Science Write Now

'Synergies' is the first episode in a brand-new series titled Cognitive Conversations, where we tackle the big questions in art, creativity and neuroscience. 

We're excited to be bringing this synergy of minds together discussing the dual occupations writers often hold, and all the fascinating connections in-between. In this episode, we explore the common threads that bring creative and medical practice together. We unpack "day-to-day" creative strategies for switching between cognitive modes, as well as the synergy of the roles we play in life. 

We compare the work of a GP to that of a writer, turning stories heard in the clinic into ideas that percolate and transmute into words on the page, drawing on lived experience alongside challenges of writing about trauma and mental health. Lastly we deep-dive on creative writing and the intrinsic role it can play in opening up new dialogues on the page - and the ripple effect it has on our lives. 

Dr Fiona Robertson is a writer and doctor based here in Meanjin/Brisbane. Fiona is the author of the short story collection If You’re Happy which won the Glendower Award in the 2020 Queensland Literary Awards, and was shortlisted for the Steele Rudd Award in 2022. Currently, she is working on a novel.

Visit Fiona's website and connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter/X.

Dr Laurie Steed is a novelist and short story writer from Boorloo/Perth, living on Whadjuk Noongar Country. His debut novel, You Belong Here, was published in 2018, followed by Love, Dad: Confessions of An Anxious Father, in 2023. His third book, the short story collection Greater City Shadows, is out now.

Visit Laurie's website and subscribe to his e-newsletter | Connect with Laurie on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dr Jo Skinner is a writer and GP based in Meanjin/Brisbane who writes contemporary women’s fiction and has a distance running habit. Jo's debut novel, The Truth About My Daughter is out now.

Visit Jo's website and subscribe to her e-newsletter | Connect with Jo on Instagram and Facebook.

About the host: Bianca Millroy is an emerging science writer, editor, and PhD student based in Meanjin (Brisbane), researching the intersection of creativity and neuroscience. 

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If you liked this episode, leave us a review and share it far and wide.

Science Write Now is dedicated to accessibility, connectivity, inspiration and collaboration across disciplines. Our content is free to access and we want to keep it that way, so if you’re keen to be part of this growing community of creative writing inspired by science, hit subscribe!

We’ll be back with another episode soon, and more conversations inspired by science and creativity to come!

We acknowledge the Jaegara and Turrbal People, Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is created, and the unceded cultural lands on which our guests live and continue to make and tell stories.

What secrets lie in the ashes…? This week on the SWN podcast we chatted to author and two-time Walkley Award-winning journalist, Michael Brissenden about his latest crime-fiction novel, Smoke. Michael worked as a political editor and foreign correspondent with the ABC for 35 years. In fact, you might just recognise Michael from ABC’s 7.30 Report or Four Corners program. He has published two previous novels, The List (2017) and Dead Letters (2021), and a non-fiction book, American Stories: Tales of Hope and Anger (2012). In this episode, we traverse both fiction and nonfiction; we discuss environmental and forest management, climate-fuelled wildfires and the universal challenges they present, the precarious state of journalism, as well as the multiple hot-button themes entertwined in the book. Although being a work of fiction set in the Californian sierras, Smoke draws many intersecting parallels with the world we’ve come to know since Black Summer. As a reader, you’re thrust into the smoky landscape; you become privy to small-town whispers, and soon discover this is about so much more than murder…

Listen to the latest episode where Michael talks to SWN host Bianca Millroy about (writing) crime, corruption, climate-fuelled wildfires, and much more, (No spoilers!)

Find out more about Michael Brissenden on his website, and follow him on X/Twitter. Smoke is available now through Affirm Press or your local independent bookshop! Catch him in September 2024 at upcoming Sydney BAD Crime Writers Festival, or Northern Beaches Readers Festival (Sydney). 

Enjoyed this episode? Share the SWN love!

If you liked this episode, leave us a review and share it far and wide.

Science Write Now is dedicated to accessibility, connectivity, inspiration and collaboration across disciplines. Our content is free to access and we want to keep it that way, so if you’re keen to be part of this growing community of creative writing inspired by science, hit subscribe!

We’ll be back with another episode soon, and more conversations inspired by science and creativity to come!

We acknowledge the Jaegara and Turrbal People, Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is created, and the unceded cultural lands on which our guests live and continue to make and tell stories.

