PODCAST · science
The Science Show - Full Program Podcast
by ABC Australia
The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to prime ministerial biorhythms.
Episodes
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72 per cent of UK trees threatened by changing climate, plus the simple spud’s complex genetics
And palm oil producers in South-East Asia have changed their ways, considering the environment more than they did. Brendan May is turning his attention now to nickel mines in tropical countries.
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Lab Notes: When astronomers make mistakes
In March 2018, a South African astronomer looking into the distant universe "discovered" a bright red spot in the sky that hadn't been there previously; it felt like an exciting potential discovery. A message was sent to other astronomers, asking them to look at this new dot and study it further....
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Nobel Prizes, kitchen fumes and a biography of Francis Crick
* 2026 Nobel prizes in science* Air fryer vs deep fryer: Which produces more indoor air pollution?* First major biography of Francis Crick
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Lab Notes: When is it time to throw in the towel?
If you reach for the old tea towel in the cupboard, this episode is for you. It's time to talk textiles: why older towels seem to be better at drying, and when it may be time to throw out your more well-worn towels. Jonathan follows the thread with Ellen Phiddian to find out what we can do with…
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Paul Nurse and assessing the health of Australian trees
And genetics reveals further details of a great friendship story – humans and dogs.
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Lab Notes: Why you shouldn't leave your phone charging
Your phone battery doesn't like being fully charged or discharged. This is why it's sometimes advised that to extend its life, you shouldn't charge your phone beyond 80 per cent, or let it drop below 20 per cent. But what's actually happening inside a lithium-ion battery to cause this effect, and...
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Deep sea nodules, ideas in ecology, and three brilliant scientists not always on the money
Millions, perhaps billions of sharks teeth lie on the ocean floor. Valuable mineral deposits collect on their fossilised remains. Now they are viewed as a resource and if exploited devastation will come to an little known ecosystem.
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Lab Notes: Have we found dark matter?
Deep in an old gold mine in South Dakota, scientists witnessed a flash of energy in a giant pool of xenon. Some in the astronomical community are pretty excited, saying this is our best hint yet at what dark matter is. How do we know, why does it matter — and what happens next? Jonathan Webb…
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The big cats that stalked early humans and why ancient concrete outlasts the modern stuff
Plus the tree bark which hosts a whole world of methane-absorbing microbes.
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Lab Notes: The AI maths wars
AI is getting so good at maths that it is now tackling, and apparently solving, some of the hardest mathematical problems that exist. But as huge companies like OpenAI and Anthropic race to outdo each other, human mathematicians are getting caught in the crossfire... and their field is changing...
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AI boost for people with dyslexia and how algorithms shape what we read
And botanists intervene to save a plant that may have become sterile
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Lab Notes: Where could bird flu go next?
It's been three months since the first case of bird flu was found on the Australian continent. Many cases have been found in birds since then, along with other mammals. So where has it spread? And what can we expect to see as spring and summer arrive? Jonathan Webb speaks with Peter de Kruijff,...
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As fire ravages the Northern Hemisphere, is Australia ready for a record-breaking El Niño? And why optimists live longer than pessimists
The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.
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Lab Notes: Why are we ticklish?
Most people know the feeling of ticklishness, whether it's the tickle attacks that bring about uncontrollable laughter or the feather-like touch from something brushing against your skin. But why do we feel ticklish? Can we stop it? And why did we — and all our ape cousins — evolve this…
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A moon beyond our Solar System, dust storms on Mars and questioning of reality
Dust storms on Mars make the biggest on Earth seem like a gentle breeze. Chelsea Huang describes the Martian conditions which produce humungous dust storms that cover the entire planet.
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Lab Notes: The redback sex-death somersault
These little spiders that live in the dark corner of your garage have a pretty crazy sex life. Researchers have known for a while that male redback spiders get eaten during sex — but not only that, they somersault themselves right onto the fangs of the female. Considering the ultimate aim of this...
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The debate over who should be in the genus Homo, and the trailblazing botanical illustrators, Harriet and Helena Scott
Plus hope for corals, and the story of a museum thief who liked butterflies.
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Lab Notes: The 'Hail Mary' effort to rescue a telescope
Right now, a high-stakes mission is underway to save NASA's Swift telescope before it falls back to Earth. There's just one problem… the rescue satellite has run into some issues. So who rescues the rescuer? Jonathan Webb and Dr Sara Webb launch into this issue to see what scientists are doing to...
