The Research Relay

How do carbon credits actually work — and why hasn’t Australia taken the extra step of incentivising whistleblowing with money? Could doing so strengthen our policy and regulatory systems? Hannah Price has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the ANU Law School and a Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences . In this episode, she...

The “Teals” have shaken up Australian politics — but what defines them, and are they really populists? Benjamin Lloyd-Hurwitz has completed a Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics and a Bachelor of Science, and is now finalising his Philosophy honours thesis at ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences . In this episode, he shares his research on Australia’s independents, what their rise...

Season 4 - Politics 🏛️ 🎙️ Episode 2 - Neoclassicism, Antiquity, and Women’s Dress 👗🏛️ How did women's dress in the late 18th century affect their agency? How did women assert both intellectual and power through walking and clothing? And how is this all related to neoclassicism? Ashley Price graduated from Honours in History at the ANU in 2024. In this episode, her thesis makes for some fascinatin...

How do the policy documents of political parties change over time? What characteristics affect this change and how important are these documents in different democracies? Justin Cementon is currently completing his honours in PPE at ANU, specialising in political science. In this episode we dig into political manifestos across history domestically and internationally, and the importance of context...

How does an ideal Indigenous Australian health care system differ from its Western counterpart? What is the Aurora Education Foundation? Mikayla Helms is a Ngiyaampaa woman from Western NSW and a Kambri scholar at ANU. Mikayla is studying a Bachelor of Health Science, aspiring to study a medical degree, become a paediatrician and specialise in First Nations health. She explores various facets of I...

How do users of hormone therapy create 'mini-publics' on social media? How have 20th century constructions of gender determined medical attitudes towards non-conforming bodies? Darcey Hoyle is a fourth-year gender, sexuality and culture student at ANU, and in this episodes tells their experience meeting an ANU researcher at choir rehearsal, the working group they then became a part of, and the pap...

How can we understand endometriosis anthropologically? How do patients materialise the knowledge of their pain in non-medical objects, and how can researchers learn more from these personal experiences? Josh Green is a recent Anthropology Honours graduate from ANU. In this episode, he discusses his thesis and the object-interview methodology he devised to study patients’ experience with endometrio...

What is macular degeneration in the eye? How can we treat multifactorial diseases with gene-regulating transcription factors? Noah Budd is a first-year medical student at ANU who recently completed an honours year at the John Curtin School of Medical Research in Neuroscience. In this episode, he provides an overview of the eye, discusses breakthrough technologies in neuroscience, and shares the ou...

How does sleep impact the development of neurodegenerative diseases like dementia? Is it better to be a night owl, or an early riser? Lewis Dobbin is a recent graduate of ⁠ ANU Health and Medicine ⁠⁠ with two published papers in neuroscience. He discusses his Honours thesis conducted within the Neuroimaging and Brain Lab at ANU. 

What is a disability-adjusted life year, and which Australian demographic is most at risk of not recognising their own mental health condition? Sonali Varma recently completed her Honours year in Population Health with ANU Health and Medicine , earning a University Medal for her thesis. Through her research, advocacy, volunteering, and advisory work, she is helping to drive meaningful change in th...

What risks do diffusion models pose? And what do people view as the most harmful consequences of AI-generated explicit imagery? Jemima Brooker, who recently completed a Bachelor of Criminology with First Class Honours, explored these questions in their thesis. Passionate about safeguarding children and vulnerable populations, their research tackles the uncomfortable but vital issue of how artifici...

How can lawyers best represent Indigenous Australian defendants in criminal court rooms? Nina Gannon , a recent ANU Law School graduate and associate at the ACT Supreme Court, discusses her time on-country in Central Australia and in Northern Territory courts. Her law dissertation explores concepts of ethical advocacy and cultural safety, and seeks to provide practical steps to lawyers for improvi...

How are Australian democratic practices shifting in a new age of technology and social media? What defines truth, and who should be able to make the call on what is and isn't misinformation? Felix Archibald is final year Law student at ANU who has made multiple submissions to parliament on topics of information censorship. He discusses these submissions and the international landscape of democ...

Why was the Mabo case in the Australian High Court so monumental? How do, and should, historians and lawyers work together? Archie Horneman-Wren is a Law and History student at ANU, with a keen interest in Australian Indigenous Studies. He discusses his paper that won the 2023 Australian Legal History Essay competition, and the law dissertation he is writing this semester.

What will the new age of military occupations look like, and what must occupying nations do to justly preserve humanity? Oscar Pearce, a final year Law and Politics student, comes on the podcast to discuss his Law Dissertation on the legalities of military occupations. *Warning* - The Gaza conflict is discussed, from a legal (not political) perspective.

S1 - Climate Change and Sustainability. E5 - Cyclone Intervention Max Etherington evaluates the potential for dispersing aerosols - particles suspended in air - over large tropical cyclones to limit their growth in intensity.

S1 - Climate Change and Sustainability. E4 - The History of Earth's Climate Seb Bland explores the importance of Paleoclimatology in tackling climate change and how he determined what the wind strength was off Australia's northwestern coast a million years ago.

S1 - Climate Change and Sustainability. E3 - Heat and the Human Body. Zoe Crooke breaks down her Honours thesis, exploring the molecular changes in our bodies during passive heat stress. Amongst many topics, she explains what happens when someone suffers from heat-stroke, and highlights the key differences between RNA and DNA.

S1 - Climate Change and Sustainability. E2 - Solar Cells and Hydrogen. How do we capture energy from the sun? Why should we care about hydrogen? What are Perovskites? Isaac Martin, a final year Bachelor of Engineering (R&D) student, gives a run down on the basics of photovoltaic technologies and the emerging markets that he is helping to develop. Isaac explores the ways in which we can create...

S1 - Climate Change and Sustainability. E1 - Food Security and Supply Chain Resilience. Through her undergraduate research, Kayleigh Sleath developed a start-up company - Ohna - cutting out the middleman between small and medium scale farmers and customers. Kayleigh is (at recording) in her 4th year studying a Bachelor of Engineering (R&D)(Honours) at the Australian National University.