The Science Show - Separate stories podcast

Peter Newman says fossil fuels industries face long term risk as renewables offer cheaper options. And urban density is increasing around public transport.

Humpback whales narrowly survived being hunted to extinction in the era of industrial whaling, but while their recovery has been strong, they are left with low genetic diversity which may affect their resilience in a changing climate.

Len Fisher gathered Nobel laureates, leaders in science, philosophers and economists to brainstorm serendipity in science, asking how it might be exploited for even more gain. 

Fire, insects and disease all pose a threat to Australia's forests but scientists are now seeing a rise in natural tree deaths right across the country.  New research links this background mortality to higher average temperatures. So what do these higher temperatures mean for our forests and the future of Australia's ecosystems?  You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science ed...

It pulses every 18 minutes. What could it be?  A white dwarf? A neutron star? It had been missed in over 30 years of images. Natasha Hurley-Walker describes some of the possibilities.

Small patches of forests in schools initiate discussion and leaning across biology and ecology. Students develop a sense of ownership and community awareness with improved mental health.

Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne describes how science is a pilar at Curtin University in Perth. 

Exactly when people first set foot in Australia has sparked fierce debate, with two times currently cited: Around 50,000 years ago, and 65,000 years ago. Which is correct?

Leading marine scientist and university educator Emma Johnston has died from complications associated with cancer at the age of 52.

Peter Newman outlines how cities can achieve net zero and sustainability agendas together as part of the global shift to a new economy.

A faint orange hand stencil on the wall of a cave in Indonesia just became the oldest art known to science.    The art, made by splattering ochre over a hand, had been painted over by subsequent generations and was only preserved because moisture combined with the limestone of the cave to form a protective layer on top.  The finding strengthens the picture that humans migrated via Borneo, Sulawesi...

Australia's summer UV levels are high enough to cause sunburn in as little as 11 minutes. Yet the summer sun in the Northern Hemisphere rarely feels that full on. So why does our sunlight have that extra "bite"? Spoiler: it's not the hole in the ozone layer. You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science journalist and presenter Belinda Smith on the ABC Listen app (Australia). Y...

The next time you pick up a bag of spuds from the supermarket or fill up the car with petrol, you can thank the Treaty of the Metre for the metric system that underpins daily life.  The treaty was signed exactly 150 years ago, when delegates from 17 countries gathered in Paris to establish a new and standardised way of measuring the world around us.  But the metre's inception predates the treaty t...

Every now and again, dozens or even hundreds of perfectly healthy looking whales strand themselves on a beach.  And despite people's best efforts, many — if not all of them — will die.  So why do whales strand themselves, and why do they seem to do it at the same locations?  This episode was first broadcast in August 2025.  You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science journali...

It's impossible to escape microplastics. They're in our food and water, and the air around us is teeming with them.  So considering they're all around us, how can we minimise our exposure to tiny plastic fragments without resorting to living in a cave?  This episode was first broadcast in August 2025.  You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science journalist and presenter Belin...

Rina Fu’s research and teaching is across three universities. She is a recent recipient of awards including the Western Australia’s Premier’s Award for Science Communication.

Australia's known for having some of the world's toughest sunscreen standards, but in June, that reputation was rocked. Independent testing of 20 sunscreens found 16 did not meet their advertised SPF50 rating, including three children's sunscreens and three sold by the Cancer Council. So how are sunscreens tested, and what can we learn from these recent SPF revelations? This episode was first broa...

A huge cold blob of air above Antarctica and bushfires spreading along ridgelines don't appear to have anything in common, yet the strange behaviour of these natural phenomena — and many others — can be understood and explained by mathematics.  You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science journalist and presenter Belinda Smith on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find epi...

Elizabeth Finkel deploys scientific evidence to show that President Trump’s claim that Tylenol, used by pregnant women to relieve pain, is a cause of autism, is false.

Next week we celebrate the English author of fantasy novels Terry Pratchett who died in 2015. Physicist Len Fisher presents this tribute and says the scientific references and thinking in Pratchett’s novels are too often overlooked.

Chantelle Doyle moves pollen between locations hoping to establish new plant populations and increase genetic diversity giving struggling species a boost.

Robert Harcourt collects oceanographic information using microcomputers strapped to turtles and seals. 

Jim Falk from Melbourne presented a message of hope at the COP30 climate meeting in Brazil

Step into the supermarket and there's plastic around just about everything, even mangoes — and not all that packaging will be properly disposed of. So with around 20 million tonnes of plastic polluting the environment each year, not to mention the potential health effects of microplastics, is there a better, more environmentally friendly alternative? You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes po...

Space is integral to our modern world, supporting mapping, land care, agriculture, mining, fire prevention and so much more.