11.4.22 What Happens Next? “ Can Australia Become a Green Energy Superpower?” | 73 Green mining is a dirty business, but our sustainable future depends on it. As we begin to transition to a decarbonised future, we need to put in the work to ensure it's a just one that keeps the planet and all its people in mind. Monash University’s podcast, “What Happens Next?”, wraps up its series on critical minerals by considering how we can get the shift from coal mining to critical mineral mining right, pos...
Nov 10, 2022•23 min•Season 7Ep. 73
04.11.22 What Happens Next? Is Australia Behind in the Critical Minerals Race? | 72 This week on What Happens Next? , we’re kickstarting a new series on critical minerals. As we transition to a decarbonised future, away from oil and coal, our technology will run on ores such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth minerals. How will this cause global politics to shift? Can mining and sustainability go hand-in-hand? And how can we ensure a just transition for all? In this new episode of Monash Univers...
Nov 03, 2022•25 min•Season 7Ep. 72
28.10.22 “What Happens Next?” Can We Save Endangered Languages? | 71 Soon after the first British ships arrived in Australia, Indigenous people were removed from their traditional lands and families, and were discouraged – often violently – from dancing, singing, or even speaking in their own languages. In a new episode of Monash University’s podcast, “What Happens Next?”, Dr Susan Carland’s guests discuss how the languages of the most ancient continual civilisation on Earth are being preserved ...
Oct 27, 2022•24 min•Season 7Ep. 71
21.10.22 What Happens Next? What Do We Lose When Languages Die? | 70 When we travel through Europe, we expect to experience a wide array of culture and customs – in each country, different foods, different views, and different languages. That’s not the expectation visitors to Australia have, but perhaps they should. Before British colonisation, this land was home to nearly 300 distinct Indigenous languages. But frontier violence, years of harmful policies, and entrenched, systemic racism against...
Oct 20, 2022•22 min•Season 7Ep. 70
14.10.2022 “What Happens Next?” Can We Sharpen Our Focus? | 69 Between social media content, notifications pinging away on our phones, countless streaming options, and even watches with all the bells and whistles of a computer, our attention’s pulled in more directions than ever. Can we regain our focus? This week, Monash University’s podcast, “What Happens Next?”, concludes its series on focus with conversations with leading experts in neuroscience, psychology and mindfulness. Host Dr Susan Car...
Oct 13, 2022•21 min•Season 7Ep. 69
7.10.2022 “What Happens Next?” Is Our Attention Slipping? | 68 Having trouble focusing lately? You’re not alone – and you probably already know it. From TikTok to ‘The Times’, it seems everyone’s paying attention to, well, attention. During the pandemic lockdowns, many of us took up practices such as mindfulness and meditation, while others discovered that their struggles juggling tasks might be the result of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, (ADHD). Season seven of Monash University’s p...
Oct 06, 2022•25 min•Season 7Ep. 68
Monash University’s multi-award-nominated podcast, What Happens Next? , is back with an all-new season of tough challenges and expert guests. New episodes of What Happens Next? will be released weekly from Friday, 7 October. This season on the show, your host, Dr Susan Carland, addresses a new set of topics looking at the future we’re facing if we don’t change, the future we could have if we do, and how to get the kind of future we all want. World-leading experts share their insights and researc...
Sep 29, 2022•1 min
“This is one of the single biggest and particular attacks on the rights of women, and girls in particular, that we've seen in a long, long time.” – Natasha Stott Despoja Last week, our guests told the story of a tense escape from Afghanistan, arranged in the hours after the Taliban took its capital city of Kabul. For the women and girls left behind, daily life is bleak. Their freedom of movement and right to education have been curtailed by the fundamentalist government with no end in sight. But...
Jun 02, 2022•26 min•Season 6Ep. 67
“I hope one day, again we will have what we had. Again, our women can raise their voice. Again we could see women leaders, women political leaders, women in universities, in schools, who have the right to dream. Again, we could see and feel the women in Afghanistan, their voice, their knowledge, their skills. And I’m hoping to see, one day again, that Afghanistan is living again.” — Parisa Sekandari When the Taliban resumed their brutal control over Afghanistan in August 2021, the world was left...
May 27, 2022•23 min•Season 6Ep. 66
Ask an artificial intelligence to play you in a game of chess, and chances are, you’ll lose. Ask an artificial intelligence to make you a cup of coffee, however, and prepare to be disappointed. While robotics, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence, collectively known as RAS-AI, represent the bleeding edge of innovation and are often the villains in science fiction, the technology has a long way to go before it will replace humans in day-to-day tasks – and that includes on the battlefiel...
