Join Summer and Tommy as they sit down and talk about all things weird. This week they take a deep dive into the deep sea and look at the bizarre anatomy and life of sea sponges. 

Music Attribution:

"Graveyard Shift" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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UNE lecturers Dr Alana Blackburn and Associate Professor Sarah Lawrence are two of four performers set to present a new composition this weekend.

Words, Music, Time, and Place takes the works of four local writers and wordsmiths, and sets them to music composed for those works by local composer Steve Thorneycroft.

The production and creation of this new musical work is supported by by CASP and Regional Arts NSW.

We caught up with Dr Alana Blackburn and A/Prof Sarah Lawrence to talk about their work, creative process, and experience with this performance.

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Could Christmas beetles be declared a threatened species? Where have they gone? Those are the exact questions that Invertebrates Australia and the University of Sydney are aiming to answer as part of their annual Christmas Beetle Count project through iNaturalist. We caught up with Dr Tanya Latty, for an update on how the count is going and what we can look forward to in the future.

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Ash sits down with UNE's Dr Bridgette Glover to discuss how disabilities and differences are represented in horror films. 

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A recent study from KU Leuven in Belgium suggests that teenagers who play games with gambling-like or chance-based mechanics like prize wheels and loot boxes are more likely to gamble with real money later on.

To understand more about the behaviours that lead to gambling, and how these mechanics can play a role in the development of gambling behaviours, we caught up with Associate Professor Liz Temple from UNE.

Be GambleAware - if you need help or want to talk to someone in a supportive and confidential space, GambleAware is available 24/7 on 1800 858 858.

Learn more about the study here.

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Join TuneFM volunteer Goodness Adebo as he speaks with three CSIRO scientists about their work on sustainability at the Chiswick Project open day in Armidale.

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Ash sits down with UNE undergrad student Tian to discuss her experience in Mongolia, as part of a palaentological dig.

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Join Cass as she sits down with Carol Mudford from Shedway, the recipient of AgriFuture's 2025 Rural Woman of the Year Award. 

Carol is the founder of Shedway, an organisation that promotes mental health support in shearing sheds across Australia, and her work in this space has been recognised by AgriFuture. 

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New research from the University of New South Wales has called for a $14 billion USD investment in order to protect kelp forests. These marine ecosystems are important carbon sinks, helping to promote ocean health, and they also play a role in many marine-based industries. BUT they're in danger of vanishing due to warming oceans.

We caught up with Dr Aaron Eger, the founder and program director of the Kelp Forest Alliance about why kelp is so vital to ocean health and what we can do to help it.

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For the second year in a row, the ABC is holding it's Australian Insect of the Year competition, with six bugs competing for the crown of Australia's favourite.

We catch up with UNE's very own Dr Anna Probert to discuss insects, bugs, and why people should care about them.

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