Shirtloads of Science

Dr Karl’s a curious optimist – a great combination for a science lover. Join him and his guests for weird facts, amazing conversation and remember, it’s never too late for a happy childhood. https://drkarl.com/

Triangulation with Matt Parker (411) 12/29/2024

Triangulation with Matt Parker (411) Stand-up comedien, ex-maths teacher and author Matt Parker chats about his bestselling book on three-sided figures called Love Triangle. Dr Karl explores what fascinates us about trigonometry. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/33844967

Responsible AI with Natasha Blycha (410) 12/22/2024

Responsible AI with Natasha Blycha (410) When Artificial Intelligence is everywhere what should be the rules? Dr Karl and Natasha Blycha test Isaac Asimov's Laws of Robotics and find they need updating. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/33346292

More Cracks with Marcus Chown (409) 12/15/2024

More Cracks with Marcus Chown (409) Author and astrophysicist Marcus Chown tells of the forgotten Australian female astronomer who helped discover the first black hole. Dr Karl digs deeper into Marcus' latest book on black holes "A Crack in Everything". /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/33753952

The Crack with Marcus Chown (408) 12/08/2024

The Crack with Marcus Chown (408) Author and astrophysicist Marcus Chown is a great explainer. A British stargazer, he studied under Richard Feynman in California. Dr Karl puts him to the test talking about Marcus' latest book on black holes "A Crack in Everything". /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/33753947

Growing Ear Drums with Professor Marcus Atlas (407) 12/01/2024

Growing Ear Drums with Professor Marcus Atlas (407) Dr Karl uncovers a lifelong Australian quest to restore comfort and hearing with custom made eardrum transplants. Called Cleardrums, Professor Marcus Atlas is close to passing regulatory hurdles for human trials. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/32819352

Feral Bugs in a cooked Australia (406) 11/24/2024

Feral Bugs in a cooked Australia (406) Prof Puckett from the US explains how America lost its fire ant war and Jess Ward-Jones on the struggle to learn what is killing our Alpine Eucalypts (Snow Gums). /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/33309207

Beating Cancer with Professor Richard Scolyer (405) 11/17/2024

Beating Cancer with Professor Richard Scolyer (405) Professor Richard Scolyer is the 2024 joint Australian of the Year. Dr Karl probes skin cancer therapies and immunotherapies with a researcher who has put his life on the line. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/33312312

Dr Matt Agnew's guide to AI 404 11/10/2024

Dr Matt Agnew's guide to AI 404 Phones made today are super smart. Fast and versatile they can be so powerful to be spooky. Dr Matt joins Dr Karl to peel back the AI layers for a set of rules for the future. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/33338912

Dr Matt Agnew's extraordinary life so far 403 11/03/2024

Dr Matt Agnew's extraordinary life so far 403 Mining Engineer, Reality TV star, Astrophysicist, Author - What's left for Dr Matt? /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/33338312

Observable and Infinite with Prof Lewis (402) 10/27/2024

Observable and Infinite with Prof Lewis (402) If we need to fully understand space we need more time - lots of it. Beyond the Hubble sphere things gets lumpy. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/33344087

Deceit starts with D with Prof Mann (401) 10/20/2024

Deceit starts with D with Prof Mann (401) Dr Karl asks a fellow physicist for the telltale signs when powerful people spread untruths. They are easy to spot and nasty. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/32421882

Hot Data with Prof Mann (400) 10/13/2024

Hot Data with Prof Mann (400) The graph points skywards. A thousand of years of data says "stop burning carbon". Prof Mann tells Dr Karl of how the USA responded to his articles in the early 1990s. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/32421982

Is AI telling lies with Dr Jessica Bloom (399) 10/06/2024

Is AI telling lies with Dr Jessica Bloom (399) Dr Karl interviews Dr Bloom in NYC on the ethics of Artificial Intelligence. If AI delivers misinformation, how could we tell? /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/32421202

The G's of AI with Dr Jessica Bloom (398) 09/29/2024

The G's of AI with Dr Jessica Bloom (398) At the moment there are two G's in AI. Dr Karl gets the 360 tour of both with Dr Jessica Bloom in New York City. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/32421192

Women who Measured the Stars with Dava Sobel (170) Rpt 09/22/2024

Women who Measured the Stars with Dava Sobel (170) Rpt Edwin Hubble is world famous for his discoveries. Henrietta Swan Leavitt is not. Henrietta was on a team that found a way to measure and classify the universe. They were employed as "human computers" (before the machines existed). Dava's book "The Glass Universe" refers to the half million glass slides Henrietta and other women used to document both the northern and southern skies. An inspiring story of collaboration and discovery. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/12135293

