Trust Me, I'm An Expert
148 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsThe Conversation's editors bring you the most insightful, fascinating, surprising analysis and stories from the academic world. We're asking the experts to bust the myths, explain the science and put the news headlines into context. Join us as we take a deep dive into the big ideas driving our world.
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Episodes
250 years since Captain Cook landed in Australia, it's time to acknowledge the violence of first encounters
April 28, 2020 20:33 - 27 minutes - 63 MBDAVID CROSLING/AAP Captain James Cook arrived in the Pacific 250 years ago, triggering British colonisation of the region. We’re asking researchers to reflect on what happened and how it shapes us today. You can see other stories in the series here and an interactive here. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners should be aware the podcast accompanying this story contains the names of people who are deceased. It’s 250 years since Captain James Cook set foot in Austra...
An honest reckoning with Captain Cook's legacy won't heal things overnight. But it's a start
April 28, 2020 19:56 - 30 minutes - 41.4 MBUncle Fred Deeral as little old man in the film The Message, by Zakpage, to be shown at the National Museum of Australia in April. Nik Lachajczak of Zakpage, Author provided (no reuse) Captain James Cook arrived in the Pacific 250 years ago, triggering British colonisation of the region. We’re asking researchers to reflect on what happened and how it shapes us today. You can see other stories in the series here and an interactive here. Editor’s note: This is an edited transcr...
Childhood, adolescence, pregnancy, menopause, 75+: how your diet should change with each stage of life
April 17, 2020 00:30 - 24 minutes - 56.6 MBShutterstock In today’s episode, Clare Collins, a Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Newcastle, explains how our diets might need to change depending on what stage of life we’re in. The Conversation’s Phoebe Roth started by asking: what should kids be eating and how much should parents worry about children eating vegetables? An edited transcript is below. New to podcasts? Everything you need to know about how to listen to a podcast is here. Additi...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: MPs Tim Watts, Fiona Martin, Clare O'Neil and Helen Haines talk about serving their electorates during the coronavirus crisis
April 09, 2020 09:15 - 26 minutes - 36.3 MBMichelle Grattan talks with MPs Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Victoria), Fiona Martin (Reid, NSW), Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Victoria) and Helen Haines (Indi, Victoria) about how they do their job during the pandemic. They discuss the operation of their electorate offices in light of isolation requirements, and recount how the crisis is affecting their constituents. New to podcasts? Podcasts are often best enjoyed using a podcast app. All iPhones come with the Apple Podcasts app already installed, ...
What does the coronavirus pandemic sound like? The voices of people struggling, secluding and surviving around the world
April 03, 2020 03:30 - 31 minutes - 42.7 MBAAP/EPA/ANDY RAIN What does the COVID-19 pandemic sound like? For this episode, Dallas Rogers – a senior lecturer in the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney – asked academic colleagues from all over the world to open up the voice recorder on their phones and record a two minute report from the field about their city. Many of those who responded to the call are struggling, just like us, to make sense of their experience in the COVID-19 city...
Democracy 2025 - How does Australia compare: what makes a leading democracy? With Michelle Grattan, Mark Evans and Ian Chubb
April 02, 2020 07:34 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBAuthor provided (No reuse) In this special hour long podcast presented by Mark Evans, professor of governance and director of Democracy 2025, the panel discusses Australian democracy with Emeritus Professor Ian Chubb and Michelle Grattan. The panel dissects the Australian trust in government, compared with other modern democracies around the world. Drawing on the world values survey, the report notes the sharp focus on the quality of democratic governance, especially in the time of globa...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty on the coronavirus crisis and the timeline for a vaccine
March 26, 2020 05:08 - 23 minutes - 31.7 MBDave Hunt/AAP The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease COVID-19, has infected nearly half a million people and taken the lives of more than 21,200. No person in Australia is more qualified to speak on the science of this global pandemic than Professor Peter Doherty. Professor Doherty was awarded the Nobel prize for medicine in 1996 for his work studying the immune system. The Doherty Institute, now at the forefront of Australian research on the coronavirus, bears...