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How nematodes love smelly feet, plants that trap insects, Australians at CERN and vale Peter Raven
* The attraction of smelly feet * Plants that trap insects* Pollen grains reveal Australia's first flowering plants* Vale botanist Peter Raven* Australians smashing it at CERN
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Lab Notes: How do flowers know when to bloom?
The last days of winter are here and already you may be seeing flowers blooming around you. Why is that? How do flowers know when to bloom, and is it always around springtime? Jonathan Webb digs into these questions with Dr Greg Moore to try and uncover the mechanisms behind flowering plants. You...
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Dark Matter search from inner Melbourne, Gelion update, Bach and maths and vale Bill Oddie
* Mathematics as the basis of western musical harmony and how J. S. Bach loved numbers* Victoria's first dark matter detector fires up* Hurdles for new battery technology* Vale Bill Oddie
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Lab Notes: In an era of AI hacking, how safe is the census?
It's census time, which means lots of us are about to submit personal information via the Internet. Whether it's the ABS or your favourite online shop — how safe is our data in an era when AI models have shown they can hack companies without even being asked to? Jonathan Webb opens a back door to...
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Looking inside cells, and how seals hear so well underwater
* Fluorescent sensors bring cell contents to life* Plotting the Oceans: Stories of Powerful Maps and Their Makers* Animal senses that work as well in water as on land* Mushroom Day: A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Fungal Lives* Descend two kilometres underground to the cleanest lab on Earth
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Lab Notes: What will we see in a 10-year movie of the universe?
The longest survey of our southern skies — The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) — has just begun from the Vera Rubin Observatory in the Chilean Atacama Desert. Over the next 10 years, the largest digital camera on Earth will look at the same patches of sky time and again, aiming to record...
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Pioneers past and present, and fiddling with life brings a heavy caution
* Celebrating Charles Todd, father of the overland telegraph* Diverse background ideal for leader in pioneering science* Mirror life risks catastrophe* Future Right Now reveals concerns of young people* Botany courses becoming an endangered species
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Lab Notes: How do we predict the snow season?
This year has been one of the worst starts to the snow season since records began. And it's a trend that researchers say will only continue in the years to come. But what's causing this change? What's the outlook for the rest of this ski season, and should we all just be booking a holiday to…
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Fossil graveyards an archive of past climate and ecology
* Gillard tribute to Ogilvie* The future of sleep* Fossil graveyards an archive of climate and ecology* How bacteria behave in the body* White possums in peril
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Lab Notes: What's it like to be in a clinical trial?
Before any new therapy or medicine is placed on the shelves of a pharmacy, it needs to be tested in humans first. What does that process look like? And who are the people testing these new drugs? Jonathan Webb goes behind the curtain of clinical trials with health reporter Lauren Roberts to take…
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Monitoring Antarctic glaciers and the science of gluten-free baking
A team from Caltech is using ultrasound to reveal processes at work one kilometre under Antarctic ice.
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Lab Notes: Is AI taking over mathematics?
AI chatbots are helping to crack long-standing mathematical problems, including some of the famous Paul Erdős conjectures that have remained unsolved for nearly 80 years. It's not just researchers finding these solutions, either: it's also amateur mathematicians armed with off-the-shelf...
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As bird flu arrives in Australia, an endangered species is being quarantined
We visit a wildlife sanctuary north of Canberra where enclosures are being built to quarantine the eastern quoll, a species already endangered. Will it work and is this a long-term solution?
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Lab Notes: Is space junk destroying the ozone layer?
Old satellites and bits of space junk regularly fall back to Earth, burning up as they pass through the atmosphere. All this burning metal causes a chain reaction and ultimately destroys ozone molecules, which keep us safe from most of the Sun's harmful UVB rays. Could a new era of satellite...
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How bird brains help us understand human brains, and how eugenics had as much hand in the birth control movement as did feminism
We also celebrate mathematician Terence Tao’s King’s birthday honour, and go in search of subatomic particles, 2Km underground.
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Lab Notes: The bird flu risk for Aussie wildlife
A deadly variant of H5N1 avian influenza has finally reached mainland Australia: the last continent without it. Although the risk to human health remains low, this virus has spread through many different species overseas — and not just birds. So are our animals vulnerable? Jonathan Webb speaks…
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Insects and pain and The Selfish Gene turns 50
If insects feel pain, do they deserve animal rights as apply to mammals?
