That's What I Call Science!

Raised on the coast of Maine, Dr Haley Viehman has been drawn to the ocean her whole life. Starting in civil and environmental engineering, she discovered her passion for marine science by studying how fish interact with tidal energy turbines in fast‑flowing waters. In this week’s episode, we hear how Haley uses hydroacoustics to uncover how fish move, behave, and adapt in extreme tidal environments. Now based in Tasmania as a Hydroacoustic Specialist at Echoview Software, she supports researchers around the world who use sound to understand aquatic life, renewable energy, and the rapidly growing blue economy.

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Host: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove)

Co-Host: Ella Burgun (@ebburgun)

Production: Dr Hannah Moore (@volcanohannah)

Media & Promotion: Ella Burgun (@ebburgun)

In this week’s episode, we chat with Ella Burgun, our Social Media Team Coordinator and local science communicator! We dive into Ella’s path into science communication and explore her recently completed Master’s thesis in forensic shark genetics. Ella’s research focused on using molecular techniques to identify which shark species end up in liver oil and fish oil products, a critical step for understanding the impact on vulnerable deep‑sea species like gulper sharks. We also chat about her new role at Echoview Software and how she’s bringing her scientific expertise into the world of marine acoustics and communication.

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Host: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove)

Co-Host: Ella Burgun (@ebburgun)

Production: Ryan Smith

Media & Promotion: Zi Yi Kho

This week, Dr Simon Torok and Dr Cintya Dharmayanti from Scientell join Olly to talk about their experiences in scicomm, what Scientell is, and the evolving landscape of communicating STEMM. 

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Host: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove)

Production: Dr Hannah Moore (@volcanohannah)

Media & Promotion: Georgia Stewart (@ggstew25)

Growing up excited for every visit to her grandparents’ farm where she could sit amongst the trees eating tropical fruits, Dr. Lucette Adet has always been fascinated by plants. Currently undertaking research in the Congo Basin in Cameroon, Lucette aims to understand how different tree species respond to their environment, in the context of changes in climate and land-use.

Join Dr Kate Johnson and hear Lucette’s exceptional story-telling as we journey through the ‘magic place’ of the tropical forest with ‘the wind flowing and the monkey’s jumping’, experiencing it as a place of research and wonder that requires our attention and protection.

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Host: Dr Kate Johnson (@kateplantphys.bsky.social)

Production: Dr Simin Salarpour

Media & Promotion: Katya Bandow (@katyabandow)

Join Dr Kate Johnson and Laura Wynne Stewart to hear about the busy, beautiful forests that Laura is working to understand and advocate for. Growing up on islands, Laura’s curiosity and love for nature drove her to science and her current PhD position in forest ecology in Barcelona, Spain. Laura’s research focuses on understanding trees and forests using nifty tools such as satellites, lasers and tree-based sensors. Listen to hear about the joy of being in a forest, the broad reaching implications of Laura’s research and her excellent life advice.

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Host: Dr Kate Johnson (@kateplantphys.bsky.social)

Production: Ryan Smith

Media & Promotion: Ella Burgun (@ebburgun)

Welcome to the last episode of 2025! 

Earlier on in the year, we had a mini-series on literacy and numeracy. Today’s episode continues on from that theme as Olly is joined by Austin and Richard from the 2 To Ramble podcast. The three discuss the use of science in science fiction books and films, as well as the creator’s role of balancing being factual and imaginative.

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Host: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove)

Production: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove)

Media & Promotion: Ella Burgun

Join us to hear from the winners of our STEMM Solutions For Our Island Competition 2025!

STEMM Solutions For Our Island was open to grade 10, 11 and 12 students in lutruwita/Tasmania who identify as female, femme or non-binary, funded by Inspiring Tasmania. Entrants identified an issue in their local community or wider lutruwita/Tasmania, and pitched a creative solution.

Join Tegan Clark and Dr Olly Dove to hear from our talented winners:  1.) Abigail McCallum, a year 10 student at Sheffield high school on Tasmania’s north-west coast, who pitched solutions to combat the European rabbit plague in Kentish, Tasmania and 2.)  4 Taroona High School students located in Tasmania’s South (Maielle Schmidt, Maelys Mancini, Chloe Mongin, Olive Ransley) and their plan to tackle the invasive sea urchin in Tassie’s south east!

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Hosts: Tegan Clark and Dr Olly Dove

Production: Ryan Smith 

Media & Promotion: Ella Burgun, Dr Kate Johnson (@kateplantphys.bsky.social) and Emma Hamasaki (@EmmaHamasaki)

Computer implants into human bodies powered by AI is no longer a dystopian, science fiction trope - it is real life. Whilst the fiction is gone, the dystopian still remains. 

Associate Professor Frederic Gilbert answers our questions about the current state of human-computer interfaces, how our biological and neurological data is collected, and the ethics behind it all! 

We explore how this technology was originally developed for medical purposes, and how it has been a game-changer for fighting against some neurological diseases. We question the ethical responsibilities of big-tech who are developing these technologies for non-medical purposes, and question what the future of this technology looks like in terms of regulations and policy. 

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Host: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove)

Co-Host: Tegan Clark (Insta: scientist.tegan)

Production: Dr Hannah Moore (@volcanohannah)

Media & Promotion: Georgia Stewart (@ggstew25)

“Engineers got us into this mess…it’s engineers who will get us out again.”

This is a catchphrase of one of our guests today, Associate Professor Evan Franklin. Along with Professor Tim Finnigan, Evan joined Sarah and Olly to talk about all things climate engineering, and why it’s so important that more engineers get involved.

This episode also marks a special occasion for us, as it’s Dr Sarah Lyden’s last time co-hosting at TWICS. We’re super grateful for Sarah’s time on the show, and hope the future is full of bright smiles ahead for her!

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Host: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove)

Co-Host: Dr Sarah Lyden

Production: Ryan Smith

Welcome back to our third week of climate engineering! This week, we’re joined by Dr. Pooyan Alinaghi Hosseinabadi, a lecturer and postdoctoral researcher in electrical engineering. 

Pooyan’s work has taken him across the world and his current research focuses on renewable energy. Tune in to find out how we can be reducing emissions and you might just start looking at the electronics in your house in a whole new light. 

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Host: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove)

Co-Host: Dr Sarah Lyden

Production: Dr Simin Salarpour

Media & Promotion: Zi Yi Kho