Unfiltered Thoughts

The future is important! But what should be the most pressing future concerns for humanity? In a subversion of the usual format, Jack is joined by his grandparents, Sally and Philip Brentnall, to chat about the future and how it relates to climate change, overpopulation, the importance of education and how to get involved in politics. Sally and Philip are British-born Australians in their late 80s, and are exceptionally engaged and interested in current issues surrounding Australian politics and society. They're good grandparents. 

Are we alone in the solar system? Jack is joined by Alastair Tait to chat about life on Mars and other places in our solar system. Alastair is a PhD student at Monash University in Melbourne, where he studies planetary geology and meteorites. You’re about to hear about his work, actually. Before he started his PhD, he was a regular contributor to the Young Australian Skeptics’ podcast "The Pseudoscientists". He’s basically moved onto better things.

Mathematics: it's more important than you might think. Jack is joined by Matthew Mack to discuss the trouble with teaching maths, the relationship betweens maths and science, and why blockbuster movies don't feature mad mathematicians. Matthew is a Masters graduate in mathematics attempting to foray into the real world. When he isn't mentally dissecting or marrying various concepts, he can be found playing the cello or working through a backlog of indie games.

Jack sits down with Bren Carruthers to chat about the big, bad world of journalism, touching on science, climate change and politics. Bren is a graduate student at the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne. A self-described 'media all-rounder', he has held roles in radio, editing and publishing, as well as writing for numerous publications around Melbourne. His hobbies include worrying about politics and buying more books and magazines than he will ever have time to read.

Jack sits down with Will Farr (again!) to chat about the science and science-fiction of asteroids. Will has a degree in electrical and electronic engineering, and is interested in the technology of energy generation. This episode was recorded in a graduate student bar at the University of Melbourne - see what fun antics you can make out in the background.

Jack sits down with Sarah Murphy and Andy Cutting to chat about teaching science to school children. Sarah is a high-school science teacher with a background in biotechnology and analytical chemistry, and Andy is a PhD student in developmental biology at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute. Both work for the Gene Technology Access Centre along with Jack, and he caught up with them on a high-school science outreach trip to Bendigo.

Jack sits down with Brady Clarke to chat about the influence of technology on music. Brady is a Melbourne-based musician and writer who wears a lot of turtlenecks and likes coffee. When he's not destroying his personal brand on social media, he makes electronic music as WIST.

Jack sits down with Jessica Pletcher to chat about working in science. Jess has worked in the biotech industry for the last 8 years in a variety of roles. She will not be disclosing what she does in any detail because she signed a whole bunch of NDAs and non-completes. However, she can reveal that she likes drinking and cake.

Jack sits down with Ted Janet to chat about the process of thinking critically about modern narrative television. Ted is a writer for screen and comics, and has worked for local production companies such as Revolution Pictures and the Picture Tank. He is currently employed writing educational medical cartoons. His first comic book, Balaclava Junction, is due for release late 2014.

Jack sits down with Jonathan Meddings to chat about the controversy surrounding infant male circumcision. Jonathan holds a degree in medical science with honours from James Cook University and is currently a student of philosophy and politics at Macquarie University. He's a fencing coach, a writer for the Young Australian Skeptics, and a board member of the Rationalist Society of Australia.

Jack sits down with Sarah McBride to chat about religious themes in fiction. When she's not co-hosting The Pseudoscientists podcast, Sarah is a medical student at Monash University. She suffers from crippling addictions to caffeine and Tumblr. Warning: this episode contains spoilers for "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis, the "His Dark Materials" trilogy by Philip Pullman, and "The Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. 

Jack sits down with Nicola McCaskill to chat about the complex topic of improving science education. Nicola is a 4th year Arts (Journalism)/Science (Immunology) student at Monash University. Her life dream is to help see through changes in the way we educate people about and communicate science, particularly for the mainstream public. Her other interests include cheesecake, lipstick, sausage dogs and naps.

Jack sits down with Toni Henderson to chat about the science and culture of wine. Toni is a Masters of Earth Sciences student at The University of Melbourne where she has also undertaken short study into wine culture and science. With the same consumption level of wine as a hardened Frenchman, Toni enjoys bringing her love and education of wine to students like herself through her review blog, Viticultured.

Jack sits down with Holly Jones to chat about the necessity and complexities of public health. Holly is in her last year of an undergraduate degree in biochemistry and Spanish at the University of Melbourne, and spends most of her time drinking coffee and being on the Internet. She doesn't quite know what she wants to do when she grows up, but wouldn't mind saving the world or something.

Jack sits down with Millie Scanlan to chat about lots of various little things (aka. nothing). Millie is Jack's 17 year-​​old sister and just finished her second-​​last year of high school. She probably wants to be a doctor or something, she hasn't made up her mind yet. This is essentially a bonus episode, so don't complain.

Jack sits down with Luke Weston to chat about the risks, technologies, public perception and misconceptions of nuclear power. Luke is a freelance writer, physicist and electronics and computer systems engineer, and has contributed to the Young Australian Skeptics for many years. When he’s not watching videos of babies having their cochlear implants turned on for the first time, he’s involved in the Lunar Numbat collaboration, trying to get Australian rockets into orbit.

Jack sits down with Tess Armstrong to chat about talkback radio, podcasting and the difference between speech and text. Tess is a writer, presenter and radio producer who currently works for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Melbourne. In her spare time, she enjoys Game of Thrones and a bit of hardcore barracking for the Richmond Tigers. The opinions expressed by Tess are of course her personal views — why wouldn’t they be?

Jack sits down with Renee Webster to chat about techniques and applications of chemical separation. Renee is an analytical chemist whose work focuses on the separation of fuels and lubricants, but she's also been involved with CSIRO's Scientists in Schools and the @RealScientists Twitter project.

Jack sits down with Tom Lang to chat about biological comedy, particularly his 2013 Melbourne Fringe Festival show Love, Factually. Tom is a science communicator, comedian, writer and board game enthusiast. He’s also a regular panelist on The Pseudoscientists, but if you’ve only been listening to the show for the past month or so, you probably didn’t know that.

Jack sits down with James Fodor to chat about the best way to disagree with somebody. James is the President of the University of Melbourne Secular Society, studying for a Bachelor of Science and has a particular interest in science communication, skeptical activism, interfaith dialogue, and effective altruism.