Totally Cooked: The Climate & Weather Podcast

Join hosts Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan as they welcome historical climatologist Dr Linden Ashcroft and PhD candidate Ruchit Kulkarni, both from the University of Melbourne. This ep the panel dig through diaries, ship logs and colonial era weather stations in search of Australia's climate before the instrumental record began. What counts as a reliable weather observation from 1830?...

In this episode of Totally Cooked: The Climate & Weather Podcast, hosts Iain Strachan and Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick sit down with one of the world’s most recognisable climate communicators: Professor Ed Hawkins from the University of Reading. Ed is the climate scientist behind the now-iconic Climate Stripes, a deceptively simple graphic made of blue and red bars that tells the...

Cities are where so many of us really experience climate change. They’re where heatwaves keep us awake at night, where flash floods turn streets into rivers, and where concrete, glass and asphalt can reshape the weather around us. As more than half of humanity now lives in urban areas, the story of climate change is increasingly a story about cities - how they amplify extremes, how they trap...

In this episode, Sarah and Iain are joined by Dr Joyce Kimutai, climate attribution scientist at Imperial College London and member of World Weather Attribution (WWA), to unpack one of the most consequential fields in climate science. Joyce explains the world of attribution - quantifying how much human-induced climate change has altered the likelihood or intensity of specific extreme weather event...

Join hosts  Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan as they welcome Associate Professor Andrew King and PhD candidate Aditya Sengupta for a deep dive into the science, politics, and post-zero implications of net zero emissions. What does net zero actually mean, when did the concept enter our vocabulary, and why is reaching it so urgent? From the cumulative effect of atmospheric carbon to...

Help to shape how we share our weather and climate research. At 21st Century Weather, we’re always looking for ways to make our research more accessible, relevant and engaging. We’re inviting you to take part in a short audience survey to help us understand how people interact with our content, and how we can improve. By completing the survey, you can enter the draw to win limited edit...

In this Totally Cooked episode, Sarah and Iain talk with Professor Lesley Hughes, exploring the concept of biodiversity—what it means, why it matters, and how it connects all life on Earth, from genes to ecosystems. They cover how climate change is accelerating biodiversity loss, particularly in Australia, and the real-world consequences this has for ecosystems, communities, and the economy....

In this Totally Cooked movie special, hosts Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan are joined by returning guest Dr Tim Raupach of UNSW Sydney to revisit the 1996 tornado blockbuster. Twister features Helen Hunt driving into a mesocyclone, Philip Seymour Hoffman blasting music from a convoy of beat-up trucks, and Cary Elwes as the most devastatingly handsome villain in meteorological cinema h...

Join hosts Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan of the Totally Cooked team for part 2, as they explore Australia’s path to net zero emissions with Monash University expert Roger Dargaville . The discussion goes deeper into the technologies and hard choices shaping Australia's energy future. Unpacking why nuclear power doesn't stack up economically or technically for Australia's high-r...

Join hosts Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan of the Totally Cooked team as they explore Australia’s path to net zero emissions with Monash University expert Roger Dargaville . The discussion breaks down what “net zero” really means, revealing how current targets rely heavily on carbon accounting and natural sinks rather than deep cuts to fossil fuel use. While progress...

Join hosts Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan as the Totally Cooked team for their very first live recording, as they take you up, up, and away into the stratosphere. To explore this mysterious and wonderful place far above the Earth's surface, the hosts are joined by guest experts Professor Julie Arblaster (Monash University) and Dr. Martin Jucker (University of New South Wales). In this...

Sarah and Iain are back for Totally Cooked Season 2! This season our cooked hosts will be taking you behind the scenes of forecasting deadly bushfire weather. They will be asking the big questions like how is climate change impacting the world’s rich biodiversity? What is net zero and when are we going to reach it? And how is machine learning powering new climate and weather science? For the...

In this very special episode of Totally Cooked, Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan sit down with one of Australia's most beloved science communicators: Dr Karl Kruszelnicki . With his signature mix of curiosity, clarity and charisma, Dr Karl has spent decades explaining the universe, one radio segment, podcast, and bestselling book at a time. He joins hosts Iain Strachan and Prof Sarah Pe...

Can the human body survive climate change? That’s the burning question in this episode of Totally Cooked. With the world already experiencing more frequent and intense heatwaves, we sit down with Professor Ollie Jay from the University of Sydney to explore how our bodies respond to extreme heat, and what happens when they can’t keep up. Ollie walks your co-hosts Professor Sarah Perkins...

  The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most extraordinary natural wonders on Earth, a vast, living ecosystem visible from space and home to thousands of species. But it is also one of the most vulnerable. As ocean temperatures rise and marine heatwaves intensify, this Australian icon faces an uncertain future. In this episode of Totally Cooked , recorded in Cairns, we ask a confronting questi...

Climate grief is a real and growing psychological phenomenon. Around the world, people are grappling with the emotional weight of the climate crisis, from anxiety about the future to mourning the loss of places, species, and a sense of stability. So how do we live a meaningful life and stay resilient in the face of such an overwhelming, collective challenge? How do we hold on to hope and contribut...

Australia’s economy, lifestyle, and ecosystems are powered by the weather, but climate change is reshaping this vital resource. In this episode, we dive into the science behind rainfall, sunshine, and wind as natural assets that fuel agriculture, energy, tourism, and daily life. Climate scientist Associate Professor Ailie Gallant joins your co-hosts Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Stracha...

Australia’s fossil fuel industry has long argued that its projects are “too small to matter” when it comes to global climate change . But new research led by 21st Century Weather proves otherwise.  Using a robust scientific method adopted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), our researchers have quantified how much additional global warming will be caused...

In this episode, we explore what happens if (or when) the Arctic becomes ice-free during the northern summer - from global weather disruptions to sea level changes, ecosystem collapse, and the geopolitical scramble it’s triggering. Our special guest, Dr Zoé Koenig from University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway, joins us to unpack the science, share her frontl...

What happens when Hollywood takes on climate science? In this movie special of Totally Cooked , hosts Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan revisit the 2004 blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow - a film that gave us wolves on a cargo ship, helicopters freezing mid-air, and catastrophic climate change unfolding in just a few days. Scene by scene, they unpack the film’s most icon...

Cyclones, hurricanes, typhoons - whatever the name, these major storms are being reshaped by climate change. Warmer oceans and shifting atmospheric patterns are fuelling storms that are stronger, wetter, and potentially more destructive than ever before. In this episode of Totally Cooked , hosts Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan are joined by cyclone expert Professor Liz Ritchi...

In Part 2 of this special Totally Cooked episode, the next generation of climate and weather scientists share more of their stories, and spring a few surprises. We open with one of Wil’s unforgettable tales from growing up in Peru. From there, the conversation explores the pathways that brought Wil, Rachael, and Bethan into climate research. Rachael recounts a journey through meteorology, NA...

Today’s climate and weather researchers have grown up with the escalating climate crisis as a defining feature of their lives. Their education unfolded against culture wars about science, energy, and climate policy, with many inspired by voices like Greta Thunberg and movements such as the School Strike for Climate. This episode explores how those experiences are shaping the next generation...

Hailstorms might be brief, but their impacts aren't. In this episode of Totally Cooked , hosts Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick , a Professor of Climate Science at the Australian National University, and Iain Strachan , a former journalist turned science communicator, are joined by Dr Tim Raupach of UNSW to explore how hail forms, why it causes so much damage, and what climate change means for its future...

Antarctica is one of the fastest-changing places on Earth. In this chilly episode of Totally Cooked, hosts Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a Professor of Climate Science at the Australian National University, and Iain Strachan, a former journalist turned science communicator, are joined by Professor Nerilie Abram to explore how global warming is transforming the icy continent.   We unpack what mak...