Australian Highlights

Lyn Harwood, native foods

Lyn Harwood literally watches the grass grow. Lyn, along with partner Bruce Pascoe, is bringing back connection to our Country through lived experience and ancient agriculture. She is building widespread recognition for Australian native foods: the grains, grasses and more that were grown and harvested by Aboriginal peoples for tens of thousands of years. This journey is captured in the book, Black Duck: A Year at Yumbarra. Lyn takes host Rachel and comedian Alex Ward through the beauty of the farm, the work that goes into it, and how much we're learning about our country's roots (literally). Alex also grows her own food, including foraging in urban areas. Magnolias have never sounded so...tasty? Links Find out more about Black Duck Foods [https://www.blackduckfoods.com.au/], Yumbarra farm and get involved [https://www.blackduckfoods.com.au/get-involved] Buy the book [https://kooricurriculum.com/products/black-duck-a-year-at-yumburra-by-bruce-pascoe?srsltid=AfmBOopoKnr-FWD4foYBgg_j6hEHQxFX2iITI_HHMnogGLAX_ScWa2MS], Black Duck: A Year at Yumbarra Great article [https://theconversation.com/bruce-pascoes-black-duck-is-a-healing-and-necessary-account-of-a-year-on-his-farm-following-a-difficult-decade-after-dark-emu-224971]on the book, by Julienne van Loon Check out where to see Alex next [https://comedy.com.au/tour/alex-ward/] Credits Producer: Rachel Rayner, Science Explainer Guests: Lyn Harwood, Alex Ward Music: Michelle Cashman Editor: Graham Hunter ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Bonus: The creativity of comedy

Extracted from our conversation on Innovation vs Invention (Ep 26), Mandy Scotney expands on the innovative world of the comedian, the fountains of funny, and where the politics comes in. Follow Mandy and find out what she’s up to next [https://www.mandyscotney.com/] Credits Producer: Rachel Rayner, Science Explainer Guests: Jonathan Englert, Mandy Scotney Music: Michelle Cashman Editing: HoboHut Media Made possible through Meta Australia Journalism Fund, administered by the Walkley Foundation, with support from Comedy Victoria. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Innovation or Invention

Innovation is a loaded term, a buzzword. When this is a podcast on innovation, what do we mean? Are we using the term correctly? Where does invention sit in all of this? Jonathan Englert and Mandy Scotney from Episode 6, Culture Shocks, are back to unravel the conundrum of language and entrepreneurship. Jonathan draws from his PhD looking into Australian innovation, where he interviewed various inventors and explored his relationship to Australian culture. Comedian Mandy Scotney, on her own PhD journey and fresh off a successful tour of her award-nominated show, Married for Six Weeks, brings some much-needed rationality to Jonathan and Rachel's whimsy. Links for more: * Highlight article by Rachel Rayner, Science Explainer [https://www.australianhighlights.com.au/cultureshocks]from Episode 6 * Bonus episode on Mandy's stand up comedy process, is our episode 27! * Exploratorium's Tinkering Studio [https://www.exploratorium.edu/tinkering], and an article on making bubble-blowing machines [https://www.exploratorium.edu/tinkering/blog/2014/05/06/bubble-machine-evolution] * Barry Marshall, who worked out that bacteria cause stomach ulcers [https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2005/marshall/facts/] in the 1980s * Lawrence Hargrave, who is credited as supplying key innovations  [https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/lawrence-hargraves-first-flight]to enable airplanes in the 1890s. * David Skellern, a key figure in the story of inventing fast Wifi [https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/wi-fi] in the 1990s. * Henry Hoke, who built a collection of innovations like the rope hammer and the leg pull [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQSvfgnXFNA] from the first half of the 20th century.  * Mark Thomson, keeper of Henry Hoke’s archives and founder of the Institute for Backyard Studies. [https://www.ibys.org/] * Follow Mandy and find out what she’s up to next [https://www.mandyscotney.com/] Credits Producer: Rachel Rayner, Science Explainer Guests: Jonathan Englert, Mandy Scotney Music: Michelle Cashman Editing: HoboHut Media Made possible through Meta Australia Journalism Fund, administered by the Walkley Foundation, with support from Comedy Victoria. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

LIVE: Space food

What snack would you like on a trip to Mars? Professor Jenny Mortimer is a space horticulturalist, who is looking at the best nutritious solutions for astronauts hurtling through the solar system. She has already sent food into space, all to test whether it would survive a trip to Mars. Will it whet the appetite of cabaret star Minnie Andrews? Credits Producer: Rachel Rayner, Science Explainer Guests: Jenny Mortimer, Minnie Andrews Recorded at the Adelaide Fringe Festival Tech: Luke Morris Music: Michelle Cashman Editing: Graham Hunt Made possible through Meta Australia Journalism Fund, administered by the Walkley Foundation, with support from Comedy Victoria.  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

LIVE: Brains and Biostats

We’re all about the good life – but we’re not heading to a wellness retreat in Byron Bay. We’re measuring our quality of life using cold, hard stats, and looking at our brains with a portable scanner. No ice baths required! Champagne encouraged. See images discussed in the episode and more on the website. [https://australianhighlights.com.au/brains] In this live recording of the Australian Highlights series for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival we’re exploring local medical innovations, from a portable brain scanner currently being tested by the Royal Flying Doctor Service, to advancements in statistical measurements of patient outcomes: can the numbers really be centered on what is important to patients? Dr Freda Werdiger, who was at the University of Melbourne at the time, takes us through the numbers and dials of her field to illuminate the promising leaps in human health happening across Australia right now, including improving care for Indigenous peoples in aged care and reducing the effects of strokes in emergency situations. Host Rachel Rayner may faint (she’s quite squeamish, despite having her own aneurysm problems) but she’ll be joined by local comedy legend, Laura Davis, to laugh at how amazing and ridiculous the human condition is. Credits Producer: Rachel Rayner, Science Explainer Guests: Freda Werdiger, Laura Davis Venue: The Library at the Dock, Australia’s first six Green Star-rated public building  Tech: Luke Morris Music: Michelle Cashman Editing: Graham Hunt Made possible through Meta Australia Journalism Fund, administered by the Walkley Foundation, with support from Comedy Victoria.  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.