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Australia is banning social media for children 16 and under – but will it actually keep them safe or only spark new problems?
In this episode, hosts David Karsten and Celeste Fourie are joined by Professor Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies at Curtin University, to discuss Australia’s proposed ban on social media for children under 16.
We explore what the Ban aims to achieve, who it will affect, and whether it could reshape the relationship between government and big tech.
The discussion also ventures into what social media will look like when the ban comes into play, and how AI is creating a new internet for the next generation.
Professor Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies at Curtin University
Tama is a regular media commentator, Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child and former president of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR).
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Join Curtin UniversityThis podcast is brought to you by Curtin University. Curtin is a global university known for its commitment to making positive change happen through high-impact research, strong industry partnerships and practical teaching.
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Behind the scenesHosts: Celeste Fourie and David Karsten
Content Creators: Zoe Taylor and Caitlin Crowley
Recordist: Caitlin Crowley
Producer: Emilia Jolakoska
Executive Producers: Anita Shore and Natasha Weeks
First Nations AcknowledgementCurtin University acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the First Peoples of this place we call Australia, and the First Nations peoples connected with our global campuses. We are committed to working in partnership with Custodians and Owners to strengthen and embed First Nations’ voices and perspectives in our decision-making, now and into the future.
Curtin University supports academic freedom of speech. The views expressed in The Future Of podcast may not reflect those of Curtin University.
Inserting microchips into human brains was once the stuff of science fiction but is now reality thanks to companies like Elon Musk’s Neuralink. But what are the pros and cons of having Musk tech inside our heads?
In this episode, our host David gets cerebral with Dr Sarah Hellewell, a Neurotrauma Research Fellow at Curtin University and the Perron Institute. Together, they unpack how human augmentation tech like Neuralink works, and how it can help to improve the quality of life for people with brain injuries or neurological conditions. They also explore the ethics of merging ‘mind with machine’.
Dr Sarah Hellewell
Sarah is a Senior Research Fellow in Neurotrauma at Curtin University and the Perron Institute. Her research incorporates both clinical and preclinical research programs spanning the spectrum of neurodegeneration and brain injury severity, enabling her to rapidly identify clinical problems and translate “bedside to bench” and back again.
Join Curtin UniversityThis podcast is brought to you by Curtin University. Curtin is a global university known for its commitment to making positive change happen through high-impact research, strong industry partnerships and practical teaching.
Email [email protected]
Social mediaRead the transcript: https://thefutureof.simplecast.com/episodes/neuro-tech/transcript
Behind the scenesHost: David Karsten
Content creators: Caitlin Crowley and Zoe Taylor
Producer: Emilia Jolakoska
Executive producer: Natasha Weeks and Anita Shore
Curtin University acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the First Peoples of this place we call Australia, and the First Nations peoples connected with our global campuses. We are committed to working in partnership with Custodians and Owners to strengthen and embed First Nations’ voices and perspectives in our decision-making, now and into the future.
MusicOKAY by 13ounce Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by Audio Library.
Curtin University supports academic freedom of speech. The views expressed in The Future Of podcast may not reflect those of Curtin University.
Gender is always in motion, but is masculinity in crisis? In this episode, host David Karsten speaks with Dr Ben Rich and Todd Morley about modern masculinity, the challenges men face today, the rise of extremism and the solutions that could benefit us all.
Doctor Ben Rich
Dr Ben Rich is a senior lecturer in the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry, and co-director of the Curtin Extremism Research Network (CERN), where his research focuses on the factors behind politically extreme views in areas such as gender, race, and public health.
Todd Morley
Todd Morley is a PhD researcher in the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry. His current research focuses on the radicalisation patterns of lone actor terrorists, and he also works as a preventing/countering violent extremism practitioner and consultant outside of Curtin.
Join Curtin UniversityThis podcast is brought to you by Curtin University. Curtin is a global university known for its commitment to making positive change happen through high-impact research, strong industry partnerships and practical teaching.
Email [email protected]
Social mediaRead the transcript.
Behind the scenesHost: David Karsten
Content creator and recordist: Zoe Taylor
Editor: Caitlin Crowley
Producer: Emilia Jolakoska
Executive Producers: Anita Shore and Natasha Weeks
Curtin University acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the First Peoples of this place we call Australia, and the First Nations peoples connected with our global campuses. We are committed to working in partnership with Custodians and Owners to strengthen and embed First Nations’ voices and perspectives in our decision-making, now and into the future.
