All Episodes
Smart Talk — 118 episodes · page 1 of 2
"Fizziology is phun"
Exploring extraterrestrial life with Kathleen Campbell
Six tributes to the writer Katherine Mansfield
Monty Soutar on Kāwai - his bestselling novel about pre-colonial Māori life
Dr Que Mai Nguyen Phan on her latest novel about Vietnam, Dust Child
Dame Gaylene Preston on a life making movies
Richard Fidler on Baghdad during Islam’s Golden Age
The Morality of AI, with Toby Walsh
Three Booker Prizewinners on the Booker Ride
The USA writer Colson Whitehead talks to Kim Hill
Louisa Lim on Hong Kong
The UK writer William Sitwell discusses a life of writing about food
Dr. Mahdis Azarmandi from the University of Canterbury examines racism and anti-racism
Prof. Jack Heinemann from the University of Canterbury on the rise of antibiotic resistance
Assoc. Prof. Elsamari Botha explores the future of AI and ChatGPT in business
Kim Hill talks to five experts about food safety in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Prof. Ekant Veer from the University of Canterbury on the nature of online trolling
Cheryl Brown and Kathryn MacCallum explore the digital lives of young New Zealanders
Prof. Simon Kingham from the University of Canterbury explores what’s going on with transport in Aotearoa/NZ
The University of Canterbury glaciologist Heather Purdie explains why glaciers are a barometer of climate change.
The University of Canterbury economist Stephen Hickson talks about inflation
Nguyen Phan Que Mai: Vietnamese stories behind the war
Dame Fiona Kidman talks about reading in the 2022 Read NZ Te Pou Muramura Pānui
Dr Melani Anae looks at what the Polynesian Panthers protest group achieved
Auckland University astrophysicist Jan Eldridge explains how dying stars have created the building blocks for life on Earth
Law lecturer Dr Guy Fiti Sinclair analyses different theories about who rules the world
Dr Anna Brooks on the looming crisis of Long Covid
Dr Angus Campbell on the pitfalls of design dominated by data
Dr Kiri Dell on what Māori and Pākehā need to consider in their te reo Māori journey
Architectural lecturer Julie Stout explores how Auckland’s urban design could get better
Assoc. Prof Peter Saxton on whether it’s possible to keep the supply of blood safe without excluding men who have sex with men
Why are the shelves bare? Prof. Tava Olsen looks at what’s going on with the world’s supply chains
Charlotte Yates explores turning poetry into music at the 2021 Going West Literary Festival
Karlo Mila and Daren Kamali perform a rich selection of their poetry at the 2021 Going West Literary Festival
A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices from Aotearoa New Zealand discussed at the Verb Readers and Writers Festival 2021
Kyle Mewburn discusses her memoir Faking It at the Verb Readers and Writers Festival 2021
Clare Moleta discusses her novel Unsheltered at the Verb Readers and Writers Festival 2021
Renée looks back on a life devoted to reading in the 2021 Read NZ Te Pou Muramura Pānui
Word of mouth is analysed by Marketing expert Assoc. Prof. Bodo Lang
DNA expert advocates mapping the genome of every child born in New Zealand – for their future health
Wine expert Ali Lowrey on what affects a wine’s composition – soil, weather and chemistry – but above all, climate change
Brain disease researcher Dr Helen Murray on the risks of contact sports concussion
Assoc. Prof Matheson Russell on how democracies could become more, well, democratic
Prof Andrew Shelling on how genetic testing helps predict disease
Alison Jones on Being Pākehā at Word Christchurch 2021
Ngāi Tahu leader Tā Mark Solomon at Word Christchurch 2021
Two crime writers talk about their craft at Word Christchurch 2021
Two experts talk about the climate crisis with Kim Hill at Word Christchurch 2021
Five Adventurous Women discuss their very different lives at Word Christchurch 2021
Former Tampa refugee Abbas Nazari at Word Christchurch 2021
Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin at Word Christchurch 2021
Matt and Sarah Brown discuss how to change men’s lives at Word Christchurch 2021
Helen Kelly’s biographer discusses her life at Word Christchurch 2021