Coronavirus and COVID-19: your questions answered by virus experts
March 13, 2020 23:14 - 39 minutes - 90.3 MBWhat do you need to know about COVID-19 and coronavirus? We asked our readers for their top questions and sought answers from two of Australia’s leading virus and vaccine experts. Today’s podcast episode features Professor Michael Wallach and Dr Lisa Sedger – both from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Technology, Sydney – answering questions from you, our readers. An edited transcript is below. And if you have any questions yourself, please add them to the comments below. ...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy on COVID-19
March 10, 2020 09:48 - 23 minutes - 31.9 MBLukas Coch/AAP With 100 domestic cases as of March 10, federal and state governments and health authorities face daunting challenges posed by COVID-19 in coming weeks and months - securing a workforce of nurses and doctors to treat the sick, ensuring enough testing facilities to meet a rapidly growing demand, and stemming the spread of the virus, to the maximum extent possible. As Chief Medical Officer for the federal government, Professor Brendan Murphy is confident about ma...
We asked astronomers: are we alone in the Universe? The answer was surprisingly consistent
March 09, 2020 01:05 - 24 minutes - 33.5 MBShutterstock Are we alone in the Universe? The expert opinion on that, it turns out, is surprisingly consistent. “Is there other life in the Universe? I would say: probably,” Daniel Zucker, Associate Professor of astronomy at Macquarie University, tells astrophysics student and The Conversation’s editorial intern Antonio Tarquinio on today’s podcast episode. “I think that we will discover life outside of Earth in my lifetime. If not that, then in your lifetime,” says his fe...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Keith Pitt on the Murray-Darling Basin, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, and Nuclear Power
March 05, 2020 06:00 - 23 minutes - 32.7 MBMICK TSIKAS/AAP Appointed minister for resources, water, and northern Australia in the Nationals reshuffle, Keith Pitt was handed a diverse portfolio with some highly contested issues. As water minister, he’ll soon have a report from Mick Keelty on the Murray-Darling Basin, which could spark more fighting between states, and the ACCC report into water trading, expected at the end of the year. “We do need to ensure the trading is fair,” he says. “I’m as concerned as anybody e...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Mark Butler on Labor's 2050 carbon neutral target
February 26, 2020 03:34 - 20 minutes - 27.5 MBKelly Barnes/AAP Mark Butler, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy, is optimistic that Labor is better placed to prosecute its climate policy at the next election, compared to the last. “I think we are better positioned now for two reasons.” “Firstly, I think the business community has shifted substantially over the last couple of years, and that’s a global shift that reflects particularly the fact that regulators…and investors have recognised that climate change po...
More than 70% of the Universe is made of 'dark energy', the mysterious stuff even stranger than dark matter
February 23, 2020 23:57 - 12 minutes - 17.1 MBShutterstock You’ve heard of dark matter. You’ve probably heard there’s a fair bit of it out there in space, and that astronomers don’t know for sure what it is. But, strange as dark matter is, there’s an even more mysterious thing out there in the Universe – and quite a lot of it. Dark energy, believed to be responsible for the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe, makes up the vast majority of space. Today, editorial intern and astrophysics student Cameron Furl...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Phil Honeywood on the coronavirus challenge for universities
February 20, 2020 06:09 - 19 minutes - 26.2 MBThe coronavirus is presenting a major threat to Australia’s education export industry, which is highly dependant upon the China market, and a huge challenge to the universities. Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia says: “At the end of the day, China is the most heavily populated country in the world, it’s on our regional doorstep and it has an incredible appetite for having their children study offshore.” This podcast was recorded before the governm...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Adam Bandt on Greens' hopes for future power sharing
February 10, 2020 06:13 - 29 minutes - 40.6 MBAdam Bandt began his political journey in the Labor party, but the issue of climate change drew him to the Greens. Last week he became their leader, elected unopposed. Asked about his ambitions for the party, Bandt aspires to a power-sharing situation with a Labor government, akin to the Gillard era. “Ultimately Labor’s got to decide where it stands, and if Labor decides that it does want to go down the path of working with us on a plan to phase out coal and look after workers in...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Michael McCormack moves on from his near-death experience
February 06, 2020 06:30 - 22 minutes - 31.3 MBMick Tsikas/AAP Starting the year with a leadership spill will be seen by many, especially those hit by the bushfires, as the Nationals being particularly self-indulgent. Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack admits as much, but notes he wasn’t the initiator of his party’s bad behaviour. “We should not have been talking about ourselves. This was never of my making or doing. And we should have spent the entire day, not just those sitting hours, but the ...
