The Smart Community Podcast

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, work and record this podcast and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I speak with Felicity Furey, engineer, author, speaker and CEO of WeAspire, about the...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, work and record this podcast and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I speak with Professor Martin Tomitsch, Head of the Transdisciplinary School at UTS, a...

Public transport is often seen as infrastructure. But what if it’s actually one of our most powerful tools for building connected, equitable and thriving communities? In this episode, Zoe Eather is joined by Lauren Streifer, Chief Executive of the Public Transport Association for Australia and New Zealand, to explore the evolving role of public transport in shaping better cities. Lauren shares her...

We’re kicking off a new monthly “Future Of” series on the Smart Community Podcast, exploring what’s changing across industries and what it means for our communities. In this episode, Zoe Eather is joined by Colin Kinner to explore the future of startups. They unpack what defines a startup, how Australia’s startup ecosystem has evolved and how AI is lowering the barriers to building and scaling new...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode I'm coming to you from the road at Adelaide Fringe Festival where I'm performing my comedy show (a story for another day!). I wanted to jump on and let you know that we've finished this series for my PhD research into data storytelling, and share what's coming next. In this update I tell you about the next phase of my PhD (thematic analysis and writing p...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a fantastic chat with Melanie Thewlis. Melanie is a Full Stack Engineer at Sitemate. At the time of the recording Melanie was Front End Developer at City of Melbourne on the City Data Experience team, specialising in interactive data visualisations in the browser, with 15 years of experience in the space. In this epi...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have an enlightening conversation with Michael Whereat. Michael is the Smart Cities Lead for Sunshine Coast Council, in Queensland, where he helps staff and people across the region access data and information to make informed decisions. In this episode Michael tells us about the problem statement methodology guiding all...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a great conversation with Professor Pascal Perez. Pascal is the Director of the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN), a national research infrastructure facility funded by the Australian government that serves researchers across the country working on urban systems, infrastructure, and local commu...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have an incredible conversation with Prof. Alberto Cairo. Alberto is the Knight Chair in Visual Journalism at the School of Communication of the University of Miami and Director of Visualization at the Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing, plus author of several influential books including The Functional Art, Th...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Paul Hodge, also known as The Data Vis Guy. Paul is an independent consultant specialising in education and mentoring around data visualisation and storytelling, working with global organisations and state and federal government agencies. In this episode Paul tells us about the three core...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a wonderful conversation with Eshita Dutia.  Eshita is the Principal Smart Places Officer at Cumberland City Council, bringing her background as an architect, planner, and urban designer to the smart city space with a focus on putting community first. In this episode Eshita tells us about actioning Cumberland's S...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a great conversation with Dr. Jessamyn Fairfield. Jessamyn is a lecturer in natural sciences at the University of Galway in Ireland. Jessamyn’s work specialises in art-science collaboration with a focus on performing arts and thinking differently about how people can engage with science, technology, and research. In...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a great conversation with Dr. Nathaniel Bavinton, who you may remember from way back in Episode 183. Nathaniel is an urban sociologist and Associate Director at Urbis, working in their Smart and Sustainable Places team. In this episode Nathaniel tells us about data visualization as an essential tool for making comple...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Kuhu Gupta. Kuhu is a data visualisation engineer at Illumio, working at the intersection of cybersecurity data, storytelling and design. In this episode Kuhu tells us about network flow visualisations and zero trust segmentation in cybersecurity. We discuss the difference between explorat...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this special episode of the Smart Community podcast, I'm sharing an update on my first year of PhD research at the University of Technology Sydney's Transdisciplinary School. In this episode I tell you about my research focus shift from AI to persuasive data storytelling and how we can use data stories to engage communities in addressing complex societal chal...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Ash Hoover. Ash is a scientist turned technologist and AI R&D Lead at Planet Labs, an earth imaging company. They work at the intersection of artificial intelligence and earth observation, analysing millions of satellite images to understand how our planet is changing over time. In thi...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Professor Nicole Kalms. Nicole is a professor at Monash University and describes herself as a practice-based researcher interested in doing things in the real world. Trained as an architect, she leads the XYX Lab at Monash University, which focuses on gender-sensitive design with a specifi...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Dr. Nina Valkanova. Nina is a design strategist with 20 years experience in digital innovation across consultancies, labs and applied research.  In this episode Nina tells us about her research on civic data visualisations in public spaces and how they can shift urban technologies from pur...

 Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling, As part of my PhD research, I've been speaking with experts from all over the world who are using data visualisations and storytelling in real world projects to support decision making and advocacy. In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a great...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a fantastic chat with Jack Zhao. Jack is a designer and maker of data visualisation with over 15 years of experience in research and industry. He co-founded Small Multiples with his partner Andrea Lau, where they help clients across all industries and sectors make data useful. Their recent focus has been on environme...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling as part of my PhD research. In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a fantastic chat with Kelly Henderson. Kelly is Team Leader of Digital Innovation at Wellington City Council in New Zealand. With a background in architecture, urban development, and m...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling as part of my PhD research. In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Dr Dietmar Offenhuber. Dietmar is a professor at Northeastern University in Boston and chair of the Art and Design Department. With a background originally...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling, which is part of my PhD research In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Dr Zina O'Leary. Zina is a sociologist, methodological expert and research communication specialist bridging statistics and qualitative research,...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling, As part of my PhD research, I’m speaking with experts from all over the world who are using data visualisations and storytelling in real world projects to support decision making and advocacy. In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a fantastic chat w...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling. As part of my PhD research, I've been speaking with experts from all over the world who are using data visualisations and storytelling in real world projects to support decision making and advocacy. In today's episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I'm...