Best Unimelb Podcasts (2025)

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109. Interview with ‘Mother of Sharks’ Melissa Cristina Márquez 36:10

4d ago36:10

36:10

Welcome to Season 15 of Let’s Talk SciComm. We’re so thrilled to be back with another season after a bit of a break. To get the season off to a wonderful start, we’re VERY excited to chat with the incredible Melissa Cristina Márquez. Melissa, (AKA Mother of Sharks) is a bilingual Latina marine scientist, science communicator, and award-winning auth…

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S5 E7 - Lydia Patton on HOPOS 34:51

8d ago34:51

34:51

This week, Thomas Spiteri is in conversation with Professor Lydia Patton, philosopher of science and historian of the philosophy of science. Patton traces her unexpected journey from ballet to Kantian philosophy and into the emerging field of HOPOS (history of philosophy of science). She reflects on her years as editor-in-chief of the HOPOS journal…

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S5 E6 - Sarah Blaffer Hrdy on ‘Rethinking our Starting Assumptions’ 29:17

15d ago29:17

29:17

“I love your field. It is making such an important point about scientists who don't understand the extent to which our own upbringing impacts our starting assumptions. It's those starting assumptions that get you in trouble.” In today’s episode Samara Greenwood returns to interview the pioneering primatologist and evolutionary anthropologist, Sarah…

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S5 E5 - Cristian Larroulet Philippi on Measurement in the Human Sciences 28:59

23d ago28:59

28:59

This week, Thomas Spiteri is joined by Dr. Cristian Larroulet Philippi, who joins us at the University of Melbourne this year as the inaugural RW Seddon Fellow in the History and Philosophy of Science program. With a background in economics and a PhD in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge, Larroulet Philippi was previ…

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S5 E4 - Heather Douglas on Rethinking Science’s Social Contract 46:27

29d ago46:27

46:27

This week on The HPS Podcast, Thomas Spiteri is in conversation with internationally recognised philosopher of science and professor at Michigan State University, Heather Douglas. Heather’s work has transformed how philosophers and scientists think about values, responsibility, and the relationship between science and society. In recognition of her…

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S5 E3 - Hans-Jörg Rheinberger on 'Epistemic Things' 29:00

1M ago29:00

29:00

Today on The HPS Podcast, Thomas Spiteri talks with Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, distinguished historian and philosopher of science and Director Emeritus at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. Trained first in philosophy and then in molecular biology, Rheinberger is well-recognised for his work on the history and epistemology o…

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S5 E2 - Surekha Davies on Humans: A Monstrous History 19:37

1M ago19:37

19:37

Today on The HPS Podcast, Thomas Spiteri speaks with Dr. Surekha Davies, historian of science, art and ideas, and author of the new book Humans: A Monstrous History (University of California Press). Surekha’s research explores how ideas about humanity have been shaped by encounters with what did not seem to fit. She draws on visual, material and te…

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S5 E1 - Samara and Thomas: Reflections and Roads Ahead 30:42

2M ago30:42

30:42

After a short break, The HPS Podcast is back! Season 5 opens with a special handover episode. After several years as lead host, Samara Greenwood passes the mic to fellow PhD candidate Thomas Spiteri. Together, they look back on the podcast’s journey, what it has meant to them, and where it’s headed next. Hear from Samara and Thomas as they: Introdu…

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108. Listen To This If… You need to write about a topic that’s been done to death 6:06

3M ago6:06

6:06

Are you working on a piece of writing and feel like everyone else has already written about the same thing? Are you looking for a way to make the topic fresh? Stop for 5 minutes and tune into Jen and Michael’s top tips on how to find a new approach to writing about a popular topic. You can find more great advice on writing here: https://www.theopen…

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Ep 4: Overseas Study 101 47:12

3M ago47:12

47:12

Going abroad or thinking of going abroad? The amazing Alex Belli and Amrita Mitra from the Department of Management and Marketing alongside Alexandra Condilis from SAMM are here to answer your questions!! Get excited to hear about: ⭐️Different study abroad opportunities/applying ⭐️Financing your trip ⭐️Challenges/cultural differences ⭐️How to make …

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107. Listen To This If… You need to work effectively in a group 6:17

3M ago6:17

6:17

Have you got a group project coming up? Maybe you’ve had some bad experiences of working in a team before and you’re wondering how to make it better this time? Drop everything for 5 minutes and tune in. In this week’s episode, Jen and Michael share their top tips on how to work harmoniously and productively in a group. You can find more great advic…

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106. Listen To This If… You’re searching for motivation 5:43

