Science Queeries

What happens when 124 women and non-binary STEMM leaders, 132 postcards and one very ice-solated continent come together? You get Postcards from Antarctica, a collaborative artwork created aboard the final Homeward Bound Antarctic voyage in 2025.

Each postcard captures something meaningful about Antarctica, from its wildlife and landscapes to the profound experience of being there. Turn them over, and you’ll find handwritten messages to policymakers, communities, future generations, or a future self.

Together, the postcards create more than a map of Antarctica — they map memories, hopes, responsibility, and a shared vision for our planetary future.

Postcards from Antarctica will make its world debut at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney. You can explore the artwork online…plus we hope to see it displayed around the world!

Dr Cat chats with some the people behind the artwork: Annabel Dominguez, Cat Nielsen, Helen McGuire, Jess Leck, and Natasha Pauli. They discuss life-changing polar perspectives and creative collaboration. Expect plenty of cool stories and absolutely no snow jokes… okay, maybe one or two.

Originally aired 11th August, 2026.

Hero image: Project co-leads Jessica Leck and Natasha Pauli with the final map. (Credit: Postcards from Antarctica.)

Dr Cat reminisces with and discusses the art project with her Antarctic travel buddies: Annabel Dominguez, Helen McGuire, Cat Nielsen, Natasha Pauli, and Jess Leck.

The grid of postcards looks spectacular together. Turn each postcard over, and there is a hand-written message by the individual artist, inspired by their experiences of Antarctica.

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Everyone’s talking about AI. But many people don’t fully understand what AI means for them and their future. What’s actually changing – beyond the hype?

Conversations around AI are often missing something crucial: the human perspective. This week, we’re exploring why the human lens matters.

Explore why we’re talking about AI all wrong, how it’s reshaping our roles at work, and what our communities actually need to be truly “smart”.

Zoe Eather is The Funny Futurist™ – an engineer, PhD researcher in data storytelling, and stand-up comedian. She has spent her career computing solutions to complex problems. Now she’s helping people process clarity about AI, change, and the future.

The future isn’t predetermined. It’s something we shape together.

Originally aired 4th August, 2026.

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How can you treat a disease that you don’t know you have? You can’t.

Blood cancers like leukaemia and lymphoma account for one in every 10 cancers diagnosed. In children, it drops to one in every two. These cancers are treatable if caught early. But in some parts of the world – including within Australia – the resources needed to accurately diagnose them aren’t always unavailable.

Diagnosis relies on flow cytometry – a technology that uses antibodies to identify cancer cells. But flow cytometry machines are expensive to run, require specialised training to use, and aren’t accessible in many parts of the world. So patients in resource-poor settings go undiagnosed, untreated, and unseen.

Ailie Ross is a biomedical researcher at James Cook University Townsville. She has spent two decades working in pathology labs, and now she’s drawing on that experience to solve a critical problem: how do we diagnose blood cancers accurately when resources are limited?

Ailie is working to combat health inequity in Australia and overseas. Accurate diagnosis is about transfusing knowledge and resources to places where they’re needed most.

When we know the problem, we can treat patients effectively. And that changes lives.

Originally aired 21st July, 2026.

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Can great stories predict great science?

For the 100th episode and 2nd birthday of Science Queeries, we’re reading between the lines of literature. Just how much science is hiding on the page of our favourite sci-fi books? From Frankenstein to Jurassic Park, and 1984 to War of the Worlds, Dr Cat is joined by her history-and-English-teacher brother Sasha Kober to separate science fact from science fiction.

Could electricity really bring the dead back to life? Could we ever travel faster than light—or through time itself? And why are tiny microbes the real heroes of War of the Worlds?

Celebrate 100 episodes of curiosity and gloriously terrible puns. Whether you’re a bookworm, a science nerd, or somewhere in between, this episode proves that some of the greatest discoveries begin with a simple question: What if?

Originally aired 7th July, 2026.

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Constellations of the night sky carry both science and story.

Science Queeries teams up with Big Bi Questions to share cosmic love stories and sky knowledge. Two bisexual presenters – Dr Cat bringing astronomy and Greek mythology, and Little Jase sharing First Peoples lore – sit under the same sky and compare notes on the stars.