This week we chat with open-disciplinary artist Bianca Tainsh about all things Art, AI and fungi, and go behind-the-scenes to explore Bianca’s current work-in-progress, Imprinting Empathy, which asks: 

• How might art and technology manifest an intimate process of interspecies connection with humans, and can an artificial intelligence learn to care and generate empathy by facilitating this nuanced entanglement? 
• Can empathy be imprinted onto an AI through relational experience and guidance, as it is onto humans? 

…and just what exactly is ‘Bush Turkey Tea’?

Engaging audiences in Australia and beyond, Bianca Tainsh is an award-winning artist renowned for her ground-breaking work that transcends traditional artistic borders. In her latest project, Bianca has ventured into dynamic collaborations with scientists, yielding innovative projects like Myc-a — a symbiotic body of flora and fauna connected by a network of mycorrhizal fungi: a paragon for diversity and mutuality. In her latest work, Imprinting Empathy, Bianca contemplates our very timely, very human fears about how AI will ‘behave’ as it continues its startling emergence into all aspects of human life.

Find out more about Imprinting Empathy on Bianca’s website. 

You can support Bianca’s work through her crowdfunding campaign via the Australian Cultural Fund. Her project is called Imprinting Empathy, and, as of July 2024, the campaign is 86% funded! 

Also, check out Bianca’s TEDx talk - Art: Creating unique spaces for social transformation and follow @bianca.tainsh on Instagram and Facebook.

This episode is themed around our current edition, The Underground and is hosted by Bianca Millroy, an emerging science writer, freelance editor, and PhD student based in Brisbane/Meanjin. 

The Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science; then you’ve come to the right place!

The SWN Podcast is hosted by Amanda Niehaus and Jessica White and produced by Taylor Mitchell with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts.
Listen on-the-go on Google Podcasts (soon to be YouTube Music), Apple and Spotify now!

You can also find and follow us online on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Our opening song is 'Balmain' by Pure Milk: https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/pure-milk.html

Enjoyed this episode? Share the SWN love!

If you liked this episode, leave us a review and share it far and wide.

Science Write Now is dedicated to accessibility, connectivity, inspiration and collaboration across disciplines. Our content is free to access and we want to keep it that way, so if you’re keen to be part of this growing community of creative writing inspired by science, hit subscribe!

We’ll be back with another episode soon, and more conversations inspired by science and creativity to come!

We acknowledge the Jaegara and Turrbal People, Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is created, and the unceded cultural lands on which our guests live and continue to make and tell stories.

In this episode, Jessica talks to writer and former CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Paul Hardisty, about his new nonfiction book, In Hot Water, which charts historical and contemporary efforts to save the Great Barrier Reef, and about the importance of fiction for educating and creating empathy in readers.

Hailing originally from Canada, Dr Paul E Hardisty has spent thirty years working all over the world as an engineer, hydrologist and environmental scientist. He co-founded international environmental consultancy Komex Environmental Ltd, which he helped develop from a startup to a $50 million-a-year company with 1,000 employees, and sold to ASX-listed Worley in 2007.

Paul is a university professor and was CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) from 2017 to 2023. He is the author of several peer-reviewed journal articles, two textbooks on environmental sustainability, and seven novels. The Abrupt Physics of Dying was named Telegraph Thriller of the Year in the UK and was shortlisted for the CWA Creasy Prize. His latest novel, The Forcing, and its prequel, The Descent, imagine a near future affected by climate change. The Forcing was shortlisted for the 2023 Crime Lovers' Awards in the UK. Paul lives in Western Australia.

Buy In Hot Water here

The Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science; then you’ve come to the right place!

The SWN Podcast is hosted by Amanda Niehaus and Jessica White and produced by Taylor Mitchell with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts.
Listen on-the-go on Google Podcasts (soon to be YouTube Music), Apple and Spotify now!

You can also find and follow us online on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Our opening song is 'Balmain' by Pure Milk: https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/pure-milk.html

Enjoyed this episode? Share the SWN love!

If you liked this episode, leave us a review and share it far and wide.

Science Write Now is dedicated to accessibility, connectivity, inspiration and collaboration across disciplines. Our content is free to access and we want to keep it that way, so if you’re keen to be part of this growing community of creative writing inspired by science, hit subscribe!