3M ago5:43

5:43

Have you lost your motivation? Do you need to get lots of things done, but you’re finding it hard to get started? Wondering how to get your mojo back? Stop for five minutes and tune into this week’s episode of ‘Listen To This If….’ for Jen and Michael’s advice on how to rediscover your motivation. You can find more great advice here: https://jamesc…

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105. Listen To This If… You want to kickstart your career 6:15

4M ago6:15

6:15

Are you graduating soon, or have you recently graduated? Are you looking for ways to get ahead in your career? Take a five-minute break to listen to Jen and Michael’s top tips on how to kickstart your career. You can find more great advice here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/networking-tips-early-career-scientists-lessons-from-science-tpfke/ https…

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104. Listen To This If… You want to make your writing more conversational 5:45

4M ago5:45

5:45

Is your writing too formal? Too boring? Or too hard to read? Have you been given the feedback that you need to make your writing more conversational? Take five minutes to tune into Jen and Michael’s top tips on how to make your writing easier to read. You can find more great advice here: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-conversatio…

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Audience Faves: Daston & Harrison on 'Scientists and History' 30:57

4M ago30:57

30:57

In the lead up to the launch of Season 5, we at The HPS Podcast are re-releasing some favourite episodes from our collection. In this episode Professors Lorraine Daston and Peter Harrison talk to Samara Greenwood on the often complex, sometimes fraught relationship between practicing scientists and the history of science. This episode was originall…

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Audience Faves: Rachael Brown on 'Values in Science' 25:25

4M ago25:25

25:25

In the lead up to the launch of Season 5, we at The HPS Podcast are re-releasing some favourite episodes from our collection. In this episode we have Dr Rachael Brown talking to Samara Greenwood on challenge the common idea that Science is (and should be) 'Value-Free'. At a practical level, in choosing which phenomena to study, and how best to stud…

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Audience Faves: Kristian Camilleri on 'The Disunity of Science' 24:30

4M ago24:30

24:30

In the lead up to the launch of Season 5, we at The HPS Podcast are re-releasing some favourite episodes from our collection. First, we have Dr Kristian Camilleri talking with Samara Greenwood about the relatively recent realisation that this thing we call 'Science' is a less unified phenomena then is typically supposed. The 'disunity' becomes clea…

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Audience Faves: Hasok Chang on 'Epistemic Iteration' 35:05

4M ago35:05

35:05

In the lead up to the launch of Season 5, we at The HPS Podcast are re-releasing some favourite episodes from our collection. In this episode, Professor Hasok Chang talks with Samara Greenwood about his concept of 'Epistemic Iteration', the idea that scientific inquiries do not start from a solid foundation, but rather begin from an imperfect posit…

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103. Listen To This If… You’re feeling overwhelmed by a big task 6:07

4M ago6:07

6:07

It's that time of year when many of us are feeling overwhelmed by our to-do lists. If you have a big task on your list that you’re struggling to make headway with, it’s time for your 5-minute Friday pep talk. Join Jen and Michael for their top tips on how to manage a sense of overwhelm and get stuff done! You can find more great advice here: https:…

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102. Listen To This If… Your powerpoint slides are BORING 5:41

4M ago5:41

5:41

Got a talk coming up? Worried your powerpoint slides are boring? Think your audience might get distracted or even doze off while you’re talking? Stop for 5 minutes and tune into Jen and Michael’s top tips on how to improve your Powerpoint slides. You can find more great advice here: https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/how-to-avoid-death-by-powe…

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101. Listen To This If… You want to start a new habit 6:27

4M ago6:27

6:27

Keen to start a new habit? Maybe you want to exercise regularly, read more papers or get more writing done? Well, if you’ve got 5 minutes, Jen and Michael are back with a new season of Listen To This If…. This week they’re giving you a quick Friday pep talk with their top tips on how to get started with a new habit. Listen now! You can find more gr…

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Ep 1: Our summer internship experiences: what we learnt! 29:49

6M ago29:49

29:49

In this episode of the Uni Diaries, Eva and Tolu sit down to discuss their summer internship experiences. They talk about their initial feelings going in, how they maximized the opportunity, and offer advice for anyone planning to pursue an internship in the future.

