Best Robbie Schroeder Podcasts (2025)

Dr Jane Goodall, a pioneer of ground-breaking chimpanzee field research, has died at the age of 91. Her early work, published in 1963, transformed our understanding of the social and emotional lives of chimpanzees and encouraged a wave of study into primate behaviour. She later established the Jane Goodall Institute, now one of the world's largest …

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04 | Artificial Evolution: Pig Parts for People? 26:08

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15d ago26:08

26:08

Timothy Andrews has lived with a pig kidney in his body for eight months. That makes him a record breaker — living longer with a gene-edited pig kidney than anyone else in the world so far. In the final episode of Artificial Evolution, he tells us about his journey, his hopes for making it a year with the transplant, and the challenges he's faced a…

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03 | Artificial Evolution: Yuck or Yum? Gene-Edited Meat 27:02

22d ago27:02

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Gene-edited fish are on the market in Japan, and similar foods could soon be on Australian shelves. But will we want to eat them, how affordable will they be, and what do they even taste like? On this episode of Artificial Evolution, Pete looks at the future of gene editing for consumption, what's on the menu, and whether it’s a sustainable way to …

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02 | Artificial Evolution: Genetically Modified Marsupials 26:06

29d ago26:06

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Earlier this year, a US biotech company claimed it had brought back a long-extinct species - the dire wolf, which roamed ancient America thousands of years ago. And the same editing technology that remade dire wolves could also be used to stop Australian species from going extinct. In episode two of Artificial Evolution, Pete heads to the labs that…

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01 | Artificial Evolution: Cloning Goes Mainstream 26:08

1M ago26:08

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Last year, 81-year-old rancher Arthur 'Jack' Schubarth was sentenced to six months in prison. His crime? An elaborate, multi-country conspiracy to smuggle in the tissue of a rare big horn sheep — clone it — and sell the offspring to hunters. But how did we get to the point where such a scheme could be run out of an elderly rancher's backyard? In ep…

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INTRODUCING — Artificial Evolution

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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 Artificial Evolution, our latest series of Science Friction, ABC environment reporter Peter de Kruijff follows the story of gene technolo…

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05 | Brain Rot: Meet the people who ditched their smartphones. Is it worth it? 25:45

3M ago25:45

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We’ve all dreamt of lobbing our smartphone into the ocean and going off grid. So what happens when you follow through with it? For our final episode of Brain Rot, we speak to the people who decided they’d had enough. From a French village, to Gen Z ‘luddites’ in New York City and a group of parents in regional Victoria, there are clubs, campaigns a…

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04 | Brain Rot: Is internet addiction real? 25:37

4M ago25:37

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Plenty of people will say they are addicted to the internet. But how well-recognised, scientifically, is an addiction ... to your screen? In episode four of Brain Rot, we dig into how behavioural addictions work. And we hear from self-described internet addicts about the treatment programs that help them stay “internet sober”. Brain Rot is a new fi…

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03 | Brain Rot: Is tech making your memory better or worse? 27:40

4M ago27:40

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We’re trusting tech with more tasks than ever — including the ones our brains once did.We’re Googling things we used to know, taking screenshots of things we’ll instantly forget, and hoarding all kinds of data we’ll never check again.On this episode of Brain Rot: is tech giving your brain a holiday, or putting it out of a job?You’ll also meet a guy…

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02 | Brain Rot: Is AI turning us off human relationships? 25:33

4M ago25:33

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Whether it’s social media, the omnipresent smartphone or AI companions, in recent decades the way we relate to each other has been completely up-ended. In episode two of Brain Rot, we explore the potential implications that tech poses to human relationships. Worldwide estimates suggest there are around one billion users of AI companion — people usi…

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01 | Brain Rot: Is there any proof your phone is destroying your attention span? 29:19

4M ago29:19

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Everyone seems to have a hunch that their phone is destroying their attention span, but is there any science to back it up? In episode one of Brain Rot, we’re doing our best to focus on the topic of attention for a full 25 minutes — and find out what's actually happening in your brain every time your phone buzzes or dings. Is brain rot a real thing…

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INTRODUCING — Brain Rot 3:00

4M ago3:00

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For Science Friction, it's Brain Rot — a new series about the science of being chronically online and what it’s doing to our brains. What's really going on with our attention spans? Is data-dumping your entire life into ChatGPT helpful? And what's it like to be in love ... with an AI? National technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre tackles the wildes…

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06 | Cooked: Vitamin B3 ... and the media 25:44

