Wide Open Air Exchange

An introduction to TikTok as a forum for special interests and for community-building.

Tracy Taylor aka everydaytrace joined TikTok during the first Covid lockdown and found communities of like-minded people in comedy and lesbian TikTok channels.

Clare Atkins shares her experiences of scriptwriting for television and researching for novels as well as insights from her role as a development executive assessing proposals for new television programs.

Plant physiologist Associate Professor Oula Ghannoum is working on solutions to problems of climate change and food security. Her research aims at discovering ways of enhancing photosynthesis and optimising protected cropping.

As well as explaining her research interests, Oula shares personal and vocational experiences such as migrating to Australia from war-torn Lebanon and how being vision-impaired informed some aspects of her career choices.

Visual artist Tom Swain aka Dript shares his experience of discovering an expression through art after struggling at school with ADHD and dyslexia. Tom shares his experience of realising he’s an artist and the stories behind some of his artworks.

Jingdong Yuan was a student in China when US President Richard Nixon made an historic visit for diplomatic meetings, and these days he's an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney specialising in China's defence and security policy and Asia-Pacific security. In these respects Jingdong is the perfect guest for discussing the historical significance of the event as well as the legacy of the visit in the context of current US-China relations and China's place in the world.

Dr Kumudika (Kumi) de Silva is a senior immunologist developing vaccines for livestock and advocating for cultural diversity in higher education leadership.

Dr Tim Dean describes his approach to philosophy communication and explains his interdisciplinary research on the evolution of morality including some of the ideas explored in his book, How We Became Human: And Why Need to Change

Allan Killick is a carpenter and joiner with more than 37 years experience as a contractor in the construction industry. You'll hear a discussion of the culture of worksites and the importance of mentoring when learning a trade.

A resource for learning about the ongoing impacts of colonialism on First Nations peoples

Sarah Caddy is an astronomer and astrophysicist working on the Huntsman Telescope. Includes foundational knowledge about the universe, ideas about life on other planets, and the potential for space tourism to change humanity for the better.