Science Friction

12 | Artemis Explained: What a ride

15 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Integrity astronauts are back on Earth recovering from their journey, while NASA prepares for Artemis III. Belinda and Jacinta answer some of yo...

11 | Artemis Explained: Mission accomplished

11 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

There wasn't a dry eye in mission control as the Artemis II astronauts safely returned in what NASA called a "perfect" splashdown.Belinda and Jacinta...

10 | Artemis Explained: Countdown to splashdown

10 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Nine days down … only one to go.The Artemis II mission is currently hurtling through space back to Earth, and is expected to land in the Pacific Oc...

09 | Artemis Explained: Next stop, Earth

09 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

With under two days to go, the Artemis II astronauts are making the most of their remaining time in space. Belinda and Jacinta take a look at what t...

08 | Artemis Explained: Homeward bound

08 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After the high of the lunar flyby, the four Artemis II astronauts are now on the return leg of their mission while scientists pore over the thousands...

07 | Artemis Explained: Moon flyby success

07 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been a big day for the Artemis II astronauts. They broke a 56-year record for the furthest distance humans have travelled from Earth, success...

06 | Artemis Explained: Moon joy

06 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We’re at the pointy end of the Artemis II mission now: It’s the eve of the lunar flyby. With the four astronauts now looped into the Moon’s gr...

05 | Artemis Explained: Science in space

05 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Alongside taking snaps of Earth, chatting with mission control and fixing the toilet, the Artemis II astronauts are also taking part in all kinds of ...

04 | Artemis Explained: Halfway to the moon

04 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Artemis II astronauts have passed the halfway point between Earth and the Moon, and still have around another day's travel time before they appro...

03 | Artemis Explained: No turning back

03 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Just over a day after blasting off, four astronauts encased in an Orion capsule have veered away from Earth and are now on course to fly around the M...

02 | Artemis Explained: Lift off

02 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

And we have lift off!Four astronauts successfully blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center and have started their journey to the Moon.But it wouldn'...

01 | Artemis Explained: Before the launch

01 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time in 50 years, humanity is on the cusp of returning to the Moon, with the Artemis II lunar flyby mission set to launch in the coming...

PRESENTS - Expanse: The Nannup Four

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Season six of the multi-award winning podcast Expanse: The Nannup Four explores the dark secrets, hard questions and lost chances around one of Austr...

BONUS | The Challenger Legacy: Q&A

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What's the point of space exploration? Would you fly on a space shuttle? How did they fix the joints after the Challenger disaster? For this special...

05 | The Challenger Legacy: Apollo on Steroids

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

NASA is gearing up for the Artemis II mission — where it will send astronauts around the moon for the first time in 50 years. While space explorati...

04 | The Challenger Legacy: The Devil You Know

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of twin disasters two decades apart, how do we make sense of why they happened?In episode four, we find out what happened on the very fir...

03 | The Challenger Legacy: Columbia

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 2003, close to two decades after the Challenger disaster, seven astronauts were killed in another space shuttle accident. History has repeated it...

02 | The Challenger Legacy: Five Lepers

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In a conference room in Utah, space shuttle Challenger engineers watch in horror as it explodes live on TV.These engineers are more than 3,000 kilome...

01 | The Challenger Legacy: Launch Fever

20 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It's the morning of January 28th, 1986. On board the space shuttle Challenger are seven astronauts, including teacher Christa McAuliffe.She is set to...

INTRODUCING — The Challenger Legacy

11 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Forty years ago this January, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated on its way into orbit. All seven astronauts on board were killed.In the days...

05 | Artificial Evolution: Gene-Edited Babies

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2018, a Chinese scientist made an announcement that shocked the world — and landed him years in prison.In a special episode of Artificial Evolut...

A story of hope: How Jane Goodall changed the world

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Jane Goodall, a pioneer of ground-breaking chimpanzee field research, has died at the age of 91.Her early work, published in 1963, transformed our...

04 | Artificial Evolution: Pig Parts for People?

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Timothy Andrews has lived with a pig kidney in his body for eight months.That makes him a record breaker — living longer with a gene-edited pig kid...

03 | Artificial Evolution: Yuck or Yum? Gene-Edited Meat

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Gene-edited fish are on the market in Japan, and similar foods could soon be on Australian shelves. But will we want to eat them, how affordable will...

02 | Artificial Evolution: Genetically Modified Marsupials

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, a US biotech company claimed it had brought back a long-extinct species - the dire wolf, which roamed ancient America thousands of...