7M ago25:44

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For episode six of Cooked, we turn the lens on … science communication itself. We’re looking at how information travels from a scientific study to the world and what can go wrong along the way. This is the final episode in our Cooked series. We'll be back in May for another series of Science Friction on a different topic — digital devices and how t…

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05 | Cooked: Electrolytes — who needs them? 25:45

7M ago25:45

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Over the past few years, you might have heard advertisements in your podcast feed or on social media for electrolyte supplements. If you haven’t seen them, they’re basically these little sachets or tubs that get mixed in with water as a drink. News media reports demand for such products is exploding – with the market for electrolyte supplements set…

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04 | Cooked: A peculiar potato experiment 25:45

8M ago25:45

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Why did a group of anonymous strangers on the internet try to eat almost nothing but potatoes for a month? On Cooked this week, an unusual experiment and the possibilities and perils of a mono-diet. Guests: Andrew Taylor Melbourne, Australia Slime Mold Time Mold Scientist collective Dr Jess Danaher Associate Dean, RMIT University; Nutrition Scienti…

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03 | Cooked: Mystery in the Mediterranean

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It was one of the world's biggest nutrition trials. A study of thousands of people which found that following a Mediterranean diet could meaningfully reduce someone's risk of heart disease and stroke. But as data detectives began to comb through the results of the trial, something wasn't quite adding up. On Cooked this week, we're taking a look at …

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02 | Cooked: All-meat eaters say they feel great - but why?

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Diets like carnivore have been popping up all over the place. People who go carnivore aim to eat nothing but a select few animal products, like meat and eggs. So why are some people turning to an all-meat diet? And why do they say they feel good doing so? On this episode of Cooked, we sift through some of the counterintuitive findings around carniv…

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01 | Cooked: Could ice cream actually be good for you? 25:30

8M ago25:30

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Two decades ago, nutritional epidemiologists made a startling finding – that people eating more ice cream were less likely to develop diabetes. In the years since, various groups have tried to account for this peculiar scientific signal — with limited success. In multiple studies the link between ice cream and a reduced risk of diabetes persists. Y…

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00 | INTRODUCING — Cooked

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For Science Friction, a new series — Cooked! On Cooked, we dig into the nuance of nutrition. Why are studies showing that ice cream could be good for you? Do we really need as many electrolytes as the internet says? And why are people feeling good on the carnivore diet? Nutrition and food scientist Dr Emma Beckett helps comb through the evidence on…

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06 | Is super-intelligent AI around the corner? 25:44

2y ago25:44

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Behind the rise of AI there's big questions about where this technology is going. Is it going to be super intelligent — and if that happens — is it going to kill us all? In our final episode, we're diving into the future and unpacking the full spectrum of expert predictions, from the idea that we're on the brink of creating human-level AI, to fears…

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05 | The year the world woke up to AI with a bang 25:47

2y ago25:47

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2023 was the year powerful new AI technology went mainstream, with image generators and tools like ChatGPT. And people quickly started wondering where these advances were taking them. This is the story of 2023 in three chapters: the first contact, the backlash that followed, and the new reality. It's the story of actors fighting back against plans …

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04 | If you control AI, you control the world 25:43

2y ago25:43

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AI is often portrayed as being all about technology. But it is also about money and control. Because those who control AI, may control the world. In the AI world, there are two names that keep coming up: OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and its CEO, Sam Altman. Who is Sam Altman? How did his tiny company leapfrog the tech giants and win the scra…

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03 | The bumpy history of driverless cars and their AI brains 25:45

2y ago25:45

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When you think about a driverless car future, perhaps your mind goes to being driven around, watching movies from the backseat and drinking martinis. For over a decade, perfect driverless cars have seemed only a few years away. But in reality, they were nowhere close. Now, driverless cars are finally being rolled out in some cities. But (like human…

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02 | Locked up by AI for a crime he didn't commit 25:39

2y ago25:39

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As ChatGPT shows us, AI can do some amazing stuff. But it does some creepy stuff as well. And it's already been responsible for locking up innocent people. The story of how AI scanned millions of drivers licences and accused Michigan man Robert Wiliams of a crime he didn't commit. When human biases lead to neural networks going rogue.…

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01 | The day modern AI toppled humanity's champion 25:45

2y ago25:45

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The world is experiencing a boom in artificial intelligence (AI). It's everywhere. In just a few years, computers have learned to paint a picture, write a novel, translate languages and consume the entire internet. But how we got here goes back decades to two men who couldn't agree on the best way to teach a thinking machine. The AI world was divid…

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I for one welcome... Hello AI Overlords! 3:37

