Fuzzy Logic Science Show

At the heart of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is a contradiction: by assuming the Ever Bigger Pie economic model, everybody will be better off. But can that really happen? We explore how the SDGs got this way and the thinking behind them. Dr Kerryn Higgs who is writer and historian, Associate Member Club of Rome (speaking here on her own behalf), and author of Collision Course: Endless Grow...

As the cliche goes, you are what you eat. But did you know it might be linked to rheumatoid arthritis? Honours student Shweta Venkataraman and supervisor Dr Chloe Goldsmith have been investigating the link between diet, the immune system's T-cells and rheumatoid arthritis. For this research they recruited Fuzzy host Rod, who agreed to provide a detailed account of his weekly diet. From that, they...

This week Fuzzy Logic celebrates Earth Science Week as Broderick talks to Nick Brown and Anna Riddell both geodetic scientists from Geoscience Australia. They explain and explore the world of geodesy and the role it plays in helping us track the movements across our planet and the movements of our planet to make sure our GPS is accurate for our journeys, along with many other applications. Thanks...

What are the causes of our environmental crisis and how do we fix it? Jonathan Miller argues that we should address the fundamental issue, which is the addiction to growth. That means a transition to a steady state economy. But what does that look like and how do we get there? Interview by Eamon and Rod.

What happens when a species goes extinct? Obviously the best course is to avoid it in the first place, but there are plans to resurrect the Tasmanian tiger and the woolly mammoth. We talk about a few projects that are creating safe havens for species, helping them to recover from bushfires and cats. Brought to you by Millie, Camille and Rod.

From melting ice sheets to endless floods and extreme storms, the news lately has been a bit bleak. But science is fighting back and giving us hope for better world.  From up in space to deep beneath the Earth’s surface, scientists at Geoscience Australia in Canberra are working to make our planet more sustainable - through satellites whizzing above our heads to uncovering the low-emission fuels o...

This week Broderick discusses the many events happening across the ACT for National Science Week 2022. He's joined in the studio by Heidi from Kids Securiday, Peter from FungiCo and Prof Lara Malins from the Australian National University who each share some of the interesting science being showcased at their events. National Science Week is from August 13 to 21 and event details can be found at w...

Is the climate crisis a science problem? Not according to our speaker. Climate change is caused by people - us - and must be resolved by people. We have the tools if only we can use them. In this talk with the Canberra Jung Society, Fuzzy Logic's Rod Taylor discusses the psychology of climate change and the other environmental problems. What does it mean to have 'hope' and how do we convert despai...

Tilman Ruff is one of the founders of the movement that has led to the creation of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Here he speaks about how the world's nuclear weapons have the continuation of our civilisation balancing on a knifes edge and the treaty trying to bring an end to these weapons. Recorded on 17 June Interviewed by Tom

This week Broderick talks to local Canberra cartoonist Stuart McMillen. Stuart uses intriguing real-life historical events, such as published science experiments, as the basis of his non-fiction comics. This episode talks about comics as a form of science communication and explores "Rat Park" and Stuart's newest release "The Town Without Television". Find all of Stuart's work at www.stuartmcmillen...

Ben Shaw is an archaeologist and  senior lecturer in the School of Culture History and Language at the ANU (Australian National University).  We talk about his work in Papua New Guinea. Interviewed by Tom

Tony Irwin is an Engineer that spent 30 years building nuclear power plants in the UK.  He now runs Australia's nuclear research reactor which he was in charge of building.  He also lecturers in nuclear science at the ANU.  I question him about my fears of nuclear power based on my very fuzzy understanding of the topic.  We also touch on the economics of nuclear power in a world moving away carbon...

Your body's immune system is a finely tuned and immensely complicated system to hunt down and destroy bad cells. No wonder it gets wrong sometimes! And when it does, you might end up with a condition like rheumatoid arthritis. While exactly how it works, is still not known, it is clear that your lifestyle - diet, exercise etc plays a part. A healthy body seems less likely to attack itself. Honours...

Tim Hollo is veteran climate campaigner and running as a Green for the seat of Canberra in the Australian Federal Election.  Tom discusses with Tim some aspects of Greens Party policy related to science and tech.  Amongst other things we talk about funding for scientific research, Australia's clean energy transition, nuclear energy, GMOs and patenting of living things.   

Traditional economics treats our planet as an infinitely exploitable resource. Clearly that is impossible and already there are disturbing signs of a planet in distress. But even if we ignore that, is endless growth really good for us? Where does it end? When we talk briefly about MMT (Modern Monetary Theory), we refer to 'monetary sovereign' nations - for a definition, see Wikipedia .   Philip La...

The legal system offers powerful tools to limit environmental destruction, with some excellent examples listed in this Guardian story . And yet there is much more that can be done. Nuclear weapons remain a dire threat while climate change marches on, largely unchecked by the inadequate responses thrown at it. Some countries such as Australia do not have a constitutional bill of rights, depriving c...

Human vision is an extraordinarily sophisiticated thing, backed up by some serious brain power. So how then, can a bee with a tiny brain, find its way over several kilometres through messy terrain to a food source and back again? The answer is both remarkably clever and surprisingly simple. While bee vision has been studied for many decades, there is still much to be learned. One of the hardest pe...

What does climate change and environmental degredation do to our health? Often these are presented as a loss of species or habitat, but the impacts on humans are real. Some are direct while others are indirect. In all, these are symptoms of a more fundamental problem: our addiction to growth. The mad, relentless drive for an ever bigger population, consuming ever more on a finite planet will not e...

Government revenue comes from taxation, right? At least that's a common view. But, according to Modern Monetary Theory, central governments must create the dollars before they can be taxed: money that does not exist cannot be taxed. That means a central government budget is not like a household, business or even a state government budget. While it's still controversial in some corners, MMT has pro...

What does it mean to be Australian? A very short speech by Rod on Australia Day 2022 to the Federation of Chinese Community of Canberra Inc at the Canberra Labor Club.

Neoliberalism is the path to prosperity for all, yes? Or maybe not. Few philosophies have had a more profound effect on our current world. Yet it is now crumbling, and what it morphs into remains to be seen. Professor John Quiggin is the author of a chapter on neoliberalism in this Springer book . His book Zombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk among Us sold over 20,000 copies and was transla...

How often have you heard the word 'sustainable' this week? We've been living with this language for so long, it's become almost meaningless. And yet there is possibly no more important concept today as the world plunges into environmental chaos. In this interview we talk to a world expert on why economics is central to this problem. Professor Steve Keen reveals the astonishing incompetence embedde...

Where do you go to get your food you're stuck during lockdown or bushfire smoke? And what does it mean to see empty shelves in the supermarket? That can be hard enough for most people, but even harder if you're not mobile. Sathiyakumar Rahanan is researching for his PhD with the University of Canberra where he is looking at the role of local shops. If you're a small shop owner, you can help by bei...

This epsiode Fuzzy Logic celebrates Earth Science Week with Geoscience Australia dishing the dirt on how soil is solving crimes around Australia. Dr Patrice de Caritat starts the episode by sharing how researchers in Canberra trialled a new method of tracking criminals using soil. Next up, Natalie Schroeder takes us back in time to share how Australia's first female Commonwealth palaeontologist he...

The climate change problem is immense and it can feel like we're helpless. Yet in our own way there is a lot we can do. Today on Fuzzy Logic we met people from different backgrounds who demonstrate their own approaches to the problem. Mark Butler, former federal shadow minister for Climate and Energy Andrew Bray https://www.re-alliance.org.au/ Andew Pepar https://www.co2efficient.com.au/home Milli...