01 | Artificial Evolution: Cloning Goes Mainstream

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last year, 81-year-old rancher Arthur 'Jack' Schubarth was sentenced to six months in prison.His crime? An elaborate, multi-country conspiracy to smu...

INTRODUCING — Artificial Evolution

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1996, Dolly the Sheep became the first ever cloned animal. Nearly 30 years later, genetic technology has reshaped the world around us. What exactl...

05 | Brain Rot: Meet the people who ditched their smartphones. Is it worth it?

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve all dreamt of lobbing our smartphone into the ocean and going off grid. So what happens when you follow through with it?For our final episod...

04 | Brain Rot: Is internet addiction real?

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Plenty of people will say they are addicted to the internet. But how well-recognised, scientifically, is an addiction ... to your screen?In episode f...

03 | Brain Rot: Is tech making your memory better or worse?

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’re trusting tech with more tasks than ever — including the ones our brains once did.We’re Googling things we used to know, taking screenshot...

02 | Brain Rot: Is AI turning us off human relationships?

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whether it’s social media, the omnipresent smartphone or AI companions, in recent decades the way we relate to each other has been completely up-en...

01 | Brain Rot: Is there any proof your phone is destroying your attention span?

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone seems to have a hunch that their phone is destroying their attention span, but is there any science to back it up?In episode one of Brain Ro...

INTRODUCING — Brain Rot

28 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For Science Friction, it's Brain Rot — a new series about the science of being chronically online and what it’s doing to our brains.What's really...

06 | Cooked: Vitamin B3 ... and the media

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For episode six of Cooked, we turn the lens on … science communication itself.We’re looking at how information travels from a scientific study to...

05 | Cooked: Electrolytes — who needs them?

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past few years, you might have heard advertisements in your podcast feed or on social media for electrolyte supplements.If you haven’t see...

04 | Cooked: A peculiar potato experiment

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why did a group of anonymous strangers on the internet try to eat almost nothing but potatoes for a month? On Cooked this week, an unusual experimen...

03 | Cooked: Mystery in the Mediterranean

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It was one of the world's biggest nutrition trials. A study of thousands of people which found that following a Mediterranean diet could meaningfully...

02 | Cooked: All-meat eaters say they feel great - but why?

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Diets like carnivore have been popping up all over the place. People who go carnivore aim to eat nothing but a select few animal products, like meat ...

01 | Cooked: Could ice cream actually be good for you?

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two decades ago, nutritional epidemiologists made a startling finding – that people eating more ice cream were less likely to develop diabetes.In t...

00 | INTRODUCING — Cooked

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For Science Friction, a new series — Cooked!On Cooked, we dig into the nuance of nutrition. Why are studies showing that ice cream could be good fo...

06 | Is super-intelligent AI around the corner?

28 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Behind the rise of AI there's big questions about where this technology is going.Is it going to be super intelligent — and if that happens — is...

05 | The year the world woke up to AI with a bang

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

2023 was the year powerful new AI technology went mainstream, with image generators and tools like ChatGPT.And people quickly started wondering where...

04 | If you control AI, you control the world

14 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

AI is often portrayed as being all about technology. But it is also about money and control. Because those who control AI, may control the world.In t...

03 | The bumpy history of driverless cars and their AI brains

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When you think about a driverless car future, perhaps your mind goes to being driven around, watching movies from the backseat and drinking martinis...

02 | Locked up by AI for a crime he didn't commit

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As ChatGPT shows us, AI can do some amazing stuff. But it does some creepy stuff as well. And it's already been responsible for locking up innocent p...

01 | The day modern AI toppled humanity's champion

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The world is experiencing a boom in artificial intelligence (AI). It's everywhere. In just a few years, computers have learned to paint a picture, wr...

I for one welcome... Hello AI Overlords!

23 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

2023 has been the breakout year of artificial intelligence. After decades of investment and improvement, the technology suddenly went mainstream.  F...

REAL WILD CHILD (Part 4) — The Lost Boys

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Two groups of boys on a camp in the wilds of America are pitted against each other. But the camp leaders have only one thing on their minds. Science....

What family secrets hide inside your cells? Epigenetics, trauma, and ancestry

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What family secrets lie deep inside your cells? A story of survival against the odds, hope after the Holocaust, and the eye-opening new science of ep...

Robbie and the DNA Detectives

05 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

At the heart of this moving and extraordinary medical mystery is Robbie, a man in a genetic lottery. Two rare mutations made his life uniquely intere...

