Plant Kingdom

From her Future Reefs lab at the University Technology Sydney, coral reef expert Dr Emma Camp looks at how science can help restore and future proof Australia’s threatened coral reefs. With a practice founded in conservation and community collaboration we spoke about the world of coral – their ecology, reef restoration and her search for naturally heat tolerant super corals. Bio: Associate Profess...

Biologist Dr Leonora Bittleston takes us into the mysterious world of the phyllosphere – the micro world upon leaf and plant surfaces. We discuss her research on plant-microbe interactions, looking at case studies of the sage brush steppe ecosystem and the fascinating miniature worlds of carnivorous pitcher plants. She shares how even the smallest organisms on our planet can be a force of nature....

Author Barbara Allen discusses her work Lost Animals, Disappearing Worlds (Reaktion Books, 2025). Through her style of writing animal biography, Allen creates space to honour and memorialise extinct animals. We discuss the tragic tales of the passenger pigeon, St Helena’s earwig, dusky seaside sparrow and thylacine. She recreates their presence and world through story. Bio: Barbara Allen was a nur...

Palaeontologist and curator of the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum Dr Emily Bamforth uses fossils to recreate ancient worlds, painting a vivid picture of Alberta’s polar dinosaurs of 65 million years ago. She shares her philosophy of deep time, her interest in evolutionary ‘failed experiments’, and how the study of ancient life has shaped her unique perspective. Bio: Dr Emily Bamforth is the Cura...

Researcher, artist and author Dr Josh Wodak shares insights from his new book Petrified: Living during a rupture of life on Earth. In our conversation, we spoke about deep time, extinction and life on our volatile planet. Spanning 65 million years we cover the climate crisis, asteroid impacts, volcanoes and how pop culture can help us cope and make sense of it all. Bio: Dr Joshua Wodak is an artis...

Entomologist and author Dr Barrett Klein discusses cultural entomology – the study of how insects have shaped and influenced human culture and society. Taking us through the archaeological record, Klein discusses curious objects including a 3700 year old lice comb; ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics depicting apiculture; and a small paleolithic carving of a cave cricket. He also shares his research in...

Astrobiologist and science communicator Dr Luke Steller journeys deep into the primordial soup to discuss the enigma of Earth’s first life. In our conversation, we discuss what early life could have looked like 3 billion years ago, how scientists read the fossil and rock record, and what life might look like elsewhere in our universe. Bio: Dr. Luke Steller is a researcher in the field of astrobiol...

Dr Eddie Game is the Lead Scientist & Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy’s Asia Pacific region. In our conversation, he discusses conservation as a collaboration with community, and his pioneering works into acoustic ecology – the study of the biology of natural soundscapes. He shares his field work in Papua New Guinea and Borneo, what a healthy jungle sounds like, and what it...

Associate Professor Dr Jenny Mortimer discusses plants as a technology, and how she applies genetic engineering as a tool to solve wicked problems of sustainability in agricultural and pharmaceutical production. Her lab uses synthetic biology to develop new crops in controlled growth environments – including plants for space settlement as part of the newly formed ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants...

Climate change biologist Dr Sharon Robinson takes us thousands of kilometres across the Southern Ocean to Casey Station, Antarctica. She is an expert on Antarctica’s ancient moss beds, which she describes as ‘miniature old growth forests’. In our conversation, we spoke about the adaptations that enable moss to thrive in some of the harshest environments on earth, and the impact of historic ozone d...

Translator, author and academic Dr Jon Pitt discusses his work in critical plant studies and the representation of plants throughout Japanese literature and media. He shares the joys of his recent translation of the work Tree Spirits Grass Spirits by acclaimed Japanese poet Hiromi Ito, and delves into what we can gain from becoming botanical – or thinking like a plant. Bio: Jon L Pitt is Assistant...

Botanist and curator Åsa Krüger discusses her practice in connecting audiences with plants and shares behind the scenes stories from the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Sweden. Investigating the role of botanical gardens in the modern world, she shares how the living collection is engaged in active research and conservation, and the importance of putting names to the living world around us. Bio: Dr Å...

Gamilaroi astrophysicist Karlie Noon dismantles sketchy ambitions to colonize the moon, asteroids and space. Grounded in indigenous sky sovereignty, she presents another way of knowing and caring for the solar system, Milky Way and universe. She shares her knowledge of moon formation, the growing discipline of space environmentalism, her research into the dynamics of the The Milky Way and all we c...

Plant biologist Dr Grace Fleming dissects the secret life of seeds. In a conversation covering everything from seed vaults to space seed trials, she examines the mechanisms of seed dormancy and how seeds sense and interact with their environment. Bio: Dr Grace Fleming is an Assistant Professor in Plant Biology at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Her work examines the physiological underp...

Micropaleontologist Dr Francine McCarthy goes deep into the sediments of Crawford Lake, a small and unassuming lake in the Niagara Escarpment town of Milton, Ontario. In 2023, Dr McCarthy led a team that identified Crawford Lake as the best location on earth that captured evidence of human caused planetary change. Endorsed by the Anthropocene Working Group, It was proposed as the best ‘golden spik...

Micronesian marine botanist and ocean advocate Dr Nicole Yamase meditates on the Pacific with a conversation spanning Hawaiian seaweeds, snorkelling across the Federated States of Micronesia and her submersible expedition to the Mariana trench. She generously shares her cultural perspective as a Micronesian scientist and discusses what lessons she’s learned from the sea. Bio: Dr. Nicole Yamase is...

Forest ecologist Jen Sanger spends more time in big trees than most. In our conversation, she takes us into another world of canopy of Australia’s tallest trees and into Tasmania’s aptly named Grove of Giants. She shares the story of the evolution of the distinctive Tasmanian flora, the ecology of these special forests and  the summer she helped get 500 community members nearly 100m up into t...

Partners in life and work, herbalist Deatra Cohen and reference librarian and researcher Adam Siegel are the authors of the incredible resource Ashkenazi Herbalism. Together they spent years researching little known texts, translating ethnobotanical surveys and cross-referencing cultural databases to unearth lost Ashkenazi plant practices from the pale of settlement region. They share the stories...

Tennessee-based artist Ripley Whiteside creates art as a way to explore and connect to nature, history and speculative ecological futures. In a wide-ranging conversation spanning, contemporary ecological thought, invasive species and an ancient Medieval text—the Augsburg Book of Miracles—the conversation looks at the mysterious constructs of our understanding of nature. His place-based work is ins...

Urban ecologist Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez in conversation with Catherine Polcz.  He shares his journey from researching plant physiology in the Mexican Veracruz Montane Forests to future-proofing diverse urban forests of Western Sydney. His work is driven by understanding our relationship to the urban environment where people and plants are reliant on one another. Bio: Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez...