Halfway To The Moon

In this week's episode we take a look at a fascinating new scientific study that suggests the anthropocene has affected speech itself - and how this could irrevocably change the field of linguistics.

Extinction is a fact of life. But five times in Earth's history, cataclysmic mass extinction events have wiped out not a few animals, but up to 96% of life in one go. And scientists are now raising the question: are we now entering the sixth great mass extinction?

In this episode we take you into the murky world of global trade deals - including the secretive tribunals where companies get to sue governments for billions. Join us for this interview with the wonderful Dr Patricia Ranald, Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network.

What neolithic beverage is still the world's third most consumed drink? That's right: beer! We delve into beer's 14,000 year old history and do a couple of sidebar trips via witches and the world's coolest nun. We also dig into why a drink the grew from one major climate shift may be killed off by another. 

It's called the jewel of Sydney, but below the surface of Sydney harbour is a toxic legacy. In this week's episode, we bring you the astounding tale of how one company, with one factory, has changed the way we will use the harbour for generations.

For years, we've protected nature on the idea that bigger is better: protecting big, isolated areas of 'untouched' wilderness is the only way to keep nature safe. But in 2018, research from Australia's University of Melbourne turned that idea on its head. This week we look into the question: when it comes to protecting nature, is size everything?

To welcome us all into 2019 and start the year with some optimism, in this episode Suzanne and Lucy reflect on 5 of our top wins for the environment from 2018. 

A very special interview this week, recorded LIVE at the Australian Labor Party 2018 National Conference! Suzanne speaks with Lisa Garcia, ex-Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice at the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and now with the US NGO Earthjustice, which provides legal support to communities confronting major pollution and health issues. Suzanne and Lisa talk environmental justice, why independent institutions are a must in protecting our health and how inspirational communities are fighting back.

In this week's episode we delve into an aspect of the anthropocene that has been all over the news in recent weeks: bushfires. Devastating fires have been raging from California to Queensland, and in this episode we look at all the ways that humans are influencing the increase in the severity and frequency of fires - and although climate change is a huge part of it, there are many other fascinating ways that human behaviour is playing a role.

We go back in time to one of the most vicious fights of the 19th century: the war between Thomas Edison and Nicholas Tesla over who would power the United States. This battle last nearly a decade, and was marked by brutal commercial competition, a bizarrely large amount of public animal murder, and a propaganda campaign that would make Donald Trump blush. It's a war that's opened up again in the age of computers, and this time nobody can predict how it will end.

Several recent high-profile arrests have brought forensic genetic genealogy - or identifying criminals through large, open-source genetic databases - to the public's attention. But is this the next big thing in crime fighting, or the top of a very slippery and very dangerous slope? Are we heading for a future where you have no control over who can access parts of your genetic code? 

How green are your solar panels? In this week's episode, we delve into the dark side of renewable energy, and the toxic trail it's leaving from California to Inner Mongolia. 

There's growing evidence that plants can think and communicate. Though plants have no brains, scientists have uncovered evidence that they talk to each other, make decisions, learn and have a social life. This week, we take a journey into the secret mental life of plants and discuss what that tells us about being human.

Tea. The solution to all life's problems. But your cup of tea maybe causing more problems than it solves: food waste, plastic pollution, deforestation and unfair labor practices are all side effects of the mainstream tea industry.  We sit down with Julie Hirsch, co-founder of Eloments Organic Teas, to find out what makes the perfect sustainable cup of tea.

We have a very special episode this week, in partnership with ActionAid Australia. Lucy will take us through a explosive new report revealing for the first time how Australia’s global fossil fuel giants are systematically undermining women’s rights in the global south and their plan to quadruple the number of mines they operate - and the impact that will have on women and communities - in low-income countries.  

Did you hear the one about the Illuminati lizard-king who controls the world? Because it's 100% true and he controls the Government. This week we delve deep into the fascinating conspiracy theories: why do people believe them and why are they so fascinating? And Suzanne and Lucy reveal which conspiracy theories they find dangerously believable.

It looks like a punk rock peacock, and its "body popping" routine has to be one of the animal kingdom's most bizarre mating rituals. But now the iconic sage grouse of the western United States is in the limelight for all the wrong reasons. This odd chicken-like bird is standing between Donald Trump and coal, oil and gas projects across on millions of acres and several US states. Join us as we dive in and try to understand the epic sage grouse saga!

Is disagreement a dying art? These days, all public conversations seem toxic: no matter whether we're debating abortion or casting for the new Star Wars film, we don't seem to be able to agree to disagree.  But what is that doing to our mental health and our democracy? And can we relearn the vital art of turning public debate from conflict to constructive?

It's been 100 years since the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918 - the deadliest natural disaster in human history. But as deforestation, climate change and global rapid transport incubate the next big global pandemic, we're asking: are we ready for it? 

We all know that pulling resources of the ground can be bad for the environment. But some types of mining go out of their way to destroy everything in their path, causing earthquakes and levelling whole mountains. This week we look at the crazy lengths we're willing to go to get at those sweet, sweet fossil fuels.