That's What I Call Science!

Ever wondered what sheep and vineyards have in common? Turns out it’s agrivoltaic systems: generating solar power alongside agriculture.  Olly and Sarah are joined in today’s episode by Ganesh Pandey, who tells the two all about the implementation of solar panels in pastures and fields.  Today’s episode kicks off the first of our mini-series in climate engineering, so make sure you tap back in nex...

Welcome back to Part 2 of our CoLab 2025 double bill! In case you missed last week’s episode, CoLab pairs scientists with high schoolers, who, after workshops and lab visits, make art out of research!  This week, Ella and Anna hear from scientists Danielle Zimmerman, Millie Goddard-Dwyer, and Katya Bandow about their experiences with CoLab. We also hear from the students themselves about how they...

What happens when you pair research scientists with high schoolers? Incredible art, that’s what!  Through CoLab, six scientists are paired with two to three high schoolers each who, after a series of workshops, create art inspired by the scientists’ research. The results are then displayed at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery during the Beaker Street Festival. This week, join Ella and Anna as t...

Arnold Schwarzenegger, popcorn, AND science?! What more could you want? As part of National Science Week 2025, That’s What I Call Science hosted From Fact to Fiction: a live screening of Total Recall (1990) followed by a panel of STEMM experts. Tune in to hear from Associate Professor Frederic Gilbert, Dr Soonja Yeom, and Mikaela Green about their takeaways from the film and its reflections in our...

Last week, you heard from two of this year’s cohort of the Inspiring Women in STEMM Fellowship. This week, we have Rose Aawulenaa and Dilini Manage on the mic to share their PhD research topics and plans for the fellowship with you! Rose is an Agricultural Science PhD candidate and Dilini is a supply chain decarbonisation PhD candidate. What do they have in common? Leading incredible projects in t...

From the sea to how we see! Barbara Labbe and Isabelly de Lima may have very different research fields, but what they do have in common is that they are both in the 2025 cohort of Inspiring Women in STEMM Fellows!  Tune in to today’s episode for Part 1 about this year’s fellows. You’ll hear about Barbara’s work with seaweed and her outreach in Chile, as well as about Isabelly’s work in paediatric...

We’re proud to share That’s What I Call Science’s 300th episode! This milestone is an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come since our café planning sessions in 2018 and first live broadcast in 2019. TWICS is a volunteer-led radio and podcast show created to provide a platform for people from under-represented backgrounds to share their work in STEMM. What began as a small team in Hobart is...

It’s that time of year again! Beaker Street Festival 2025 came to Hobart in August and, with other 100 events going on, the TWICS team wanted to pop in to say hi to the scientists sharing their work. Last year, we recorded at the Roving Scientist Bar and, this year, we’re back again! From fear of sharks to rocks to brains, we’ve got a little bit of a lot of STEMM in today’s episode for you! Show t...

Ever had a burning question you’d hoped to ask a scientist? Dr Olly Dove and Katya Bandow answer your burning science questions in a candid conversation covering everything from sci-fi favourites to very old plants, and the not-so-glamorous reality of being early-career scientists living on a below-minimum wage. Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible b...

Join us as we dive into the icy waters of the Southern Ocean aboard the Denman Voyage to Antarctica. In this episode, we chat with marine biologist Dr Haiting Zhang (IMAS & AAPP), who studies the physiology, biochemistry, and ecology of Antarctic krill. Haiting shares her experience leading a research team on board, investigating how krill respond to climate change using biochemical indicators...

In the final episode of our plastics series, we head to the world’s most remote continent, Antarctica. PhD candidate Vaibhavi Dwivedi (University of Tasmania) joins us to explore how plastic pollution, including micro- and nanoplastics, is reaching the Southern Ocean. With a background in law and environmental management, Vaibhavi examines how plastics are governed across international treaties, n...

This episode continues our microplastics mini-series with a focus on engineering solutions.  Dr Anna Wróbel an environmental engineer from the School of Engineering at the University of Tasmania joins us to talk all things microplastics and the key role that engineers can play in reducing future microplastics and removing existing microplastics from the environment.  We’ll explore a range of quest...

