Beyond Infinity

Live-to-air interviews: Nasty mucormycosis fungal infections wreak havoc in India; Victoria's 4th hard lockdown extended; limits of quarantine hotels; QR codes finally unified; highly contagious Indian (Delta) variant; Melbourne's 350+ exposure sites; comparing States performance against outbreaks.

A chat with veteran broadcaster Brendon Telfer of RPPfm about the introduction of CD quality music streaming. It's welcome news for audiophiles, but what are the costs and advantages? And what will the impact be on the overall media landscape, including FM and AM radio services.

We talk with Geoff Wells, medical specialist and founder of the Covid Doctors' Network, about the latest outbreak of the Indian covid variant and the stage 4 lockdown ordered by the Victorian Labour Government. We discuss how to convince the community of the urgent need for mass vaccinations, effective contact tracing, safe quarantining, the dire economic fallout and why lockdowns just keep happening in Victoria.

A wide-ranging chat on live-to-air radio with bee activist Simon Mulvany. We cover fast and cheap covid testing using bees, honey (and money) on tap from the Flowhive and Elon Musk's extraordinary Neuralink technology helping the blind and handicapped.

Piers hears from Dr.Tony Heyes, retired physicist and inventor, about what he calls the Adams Event, a time 42,000 years ago when the Earth's magnetic field flipped. During this period, our magnetic shield dropped to below 6% of its current level exposing surface life to dangerous radiation from space and auroral activity so bright that night turned into day. He suggests the extinctions of Australia's megafauna and neanderthals may have been caused by this apocalyptic environmental crisis, as revealed in the rings of an ancient Kauri tree, preserved in a swamp in New Zealand.

Dr. Ian Storey, mathematician and lecturer in information systems and Guy West, professional share market investor and chess master, continue the discussion of different kinds of risk. Here the focus is on gambling and insurance. Which games are best avoided at casinos and why. Is insurance always worth the premiums? Both Ian and Guy agree that mathematical literacy is sorely lacking in the general population and needs to be emphasised more in school. Part 2 of a 2 part interview.

In Part 1 of a wide-ranging discussion, Piers asks Dr. Ian Storey, a mathematician and lecturer in information systems and Guy West, a professional sharemarket investor and chess master, why it's so vitally important to understand risk.

Like what you hear? Check out our searchable backlist of over 800 science and technology podcasts, complete with show notes and other resources at beyondinfinity.com.au

Activist Simon Mulvany of Save the Bees Australia discusses a new way of tackling mosquitos which spread bacteria causing buruli ulcers. Instead of gassing large areas with harmful insecticides, traps are used to attract mosquitos. This environmentally-friendly approach to a serious health problem has recently attracted government funding.

NASA hits the bullseye with the successful deployment of its autonomous Ingenuity drone at Jezero Crater on Mars. This 'tech demo' paves the way for future drone missions where vast distances can be easily covered and previously inaccessible terrain studied from the air.

Live-to-air radio interview with beekeeper, environmentalist and potential councillor Simon Mulvany. Simon gives his view on how and why the crowd can harness social media to take on powerful Wall St interests. We discuss GameStop, Robin Hood, Dogecoin and insider trading.