Science Friction
ABC listen
Science Friction's latest season is: Artificial Evolution. In 1996, Dolly the Sheep became the first ever cloned animal. Nearly 30 years later, genetic technology has reshaped the world around us. What exactly has happened, where are we headed, and are we OK about it?
In this series, environment reporter Peter de Kruijff tells the surprising stories of genetic engineering. Meet the scientists changing the food we eat and creating animals with organs we can use. Hear about the criminal conspiracy to clone a giant sheep, and the teams bringing extinct animals back from the dead.
Artificial Evolution traces the influence of genetic technology from Dolly into the future. It’s the latest series of Science Friction, an award-winning podcast from ABC Radio National.
Brain Rot (Season 3): How does being chronically online affect our brains? Technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre explores the wildest ways people are using tech — from falling in love with AI companions to data-dumping a life into a language model — and the big questions about our own screen use.
Cooked (Season 2): Why do some studies show ice cream is good for you? Why do some people say they feel good going carnivore, and do we really need as many electrolytes as the internet tells us? Food and nutrition scientist Dr Emma Beckett cuts through these confusing findings to explain how nutrition science works.
AI Overlords (Season 1): AI didn't come from nowhere, and its development hasn't been a smooth, straight line — it's been rife with drama, conflict and disagreement. Technology reporter James Purtill looks at where AI came from, who controls it and where it's heading.
In this series, environment reporter Peter de Kruijff tells the surprising stories of genetic engineering. Meet the scientists changing the food we eat and creating animals with organs we can use. Hear about the criminal conspiracy to clone a giant sheep, and the teams bringing extinct animals back from the dead.
Artificial Evolution traces the influence of genetic technology from Dolly into the future. It’s the latest series of Science Friction, an award-winning podcast from ABC Radio National.
Brain Rot (Season 3): How does being chronically online affect our brains? Technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre explores the wildest ways people are using tech — from falling in love with AI companions to data-dumping a life into a language model — and the big questions about our own screen use.
Cooked (Season 2): Why do some studies show ice cream is good for you? Why do some people say they feel good going carnivore, and do we really need as many electrolytes as the internet tells us? Food and nutrition scientist Dr Emma Beckett cuts through these confusing findings to explain how nutrition science works.
AI Overlords (Season 1): AI didn't come from nowhere, and its development hasn't been a smooth, straight line — it's been rife with drama, conflict and disagreement. Technology reporter James Purtill looks at where AI came from, who controls it and where it's heading.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 1, 2020 • 5min
PREVIEW RN Presents — Hot Mess: Why haven’t we fixed climate change?
What do we know, what will it take, and why have we struggled to effectively act on climate change? Don't miss the compelling new series, Hot Mess.
Apr 26, 2020 • 36min
The astrophysicist Survivor star and immunologist dropping everything to help save you from COVID19 (Science, Interrupted Part 2)
Exploding stars and killer cells. Then comes a pandemic. Drop everything. Head into the battle-zone. It's Survivor but not as you know it.
Apr 19, 2020 • 38min
Science, Interrupted Part 1 - lives, loves, labs upended by COVID19
Extraordinary scientists doing extraordinary things. Then came the pandemic.
Apr 12, 2020 • 36min
If we can mobilise around a pandemic, what next? Meet two revolutionaries already flouting the rules
After the pandemic, what else can we make work better? Here are some dumb things to start with. We flush fresh water down our toilets. We throw out perfectly edible food by the tonne.
Apr 5, 2020 • 31min
COVID-19, China’s wild wet markets, pangolins, and bats - is it US not THEM?
Why do deadly viruses love bats so much, why don’t bats get crook, and what’s with China’s wild wet markets? The curious making of a pandemic.
Mar 29, 2020 • 31min
Rules of contagion - meet a mathematician at the frontline of the COVID-19 fight
At the frontline of the COVID-19 fight right now, Adam Kucharski is author of The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread - and Why They Stop. He sees patterns of contagion everywhere – in viruses, memes, markets.
Mar 22, 2020 • 31min
Acclaimed Beasts of No Nation author Uzodinma Iweala - on science, power, and race
The stories we construct about biology, viruses, and beyond can reshape the course of our lives. When the world suddenly feels very small, connected by a virus that’s porous to people and borders, let's consider the power and porosity of science.
Mar 15, 2020 • 31min
Your 3D printed body
If you could 3D print a new body part, what would it be? For marine scientist Pia Winberg that question was about to become intensely real. The science and the ethics of a wild frontier for medicine.
Mar 8, 2020 • 34min
School gate racism, education reclaimed, and family found (Part 2)
Three generations with powerful, personal stories of family lost and found, racism, and the right to education reclaimed. This is not your average Science Summer School.
Mar 1, 2020 • 30min
How to be Two Ways strong: Dreamtime science and finding yourself (Part 1)
Pack your pyjamas, we’re heading to camp! From Arnhem Land to Adelaide, Caboolture to Coffs – let's gather from far and wide to meet on Kaurna country. A scientific and cultural odyssey in two parts.