In this episode we continue our microplastics mini-series, this time considering the intersection between agricultural systems and engineering.  Our two guests, Sadique Bawa Anyame and Carmel Towns are PhD students studying different aspects of agricultural systems and microplastics.  Both come from industry backgrounds, and share their extensive experience in their fields as well as the innovativ...

Microplastics are everywhere, in the ocean, our food, and even the air we breathe. But what exactly are they, where do they come from, and why should we care? In this episode, we chat with Elise Tuuri, a marine scientist who has just submitted her PhD on microplastic pollution. Elise shares her journey into marine science, what sparked her interest in studying tiny plastics, and what she discovere...

How do you track the invisible spread of disease or predict the risks of invasive species? In this episode, we speak with ecological modeller, Nick Beeton, who uses maths, stats and a whole lot of code to make sense of complex environmental challenges. Nick shares his journey from growing up in Tasmania to working at CSIRO, where his projects have included modelling for wildlife disease like Devil...

In this episode, we’re exploring the fascinating world of oscillating chemical reactions — those rare reactions that don’t just proceed in one direction, but actually cycle , changing colours as they go. Our guest is mathematical chemistry PhD candidate Heath Dimsey, who helps us unpack how these mesmerizing reactions work, why they defy what we think we know about chemical processes, and how they...

Returning guest Priya Kitchener joins us to unpack Australia’s PISA study results and what they say about how well our students are performing in mathematics. With experience in both public and private school systems and now working as an engineer at a scientific software company, Priya shares her insights on how teachers, schools, and communities can use data to make meaningful change. From maths...

Nearly 50% of Tasmanians struggle with literacy. Kaitlyn shares her lived experience with literacy and the changes she decided to make for herself by joining 26Ten as an adult learner. She shares her past struggles, and we celebrate her newfound love of reading and writing. Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every wee...

Ever wondered why librarians tell you to only use sources from the last 5 years? Or what makes research "powerful"? Join us as we chat with a 25-year veteran librarian from the University of Tasmania who's been helping students crack the code of academic research for decades. Our guest describes themselves as a "jack of all trades and a master of none," but don't be f...

In this episode, we sit down with proud Kamilaroi man, author, and science champion Corey Tutt to talk about his latest book Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles . We explore how this vibrant and educational book blends Indigenous knowledge with western science to inspire a new generation of curious minds - especially kids - about Australia’s most misunderstood creatures.  Corey shares his...

Could you play Minecraft on a quantum computer? In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Susan Coppersmith from the University of New South Wales to explore the strange and fascinating world of quantum computing. We talk about why quantum computers are so different from the ones we use every day, what a qubit is, what makes this technology so powerful, and how it could reshape things like encryp...

How does your phone know when to turn off the screen? Why can we build ultra-fast computers and super-sensitive sensors? And how does a DSLR camera capture images? Well, it’s all to do with quantum mechanics! In 2025, we’re celebrating the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, so there’s no better time to explore the strange but powerful rules that govern the quantum world. In this...

This week we chat with Jo Watkins, CEO of Australian Earth Science Education (AusEarthEd), a national not-for-profit bringing Earth and Environmental Science to classrooms around the country. From metro Perth to remote communities in the NT, Jo and her team are delivering hands-on STEM education through school incursions, teacher PD, and curriculum-aligned resources. We talk about Jo’s journey fro...

In this episode, we travel beyond our solar system to learn about the weird and wonderful world of exoplanets — planets orbiting stars far beyond our Sun.  Our expert guest, Dr Erica Thygesen from the University of Tasmania, takes us on a tour through how we discover these alien worlds, where they’re hiding, and just how many we’ve found so far. But finding exoplanets is just the beginning… Tracki...

Ever wondered what it’s like to do science underwater? In this episode, marine biologist and scientific diver Dr Jennie Smith joins co-host Hannah Moore and host Dr Olly Dove to talk all things scientific diving. Jennie is a Junior Research Fellow at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), where she recently completed her PhD on the role of lobsters in controlling pest sea urchins i...