The stories of seeds with Fiona McMillan-Webster

Why do some seeds live for thousands of years, while others only a few? What made Nikolai Vavilov the Indiana Jones of the ‘seed world’? And how do you write a book about something in which you’re not already an expert?  In this episode, Amanda talks to science writer Fiona McMillan-Webster about her first book The Age of Seeds:  How Plants Hacked Time and Why Our Future Depends on It.

Fiona McMillan-Webster is a science writer with degrees in physics and biophysics. She's written for National Geographic, Forbes, Cosmos magazine, Australian Geographic and more, and has been included in several of the best Australian Science Writing anthologies. In 2016, she was runner up for the UNSW Bragg Press Prize for Science Writing, and she was shortlisted for the prize in 2021. Her first book, The Age of Seeds came out into the world this week.

Also mentioned in the podcast: Rebecca Giggs’ book Fathoms, which you can hear her talk about here in episode 4.

The Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is a fortnightly podcast for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science; then you’ve come to the right place!

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