2y ago3:37

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2023 has been the breakout year of artificial intelligence. After decades of investment and improvement, the technology suddenly went mainstream. For many, it was as though a miraculous machine was plonked in our midst. But AI didn't come from nowhere. And it hasn't been a smooth and simple process. It's been a story rife with drama, conflict, and …

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REAL WILD CHILD (Part 4) — The Lost Boys 25:46

2+ y ago25:46

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Two groups of boys on a camp in the wilds of America are pitted against each other. But the camp leaders have only one thing on their minds. Science. The mind-blowing story of a psychological experiment that crossed a line. Big time.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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What family secrets hide inside your cells? Epigenetics, trauma, and ancestry 27:05

2+ y ago27:05

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What family secrets lie deep inside your cells? A story of survival against the odds, hope after the Holocaust, and the eye-opening new science of epigenetics… Can biology help you transcend the traumas of your ancestors, or forever burden you with their legacy?By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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Robbie and the DNA Detectives 25:45

2+ y ago25:45

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At the heart of this moving and extraordinary medical mystery is Robbie, a man in a genetic lottery. Two rare mutations made his life uniquely interesting. Then came a third, random event...a chance encounter, a global detective quest and science at the cutting edge.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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REAL WILD CHILD (Part 3) — The superstar of Tai Asks Why 25:37

2+ y ago25:37

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Tai Poole is a self-described scientist and the teenage star of multi-award-winning podcast Tai Asks Why. Love, climate change, death, dreaming…there is nothing Tai's tenaciously, voraciously hungry mind won't take on. He joins Natasha Mitchell to talk life, the universe, and everything.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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REAL WILD CHILD (Part 2) — I grew up in a cult 25:45

2+ y ago25:45

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When pioneering Australian RNA biologist Archa Fox was a child, her parents were drawn into the orbit of the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Her family packed up their life to join the Orange People communes in India and Oregon as disciples. Archa shares her candid, confronting story of what happened when this spiritual movement morphed into a cult.…

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REAL WILD CHILD (Part 1) — The nuclear boy scouts 25:46

2+ y ago25:46

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Nuclear weapons are not toys. But what happens when children get their hands on nuclear know-how? Two explosive stories of two smart kids — both with a radioactive obsession, but with very different outcomes — one celebrated as a child genius and given his own university lab as a teen; the other dead at age 39. Meet Taylor Wilson and David Hahn.…

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Thanks for the fun! Science Friction's Natasha Mitchell has some news 3:00

2+ y ago3:00

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Natasha Mitchell, presenter and co-producer of Science Friction, has some special news she wants to share with you. Listen in. (Spoiler alert: You can catch her as the new host of the ABC's Big Ideas from April 10 2023. Follow the show on the ABC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts).By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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The fantastical world of fusion – The Expanse's Ty Franck and futurist Karl Schroeder (Part 2) 25:31

2+ y ago25:31

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How has fusion inspired the imaginations of science fiction writers? In The Expanse blockbuster book and TV series, fusion energy has changed the course of civilisation in extraordinary ways – for better and worse. Ty Franck, one half of the James S.A Corey writing duo behind The Expanse, and Canadian futurist and science fiction writer Karl Schroe…

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Nuclear disruption — will starry-eyed startups win the nuclear fusion race? (Part 1) 25:32

2+ y ago25:32

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The promise of nuclear fusion is clean, limitless energy for all. But why do start-up entrepreneurs think they can solve a problem that's perplexed scientists and fuelled the imagination of science fiction writers for decades? Are they kidding themselves, or inching closer to a breakthrough? Big name billionaires like Bill Gates and George Soros ar…

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The unexpected lives of Lab Shenanigans and The Scholar Diaries 30:00

2+ y ago30:00

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It started with one post on Instagram. What followed was unimaginable. Scientists turned social media giants Darrion Nguyen (aka Lab Shenanigans) and Dr Cindy Pham (aka The Scholar Diaries) share moving stories of trauma, self-discovery, and growth. Superficial shiny stereotypes of social media celebrity ... they are definitely NOT.…

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Out of jail, is the CRISPR-baby scandal scientist at it again? 30:00

2+ y ago30:00

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Chinese scientist Dr Jiankui He flouted the law and bioethics basics to create the world's first CRISPR gene edited babies. Now out of jail, he's back on Twitter recruiting patients and raising funds for more trials, this time in adults not embryos. A dangerous distraction or a cautionary lesson for the world's scientists? Dr Joy Zhang has an extra…