The Matter of Everything with Dr Suzie Sheehy (288) 09/15/2024

The Matter of Everything with Dr Suzie Sheehy (288) Observe, Ask, Explain, Predict , Test. These are the steps scientists use to improve our knowledge. Dr. Suzie Sheehy is a particle physicist. She talks with Dr Karl about twelve significant experiments that changed the modern world. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/22307564

Converging with A-Prof Ball RPT (312) 09/08/2024

Converging with A-Prof Ball RPT (312) Data is omnipresent and society is very connected Thirty years ago futurists said tech "convergence" would deliver us seamless digital lives So are we there yet?. Dr Karl gets a fact check from "Converge" author Associate Professor Catherine Ball. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/24514128

Parrot Thinking with Prof Pepperberg RPT (327) 09/01/2024

Parrot Thinking with Prof Pepperberg RPT (327) Bird Brains are different. Professor Irene Pepperberg has been probing their psychology for decades. She is the author of the NY Times bestseller 'Alex and Me', the story of her 30-year experiment with a grey parrot. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/25283640

Night Skies with Prof Lisa Harvey-Smith (351) RPT 08/25/2024

Night Skies with Prof Lisa Harvey-Smith (351) RPT Auroras, fireballs and space junk. They are all visible. Prof Lisa and Dr Karl discuss how and where you might spot them. Also, how you can get your name into space. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/27527772

Meet the Incretins with Dr Fuller (397) 08/18/2024

Meet the Incretins with Dr Fuller (397) There is a family of chemicals that has drug companies popping corks. Obesity researcher Dr Nick Fuller explains to Dr Karl how they work and why they sometimes fail. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/32453427

Eating for Beginners with Dr Fuller (396) 08/11/2024

Eating for Beginners with Dr Fuller (396) Dr Karl (former father of the year) talks with Dr Nick Fuller (recent dad) about teaching children how to eat. The good habits learned early lead to healthy lives. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/32438452

SportsMaths 2 with Dr Tom Crawford (395) 08/04/2024

SportsMaths 2 with Dr Tom Crawford (395) Dr Tom Crawford explains to Dr Karl how using fluid density might improve your sporting performance. Listen out for duelling and marathon running references. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/31557377

SportsMaths 1 with Dr Tom Crawford (394) 07/28/2024

SportsMaths 1 with Dr Tom Crawford (394) Playing sport on a rotating planet has advantages. Dr Tom Crawford gives Dr Karl tips on using Maths to score more goals and break records. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/31557317

Blinking Stars with Dr Kirsten Banks (393) 07/21/2024

Blinking Stars with Dr Kirsten Banks (393) When degenerate electrons meet 0.47 of a solar mass what happens? This is the start of Dr Kirsten Banks' PhD thesis. Dr Karl investigates the secret behaviour of Red Giants in the Milky Way and their Helium flashes. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/31175612

Avian Ancestry with Professor Simon Ho (392) 07/14/2024

Avian Ancestry with Professor Simon Ho (392) The bird family tree may need pruning. Geneticists have made new connections that take us back to the great extinction event. Professor Ho explains to Dr Karl how this is changing our views on dinosaurs and chickens. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/31027988

Dunkelflaute with Dr Barnes (391) 07/07/2024

Dunkelflaute with Dr Barnes (391) Dr Karl learns a new German word 'dunkelflaute'. Rare in Australia yet it plays havoc in colder countries. Yet another reason why atomic reactors are a poor choice for Australia as Dr Barnes explains. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/31943602

Nuclear free Net Zero with Dr Rosie Barnes (390) 06/30/2024

Nuclear free Net Zero with Dr Rosie Barnes (390) Under current net zero plans, local renewables should directly supply 75% of our energy needs. What about the remainder? Dr Karl consults an engineer on why atomic reactors are a very poor choice for Australian conditions. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/31937827

Exceptional Moons with Kate Howells (389) 06/23/2024

Exceptional Moons with Kate Howells (389) Which planetary moons are the best? Space fanatic Kate Howells puts Dr Karl in orbit around some of our most interesting lumps of stuff. How will Earth's moon rate ? /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/31084463

Long Covid (Part 2) with Professor Steven Faux (388) 06/16/2024

Long Covid (Part 2) with Professor Steven Faux (388) A shadow of Covid-19 lingers for many. Dr Karl continues his discussion with front-line clinician Professor Steven Faux. Good diagnosis and management offer some a healthy future. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/31557417

Long Covid (Part1) with Professor Steven Faux (387) 06/09/2024

Long Covid (Part1) with Professor Steven Faux (387) Poor health lingers after some Covid-19 infections. Dr Karl discusses the symptoms and solutions with a front-line Australian clinician as they delve into his book 'Long Covid’. /episode/index/show/shirtloadsofscience/id/31525957

Shirtloads of Science

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