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The Science Show - Full Program Podcast

The Science Show - Full Program Podcast

288 episodes — Page 1 of 6

The debate over who should be in the genus Homo, and the trailblazing botanical illustrators, Harriet and Helena Scott

Aug 21, 202654 min

Lab Notes: The 'Hail Mary' effort to rescue a telescope

Aug 19, 202610 min

How nematodes love smelly feet, plants that trap insects, Australians at CERN and vale Peter Raven

Aug 14, 202654 min

Lab Notes: How do flowers know when to bloom?

Aug 12, 202610 min

Dark Matter search from inner Melbourne, Gelion update, Bach and maths and vale Bill Oddie

Aug 7, 202654 min

Lab Notes: In an era of AI hacking, how safe is the census?

Aug 5, 202610 min

Looking inside cells, and how seals hear so well underwater

Jul 31, 202654 min

Lab Notes: What will we see in a 10-year movie of the universe?

Jul 29, 202610 min

Pioneers past and present, and fiddling with life brings a heavy caution

Jul 24, 202654 min

Lab Notes: How do we predict the snow season?

Jul 22, 202610 min

Fossil graveyards an archive of past climate and ecology

Jul 17, 202652 min

Lab Notes: What's it like to be in a clinical trial?

Jul 15, 202610 min

Monitoring Antarctic glaciers and the science of gluten-free baking

Jul 10, 202654 min

Lab Notes: Is AI taking over mathematics?

Jul 8, 202610 min

As bird flu arrives in Australia, an endangered species is being quarantined

Jul 3, 202653 min

Lab Notes: Is space junk destroying the ozone layer?

Jul 1, 202610 min

How bird brains help us understand human brains, and how eugenics had as much hand in the birth control movement as did feminism

Jun 26, 202654 min

Lab Notes: The bird flu risk for Aussie wildlife

Jun 24, 202613 min

Insects and pain and The Selfish Gene turns 50

Jun 19, 202654 min

Lab Notes: What happens when a whale dies?

Jun 17, 202610 min

Kris sword with an intriguing history, echidnas, tropical forests and Australia’s energy potential

Jun 12, 202654 min

Lab Notes: Tallest tree in East Asia

Jun 10, 202610 min

The First Inventors

Jun 5, 202654 min

Lab Notes: Plants can hear you

Jun 3, 202610 min

AI tools in ocean research and a tribute to Dame Bridget Ogilvie

May 29, 202653 min

Lab Notes: Lead may be hiding in your clothing

May 28, 202610 min

Sex testing at the Olympics: beware the exceptions

May 22, 202654 min

Lab Notes: Giant dino discovery fulfils a childhood dream

May 21, 202610 min

Science and the budget, bird flu closer to Australia and a guide to pollination

May 15, 202654 min

Lab Notes: Can AI chatbots make you delusional?

May 14, 202610 min

Celebrating David Attenborough’s 100th birthday and a new way of making vaccines

May 8, 202653 min

Lab Notes: What happens if a major ocean current … stops?

May 7, 202610 min

Australian science under strain

May 1, 202654 min

Lab Notes: AI data centres are coming to remote Australia

Apr 30, 202610 min

Response to Australia’s ESO rejection

Apr 24, 202654 min

Lab Notes: Aussies loved Artemis II — and they want more

Apr 23, 2026

Getting more from fertiliser, viral DNA's vital role and help from hookworms!

Apr 17, 202654 min

Lab Notes: Is measles back?

Apr 16, 202610 min

Australia says no to European Southern Observatory collaboration, applications of quantum mechanics and testing trees’ response to rising carbon dioxide

The biggest science infrastructure requires collaboration. Australia has said no to joining the European Southern Observatory and will not share in the discovery, the experience and many benefits.

Apr 10, 202654 min

Lab Notes: What can we grow on the Moon?

