Episodes
Tuesday Jun 09, 2020
2020 WOMADelaide Planet Talks - I’m so tired of waking up tired
Tuesday Jun 09, 2020
Tuesday Jun 09, 2020
Are we in the midst of a sleep loss epidemic?
SPEAKERS: Greg Roach, Jill Dorrian and Danny Eckert
HOST: Deb Tribe
A good diet and exercise have dominated our media and social feeds as the answer to a long and healthy life. But is a silent sleep loss epidemic the greatest health challenge of the new 24/7 society we live in? Some have suggested, ‘the shorter your sleep, the shorter your life’ - but is it as simple as that?
How much sleep do you need to be healthy?
Join three internationally respected sleep researchers as they talk about the secrets of sleep and what we can do as individuals and a society to improve our waking life through better sleep.
Tuesday Jun 09, 2020
Tuesday Jun 09, 2020
SPEAKERS: Robert Elliott Smith, Julia Powles, and Peter Lewis
HOST: Marc Fennell
Our personal data has become the most valuable commodity the world has ever seen, yet most of us happily give it away for free to the likes of Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon (Big Tech).
These companies have in turn used this data to accumulate extraordinary wealth, power and influence through mostly unseen and largely unaccountable algorithms and AI that interpret, manipulate and control every aspect of our contemporary digital life.
So can we trust Big Tech to always ‘not be evil’?
Join our excellent panel of tech thinkers for a discussion about the future use and misuse of our data.
Wednesday Jun 26, 2019
2019 WOMADelaide Planet Talks - Less Meat, Less Heat: Is the elephant in the room a cow?
Wednesday Jun 26, 2019
Wednesday Jun 26, 2019
SPEAKERS: Angie Plummer, Cecile Godde, Matthew Evans and Andy Lowe
HOST: Deb Tribe
Can we really tackle climate change without addressing our relationship with meat consumption and the livestock industry? Ditching the snag on the BBQ and shifting to a more plant based diet is a demand-side solution but only half the consumption / production equation. What needs to be done to change a livestock industry that contributes 15% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions? That’s even more than the transportation sector.
Inaugural Director of Food Innovation at the University of Adelaide, Andy Lowe, Less Meat Less Heat CEO Angie Plummer, CSIRO food systems scientist, Cecile Godde and farmer/SBS TV food documentary maker, Matthew Evans have a few thoughts on where to start, even if you don’t want to become a vegan.
Wednesday Jun 26, 2019
Wednesday Jun 26, 2019
SPEAKERS: Gavin McIntyre, Brian Pickles, Alison Pouliot and Mike Hornblow
HOST: Robyn Williams
Fungi preceded trees and animals on the Earth by hundreds of millions of years, and they’ll be cleaning humanity’s mess long after we’re gone. But can the humble ‘shroom help us save the planet right now? Bioneer Gavin McIntyre from ground breaking New York biofabrication company Ecovative Design, mycologists Brian Pickles and Alison Pouliot, and interdisciplinary designer Mike Hornblow are certain they can.
Fungi are saving the planet daily by energy cycling ecosystems, decomposing organic matter and feeding plants and animals. Now, scientists are also harnessing their mycelium – the root structure of mushrooms – to save the planet. They’re growing incredible sustainable materials to replace the use of wood, foam, bricks, leather, and plastics. They’ve even discovered fungi that eat plastic, clean up petrochemicals, absorb radiation, filter wastewater and treat a range of illnesses and immune-mediated conditions! Here’s to a fungi future.
Wednesday Jun 26, 2019
2019 WOMADelaide Planet Talks - Can Trees Talk, Think and Heal?
Wednesday Jun 26, 2019
Wednesday Jun 26, 2019
SPEAKERS: Brian Pickles, Monica Gagliano and Alex Gaut
HOST: Robyn Williams
Join pioneering scientists Brian Pickles and Monica Gagliano alongside Nature Connection guide, Alex Gaut as they discuss the fascinating world of tree communication, plant cognition and the healing powers of forest bathing. Gagliano’s bio acoustics research in plant cognition and Pickles’ work revealing a mycelium communication network dubbed “the Wood Wide Web” has exposed an incredible hidden world where plants and trees share, trade, care for family, display altruism, wage war, and even think!
And the connection between trees and humans and is just as fascinating. Originally established with Japanese government support because of its measurable health benefits, tree bathing has become widely popular in Japan, Europe and the US as a mind-tree-body therapy.
Friday Aug 24, 2018
2018 WOMADelaide Planet Talks - Techtopia LIVE
Friday Aug 24, 2018
Friday Aug 24, 2018
Speakers: Genevieve Bell, Kristin Alford and Toby Walsh
Host: Bernie Hobbs
Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Machines represent the most significant social and organizational challenges since human civilisation emerged 5000 years ago. How humanity engages with these technologies today is the key to ensuring that the future development of these tools benefit both society and the environment.
Joining Bernie Hobbs for a live discussion exploring the ramifications of technologies set to disrupt our sustainable relationship with the planet will be three of Australia's brightest minds - cultural anthropologist and former Adelaide thinker in residence Genevieve Bell, futurist and Director of .MOD, Kristin Alford and one of the world’s leading scientists researching Artificial Intelligence, Toby Walsh.
Friday May 19, 2017
2017 WOMADelaide Planet Talks - Redefining Resources and the Right To Repair
Friday May 19, 2017
Friday May 19, 2017
Speakers: Kyle Wiens | Veena Sahajwalla | Nicholas Chileshe
Host: Robyn Williams
We’re running out of resources but according to this panel, we’re going to be ok. Can we compete with the convenience of the garbage dump and the latest iPhone? Are tech companies taking away our right to extend the life of products? Is a waste-free economy possible? iFixit founder Kyle Wiens, UNSW’s Scientia Professor of Materials Science, Veena Sahajwalla and UniSA’s reverse logistics expert Nicholas Chileshe know a thing or two about delaying entropy, so let’s ask them.