Quick Smart

Driverless cars feel like they've been "two or three years away"… for the last 10 years. So why don't we have them yet? What technical and ethical hurdles do we still need to overcome to finally make robots our designated drivers?Guest: James Purtill from Science Friction.

What makes a man, a man? Well eating copious amounts of red meat of course – at least according to certain corners of the internet. The alt-right has made mass beef consumption their business, and this comes at a time when climate scientists and animal activists are urging people to eat less meat to help the planet. So why is the alt-right so focused on eliminating "soy boys" and getting into that Bronze Age Grindset?Guest: Jonathan Green from Blueprint for Living

The term Stockholm syndrome has become a phrase we throw around to describe people in toxic relationships and bad jobs, but originally it was a diagnosis for a young woman who fell for her captor during a week long bank heist. But it turns out the psychologist who first invented the term never even met the the woman. So what’s the history of this strange syndrome? Is it an early understanding of what we now call coercive control or is it all just a sexist myth?Guest: Bec Armitage from ABC OnlineThis episode was originally broadcast on the 7th July 2023.

The Olympic Games are about to kick off and athletes from all over to the world will make their to France to compete. The event is watched by billions, there's a massive increase to local tourism and of course an eye watering amount of advertising dollars at stake so it’s wild to think that at one stage - the Olympics was almost cancelled for good. Guest: Jack Schmidt for God Forbid

We've all been there. Laying on the couch after a long day of work, paralysed by the task of choosing what show to watch. We're so spoiled for choice — and there are thousands of new shows hitting multiple platforms everyday. The big streaming services — like Netflix and Amazon argue that television writers are getting more money up front — but the writers say it's become impossible to make a living. So how has the streaming industry changed the way television is created? And is Netflix and Chill about to be cancelled?Guest: Hannah Reich from ABC Arts Digital

It's no secret we should be working a little bit less, and sleeping a little bit more. And in the age of the always on hustle, some people are doing just that - and these "Sleepfluencers"are making a whole lot of money. So who are these people that are cashing in on their sleep cycles? Why are people paying to watch strangers sleep? And how could the online phenomena of sleepfluencing be a gateway to better mental health? Guest: Anna Levy from ABC Digital 

We all try to do our bit for the climate, we say no to plastic bags, we consider buying an electric car, we bring our keep cups to the cafe...but it’s going to take us drinking from a keep cup everyday for 100 million years to cancel out the problems caused by the big polluters - so how do we get everyone on the same page? Are we incentivising the wrong things when it comes to climate? And, should we be thinking about ways to make the economy a little less single use, and a little more circular and sustainable? Guest: Antony Funnell from Future Tense

In the last little while, you've likely told someone "you've had a busy few weeks", or "work is so crazy right now" but can you actually remember a time when you weren't busy? Will the busy-ness every stop or are we destined to feel like we're on the cusp of burnout for the rest of our lives? Is it possible to reach that mystical balancing point where we can be productive at work but also have enough of ourselves left for the other parts of our lives too?Guest: Lisa Leong from This Working Life

Around 85% of the world’s population is religious. And 22% of the world’s population is on TikTok, so it makes sense that a whole lot of religious content is making it’s way into people’s feeds. So with more and more people of faith getting online, is TikTok about to become the new religious pulpit? How is the advent of the religious influencer changing the idea of faith? And how can we ensure people aren’t radicalised by disinformation and those all-knowing algorithms?Guest: Sami Shah from God Forbid

On October 14th, Australians will head to the polls to vote in the Voice referendum. An important vote which could ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a say when it comes to matters relating to them. In our history, we’ve only had 44 referenda and of those, only eight have been successful. So will this one buck the trend? And will it really improve the lives of Indigenous people?Guest: ABC Indigenous Affairs reporter and host of The Voice Referendum Explained Carly Williams