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We tend to think of Australia as having a largely European population in the years dominated by the White Australia policy. But the truth is Chinese-Australians have been contributing to our national character since the 1850s.

Women – and women from non-European backgrounds in particular – have often been excluded from both research and our historical records thanks to patriarchal attitudes to women’s work. And the hidden histories of Chinese-Australian women during the era of the White Australia policy – many of whom are still alive today – have a lot to tell us about the realities of migration and Australian culture.

Dallas Rogers speaks with the University of Western Sydney’s Alanna Kamp about her research on the forgotten lives of Chinese-Australian women in the 20th century, the silence in our census records about their experiences, and why it matters for our understanding of Australia’s national identity.

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Dallas Rogers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

The “1%” – the super elite who hold a disproportionate amount of global wealth – have been the subject of reality TV, protests, media speculation and best-selling books in recent years.

Private jets, multi-million-dollar apartments and cars worth the value of most people’s homes: these are the symbols we associate with them, but is there really a defining culture of the super rich?

And are the extremely wealthy to blame for growing inequality? Or do our own aspirations make us complicit in their dominance of politics and commerce?

Dallas Rogers speaks with Ilan Wiesel from the University of Melbourne and the City University of Hong Kong’s Ray Forrest about the impact the super rich have on our cities and culture.

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Dallas Rogers receives funding from the Community Broadcasting Foundation to produce short academic interviews for SoundMinds Radio (http://www.soundminds.com.au/author/dallas/). Segments of this interview were played on community radio in July 2016.

We are living in a time where we have greater access to lifesaving medicines and treatments than ever before.

But we’re also seeing a surge in the rejection of the medical research and the scientific community in general, with anti-vaccination activists and climate change sceptics building followings and taking seats in government.

How do we bridge the divide to those who have lost trust in science?

Dr Ben Goldacre – epidemiologist, columnist and author of the books Bad Pharma and Bad Science – believes that greater transparency around the data used in research and better communication of results is the answer.

And he thinks the public can understand a lot more about scientific research than either the media or academia gives them credit for.

The University of New South Wales’ Dr Darren Saunders spoke to Dr Goldacre about his first forays into writing about science for The Guardian, his current project exploring reporting practices in medical journals and why he believes science communication is the answer.

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Darren Saunders receives funding from NHMRC, US Dept. of Defense, and MNDRIA.

Last month, a team of scientists emerged from a year-long experiment to test what survival might look like for the first colonists on Mars.

But while setting up a human colony on Mars seems like a journey into the unknown, the research community in the Antarctic is already encountering – and in some cases solving – many of the same problems we might face on new worlds. And those problems are not all environmental.

Dallas Rogers speaks with Western Sydney University Associate Professor Juan Francisco Salazar about his use of documentary film to study the way humans interact with each other and their environment in Antarctica, and what it might mean for colonising new planets.

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Dallas Rogers receives funding from the Community Broadcasting Foundation to produce short academic interviews for SoundMinds Radio (http://www.soundminds.com.au/author/dallas/). Segments of this interview were played on community radio in February 2016.

Recent studies have revealed an emerging understanding of the benefits of birthing relationships through the childbearing process. Creating a healthy mental state through pregnancy, birth and postnatal care can have an important and tangible effect on the health of both child and mother.

Midwifery, one of the oldest professions in the world, has been increasingly overshadowed by technological development and obstetricians. But the benefits a midwife can provide through comfort, empowerment and understanding are something that can’t (yet) be emulated by medical science.

Dallas Rogers spoke with Hannah Dahlen, Professor of Midwifery and Higher Degree Research Director in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University, about encouraging a healthy pregnancy through relationships and empowerment, while also balancing this with traditional medical care. Dr Jacqueline Nelson, sociologist at the University of Technology Sydney and Dallas’ wife, also contributes her personal journey through her current pregnancy.

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Dallas Rogers receives funding from the Community Broadcasting Foundation to produce short academic interviews for SoundMinds Radio (http://www.soundminds.com.au/author/dallas/). Segments of this interview were played on community radio in January 2016