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
Jun 30, 2019 • 32min
China, freedom, science: The personal is political for this particle physicist
Born just months after the Tiananmen massacre, Yangyang Cheng grew up in the shadow of those shocking events. Now this young particle physicist has found a potent voice - her own - on history, human rights, science, and freedom.
Jun 23, 2019 • 26min
Sum of All Parts - The sound of seizure
Brant Guichard has heard The Music for as long as he can remember.
Jun 16, 2019 • 26min
Sum of All Parts - The Infinite God
A musician gives up the rock n' roll dream for number theory, and a glimpse of the infinite.
Jun 9, 2019 • 35min
Sharks, devils, wombats: three homosapiens saving what we've got
Meet three homosapiens who are passionate about preserving the future of other species.
Jun 2, 2019 • 34min
The CRISPR gene-edited babies and the doctor who made them - what really happened?
Wall Street Journal journalist Preetika Rana has unearthed extraordinary new information about the Chinese scientist who created the world's first gene-edited babies.
May 26, 2019 • 35min
Does genomics know if you’re Palestinian? A cautionary tale about genetic databases and ancestry testing
Palestinian-American cartoonist and illustrator Marguerite Dabaie thought she understood her ancestry. But then she had a genetic test and things got messy. It’s not her DNA, it’s the technology.
May 19, 2019 • 26min
Let there be ROCK: science in the moshpit
Pull on your black t-shirt or spandex. Turn up the volume. A heavy metal loving professor with guitar in arms and physics in his soul. [From the archive]
May 12, 2019 • 29min
Are scientists scared of politics? Science Friction Election Special
Are science and politics alien to each other? From climate change to coal mines, are scientists cutting through in policy debates?
May 5, 2019 • 32min
The crisis of predatory publishers sucking the blood of science
In pursuit of a predator. A sting operation. A black list. Big law suits. Is this the biggest threat to science since the Inquisition?
Apr 28, 2019 • 26min
Lise Meitner and the bittersweet story of a nuclear genius
Nuclear fission. That Nobel Prize. The Nazis. Lise Meitner's story has it all and more.
