Pokémon, off-grid festivals and cannabinoids
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is a Triple J podcast.
Hello, it's Lucy Smith with you for another episode of Science with Dr. Carl, and this week we were joined by two special guests, Isabel and Ella from the SciBurst podcast. This is a podcast that looks at science through a pop culture lens, but also through the lens of solar punk. You're going to learn a little bit more about what that means, but we touched on topics like off-grid events, having hope for the future, and the fictional media that gets it right when it comes to our future and our world. We also chatted about chemtrails, primary colors, thirst, so much to tuck into. Let's get into it. Dr. Carl, you join me in the studio right now, but we have two very special guests with us. We have Isabel Richards and Ella McCarthy, who are the hosts of the SciBurst podcast.
It is all about looking at science through a pop culture lens. Isabel and Ella, welcome to the show. Thank you so much, Lucy. It's so great to be here.
Who are the SciBurst hosts and why did they start a pop‑culture science podcast?
Yeah, we're so excited to have you now. Ella, you met each other at university. Yeah. You know, you did science communication. Yeah. How do you go from studying together, being mates that you need to then saying, hey, we want to start a podcast? Why did you want to do that? Well, I think it all comes from obviously a great friendship, but also a curiosity and a want to, we like to say, burst science out of the academic space and make it more relevant for other people. As science communicators studying together, we found that there were A lot of barriers to people understanding the way the world works around them. And for us, pop culture is a really great way to find something that a lot of us connect with.
And talking about science through pop culture seemed like a really obvious choice together to kind of practice those science communication skills. Yeah. Cyburst is the name of the podcast. And there was a bit of an ultimatum with you starting this podcast. It was decided that the first episode had to be about Pokemon. Yeah. Now, can you tell us right here, right now, maybe a scientific anecdote about Pokemon or through the lens of Pokemon, just to get us started, just to kind of, you know, get the wheels turning a little bit. Yeah, absolutely. So there's actually so much science going on in Pokemon. And something really interesting about the franchise as a whole is that it was created by an amateur entomologist.
So someone who studies bugs and insects. And the sort of the catch them all phrase is reminiscent of that like insect collecting culture in Japan too. And then there's lots of links to ecology in Pokemon. A lot of the Pokemon are actually inspired by real life bugs and have some similar characteristics. And I'm sure Ella's got a couple of facts as well that she'd like to share because it's her favorite franchise okay so you were the one that had the ultimatum yeah i said isabel a podcast is a great idea but pokemon being one of my favorite things but also the number one media franchise in the world yeah that's going to connect with a lot of people so let's talk about something that a lot of people will have very strong nostalgia or love um and like to play along with yeah well ella do you have a fact for us
Okay, so one of my favorite facts is that currently there's Pokemon that get impacted by climate change in the Pokemon universe. Wow. So Corsola, who is a coral Pokemon, in the early games and worlds of Pokemon is bright pink. And then kind of in these later games, we're seeing that there is a... A Galarian Corsola who is white and that is kind of showing that this Pokemon has been impacted by climate change. Oh my god, almost like a coral reef or bleaching or something. Yeah, so kind of like a bleaching event has happened. So I really love this mirroring that we see in the Pokemon world that tells us a little bit more about our real world too. Yeah. Now, Dr. Carl, have you ever heard the term Solarpunk?
I have not and I am hanging by to learn.
I hadn't heard this either until I met you guys and met your podcast.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:58
2
Who are the SciBurst hosts and why did they start a pop‑culture science podcast?
0:58–7:24
3
How does Pokémon reflect real ecology and climate change in its world?
7:24–17:20
4
What is solarpunk and how does it imagine hopeful sustainable futures?
17:20–40:37