May 19, 2022•27 min•Season 6Ep. 65
Artificial intelligence and autonomous systems are poised to change the battlefield, and with it, soldiers themselves. Today, the human cost of war is high. Will that be true of tomorrow’s wars, or will humans be removed from the front lines, left to orchestrate surgical drone strikes and autonomous technology behind the scenes? And what about the soldiers themselves? Today, pilots are operating drones from the other side of the world, but they’re still reporting high levels of trauma. Will redu...
May 12, 2022•21 min•Season 6Ep. 64
In last week’s episode of ‘What Happens Next?’, Monash University’s podcast, Dr Susan Carland’s expert guests explained why a loneliness crisis is sweeping the globe, and what its knock-on effects are. Isolation is connected to issues including addiction, violence, and anxiety and depression. It impacts the whole of sufferer’s lives, from their health and wellbeing, to their capacity to work. And it’s not just lonely individuals who are struggling. Those same effects have a measurable impact on ...
May 05, 2022•20 min•Season 6Ep. 63
The pandemic certainly exacerbated feelings of social isolation, but even before lockdown became the name of the game, global reports of loneliness were creeping up at an alarming rate. Both Japan and the United Kingdom established government positions dedicated to its relief, and little wonder – the cost of loneliness is high. Social isolation affects us individually and as a society. Its detrimental health effects – including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease – are well-documented. F...
Apr 29, 2022•22 min•Season 6Ep. 62
Happy Earth Day! If last week’s episode of ‘What Happens Next?’ caused you to reconsider your wardrobe or sent you on a donation run to your local op shop, you won’t want to miss part two of our investigation into the sustainability and ethics of fashion. This week, our expert guests focus on the future we can look forward to if we slow down and make a conscious effort to value our clothes, rather than seeing them as expendable or faddish. The news is good – in response to fast fashion, the slow...
Apr 22, 2022•24 min•Season 6Ep. 61
You take the bus to work, you turn off the lights when you’re not using them, and you’ve embraced meatless Mondays. You’re doing your part to save the planet. But there’s one massive issue that many of us overlook, even though it surrounds us – textile waste. From furniture and home decor to toy manufacturing, medical supplies and more, textiles are literally the fabric of our lives. Unless you’re a dedicated nudist, you’re covered in them from head to toe. And when it comes to truly making a di...
Apr 14, 2022•19 min•Season 6Ep. 60
‘Wanted’ posters. Your local neighbourhood watch . CrimeStoppers. There’s a long tradition of citizens assisting law enforcement in reporting illegal activities and identifying criminals. In part one of the ‘What Happens Next?’ podcast’s investigation into digital vigilantism, host Dr Susan Carland and her expert guests examined the ways that behaviour can go awry, sometimes even translating into real-world violence. In part two of this series, you’ll learn whether or not digital vigilantism can...
Apr 07, 2022•21 min•Season 6Ep. 59
It’s easy to see why the concept of vigilante justice resonates with so many people. In the last few years, social movements from #MeToo to BLM have made us very aware of the wrongdoers who’ve escaped accountability, and the victims who’ve been let down, or even wrongly targeted, by existing systems and laws. But when internet users take matters into their own hands, problems can arise. Across the political spectrum, groups are enacting digital vigilantism to try to right perceived wrongs, and e...
Mar 31, 2022•20 min•Season 6Ep. 58
Last week on ‘What Happens Next?’, our guest experts served up some unappetising truths about weight loss. Ultimately, our body types are not necessarily dictated by the foods we eat or the amount of exercise we do – it’s all about our genetic makeup. And once we begin to put on weight, getting it off again in a permanent way is almost impossible. In today’s episode, host Dr Susan Carland continues the conversation by asking the things you’ve always wanted to know about weight but have been too ...
Mar 24, 2022•23 min•Season 6Ep. 57
Welcome to season six of 'What Happens Next?'. You can’t go anywhere without hearing about the latest fad diet or workout, which often promise miraculously quick – and permanent – results. Does science support them? Is losing weight as simple as exercising more and eating less, or is there more to it? How has our understanding of obesity changed as our grasp on genetics and environmental factors grows stronger? And what’s going on with the way we talk about fat? This season of Monash University’...
Mar 17, 2022•23 min•Season 6Ep. 56
Introducing ‘What Happens Next?’ season six Monash University’s multi-award nominated podcast, What Happens Next? , is back with an all-new season of tough challenges and expert guests. New episodes of What Happens Next? will be released weekly from Friday, 18 March, 2022. Enjoy this preview of the season! This season on the show, your host, Dr Susan Carland, addresses a new set of topics looking at the future we’re facing if we don’t change, the future we could have if we do, and how to get the...