REAL WILD CHILD (Part 3) — The superstar of Tai Asks Why

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tai Poole is a self-described scientist and the teenage star of multi-award-winning podcast Tai Asks Why. Love, climate change, death, dreaming…the...

REAL WILD CHILD (Part 2) — I grew up in a cult

23 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When pioneering Australian RNA biologist Archa Fox was a  child, her parents were drawn into the orbit of the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Her famil...

REAL WILD CHILD (Part 1) — The nuclear boy scouts

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nuclear weapons are not toys. But what happens when children get their hands on nuclear know-how? Two explosive stories of two smart kids — both wi...

Thanks for the fun! Science Friction's Natasha Mitchell has some news

09 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Natasha Mitchell, presenter and co-producer of Science Friction, has some special news she wants to share with you. Listen in.(Spoiler alert: You c...

The fantastical world of fusion – The Expanse's Ty Franck and futurist Karl Schroeder (Part 2)

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How has fusion inspired the imaginations of science fiction writers? In The Expanse blockbuster book and TV series, fusion energy has changed the cou...

Nuclear disruption — will starry-eyed startups win the nuclear fusion race? (Part 1)

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The promise of nuclear fusion is clean, limitless energy for all. But why do start-up entrepreneurs think they can solve a problem that's perplexed ...

The unexpected lives of Lab Shenanigans and The Scholar Diaries

24 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It started with one post on Instagram. What followed was unimaginable. Scientists turned social media giants Darrion Nguyen (aka Lab Shenanigans) a...

Out of jail, is the CRISPR-baby scandal scientist at it again?

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Chinese scientist Dr Jiankui He flouted the law and bioethics basics to create the world's first CRISPR gene edited babies. Now out of jail, he's b...

Science is political — Australia's science minister Ed Husic

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Science is political. So let's go straight to the heart of political power in Australia. 10 months into role, the Federal Minister for Industry and S...

Quantum bullsh*t — how (not) to ruin your life with advice from quantum physics

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Self-proclaimed TikTok mystics, healers, wellness influencers are increasingly turning to quantum physics to give their claims credibility, with pote...

We're here, we're queer, and omg science!

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Chemist Kim Kwan didn’t realise how much they needed to find their queer crew in science until they did.  Rami Mandow threw in a successful c...

World Pride 2023 - Love Your Nature

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Australia is hosting the 2023 World Pride festival and queer botanists are celebrating by bringing their full selves to their science.Ryan O'Donnel...

Rock celebrity! The big bucks and wild geopolitics of meteorites - Part 2

10 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From the nomadic world of the Sahara Desert to a fantasy wonderland inside a Melbourne industrial warehouse ... meteorites are a growing busines...

Rock celebrity! The Black Beauty saga - Part 1

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A rock celebrity with a wild biography.  Saharan nomads, a weight-loss doctor feeding an unusual addiction, scientists seeking the origins of Ev...

Gene edited foods back on the menu - what are they and what's changed? (REPEAT)

27 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists Jonathan Napier and Cathie Martin remember when they needed armed guards and high fences to protect their genetic experiments. But the rul...

Twinning! (REPEAT)

22 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A pair of twin girls is born in the late 1980s and their mother, Chris, is told a series of ‘facts’ about them.Each born with their own placenta,...

Escaping Russia's new Iron Curtain — superstar science podcaster Ilya Kolmanovsky (REPEAT)

15 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Science journalist, biologist, podcaster, teacher and activist Dr Ilya Kolmanovsky is a superstar science communicator.He hosts one of the biggest Ru...

AI ethics leader Timnit Gebru is changing it up after Google fired her (REPEAT)

08 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Leading computer scientist and co-founder of Black in A.I, Dr Timnit Gebru, was hired by Google to co-lead its Ethical AI team with another tech indu...

Scratch that itch! Meet the Sneaky Artist (REPEAT)

01 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What does it take to reimagine your life?In this occasional Science Friction series, scientists who end-up their lives and strip themselves of their ...

The mighty fly army (REPEAT)

25 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It started with an idea.Then came the university car park full of tonnes of fish heads.Now this extraordinary 20-something couple have deployed a mig...

Brains vs brains, boys vs girls! Science Friction's 2022 quiz show

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Two teams. Scientists and science journalists. Brains vs brains. Boys vs Girls. From the small (bed bug sex) to the big (er, the whole cosmos), it'...

Prison for protesting - climate change activists or criminals?

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The long prison sentence given to Sydney climate protester Deanna 'Violet' Coco for blocking traffic on the Sydney Harbour bridge has surprised man...