'Futuring' can help us survive the climate crisis. And guess what? You're a futurist too
January 31, 2020 01:21 - 10 minutes - 14.1 MBWhen we are imagining this time, next year, are we limiting our thinking to how we avoid the conditions we faced in this summer? Or are there bigger questions we can ask? Shutterstock Editor’s note: Today, on Trust Me, I’m An Expert, we hear from Clare Cooper, design lecturer at the University of Sydney, on how futuring techniques can help us think collectively about life under a drastically hotter climate. Her accompanying essay is below. Australians, no matter where we are, are coming t...
The Dish in Parkes is scanning the southern Milky Way, searching for alien signals
January 15, 2020 23:23 - 22 minutes - 50.7 MBThe Parkes radio telescope can detect extremely weak signals coming from the most distant parts of the Universe. Shutterstock For John Sarkissian, operations scientist at the CSIRO Parkes radio telescope, astronomy has been his life’s passion – starting from the age of six. “When I was six years old, I watched Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the Moon,” he says of the radio telescope made famous in the film The Dish. “In fact, on the cover of my year nine mathematics textbook was ...
'The size, the grandeur, the peacefulness of being in the dark': what it's like to study space at Siding Spring Observatory
December 18, 2019 18:58 - 23 minutes - 54.3 MBToday we hear about some of the fascinating space research underway at Siding Spring Observatory – and how, despite gruelling hours and endless paperwork, astronomers retain their sense of wonder for the night sky. Shutterstock How did our galaxy form? How do galaxies evolve over time? Where did the Sun’s lost siblings end up? Three hours north-east of Parkes lies a remote astronomical research facility, unpolluted by city lights, where researchers are collecting vast amounts of data in a...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Grattan and Martin on the year that was, in politics and economics
December 18, 2019 04:26 - 43 minutes - 59.2 MBThe Yearbook is a collection of 50 standout articles from Australia’s top thinkers. The Conversation Last week, Michelle Grattan and Peter Martin (economics editor at The Conversation) were in Sydney to launch the 2019 Conversation Yearbook. The event was held at Glebebooks and presented an opportunity for readers to hear Michelle and Peter’s discussion about the year that was, and ask questions. This podcast is an edited recording of that event. New to podcasts? Podcasts are often be...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Mathias Cormann and Jim Chalmers on the mid-year budget update
December 16, 2019 05:50 - 21 minutes - 29.7 MBThe forecast for Australia's economic growth in 2019-20 has been cut by 0.25%, and the projected surplus for this financial year slashed by A$2.1 billion. The Conversation The mid-year budget update has seen the government downgrading its forecast for Australia’s economic growth in 2019-20 by 0.25%, and slashing the projected surplus by A$2.1 billion, to $5 billion. The forecast for wage growth has also been reduced, and unemployment is projected to be slightly higher than was envisaged at...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Andrew Hastie on foreign influence, security and veteran mental health
December 09, 2019 02:38 - 25 minutes - 34.6 MBThe member for Canning has made a name for himself as a hawk on foreign influence in Australian politics. Lukas Coch/AAP Chinese government influence and interference has been a contentious issue in Australia politics in the past year. Weighing up concerns about foreign money in state and federal campaigns, candidates’ direct relationships with arms of the Chinese Communist Party and the defection of a Chinese spy operating within Australia, against the fragile trade relationship we have...
Antibiotic resistant superbugs kill 32 plane-loads of people a week. We can all help fight back
November 26, 2019 18:41 - 20 minutes - 48 MBAntibiotics can be a wonder for treating bacterial infections – but we need to be cautious in how we use them. From shutterstock.com You might think antibiotic resistance is something to worry about in the distant future. But it’s already having a deadly impact today. The number of people dying globally every week from antibiotic resistant infections is equivalent to 32 Boeing 747s full of people. And if that sounds scary, the projections for the future are even scarier. On today’s episo...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Minister David Littleproud on bushfires, drought, and the Nationals
November 14, 2019 01:40 - 35 minutes - 49.3 MBAs bushfires continue to burn across NSW and Queensland, the Prime Minister and Opposition leader have said policy arguments should be avoided until the immediate crisis has passed, but many disagree. Dan Peled/AAP Bushfires continue to burn across NSW and Queensland, the death toll has risen, and the damage to properties, wildlife and the environment is devastating. With conditions predicted to worsen over the summer, climate change has inevitably come into the frame. The Prime Minister...
