Here's Why
By Ian Woolf
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Podcast Description
I hear what you're saying, I follow your arguments, but you're wrong; Here's Why. An exploration of the weird and strange side of the world through the lens of science, logic and intuition.
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| 1 | VideoNon-Newtonian liquid potato starch on a speaker | download mp4 Leigh Russell at Dorkbot Sydney demonstrated the behaviour of non-Newtonian liquids by putting a potato starch solution on a speaker and playing tones from his synthesizer through it, producing shoggoth-like effects. The stuff looks like its alive and trying to escape! This one is safe for the kids to try. This video was broadcast (with my permission) on "Tokudane," which is a weekly morning show on the Fuji Television Network on Japanese TV. | 26 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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wearable internet glasses | download MP3 From Mission: Impossible and Doctor Who, to Accelerando and Rainbow's End, we've been teased with gadgets just out of reach. The age of glasses with cameras and microphones and computers is upon us at last! I give an overview from $20 spy sunglasses on ebay to Project Glass from Google. | 21 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Ian Bryce investigates the E-Cat | Energy too cheap to meter! So claims Italian inventer and entrepreneur Andrea Rossi for his invention of the E-Cat Energy Catalyser power generator, which he claims combines hydrogen and nickel with a secret catalyst to make heat and copper. Ian Bryce is an aerospace engineer, and Chief Investigator for the Australian Skeptics. I spoke with him about his experiences with the Australian investment agent for Rossi's "cold fusion power generator". This is the full version of the interview broadcast on Diffusion Science Radio | 16 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 4 | VideoCarnivorous plant garden tour by phone | download MP4 I'm researching live video streaming, so I tried out http://bambuser.com which has an app for my Nokia N95 phone as well as iPhones and Androids. I streamed my garden using my 3G phone connection, to test the quality. Streaming by 3G is slower than streaming by WiFI, so the quality has to be reduced. One and a half minutes of video streamed over 3G was 6 megabytes of blocky video, not too bad. In my garden, I have venus flytraps, sundews, trumpet pitcher plants, and lots of nepenthes tropical pitcher plants. | 7 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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5 |
Molecular synthesis with Dr Andrew McDonagh | download MP3 Imagine designing molecules on paper and then making them in the lab. Dr Andrew McDonagh of the School of Chemistry and Forensic Sciences and the Institute of Nanoscale Technologies at the University of Technology, Sydney. He's been working on dye sensitised solar cells. I asked him what he's been synthesizing. | 19 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 6 | VideoSubsoma at Dorkbot | download MP4 Michaela Davies demonstrates her Subsoma project for Dorkbot Sydney. She and volunteer Kate have wires connected that stimulate their muscles to move to the sound played. Their muscles move involuntarily to "Love Me Tender". Check out her videos http://www.youtube.com/user/MissScissorBird/videos | 13 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Climate Fix Flicks | download MP3 As the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP17 finished this weekend, climate change is on everyone's mind. Professor Ann Henderson-Sellers from Macquarie University wants you to show her what to do about it. I asked her to explain about the Climate Fix Flicks. More information on the competition to create a short video to show how we can all fix the climate | 12 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 8 | VideoVivid Sydney Opera House | download MP4 A colourful animated light show projected onto the Sydney Opera House for the Vivid Sydney festival 2011. | 8 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 9 | Video3D Zoetrope: Ty the Tasmanian Tiger | download MP4 This is a moving sculpture at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image titled: TY the Tasmanian Tiger™. Its a 3D zoetrope with almost 200 characters. Starring Krome Studios' videogame superstar TY the Tasmanian Tiger(TM) and his friends. It was built using 3D full colour printing with plaster/epoxy characters by RapidPro. When the strobe flashes, the plastic characters come to life. I took this video in August 2011 on my Nokia n95 8GB | 8 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 10 | VideoHugo De Garis speaking about the Singularity and the Artelect War | download MP4 Hugo De Garis speaking about the future of topological quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and a war over whether to build artificial intellects, at Melbourne University in August 2011. Will humans stay the dominant species? | 8 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Meadows under the Sea | download MP3 Meadows under the sea feed the world and clean the air. Marine Ecologist Dr Peter Macreadie is a Chancellor's post-doctoral research fellow in the School of the Environment in the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology, Sydney. Dr Macreadie has been nominated for the 2011 Eureka Prize awarded each year by the Australian Museum, for his research into seagrass. Ian Woolf asked him to explain the role of seagrasses in marine ecology, and their role in preventing global warming. You can vote for Dr Macreadie in the Eureka prizes here: http://eureka.australianmuseum.net.au/vote | 30 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 12 | VideoCapital K Skepticism video | download MP4 I spoke at SkeptiCamp about how Skeptics should be sceptical of their own beliefs, as well as the beliefs of others. | 8 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 13 | VideoHow cells replicate | download MP4 PhD student Phobe Peters at the Institute for the Biotechnology of Infectious Diseases explores the role of proteins in the surprisingly complex mechanism of bacterial cell division. | 8 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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14 |
