There are over 170 million pieces of space junk orbiting Earth right now, and that number is only growing as space orbit becomes more accessible. How are we going to deal with this astronomical littering problem, while keeping up with our satellite-hungry tech needs?

Also, an increase in light and radio pollution is making it harder for astronomers to study the stars. How can space tech companies, governments, and even you do something about it?

Plus, we check in with the latest from SpaceX, and figure out what messages we're sending out into the great unknown on life, love, and the universe.

GUESTS:

• Professor Andy Koronios, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Australasian Space Innovation Institute
• Nick Carter, Lead of the Space Research Group at CSIRO

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land, Kaurna land, and the Country of the Whadjuk Nyoongar people.

Technical production by Allyse Symons.

You step up to a box full of prizes, and knowing that there is a chance you may not win anything, you give it your real-life money anyway. No, this isn't a game at the casino, it's a video game that children as young as four are playing in their spare time. Last year, Australia introduced classification to prevent things like this from happening, so why are we still seeing Loot Boxes show up in kids games?

Also, one of the largest video game companies in the world, Electronic Arts (responsible for games like The Sims and the FIFA franchise), has just agreed to a record-breaking sale. If a Saudi Arabian private equity fund, a Trump advisor, and Silicon Valley investors are joining billion-dollar forces to buy out EA games, what does the future of our games industry look like? 

Plus, we take a look at one of the weirdest, most wonderful consoles in gaming and check in on what’s happening for Melbourne International Games Week October 4-12.

GUESTS:

• David Smith, producer at ABC Gamer 
• Seb Chan, Director & CEO of ACMI 

This episode of Download This Show was produced on Gadigal land, and in Naarm. 

Technical production by Riley Mellis.

The Australian Finance Industry Association has modelled AI's contribution to economic growth in the years ahead. It found that "scaling", or expanding, the use of AI could add up to $60 billion to GDP over the next decade. But who is actually going to benefit from this, and where are we getting these numbers from?

Also, we explain the blossoming $100 billion bromance between Nvidia and OpenAI, and how Gen Z elected their new PM via the gaming app Discord amidst a wave of protests.

Plus, the latest on the teen social media ban.

GUESTS: 

• Mark Serrels, Editorial Director at CHOICE
• Peter Marks, software developer at Access Informatics

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land.

Technical production by Craig Tilmouth and John Jacobs.

Fanfiction has gone from photocopied zines traded at conventions to millions of stories shared online. From smut-filled Harry Potter ships to the fic that birthed Fifty Shades of Grey, we explore fanfiction's growth, its influence on writing and culture, and how Archive of Our Own has stayed free and fan-run in an internet that charges for almost everything.

GUESTS:

• Danielle Binks, fanfiction (and regular fiction) writer, literary agent, and lecturer in Creative Writing at RMIT University
• Rachel Linton, board member at the Office of Transformative Works, the group that runs one of the biggest fanfiction sites out there, Archive of Our Own (AO3)

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land and in Naarm.

Technical production by Adrian Jones.

This week, an Australian video game called Hollow Knight: Silksong is the biggest video game in the world. It’s made by a small team out of Adelaide and has already sold millions of copies worldwide. What could this mean for our quietly successful games industry here in Australia? And why do we still have so much trouble seeing video games as a form of art? 

Also, new research is out that says up to a third of all women playing video games feel guilt-ridden about their hobby. While nobody bats an eye about consuming television or film, video games are still stigmatised as something to be ashamed of. What is it about video games that make us feel so unproductive?  

Plus, what if playing a video game could actively improve your mental health? A team out of Oxford University has developed a game with the express purpose of doing just that. Does it work? And what other games are out there that could be achieving the same thing? 

GUESTS:

• Ruby Innes, co-host of Back Pocket 
• Edmond Tran, managing editor of This Week in Video Games 

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal Land.

2025 is the 'International Year of Quantum Science and Technology', but what actually is quantum science? IBM and AMD are teaming up to champion 'quantum-centric supercomputing' – but what's the difference between a supercomputer and a regular computer? Will we ever see a supercomputer show up in our own homes? And why is Australia making a billion-dollar bet on a quantum computing facility in Brisbane? 

Plus, how and why did scientists develop a ‘biological qubit’, and could quantum computing be the missing piece in dealing with the impacts of climate change? 

GUESTS: 

• Justin Hendry, innovation and business reporter for InnovationAus 
• Ben McAllister, Research Fellow - ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics at Swinburne University of Technology 

This episode of Download This Show was made on Gadigal land and in Naarm.

How much is human adjudication in sport worth, and how much more accurate is Wimbledon's new system? Plus, the CSIRO and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) have joined forces to research how AI can be used ethically and efficiently in sports.

When 1 in 5 people have been the victim of cybercrime and AI voice scams are on the rise, how do we protect ourselves online? Plus Google may soon be the default browser on Android phones in Australia and say 'hello!' to your new best friend, with new AI-powered kids toys.

America’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a notice they intend to purchase an iris scanning technology that can identify "suspects and inmates who try to hide their identity". Unsurprisingly, it’s raised some red flags.

A sex doll brothel in Berlin is offering a combination of new VR and AI technologies in their plastic playmates. But the Cyberbrothel business falls outside traditional brothel regulations, raising questions how consent, sex work, and tech intersect.