Fuzzy Logic Science Show

Let's start with a big question: what are the pillars of civilisation? There are a few possible answers, but our guests today might argue that the list should include soil. Humble, dirty dirt, crawling with larvae, fungus and bacteria is an under-appreciated champion because, without it, we would not be here. To celebrate the magic of soils, Sophia Dacy-Cole has just submitted her PhD which includes an exhibition that celebrates soil (Instagram and website). Joining us is Dr Alex Wall, a paleoecologist from the ANU. We want to know more about paleoecology; stay tuned. Interview by Lucy and Rod.

Image source: https://physics.anu.edu.au/news_events/?EventID=457 One of the joys of science is delving into the deepest mysteries of the universe. What holds it all together? Part of the answer, of course, is gravity. That's the force that allows us to sit or stand without floating off into space. But it's much more than that, because without gravity, there would be no Earth and no Sun. In this episode we enjoyed a conversation with Distinguished Prof Susan Scott from the ANU. Professor Scott is one of the key people involved with the first confirmed detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO detectors. She is a passionate advocate for science and mathematics and promoting the cause of women in science. Interview by Rod.

What does 'sustainability' really mean and how do we get there? This radio documentary features some of Australia's most eminent thinkers. A  wide ranging analysis digs into the fundamental causes of our predicament, based on interviews I recorded for the book with Stephen Williams Sustainability and the New Economics and The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation co-authored with Mark Diesendorf.   This is a re-podcast from the Post Growth Australia Podcast https://pgap.fireside.fm/7rethinksustain   • Prof David Lindenmayer • Prof Will Steffen • Prof Clive Hamilton • Dr Kerryn Higgs • Prof Philip Lawn • Dr Mark Diesendorf • Prof Steve Keen • Ian Dunlop • Prof Steven Hail • High Court Justice Michael Kirby • Prof Ian Lowe

This Earth Science Week on Fuzzy Logic we chat with experts from Geoscience Australia about harnessing the power of space technology to tackle our biggest challenges.  For fifty years, the partnership between Geoscience Australia and the United States Geological Survey has revolutionized our understanding of the Earth from space.   Through the Landsat program, we've gained invaluable insights into our environment, from monitoring deforestation and urban growth to managing water resources and agricultural lands.   Tune in to hear David Hudson, Medhavy Thankappan and Eloise Birchall from Geoscience Australia chat to Broderick about Landsat and Landsat Next.

A triumph of our civilisation are the things that go on under the covers without us even noticing. When you pour stuff down the sink or flush it down the toilet, where does it go? Luckily, we don't need to think about it...until somebody does the wrong thing. That's when we should hail the invisible, unsung heroes of this story. That's right, these are the people that go down into the bowels - literally - of a city's plumbing to do what must be done. We can do our bit, it's not difficult... think before you flush. Here, Rod interviews Davina McCormick, General Manger Customer Engagement at ICON water. If you're in Floriade this weekend (21-22 Sep), be sure to see their display. Gritty, but highly recommended.  

A guest podcast from Valerie Albrecht. This podcast offers reflective space to consider the relationship between sustainability and  spirituality. Is there one? Could practising sustainability nurture spirituality? Could practising  some form of spirituality help us to live more sustainably? Could spirituality help us to give  right place to all that is losing sustainability?  Contributors from a cross section of professions and viewpoints share their knowledge,  perspectives and wisdoms: a Heritage Officer Anthropologist Activist; a gardener; a writer  and artist; a priest; a physics teacher, and some Australian Aboriginal healers I have had the  privilege of learning with.  Share your sustainability and spirituality reflections at www.theoceansofenergy.com  Thank you contributors.  Music: Tony O'Connor Uluru. 

The race to net-zero is accelerating.    Governments around the world are increasingly committing to achieve net-zero emission targets. But what does that mean and can clean energy help achieve this?  Join Broderick as he discusses the move to net zero in Australia with Dr Andrew Feitz, Director Low Carbon Geoscience and Advice and Dr Marcus Haynes, Computational Geoscientist. Thanks to Geoscience Australia for this week's guests.