The soul in the machine — anthropologist, technologist, futurist Genevieve Bell

02 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We make machines, but do our machines make us? And who's in control really? Superstar anthropologist, technologist, futurist, cyberneticist, and Sili...

The End of the Universe with poet Alicia Sometimes (Part 2 of 2)

25 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If the universe began with a big bang, how will it end? This question has suddenly got very personal for acclaimed science poet Alicia Sometimes.Phys...

Presents: WHO'S GONNA SAVE US? Citizens Assemble!

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Should solving climate change be left to politicians? What if YOU could drive policy without ever running for an election?WHO'S GONNA SAVE US? is an ...

Presents: WHO'S GONNA SAVE US? Better Call Saul

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Saul Griffith has an ambitious plan to save the planet. It all begins at home and it's completely electrifying!WHO'S GONNA SAVE US? is an ABC podcast...

Love and Exile: An everlasting mystery (Part 2 of 2)

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Science and culture ... with extra spice. All species welcome.

Love and Exile: An everlasting mystery (Part 1 of 2)

30 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When intrepid botanist Tim Collins went sleuthing in the wilds of Australia in pursuit of a papery daisy's DNA, little did he know he'd find himself ...

Sex, tech, intimacy and power — Jennifer Mills, Rob Brooks, Josephine Taylor

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Too much. Not enough. Too weird. Not weird enough. Sex is enjoyed, explored, exploited, and policed in countless ways. The pleasure and pain of writi...

Deep Past meets Deep Future — science fiction star Becky Chambers

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

2022 Hugo Award winning science fiction author, Becky Chambers, is loved by fans for her brilliantly hopeful imagined worlds in her Monk and Robot...

What came before the Big Bang? Poet Alicia Sometimes wants to know

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What came before time as we know it began? A time before. Can we ever really know?

Do we need a revolution? Bruce Pascoe, James Bradley, Michelle Johnston, Lesley Head

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Four big minds on the next steps for our species.

Sex cells! Are there just two biological sexes? [Part 2]

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sex is complicated. Oh yes indeed.

Simón(e) Sun - I knew I was trans because of science [Part 1] REPEAT

18 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Science is way personal.

I still call Australia home ... but. Why the USA is stealing our scientists

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

 Three rising stars in science on why they can’t come back.  

Fire of Love – the radical passion of Katia and Maurice Krafft

02 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

An explosive love triangle with a difference.

If trees could talk (Part 2) - Living fossils on the edge

26 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

They hold their secrets close. But these scientists are getting Tasmania's "living fossil" trees to talk. And whoa, we need to listen!

If trees could talk … what could they tell you? (Part 1)

19 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There's a wild tale inside every trunk. The trees join us alongwith Peter Wohlleben (The Hidden Life of Trees & The Heartbeat of Trees) and oth...

YOU can save the planet. Con or not? National Science Week debate

12 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian Craig Reucassel (The Chaser, The War on Waste), mathematician Barbara Holland and their teams are out to change your mind.

The wattle war (repeat)

05 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Flower power, and a botanical battle that divided nations.

Ecofascism – are far-right extremists the new environmentalists?

29 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What’s violent nationalism got to do with Nature?

Holy great desert fireballs! The meteorite chasers

22 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's out there somewhere... they just have to find it

His snailyness (Little Beasts, Big Jobs Part 3)

17 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Follow the silvery trail and enter the world inside a shell. To be or not to be.

 Rats to the rescue (Little Beasts, Big Jobs Part 2)

10 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You just never know when you'll need a rat will save your life.

The mighty fly army (Little Beasts, Big Jobs Part 1)

03 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Some people dream of changing the world. Others do. Thank the flies.

Carlo Rovelli: intellectual free spirit, quantum physicist, bestselling author[REPEAT]

26 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There is nothing this physicist with radical roots won't think about! [REPEAT]

Gene edited foods back on the menu - what are they and what's changed?

19 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Once fences and armed guards protected genetically modified (GM) crops. But the rules are rapidly changing. From Vitamin D-boosted tomatoes to low GI...

Move over Mills and Boon, the HOT SCIENTISTS are here

12 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Meet the neuroscientist turned bestselling rom-com novelist who's exposing the underbelly of science, the passion, and the power games.

The STEAM Room science experiment — I wannabe a stand-up comic!

05 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Would you be game? Hear what happened when scientists make themselves vulnerable AND hilarious.

How two short words triggered a racism reckoning for plant scientists

29 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Two words. Tweeted then deleted. A meeting meltdown. Has #BlackLivesMatter put international science on notice?