Allan Boyd Talks to Some Experts About Things

Dr Rob Nicholls - expert in Media and Communications at RMIT, talking with RTRFM’s Allan Boyd about the recent landmark social media case against Google and Meta in the United States. ==INTRO: A recent US court case saw big tech giants, Meta and Google, pay out six million dollars to a single plaintiff for mental health damage - citing dangerous and addictive design features in the social media platforms. The case is seen as a precedent to many more to come. On The Record’s Allan Boyd caught up with an expert in tech law to find out what’s going on…LENGTH: 15:37--Source: The Conversation - Meta and Google just lost a landmark social media addiction case. A tech law expert explains the fallout - March 26, 2026Send me a message

Dr Lisa Given - Professor of Information Sciences at RMIT University - talks with RTRFM’s Allan Boyd on the latest report on Australia' teen social media ban.Professor Lisa Given - Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University==INTRO: It’s been four months since Australia banned under-16s from social media, and now the online regulator has released its first report on how the world-first policy is progressing. To find out where we’re at with the ban and if the big social media platforms are complying, RTRFM’s Allan Boyd caught up with an expert…LENGTH: 12:40==Conversation Article: Social media giants are not complying with under‑16s social media ban, new report finds - March 31, 202Send me a message

Controversial Sydney radio duo - Kyle and Jackie O - have been in the news recently after Jackie O left the show following claims of online bullying by co-host Sandilands. Sandilands has since been suspended and their 200-million-dollar national contract is in doubt. What’s going on? On The Record’s Allan Boyd spoke with a media expert to find out… Dr Denis Muller - Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne.Source: The ConversationSend me a message

Are you scrolling right now? The endless “infinite scroll” design is built into just about every social media and news app we use. But is it just a harmless habit, or is there something more going on beneath the surface? RTR’s Allan Boyd brought in an expert to find out how it works—and how we can take back control.Sharon Horwood - Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Deakin UniversitySource: Can’t stop endlessly scrolling? Tips to help you take back control  - The Conversation, March 18, 2026Send me a message

Many Australians use AI Technology daily. We use it to offload our difficult tasks, plan our lives and think less. And it seems these handy tools, like ChatGPT - are becoming ubiquitous. But can we become dependent on these things and are they eroding our critical thinking skills? RTR’s Allan Boyd spoke to a memory expert to find out more.Dr Misia Temler - Research Affiliate, Psychology, University of Sydney Source: It’s tempting to offload your thinking to AI. Cognitive science shows why that’s a bad idea - The Conversation - March 10, 2026Send me a message

With 24/7 news access on our devices and the pull of algorithms to keep us there, what can we do to cope with the onslaught of news media? RTR’s Allan boyd caught up with an RMIT expert to find out how we can balance the need to stay informed with what’s best for our mental health.Alex Wake, Professor of Journalism at RMIT. Source: RMITSend me a message

Continuing his deep dive into the Manosphere, On The Record’s Allan Boyd catches up with an expert about manfluencers, incels, trad wives, black-pills, third spaces and what works to curb the growth online extremism.Dr Vivian Gerrand Research Fellow in the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies, Deakin University; Associate Lecturer, Australian National UniversitySource: The internet makes it too easy to ‘fall down a rabbit hole of hate’. So, what works to curb online extremism? - The ConversationSend me a message

Once confined to the dark corners of the internet, the so-called Manosphere is rapidly infiltrating mainstream culture. In a series of interviews on the Manosphere, RTR’s Allan Boyd caught up with an expert on how the disturbing cabal of male supremacists is becoming more and more prevalent.Claudia Young - PhD Candidate in Media and Communications, The University of MelbourneSource: ‘I want someone submissive’: Married At First Sight gives the manosphere a prime time slot - The Conversation, March 4, 2026Send me a message

Alarming new research into gender attitudes reveals that a large percentage of teenage boys believe women lie about domestic violence, and some 17 percent of Australians believe that feminism should be resisted with violence. To unpack this concerning rise of misogyny, RTR’s Allan Boyd caught up with one of the study’s authors…Dr Sara Meger - Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Melbourne Source: 40% of teenage boys believe women lie about domestic and sexual violence: new research Send me a message

What is the Manosphere? A new Netflix documentary lifts the lid on so-called “man-fluencers” – spilling violence, misogyny and extremist views into the real world - turning boys into male supremacists. But how does anti-feminism even exist in 2026? RTRFM’s Allan Boyd spoke with an expert to find out more.Professor Steven Roberts - Professor of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, Monash UniversitySource: Louis Theroux’s Inside the Manosphere exposes the business model of misogyny - March 11, 2026 Send me a message