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Lab Notes: What happens when a whale dies?
The largest, deepest and oldest whale graveyard has been found off the coast of Western Australia: teeming with life. Jonathan Webb takes a deep dive with environment reporter, Peter de Kruijff, into the science behind whale falls and their importance to underwater ecosystems. You can binge more...
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Kris sword with an intriguing history, echidnas, tropical forests and Australia’s energy potential
What might be the biggest threat to tropical forests? Climate change? Illegal loggers? Invasive species? None of the above. It’s roads. Bill Laurance explains.
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Lab Notes: Tallest tree in East Asia
On an island full of trees, there can only be one that is the tallest. How did researchers in Taiwan manage to find the tallest tree in East Asia? This week, Jonathan Webb finds this out by speaking to Dr Rebecca Hsu, the lead researcher behind the project to find The Heaven Sword. You can binge...
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The First Inventors
Evidence is mounting that Indigenous people were in Australia early than the 65,000 date most now know. And there are suggestions the continent supported a population of at least 2 million people. Authors Sean Ulm, Billy Griffiths and Larissa Behrendt explore these ideas in their book The First...
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Lab Notes: Plants can hear you
Plants are more aware of their surroundings then we give them credit for. A growing body of work is showing that plants can change themselves in response to different sounds. Dr Samarth Kulshrestha, a molecular biologist from the University of Canterbury, is one of these researchers, looking at…
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AI tools in ocean research and a tribute to Dame Bridget Ogilvie
AI offers instant translations between human languages. So will we one day communicate with whales? And while we marvel at the possibilities, the challenge today is preventing collisions between sea creatures and ships, or whales and turtles becoming tangled in nets.
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Lab Notes: Lead may be hiding in your clothing
Ever wondered how your sweater became bright orange, or how your leather shoes were made? Chances are, at some point in the process, hazardous chemicals like lead or azo dyes were used. Jonathan Webb speaks to Ellen Phiddian, science reporter with Radio National, about whether these chemicals are...
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Sex testing at the Olympics: beware the exceptions
The IOC will test athletes for a sex gene. But as Jenny Graves explains, human genomics is diverse. Some athletes may be genetic exceptions and will need to be handled with care and sensitivity.
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Lab Notes: Giant dino discovery fulfils a childhood dream
A new giant dinosaur has been uncovered in Thailand: the largest ever found in South-East Asia. More than 100 million years ago, Nagatitan towered over the Earth — and has now been described by a team of researchers from the UK and Thailand. Jonathan Webb speaks with Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul, a...
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Science and the budget, bird flu closer to Australia and a guide to pollination
Belinda Smith reports on the winners and losers in science following the federal budget brought down this week by treasurer Jim Chalmers.
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Lab Notes: Can AI chatbots make you delusional?
Stories of AI chatbot users drifting from our shared reality are increasingly common, often described as cases of AI delusions, delusional spirals, or AI psychosis. New research from Stanford University and the Human Line Project investigates the mechanisms behind these delusions, asking whether…
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Celebrating David Attenborough’s 100th birthday and a new way of making vaccines
The much-loved naturalist David Attenborough is 100. And still working!
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Lab Notes: What happens if a major ocean current … stops?
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a vast current that helps move water and energy right around our planet, from top to bottom. Scientists say it is slowing down — and might stop altogether, with dire consequences for the global climate if it does. So how do major ocean...
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Australian science under strain
Australia’s research potential is not matched by funding. Belinda Smith speaks to scientists impacted and science minister Tim Ayres responds.
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Lab Notes: AI data centres are coming to remote Australia
The Kimberley region is more than 2000 kilometres north of Western Australia's capital city, Perth. The area is both extremely remote and extremely beautiful. So why is it the proposed location for Australia's biggest "AI factory"? Why do we need this massive AI data centre? And are these…
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Science Show - Full Program Podcast have?
The Science Show - Full Program Podcast currently has 250 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Science Show - Full Program Podcast about?
The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to prime ministerial biorhythms.
How often does The Science Show - Full Program Podcast release new episodes?
The Science Show - Full Program Podcast publishes regularly with 250 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Science Show - Full Program Podcast?
You can listen to The Science Show - Full Program Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Science Show - Full Program Podcast?
The Science Show - Full Program Podcast is created and hosted by ABC Australia.
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