That's What I Call Science!

Join Dr Kate Johnson and Laura Wynne Stewart to hear about the busy, beautiful forests that Laura is working to understand and advocate for. Growing up on islands, Laura’s curiosity and love for nature drove her to science and her current PhD position in forest ecology in Barcelona, Spain. Laura’s research focuses on understanding trees and forests using nifty tools such as satellites, lasers and tree-based sensors. Listen to hear about the joy of being in a forest, the broad reaching implications of Laura’s research and her excellent life advice.

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Host: Dr Kate Johnson (@kateplantphys.bsky.social)
Production: Ryan Smith
Media & Promotion: Ella Burgun (@ebburgun)

Welcome to the last episode of 2025! 
Earlier on in the year, we had a mini-series on literacy and numeracy. Today’s episode continues on from that theme as Olly is joined by Austin and Richard from the 2 To Ramble podcast. The three discuss the use of science in science fiction books and films, as well as the creator’s role of balancing being factual and imaginative.

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod
Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 
Host: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove)
Production: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove)
Media & Promotion: Ella Burgun

Join us to hear from the winners of our STEMM Solutions For Our Island Competition 2025!

STEMM Solutions For Our Island was open to grade 10, 11 and 12 students in lutruwita/Tasmania who identify as female, femme or non-binary, funded by Inspiring Tasmania. Entrants identified an issue in their local community or wider lutruwita/Tasmania, and pitched a creative solution.

Join Tegan Clark and Dr Olly Dove to hear from our talented winners:  1.) Abigail McCallum, a year 10 student at Sheffield high school on Tasmania’s north-west coast, who pitched solutions to combat the European rabbit plague in Kentish, Tasmania and 2.)  4 Taroona High School students located in Tasmania’s South (Maielle Schmidt, Maelys Mancini, Chloe Mongin, Olive Ransley) and their plan to tackle the invasive sea urchin in Tassie’s south east!

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Hosts: Tegan Clark and Dr Olly Dove
Production: Ryan Smith 
Media & Promotion: Ella Burgun, Dr Kate Johnson (@kateplantphys.bsky.social) and Emma Hamasaki (@EmmaHamasaki)

Computer implants into human bodies powered by AI is no longer a dystopian, science fiction trope - it is real life. Whilst the fiction is gone, the dystopian still remains. 
Associate Professor Frederic Gilbert answers our questions about the current state of human-computer interfaces, how our biological and neurological data is collected, and the ethics behind it all! 
We explore how this technology was originally developed for medical purposes, and how it has been a game-changer for fighting against some neurological diseases. We question the ethical responsibilities of big-tech who are developing these technologies for non-medical purposes, and question what the future of this technology looks like in terms of regulations and policy. 
Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod
Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 
Host: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove)
Co-Host: Tegan Clark (Insta: scientist.tegan)
Production: Dr Hannah Moore (@volcanohannah)
Media & Promotion: Georgia Stewart (@ggstew25)

“Engineers got us into this mess…it’s engineers who will get us out again.”

This is a catchphrase of one of our guests today, Associate Professor Evan Franklin. Along with Professor Tim Finnigan, Evan joined Sarah and Olly to talk about all things climate engineering, and why it’s so important that more engineers get involved.

This episode also marks a special occasion for us, as it’s Dr Sarah Lyden’s last time co-hosting at TWICS. We’re super grateful for Sarah’s time on the show, and hope the future is full of bright smiles ahead for her!

Show theme music: Kevin MacLeod

Thank you to the whole TWICS team for the incredible behind-the-scenes volunteering every week! 

Host: Dr Olly Dove (Insta: ols_dove)
Co-Host: Dr Sarah Lyden
Production: Ryan Smith