We speak to a climate scientist who just updated a clock he created that counts down the seconds until the world reaches 1.5°C of global warming. And we hear from experts about the latest research evidence on climate anxiety – what it is, how common it is around the world and what to do about it. Featuring Damon Matthews , professor and Concordia University research chair in climate science and sustainability at Concordia University in Canada, Caroline Hickman , lecturer in the department of soc...
Nov 11, 2021•40 min
A year since war broke out in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, conflict in the country is intensifying. In this episode, we talk to two experts about the worsening humanitarian situation in Tigray and the international community’s response to the conflict. Featuring Emnet Negash, a PhD candidate at Ghent University in Belgium who is tracking the food situation in Tigray, and Mukesh Kapila , professor emeritus of global health and humanitarian affairs at the University of Manchester in England and ...
Nov 04, 2021•46 min
Some economists have long argued that to really save the planet – and ourselves – from the climate crisis, we need a fundamental overhaul of the way our economies work. In this episode, we explore the ideas of the degrowth movement and their calls for a contraction in the world’s consumption of energy and resources. We also compare degrowth to other post-growth proposals for governments to reduce their fixation on economic growth. Featuring Samuel Alexande r, research fellow at the Melbourne Sus...
Oct 28, 2021•37 min
As military tensions run high once again across the Taiwan Strait, we talk to two experts about China’s longer-term reunification strategy – and what that means for Taiwan. Featuring Wen-Ti Sung, sessional lecturer in Taiwan Studies at the Australian National University and Olivia Cheung, research fellow at the SOAS China Institute at SOAS University of London. Plus, we’re joined by Vinita Srivastava, host of the Don’t Call Me Resilient podcast from The Conversation in Canada. ...
Oct 21, 2021•47 min
Six prize announcements later, 12 men and one woman from 11 countries are now settling down to their new lives as Nobel laureates. In this episode, we delve into the scientific discoveries around touch and organic catalysts awarded the 2021 prizes in medicine and chemistry. And we talk to a friend and collaborator of Abdulrazak Gurnah, the Tanzanian writer awarded the Nobel prize for literature. Featuring Kate Poole , associate professor in physiology, at the University of New South Wales in Aus...
Oct 14, 2021•44 min
What’s happening in our brains to create consciousness? In this episode we hear from two scientists uncovering clues to where dopamine fits into this mystery. It could help the recovery of people with severe brain injuries. Featuring Emmanual Stamatakis , who leads the cognition and consciousness imaging group at the Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge in the UK and Leandro Sanz , a medical doctor and PhD candidate in medical sciences at the Coma Science Group at the Universit...
Oct 07, 2021•48 min
After Germany’s recent election, coalition talks are now underway to determine the composition of the next government and who will succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor. We speak to three experts about what the results tell us about German voters’ priorities – and dig into the history of the Greens, now one of the kingmakers in coalition negotiations. Featuring Jasmin Riedl , professor of political science at Bundeswehr University Munich in Germany, Niko Switek , visiting professor for German stud...
Sep 30, 2021•40 min
For decades, scientists have warned that unchecked global warming could bring climate extremes such as severe droughts, flash floods and rising sea levels. We talk to three climate change experts on how predictions of a changing world are holding up against the reality we’re living through. Featuring Christopher White , head of the Centre for Water, Environment, Sustainability and Public Health at the University of Strathclyde in the UK, Victor Ongoma Assistant Professor, at Université Moh...
Sep 23, 2021•46 min
Ahead of Canadian elections on September 20, two experts in Canadian politics profile the current prime minister, Justin Trudeau. They explore why he's so much more popular abroad than at home and assess what his real foreign policy record has been beyond being a celebrity. Featuring Alex Marland , professor of political science at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Jeremy Wildeman , Research Fellow at the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa and Adjunct Assistan...
Sep 16, 2021•42 min•Ep. 33
From earthquakes, to hurricanes, disease and drug violence, the Caribbean island of Haiti has faced a decade of cascading crises. In this week’s episode of The Conversation Weekly we talk to experts about what Haiti’s history tells us about its political fragility, and what that means for the country’s ability to recover from disasters. Featuring disaster management expert Louise Comfort, professor of public and international affairs at the University of Pittsburgh and Haitian American historian...
