Conversations: Our Evolving World

Tanya Latty is an insect scientist with a quirky taste in pets, and a keen eye for detail. But it's the lessons from her brainless pet slime mould that she's most fascinated about.Scientist, Tanya Latty, studies the behaviour of ants and bees. She's particularly interested in their ability to work effectively as a team to achieve a common goal.But her pet project is focused on a creature that defies classification.Slime moulds are neither plants nor animals. They can move, but they don't have legs or wings.They appear to make complex decisions, often motivated by the promise of food. Yet they don't have a stomach or a brain.Despite slime moulds' unique biology, Tanya was struck by their apparent intelligence and by similarities in their patterns of behaviour to ants and bees.Tanya believes the knowledge gained from studying the behaviour of slime moulds and insects could help to solve complex organisational problems in the human world.Further informationFor more information on Dr Latty’s research head to the Invertebrate behaviour and ecology lab website.To binge even more great episodes of the ‘Conversations podcast’ with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Lee Berger, the National Geographic Explorer in Residence and real-life Indiana Jones, has found remarkable things underground. His discoveries are revolutionising what we understand about our own origins

Dr Christina Zdenek wants to change our minds about Australia’s deadly snakes, not just because their venom holds healing secrets

Dr Nerida Wilson spends a lot of her time getting acquainted with the mysterious creatures lurking in the dark depths of the sea

Scientists continue to discover the rarer and rarer objects which make up our universe. Why are we so obsessed with the particles around us?

Anh Nguyen Austen's family fled Vietnam by sea in 1982, on a wooden boat bound for the Philippines. When a once-in-a-century storm struck in South China Sea, they thought all hope was lost. Anh is an academic and community volunteer. She grew up in Vietnam in a Catholic family.Anh's childhood was idyllic, with a big extended family and a close friendship with her cousin named Joe.But life for the adults was complicated after the end of the war. In the early 1980s, her parents planned a daring escape.Under the noses of the regime, they secretly constructed a boat which they hoped would take them to the Philippines.They intended to bring 40 people with them, but on the day of departure 101 people crowded on board, before the boat sailed into a once-in-a-century storm on the South China Sea.Years later, Anh found film footage of their rescue, at a moment when almost all hope was lost.After their rescue, her family made it to a refugee camp in the Philippines, then to America, where Anh grew up to attend some of the world's most prestigious universities before she became an academic herself.Further informationThe rescue of 101 Boat was filmed for Medecins du MondeTo binge even more great episodes of the ‘Conversations podcast’ with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Professor Toby Walsh is a world leader in AI research. He asks questions like, 'can we train machines to be fair?' and 'how do we resist the spread of lethal autonomous weapons?' His job is making sure the future of AI is for better, not worse.Artificial intelligence has become an essential part of our lives — it helps us to navigate and communicate, and is responsible for incredibly accurate medical technology.AI is also responsible for lethal autonomous weapons.It can be used to influence what we buy and how we vote.Professor Toby Walsh is one of the world's leading researchers in AI.His research is concerned with how to ensure our future use of AI is for the good of humanity.Further informationMachines Behaving Badly: The Morality of AI is published by Black IncTo binge even more great episodes of the ‘Conversations podcast’ with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Rodney Fox was torn apart by a great white shark and it took 462 stitches to put him back together again. He was then instrumental in filming Jaws, the most terrifying shark film of all time. But over time, this salty seadog has become the apex predator's fiercest protector

Dr Kira Westaway is a geochronologist who places modern and ancient humans in context by dating things found in caves. For Kira, how we understand ourselves now, is tied up in the past

Biologist David Sinclair believes aging is a disease, and we can find a cure for it

One of the foremost historians of black and white Australia, Henry says now is the time to acknowledge how the country was founded. Frontier violence, the myth of peaceful settlement, and the failure of the British to make treaties with the First Nations have led to consequences we still live with today (CW: material might be distressing to ATSI listeners)When Henry moved to Townsville to teach history in 1965, there were almost no mentions of Aboriginal people in the core Australian history textbook.He soon began his life's work of studying the intersection between settlers and Australia's First Nations and was shocked to discover the gaping holes in the country's story. He found that even at the time Australia was claimed by the British, it was seen as legally shoddy and morally dubious. He says the British messed up the colonisation of Australia by not making treaties with the First Nations, and that we're still living with the consequences of frontier violence today.(CW: material might be distressing to ATSI listeners. Please use discretion.)Further informationTruth-Telling: History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement is published by NewSouthTo binge even more great episodes of the ‘Conversations podcast’ with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Biologist Merlin Sheldrake's extreme experiments, many of which involve his physical body and varying forms of fungi, have led to equally remarkable discoveriesEnglish biologist Merlin Sheldrake, son of Rupert Sheldrake, became fascinated by fungi when he was a boy.He grew mushrooms in his cupboard and brewed bog myrtle beer under his bed.He went on to study fungi at Cambridge University, and his research explores the interconnection between fungi and plants in what’s known as ‘the Wood Wide Web’.Merlin's extreme experiments, many of which involve his physical body and varying forms of fungi, have led to equally remarkable discoveries.Further informationEntangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures is published by Random HouseMore about Merlin and his workTo binge even more great episodes of the ‘Conversations podcast’ with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Gisela Kaplan fell under the spell of birds when hand-rearing a magpie nestling. After it learned to speak, she was so intrigued she switched careers and began her research into avian behaviour. Her many books on Australian native birds have been ground-breaking.Many assumptions about the nature of birds and their behaviour are completely wrong when applied to Australian birds.Gisela Kaplan was a professor of sociology when a magpie nestling she was hand raising bonded closely with her, followed her about, and learned to speak.Her curiosity about birds became so strong she switched careers to become a field biologist and animal behaviourist.Based in Armidale NSW, Gisela has conducted extensive research into avian behaviour. Her second PhD was a study of the songs of Australian magpies.Gisela's many books on Australian native birds have changed the way these creatures are understood.Along with her teaching, writing and research in ornithology, Gisela has been a wildlife carer for 25 years, raising countless birds of all ages.Further informationBird Bonds: sex, mate-choice and cognition in Australian native birds is published by MacmillanGisela's earlier books include Bird Minds, Tawny Frogmouth, and Australian MagpieGisela is Emeritus Professor of animal behaviour at the University of New England To binge even more great episodes of the ‘Conversations podcast’ with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, singers, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Sound designer and naturalist Douglas Quin makes field recordings from everywhere on Earth and uses them to create soundscapes for film and tv, galleries and museums

Zenith Virago married at 17, and had two children. Then she left her young family to create a life of her own on the other side of the world

Saving the orphaned kangaroo joeys of Central Australia

Dominic Rowe is asking how common degenerative brain diseases begin

Jenny Briscoe-Hough is helping Port Kembla locals take back control at the end of life

Botanist and D'harawal elder Fran Bodkin uses western science to explain up to 80,000 years of Indigenous plant knowledge

Rodney Jackson's life, tracking and preserving wild snow leopards

Broadcast date: Tuesday 17 January 2012