Short & Curly

Molly Daniels thinks she has what it takes to be a superstar pop singer. The only trouble is, she's out of tune and can't hit the notes properly! Eek. But wait, there's a program many musicians use which "fixes" their voice. Is it wrong to use technology to make you sound better than you are?

We've got exciting news for you — Short & Curly is coming back soon! Molly, Carl and Matt haven't just been lazing around at the beach eating lollies, they've been super busy making you brand new episodes. And they're awesome! Hit play for a sneak peek. And tell your friends to subscribe now, so you can all hear the new shows as soon as they come out. Producer: Kyla Slaven Executive Producer:...

An out-of-control train is heading straight for a group of people who don't know they are about to be hit. You, as the driver, have some life and death decisions to make. What will you do? Hop on for a journey into one of the world's most famous thought experiments. This season is a special collaboration between the ABC Audio Studios and WNYC Studios in New York City. Hosts: Carl Smith and Shumita...

Kids dob to parents and teachers for all kinds of reasons. It often feels bad when someone tells on you. And, if you're the one doing the dobbing (or snitching as our American friends say), the kid who gets in trouble might not like you for it. So should we tell on people at all? When is it right to speak up and when is it better to keep your mouth shut? This season is a special collaboration betw...

The Ancient Romans were a bloodthirsty lot. As entertainment, they headed down to the local arena, to watch people and animals fight to the death. Today this would be illegal in many parts of the world. But the Roman Empire was a long time ago, and maybe they didn't know any better. So were the Romans wrong in how they lived their lives and can we judge them for it? This season is a special collab...

Elephants are extremely intelligent and highly social creatures who traditionally live in large family herds. But their traditional natural world isn't perfect. In the wild, they face many dangers, including from humans. An elephant living in a zoo has a very different life, a much safer one. But they must live a life controlled by humans and cope without the support of their social herd. So, are...

Making friends and keeping friends can be hard. Sometimes you like someone a lot and then one of you changes and your friendship ends. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle thought friendship was one of the most important things in life and he came up with three main types of friendships. This show lets you think about what kind of friends you have and why. This season is a special collaboration...

While Molly stays at home to fight crime and breed endangered lizards, Carl packs his toothbrush and some clean underwear for Short & Curly’s big adventure to New York City.

Australia is on the war path, pledging to kill two million feral cats by 2020. They felines are biologically the same creatures as the kitties people have as pets at home, but most were born in the wild. Feral cats are said to be responsible for millions of native animals and birds being killed each year and their numbers are skyrocketing. So, a big program to cull cats is underway. Is it okay to...

That's not fair! How often have you heard that said at school? When the bell rings, Molly and Carl head back to the classroom but it's not long before one of them is in trouble with the teacher. A disruptive student (hint, it's Carl) can take up a lot of the teacher's attention. Is it wrong that a teacher can't give everyone an equal amount of their time? Can a classroom ever be truly fair? Produc...

They cut a small hole in your abdomen, blow some carbon dioxide into your tummy so it puffs up like a balloon, then carefully take out a perfectly healthy part of your body. Yikes. This is what happens when you donate a kidney. Most of us have two, but we really only need one to live long and healthy lives. So, if a family member or friend had kidney disease and you discovered yours was a perfect...

Is it possible for an army to do the right thing? After all, armies destroy buildings and neighbourhoods, they kill and severely injure people, including children. Many wars and conflicts go on for years. But, weirdly, war do have rules, even if not everyone follows them. Do these rules really make it possible to create an ethical army? Can technology — like robots, drones and stun guns — lead to...

At almost nine kilometres from top to bottom, Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. Many have died or suffered serious injuries trying to conquer the peak. Take a cold and windy journey with Molly and Carl as they gather their ropes and ice picks, lace up their climbing boots and head out into the wild for some high altitude curly questions. Along the way, you'll meet the youngest Au...

Carl thinks they have the cutest, squishiest faces and biggest googly eyes of the entire canine world. He definitely wants to buy one. But the life of a pug is not always a happy one. Over time, dog breeders have made pugs so flat-faced that many have serious trouble breathing. They can't run around and play as much as other dogs and get overheated in summer. Many pugs end up needing major surgery...

Let's say you can hook your brain up to a machine that feels 100 per cent real and offers you the kind of life you've always wanted. You could climb one of the world's tallest mountains, get yourself some great friends, and even program in some challenges to keep it interesting. The catch is this perfect world isn't real… It's a simulation. Molly thinks it sounds cool, but isn't sure about leaving...

Kids have to live by the rules of the society they are born into but don't get a say on what those rules are. Unfair, right? Decisions made by governments today affect kids' futures but we don't let them near the ballot box. Are children wise enough or informed enough to make big decisions about government? Short & Curly mounts our own political debate with surprising results. Guest Amara is a...

Many cultures believe it's good luck if a bird poos on your head, like what happened to Carl (eww!). Others say it's bad luck if you break a mirror. For centuries, humans have tried to understand things like right and wrong, fair and unfair. So, how much does luck play in your life, in good or bad ways? And how might understanding luck make us think differently about the world? Producer: Kyla Slav...

What would you do if you had the power of invisibility? Would you sneak around, spy on people, commit crimes, pull practical jokes, or find out what other people really think about you? The military is putting tonnes of money and effort into trying to make things invisible, but don't hold your breath. We introduce a new superhero, Invisibilia, to help us explore some really big questions. How woul...

Lollies are a colourful and magical and very sweet part of many children’s lives. But can you say no when faced with a bowl of jelly beans or sour worms or other types of candy? With so much concern nowadays about the amount of sugar in our diets, this show looks at self control and what we should do if people don’t have any.

Walked into any traffic lights lately as you stare manically at a screen? Maybe you’re one of the millions of people playing Pokemon Go, the augmented reality game which sends its players out into the streets to catch weird little imaginary creatures. Is it an annoying disruption of public spaces? And, because it’s cleverly designed so you never want to stop playing, we ask: Are you playing the ga...

Images of movie stars and pop singers are everywhere we look – album covers, concert posters, t-shirts, Instagram feeds and other social media. Photos and videos are a big part of how famous people present themselves. But, how honest and accurate are they? Do they look anything like they do in real life… and should they? When do small changes to an image turn it into a lie? And does it even matter...

For professional fire and rescue workers, it’s not all sirens, cool trucks and running red lights. They often have to make really hard and terrible decisions in moments of heat, smoke and danger. Their job is to be there to help on the worst day of your life. So, if you were a firefighter, who would you save first?

We’re often told we have a special responsibility to our brothers and sisters just because they are family. But, do we really? And what kind of duty is it?  What if you found out the annoying new kid at school was your long lost brother or sister?  Would you feel any differently about them? And, if you really didn’t like them, is it somehow worse to kill a sibling than to kill anyone else? Yep, so...

He is wise and old and learned and kind, but the Principal of Hogwarts is not perfect.  He deceives, he holds back really important information about issues of life and death, and is willing to sacrifice Harry Potter for the good of the many, leading him (as Professor Snape says) “like a pig to slaughter”.  So, is Dumbledore an ethical person?  How flawed are we allowed to be and still be counted...

There are 1,000 people currently shortlisted for the trip of a lifetime, from which they will never return!  They want to be the first stage in the human habitation of the red planet.  But do humans have a right to inhabit other planets, and which humans specifically?  Would colonizing Mars be a chance to create a better world from scratch, or will it become an environmental and ethical nightmare?...