Quick Smart

By ABC listen

What's Quick Smart about?

Quick Smart is the show that feeds you big ideas in bite-sized pieces. Get up to speed on some of the biggest issues from psychology, money, health, history, pop culture, in just 10 minutes. Tegan Taylor guides you through!

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Quick Smart episodes:

05.01.2024
Office romances are more common than you think
We spend more of our waking hours at work than anywhere else – and by extension, a lot of time with our colleagues. That might explain why up to half of us have been in a workplace relationship. So is...
04.24.2024
Should TikTok be banned?
TikTok has over a billion users and counting. Recently there’s been a lot of talk about the national security threat that such a large user base owned by a Chinese company poses and now the US government has just passed...
04.17.2024
Could AI swing elections around the world?
AI is already impacting the way we work, the way we design and the way we think but there’s a growing concern that soon it’s going to start impacting the way we vote. And it’s got governments and regulators scrambling....
04.10.2024
Have Australians forgotten how to relax?
With more Australians working from home than ever, the lines between work and leisure time have really blurred. With so many huge advances in technology why does it sometimes feel like we're working more not less than peasants in Medieval...
04.03.2024
Since when do Australian cities have flags?
Outside of the Olympics or the driveway to the United Nations, how often do you think about flags? Countries and states have them but Australian cities have them as well. And unsurprisingly for something that was created largely during colonial...
03.27.2024
Why is Facebook deleting Australian news?
When it comes to finding and sharing news, one third of Australians use Facebook. But that’s about to change because Facebook’s owner Meta has decided to stop paying Australian news outlets for their news. So what impact will Meta’s decision...
03.20.2024
Where in the world is Kate Middleton?
The Royal family has a knack for being the centre of controversy. And over the last few weeks - rumours about the health and location of Kate Middleton have reached a fever pitch. So is she actually recovering from an...
03.13.2024
Why does the internet love to hate fan girls?
There’s nothing wrong with a healthy celebrity obsession - but throughout pop culture history, fan girls have had a bad rap. While being an expert on a topic is seen as intellectual being a fangirl is often portrayed as hysterical,...
03.06.2024
Streaming services killed the Christian radio star
In the early 2000s the Christian rock scene was a billion dollar industry, there were huge international acts, massive multi-day festivals and thousands of album sales - but with the growing popularity of music streaming and TikTok that's all coming...
02.28.2024
The science behind your favourite chips
Cheeseburger, roast duck, grapefruit, sizzling steak and cucumber are flavours you expect to find in a supermarket, but perhaps not in the potato chip aisle. But due to huge leaps in food science, there are now 1400 chip flavours and...
02.21.2024
The conspiracy theories plaguing Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift just set the record for the biggest crowd of her career in Australia. And while the most successful female artist playing to half a million people should be the biggest story right now - she’s found herself at...
02.14.2024
Your cheat sheet for the US Presidential election
In November Americans will head to the polls to vote for their next president. And it’s looking like the contenders will be Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The catch is, while running for president, Trump is also facing 91 charges....
02.07.2024
Is air travel really as safe as we think?
In the last few months there have been some very close calls with planes. In Japan a plane burst into flames on the tarmac, and a plane in Alaska lost a door mid flight, so just how safe is air...
01.31.2024
UFOs could be more real than we think
For most of history believing in UFOs and aliens has been considered pretty fringe… that is until now. In the last few years talk of UFOs has become so mainstream that it has been the topic of debate in the...
01.24.2024
Will the real extroverts please stand up?
Despite how true personality tests might feel, a lot of them are pseudoscience. But it turns out there is science behind at least one of the big personality factors: introversion versus extroversion. So what makes someone an introvert or an...
01.17.2024
How did Australia's housing crisis get so bad?
The harsh reality of being an adult in Australia is spending a huge chunk of time talking about house prices! So what’s the deal with our housing obsession? Is it possible to afford a home anymore without getting help from...
01.10.2024
Why are we addicted to cheesy, salty foods?
For better or worse, ultra processed foods are the backbone of many of our diets. But much like their effect on our cholesterol, blood pressure and waist lines, the evidence that they do us harm is rapidly increasing. Guest: Jen Leake...
01.03.2024
The brave new world of AI in cinema
AI is impacting every creative indsutry - and movies are no exception. If a young Harrison Ford can be churned out of a computer, what does the future of film look like? And would you feel differently about your favourite...
12.27.2023
The rise of the Disney adult
There are people who love Disney and then there are people who really really love Disney. Disney adults are a rapidly growing group who have all the costumes, they know all the songs and some have even sprinkled a loved...
12.20.2023
The mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie
If you’re a fan of detective novels you’ll know this name almost as well as you know your own: Agatha Christie. She’s the mind that created Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, and she put the Orient Express on the map......
12.13.2023
The truth behind your favourite Christmas songs
Jingle Bells, Rocking Around the Christmas Tree, Walking in a Winter Wonderland....You know it's almost the end of the year when you can shamelessly blast your Christmas playlist. We know all the words to the songs, we sing them every year,...
12.06.2023
Is your boss secretly surveilling you at work?
More people are working from home now than ever. Which means everything we've been told about workplace culture and standing desk ergonomics is out the window. So how can managers know that people working from home are actually working from...
11.29.2023
Is life coaching a sham?
Scrolling through Instagram it's impossible to avoid people giving their unsolicited advice - about fashion, the news or the latest food trend. But with the rise of the hot take comes the people trying to monetise this advice in the...
11.22.2023
Isn't it about time we had driverless cars?
Driverless cars feel like they've been "two or three years away"… for the last 10 years. So why don't we have them yet? What technical and ethical hurdles do we still need to overcome to finally make robots our designated...