We’ll be back with another episode soon, and more conversations inspired by science and creativity to come!

We acknowledge the Jaegara and Turrbal People, Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is created, and the unceded cultural lands on which our guests live and continue to make and tell stories.

In this episode, Krystle chats with G. S. Dickson about his debut novel A Minor Fifth, a satire about the death of fictional Australian rock icon, Billy Ordain, recounted, albeit unreliably, by five people who knew him. Krystle and Gareth wax lyrical (and theoretical) about character voice, the influence of Ulysses on the novel’s structure, and the cultural tendency for posthumous mythicism. Inevitably, Proust and The Beatles are mentioned.

About G. S. Dickson:

G. S. Dickson is an Australian author whose work has been published and anthologised in both Australia and the UK. A Minor Fifth, an early draft of which was shortlisted for the prestigious Vogel Literary Award in 2022, is his first novel, and has been described as an ‘incredibly innovative’ work that ‘takes a lot of risks’ (Rohan Wilson, author of 2011 Vogel award-winning The Roving Party). 

Find A Minor Fifth:

Hunters Publishers

Books@Stones

Avid Reader 

Riverbend

QBD

Dymocks

Find G. S. Dickson:

Hunters Publishers

Instagram

 
About Krystle Marie:

Krystle Marie is a mixed, neurodivergent sort-of writer based in Meanjin. She’s thrilled to have interned with SWN as a soon-to-be graduate of UQ’s Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing program. She's currently into Japanese-language immersion. She's always into noise-cancelling headphones.

The Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science; then you’ve come to the right place!

The SWN Podcast is hosted by Amanda Niehaus and Jessica White and produced by Taylor Mitchell with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts.
Listen on-the-go on Google Podcasts (soon to be YouTube Music), Apple and Spotify now!

You can also find and follow us online - on Twitter - on Instagram - and on Facebook.
Our opening song is 'Balmain' by Pure Milk: https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/pure-milk.html

Read the transcript here.

Enjoyed this episode? Share the SWN love!

If you liked this episode, leave us a review and share it far and wide.

Science Write Now is dedicated to accessibility, connectivity, inspiration and collaboration across disciplines. Our content is free to access and we want to keep it that way, so if you’re keen to be part of this growing community of creative writing inspired by science, hit subscribe!

We’ll be back with another episode soon, and more conversations inspired by science and creativity to come!

We acknowledge the Jaegara and Turrbal People, Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is created, and the unceded cultural lands on which our guests live and continue to make and tell stories.

In this episode, Krystle chats with Grace Chan about her novel Every Version of You, the story of which Grace tongue-in-cheekly describes as being about ‘staying in love after mind-uploading into virtual reality’. Spoiler: it’s loaded with meaning and big feelings and has us question what it is to be human. Krystle and Grace also geek out, discussing Neuralink (Elon Musk’s brain implant company), FKA Twigs’ AI doppelgänger, and Chinese scientists’ recent success in freezing brain tissue without damage.

About Grace Chan:

Grace Chan is an award-winning speculative fiction writer. She writes about brains, minds, and space. Her debut novel, Every Version of You, won The University of Sydney’s People’s Choice Award and was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and The Age’s ‘Book of the Year’. It was longlisted for the Stella Prize and Indie Book Awards. Her writing can be found in Clarkesworld, Escape Pod, Going Down Swinging, and many other places. Grace’s short stories have been shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards, Australia’s premier speculative fiction awards,  her story As Though I Were A Little Sun winning 'Best Science Fiction Short Story' in 2022.

Grace was born in Malaysia and works and lives on the unceded lands of the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri people. 

Every Version of You is available here, by request from your local bookstore, and other online retailers.

Find Grace:

Grace Chan Writes

RDDIWTOF Podcast

Instagram

Twitter

About Krystle Marie:

Krystle Marie is a mixed, neurodivergent sort-of writer based in Meanjin. She’s thrilled to have interned with SWN as a soon-to-be graduate of UQ’s Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing program. She's currently into Japanese-language immersion. She's always into noise-cancelling headphones.

The Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science; then you’ve come to the right place!

The SWN Podcast is hosted by Amanda Niehaus and Jessica White and produced by Taylor Mitchell with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts.
Listen on-the-go on Google, Apple and Spotify now!