Nearly all your devices run on lithium batteries. Here's a Nobel Prizewinner on his part in their invention – and their future
November 01, 2019 05:03 - 18 minutes - 41.5 MBLithium ion batteries revolutionised the way we use, manufacture and charge our devices. They’re used to power mobile phones, laptops and even electric cars. Shutterstock British-born scientist M. Stanley Whittingham, of Binghamton University, was one of three scientists who won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work developing lithium-ion batteries. L-R: John Goodenough; Stanley Whittingham; Akira Yoshino, the three scientists who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistr...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Ross Gittins on the government's 'surplus obsession'
October 29, 2019 10:34 - 21 minutes - 29.3 MBThis week's Essential poll showed 56% of voters would prioritise stimulating the Australian economy over getting back to budget surplus. Mick Tsikas/AAP The Australian economy is growing slowly, with people not opening their purses and businesses uncertain about the future. The Reserve Bank has cut interest rates three times this year - the official cash rate is currently at a historic low of 0.75%. Many are arguing monetary policy has run its course, and fiscal stimulus is needed. This ...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: On the trust divide in politics
October 28, 2019 00:15 - 36 minutes - 50 MBThe first report produced by Democracy 2025 brings forward the perspective of federal politicians, as they are key voices in the debate on trust in politics. Shutterstock Democracy 2025 is an initiative by the Museum of Australian Democracy and the University of Canberra, which aims to stimulate a national conversation on the state of our democracy, including the trust divide between the political class and everyday citizens. A just-released report by the project gives the perspective of...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Deputy PM Michael McCormack on the drought and restive Nationals
October 23, 2019 06:12 - 24 minutes - 33.7 MBThe Deputy PM urges farmers considering leaving their farms to 'take every bit of good advice available before they take that ultimate step'. Mick Tsikas/AAP While the drought continues to hit the Nationals’ constituents hard, the party faces testing terrain on a political level. In this episode of Politics with Michelle Grattan, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack acknowledges the mishandling of the bring-forward of the dairy code, which will increase the negotiating power of milk pr...
Trust Me, I'm An Expert: forensic entomology, or what bugs can tell police about when someone died
October 06, 2019 18:56 - 25 minutes - 58.8 MBMaggots are a major part of the puzzle when it comes to collecting forensic evidence. Shutterstock A few episodes ago, we heard from forensic scientists at the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER) – that’s the official name for what, in books and movies, they would call a body farm. It’s there, at a secret bushland site, researchers are making some surprising discoveries about how donated human bodies decompose in Australian conditions. One of the researchers...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Tim Watts on Australia's changing identity
October 02, 2019 07:02 - 27 minutes - 37.7 MBSome of Watts' ancestors were deeply rooted in the old attitudes of "white Australia", while his wife is from Hong Kong, and his children Eurasian-Australian. Erik Anderson/AAP Tim Watts is Labor member for the Victorian seat of Gellibrand, one of the most diverse electorates in Australia. His own family is a microcosm of diversity - Watts comes from a long line of Australians with ancestors deeply rooted in the old attitudes of “white Australia”, while his wife is from Hong Kong, and his...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: daughters of Robert Menzies and Arthur Calwell say parliament wasn't always a 'fort'
September 24, 2019 01:24 - 57 minutes - 79.2 MBHeather Henderson and Mary Elizabeth Calwell reflect on their fathers' legacies, growing up in a political environment, and offer their perspectives on a different era in politics. Office of Maria Vamvakinou MP Last week, a very special event took place in Parliament House. The daughters of Sir Robert Menzies and Arthur Calwell - Heather Henderson and Mary Elizabeth Calwell - came together to reflect on their fathers’ legacies, and to offer their perspectives on a different era in Australi...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Arthur Sinodinos with some reflections and advice
September 17, 2019 07:19 - 23 minutes - 32.9 MBSinodinos warns about dangers for democracy and science posed by a polarised media. Mick Tsikas/AAP Arthur Sinodinos will soon leave the Senate, and early next year take up the position of Australian ambassador in Washington. A former staffer and one-time public servant as well as a former minister, in this podcast Sinodinos reflects on the challenges of pursuing reform, has some advice for ministerial staff in dealing with the public service, and warns about dangers for democracy and sci...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Jim Chalmers on the need to change economic course
September 16, 2019 07:14 - 26 minutes - 35.9 MB"We'd be mad not to learn the lessons” of the election result, said Chalmers on Labor's way ahead. Joel Carrett/AAP Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers says it’s time to change Australia’s economic course “in a responsible and affordable way which doesn’t jeopardise the surplus”. Chalmers predicts the budget outcome for last financial year, forecast to be a deficit at budget time, could possibly show a surplus, because of high iron ore prices and other factors including an underspend on the NDI...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Independent MP Helen Haines on using 'soft power'
September 11, 2019 04:38 - 19 minutes - 27.1 MBHelen Haines (centre-right) made history at the election as the first federal independent to succeed another independent. Mick Tsikas/AAP Helen Haines, MP for the Victorian regional seat Indi, made history at the election as the first federal independent to succeed another independent. She was backed by grassroots campaigners, Voices for Indi, who had earlier helped her predecessor, Cathy McGowan, into parliament. But while McGowan towards the end of her time in the House of Representat...