11.15.2023
Why is the alt-right eating so much meat?
What makes a man, a man? Well eating copious amounts of red meat of course – at least according to certain corners of the internet. The alt-right has made mass beef consumption their business, and this comes at a time...
11.08.2023
Is Stockholm Syndrome a sexist myth?
The term Stockholm syndrome has become a phrase we throw around to describe people in toxic relationships and bad jobs, but originally it was a diagnosis for a young woman who fell for her captor during a week long bank...
11.01.2023
Is Ozempic changing the way we think about diet culture?
In the last decade the body positivity movement has been deprogramming our pop culture brains from believing being thinner is better. Finally we’re seeing diverse bodies on runways, on television, and on magazine covers and the supermarket. But is the...
10.25.2023
What the writers strike means for Australian creatives?
We've all been there. Laying on the couch after a long day of work, paralysed by the task of choosing what show to watch. We're so spoiled for choice — and there are thousands of new shows hitting multiple platforms...
10.18.2023
Would you let strangers watch you sleep for money?
It's no secret we should be working a little bit less, and sleeping a little bit more. And in the age of the always on hustle, some people are doing just that - and these "Sleepfluencers"are making a whole lot...
10.11.2023
Can we capitalism our way out of climate change?
We all try to do our bit for the climate, we say no to plastic bags, we consider buying an electric car, we bring our keep cups to the cafe...but it’s going to take us drinking from a keep cup...
10.04.2023
Opting out of the cult of productivity
In the last little while, you've likely told someone "you've had a busy few weeks", or "work is so crazy right now" but can you actually remember a time when you weren't busy? Will the busy-ness every stop or are...
09.27.2023
TikTok is changing the way we think about faith
Around 85% of the world’s population is religious. And 22% of the world’s population is on TikTok, so it makes sense that a whole lot of religious content is making it’s way into people’s feeds. So with more and more...
09.20.2023
Making sense of the Voice Referendum
On October 14th, Australians will head to the polls to vote in the Voice referendum. An important vote which could ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a say when it comes to matters relating to them. In our...
09.13.2023
Bushfire season is coming - how to deal with climate anxiety
Summer in the northern hemisphere was the hottest on record. There were unprecedented wildfires and floods resulting in mass destruction and deaths, so what does that tell us about what summer will be like in Australia? And after already experiencing...
09.06.2023
The truth about Stockholm Syndrome
The term Stockholm syndrome has become a phrase we throw around to describe people in toxic relationships and bad jobs, but originally it was a diagnosis for a young woman who fell for her captor during a week long bank...
08.30.2023
Does the RBA want people to lose their jobs?
Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve heard of the recent hike in RBA interest rates. But let’s face it, with the cost of housing as it is, living under a rock is looking more and more likely. These increases...
08.23.2023
Is the golden age of literary fraudsters over?
There's nothing better than disappearing into a good book. You can fall in love with people who have never existed and revel in events that never happened. But how does your perception of that book change when that author isn’t...
08.15.2023
Varroa mites are coming for your food
Recently, a tiny, pesky parasite called the varroa mite was detected in Australia for the first time, and already they are absolutely wreaking havoc on bee colonies. Bees are fundamental for Australia's produce, without them - we'd lose a third...
08.08.2023
Why do we keep locking up Indigenous children?
On any night, around half of people aged 10 -17 in detention facilities across the country are Aboriginal or Torres Strait islander, but Indigenous people only make up 3% of the population. So why are so many Indigenous kids ending...
08.02.2023
A Pap test a day for 21 years — meet a medical hero
Have you ever thought about the origin of the pap test? Admittedly, most people would prefer not to think about pap tests at all, so spare a thought for the woman who endured a vaginal test every day for more...
07.26.2023
Will 15 minute cities solve the housing crisis?
The concept of a 15 minute city - where neighbourhoods provide life's essentials in 15 minutes by foot or bike is almost as old as urban planning itself. But recently, this idea has become a flash point for conspiracy theorists....
07.19.2023
Why experts think an AI doomsday is coming
Within a month of its launch, ChatGPT had 100 million users. Suddenly AI was doing our assignments, proofreading our emails, and planning our holidays. But in the process of absorbing all this information - AI has been learning a great...
07.11.2023
Is Disney a religion?
Whether it’s theme parks, iconic characters or beloved films, Disney has enchanted millions around the world. But for its biggest fans — sometimes called “Disney adults” — it can be an intense and often spiritual experience, involving weddings, annual pilgrimages...
07.05.2023
Diet pills have a dark history, but will Ozempic change that?
In the last decade the body positivity movement has been deprogramming our pop culture brains from believing being thinner is better. Finally we’re seeing diverse bodies on runways, on television, and on magazine covers and the supermarket. But is the...
06.28.2023
When is Indigenous fashion for everyone and when is it just for mob?
Indigenous fashion is having a moment. But with the boom has come a conversation about whether this trend is commodifying culture, are artists being fairly compensated and are big brands the ones benefiting from aligning themselves with a movement rather than...
06.21.2023
Sovereign Citizens fought the law... and the law won
There comes a time in every kid's life when they realise their parents can't make them do anything. As we grow up we realise that social rules are there for a reason, but what happens if you continue to disobey the...
06.14.2023
Why do we love goss… but hate a gossip?
When someone says "I've got goss" we get a visceral reaction, it brings out the best and the worst in us. So why is it that we absolutely cannot resist the goss? We have an insatiable appetite to hear about...
06.07.2023
Why does everyone you know suddenly have ADHD?
Something weird happened in the last 12 months or so – it's the fact that all your friends – and perhaps you as well – have ADHD now. So where did this ADHD spike come from? Just how big is the...
06.01.2023
INTRODUCING — Quick Smart
Why do so many people suddenly have ADHD? What happens when you opt out of the law? Could Disney become a new religion? Is AI really going to supersede all our jobs? We've all been there… sitting with our friends at...