You can also find and follow us online - on Twitter - on Instagram - and on Facebook.
Our opening song is 'Balmain' by Pure Milk: https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/pure-milk.html

Read the transcript here.

Enjoyed this episode? Share the SWN love!

If you liked this episode, leave us a review and share it far and wide.

Science Write Now is dedicated to accessibility, connectivity, inspiration and collaboration across disciplines. Our content is free to access and we want to keep it that way, so if you’re keen to be part of this growing community of creative writing inspired by science, hit subscribe!

We’ll be back with another episode soon, and more conversations inspired by science and creativity to come!

We acknowledge the Jaegara and Turrbal People, Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is created, and the unceded cultural lands on which our guests live and continue to make and tell stories.

In this episode, Krystle speaks with Alicia Sometimes about her new poetry book Stellar Atmospheres, a collection that interweaves the scientific, the literary, and the personal. Sometimes’s lyrical yet accessible poems give musicality to cosmic ideas and remind us, in the best way, of our smallness.
 
About Alicia Sometimes:

Alicia Sometimes is a writer, award-winning poet and broadcaster. She's given a TEDx talk, edited a national literary journal, and done breakfast radio with the ABC. She's performed her spoken word all over Australia and internationally. You can find her poems in many respected publications, including Best Australian Poems, Best Australian Science Writing, Overland, The Age, and Griffith Review.

About Stellar Atmospheres:

Most influential in the writing of Stellar Atmospheres were Sometimes’s dialogues with scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Terascale (CoEPP), the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics (DMPP). In collaboration with these organisations, Sometimes explored gravitational waves, particle physics and dark matter. The poet’s research with OzGrav culminated in the co-creation of Particle/Wave, a planetarium show with other artists and scientists, with a selection of these poems featuring in the Stellar collection.

In Stellar, Sometimes expresses her appreciation for the old science books (mainly from the 1800s) she pored over as a Virtual Writer in Residency for Manchester City of Literature and Manchester Literature Festival, accessed through the Portico Library.

In 2023, Sometimes completed the Australian Network for Art & Technology (ANAT) ‘Synapse’ Residency in collaboration with prominent astrophysicist Professor Tamara Davis (AM) at the University of Queensland. The project explored distance, mapping, composition and the measurement of the universe through the practices of language, contextualisation and symbolism. Sometimes explains that one of the poems in Stellar was written during this time, and that several more conjured at that time will emerge this year.

Experience a reading of Alicia's poem Constellation Rifts, written in response to having breast cancer in late 2022 here.

Stellar Atmospheres is available from Cordite Books and by request from your local bookstore.

Find Alicia:

Alicia Sometimes

Instagram

Facebook

Listen to Alicia on the ABC's Science Friction podcast on ABC Listen, Spotify, Apple and wherever you find good podcasts.

About Krystle Marie:

Krystle Marie is a mixed, neurodivergent sort-of writer based in Meanjin. She’s thrilled to be interning with SWN as a soon-to-be graduate of UQ’s Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing program. She's currently into Japanese-language immersion. She's always into noise-cancelling headphones.

Enjoyed this episode? Share the SWN love!

If you liked this episode, leave us a review and share it far and wide.

Science Write Now is dedicated to accessibility, connectivity, inspiration and collaboration across disciplines. Our content is free to access and we want to keep it that way, so if you’re keen to be part of this growing community of creative writing inspired by science, hit subscribe!

We’ll be back with another episode soon, and more conversations inspired by science and creativity to come!

We acknowledge the Jaegara and Turrbal People, Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is created, and the unceded cultural lands on which our guests live and continue to make and tell stories.

In this episode, Krystle speaks with Jodi Rodgers about her new book Unique: What autism can teach us about difference, connection and belonging – which Jodi describes as ‘a love letter to autism’. In her book, Jodi reflects on her experiences with autistic and neurodivergent people, and what these experiences have illuminated regarding human connection, empathy and understanding. Additionally, Jodi demystifies common misunderstandings concerning autism, explaining the relevant cognitive science, all the while doing so by way of engaging storytelling in accessible language.