Happy National Science Week! This episode Broderick talks to two event holders for National Science Week. Heather Massie shares her story in bringing the life of Hedy Lamar to the stage through her one-woman play HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr. Then, Liz Lea and the Chameleon Collective share their experience telling a story of a reef through dance in the show Reef Up! For more details on HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr and to book tickets head to www.HeatherMassie.com/Hedy  For more details on Reef UP! and to book tickets head to https://www.thestellarcompany.com/ More National Science Week events can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au   

How far off 'sustainability' are we today? How did we get here, and where do we go next? These are questions tackled by Rod Taylor at a U3A event in June. This wide ranging talk is based on the book co-authored with Mark Diesendorf, The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation. https://sustainablecivilisation.com The video version of this talk with slides is https://youtu.be/IFqqLCle4vI

If you know the term cognitive dissonance, it applies to ability of a person to hold entirely incompatible ideas in their head at the same time. If people can have it, so can a government. Take these two statements: 1) We will work towards a sustainable future 2) We will pursue economic growth The evidence is overwhelming:  we cannot do both of these things because economic growth is the antithesis of sustainability. Pasting a veneer over this chasm are terms such as green growth and weightless economy. Jonathan Miller is the Director of Steady State ACT.  

How do you cope with the dire trajectory of climate change? It's a tough question that we all now face. In this episode, ACT Greens MLA tells the story of her climate journey.

If there were a single invention of humanity that you remove, what would that be? In this episode we revisit a personal story broadcast on Radio National in 2006. This is part of our series, Rethinking Sustainability.  

So it's okay to clear the Amazon jungle? Almost certainly you disagree with that statement, but how do you respond when someone says that to you? In this episode we think about 'that' conversation. How do you convince somebody that they're wrong? But first, is it even worth even trying? You'll find a summary of Fran Peavey's Strategic Questioning at commonslibrary.org/strategic-questioning and the full PDF commonslibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/strat_questioning_manual.pdf. From our series Rethinking Sustainbility.

When somebody makes a statement that is foreign to your thinking, how do you react? In this episode, Rod Taylor recounts a conversation with the Brazillian, Fernando. What does it mean to raze the Amazon jungle, why should somebody like him care? Why should anybody care? The answer of course, is that it this cannot be sustained. While we hear that word thrown around so often, we should remember the end point of something that is unsustainable - is literally - the end.

Today's episode should prompt us to ask, how should we measure the success of our society? Is it the growth, consumption, GDP and the size of our armies? Or perhaps it should be about  opportunity, the strength of our communities and how we care for people less well off. Michael Bayliss from Sustainable Population Australia looks at what growth is really doing to social equality.   Michael invites you to sign the Position Statement on Population.     If you would like to contribute to these podcasts, please get in touch.

As Andrew Skeoch says in this episode, there is much we can learn from Nature, if only we sit quietly and listen. Andrew takes that a step further by recording the beautiful songs of birds around the world. And, as he says, it's more than simply enjoying the aesthetics because the birds use their song to build relationships and navigate a shared environment. Andrew is author of Deep Listening to Nature.    This podcast is part of the Rethinking Sustainability series.  

On page 2 of the newspaper there's a story about melting icecaps. On page 3 there's a full page ad for this week's bargains. Somewhere here there's a disconnect. Meanwhile, shopping is - literally - sold to us as something we should do more of. But does it really make us feel better? Artist and thinker Jeremy Barrett ponders these things as he wanders through his local shopping maul.   Jeremy's exhibition of paintings & mono prints is at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 2 February - 28 March. The opening Talk & Tea will be Tuesday 13 February, 12 — 1pm   This podcast is part of the Rethinking Sustainability series.

It seems every day we're hit with more bad news. War in the Ukraine, floods, droughts and melting ice caps. In this episode, Rod Taylor mulls over how we cope. Do we give up and fall into a pit of despair, or do we carry on regardless?     This episode is part of the Rethinking Sustainability series.

The standard line is that governments* are always short of money and must balance their budgets. But what if that's not true? It changes everything if government money is not the contraint we're told it is. In this episode, Stephen Williams describes a way of thinking about economics that should revolutionise our approach. * Federal governments of monetary sovereign countries. Stephen Williams and Rod Taylor are editors of Sustainability and the New Economics. To learn more about MMT, we highly recommend the Modern Money Lab and Stephanie Kelton's film, Finding the Money.  

What could happen when people decide to do something about unemployment in their community? In this episode of our new series, Rethinking Sustainability, Robin Krabbe describes an initiative of Live Well Tasmania. 