The main aim of NASA's Artemis program is to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon — so what will we eat? And can food be actually be grown there?You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.Get in touch with us: [email protected]:Matthew Gilliham, director the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space at Adelaide UniversityThis episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar people.

Apr 9, 202610 min

Australian and New Zealand research presented at Falling Walls Berlin

Carl Smith reports from Falling Walls 2025 and speaks to presenters from Australia and New Zealand who were there sharing their research with the world.

Apr 3, 202654 min

Lab Notes: Can we replace lab animals?

Humans have done experiments on animals for thousands of years — but animal testing has always been controversial because of the concerns for animal welfare. Recently, there have been more and more efforts to find alternatives to lab animals.So how is this quest going? What's on the horizon – and will we ever get rid of lab animals completely? You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.Get in touch with us: [email protected]:Darren Saunders, New South Wales deputy chief scientist and engineerThis episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar people.

Apr 2, 202610 min

Saving Australia’s R&D, robot for cleaning up oil, and quantum physics with Paul Davies

Paul Davies explains some of the weirdness that is quantum physics

Mar 27, 202653 min

Lab Notes: NASA's mission to the Moon

It's more than 50 years since humans went anywhere near the Moon — but that's about to change. After a series of delays, NASA's Artemis II mission is set to launch in early April. So what's the aim of the mission, where exactly are the astronauts headed, and why is it happening now?You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.Get in touch with us: [email protected]: Jacinta Bowler, ABC science reporterExtra information:NASA delays Artemis II mission to the Moon, a day after flagging March launchFormer NASA engineer warns about heat shield on Artemis II moon missionThis episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar people.

Mar 26, 202612 min

Possums thought to be extinct found in Papua, early Indigenous ingenuity, and how we adjust to ultra-processed food

Two ancient Australian possums, thought to be extinct, are now known to survive in Indonesian Papua

Mar 20, 202654 min

Lab Notes: Super-K flu is here … but it's not our biggest problem

A fast-moving strain of influenza known as "Super-K" is circulating in Australia and has been driving up flu numbers around the world. Virologists are constantly tracking strains like this as they come and go. Professor Kirsty Short, shares her anxiety about the flu season ahead, as well as a surprising recent win — and a call to arms about vaccination.You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.Get in touch with us: [email protected]:Kirsty Short, virologist at University of QueenslandMore information:Australia's 2026 influenza vaccine rollout and the Super-K strainThis episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar people.

Mar 19, 202610 min

New idea for the origin of language

Conventional explanations for how humans became ‘the language animal’ focus on our need to cooperate to hunt, fight or make tools. Now, evolutionary biologist Madeleine Beekman suggests a new idea for origin of language: the need to share childcare.

Mar 13, 202654 min

Lab Notes: Slip! Slop! Slap! SUCCESS!

Australia has the highest melanoma rates in the world — but there's some good news for Aussie kids. The presence of moles is a strong predictor of melanoma and researchers in Queensland have found that the number of moles found on children's bodies has halved in recent decades.You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.Get in touch with us: [email protected]: Nick Martin, human geneticist at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteExtra information:Halving of Australian children's naevus counts during 1992-2016 and change in sun behaviourHopes for lower melanoma risk as study finds number of moles on children's bodies halved in 25 yearsThis episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar people.

Mar 12, 202610 min

Astronomy and toxicology converge at Caltech

When raised lead levels were noticed in Los Angeles last year, a chemist — who usually examines asteroids — quickly saw that the fires that ravaged the region in January 2025 were to blame.

Mar 6, 202654 min

Lab Notes: Why air traffic won’t return to normal for months

Major international airports in the Middle East have been closed this week due to the war with Iran, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded. So, what happens after a major airspace closure?How do pilots know where they should fly? And how long will it take to get things back to normal?You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.Get in touch with us: [email protected]: Amy Briggs, science reporter Extra information: Air travel may be disrupted by the Iran war for months. This is whyThis episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Wurundjeri and Menang Noongar people.

Mar 5, 202610 min