About Jodi Rodgers:

Jodi Rodgers is a qualified sexologist, counsellor, and special education teacher. She featured as the relationship counsellor on Love on the Spectrum, a docuseries following young adults on the autism spectrum produced by Northern Pictures for ABC TV. The show was picked up by Netflix and gained an international following. Jodi is credited with contributing to the show’s warmth and authenticity, one New York Times journalist expressing that ‘We could all do with a Jodi in our lives.’ Jodi's private practice Birds and Bees provides relationship and sexuality counselling that is accessible for everyone.

Unique is also available as an audiobook read by Jodi and is published outside of AU / NZ under How to Find a Four-Leaf Clover: What Autism Can Teach Us About Difference, Connection, and Belonging.

About Krystle Marie:

Krystle Marie is a mixed, neurodivergent sort-of writer based in Meanjin. She’s thrilled to be interning with SWN as a soon-to-be graduate of UQ’s Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing program. She's currently into Japanese language immersion. She's always into noise-cancelling headphones.

Unique is available in good book stores and online.

Find Jodi:

Instagram

Facebook

The Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science; then you’ve come to the right place!

The SWN Podcast is hosted by Amanda Niehaus and Jessica White and produced by Taylor Mitchell with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts.
Listen on-the-go on Google, Apple and Spotify now!

You can also find and follow us online - on Twitter - on Instagram - and on Facebook.
Our opening song is 'Balmain' by Pure Milk: https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/pure-milk.html

Read the transcript here.

Notes: When Krystle mentions ‘this’ during the conversation, she's referring to her hardcopy of Unique. Krystle also jokes about nodding while Jodi spoke at the Unique book tour event held in Brisbane’s Avid Reader book store. She is alluding to a passage in the book where ‘nodding’ is explained as acquired body language.

Enjoyed this episode? Share the SWN love!

If you liked this episode, leave us a review and share it far and wide.

Science Write Now is dedicated to accessibility, connectivity, inspiration and collaboration across disciplines. Our content is free to access and we want to keep it that way, so if you’re keen to be part of this growing community of creative writing inspired by science, hit subscribe!

We’ll be back with another episode soon, and more conversations inspired by science and creativity to come!

We acknowledge the Jaegara and Turrbal People, Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is created, and the unceded cultural lands on which our guests live and continue to make and tell stories.

In this episode, Jessica White chats with Amanda Tink, Lauren Poole and Heather Taylor Johnson about the ways that impairments, and historical responses to impairments, shape our bodies and writing.

About Amanda Tink:
Amanda Tink is a blind and neurodivergent creative, personal and academic essayist. She researches the influence of impairment on writing, most recently in a PhD on the poet Les Murray, who was autistic. Her essays have been published in a range of venues including Sydney Review of Books, Overland, ArtsHub, Seizure, Wordgathering, Australian Literary Studies, and Southerly. She lives in front of her laptop and braille display with good coffee nearby and tweets at @amandatink.

About Lauren Poole:
Lauren Poole is a disabled writer and postgraduate student at the University of Sydney. Her writing has appeared in Growing Up Disabled in Australia (Black Inc. Books, 2021), Earth Cries (Sydney University Press, 2021), GLAM@Sydney, FashionRevolution, and Honi Soit. She lives with an acquired brain injury.

About Heather Taylor Johnson:
Heather Taylor-Johnson is a multi-form writer living and working on Kaurna land near Port Adelaide. Her most recent poetry books are the verse novel Rhymes with Hyenas and the collection Alternative Hollywood Ending. An anthology she edited, Shaping the Fractured Self: Poetry of Chronic Illness and Pain, was the winner of the MascaraAvant Garde Award and is read in disability circles around the world. Her second novel, Jean Harley was Here, was shortlisted for the Readings Prize for New Fiction and optioned for a 7-part TV series. She recently won Island’s Nonfiction Prize and was shortlisted for ABR’s Calibre Prize.

About Jessica White:
Jessica White is the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Science Write Now. She is the award-winning author of two novels, A Curious Intimacy and Entitlement, and a hybrid memoir about deafness, Hearing Maud. Her short stories and essays have appeared widely in Australian and international literary journals and have been shortlisted and longlisted for major prizes. Jessica is the recipient of funding from Arts Queensland and the Australia Council for the Arts and has undertaken residencies in Hobart, Rome and Munich. She is currently writing an ecobiography of Western Australia’s first non-Indigenous female scientist, 19th century botanist Georgiana Molloy. Jessica can be found at www.jessicawhite.com.au or on socials at @ladyredjess.

The Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science; then you’ve come to the right place!

The SWN Podcast is hosted by Amanda Niehaus and Jessica White and produced by Taylor Mitchell with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts.

You can also find and follow us online - on Twitter - on Instagram - and on Facebook.

Download the transcript here. 

Enjoyed this episode? Share the SWN love!

If you liked this episode, leave us a review and share it far and wide.

Science Write Now is dedicated to accessibility, connectivity, inspiration and collaboration across disciplines. Our content is free to access and we want to keep it that way, so if you’re keen to be part of this growing community of creative writing inspired by science, hit subscribe!

We’ll be back with another episode soon, and more conversations inspired by science and creativity to come!

We acknowledge the Jaegara and Turrbal People, Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is created, and the unceded cultural lands on which our guests live and continue to make and tell stories.

In this episode, Jess talks to Claire Bowen and Kevin Vinsen about Storyburst, a writing project that they established in 2020. They invited Australian writers of all ages to collaborate with researchers to write science-inspired monologues. The monologues can be performed in any of 15 languages including Auslan, and
can include diverse performance styles such as puppetry, dance, and song.

Claire Bowen

Claire has been a storyteller since she was able to read and write. She has a Bachelor of Arts from UWA, specialising in Holocaust History and the Myths of Britain, and she completed an Honours Thesis concerned with the distortion of history in Science Fiction and Fantasy genre literature.

Claire was a founding member of the Stages WA Writing Group and was instrumental in implementing the workshops and monologue performance nights that developed the group to the point of producing their work in a festival. When Stages WA was defunded during George Brandis’ raid on the Australian Council for the Arts, the group became Western Edge Performance Writers, and they initiated and managed a monologue competition at their own expense for five years. Claire was the co-creator, co-producer and writer of two comedy stage plays that enjoyed sold-out runs at The Blue Room in the Perth Fringeworld Festival, then worked to develop the script A Scandal in the Weimar for wit incorporated which was professionally staged in Melbourne in 2017.

Claire relocated to Melbourne to become a company member of wit incorporated for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. She has completed production roles for the National Indigenous Dance Forum and Yirramboi First Nation Arts Festival in 2017 and was the recipient of Maribyrnong City Council art development grants in 2017 and 2018. Claire has had a monologue performed in Baggage Productions’ Madwomen Monologues in both 2018 and 2022. After returning to Perth, Claire and Kevin co created StoryBursts in 2020, a writing program that invites Australian writers of all ages to collaborate with researchers and write science-inspired monologues. The monologues can be performed in any of 15 languages including Auslan, and can include diverse performance styles such as puppetry, dance, and song. The first collection of monologues were showstoppers in Italian, Thiinma and English, with one by 10-year old who illustrations were animated to create a very charming video on Supernovas.

Kevin Vinsen

A/Prof Kevin Vinsen: Kevin’s main research interests are ExaScale computing for data intensive astronomy, developing methods for the automated classification of galaxies and gravitational waves using multi-wavelength data, machine learning algorithms and modelling complex systems. Kevin considers himself one of the luckiest geeks on the planet. He is paid to do what he loves - astronomy and computing with some of the biggest, baddest, computers on the planet. He has spoken at events such as Raise the Bar, TedX and MALA. He is passionate about conducting STEM outreach in West Australian schools and volunteers at the Perth Children’s Hospital with Starlight Children’s Foundation.

The Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science; then you’ve come to the right place!

The SWN Podcast is hosted by Amanda Niehaus and Jessica White and produced by Taylor Mitchell with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts.

You can also find and follow us online - on Twitter - on Instagram - and on Facebook&<

Enjoyed this episode? Share the SWN love!

If you liked this episode, leave us a review and share it far and wide.

Science Write Now is dedicated to accessibility, connectivity, inspiration and collaboration across disciplines. Our content is free to access and we want to keep it that way, so if you’re keen to be part of this growing community of creative writing inspired by science, hit subscribe!

We’ll be back with another episode soon, and more conversations inspired by science and creativity to come!

We acknowledge the Jaegara and Turrbal People, Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is created, and the unceded cultural lands on which our guests live and continue to make and tell stories.