That's What I Call Science!

Join Dr Ann Thresher, a Philosopher, as she dives into the heart of science's workings and scientists' ethical responsibilities in technology. Explore telescope placements, altering species for climate, gene drive risks, and our duties toward invasive species. Delve into climate change's bounds with geo-engineering and terraforming, and the risks we dare to rescue our world. Uncover...

Zoe Kean loves science so much, she jumped into a profession where she can learn about all of it! As an award-winning journalist and science communicator, her work spans radio, science writing, content creation, and more. Plus, she’s a soon-to-be-published author!  In this episode, we dip our toes into the expansive world of Sci-Comm. We get insight into how to begin a career in the profession - a...

In July 2023, hundreds of ecologists from across Australia flocked to Darwin. It wasn’t just by coincidence, but for the Ecological Society of Australia’s annual conference. TWICS’ Olly was one of those ecologists, and she took the microphone with her to capture the exciting ecological work happening across Australia.  In part 2 of this double bill, you’ll hear from Challis Pulotu from the School...

In July 2023, hundreds of ecologists from across Australia flocked to Darwin. It wasn’t just by coincidence, but for the Ecological Society of Australia’s annual conference. TWICS’ Olly was one of those ecologists, and she took the microphone with her to capture the exciting ecological work happening across Australia.  In part 1 of this double bill, you’ll hear from Professor Euan Ritchie from Dea...

How do we understand how stressed a plant is, or decide when it needs water? First, we need to ask, then we need to translate. Originally from Morocco, having studied in France and now in Tasmania, Dr Ibrahim Bourbia speaks many languages of plants and people and shares his journey to plant science + experience and advice for moving countries for research. Join Dr Kate Johnson to hear how Ibrahim...

Did you know that a whisker can reveal what takeaway you ate last? That is, if you had whiskers!  Antarctic fur seals do indeed have whiskers and PhD candidate Noémie Friscourt sat down with Olly this week to tell us how she’s using them to understand their diet and foraging behaviour. Make sure you tune in for this seal-ly great episode!  Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Host: Olly Dove (@littledo...

Get ready to take off into the world of remote sensing as we’re joined by Emiliano Cimoli, a researcher at the Australian Centre of Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS). Emiliano tells us about his work employing cutting-edge remote sensing techniques with unmanned aerial vehicles (drones!) to unlock the secrets of our planet's marine and terrestrial landscapes.  Show theme music: Kevin Ma...

That’s right, listeners, the episode title hasn’t lied to you. That’s What I Call Science has officially hit 200 episodes!  It’s a huge milestone for a podcast, so the TWICS team got together this week to talk about the joy that the past 199 episodes have brought to us. We wouldn’t be here without our listeners tuning in each week, so a huge thank you to each and every one of you for your ongoing...

After two weeks of episodes at the Grote Reber Museum, we’re headed next door to the Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory for our final episode in the space mini-series!  Brett Reid, manager of the University of Tasmania's radio telescopes, and Dr Patrick Yates-Jones, research associate at the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Tasmania, tell us all about their work at the Observator...

It’s week two in outer space for the TWICS team as Olly and Simin sit down with museum manager Karen Bradford inside the Grote Reber Museum in Cambridge, Tasmania. Surrounded by fascinating memorabilia from the past, Karen tells the hosting duo about her work at the museum, and even gives the pair a recorded tour! Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Host: Olly Dove (@littledove440) and Simin Salarpour...

Join us for part 1 in a space mini series as we delve into the incredible world of geodesy and cutting-edge research into Very Long Baseline Interferometry (try saying that 5 times fast) with new PhD graduate, Simin Salarpour. From her native Iran to Tasmania, we talk about her remarkable journey, the challenges she faced and the triumphs she achieved. We explore the power of science outreach, emp...

This week, Olly and Emma took a trip out of the studio and over to Clarence Arts and Events for the Fun and Feathers workshop! There, they met budding scientists and got to play drama games, make crafts, and learn about birds with a group of local school children.  Across the workshop, the kids had a chance to present a story about two unexpected bird neighbours and even got to be radio hosts for...

