Ian Lowe in conversation

Ian Lowe AO is a bona fide Australian treasure. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Society (and former Head of Science) at Griffith University; the author of ten books and uncounted articles; a former President of the Aust Conservation Society and the recipient of the Konrad Lorenz Gold Medal, awarded by the International Academy of Sciences. Just to begin with. His new book, Long Half-life is a timely and riveting account of the political, social and scientific complexities of the nuclear industry, revealing the power of vested interests, the subjectivities of scientists and the transformative force of community passion. Australia has been directly involved in the nuclear industry for more than a century, but our involvement has never been comprehensively documented. Long Half-life tells the social and political history of Australia’s role, from the first discovery of radioactive ores in 1906 to contemporary contentious questions. Quite presciently he discusses whether the next generation of submarines should be nuclear powered (hint: no) But he also talks about whether nuclear energy could help to slow global climate change, and if we should we store radioactive waste from nuclear power stations in our region. Please Note: this conversation was rudely interrupted by a power failure about half way through (we had very strong winds on this particular evening). We continued recording on an iphone and then reverted to professional equipment when the power was restored. We apologise for any defects in the recording - it’s still very much worth listening to!