Trust Me, I'm An Expert

By The Conversation

Trust Me, I'm An Expert episodes

December 16, 2019 Politics with Michelle Grattan: Mathias Cormann and Jim Chalmers on the mid-year budget update
The figures indicate a worsening economy, but the government has sought to put a positive spin on the situation, saying the Australian economy is showing resilience.
22 min
December 09, 2019 Politics with Michelle Grattan: Andrew Hastie on foreign influence, security and veteran mental health
In this podcast, Andrew Hastie speaks with Michelle Grattan about growing concerns over Chinese influence in Australian politics, security clearances for politicians and the mental health of veterans.
26 min
November 26, 2019 Antibiotic resistant superbugs kill 32 plane-loads of people a week. We can all help fight back
Antibiotics can be a wonder for treating bacterial infections – but we need to be cautious in how we use them. From shutterstock.com
You might think antibiotic resistance is something to worry about in the distant future. But it’s already having a deadly impact today.
The number of people dying globally every week from antibiotic resistant infections is equivalent to 32 Boeing 747s full of people. And if that sounds scary, the projections for the future are even scarier.
On today’s episode of Trust Me, I’m An Expert we ask you to imagine a future where more and more antibiotics don’t work any more – and hear from researchers about how you can help scientists fight back.

Read more:
‘This is going to affect how we determine time since death’: how studying body donors in the bush is changing forensic science

New to podcasts?
Podcasts are often best enjoyed using a podcast app. All iPhones come with the Apple Podcasts app already installed, or you may want to listen and subscribe on another app such as Pocket Casts (click here to listen to Trust Me, I’m An Expert on Pocket Casts).
You can also hear us on Stitcher, Spotify or any of the apps below. Just pick a service from one of those listed below and click on the icon to find Trust Me, I’m An Expert.

Read more:
Trust Me, I’m An Expert: what science says about how to lose weight and whether you really need to

Additional audio
Kindergarten by Unkle Ho, from Elefant Traks.
Airliner by Podington Bear from Free Music Archive.
Images
Shutterstock
21 min
November 14, 2019 Politics with Michelle Grattan: Minister David Littleproud on bushfires, drought, and the Nationals
In this podcast, David Littleproud says "as elected officials, we've got a responsibility" to wait for the right time to talk about the link between climate change and the ongoing bushfires.
36 min
November 01, 2019 Nearly all your devices run on lithium batteries. Here’s a Nobel Prizewinner on his part in their invention – and their future
Lithium ion batteries revolutionised the way we use, manufacture and charge our devices. They’re used to power mobile phones, laptops and even electric cars. Shutterstock
British-born scientist M. Stanley Whittingham, of Binghamton University, was one of three scientists who won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work developing lithium-ion batteries.

L-R: John Goodenough; Stanley Whittingham; Akira Yoshino, the three scientists who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry this year for their work developing lithium-ion batteries.
Niklas Elmehed/Royal Swedish Acad. Sci.
Maybe you know exactly what a lithium-ion battery is but even if you don’t, chances are you’re carrying one right now. They’re the batteries used to power mobile phones, laptops and even electric cars.
When it comes to energy storage, they’re vastly more powerful than conventional batteries and you can recharge them many more times.
Their widespread use is driving global demand for the metal lithium – demand that Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese this week said Australia should do more to meet.
The University of Queensland’s Mark Blaskovich, who trained in chemistry and penned this article about Whittingham’s selection for the chemistry Nobel Prize, sat down with the award-winner this week.
They discussed what the future of battery science may hold and how we might address some of the environmental and fire risks around lithium-ion batteries.
He began by asking M. Stanley Whittingham how lithium batteries differ from conventional, lead-acid batteries, like the kind you might find in your car.

Read more:
‘Highly charged story’: chemistry Nobel goes to inventors of lithium-ion batteries

New to podcasts?
Podcasts are often best enjoyed using a podcast app. All iPhones come with the Apple Podcasts app already installed, or you may want to listen and subscribe on another app such as Pocket Casts (click here to listen to Trust Me, I’m An Expert on Pocket Casts).
You can also hear us on Stitcher, Spotify or any of the apps below. Just pick a service from one of those listed below and click on the icon to find Trust Me, I’m An Expert.

Read more:
Trust Me, I’m An Expert: what science says about how to lose weight and whether you really need to

Additional credits
Recording and production assistance by Thea Blaskovich
Kindergarten by Unkle Ho, from Elefant Traks.
Announcement of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019
Images
Shutterstock
19 min
October 29, 2019 Politics with Michelle Grattan: Ross Gittins on the government's 'surplus obsession'
As the Australian economy continues to struggle, many argue that stimulus is needed, urging the government to abandon its "surplus obsession".
22 min
October 28, 2019 Politics with Michelle Grattan: On the trust divide in politics
Two of the authors of the first Democracy 2025 report discuss the keys findings about what politicians see as faults in the current political system, and how they think it can be improved.
37 min
October 23, 2019 Politics with Michelle Grattan: Deputy PM Michael McCormack on the drought and restive Nationals
Following tensions in the Nationals party room over the bring-forward of the dairy code for Pauline Hanson, the Deputy PM admits that the party leadership mishandled the situation.
25 min
October 06, 2019 Trust Me, I’m An Expert: forensic entomology, or what bugs can tell police about when someone died
Maggots are a major part of the puzzle when it comes to collecting forensic evidence. Shutterstock
A few episodes ago, we heard from forensic scientists at the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER) – that’s the official name for what, in books and movies, they would call a body farm. It’s there, at a secret bushland site, researchers are making some surprising discoveries about how donated human bodies decompose in Australian conditions.
One of the researchers there is Professor James Wallman, Head of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney, and one of the nation’s few forensic entomologists.
It’s his job to unpack little clues left behind by insects – including the much maligned blowfly – that can help police solve crimes when a body is found.
Today, James Wallman explains how and why insects have a really profound influence on decomposition.
We’re also re-broadcasting a clip from Maiken Ueland, the interim director of the AFTER facility, on how research underway there is changing what we thought we knew about determining time since death.
And if you’re interested in finding out more about how to donate your body for such research, you can start here.

Read more:
‘This is going to affect how we determine time since death’: how studying body donors in the bush is changing forensic science

New to podcasts?
Podcasts are often best enjoyed using a podcast app. All iPhones come with the Apple Podcasts app already installed, or you may want to listen and subscribe on another app such as Pocket Casts (click here to listen to Trust Me, I’m An Expert on Pocket Casts).
You can also hear us on Stitcher, Spotify or any of the apps below. Just pick a service from one of those listed below and click on the icon to find Trust Me, I’m An Expert.

Read more:
Trust Me, I’m An Expert: what science says about how to lose weight and whether you really need to

Additional audio
Kindergarten by Unkle Ho, from Elefant Traks.
Backyard by David Szesztay from Free Music Archive
Images
Shutterstock
26 min
October 02, 2019 Politics with Michelle Grattan: Tim Watts on Australia's changing identity
Tim Watts joins Michelle Grattan to discuss his new book, The Golden Country, in which he reconciles his family's past and present, and explores the question of what it means to be Australian.
28 min

About Trust Me, I'm An Expert

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The Conversation's editors bring you the most insightful, fascinating, surprising analysis and stories from the academic world. We're asking the experts to bust the myths, explain the science and put…