Ockham’s Razor
ABC listen
This program is no longer in production. Ockham’s Razor is a soap box for all things scientific, with short talks about research, industry and policy from people with something thoughtful to say about science.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 19, 2019 • 12min
What's in a name?
What have the Wallace Line, Confucius and plane crashes got in common? Taxonomy, as it happens.
May 11, 2019 • 12min
The truth about Australia's megafaunal extinctions
Australia was once home to a range of massive animals - giant wombats, oversized kangaroos and mega-lizards that would have rivalled those of the Serengeti.
May 4, 2019 • 12min
Can animals save the planet?
In times gone by we used animals as an indicator of danger. Dogs warned us of predators and unfamiliar people. Fish showed the water was clean and birds indicated air quality.
Apr 27, 2019 • 10min
The fallout from nuclear nations
Fred Pearce’s book Fallout is a fascinating insight into a few of the disastrous episodes which took place during the hasty and ill-informed projects of the nuclear age, Dr Helen Caldicott says.
Apr 20, 2019 • 11min
Life, the universe and astrophysics
An ill-conceived midnight skinny-dip, a remote beach, hurricane-stirred waters … and the nature of the universe, with astrophysicist Professor Tamara Davis.
Apr 13, 2019 • 12min
Tips for surviving the robot apocalypse
Have you seen a robot outside, or as roboticists like to say 'in the wild' this week? This year?
Apr 6, 2019 • 12min
Why aren't we living in sustainable cities?
Blue sky thinking is a feature of much discussion around the future of our cities — but will it really help us create the sustainable cities of the next century?
Mar 30, 2019 • 12min
DNA ancestry testing and race
How does our collective fascination with DNA ancestry testing interact with our ideas and conversations about race?
Mar 23, 2019 • 11min
A tale of frozen sperm
This is the tale of Ernest John Christopher Polge and his substantial contribution to the field of reproductive biology.
Mar 16, 2019 • 8min
Protecting the eastern bettong
Australia has the highest mammal extinction rate in the world. And of those that do remain, many are in danger of going the same way — including the eastern bettong.
