The interview was a blast - Kathryn was an amazingly kind interviewer - I still can't believe I got to talk about friction and stickiness on primetime radio for 30 mins! You can listen to it here.
Immediately afterwards, as we came off air, the producer, Victoria, asked if I might be interested in coming back on the show at some stage as a general 'science correspondent'. I said yes, of course - I'd loved doing a similar gig for the Naked Scientists back in the day. We agreed to chat about the logistics soon. Fast-forward to July, and the promised email arrived to my inbox - Nine to Noon wanted me to make some appearances on the show. Microbiologist (and superstar scicommer) Dr Siouxsie Wiles had been doing this fortnightly gig solo for some time, but it sounds like, with everything else she does, she needed a break. So, I joined the team. The gig: I'd choose 2-4 interesting science stories from the previous couple of weeks, and talk about them live on air in a 10 min segment.
Because I am a nerd, I also wanted to share links to the quoted papers over on Twitter. But I thought I should probably do it here too! So this post is now the official home for my RNZ stories. I'll update it after each appearance.
Debut appearance: 27th July
Link to the segment: listen here.
Topics covered + links to paper:
- The effects of air pollution on the health of New Zealanders https://environment.govt.nz/publications/health-and-air-pollution-in-new-zealand-2016-findings-and-implications/
- A mysterious radio signal getting astronomers excited https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04841-8
- The discovery of a link between the areas of a dog's brain that handle smell and vision https://www.jneurosci.org/content/42/33/6392
Appearance #2: 24 August 2022
Link to the segment: listen here.
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Exposure to pesticides damages bee brains https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/finsc.2022.936826/full
- Low-gravity droplets https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.084501
- Upcycling polystyrene https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2203346119
- Making concrete with waste tyres https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344922002348
Appearance #3: 19 October 2022
Link to the segment: listen here.
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Ocean warming rates set to quadruple if we don’t reduce emissions https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00345-1
- Telescope finds heavy element in the atmosphere of faraway planets https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2022/10/aa44489-22.pdf
- New device allows you to smell (wine) in virtual reality https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1071581922001483
+ free resources to make your own VR odorant device https://www.su.se/english/news/smelling-in-vr-environment-possible-with-new-gaming-technology-1.630811
Appearance #4: 30 November 2022
Link to the segment: listen here.
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Procrastinating before bedtime might be bad for you https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1087079222001101
** apologies to Central Queensland University for incorrectly attributing this work to another institute, live on air **
- Jellyfish-relative pulses its jets https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2202494119
- Physicists design ‘splash-free’ urinal https://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DFD22/Session/U12.8
Appearance #5: 8 February 2023
Link to the segment: listen here.
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Planting more trees in cities saves lives https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02585-5/fulltext
- Scientists discover new layer of partially-molten rock under the Earth’s crust https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-022-01116-9
- Bird strike decals aren’t always effective https://peerj.com/articles/14676/
Appearance #6: 19 April 2023
Link to the segment: listen here.
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Indigenous populations at higher risk from flu https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.27.22281610v1
- Penguin poo plays a vital role in Southern Ocean https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-37132-5
- Two parts of your brain are activated when you read https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2300252120
Appearance #7: 3 May 2023
Link to the segment: listen here (it was extra short thanks to breaking political news!)
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Two-thirds of elephant habitat in Asia lost in just three centuries https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-30650-8
- Glass bricks get a big upgrade thanks to ‘frozen smoke’ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352710222016060
- Mosses are vital for planetary health https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01170-x