Curtin University supports academic freedom of speech. The views expressed in The Future Of podcast may not reflect those of Curtin University.
What do an urban designer, an electrician and Curtin University have in common? They all want to help humanity prosper. To achieve that, sustainability is key.
In this episode, our host David is joined by Professor Josh Byrne and Saf Flatters. Josh is Dean of Sustainable Futures at Curtin (he’s also well-known as a presenter on ABC TV’s Gardening Australia), and Saf is an electrical and energy specialist and third-year Curtin data science student.
Together, they explore what a ‘sustainable future’ really means, and how a novel Curtin University subject called Sustainability Challenge is bringing together academia, industry, government and community to create real solutions to some of the most pressing environmental and social problems.
Professor Josh Byrne, Dean of Sustainable Futures, Faculty of Humanities
Professor Josh Byrne is an environmental scientist, urban design professional and Dean of Sustainable Futures at Curtin. His career bridges academia, professional practice, media and policy, with a focus on advancing urban sustainability through demonstration and collaboration. In 2025, Josh was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to conservation, the environment and public communication.
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ORCiD
Saf Flatters, Bachelor of Science (Data Science) student, Faculty of Science and Engineering
Saf describes her career path as “very twisty.” With more than 15 years of experience as an electrician in the electrical and energy sectors, she’s now studying a Bachelor of Science (Data Science) at Curtin. Saf is passionate about using data to solve real-world problems, and outside her studies, she runs an electrical business, serves on industry boards and spends time bike packing through hidden corners of the world.
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This podcast is brought to you by Curtin University. Curtin is a global university known for its commitment to making positive change happen through high-impact research, strong industry partnerships and practical teaching.
Email [email protected]
Social mediaRead the transcript.
Behind the scenesHost: David Karsten
Researcher: Caitlin Crowley
Producer: Emilia Jolakoska
Curtin University acknowledges all First Nations of this place we call Australia and the First Nations peoples connected with our global campuses. We are committed to working in partnership with all Custodians and Owners to strengthen and embed First Nations’ voices and perspectives in our decision-making, now and into the future.
MusicOKAY by 13ounce Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by Audio Library.
Curtin University supports academic freedom of speech. The views expressed in The Future Of podcast may not reflect those of Curtin University.
Have you ever had to take a day off work due to severe period pain? Or to manage menopause symptoms? Or to attend an IVF appointment? New research reveals it would save the Australian economy billions of dollars a year if employers offered leave specifically for reproductive health.
In this episode our host David Karsten talks with the authors of the research, Dr Silvia Salazar and Dr Abebe Hailemariam, from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre. They discuss what reproductive health leave is and explore the benefits it could have for both employees and employers, including economic savings, increased productivity, improved mental health and wellbeing, and better workplace equity.
They also discuss some of the risks of implementing reproductive health leave and the cultural stigma associated with women’s reproductive health.
Dr Silvia Salazar
Research Fellow, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre
Dr Salazar is a researcher in development economics, ethnic and gender issues and public policy. She obtained her PhD at the Paris School of Economics and the University Paris 1, Panthéon Sorbonne, and has presented her research at numerous international conferences and workshops.
Dr Abebe Hailemariam
Senior Research Fellow, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre
Dr Hailmarian obtained his PhD in Economics from Monash University, where he and received the Mollie Holman Medal Award for Best doctoral thesis in the Faculty of Business and Economics at Monash University.
Dr Hailemariam’s research areas of interest include energy economics, health economics, housing, gender and inequality.
Join Curtin UniversityThis podcast is brought to you by Curtin University. Curtin is a global university known for its commitment to making positive change happen through high-impact research, strong industry partnerships and practical teaching.
Email [email protected]
Social mediaRead the transcript.
Behind the scenesHost: David Karsten
Content creators: Caitlin Crowley and Zoe Taylor
Producer:Emilia Jolakoska
Curtin University acknowledges all First Nations of this place we call Australia and the First Nations peoples connected with our global campuses. We are committed to working in partnership with all Custodians and Owners to strengthen and embed First Nations’ voices and perspectives in our decision-making, now and into the future.
