What happens when you pair research scientists with high schoolers? Incredible art, that’s what! Through CoLab, six scientists are paired with two to three high schoolers each who, after a series of workshops, create art inspired by the scientists’ research. The results are then displayed at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery during the Beaker Street Festival. This week, join Ella and Anna as they hear from scientists Esmat Sarafraz, Samantha Bramich, and Roisin Moloney about the exhi...

Arnold Schwarzenegger, popcorn, AND science?! What more could you want? As part of National Science Week 2025, That’s What I Call Science hosted From Fact to Fiction: a live screening of Total Recall (1990) followed by a panel of STEMM experts. Tune in to hear from Associate Professor Frederic Gilbert, Dr Soonja Yeom, and Mikaela Green about their takeaways from the film and its reflections in our modern day society. Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Thank you to the whole TWICS team fo...

Last week, you heard from two of this year’s cohort of the Inspiring Women in STEMM Fellowship. This week, we have Rose Aawulenaa and Dilini Manage on the mic to share their PhD research topics and plans for the fellowship with you! Rose is an Agricultural Science PhD candidate and Dilini is a supply chain decarbonisation PhD candidate. What do they have in common? Leading incredible projects in their home communities that can help raise up the next generation. Make sure you tune in to hear t...

From the sea to how we see! Barbara Labbe and Isabelly de Lima may have very different research fields, but what they do have in common is that they are both in the 2025 cohort of Inspiring Women in STEMM Fellows! Tune in to today’s episode for Part 1 about this year’s fellows. You’ll hear about Barbara’s work with seaweed and her outreach in Chile, as well as about Isabelly’s work in paediatric cataract and her outreach in Brazil. Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Thank you to th...

We’re proud to share That’s What I Call Science’s 300th episode! This milestone is an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come since our café planning sessions in 2018 and first live broadcast in 2019. TWICS is a volunteer-led radio and podcast show created to provide a platform for people from under-represented backgrounds to share their work in STEMM. What began as a small team in Hobart is now broadcast Australia-wide and downloaded in over 60 countries. Our team of 16 volunteers bri...

It’s that time of year again! Beaker Street Festival 2025 came to Hobart in August and, with other 100 events going on, the TWICS team wanted to pop in to say hi to the scientists sharing their work. Last year, we recorded at the Roving Scientist Bar and, this year, we’re back again! From fear of sharks to rocks to brains, we’ve got a little bit of a lot of STEMM in today’s episode for you! Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes ...

Ever had a burning question you’d hoped to ask a scientist? Dr Olly Dove and Katya Bandow answer your burning science questions in a candid conversation covering everything from sci-fi favourites to very old plants, and the not-so-glamorous reality of being early-career scientists living on a below-minimum wage. Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! Host: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove) Co-Hos...

Join us as we dive into the icy waters of the Southern Ocean aboard the Denman Voyage to Antarctica. In this episode, we chat with marine biologist Dr Haiting Zhang (IMAS & AAPP), who studies the physiology, biochemistry, and ecology of Antarctic krill. Haiting shares her experience leading a research team on board, investigating how krill respond to climate change using biochemical indicators and field sampling methods. We explore why these tiny creatures are so vital to Southern Ocean e...

In the final episode of our plastics series, we head to the world’s most remote continent, Antarctica. PhD candidate Vaibhavi Dwivedi (University of Tasmania) joins us to explore how plastic pollution, including micro- and nanoplastics, is reaching the Southern Ocean. With a background in law and environmental management, Vaibhavi examines how plastics are governed across international treaties, national policies, and global agreements. We discuss the challenges of managing this pollutant in ...

This episode continues our microplastics mini-series with a focus on engineering solutions. Dr Anna Wróbel an environmental engineer from the School of Engineering at the University of Tasmania joins us to talk all things microplastics and the key role that engineers can play in reducing future microplastics and removing existing microplastics from the environment. We’ll explore a range of questions including if stopping using plastics tomorrow would solve the problem, and how eng...

In this episode we continue our microplastics mini-series, this time considering the intersection between agricultural systems and engineering. Our two guests, Sadique Bawa Anyame and Carmel Towns are PhD students studying different aspects of agricultural systems and microplastics. Both come from industry backgrounds, and share their extensive experience in their fields as well as the innovative work they are doing in their PhDs in this episode. Anyame is investigating micr...

Microplastics are everywhere, in the ocean, our food, and even the air we breathe. But what exactly are they, where do they come from, and why should we care? In this episode, we chat with Elise Tuuri, a marine scientist who has just submitted her PhD on microplastic pollution. Elise shares her journey into marine science, what sparked her interest in studying tiny plastics, and what she discovered about microplastics in Australian waters. We also discuss how these plastics affect marine life...

How do you track the invisible spread of disease or predict the risks of invasive species? In this episode, we speak with ecological modeller, Nick Beeton, who uses maths, stats and a whole lot of code to make sense of complex environmental challenges. Nick shares his journey from growing up in Tasmania to working at CSIRO, where his projects have included modelling for wildlife disease like Devil Facial Tumor Disease on Tasmanian devils to genetically engineered mosquitoes for malaria preven...

In this episode, we’re exploring the fascinating world of oscillating chemical reactions — those rare reactions that don’t just proceed in one direction, but actually cycle, changing colours as they go. Our guest is mathematical chemistry PhD candidate Heath Dimsey, who helps us unpack how these mesmerizing reactions work, why they defy what we think we know about chemical processes, and how they even help explain the patterns on animal coats — like the stripes of a zebra or the spots of a le...

Returning guest Priya Kitchener joins us to unpack Australia’s PISA study results and what they say about how well our students are performing in mathematics. With experience in both public and private school systems and now working as an engineer at a scientific software company, Priya shares her insights on how teachers, schools, and communities can use data to make meaningful change. From maths anxiety to student confidence, Priya dives into the complexity of maths education and the cultu...

Nearly 50% of Tasmanians struggle with literacy. Kaitlyn shares her lived experience with literacy and the changes she decided to make for herself by joining 26Ten as an adult learner. She shares her past struggles, and we celebrate her newfound love of reading and writing. Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! Host: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove) Co-Host: Anna Abela Production: Ryan Smith Me...

Ever wondered why librarians tell you to only use sources from the last 5 years? Or what makes research "powerful"? Join us as we chat with a 25-year veteran librarian from the University of Tasmania who's been helping students crack the code of academic research for decades. Our guest describes themselves as a "jack of all trades and a master of none," but don't be fooled - they're experts at turning confused students into research detectives! We dive into the fascinating world of informatio...

In this episode, we sit down with proud Kamilaroi man, author, and science champion Corey Tutt to talk about his latest book Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles. We explore how this vibrant and educational book blends Indigenous knowledge with western science to inspire a new generation of curious minds - especially kids - about Australia’s most misunderstood creatures. Corey shares his journey as founder of the award-winning charity Deadly Science, which provides science resour...

Could you play Minecraft on a quantum computer? In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Susan Coppersmith from the University of New South Wales to explore the strange and fascinating world of quantum computing. We talk about why quantum computers are so different from the ones we use every day, what a qubit is, what makes this technology so powerful, and how it could reshape things like encryption and digital security. This episode peeks into a future that’s already being built—qubit by q...

How does your phone know when to turn off the screen? Why can we build ultra-fast computers and super-sensitive sensors? And how does a DSLR camera capture images? Well, it’s all to do with quantum mechanics! In 2025, we’re celebrating the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, so there’s no better time to explore the strange but powerful rules that govern the quantum world. In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Sol Jacobsen from the Norwegian University of Science and Technolog...