Science Write Now
The Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is a podcast for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science; then you’ve come to the right place! The SWN Podcast is hosted and produced by the SWN editorial team with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts. www.sciencewritenow.com
Episodes
30 episodes
Cognitive Conversations #1: Synergies - The Art of Living a Double Life
'Synergies' is the first episode in a brand-new series titled Cognitive Conversations, where we tackle the big questions in art, creativity and neuroscience. We're excited to be bringing this synergy of...
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Season 1
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Episode 30
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1:04:31
Michael Brissenden on 'Smoke' - (writing) crime, corruption, and climate-fuelled wildfires
What secrets lie in the ashes…? This week on the SWN podcast we chatted to author and two-time Walkley Award-winning journalist, Michael Brissenden about his latest crime-fiction novel, Smoke. Michael worked as a political edi...
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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1:02:24
Imprinting Empathy: Art, AI and Fungi with Bianca Tainsh
This week we chat with open-disciplinary artist Bianca Tainsh about all things Art, AI and fungi, and go behind-the-scenes to explore Bianca’s current work-in-progress, Imprin...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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59:02
Storytelling to Save the Reef with Dr Paul E Hardisty
In this episode, Jessica talks to writer and former CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Paul Hardisty, about his new nonfiction book, In Hot Water, which charts historical and contemporary efforts to save the Great Barri...
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Episode 27
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41:21
Spinal Tap... but make it Joycean with G. S. Dickson
In this episode, Krystle chats with G. S. Dickson about his debut novel A Minor Fifth, a satire about the death of fictional Australian rock icon, Billy Ordain, recounted, albeit unreliably, by five people who knew him. Krystle and Gar...
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Episode 26
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50:23
Exploring Big Questions and Big Feelings through Speculative Fiction with Grace Chan
In this episode, Krystle chats with Grace Chan about her novel Every Version of You, the story of which Grace tongue-in-cheekly describes as being about ‘staying in love after mind-uploading into virtual reality’. Spoiler: it’s loaded ...
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Episode 25
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1:02:40
Comfort in the Cosmic with Alicia Sometimes
In this episode, Krystle speaks with Alicia Sometimes about her new poetry book Stellar Atmospheres, a collection that interweaves the scientific, the literary, and the personal. Sometimes’s lyrical yet accessible poems give musicality...
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Episode 24
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57:45
Curiosity, Kindness and Storytelling with Jodi Rodgers
In this episode, Krystle speaks with Jodi Rodgers about her new book Unique: What autism can teach us about difference, connection and belonging – which Jodi describes as ‘a love letter to autism’. In her book, Jodi reflects on her exp...
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Episode 23
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59:51
Cells, Ears, Impairments and Memoir, with with Amanda Tink, Lauren Poole and Heather Taylor Johnson
In this episode, Jessica White chats with Amanda Tink, Lauren Poole and Heather Taylor Johnson about the ways that impairments, and historical responses to impairments, shape our bodies and writing.About Amanda Tink:Amanda Tin...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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40:34
Bursting with Science and Story
In this episode, Jess talks to Claire Bowen and Kevin Vinsen about Storyburst, a writing project that they established in 2020. They invited Australian writers of all ages to collaborate with researchers to write science-inspired monologues. Th...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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55:47
All Things Comedy with Anne Libera (The Second City)
In this episode, Amanda chats with Professor Anne Libera—Director of Comedy Studies at the prestigious comedy club The Second City in Chicago—about how comedy works and why we need it. Anne Libera is an Associate Professor and Di...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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51:59
The Absurdist Truths of Climate Change
In this episode, Amanda speaks with Australian playwrights Oliver Gough and Stephen Carleton about performing climate change on the stage—and the role of absurdity in communicating dire issues.Oliver Gough is an emerging playwrig...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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49:50
The stories of seeds with Fiona McMillan-Webster
Why do some seeds live for thousands of years, while others only a few? What made Nikolai Vavilov the Indiana Jones of the ‘seed world’? And how do you write a book about something in which you’re not already an expert? In this episode, A...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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45:28
Keeping Secrets and Finding Science with Danielle Clode
In this episode, Jess talks to Danielle Clode about how, from the 18th to the 20th centuries, women have employed great ingenuity to discover new knowledge.Danielle Clode is an award-winning author of Australian non-fictio...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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29:53
Writing Beyond the Human with Chris Flynn
In this episode, Amanda speaks with Chris Flynn about writing beyond the human, stories led by imagination, and thinking through place beyond setting. Chris Flynn is the author of Mammoth, The Glass Kingd...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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1:16:18
Lost Lives Found in Fiction and Ecobiography with Melissa Ashley and Jessica White
In this episode, Amanda talks with novelist Melissa Ashley and our own Jessica White about writing the lives of 19th-century female natural historians in fiction and ecobiography—and the importance of bringing untold stories to the light.
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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51:21
The Nature of Trees and Rivers with Ashley Hay and Simon Cleary
In this episode, Jessica White speaks Ashley Hay and Simon Cleary about thinking—and writing—through rivers and trees, and how they connect people, places, histories, ecologies, landscapes and myths.Ashley Hay is th...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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39:28
Science in Virtual Realities with Michael Angilletta
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with biologist Michael Angilletta about his collaborative work building virtual reality science labs with Hollywood-born Dreamscape Immersive, student e...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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56:24
Time, memory and the stories of our lives with Sven Birkerts
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with writer & AGNI co-editor Sven Birkerts about time, memory, and the patterns that shape our writing. Sven Birkerts is the author of elev...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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47:57
Writing, re-writing, and the scales of change with Matt Bell
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with speculative fiction writer and Associate Professor of Fiction (Arizona State University) Matt Bell about his new craft book Refuse to be Done, the iterative craft of writing and ...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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42:59
Re-imagining Darwin for the stage with David Morton
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with David Morton, Creative Director of Dead Puppet Society, about taking young Darwin from the page — and the Galapagos — to the stage, in The Wider Earth.David Morton i...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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38:54
Texture and mood with Kathleen Jennings
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with award-winning writer and illustrator Kathleen Jennings about stitching together her observations into stories and worlds, writing with texture and creating narratives using mood.Kathl...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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53:00
Writing and painting nature with Inda Ahmad Zahri
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with Inda Ahmad Zahri about writing stories embedded in nature and creating across forms. Inda Ahmad Zahri believes in a world of wonder. She lives in Brisbane where she illustrates an...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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46:22
Eco-fiction for every reader with Andrea Baldwin
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with writer and psychologist Andrea Baldwin about writing eco-fiction and crafting stories about the environment for different audiences and age groups. Andrea Baldwin is a psychologis...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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57:01
Animal characters and authentic environments with Renée Treml
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with Renée Treml about graphic novels and picture books, science for kids, designing museums (and specimens!) for books, and changing careers from science to art. Renée Treml was...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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36:28