Trust Me, I'm An Expert: what science says about how to lose weight and whether you really need to
September 10, 2019 06:49 - 21 minutes - 49.3 MBHave you been told by your doctor to consider dropping a few kilos? The good news is that often even a small amount of weight loss can improve your health outlook. shutterstock Everywhere you turn these days, there’s a diet ad, or family member or friend raving about some new diet that apparently works wonders. But what does the research actually say about how to lose weight - and if you even need to lose it in the first place? To find out, The Conversation’s Alexandra Hansen interviewed...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on a slowing economy
September 05, 2019 06:57 - 18 minutes - 43 MBDespite a slowing economy, Josh Frydenberg says 'you wouldn't want to be in any other economy, other than Australia'. James Ross/AAP This week’s June quarter national accounts showed weakness in business investment and consumer spending, reflecting an all-round lack of confidence. Still, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg remains optimistic about the economy. In this episode of Politics with Michelle Grattan, Frydenberg talks about the government’s discussions with the Reserve Bank on a new agree...
Trust Me, I'm An Expert: Queensland still mystifies too many politicians but its needs are surprisingly simple
August 27, 2019 07:58 - 52 minutes - 119 MBAre southern-born politicians talking about a state they essentially don't understand? Shutterstock The dust has well and truly settled on Scott Morrison’s surprise victory in this year’s federal election but opinion is still divided on exactly what happened in Queensland. Why did Labor perform so poorly in the Sunshine State? Is Queensland an inherently conservative part of Australia? During the campaign, were southern-born politicians talking about a state they essentially didn’t under...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: PM’s advisor Christine Morgan on tackling Australia’s rising suicide rates
August 26, 2019 07:58 - 25 minutes - 34.5 MBChristine Morgan points to the value of the brand of Headspace for young people; they know "this is a place I can go". Shutterstock The number of suicides in Australia has been rising in the last decade, with more than 3,000 Australians taking their life in 2017, according to the latest available ABS figures. Some of the most vulnerable groups include Indigenous Australians, young Australians, unemployed people, and veterans. Scott Morrison has declared this a key priority area for the g...
Trust Me, I’m An Expert: Why the Hong Kong protesters feel they have nothing to lose
August 22, 2019 07:04 - 21 minutes - 29.5 MBProtesters holding umbrellas amid heavy rain march in an anti-government rally in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. AAP/EPA/VIVEK PRAKASH Last weekend, hundreds of thousands of people again took to the streets in Hong Kong to protest against the government – the 11th straight weekend of demonstrations that began in June over a proposed extradition bill. But after more than two months of increasingly violent clashes between demonstrators and the police, this protest was peaceful. No tear gas was fired....
Politics with Michelle Grattan: on the 'creeping crisis' in the public service
August 13, 2019 08:00 - 20 minutes - 28.8 MBBeth Noveck and Rod Glover argue that to reverse the 'creeping crisis' faced by the public service, the government must train public servants to use creative problem-solving methods. Shutterstock Scott Morrison has voiced his intention to shake up the federal public service - seeking to make it more efficient in implementing the government’s agenda. A review of the public service led by David Thodey is now finished. Meanwhile, Professor Beth Noveck and Professor Rod Glover have released a...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Anthony Albanese on Labor's hard times
July 30, 2019 13:13 - 30 minutes - 42.1 MBAnthony Albanese points to Labor's limited capacity to alter legislation in the Senate, as he defends the decision to vote for passing the government's full tax package. Lukas Coch/AAP Anthony Albanese has a blunt message for critics who are accusing Labor of attacking government measures but then voting for them. They should “examine the world as it is rather than as they would like it to be,” he says. In the post-election reality the Senate will mostly support the government. This seve...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Paul Oosting responds to GetUp's critics
July 24, 2019 01:47 - 21 minutes - 29.1 MBAfter a bruising election result for GetUp, national director Paul Oosting is in Canberra this week to work on press freedom. Joel Carrett After a bruising election outcome, GetUp is regrouping around a batch of issues - with press freedom the big ticket item. The activist group’s national director Paul Oosting, who has been in Canberra for the parliamentary week, says this is “deeply, deeply important to our members right now. It’s absolutely the number one issue that they care about”. ...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Centre Alliance's Stirling Griff on Newstart
July 23, 2019 05:16 - 19 minutes - 26.3 MBCentre Alliance will be pivotal for the government in passing some legislation this parliamentary term. Sam Mooy/AAP The two Centre Alliance senators, Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick will often be pivotal to the fate of government legislation. The smaller non-Green Senate crossbench this term means that if the government can muster Centre Alliance support, it only needs one other crossbencher to pass bills, as was the case with the government’s tax package. In this podcast Michelle Gratt...
