and Dr Pep Canadell about our history of fire, what climate change is doi...

Arson. Destructive and highly dangerous, there are very few crimes that make people angrier in a bushfire season. But how many bushfires are really started by arsonists? And does the presence of an arsonist negate the effect of climate change? What are arsonists really like? In this episode, Cosmos journalist Imma Perfetto talks to Dr Paul Read and Richard Woods about how bushfires start, how to f...

Is it possible to completely fire-proof a house? Cosmos journalist Imma Perfetto chats to Tonia Welsh and Will Norman, who lost their home in the Black Summer and have rebuilt with fire in mind. Can everyone do what they did? Imma is joined by Dr Kate Nguyen, Professor Jim McLennan and Mark Leplastrier, to learn how fire-proof our homes can really become – and how detailed your plan has to be if s...

Stay or go – what’s your plan on a catastrophic fire day? And where does that ‘catastrophic’ rating come from, anyway? Could you stay and defend? Cosmos journalist Imma Perfetto is diving into the science on fire danger ratings, and figuring out if she could ever stay to defend a place – or evacuate early. She’s joined by Professor Jim McLennan, Andrew Gissing, Owen Ziebell and Dr Meaghan Jenkins...

Every bad bushfire year, the call goes out for more, more, more hazard reduction burns. So do they actually help reduce fire risk? Are there other measures we could be using to prevent bushfires? And how long has the Australian landscape had fire in it? In this episode, Cosmos journalist Imma Perfetto ventures out to a patch of smouldering bush to ask about hazard reduction burns. She’s joined by...

Ozempic is the diabetes drug that is seemingly everywhere. But what’s the science behind this ‘game changing’ weight loss drug? Why is there a shortage? And for those that take it, is it actually the easy way out?     In this episode, Cosmos journalist Matthew Ward Agius talks to Professor Amanda Salis, Associate Professor Priya Sumithran and the TGA’s Professor Robyn Langham about research, misco...

Over half of us are trying to lose weight, and often we’re told that diets are the way to do it. But is there any science behind cutting out food groups, or spending hours on a treadmill to try and outrun a can of coke? In this episode, Cosmos journalist Matthew Ward Agius lets loose on his love of donuts. Joined by Dr Evangeline Mantzioris and Dr Fiona Willer, they discuss if diets – especially t...

Cosmos journalist Matthew Ward Agius loves his new fitness tracker.  But is it making him healthier? Will he stick with it? And how do fitness trackers know so much data about you? In this episode, Matthew is joined by Dr Ty Ferguson and Professor Deborah Lupton, to investigate fitness trackers, and find out the truth behind the technology. This episode was produced by Jacinta Bowler and edited by...

As a society, we’re obsessed with weight. One way to measure it - the BMI - has been a mainstay of our society for decades. But is it the best way to understand our collective health? In this episode, Cosmos journalist Matthew Ward Agius straps on his bike helmet to find out. Joined by Dr Evangeline Mantzioris and Dr Emma Beckett, they unpack our preconceptions about the Body Mass Index. This epis...

What happens to an electric vehicle battery at the end of its life? If we can’t recycle them, are they really that good for the planet? In this episode, Cosmos journalist Ellen Phiddian recycles her batteries at the local library and ponders the death of an EV battery. Joined by Australian Battery Recycling Initiative CEO Katherine Hole and Professor Leanne Wiseman, they discuss the ins and outs o...

Is Australia’s dirty power generation ruining EV's sustainable cred? In this episode, Cosmos journalist Ellen Phiddian visits a windfarm to find out how green Australia’s energy really is. Joined by engineer Tim Ross, Dr Jennifer Rayner and Dr Hussein Dia, Ellen gets to the bottom of how sustainable EVs really are. This episode was produced by Jacinta Bowler and edited by Helen Karakulak. Theme mu...

Australians love their big cars. They’re perfect for road trips, towing your boat or going camping. So, as former Prime Minister Scott Morrison put it in 2019, have electric vehicles really ‘killed the weekend’? In this episode, Cosmos journalist Ellen Phiddian finds out. Joined by Dr Hussein Dia, Dr Gail Broadbent and Ben Roberts, they discuss road-tripping in an EV, queue anxiety and more. This...

Do electric vehicle batteries explode? In this episode, Cosmos Journalist Ellen Phiddian gets behind the wheel, literally, to find out if this is true. Joined by Dr Ruth Knibbe, firefighter Emma Sutcliffe, ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg, fellow Cosmos Journalist Matthew Ward Agius and even her parents, Ellen debunks if EVs really are a fire hazard. This episode was produced by Jacinta Bowler and edited b...

Welcome to Debunks! A podcast to serve as your myth-busting guide to the big science questions. From bushfires to electric vehicles, the science journalists at Cosmos sort fact from fiction on all the big topics to you let you know when you've been led astray. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.