ALTC Teaching Fellow Les Kirkup | download MP3 Les Kirkup is researching ways of making laboratory learning a better experience - using science. Associate Professor Les Kirkup from the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology, Sydney spoke to Ian Woolf about his being awarded the National Teaching Fellowship from the Australian Teaching and Learning Council. I began by asking him to explain what the National Teaching Fellowship is about. Inquiry-oriented learning in science: transforming practice through forging new partnerships and perspectives | 22 7 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 15 | VideoHot leaves - an interview with Andy Leigh | download mp4 When leaves get hot Botanist Dr Andy Leigh gets interested. She spoke to Shannon Jones why she researches how leaves deal with heat as part of the Science Communications Education Project at UTS Science Faculty. | 28 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Rapture day | I woke up with an absurdly deep voice again today, here's a recording MP3 | 20 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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17 |
Capital K Skepticism | download MP3 I gave a talk at SkeptiCamp Sydney on how being a Capital K Skeptic means being sceptical of your own beliefs as well as those of others. | 3 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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#ProtectScience Protest rally | download MP3 On April 12th 2011 a rally to protest against proposed medical research budget cuts by the Australian government was held around the country. I attended the Sydney protest in Belmore Park and interviewed: Bettina Arndt, Bill Ferris, Judy Black, and Andrea MacFarland. | 20 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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19 |
Balint Seeber Mashed Up Radio | MP3 download Balint Seeber is an inventor, innovator and maker. He's been mashing up radio frequency information with google maps. He spoke to Ian Woolf about his mash-ups. Check them out at http://spench.net | 25 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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20 |
Kate Grimwood, Fire Investigator | MP3 download Kate Grimwood is a PhD student researching the chemical forensics of fire in the Science faculty at the University of Technology, Sydney. She spoke to me about her research into flash-over, the source and nature of toxic fumes, and burning down houses for science. | 17 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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21 |
Tsunami warnings | MP3 download I interviewed Marianne Menictas about her Tsunami warning research. Marianne Menictas has been creating a mathematical model that shows how to save the lives of the most people possible from a Tsunami disaster for the least amount of money. Marianne is a final year student in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Technology, Sydney Mathematical models can save lives! Marianne Menictas has just finished her degree in Mathematics and Statistics. She's 20 years old and is looking forward to doing new research in her honours year at the University of Technology, Sydney. | 19 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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22 |
2010 Consensus Greentech Awards | MP3 download I was a judge for the 2010 Consensus Greentech Awards on December 10th 2010. Listen for the 2010 winners and highly commended innovations. p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; } 2010 Judging Panel Ian Woolf Freelance Science Journalist www.ianwoolf.com With a degree in applied physics, Ian set out on a career as an astronomer until injuring his back while working at the Culgoora Solar Observatory in Narrabri. He worked his way up in IT support from St George Hospital to Sun Microsystems, and then to the University of Technology, Sydney as a Systems Programmer. At UTS he was lured into academia and coordinated Computing Theory, lectured in Computer Networking and tutored in Online Communities, before returning to the Physics department to teach physics laboratory classes. Ian was then hired as Project Officer for the Science Communication Education Project run by the Science faculty to teach informal science communication to science students, conduct educational research, and promote research being conducted by the Faculty, by interviewing their scientists and packaging the interviews into podcasts. He co-athoured a paper on using research to teach science and communication skills. For over ten years he has been a presenter and producer on 2SER-FM's weekly science program Diffusion, and reported science on ABC radio. He has built and exhibited interactive electronic sculptures,and given public talks to the Live Futures festival, Science On Tap, the Australian Science Communicators, and Sydney philosophy groups. Ian is a member of the NSW Australian Science Communicators committee and has organised events such as "Successful Freelance Science Writing", and "Podcasting 101". He was one of two judges of the National Science Week Big Blog Theory Science Tweeting awards. p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }a:link { color: rgb(0, 0, 255); } Janine Cahill Director Future Journeys www.futurejourneys.com Janine Cahill is a futurist and innovation and sustainability consultant specializing in giving clients an experience of the future so they can develop innovative strategy and new products and