What's the next 'giant leap' for humankind in space? We asked 3 space experts
July 19, 2019 03:10 - 19 minutes - 27.3 MBToday, we're asking two astrophysicists and a planetary scientist: what's the likelihood we'll be living on Mars or the Moon in future? Pixabay/WikiImages, CC BY You’ve probably heard that this week marks 50 years since humans first set foot on the Moon – a feat that still boggles the mind given the limitations of technology at the time and the global effort required to pull it off. If you’re as fascinated as we are about the history and future of space exploration, check out The Convers...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Megan Davis on a First Nations Voice in the Constitution
July 16, 2019 03:25 - 22 minutes - 31.4 MBProfessor Megan Davis is an independent expert member of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. AAP/RICHARD WAINWRIGHT Last week on this podcast we talked to Ken Wyatt about the government’s plan for a referendum – hopefully this parliamentary term – to recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution. This week, we continue the conversation on Indigenous recognition with Megan Davis, a law professor and expert member of a key United Nations Indigen...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Ken Wyatt on constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians
July 11, 2019 03:07 - 19 minutes - 27 MBKen Wyatt proposed plans for constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians during this parliamentary term. Rohan Thomson/AAP The first Indigenous minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, says on the government’s proposal to constitutionally recognise Indigenous Australians: “I’m optimistic about achieving the outcome because if the words are simple, but meaningful, then Australians will generally accept an opportunity to include Aboriginal people in the Constitution.” But h...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Father Frank Brennan on Israel Folau and religious freedom
July 03, 2019 07:51 - 28 minutes - 38.6 MBFather Frank Brennan sat on the expert panel of the Religious Freedom Review. Alan Porritt/AAP Frank Brennan, Jesuit priest and member of the expert panel on Religious Freedom set up by Malcolm Turnbull, says the Israel Folau matter is a “simple freedom of contract case regardless of Mr. Folau’s religious views”. “I think the question is, did he voluntarily, and for a very large sum of money, agree with his employer to follow a work code which included an undertaking not to make statemen...
'This is going to affect how we determine time since death': how studying body donors in the bush is changing forensic science
July 01, 2019 19:43 - 33 minutes - 77.2 MBResearch underway at the University of Technology, Sydney's AFTER facility is yielding some surprising new findings about how bodies decompose in the Australian bush. Supplied by UTS, Author provided (no reuse) On the outskirts of Sydney, in a secret bushland location, lies what’s officially known as the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER). In books and movies, it’d be called a body farm. Maiken Ueland at the AFTER facility run by UTS. ...
Politics with Michelle Grattan: ACTU president Michele O'Neil on John Setka and the government's anti-union legislation
July 01, 2019 07:40 - 24 minutes - 33.4 MBAustralian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) President Michele O'Neil (left) stands next to ACTU Secretary Sally McManus. Peter Rae/AAP The ACTU leadership has pushed controversial construction boss John Setka to quit his union job but its president Michele O'Neil says the final decision on his leadership rests on the union membership. She told The Conversation “members of unions elect their leadership and that’s an important principle”. In this podcast episode O'Neil denounces the gover...
'People felt totally trapped': what it's like to be a pensioner renting privately as Australia's housing costs soar
June 14, 2019 04:24 - 17 minutes - 39 MBOlder private renters are far more likely to experience loneliness than their counterparts in social housing and that loneliness can be acute. Shutterstock A growing number of older Australians don’t own their homes. And whether they are private renters or live in social housing can make a big difference to their risk of loneliness and anxiety. That’s the key finding of research led by Alan Morris, a professor at the UTS Institute for Public Policy and Governance, who interviewed older Au...