Sep 09, 2021•44 min•Ep. 32
As many children head back to school, in this episode we look at what really works to help stop COVID-19 transmission in the classroom. And for those countries where masks remain mandatory in schools, we hear some tips for teachers and students on how to communicate. Featuring, Brandon Guthrie , an associate professor of global health an epidemiology at the University of Washington in the US and Laura Abou Haidar , a professor of linguistics at the Université Grenoble Alpes in France. In our sec...
Sep 02, 2021•43 min
Twenty years after they were ousted from Kabul, the Taliban are now back in control of most of Afghanistan. In this episode, two Afghan experts trace the origins of the Taliban back to the late 1970s, and explain what's happened to the group over the past two decades. Featuring Ali A Olomi , assistant professor of history at Penn State Abington in the US and Niamatullah Ibrahimi , lecturer in international relations at La Trobe University in Australia. And Lee-Anne Goodman, politics editor at Th...
Aug 26, 2021•41 min•Ep. 30
The Conversation Weekly podcast is taking a short break in August. In the meantime, we're bringing you extended versions of some of our favourite interviews from the past few months. This week, how researchers discovered a biological switch that could turn on and off neuroplasticity in the brain – the ability of neurons to change their structure. We speak to Sarah Ackerman, a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Neuroscience and Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Oregon, abo...
Aug 19, 2021•16 min•Ep. 29
The Conversation Weekly podcast is taking a short break in August. For the next few weeks we'll be bringing you extended versions of a few of our favourite interviews from the past few months. This week, we speak to Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen, lecturer in the department of social sciences at the Technical University of Mombasa, who interviewed Kenyan women about why they joined the militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab. She explains how she gained the trust of these women and their families, and what...
Aug 12, 2021•13 min•Ep. 28
The Conversation Weekly podcast is taking a short break in August. For the next few weeks we'll be bringing you extended versions of some our favourite interviews from the past few months. This week, the story of researchers who invented an ingenious new conservation technique to protect endangered birds. Catherine Price, postdoctoral researcher in conservation biology at the University of Sydney, is part of a team of researchers who’ve found a better way. They use misinformation – in the f...
Aug 05, 2021•16 min•Ep. 27
How close is a four-day working week? Over the last few years, companies and governments in a number of countries have begun to experiment with the idea of a four-day work week – and some of the results are in. We talk to experts about these recent trials, explore how they fit into the long history of ever-shrinking work hours, and wonder what this all might mean for the future of work. Featuring Anthony Veal , adjunct professor a the Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Jana ...
Jul 29, 2021•38 min•Ep. 26
Are there limits to how much faster, higher or stronger humans can get? We talk to researchers in biomechanics, sports technology and psychology, to find out. Featuring Nicole Forrester , a former Canadian Olympic high jumper and now assistant professor in the school of media at Ryerson University in Toronto, Anthony Blazevich , professor of biomechanics at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia, and Jonathan Taylor, lecturer in sport and exercise at Teesside University in the UK. In our sec...
Jul 22, 2021•47 min•Ep. 25
How do you mimic meat? We take a look at the science behind plant-based and cultured meat in this episode, where it might lead and how ready people are to eat meat grown in a lab. Mariana Lamas , a research associate at the Centre for Culinary Innovation at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, Canada, talks us through some of the key elements that make a plant-based meat mimic successful. Andrew Stout , PhD candidate in biomedical engineering at Tufts University in Massachusetts...
Jul 15, 2021•37 min•Ep. 24
Why is it so difficult to prosecute militaries for alleged war crimes? In this episode of The Conversation Weekly , we speak to experts about the legal hurdles. By hanging around military bases in the US and Israel, Craig Jones managed to meet a usually very secretive group of people: military lawyers. Jones, a lecturer in political geography at Newcastle University in the UK, explains what he learnt from these conversations – including the way different militaries interpret international law to...
Jul 08, 2021•42 min•Ep. 23
After the US government released its long-awaited report on unidentified aerial phenomena, we explore the cultural history and scientific taboo around UFOs. And three months after rebels killed the president of Chad in central Africa, we talk to experts about the balance of power there. Welcome to The Conversation Weekly. In the end, when it finally dropped on June 25, the US government's report on unidentified aerial phenomena didn’t mention the word extraterrestrial once. And nobody had expect...
Jul 01, 2021•43 min•Ep. 22
When catastrophes like a pandemic strike, how do we make sure societies learn – and implement – lessons from disaster? We talk to three researchers coming at this question in different ways. First, a story from northern Australia about how Indigenous knowledge that can help to prevent natural disasters has been with us for thousands of years. We speak to Kamaljit Sangha , senior ecological economist at the Darwin Centre for Bushfire Research at Charles Darwin University in northern Australi...