From distant space to earthly bats and bird-song, how is Dr Jim Lovell using his training in astrophysics to innovate how we track and locate wildlife? Join Dr Kate Johnson to hear how black holes are necessary for navigating on earth and how astrophysics techniques can be used to monitor animals by mapping sound (and why that matters).   Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Host: Dr Kate Johnson (@Kat...

Join us for an exciting episode with Dr. Shasta Henry, an intrepid Entomologist, educator, and inspiring science communicator. From exploring the Amazon to guiding white water rafts in Canada, Shasta shares her adventures with us. As a winner of the Inspiring Women in STEM fellowship in 2022, she enlightens us about the world of insects and her research on the impact of fire on insect communities...

It’s our last week with this year’s Inspiring Women in STEMM Fellows, so join us as Mona Jalali from the University of Tasmania tells Olly about her work in organic chemistry and organometallics, as well as her plans in Iran with the grant awarded through the fellowship.     Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Host: Olly Dove (@littledove440) Production: Olly Dove (@littledove440) Media & Promotio...

For part 2 of our International Women in STEMM Fellows 2023 mini-series, join us as Vimarsha Kodithuwakku tells Olly all about her journey through STEMM from her time studying in Sri Lanka to now being a PhD researcher studying vascular ageing at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research here in Hobart, Tasmania. Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Host: Olly Dove (@littledove440) Production: Ryan Sm...

This week we are joined by Inspiring Women in STEMM Fellow Marlee Wells. Marlee is a PhD Candidate at the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre and faced many challenges growing up as a young girl interested in science in a small town. Now, Marlee hopes to use her experience to inspire other young people from rural areas to follow a similar path to her and achieve their dreams.    Show th...

In this episode, Olly and new co-host Georgia venture to the southernmost continent and explore all things Antarctica with geophysicist Anya Reading. Anya takes us through her exciting career path and her current work using seismometers to discover what’s going on underneath the ice sheet. We learn about Anya’s recent trip to Antarctica and everything you might need to think of when going on such...

What actually is citizen science? How accurate is the data it produces? Dr Kate Johnson chats with Dr Clare Hawkins, a conservation biologist who’s working to assess biodiversity in lutruwita/Tasmania, to find out!  Hear about Clare’s travels around the world to understand citizen science, what ‘Where Where Wedgie’ and ‘Bioblitz’s’ are all about, and how you can get involved!  Show theme music: Ke...

This week we introduce you to one of our TWICS team members, Ryan Smith. Hailing from the beautiful northwest coast of Tassie, Ryan is a first-year medical student, after deciding to make the shift after completing his undergraduate degree in science and Honours in medical research. We take you through Ryan’s journey in higher education after growing up in a farming family and ask Ryan what it’s l...

Sarah El idrissi is an emerging artist with a passion to uncover the overlap between science and art. Her practice evolves as she dives deeper into the world of science as she completes her artist residency in nipaluna/Hobart.  Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Host: Olly Dove (@littledove440) Co-Host: Emma Hamasaki (@ehamasaki) Production: Hannah Moore (@HannahCMoore) Media & Promotion: Emma (@...

Alex Paton is a wildlife lover, science communicator and pioneer of using feather boas to aid feral cat management. Listen as Dr Kate Johnson finds out how Alex’s PhD uses cameras deployed in remote bushland across lutruwita /Tasmania, her diverse field-work experiences, and what we can do to protect our wildlife from non-native predators.  Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Host: Dr Kate Johnson (@K...

Matt Testoni is a multi-talented marine biologist, underwater photographer, and podcast host. Dive into this episode to learn about his research and his science communication show Seacreatures, based in lutruwita /Tasmania Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Host: Olly Dove (@littledove440) Co-Host: Anna Abela (@annaoabela) Production: Ryan Smith  Media & Promotion: Hannah McCleary 

In this episode, Olly and Emma talk to science communicator, Louise Creely, about her journey as a communication professional and how it has shaped her life. Lou walks us through her experiences as a storyteller from writing her own magazines in her bedroom as a child, to communicating complex science at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, and shares a few tricks to becoming a successf...

As animals of the land and sea, seabirds live a life of adventure in both worlds. Needing to find food draws them into the oceans, but raising chicks requires them to keep returning home. Tune in this week to hear Dr Marcus Salton from the Australian Antarctic Division talk with Olly about his work understanding the behaviour of these incredible animals, and his stories of the chilly places his wo...