In 2024 we have smart phones, smart cars and even smart washing machines. We also have climate change. So are we intelligent but not wise? These are questions Sue Ferris ponders as part of our new series Rethinking Sustainability. Sue Ferris is the author of Let's Not Lose Them

It's a fair bet that if you're listening to this podcast, you care about sustainability. But unfortunately has become grossly abused, almost to the point of meaningless. This podcasts marks the start of a new series, Rethinking Sustainability, where each week we'll be broadcasting a new episode. And if you'd like to contribute an episode, please get in touch.   Find out more at https://rethinkingsustainabilitypod.blogspot.com/  

What makes a system fragile? In this short talk, Rod sketches what drives a system towards collapse. Can you see the parallels to our civisliation today? Proceedings from the NENA conference, November 2023 in Canberra.   More about the book, The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation here.

The word "sustainability" has become cliché, loaded with myths, half-truths and outright lies that try to convince us that a few tweaks to ‘business as usual' will be enough. What then, does ‘sustainability' really mean? A fundamental problem requires fundamental solutions - yet these are often completely ignored. In this talk at the Conservation Council, sponsored by Sustainable Population Australia, Rod Taylor digs into the themes of the in The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation co-authored with Mark Diesendorf.  

We are fortunate to live on a planet that surrounds us with the wonders of nature. From frogs to koalas and even snakes and sharks. Yet what are we to make of the sixth great extinction now underway, caused by humans? Suzanne Ferris' book Let's Not Lose Them: Endangered Species in Australia embodies both the joy of life and a warning that we are unwinding our life support system. Joining us in this conversation is Jeremy Barrett, in which we touch on the economic thinking that is driving environmental destruction.   For more on the economy, we recommend the upcoming NENA conference to be held in Canberra, 17-19 November. Also mentioned in - and highly recommended - is the Rethinking Capitalism weekend run by Steven Hail and Gabrielle Bond. Interview by Rod.    

We open today's broadcast with a question: what would you do if you did not have access to your doctor, your GP, a hospital or even a local pharmacy? Without "western medicine", this is what indigenous cultures have been doing for thousands of years. For all its prodigious advances in medical science, what do these cultures have to teach us? This is a theme that has driven Valerie Albrecht for many years across many countries. And now she's distilled much of what she's learned into a beautiful new book One Voice Medicine Conversations with First People Healers. Visit her at https://www.theoceansofenergy.com/ Interview by Rod  

This week Broderick and Camille are joined by geoscientist Dr Verity Normington and science communicator Alice Ryder, both from Geoscience Australia, to discuss their new exhibition Rocks that Shape Australia. The Rocks that Shape Australia exhibition explores how rocks can be valued by Australians for many different reasons, including their economic, historical, cultural and environmental significance.

That our civilisation is unsustainable is abundantly clear. And yet we plough onwards as if business as usual in the faith that somehow the problem will fix itself. In this seminar, authors Dr Mark Diesendorf and Rod Taylor outline the themes in their new book, The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation. The seminar is introduced by Professor Lorrae Van Kerkhoff from the ANU Fenner School with keynote speaker Dr Richard Denniss from The Australia Institute. Recorded at Thor's Hammer in Canberra, 4th July 2023.

It seems every day, we hear yet more news about the declining world environment. It's not only climate change, and if when we add other threats including loss of biodiversity and depleting resources, it becomes a dangerous brew. These are having impacts on people - and the economy - which are largely ignored by neoclassical economics and neoliberalism Dr Mark Diesendorf and Rod Taylor discuss their new book The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation (Palgrave Macmillan) out now in eBook and soon as paperback. This book tackles the fundamental drivers of this crisis, and what we can do about it. Pre-order copies are now on special.

Standing, walking or running is something most of us take for granted. And yet it is a remarkably sophisticated thing we do without even thinking about it. Professor Gordon Waddington and PhD student Ashleigh Marchant walk us through the beautifully synchronised dance that coordinates parts of your body to make this happen. Muscles, tendons, joints, bones and, of course, your nervous system. We highly recommend being part of Ashleigh's research project at the University of Canberra, where she tests your proprioception skills and be part of a real lab experiment. Ashleigh.Marchant@canberra.edu.au Interview by Rod. And sorry about the puns.

If you were to visit a river, it might look beautiful, but is it healthy? Looks may be a good start, but properly assessing a water body takes a bit more and, yes, how it smells is another indicator. And then, why should we care whether a river or stream is in good condition? Leon Metzling was a Victorian EPA senior water ecologist for 30 years. Here he's talking to Rod.