Ben Brown delivers the Margaret Mahy Memorial Lecture at Word Christchurch 2021
Voices in the Air: Sarah Johnston on 100 years of radio
Prof. Peter O’Connor on how education can respond to terrorism
Assoc. Prof. Mike Lee provides a marketer’s insights into vaccine hesitancy
Siouxsie Wiles on Covid-19, conspiracies and a life in science, at the 2021 NZ International Science Festival
A panel of experts at the 2021 NZ International Science Festival on gene editing, mātauranga Māori and pest control
Angler Dougal Rillstone and surfer Derek Morrison on being in wild places, at the 2021 Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival
Four Māori scholars discuss what it’s like to teach and study in the university, at the 2021 Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival
Jared Savage and Steve Braunias discuss crime writing at the 2021 Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival
Becky Manawatu discusses her novel Auē at the 2021 Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival
HG Parry on her alternative history novel A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians at the 2021 Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival
The eminent author Witi Ihimaera talks at the 2021 Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival
A panel discussion at Creative Matakana considers how the visual arts world has changed since 2019
A Wanaka Festival of Colour panel discussion about taxes - good, bad and inevitable
A panel discussion about how democracy can be improved, at the 2021 Wanaka Festival of Colour
A trans-Tasman panel explores how e-commerce can reduce its environmental footprint
Auckland University’s Prof. Frank Bloomfield on research into premature babies
Auckland University’s Assoc. Prof Katie Fitzpatrick on the state of health and sex education
Auckland University’s Dr Suresh Muthukumaraswamy on research into the therapeutic uses of psychedelic drugs
Auckland University’s Dr Jemaima Tiatia-Seath reflects on her career as a leading Pasifika academic
Auckland University researcher discusses how safe vaping actually is
Dr Nicholas Rattenbury on how life might be discovered on alien worlds
Assoc.Prof. Scott Optican on how legal police stings are in New Zealand
Five writers read their letters to Katherine Mansfield at Word Christchurch 2020
Pip Adam talks about her novel Nothing to See at Word Christchurch 2020
The Lilburn Lecture 2019
Eileen Merriman and Carl Shuker talk medical misadventure at Word Christchurch 2020
Leading poet Bill Manhire talks to John Campbell at Word Christchurch 2020
Laura Jean McKay and Philip Armstrong discuss animals in literature at Word Christchurch 2020
Cookbook writer Annabel Langbein talks about her life at Word Christchurch 2020
Mosque attack survivor Farid Ahmed talks at the Word Christchurch festival
Elizabeth Knox discusses The Absolute Book at the Word Christchurch festival
Three more authors at the Word Christchurch festival read original stories about courage
Three authors at the Word Christchurch festival read original stories about courage
A panel discussion at the Word Christchurch festival involving four adventurous women
Ben Brown delivers the 2020 Read NZ Pānui on youth justice and the power of words
Karyn Hay looks at both the challenges and rewards for a New Zealand musician in her 2020 Lilburn Lecture
Three experts discuss the role of photonics in measuring climate change
National, Labour, Greens candidates discuss arts policies for the 2020 General Election
Julia Roberts presents a world-wide media event – Nations United – on the UN’s development goals
John Bluck explores a life-long love of the movies in New Zealand
John Bluck reads his series of essays about the pleasures of mowing the lawn
Assoc. Prof Siouxsie Wiles on how glowing superbugs can help develop new medicines to fight infection
Prof. Darl Kolb considers the impact of working from home during the Covid-19 lockdown
An Atlas of Aotearoa is discussed by a panel at the 2020 NZ Festival of the Arts
A year after the Christchurch terror attacks, a panel discussion considers the state of racism in NZ
Cardiac surgeon Samer Nashef discusses The Angina Monologues at the 2020 New Zealand Arts Festival