Science Write Now
The Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is a podcast for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science; then you’ve come to the right place! The SWN Podcast is hosted and produced by the SWN editorial team with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts. www.sciencewritenow.com
Episodes
37 episodes
Cognitive Conversations #5: Ooh, ah, um, ouch! On speech pathology and the language of pain with Dr Jules Mead and Diane Clarke
In this episode of Cognitive Conversations, Bianca Millroy (SWN) is joined by Dr Jules Mead and Diane Clarke for a deep dive into how speech pathology informs dialogue in creative writing and the rather touchy subject of ...
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Season 1
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Episode 37
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57:40
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New Light: Joachim Froese on salt printing, slow art and photography now + then
In this episode of the Science Write Now podcast, Amanda interviews Brisbane artist Joachim Froese to discuss one of the earliest photography techniques, the art of salt printing, and how he uses it in his artistic practice. <...
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Season 1
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Episode 36
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39:19
‘We’re All Preppers Now’: Preppers, bunkers and bugging out with Dr Tom Doig
Buckle up as we embark on a wild, cross-country road trip from the red Trump-thumping heart of America’s badlands to the remote reaches of Aotearoa: Land of the Long White Cloud to interrogate the growing phenomenon of “prepp...
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1:04:15
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Cognitive Conversations #4: Out of the Box: Navigating Neurodivergence with Madonna King
Out of the Box: Navigating Neurodivergence is a one-stop guide covering pre-school to early adulthood, from classroom to workplace; it is both compact and compelling for its concise, accessible language and inclusive storytellin...
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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49:14
SWN LIVE: The Best Australian Science Writing 2024 with Carl Smith & Amanda Niehaus
What lurks in a house of slime hidden in the middle of a forest? Is there a place for psychedelics in our medicine cabinets? Why are scientists talking about the formula p(doom) – and what does it mean for humanity? SWN ...
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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58:16
Cognitive Conversations #3 Narrative Medicine: On Writing the Mind and Body
Writing through the body, about life and death, illness and everything in-between is what connects people and allows us to see humanity anew. Come along for this deep dive on Narrative Medicine and writing mind and body with thr...
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Season 1
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Episode 32
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57:41
Cognitive Conversations #2 – Under the Microscope: Art and Science as Intervention
‘Under the Microscope’ is the next episode in Cognitive Conversations, a series where we tackle the big questions in creativity and neuroscience. This conversation delves into the creative process, visual art and storytelling, the s...
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Season 1
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Episode 31
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59:51
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Cognitive Conversations #1: Synergies - The Art of Living a Double Life
'Synergies' is the first episode in a brand-new series titled Cognitive Conversations, where we tackle the big questions in art, creativity and neuroscience. We're excited to be bringing this synergy of...
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Season 1
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Episode 30
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1:04:31
Michael Brissenden on 'Smoke' - (writing) crime, corruption, and climate-fuelled wildfires
What secrets lie in the ashes…? This week on the SWN podcast we chatted to author and two-time Walkley Award-winning journalist, Michael Brissenden about his latest crime-fiction novel, Smoke. Michael worked as a political edi...
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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1:02:24
Imprinting Empathy: Art, AI and Fungi with Bianca Tainsh
This week we chat with open-disciplinary artist Bianca Tainsh about all things Art, AI and fungi, and go behind-the-scenes to explore Bianca’s current work-in-progress, Imprin...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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59:02
Storytelling to Save the Reef with Dr Paul E Hardisty
In this episode, Jessica talks to writer and former CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Paul Hardisty, about his new nonfiction book, In Hot Water, which charts historical and contemporary efforts to save the Great Barri...
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Episode 27
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41:21
Spinal Tap... but make it Joycean with G. S. Dickson
In this episode, Krystle chats with G. S. Dickson about his debut novel A Minor Fifth, a satire about the death of fictional Australian rock icon, Billy Ordain, recounted, albeit unreliably, by five people who knew him. Krystle and Gar...
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Episode 26
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50:23
Exploring Big Questions and Big Feelings through Speculative Fiction with Grace Chan
In this episode, Krystle chats with Grace Chan about her novel Every Version of You, the story of which Grace tongue-in-cheekly describes as being about ‘staying in love after mind-uploading into virtual reality’. Spoiler: it’s loaded ...
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Episode 25
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1:02:40
Comfort in the Cosmic with Alicia Sometimes
In this episode, Krystle speaks with Alicia Sometimes about her new poetry book Stellar Atmospheres, a collection that interweaves the scientific, the literary, and the personal. Sometimes’s lyrical yet accessible poems give musicality...
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Episode 24
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57:45
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Curiosity, Kindness and Storytelling with Jodi Rodgers
In this episode, Krystle speaks with Jodi Rodgers about her new book Unique: What autism can teach us about difference, connection and belonging – which Jodi describes as ‘a love letter to autism’. In her book, Jodi reflects on her exp...
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Episode 23
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59:51
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Cells, Ears, Impairments and Memoir, with with Amanda Tink, Lauren Poole and Heather Taylor Johnson
In this episode, Jessica White chats with Amanda Tink, Lauren Poole and Heather Taylor Johnson about the ways that impairments, and historical responses to impairments, shape our bodies and writing.About Amanda Tink:Amanda Tin...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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40:34
Bursting with Science and Story
In this episode, Jess talks to Claire Bowen and Kevin Vinsen about Storyburst, a writing project that they established in 2020. They invited Australian writers of all ages to collaborate with researchers to write science-inspired monologues. Th...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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55:47
All Things Comedy with Anne Libera (The Second City)
In this episode, Amanda chats with Professor Anne Libera—Director of Comedy Studies at the prestigious comedy club The Second City in Chicago—about how comedy works and why we need it. Anne Libera is an Associate Professor and Di...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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51:59
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The Absurdist Truths of Climate Change
In this episode, Amanda speaks with Australian playwrights Oliver Gough and Stephen Carleton about performing climate change on the stage—and the role of absurdity in communicating dire issues.Oliver Gough is an emerging playwrig...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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49:50
The stories of seeds with Fiona McMillan-Webster
Why do some seeds live for thousands of years, while others only a few? What made Nikolai Vavilov the Indiana Jones of the ‘seed world’? And how do you write a book about something in which you’re not already an expert? In this episode, A...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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45:28
Keeping Secrets and Finding Science with Danielle Clode
In this episode, Jess talks to Danielle Clode about how, from the 18th to the 20th centuries, women have employed great ingenuity to discover new knowledge.Danielle Clode is an award-winning author of Australian non-fictio...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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29:53
Writing Beyond the Human with Chris Flynn
In this episode, Amanda speaks with Chris Flynn about writing beyond the human, stories led by imagination, and thinking through place beyond setting. Chris Flynn is the author of Mammoth, The Glass Kingd...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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1:16:18
Lost Lives Found in Fiction and Ecobiography with Melissa Ashley and Jessica White
In this episode, Amanda talks with novelist Melissa Ashley and our own Jessica White about writing the lives of 19th-century female natural historians in fiction and ecobiography—and the importance of bringing untold stories to the light.
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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51:21
The Nature of Trees and Rivers with Ashley Hay and Simon Cleary
In this episode, Jessica White speaks Ashley Hay and Simon Cleary about thinking—and writing—through rivers and trees, and how they connect people, places, histories, ecologies, landscapes and myths.Ashley Hay is th...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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39:28