MusicOKAY by 13ounce Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by Audio Library.
Curtin University supports academic freedom of speech. The views expressed in The Future Of podcast may not reflect those of Curtin University.
Picture this: there’s an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. What exactly would we do – and who’s working behind the scenes to keep us safe? In this episode, David Karsten is joined by Associate Professor Nicholas Timms and Professor William Rickard to explore the fascinating science of planetary defence.
o How a Moon rock changed a career [00:58]
o Planetary defence 101 [02:32]
o Space rocks and the tools unlocking their secrets [04:50]
o What Asteroid Bennu is teaching us about life’s building blocks [07:40]
o The story of WA’s Mother’s Day meteorite [10:24]
o Popcorn asteroids, Apophis and the DART mission [15:45]
o Potentially hazardous objects: Whose problem is it anyway? [19:47]
o The future of planetary defence and space research [22:17]
Associate Professor Nicholas Timms, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Nick is a leading expert in rock and mineral deformation and geochronology and has focussed his recent research on impact cratering and extra-terrestrial geology. Deeply immersed in the field, Nick is director of the Space Science and Technology Centre at Curtin University, a team member for NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission and member of the CASA Moon NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI).
Professor William Rickard, Director, John de Laeter Centre
Professor Will Rickard is an experienced materials scientist with a successful record in applied research and analytical facility management. He collaborates widely with researchers and industry as the subject matter expert for advanced materials characterisation. Will is the Director of the John de Laeter Centre where he manages a suite of core research facilities and co-ordinates a number of projects in defence, materials science and geoscience disciplines.
This podcast is brought to you by Curtin University. Curtin is a global university known for its commitment to making positive change happen through high-impact research, strong industry partnerships and practical teaching.
Email [email protected]
Social mediaRead the transcript
Behind the scenesHost: David Karsten
Content creator and recordist: Caitlin Crowley
Producer: Emilia Jolakoska
Social Media: Celeste Fourie
Executive Producer: Anita Shore
First Nations AcknowledgementCurtin University acknowledges all First Nations of this place we call Australia and the First Nations peoples connected with our global campuses. We are committed to working in partnership with all Custodians and Owners to strengthen and embed First Nations’ voices and perspectives in our decision-making, now and into the future.
MusicOKAY by 13ounce Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by Audio Library.
Curtin University supports academic freedom of speech. The views expressed in The Future Of podcast may not reflect those of Curtin University.
Data is the currency of the digital age, and most of us give our personal data away without realising. In this episode, host David Karsten is joined by Dr. Adam Andreotta to discuss his book, Rethinking Informed Consent in the Big Data Age.
Listen to discover how big data is reshaping our privacy and how we can protect our information in the new age of integrated technology.
Dr Adam Andreotta, Lecturer, School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University
Dr Adam Andreotta's research explores the philosophy of artificial intelligence, the ethics of big data, and how we can better secure informed consent surrounding the collection and use of our personal data online.
In 2024, Adam authored Rethinking Informed Consent in the Big Data Age where he delves into the challenges of self-managing our private data online and suggests ways we can improve data consent practices in everyday contexts.
This podcast is brought to you by Curtin University. Curtin is a global university known for its commitment to making positive change happen through high-impact research, strong industry partnerships and practical teaching.
Read the transcript
Behind the scenesHost: David Karsten
Recordist and Content Creator: Caitlin Crowley
Social Media: Celeste Fourie
Producer: Emilia Jolakoska
Executive Producer: Anita Shore
First Nations AcknowledgementCurtin University acknowledges all First Nations of this place we call Australia and the First Nations peoples connected with our global campuses. We are committed to working in partnership with all Custodians and Owners to strengthen and embed First Nations’ voices and perspectives in our decision-making, now and into the future.
Screens and digital technology are ubiquitous in the lives of children and parents – but what does this mean for child development? In this episode, David Karsten is joined by Dr Amber Beynon to discuss her research into the relationship between infant development, screen time and other family factors.
Dr Amber Beynon
Dr Amber Beynon is a Research Fellow at Curtin University’s School of Allied Health. She investigates the health impacts of information technology and the epidemiology of musculoskeletal pain in young populations.