What happened to the plants and animals when Africa crashed into Eurasia and when Australia broke apart from Pangea?  Find out with Biogeographer Octavio Jimenez Robles.  Octavio is a Marie Sklodowska Curie Action postdoctoral fellow who has been based at the  Australian National University in Canberra for the last few years and is just about to head to Paris to continue his work there. You can find him on twitter at https://twitter.com/OJimenez_Robles  

They knew it then, they know it now, and yet they still do it. Fossil fuel companies are driving the planet - and us along with it - towards climate induced oblivion. While the anti-science tactics of the tobacco industry inflicts death and illness among a huge number of people, climate change is doing that on a global scale. In the process, they have co-opted the levers of government and public institutions that should be steering us towards a safer future. The question is why? Why drives industry and captive governments towards disaster? In this, the true meaning of 'sustainability' has been ignored. With his history inside the coal industry, Ian Dunlop has a unique insight into this story and today is an ardent voice for action on climate change. Ian Dunlop is a contributing author of Sustainability and the New Economics, edited by Stephen Williams and Rod Taylor. This interview by Rod is one of a series with authors from that book. You'll find more interviews at https://sustainabilityandtheneweconomics.blogspot.com/2022/12/sustainability-and-new-economics.html

On this episode Broderick is joined by Jay Ridgewell from Held Outside as they discuss the scientific value behind nature therapy. Also known as "forest bathing" from its origins in Japan, this episode promises to explore what genuine benefits there are to connecting in a deeper way with nature. To find our more about Jay's work in forest therapy, head to https://heldoutside.mailchimpsites.com/ This episode originally aired on 13 November 2022. 

For many thousands of years the first humans burned wood to keep ourselves warm and cook food. Then we discovered coal and later, gas. For a while whale oil became an important source of energy - until they they were driven close to extinction and whaling didn't end until the 1960s. By that time, whale oil had already been replaced by cheap, abundent mineral oil. Over the course of human history there have been several major energy transitions and we are in one right now. This time it's urgent because the products of burning are the major driver of climate change. It's doubly difficult because our growing civilisation is consuming energy at a prodigious rate, increasing by the day. Dr Bjorn Sturmberg is Senior Research Fellow at the ANU Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program and author of Amy's Balancing Act. Interview by Rod.

The word "community" has a slightly soft appeal to it, as if it's something nice to have, something we do for a bit of socialising. But that undervalues the vast importance of community and there's no doubt humans would not be remotely as successful without it. Our ability to cooperate is central to our existence. Now the world is facing threats from multiple directions and, if we don't solve them soon, the future will be bleak. That makes community is a critical part of the solution. On Australia Day, the Federation of Chinese Community of Canberra held a forum invited Rod who spoke about this question.

Business-as-usual will result in collapse of the global system midway through the 21st century. That's the stark warning issued by Graham Turner in 2008 when he reviewed modelling by the Club of Rome in the early 1970s. Can we avoid that in the short time we have left? Professor Ian Lowe and Rod discuss how we might avert a looming crisis. Ian Lowe is a contributing author of Sustainability and the New Economics (Springer, 2022), edited by Stephen Williams and Rod Taylor.

In this interview Dr Haydn Washington muses on what denial means. We're sad to hear that Haydn died this week and, in his honour, we post this recording from 2013. It's interesting and sobering to reflect on how the world looks now, nearly ten years later. Dr Jane O'Sullivan provides a few eloquent words for Haydn: "Haydn was a prolific and passionate writer and speaker on sustainability, degrowth, the need for population stabilisation and denialism against both climate and population realities. He wrote or edited many books. He was active in CASSE and the Ecological Economics community. And he was a generous, humble colleague who supported others to raise their voices. I worked with him over the past couple of months to get a paper published on population denialism. Thankfully it was published a week before he died. Here is the link to the paper (it is open access): https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/3/4/57 Martin Tye from Sustainable Population Australia has placed tributes on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=519171740238409&set=a.476584061163844and Twitter https://twitter.com/SustPopAus/status/1602408017881812992/photo/1   Interview by Rod

We begin today's interview by asking our expert guest Prof David Lindenmayer: if the Australian environment were a medical patient, what score would he give it? It's a plot spoiler to say his answer is an "F". But he goes on to say, not just why it matters, but what are some of the positive steps we can do to fix it. He offers some surprisingly upbeat, optimistic and practical things that can be done. The cost? Minimal. The gain? Enormous. Interview by Rod, Camille and Eamon. Prof David Lindenmayer is from the ANU Fenner School and contributing author of Sustainability and the New Economics (Springer, 2022). Find us on @FuzzyLogicSci