Jun 24, 2021•41 min•Ep. 21
Jair Bolsonaro is openly nostalgic for the era of Brazil’s military dictatorship, which ended in 1985. Since the former army captain was elected president in 2018, he’s packed his government full of military men and maintained a close relationship with the armed forces. But in recent months it’s not always been straightforward. With Brazil heading towards presidential elections in 2022, and Bolsonaro slumping in the polls, some of those military officers who’ve tasted political power may be asse...
Jun 17, 2021•38 min•Ep. 20
Iranians are about to get the chance to vote for a new president on June 18. Hassan Rouhani, president since 2013, is stepping down after serving two terms in office. The frontrunner to succeed him is Ebrahim Raisi, an ultra-conservative and head of the judiciary. Getting information about how Iranians view their society and its political leaders is notoriously difficult. In this episode we speak to two academics in The Netherlands who take a different approach – anonymous online surveys. And th...
Jun 10, 2021•39 min•Ep. 19
In this episode, who is making money from our oceans and is it sustainable? And why Brazilian women who lived through Zika are avoiding getting pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Listen to episode 18 of The Conversation Weekly . From deep-sea mining, to fishing, to oil and gas exploration, the ocean economy is booming. A key question is what the economic exploitation of our oceans is doing to the ocean environment. It's important to balance economic growth both with preservation of oce...
Jun 03, 2021•41 min•Ep. 18
New scientific guidelines have been released this week on embryo research and the use of stem cells. We talk to experts about what’s changed – including a recommendation to relax the 14-day time limit for human embryo research. And we hear about a wave of romantic comedy films emerging from South Africa that are re-imagining the city of Johannesburg. Welcome to episode 17 of The Conversation Weekly . It's been five years since the last set of guidelines from the International Society for Stem Ce...
May 27, 2021•37 min•Ep. 17
In this episode, we look at why millions of Americans are struggling to feed themselves. We explore some of the reasons behind racial disparities in U.S. food insecurity, and hear from experts with their suggested solutions. And the discovery of the bones of a small child, carefully buried in Kenya 78,000 years ago, provide a peek into the minds of ancient humans. Listen to episode 16 of The Conversation Weekly podcast. Before the pandemic hit, official food insecurity rates in the U.S. wer...
May 20, 2021•40 min•Ep. 16
As India’s COVID-19 crisis continues, we look at what’s holding back the country's vaccination rollout and how a shift in distribution and pricing strategy is causing concern. And we speak to a researcher who went hunting for fungi in the world's largest seed bank. Listen to episode 15 of The Conversation Weekly podcast. The Conversation is a non-profit organisation. If you're able to support what we do, please consider donating here . Thank you. India's catastrophic COVID-19 crisis s...
May 13, 2021•37 min•Ep. 15
In this episode, how Cuba is pushing ahead with the development of its own coronavirus vaccines – and could be nearing vaccine sovereignty. And we hear from a researcher about what he learnt from asking hundreds of people about the biggest decisions of their lives. You’re listening to episode 14 of The Conversation Weekly podcast . Throughout 2020, the small island nation of Cuba was able to limit the spread of COVID-19 . By early May, 675 people had died from the disease. But case numbers...
May 06, 2021•39 min•Ep. 14
In this episode, as Scotland prepares to vote in landmark parliamentary elections on May 6, we explore why the question of independence from the UK is dominating the debate. And a team of researchers working with fruit flies, has discovered a biological switch that can turn neuroplasticity on and off in the brain. What might that mean? Welcome to episode 13 of The Conversation Weekly . It's been seven years since Scotland voted to remain the UK in the 2014 independence referendum. Now, as S...
Apr 29, 2021•39 min•Ep. 13
In this episode, insurgent groups in northern Nigeria continue to kidnap schoolchildren as the government struggles to protect communities against militants such as Boko Haram. And we speak to a researcher who has interviewed Kenyan women about why they joined the jihadist group Al-Shabaab. Welcome to episode 12 of The Conversation Weekly . Schoolchildren in northern Nigeria continue to be abducted by insurgents, including the jihadist group Boko Haram, whose name means ‘Western education is for...
Apr 22, 2021•37 min•Ep. 12