ANDREA CARSON - Professor of Political Communication, at La Trobe University --INTRO: Lately, we’ve seen One Nation support surge in the polls - with immigration being one reason for voter dissatisfaction - despite current migration numbers falling. But analysts say higher support doesn’t always mean more seats, and questions remain about the party’s credibility and future influence. RTR’s Allan Boyd caught up with a leading political analyst.--Source:  Yes, One Nation’s poll numbers are climbing. But major party status – let alone government – is still a long way off - Published: February 9, 2026Send me a message

Larissa Hjorth -  Sessional Academic, Faculty of Law, Monash University INTRO: Graphic videos of violence are increasingly showing up in our social feeds, exposing us to traumatic events almost in real time. But what does this kind of constant witnessing do to our mental health? How do we deal with it? On The Record’s Allan Boyd spoke with a cultural studies and grief expert to find out more…Conversation Article: How watching videos of ICE violence affects our mental health - February 10, 2026 Send me a message

Interview with Dennis Desmond, Lecturer in Cyber-intelligence and Cyber-crime at the University of the Sunshine Coast – by Allan Boyd RTRFMINTRO: Every day, more of us are installing smart doorbells. These devices promise safety and convenience. And may even find your lost pet. But cyber-experts warn these A.I. incorporated tools are quietly creating a vast surveillance network, one that’s not controlled by governments, but by massive tech companies.How safe are we? On The Record’s Allan Boyd had a chat with a cyber-security expertSource: https://theconversation.com/amazons-ring-wanted-to-track-your-pets-it-revealed-the-future-of-surveillance-276020Send me a message

Margarita Vladimirova - Monash UniversityINTRO: Did you know Bunnings and other major retailers are on the verge of rolling out controversial A.I. Facial Recognition in their stores. And they may not even need to tell you that you’re under surveillance. Or what they will do with your facial data. RTRFM’s Allan Boyd caught up with a tech law expert to find out more…Conversation Article: Bunnings decision may open door to facial recognition surveillance free-for-all - February 10, 2026 Send me a message

Dr Gabrielle Appleby - Professor at the Law Faculty of University of New South WalesINTRO: As we know, the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum was not the result many Australians wanted. The authors of a new book examine the reasons why the proposal may have failed. RTR’s Allan Boyd caught up with one of the editors…Conversation Article: Why the Voice referendum failed – and what the government hasn’t learned from it - February 2, 2026 Send me a message

Dr Bruce Schneier - Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy SchoolINTRO: Are you ready for paid advertising in your ChatGPT? To recuperate the rising costs of Artificial Intelligence, it seems Big Tech is now poised to introduce advertising into your chatbot – whether you want it or not. RTRFM’s Allan Boyd spoke to a cyber-security guru to find out more…Conversation Article: Could ChatGPT convince you to buy something? Threat of manipulation looms as AI companies gear up to sell ads -  January 15, 2026 Send me a message

Dr Ramona Vijeyarasa - Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Technology SydneyINTRO: Many of us use a voice assistant every day on our phones and home devices. We might ask Siri to start a timer, or Google for the weather. But is the assistant’s default female voice an example of gender subordination? RTRFM’s Allan Boyd caught up with an expert to find out more…Conversation Article: Most AI assistants are feminine – and it’s fuelling dangerous stereotypes and abuse - January 27, 2026  Send me a message

Hammond Pearce - Senior Lecturer, School of Computer Science & Engineering, UNSW Sydney INTRO: In the immediate wake of the Bondi terrorist event, we saw a flood of misinformation trolling across our social media feeds. Much of it false and most of it toxic. Indeed, with all the online confusion and fake media in our faces every day, even real content is doubted – as false accounts, chatbots and bot-networks can be used to rapidly spread false information with ease.So, how do we make sense of it all? And can chatbots sway an election? RTRFM’s Allan Boyd caught up with cyber expert Hammond Pearce to talk about AI botnets and the worlds first social media wargame…Conversation Article: World-first social media wargame reveals how AI bots can swing elections - January 16, 2026 Send me a message

Richard Morris - Postdoctoral Fellow, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, New Zealand INTRO: Most of us have used Chatbots. They are pretty much a staple of online life - whether we like it or not. And we are aware that AI programs like ChatGPT use a lot of resources to run. But does typing “please” and “thanks” really add to energy usage? RTRFM’s Allan Boyd spoke with an expert… Conversation Article: Does adding ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to your ChatGPT prompts really waste energy? -  January 15, 2026 Send me a message