Mar 10, 2022•3 min
We’re wrapping up this season of What Happens Next? with some hope. The 2020 murder of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin sparked the embers of a long-smouldering conflict centred around racial injustice. The issues of systemic and institutionalised racism that have been brought to light in the wake of the movements that followed this incident can seem overwhelming. As an individual, it’s difficult to know where to start, and to believe it’s possible to make a differ...
Dec 03, 2021•32 min•Season 5Ep. 55
Understanding racism is the key to positive social change. The ‘Racism: It stops with…..?’ panel discussion, moderated by Dr Susan Carland, focused on progressive, positive and inclusive ways to eliminate racism within the community and the workplace, in the education sector, and in our communities. Panelists: Nyadol Nyuon, Chair, Harmony Alliance Australia, lawyer and human rights advocate Professor Jacinta Elston, Pro Vice Chancellor (Indigenous), Monash University Div Pillay, CEO, MindTribes ...
Nov 23, 2021•36 min•Ep. 54
What are some of the ways we are making our cities more welcoming and how can we as individuals encourage a more diverse and inclusive society? In this episode, Dr Susan Carland asks some of Australia’s most knowledgeable and sought-after commentators on migration and inclusion about the policies and attitudes shaping society’s approach to immigration. Our guests are Bel Schenk, coordinator at Welcoming Cities Victoria, Rebecca Wickes and Marie Segrave of the Monash Migration and Inclusion Centr...
Nov 18, 2021•23 min•Season 5Ep. 53
There’s no doubt about it: Migration has shaped and changed Australia. The country’s history is marked by a series of migrations – the British, the Chinese, the Greeks, the Italians. We’re a nation largely built on the shoulders of those who came here seeking a better life, but we’re still wrestling with what that means for our modern identity. In the first of this two-part series, Dr Susan Carland asks some of Australia’s most knowledgeable and sought-after commentators on migration and inclusi...
Nov 11, 2021•19 min•Season 5Ep. 52
Class inequality is not inevitable, and it’s not too late to change things here in Australia to promote a better experience for all. In our second episode exploring class inequality, Dr Susan Carland asks the experts: How can we change things? How can we ensure that a diverse range of voices occupies equal weight in the halls of power and the rooms where decisions are made? Hear from the Monash University Sustainable Development Institute’s John Thwaites AM about the political and economic decis...
Nov 04, 2021•20 min•Season 5Ep. 51
Who holds the power in Australia? In this two-episode arc, Dr Susan Carland seeks to answer that question – and understand how we got here. Over the past several decades, Australia’s social stratification has become more pronounced. It’s partially the result of economic trends such as trickle-down theory and the increasing casualisation of employment in the gig economy, but there are other factors at play here. In this series, host Dr Susan Carland sits down with John Thwaites, chair of the Mona...
Oct 28, 2021•26 min•Season 5Ep. 50
Attitudes towards psychoactive drugs for the treatment of PTSD are changing, and for good reason – it’s hard to disagree with the evidence of the therapeutic benefits of psychedelic medicines for the treatment of mental illness. Compelling studies are being conducted around the world, several of them here at Monash. And it won’t be long until you see the results of these studies for yourself – experts suggest health care providers could begin prescribing psychedelic drugs for PTSD patients as so...
Oct 21, 2021•23 min•Season 5Ep. 49
After years of very little pharmaceutical innovation in the treatment of mental illness, psychiatry is on the verge of something big: Psychedelic medicine is emerging as a game-changer. The evidence of the efficacy of drugs like psilocybin (also known as magic mushrooms) and MDMA, used in conjunction with therapy for illnesses such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, is astounding. And society could use the help – the 2017-18 National Health Survey estimated that 1 in 5, o...
Oct 14, 2021•30 min•Season 5Ep. 48
Growth comes with growing pains, and as we work to create a more inclusive, welcoming society, we see that reflected in how audiences respond to art. Artists and entertainers alike have been ostracised from social media and have even lost work for offensive conduct. But what if it’s your job to shock and satirise? Comedians go where the rest of us can’t – occasionally crossing lines and causing offense. In recent years, we’ve seen a number of comedians come under intense public scrutiny after sa...
Sep 23, 2021•22 min•Season 5Ep. 47
Public opinions and attitudes shift, but the internet is forever. In recent years, we’ve seen example after example of entertainers and comedians “cancelled” by pop culture for old tweets and bad behaviour, even if the artist themselves have evolved. In an all-new series of ‘What Happens Next?’, an all-star lineup of comedians discuss the future of comedy with host Dr Susan Carland. Comedy holds a mirror up to society, but what happens when society doesn’t like what it sees? Where’s the line bet...
Sep 16, 2021•31 min•Season 5Ep. 46