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Science is political — Australia's science minister Ed Husic 30:00

2+ y ago30:00

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Science is political. So let's go straight to the heart of political power in Australia. 10 months into role, the Federal Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic joins Natasha this week. From the muzzling of scientists to stemming the brain drain, from the corporatisation of CSIRO to connecting science to more people — will the state of play for…

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Quantum bullsh*t — how (not) to ruin your life with advice from quantum physics 30:00

2+ y ago30:00

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Self-proclaimed TikTok mystics, healers, wellness influencers are increasingly turning to quantum physics to give their claims credibility, with potentially dangerous consequences. How do you disentangle the woo from the wow in quantum physics? And can it be deadly?By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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We're here, we're queer, and omg science! 30:00

2+ y ago30:00

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Chemist Kim Kwan didn’t realise how much they needed to find their queer crew in science until they did. Rami Mandow threw in a successful career in finance and business to find true love — astronomy. They share frank, fearless stories about coming out as third culture kids and why bringing their whole selves to science - their queer self and their…

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World Pride 2023 - Love Your Nature 30:00

2+ y ago30:00

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Australia is hosting the 2023 World Pride festival and queer botanists are celebrating by bringing their full selves to their science.Ryan O'Donnell is an accomplished opera singer and musical theatre performer turned botanist studying orchids and fungi.Botanist Hervé Sauquet is piecing together the evolutionary history of flowering plants – most o…

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Rock celebrity! The big bucks and wild geopolitics of meteorites - Part 2 30:00

2+ y ago30:00

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From the nomadic world of the Sahara Desert to a fantasy wonderland inside a Melbourne industrial warehouse ... meteorites are a growing business and a controversial one. Are the secrets inside space rocks at risk of being lost to wealthy collectors in the West? And, the battle of the Arab world’s first — and first female — meteorite scientist to s…

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Rock celebrity! The Black Beauty saga - Part 1 30:00

2+ y ago30:00

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A rock celebrity with a wild biography. Saharan nomads, a weight-loss doctor feeding an unusual addiction, scientists seeking the origins of Everything. 'Black Beauty' has it all. The meteorite with a mighty story, with love from Mars.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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Gene edited foods back on the menu - what are they and what's changed? (REPEAT) 30:00

2+ y ago30:00

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Scientists Jonathan Napier and Cathie Martin remember when they needed armed guards and high fences to protect their genetic experiments. But the rules around genetically modified crops are rapidly changing. What could this mean for your dinner plate? (REPEAT)By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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Twinning! (REPEAT) 30:00

2+ y ago30:00

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A pair of twin girls is born in the late 1980s and their mother, Chris, is told a series of ‘facts’ about them.Each born with their own placenta, Chris is told it’s extremely unlikely that her twins are identical, but, if they were, they’d be a perfect DNA match. She’s also told that her daughters have a much higher likelihood as adults of conceivi…

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Escaping Russia's new Iron Curtain — superstar science podcaster Ilya Kolmanovsky (REPEAT) 30:00

2+ y ago30:00

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Science journalist, biologist, podcaster, teacher and activist Dr Ilya Kolmanovsky is a superstar science communicator.He hosts one of the biggest Russian language podcasts. Bigger than podcasts on sex or politics.But he's no stranger to the brutality of Russia's political leadership.Now, with Putin's violent invasion of Ukraine and as a new Iron C…

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AI ethics leader Timnit Gebru is changing it up after Google fired her (REPEAT) 30:00

2+ y ago30:00

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Leading computer scientist and co-founder of Black in A.I, Dr Timnit Gebru, was hired by Google to co-lead its Ethical AI team with another tech industry trailblazer Dr Margaret Mitchell. The team investigated the ethics of artificial intelligence to understand and prevent its potential harms. Timnit was the first Black woman the company had employ…

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Scratch that itch! Meet the Sneaky Artist (REPEAT) 30:00

3y ago30:00

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What does it take to reimagine your life?In this occasional Science Friction series, scientists who end-up their lives and strip themselves of their professional identity to become artists.Kolkata-born engineer Nishant Jain flew in the face of expectations, threw in a PhD in biomechanics, and reinvented himself as a cartoonist, writer, and self-tau…

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The mighty fly army (REPEAT) 30:00

3y ago30:00

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It started with an idea. Then came the university car park full of tonnes of fish heads. Now this extraordinary 20-something couple have deployed a mighty maggot army to turn 50 tonnes of food waste a week into … well, you'll want to listen to find out. A story of science, ingenuity, and revolution. We throw out a third of the food we produce, and …