Ockham’s Razor

You’ve got one, I’ve got one, and even cows have them. I’m talking, of course, about a microbiome – that collection of trillions of microorganisms that live on and in us and that we literally couldn’t live without.

You know who else has a microbiome that’s a matter of life and death? One of our favourite insects: the honeybee. 

This week, we’re hearing from Mengyong Lim, who’s been getting up close and personal with bees’ digestive tracts to make sure we humans aren’t wreaking too much havoc on them…

The year is 1911, and a young man by the name of Thomas Midgely Jr. is graduating university with a degree in engineering.

Thomas doesn’t know it yet, but he will have a greater impact on the Earth’s atmosphere than any other single organism.

He will help create two world-changing chemical inventions that will improve the lives of many, and negatively change two parts of our ecosystem in the process with decades-long consequences.

If there’s one thing Australians know how to be smug about, it’s that our country is home to some of the most incredible ecosystems in the world.

But today, we’re visiting one that is massive in size, massively economically important … and massively underappreciated, to the point that that you may never have even heard of it.

Mention the term “startup” and your mind probably goes to Silicon Valley and high-tech computer science.

But startups exist in regional Australia as well – and what’s more, they’re crucial to our future.

This week, we’re hearing from Elena Kelareva on startups in Gippsland, in regional Victoria – and how getting away from preconceptions is one of the first steps to startup success.

Where does cancer come from? Well there are a few answers to that question – genetic changes, maybe it’s triggered by a virus.

But for two species of cute, fuzzy animals, they can be transmitted directly.

This week, we’re hearing from Ruth Pye about this surprising thing that two species in very different parts of the world have in common.

Are you a fan of pop music? What about rap? Or maybe you like edgy, experimental, electronic stuff?

Well – that’s what you think. But if we covered your head with sensors and played you some music, we might discover differently.

Our own health and the health of our planet as two things that are intertwined.

Today, we hear from obstetrician Kristine Barnden about the gap between good health in theory, and the challenges to having it in practice.

It’s something Kristine sees not just in human health… but in the health of our climate as well.

Did you know that across the Tasman, in New Zealand, some kitchens have roller cupboard doors instead of, you know, normal cupboard doors?

It’s because of the earthquakes. Sometimes they’re so bad that your crockery can shake out of your cupboards and smash, and the roller ones prevent this.

Lucky for us, earthquakes don’t really happen in Australia, so it’s not something we need to worry about. Right?

Well… it’s time you met seismologist Dr Trevor Allen.

If you had to pit endangered species next to each other in a contest of who was most good-looking, tigers would have to be pretty close to the top of the list. They’re gorgeous – and getting people on board with the idea of protecting them isn’t too hard.

But what about the people who live on the edges of their habitat?

This week, we discover that conservation is a noble goal… but it’s got to be done in partnership with local communities.

Our narrator: Professor Wendy Wright from Federation University. And the story starts early one morning in rural Nepal.

Living as we do in a country that’s prone to drought, it’s no surprise that the subject of irrigation for farming can become a contentious one in Australia.

Stepping up to the mic today is Rose Roche, who wants to bring some much-needed nuance to the water debate… and she’s enlisting the help of fairy tales and Disney princesses.