What's Quick Smart about?

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Quick Smart episodes:

Office romances are more common than you think

Should TikTok be banned?

Could AI swing elections around the world?

Have Australians forgotten how to relax?

Since when do Australian cities have flags?

Why is Facebook deleting Australian news?

Where in the world is Kate Middleton?

Why does the internet love to hate fan girls?

Streaming services killed the Christian radio star

The science behind your favourite chips

The conspiracy theories plaguing Taylor Swift

Your cheat sheet for the US Presidential election

Is air travel really as safe as we think?

UFOs could be more real than we think

Will the real extroverts please stand up?

How did Australia's housing crisis get so bad?

Why are we addicted to cheesy, salty foods?

The brave new world of AI in cinema

The rise of the Disney adult

The mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie

The truth behind your favourite Christmas songs

Is your boss secretly surveilling you at work?

Is life coaching a sham?

Isn't it about time we had driverless cars?

Why is the alt-right eating so much meat?

Is Stockholm Syndrome a sexist myth?

Is Ozempic changing the way we think about diet culture?

What the writers strike means for Australian creatives?

Would you let strangers watch you sleep for money?

Can we capitalism our way out of climate change?

Opting out of the cult of productivity

TikTok is changing the way we think about faith

Making sense of the Voice Referendum

Bushfire season is coming - how to deal with climate anxiety

The truth about Stockholm Syndrome

Does the RBA want people to lose their jobs?

Is the golden age of literary fraudsters over?

Varroa mites are coming for your food

Why do we keep locking up Indigenous children?

A Pap test a day for 21 years — meet a medical hero

Will 15 minute cities solve the housing crisis?

Why experts think an AI doomsday is coming

Is Disney a religion?

Diet pills have a dark history, but will Ozempic change that?

When is Indigenous fashion for everyone and when is it just for mob?

Sovereign Citizens fought the law... and the law won

Why do we love goss… but hate a gossip?

Why does everyone you know suddenly have ADHD?

INTRODUCING — Quick Smart