Science Friction
ABC Australia
In humanity's next giant leap, astronauts are heading back to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
We'll bring you daily Artemis II mission updates, from lift-off to splashdown, and answer your questions about life as an astronaut, the science of spaceflight, and plans to venture beyond the Moon.
The Challenger Legacy (Season 5)
In January 1986, the Challenger space shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after lift-off. This is the story of how the tragedy unfolded, the engineers who tried to stop it — and the enduring consequences for humanity's exploration of space.
Artificial Evolution (Season 4): Three decades ago, Dolly the Sheep became the first ever cloned mammal. Nearly 30 years later, genetic technology has reshaped the world around us. Environment reporter Peter de Kruijff explores what's changed, where we are headed, and whether we're okay with it.
Brain Rot (Season 3): How does being chronically online affect our brains? Technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre explores the wildest ways people are using tech — from falling in love with AI companions to data-dumping a life into a language model — and the big questions about our own screen use.
Cooked (Season 2): Why do some studies show ice cream is good for you? Why do some people say they feel good going carnivore, and do we really need as many electrolytes as the internet tells us? Food and nutrition scientist Dr Emma Beckett cuts through these confusing findings to explain how nutrition science works.
AI Overlords (Season 1): AI didn't come from nowhere, and its development hasn't been a smooth, straight line — it's been rife with drama, conflict and disagreement. Technology reporter James Purtill looks at where AI came from, who controls it and where it's heading.
We'll bring you daily Artemis II mission updates, from lift-off to splashdown, and answer your questions about life as an astronaut, the science of spaceflight, and plans to venture beyond the Moon.
The Challenger Legacy (Season 5)
In January 1986, the Challenger space shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after lift-off. This is the story of how the tragedy unfolded, the engineers who tried to stop it — and the enduring consequences for humanity's exploration of space.
Artificial Evolution (Season 4): Three decades ago, Dolly the Sheep became the first ever cloned mammal. Nearly 30 years later, genetic technology has reshaped the world around us. Environment reporter Peter de Kruijff explores what's changed, where we are headed, and whether we're okay with it.
Brain Rot (Season 3): How does being chronically online affect our brains? Technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre explores the wildest ways people are using tech — from falling in love with AI companions to data-dumping a life into a language model — and the big questions about our own screen use.
Cooked (Season 2): Why do some studies show ice cream is good for you? Why do some people say they feel good going carnivore, and do we really need as many electrolytes as the internet tells us? Food and nutrition scientist Dr Emma Beckett cuts through these confusing findings to explain how nutrition science works.
AI Overlords (Season 1): AI didn't come from nowhere, and its development hasn't been a smooth, straight line — it's been rife with drama, conflict and disagreement. Technology reporter James Purtill looks at where AI came from, who controls it and where it's heading.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 23, 2021 • 33min
Lucy's Story - the chimp, the poet, and the interspecies experiment that went weird [REPEAT]
Psychotherapist Maurice Temerlin called Lucy his "daughter"...but then things got weird. [REPEAT]
May 16, 2021 • 26min
Troublemakers for truth — death threats for calling out bad COVID science
Death threats. Cyber harassment. Meet three dogged scientists on a mission ...
May 9, 2021 • 26min
The Anthropocene radical: the scientist who saved the world
Few scientists can say they saved the planet. Paul Crutzen did. Legit.
May 2, 2021 • 26min
Your right to know the universe! Chanda Prescod-Weinstein's disordered cosmos and Particles for Justice
Dark Matter sleuth. #BlackinSTEM pioneer. Particles for Justice co-founder. This incredible physicist will change your sense of the universe and your role in it.
Apr 25, 2021 • 26min
I grew up in a sect — top scientist's candid story of an Orange People childhood
This scientist's childhood in a cult was ... let's say ... wild. The light and dark of the path to enlightenment.
Apr 18, 2021 • 26min
Natasha tries taxidermy: the wild, wonderful world of the museum makers
Pass the scalpel - taxidermy is on the menu.
Apr 11, 2021 • 26min
The mystery of the flute boy bones: a child lost in time
Science Friction breathes life into the bones of an ancient medical curiosity...and investigates the story of a child lost in time.
Apr 4, 2021 • 26min
Artists on the loose at the Large Hadron Collider - Science Friction at the CERN (REPEAT)
88 metres underground, in the labyrinth of chambers and corridors of the world’s large particle accelerator, art and science collide in wild and wonderful ways.
Mar 28, 2021 • 26min
Trust after genocide: this African COVID success is a big wake-up call for the West
How has one of the world's poorer nations become a shining star in this pandemic, when rich countries failed to save lives? Two African movers and shakers tell it like it is.
Mar 21, 2021 • 26min
Laurence Vincent Lapointe's 'Pee of Gold': Has anti-doping science gone too far?
An athlete plays detective to clear her name from scandal. Is anti-doping science to blame?