Yesterday we caught up with Dr Paul Collins who was launching Sustainable Population Australia's discussion paper “How many Australians?” With his theology background Dr Collins offers a lively philosphical view on our diminished connection with nature. And...traffic jams in a national park? Interview by Rod who is a member of SPA. The discussion paper is on this link: https://population.org.au/discussion-papers/how-many-australians-the-need-for-earth-centric-ethics/

At the heart of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is a contradiction: by assuming the Ever Bigger Pie economic model, everybody will be better off. But can that really happen? We explore how the SDGs got this way and the thinking behind them. Dr Kerryn Higgs who is writer and historian, Associate Member Club of Rome (speaking here on her own behalf), and author of Collision Course: Endless Growth on a Finite Planet (MIT Press, 2014). She's also author of two chapters in Sustainability and the New Economics (Springer, 2022). Interview by Rod who is co-editor of the Springer book.  @FuzzyLogicSci

As the cliche goes, you are what you eat. But did you know it might be linked to rheumatoid arthritis? Honours student Shweta Venkataraman and supervisor Dr Chloe Goldsmith have been investigating the link between diet, the immune system's T-cells and rheumatoid arthritis. For this research they recruited Fuzzy host Rod, who agreed to provide a detailed account of his weekly diet. From that, they derived a detailed nutrition analysis. They used a blood sample to measure T-cells and later will investigate his epigenetic profile. Join Shweta, Chloe, Camille and Rod for a fascinating conversation. Find out more at www.canberra.edu.au/about-uc/faculties/health/research/participate-in-a-research-study  

This week Fuzzy Logic celebrates Earth Science Week as Broderick talks to Nick Brown and Anna Riddell both geodetic scientists from Geoscience Australia. They explain and explore the world of geodesy and the role it plays in helping us track the movements across our planet and the movements of our planet to make sure our GPS is accurate for our journeys, along with many other applications. Thanks to Geoscience Australia for providing these two amazing scientists for this week's episode.

What are the causes of our environmental crisis and how do we fix it? Jonathan Miller argues that we should address the fundamental issue, which is the addiction to growth. That means a transition to a steady state economy. But what does that look like and how do we get there? Interview by Eamon and Rod.

What happens when a species goes extinct? Obviously the best course is to avoid it in the first place, but there are plans to resurrect the Tasmanian tiger and the woolly mammoth. We talk about a few projects that are creating safe havens for species, helping them to recover from bushfires and cats. Brought to you by Millie, Camille and Rod.

From melting ice sheets to endless floods and extreme storms, the news lately has been a bit bleak. But science is fighting back and giving us hope for better world.  From up in space to deep beneath the Earth's surface, scientists at Geoscience Australia in Canberra are working to make our planet more sustainable - through satellites whizzing above our heads to uncovering the low-emission fuels of the future underneath our feet.   Dr Andrew Feitz and Dr Aleks Kalinowski are part of a team of hydrogen and low carbon gurus at Geoscience Australia, while Dr David Hudson is the Director, Satellite Programs at Geoscience Australia. Tune in to this episode to hear these amazing geoscientists talk to Broderick about how they're helping to save the world!

This week Broderick discusses the many events happening across the ACT for National Science Week 2022. He's joined in the studio by Heidi from Kids Securiday, Peter from FungiCo and Prof Lara Malins from the Australian National University who each share some of the interesting science being showcased at their events. National Science Week is from August 13 to 21 and event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au

Is the climate crisis a science problem? Not according to our speaker. Climate change is caused by people - us - and must be resolved by people. We have the tools if only we can use them. In this talk with the Canberra Jung Society, Fuzzy Logic's Rod Taylor discusses the psychology of climate change and the other environmental problems. What does it mean to have 'hope' and how do we convert despair into action? These stories are inspired by his book Ten Journeys on a Fragile Planet. With thanks to our friends at the Canberra Jung Society.

Tilman Ruff is one of the founders of the movement that has led to the creation of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Here he speaks about how the world's nuclear weapons have the continuation of our civilisation balancing on a knifes edge and the treaty trying to bring an end to these weapons. Recorded on 17 June Interviewed by Tom

This week Broderick talks to local Canberra cartoonist Stuart McMillen. Stuart uses intriguing real-life historical events, such as published science experiments, as the basis of his non-fiction comics. This episode talks about comics as a form of science communication and explores "Rat Park" and Stuart's newest release "The Town Without Television". Find all of Stuart's work at www.stuartmcmillen.com

Ben Shaw is an archaeologist and  senior lecturer in the School of Culture History and Language at the ANU (Australian National University).  We talk about his work in Papua New Guinea. Interviewed by Tom