services. Janine has worked with Sustainability as part of Strategy since 1990 when she completed cost-benefit analyses of change projects in Westpac. This included a state initiative on paper printing and transport reduction of over 20% which was then implemented nationally. She also completed some initial feasibility research into environmental cost reductions on $260m of discretionary expenditure. Since then Janine has developed Sustainability and Climate Change as key elements of scenario planning and development, while also building them into Futures Simulations. These simulations require participants to develop strategy, products and services within carbon-constrained futures. Janine designs and runs FISH@6 Foresight Innovation and Sustainability Hothouses which bring together designers, environmentalists, artists, engineers, lawyers, architects, bankers, accountants and others to work with innovation challenges, including an annual Climate Innovation Challenge. Janine is co-founder and Designer of Live Futures 2020, an annual Futures Festival in its fourth year: a combined conference, workshops, ideas space and exploration of possible futures. College of Fine Arts (COFA- part of UNSW) is a major sponsor and partner. p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }a:link { color: rgb(0, 0, 255); } James Cowie Managing Director JCI Business Services www.jcibusinessservices.com James is currently MD and Founder of JCI Business Services. He has extensive experience in Technology, Business and Sustainability and has worked with major organisations in a range of technical roles and in building systems to minimise business' impact on the environment. James has worked with clients in the waste, water, waste water, oil & gas, energy and industrial sectors assisting businesses in identifying and adopting processes, behaviours and technologies to improve the | 19 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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23 |
Living longer the Genescient way | MP3 download This is my 10 minute report on Gregory Benford's hour-long talk and slide-show about his company Genescient's aquisition of the Methuselah flies, and how they are being used to show the networked interactions of drugs and foods with genes and how they express in the human body. He presented his talk at the Singularity Summit Australia. The Methuselah flies use experimental evolution to discover the genes that cause the diseases of aging. Their first product StemCell100 goes on dale in December 2010 Related articles Longevity of Man: How long can we live? (written in 1985, updated in 1994, pirated by others since)Personal Life Extension Conference (nextbigfuture.com) | 22 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 24 | Killing Skippy | This month UTSpeaks free public lecture asks the question - how did kangaroos stop being wonders of the Australian bush, becoming only good for food or sport? Download your invitation to UTSpeaks: Killing Skippy (pdf 299kb) Based on cutting-edge UTS research, this public lecture addresses the contentious issues of harvesting and eating kangaroos as a means to protect the environment and examines the laws and regulations that govern the well-being of one of our national icons. Date: Tuesday 30 November, 6pm drinks for 6.30pm start (concludes 7.45pm) Venue: UTS City campus, University Hall, UTS Science Building 4, 745 Harris St Ultimo - please see the map Cost: Free for alumni and friends RSVP: By Monday 29 November by email to Robert.Button@uts.edu.au or phone (02) 9514 1734 Alumni are welcome to bring partners, friends and colleagues free of charge. If you know someone who has an interest in animal welfare, sustainability or the environment, please forward this invitation on to them. Parking is available for those with a disability or special need in the Peter Johnson Building basement car park, 702-730 Harris St, Ultimo. To subscribe to the UTSpeaks public lecture series, register here. Related articlesEating Skippy: Is kangaroo the kindest meat? (newscientist.com) | 17 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Hugo De Garis interview part 3 | download MP3 Are you a Cosmist or a Terran? Beware the anti-robot-overlord future and listen to the 3rd and final part of my interview with Hugo De Garis about the implications of being able to build god-like massively super-intelligent machines at the Singularity Summit Australia in Melbourne, 2010. Robot floor duster for under $20! | 15 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Hugo De Garis interview part 2 | download MP3 This is part 2 of my interview with Hugo De Garis about the implications of being able to build god-like massively super-intelligent machines at the Singularity Summit Australia in Melbourne, 2010. He predicts a massive pogrom and witch-hunt as those against the building of god-like machines attempt to wipe out everyone who wants to build them, and all of the people who might be even faintly of use to them - all in the interests of preserving the human species at all costs. This is part 2 of a 3 part interview. Robot floor duster for under $20! | 15 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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27 |
Hugo De Garis interview part 1 | download MP3 I spoke to Hugo De Garis about the implications of being able to build god-like massively super-intelligent machines at the Singularity Summit Australia in Melbourne, 2010. This is part 1 of a 3 part interview. Robot floor duster for under $20! Free gadgets! | 15 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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28 |