We’ll wander through love…not quite triangles…but larger polygons…in Greek mythology. Think: a transmasc hunter, bi gods, lesbian goddesses, and moons with more complicated dating histories than most group chats. We then ground ourselves in First Peoples stories of Sky Country, where stars mark law and connection.

It’s part astronomy lesson, part yarn circle, part love letter to the night sky. Ancient stories (from here and from elsewhere) remind us that humans of all identities have always looked up, fallen in love, and seen themselves written in the stars.

Originally aired 30th June, 2026.

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Strap on your smartwatches and adjust your metaphorical lab goggles. This Radiothon episode is all about the speculative future of wearable tech and dramatic science explainers. From continuous glucose monitors quietly live‑streaming blood sugar, to speculative glasses that let us see UV patterns in nature, heat leaking from our houses, or live subtitles for reality, we ask: when does “assistive” become “enhanced”… and who gets to decide?

Join Dr Cat and Clayton Wimshurst to chat science and speculation. We’ll invite you to design your dream body upgrade, and explore how augmented senses could help (or haunt) our communities. All while raising funds to keep JOY’s very real community signal loud, proud and on‑air. Science with JOY – because curiosity is our favourite wearable.

As an added bonus, Dr Cat DID end up jumping into 10°C waters in Launceston after raising enough funds during this episode.

Originally aired 15th June, 2026.

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Having just passed the longest night/the winter solstice, we’re looking at the cosmic choreography that shapes our whole year.

We’ll talk about why the winter solstice is the ultimate dark night of the soul-ar system.

Dr Cat untangles the tilt that gives Earth its seasons, and explains why the coldest days rudely arrive just as the days start getting longer. She shares ancient calendars of astronomers from around the world (like Stonehenge). Then, see how other planets do winter (spoiler: 21‑year-long winters are a hard “no”!).

Originally aired 23rd June, 2026.

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Australia’s iconic marsupials are going extinct at an alarming rate. But innovative science is offering hope.

One in six human couples rely on assisted reproduction technologies like IVF…and marsupials may need to rely on these technologies too – it’s just that we can’t use the exact same tools across humans and marsupials.

Understanding the unique biology of marsupial reproduction could revolutionise conservation.

This week, we’re peeking inside the pouch. Dr Jen Hutchison from The University of Melbourne explores marsupial pregnancy, how assisted reproduction technologies like IVF could help preserve endangered species, and how the de-extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger could restore what we’ve lost.

Originally aired 9th June, 2026.

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Would you snack on some insects? What if they were blended into your chocolate mousse and you couldn’t even tell?

The human population is heading toward 9 billion and traditional livestock farming can’t sustainably feed our hungry world. We need new solutions – fast.

The answer may be crawling right in front of us.

Insect farming could be the solution. Bugs are more sustainable than beef. They’re more versatile than tofu. And they’re packed with nutrients.

We’re exploring insect protein with Lee Cadesky, who went from inventing cricket tofu right out of grad school, to transforming how we think about the food and the food industry. Lee is a food scientist, engineer, author, and entrepreneur who has invented and commercialised novel insect-based ingredients around the world.

We’ll talk about the science of turning insects into different food products, their nutritional benefits, and why insect farming is more sustainable as a protein source.

If the idea makes you a little squeamish – yes, the psychological barrier of eating bugs is real – we chat about how to create products that don’t look or taste like insects.

The future of food is about everything being on the table.

Originally aired 2nd June, 2026.

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The brain is complex – billions of neurons, trillions of connections, and countless ways things can go wrong. Brain malformations and severe epilepsies can derail development, disrupt learning, and change lives forever. And sometimes, the cause remains a mystery.

Until now.

Genetic testing is unlocking answers. Translational genetics is rewiring how we approach treatment. And understanding the genetic code behind these conditions could be game-changing.

This week, we’re brain-storming solutions with Dr Matt Coleman who spent years at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute investigating the genetic basis of neurological disorders. He’s passionate about using genetic knowledge to develop treatments that can transform lives, which he now does as Medical Science Liaison at UCB Pharmaceuticals.

Because when we decode the brain’s code, we can rewrite the story for patients and their families.

Originally aired 26th May, 2026.

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