Find out more about Amber’s work:
This podcast is brought to you by Curtin University. Curtin is a global university known for its commitment to making positive change happen through high-impact research, strong industry partnerships and practical teaching.
Email [email protected]
Social mediaRead the transcript.
Behind the scenesHost: David Karsten
Content creator: Caitlin Crowley
Producer: Emilia Jolakoska
Recordist: Annabelle Fouchard
Social media: Celeste Fourie
Executive producers: Anita Shore and Matthew Sykes
Curtin University acknowledges all First Nations of this place we call Australia and the First Nations peoples connected with our global campuses. We are committed to working in partnership with all Custodians and Owners to strengthen and embed First Nations’ voices and perspectives in our decision-making, now and into the future.
MusicOKAY by 13ounce Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by Audio Library.
Curtin University supports academic freedom of speech. The views expressed in The Future Of podcast may not reflect those of Curtin University.
Insects pollinate 75% of all agricultural crops, yet many face extinction. Discover how a ‘Star Trek’ level tech called eDNA can monitor vital insect pollinators and support global food security.
Associate Professor Paul Nevill
Paul leads the Minesite Biomonitoring with eDNA (MBioMe) research group at Curtin University. He is a molecular ecologist working on everything from soil microbes to mammals. His main interest is eDNA-based monitoring of biodiversity.
Curtin staff profile
Dr Joshua Kestel
Joshua is a molecular ecologist interested in pollination and the resulting genetic consequences. He has undertaken research with the Minesite Biomonitoring with eDNA (MBioMe) research group at Curtin University, and the Department of Conservation, Biodiversity and Attractions (DBCA). He is now working at Cambridge University to further his research detecting pollinators using eDNA.
LinkedIn profile
Join Curtin UniversityThis podcast is brought to you by Curtin University. Curtin is a global university known for its commitment to making positive change happen through high-impact research, strong industry partnerships and practical teaching.
Email [email protected]
Social mediaRead the transcript.
Behind the scenesHost: David Karsten
Producer: Emilia Jolakoska
Episode researcher:Zoe Taylor
Executive producers: Anita Shore and Matthew Sykes
Curtin University acknowledges all First Nations of this place we call Australia and the First Nations peoples connected with our global campuses. We are committed to working in partnership with all Custodians and Owners to strengthen and embed First Nations’ voices and perspectives in our decision-making, now and into the future.
We’re at a pivotal moment in time for humanity. Are we doomed to repeat past mistakes or can Global Futures help to better shape our collective tomorrow?
In this insightful episode, special host Matthew Sykes is joined by Professor Joe Siracusa, veteran historian and Inaugural Professor of Global Futures in the Faculty of Humanities at Curtin University. They explore how Global Futures can help us to understand history as a dynamic, non-linear journey that shapes our present and future possibilities, and empower us to make informed decisions for a brighter future.
• Defining Global Futures [01:18]
• Unpacking critical realist ontology [02:20]
• The role of philosophy and science fiction [16:35]
• Turning foresight into actionable insight [11:20]
• Lessons on the past: meeting Martin Luther King [24:26]
Future tense? Global Futures uncovers what the past can tell us about tomorrow
Leading political expert named Dean of Global Futures at Curtin
Connect with our guestsJoe Siracusa
Professor of Global Futures, Curtin University
President Emeritus of Australia’s Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Professor Siracusa has also authored and co-authored over 30 books including America and the Cold War, 1941-1991: A Realist Interpretation, which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in History. Professor Siracusa is also a regular media commentator on international diplomacy, nuclear weapons and American foreign policy.
This podcast is brought to you by Curtin University. Curtin is a global university known for its commitment to making positive change happen through high-impact research, strong industry partnerships and practical teaching.
Email [email protected]
Social mediaRead the transcript.
Behind the scenesHost and researcher: Matthew Sykes
Producer: Emilia Jolakoska
Editor: Zoe Taylor
Executive Producers: Anita Shore and Matthew Sykes
Curtin University acknowledges all First Nations of this place we call Australia and the First Nations peoples connected with our global campuses. We are committed to working in partnership with all Custodians and Owners to strengthen and embed First Nations’ voices and perspectives in our decision-making, now and into the future.
MusicOKAY by 13ounce Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by Audio Library.
Curtin University supports academic freedom of speech. The views expressed in The Future Of podcast may not reflect those of Curtin University.
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