Michael Georgeff interview | MP3 download Dr Michael Georgeff spoke to Ian Woolf about how Rational Artificial Intelligence relies on using one's own Beliefs, Desires and Intent, and being able to understand the Beliefs, Desires and Intent of others. He spoke at the Singularity Summit Australia. | 24 10 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Gregory Benford- Genescient anti-aging talk | MP3 download This recording was made in large echoing room, from the audience. Its less than ideal. I'll be posting a studio quality recording of me presenting a script based on this talk, very soon. Gregory Benford spoke about his company Genescient's aquisition of the Methuselah flies and how they are being used to show the networked interactions of drugs and foods with genes and how they express in the human body. He presented his talk at the Singularity Summit Australia. Here's my photos of his presentation as a slideshow or click on the thumbnails below: | 14 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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30 |
Stelarc explains his art | MP3 download (1 hour 18 minutes - 72 megabytes) Stelarc opened the Singularity Summit Australia in Melbourne on 7th September 2010 with a Second Life avatar driven by a collaborator and voiced by Stelarc on a short delay. He showed us his art history in a gallery in Second Life. Photos below from Matthew Hall | 8 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Fake Barry | My larynx is swollen, so I'm recording funny stuff before it heals. Here's fake Barry White: MP3 download | 8 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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32 |
Here's Why podcast promo - Old Spice style | Here's a bit of fun to promote my podcast, taking advantage of the change in my voice this weekend. download MP3 In case you haven't seen it, here's the ad that inspired me: | 29 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 33 | VideoNikki's box of wonder close-up | download mp4 Here's a close up view of the ice cream van and the scenery going past it on Nikki's box of wonder at the Interactive sculpture exhibition in Ashfield Mall. | 16 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 34 | VideoNikki's box of wonder | download mp4 Nikki built a box that did amazing things for the interactive sculpture workshop run by Ian Burns http://www.ianburns.net and exhibited at Ashfield Mall. Nikki's box emitted a stream of bubbles while the scenery of Sydney rolled past a toy ice cream van. She has a peep-hole that revealed a miniature celebrity disco, and a marble run that opened a draw to reveal a fortune card. There's even a water feature on the side. | 16 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 35 | VideoNeil's Aliens | download mp4 Neil built a group of things from another world for the interactive sculpture workshop run by Ian Burns http://www.ianburns.net and exhibited at Ashfield Mall.The aliens sensed a shadow from the wands and then vibrated around the table You can hear Neil describing the workshop and his sculptures in this interview. | 16 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 36 | VideoLiz's Self-playing Foosball table 4 | download mp4 Final videoof how Liz built a self-playing foosball table from found objects for the interactive sculpture workshop run by Ian Burns http://www.ianburns.net and exhibited at Ashfield Mall. You can hear Liz describe the workshop and her sculpture in the interview. | 16 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 37 | VideoLiz's Self-playing Foosball table 3 | download mp4 Liz built a self-playing foosball table from found objects for the interactive sculpture workshop run by Ian Burns http://www.ianburns.net and exhibited at Ashfield Mall. | 16 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 38 | VideoLiz's Self-playing Foosball table 2 | download mp4 Liz built a self-playing foosball table from found objects for the interactive sculpture workshop run by Ian Burns http://www.ianburns.net and exhibited at Ashfield Mall. | 16 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 39 | VideoLiz's Self-playing Foosball table 1 | download mp4 Liz built a self-playing foosball table for the interactive sculpture workshop run by Ian Burns http://www.ianburns.net and exhibited at Ashfield mall during the World Cup soccer tournament. You can hear Liz talking about her sculpture in the interview. | 16 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 40 | VideoJulie's doll with a heart | download mp4 Julie created a sculpture of a doll that breathes through a diaphragm as its heart visibly beats faster and faster, as part of the Interactive sculpture workshop run by Ian Burns with Ashfield Council. The video shows her sculpture being exhibited in Ashfield Mall. | 16 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 41 | VideoJulie's breathing doll | download mp4 Julie created from an old waving Santa, a doll who breathes and has a bright beating heart that you can hear and see. The interaction has a surprise ending. | 16 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 42 | VideoBharti's interactive quilt 2 | download mp4 Bharti combined electronic interaction with her love of quilting for an interactive quilt. Light sensors made from light dependent resistors trigger LEDs and birdsong. From the Interactive Sculpture workshop exhibition in Ashfield mall.You can hear her interviewed about her quilt and the workshop. | 16 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 43 | VideoBharti's interactive quilt 1 | download mp4 Bharti created an interactive electronic quilt at the Interactive sculpture workshop and showed it at the exhibition in Ashfield mall. You can hear her interviewed about her quilt and the workshop. | 16 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 43 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Ian, you are my mentor
Great podcast Ian, very enjoyable. I'm learning alot from your podcast, not only about science, but about how to put together a good podcast! Well done. Fun topics too.
Brillant podcast
Lots of answers here, I loved the zombie story! Very well researched, and presented.
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