The Cosmos Podcast

If marine microbes are Earth's unsung heroes, year 12 student Emelia is singing their praises. 

They produce 50% of our oxygen, are a crucial part of the food pyramid and they can even help us understand the ancient world. 

In this episode of Podcast Next Gen, join Emelia as she unpacks marine microbes in all their fabulous forms.

Podcast Next Gen is a collaboration between Cosmos Magazine and the National Youth Science Forum. The reporters are year 12 students from across Australia – the next generation of scientists, science journalists and podcasters.

These ‘shortcast’ episodes have been written and recorded by the students, giving them the opportunity to work with real science journalists and editors to make their science concept come to life.

Science can answer most of life’s big and little questions – but you don’t always have scientist on hand to explain their reasoning. Now you do, with a new Cosmos Science Detectives podcast finding the experts and interrogating them to help answer your burning inquiries.

The crack Cosmos team of newsroom science journalists will leave no stone unturned. They’ll open a case file; find evidence and witnesses; and give you the detail you need to close a case of “uncertainty.”

In this episode, they explain why mangroves are thought to be important.

While for most of us, maths might conjure up equations and stuffy professors, for year 12 student Matilda, she thinks of poetry.

From weird and wonderful mathematical sequences popping up in traditional verse structures, to the mathematics of metre and rhythm, and even completely numerical poems, maths is everywhere.

In this episode of Podcast Next Gen, join Matilda as she dives into poetic mathematics and mathematical poetry.

Podcast Next Gen is a collaboration between Cosmos magazine and the National Youth Science Forum. The reporters are year 12 students from across Australia – the next generation of scientists, science journalists and podcasters.

These ‘shortcast’ episodes have been written and recorded by the students, giving them the opportunity to work with real science journalists and editors to make their science concept come to life.

For those lucky enough to have been able to experience it, an aurora is an incredible sight. 

But year 12 student Hajara wanted to know what was happening behind the scenes to cause these gorgeous hues. In this episode of Podcast Next Gen, she investigates how it occurs, where the colours come from, and exactly when and where you can find the auroras. 

Podcast Next Gen is a collaboration between Cosmos magazine and the National Youth Science Forum. The reporters are year 12 students from across Australia – the next generation of scientists, science journalists and podcasters.

These ‘shortcast’ episodes have been written and recorded by the students, giving them the opportunity to work with real science journalists and editors to make their science concept come to life.

Have you ever been trying to study and turn on some music, but discover that what you’ve picked is just too good? Instead of focusing on your work, you end up vibing with the song.

Jorja, a year 12 student and robotics enthusiast wanted to know why, and so she hooked up her own brain to find out.

Explore Jorja’s brain on music, why jazz might be the most meditative, and why you need to keep an eye on those gamma waves.

Podcast Next Gen is a collaboration between Cosmos magazine and the National Youth Science Forum. The reporters are year 12 students from across Australia – the next generation of scientists, science journalists and podcasters.

These ‘shortcast’ episodes have been written and recorded by the students, giving them the opportunity to work with real science journalists and editors to make their science concept come to life.

We all know the feeling – sweat forming on your brow and your face heating up. Eating something spicy is not an easy thing to forget.

Year 12 student Stephanie wanted to know why spicy food is just so hot. In this episode of Podcast Next Gen she discovers why a study used strawberry jam spiked with capsaicin, why one food acts like tear gas, and why you might need to fake it to you make it when it comes to spice. 

Podcast Next Gen is a collaboration between Cosmos Magazine and the National Youth Science Forum. The reporters are year 12 students from across Australia – the next generation of scientists, science journalists and podcasters.

These ‘shortcast’ episodes have been written and recorded by the students, giving them the opportunity to work with real science journalists and editors to make their science concept come to life.