The Science Show - Full Program Podcast

Despite the many benefits from a multi-country collaboration on a major astronomy project, Australia will not be part of the European Southern Observatory after 2027.

Secretions from hookworms are being used to develop treatments for autoimmune diseases which include food allergies.

The biggest science infrastructure requires collaboration. Australia has said no to joining the European Southern Observatory and will not share in the discovery, the experience and many benefits.

Carl Smith reports from Falling Walls 2025 and speaks to presenters from Australia and New Zealand who were there sharing their research with the world.

Paul Davies explains some of the weirdness that is quantum physics

Two ancient Australian possums, thought to be extinct, are now known to survive in Indonesian Papua

Conventional explanations for how humans became ‘the language animal’ focus on our need to cooperate to hunt, fight or make tools. Now, evolutionary biologist Madeleine Beekman suggests a new idea for origin of language: the need to share childcare.

When raised lead levels were noticed in Los Angeles last year, a chemist — who usually examines asteroids — quickly saw that the fires that ravaged the region in January 2025 were to blame. 

Robyn Williams reports from the 2026 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

An ancient human may be a new species, and extinct giant kangaroos - could they hop? 

A cave in Sulawesi was home to our ancestors for tens of thousands of years. Archaeologists are piecing together the story.

Australia’s social media ban aims to protect young people from online threats, but it may also restrict their access to discussion of democracy and political systems.

How did life begin? It may not have been on Earth, with asteroids carrying a range of organic molecules

Natasha Hurley-Walker considers what might explain a mysterious stellar object which shines every 18 minutes.

In the Swedish city of Kiruna, an entire community is being relocated to accommodate the expansion of the world's largest underground iron ore mine.

She became an expert on fleas and despite no formal education received honorary doctorates from both Oxford and Cambridge was elected a fellow of The Royal Society.

She could only read and write from age 10. She reared children and had a first unsupportive husband. But Mary Somerville was able to correct the work of Isaac Newton, help discover Neptune, and write a science book which became a university text.

Norman Swan, Fiona Stanley and Lorin Clarke describe their involvement with Robyn Williams and The Science Show with MC Richard Glover at a party celebrating 50 years of broadcasting.

She battled rigidities of 18th century Europe. But with writer and philosopher Voltaire, Émilie du Châtelet led the Enlightenment.

Retiring Vice Chancellor of the University of South Australia David Lloyd awarded Pratchett two honorary degrees. In exchange, the author honoured the university with a special scholarship – to be offered every year forever. This week David Lloyd explains his enthusiasms for the Discworld author in front of a packed audience at the Hawke Centre in Adelaide.

In her book Prove It! Elizabeth Finkel presents the evidence showing no link between pain relief drugs and autism

The International Astronautical Congress held in Sydney showed how space science is vital to our modern world.

University departments of geology and geophysics are getting smaller or closing. So how will we find new mineral deposits?

In just 75 years the Earth’s average temperature is predicted to be close to 3 degrees above pre-industrial levels. We are in the fast lane to a different world, one that will not be friendly to the current range of plants and animals, including humans. The race is on to cool our overheating planet.

Robyn Williams reports from the 2025 Prime Minister's Prizes for Science ceremony in Parliament House Canberra.

We’ve built a picture of the evolution of biodiversity based on a few accessible fossils. But the real story may be very different.

An additive in paint converts ultraviolet light into red light allowing plants to grow more producing higher yields, a boon for greenhouse agriculture.

Jonathan Porritt’ recent book, Love, Anger and Betrayal charts the lives of young British climate campaigners. Meanwhile in Australia under-16s are about to be banned from using social media.

Richard Robson from the University of Melbourne has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, the nation’s first Chemistry Nobel in 50 years.

The BA, as it was known, established in 1831, was set up to advance science in the interest of the people, old and young, professional and lay. So, how well is it doing now amid international turmoil.

Iconic jellyfish in saltwater lakes are disappearing.

Sophie Ly takes us to Palau to meet scientists and traditional knowledge custodians who are working together to uncover the secrets of Palau’s ancient terraces.

Just as quantum physics is poised to launch computing into a new era of capability, researchers are seeing the first signs of quantum effects in biology.

As The Science Show concludes its celebration of 50 years, we remember John Clarke’s contributions to early Science Shows and point to a film just released looking at John’s life, produced by his daughter Lorin.

Join us for highlights from fifty years of The Science Show including Fred Dagg, who helps us with the big questions: what is it all about and why are we here?

Samples from asteroids have helped build a theory of the origin of complex molecules and how they made it to Earth.

Small chemical groups inserted or removed from around DNA may affect gene expression and so be a way to control genetic blood disorders such as sickle cell anaemia and beta thalassemia. 

Is the US shooting itself in the foot, or shooting itself in the head? As Donald Trump removes funding for medical research, climate research and more, Matthew England reflects on how science will help us cope with a changing world.

A 100-yr flood is now a more regular occurrence in the German town of Passau, bringing widespread destruction, another local impact of a planet getting hotter.

There was a famous debate. And truly weird ideas about how the universe works at a subatomic level. Shelby Traynor traces the history of quantum mechanics.

Discover the story of a pair of brothers who invented an early electric scooter, humidicrib, fax machine, Olympic scoreboard — and much more! — in their South Australian workshop from the 1930s to the 60s.We also learn about a trial that's generated energy from the waves, and unearth two rare photographs of a long-lost bandicoot species.

In an electrifying episode of the Science Show, find out how getting struck by a bolt from the heavens can help at least one species of tall tree not only survive, but thrive. Then step back in time to solve a tool-making mystery in Samoa and discover hidden treasures in centuries-old books — including a bubonic plague flea.

We hear from scientists who push the boundaries of creation, whether that's building wild and wacky snack flavours (successfully) or cloning extinct tropical frogs (unsuccessfully … so far). And since President Donald Trump retook office, the state of health and science research in the US has been precarious for many who work in those areas. But there is a silver lining. Other countries such as Australia are implementing programs to recruit US researchers looking to relocate.

Karl Popper (1902-1994) is regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of science of the twentieth century. Alan Saunders presented this portrait of Karl Popper for The Science Show in January 2001.

The overland telegraph connecting Australia to the world was completed just over 150 years ago. It was built due to the dedication of a public servant, Charles Todd.

Roger Short (1930-2021) discusses influences in his early life, and some of his research achievements including melatonin as a controller of circadian rhythms, and aspects of reproductive biology across the animal world.

Get ready for gravitons, dark photons and transition states. Kathryn Zurek takes us on a tour of the bewildering world of quantum physics.

People have been in the Australian wilderness for generations. But can people be considered part of the natural landscape or will they always have an impact?

She could only read and write from age 10. She reared children and had a first unsupportive husband. But Mary Somerville was able to correct the work of Isaac Newton, help discover Neptune, and write a science book which became a university text.

Amateur fossil hunters make a major discovery. And Marilyn Renfree describes the sophisticated reproduction of marsupials.