Three baby elephant calves are due for delivery at Melbourne Zoo in November, December and January, and it sounds as though their arrival is well timed. 
Not only are the elephants due for transfer to an expansive new habitat in Werribee in 2024, but the zoo itself has adopted a new elephant-led approach to their care, in which the animals have greater autonomy - including everything from choosing when to offer up their ear for a blood test to when (and whether) they might enter a crate for transportation.
In an interview hosted by Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe - author of Baby Giants, our featured story this week - veteran zookeeper Lucy Truelson talks about everything from breeding in captivity to the splendour of working with a five tonne animal. “The key for us as zookeepers is delving into ‘How do these animals live in the wild?’" Truelson says. "Let’s learn about that, and then ask ‘How do we replicate that in their everyday care?’”  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zookeeper Lucy Truelson on the impending birth of three baby elephants in Melbourne

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In this episode we speak with the chief executive of the Australian Academy of Science, Anna-Maria Arabia, who leads a growing band of people expressing concern about the evidence used to convict Robert Farquharson of the murder of his three sons.
The Victorian father drove his car, with the three boys inside, into a dam on Father’s Day, 2005, for which he is serving a 33 year sentence. Arabia unpicks the evidence used in his case and calls for better science to be presented in the legal system in general.
Hosting the episode is a journalist who’s spent months combing through the Farquharson evidence, Michael Bachelard, a senior writer with The Age. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did Robert Farquharson kill his three sons? A science-led reappraisal

From The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Trial by Water is a new investigative podcast series about Robert Farquharson, who has been locked up for decades for an unthinkable crime: murdering his three sons in a dam on Father’s Day, 2005.
Now scientists and lawyers are asking the question: did we get it wrong? And is this man in prison for a crime he didn’t commit?
Episode 1 will arrive on Saturday, June 1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing: Trial by Water

In this episode we speak with documentary maker Ian Darling, whose latest movie - The Pool - is premiering at the Sydney Film Festival in June before a national cinema release. The film is a paean to Bondi Icebergs, a picturesque pool on the edge of Australia’s most famous beach.
Hosting this episode, which explores Darling's shift from stockbroking to filmmaking, the meditative nature of swimming, the eclectic 'Bergs community, and the trials and tribulations of a 12-month outdoor shoot, is Good Weekend editor, Katrina Strickland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How the world-famous Bondi Icebergs pool became a literal life saver

In this episode we meet Rhanee Rego, the young Novocastrian who became interested in the case of Australia's "worst serial child killer", Kathleen Folbigg, when studying law. Six years later, Rego was instrumental in securing the release of Folbigg, who'd been jailed in 2003 for killing her four infant children. With Folbigg's convictions now quashed, Rego is working to secure what's expected to be one of the biggest compensation payouts in Australian legal history.
Hosting the conversation is Good Weekend senior writer, Tim Elliott. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The law student who thought Kathleen Folbigg innocent - then went on to secure her freedom

In this episode we meet Rachelle Unreich, Melbourne-based author of the book, A Brilliant Life: my mother's inspiring story of surviving the Holocaust.
Recently shortlisted for The Age’s non-fiction book of the year, this mother-daughter memoir weaves the remarkable story of Rachelle's mother Mira, who survived four concentration camps from the age of 17, together with background about the Holocaust and Rachelle's own life.
Hosting the episode, which explores both Rachelle and Mira's stories, the challenge of memory and the lessons learnt from the very worst - and best - of humanity, is the editor of Good Weekend, Katrina Strickland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zookeeper Lucy Truelson on the impending birth of three baby elephants in Melbourne

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