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100. Twenty questions with Jen and Michael 37:15

9M ago37:15

37:15

Three years later and we couldn’t be more excited to be sharing Episode 100 of Let’s Talk SciComm with you. We are so proud to still be creating this podcast and couldn’t be more grateful to YOU, our fabulous listeners, for continuing to support us. To celebrate reaching episode 100 and the end of Season 13, Jen and Michael decided to turn the spot…

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99. Our scicomm highs and lows - with the UniMelbSciComm teaching team 35:58

9M ago35:58

35:58

It’s hard to believe this is the 99th episode of Let’s Talk SciComm! As you can imagine, we are very excited to still be producing our podcast three years and 99 episodes later. To celebrate, we invited the rest of our fabulous teaching team - Dr Catriona Nguyen-Robertson, Dr Linden Ashcroft and Dr Graham Phillips back to the podcast. The five of u…

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S4 Ep 12 - Joshua Eisenthal et al. on 'Philosophy of Science in Practice' 28:42

9M ago28:42

28:42

Today we have not one, not two, but five fabulous guests who all presented at this year’s conference for the Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice, or SPSP24 for short. Many philosophers of science we have featured on the podcast, including Hasok Chang, Rachel Ankeny and Sabina Leonelli, were founding members of SPSP. Also, our earlier epis…

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98. Interview with speech pathologist Dr Georgie Johnson 32:13

9M ago32:13

32:13

This week we had a fascinating conversation with speech pathologist and science communicator Dr Georgie Johnson. Georgie is a clinical researcher with an interest in childhood stuttering treatment and addressing the psychological impact of stuttering for children. Georgie completed her PhD in 2024 investigating management of stuttering during the s…

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S4 Ep 11 - Redux: Fiona Fidler on 'Collective Objectivity' 20:41

9M ago20:41

20:41

"It wouldn’t make sense to leave the entire burden of upholding objectivity in science on the shoulders of fallible individuals, right?" Prof. Fiona Fidler Today, we return to one of our favourite episodes, with the person who first came up with the idea for our podcast – Professor Fiona Fidler. Fiona is head of our History and Philosophy of Scienc…

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97. Interview with wildlife scientist and science communicator Dr Vanessa Pirotta 35:17

9M ago35:17

35:17

This week we had the most wonderful conversation with wildlife scientist, woman in STEMM/STEAM, science communicator, author and vessel operator, Dr Vanessa Pirotta. You’re going to love hearing Vanessa’s infectious enthusiasm for all things science and science communication. Vanessa’s research uses innovative technologies for wildlife conservation…

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S4 Ep 10 - Erika Milam on 'Colloquial Science' 30:02

10M ago30:02

30:02

"These conversations are the focus of fierce debate, not because scientists lack authority, but because these are the intellectual battles worth fighting. These are the stakes on which modern society depends" Our guest today is Erika Milam, Charles C. and Emily R. Gillispie Professor in the History of Science at Princeton University. Through her re…

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96. Interview with sustainability leader and climate justice advocate Linh Do 31:36

10M ago31:36

31:36

This week we are lucky enough to chat with Linh Do, an incredible sustainability leader, educator, and climate justice advocate based in Melbourne, Australia. As Director of the Wattle Fellowship at the University of Melbourne, she cultivates the next generation of sustainability leaders through an innovative year-long program. With over a decade o…

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S4 Ep 9 - Holden Thorp on 'Teach History and Philosophy of Science' 30:35

10M ago30:35

30:35

“This is Holden Thorp. I'm the Editor in Chief of Science and thanks to Sam and Carmelina for all they're doing to get the word out about the history and philosophy of science” Today's guest is Holden Thorp, professor of chemistry at George Washington University and Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals. In April of this year, Holden pu…

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95. Interview with science communication consultant Rachael Vorwerk 30:02

10M ago30:02

30:02

This week we had the wonderful pleasure of catching up with one of our very own alumni! Rachael Vorwerk studied science communication with us many years ago and has gone on to forge an incredible career in the field. Rachael is a science communicator and freelance consultant who has been published in The Conversation, Cosmos Magazine and Eingana. S…

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S4 Ep 8 - Nicole C. Nelson on 'Ethnographies of Science' 27:28

10M ago27:28

27:28

Today, Carmelina is joined by Dr. Nicole C. Nelson, Associate Professor in the Department of Medical History and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nicole is an ethnographer of science and a familiar face to many within both Science and Technology Studies, and Metascience. Today, Nicole explains how ethnographic studies can help us t…

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94. Interview with science communicator Professor Nancy Longnecker 30:58

10M ago30:58

30:58

This week it is a huge honour for us to speak with our long-time scicomm colleague Nancy Longnecker who is Emerita Professor of Science Communication at the University of Otago. She has collaborated in the production of communication resources and assessment of their effectiveness in work that is often multidisciplinary and cross-cultural. In a car…

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S4 Ep 7 - Naomi Oreskes on 'Writing on Ignorance' 35:41

10M ago35:41

35:41

"In response to that article, I was getting hate mail. I was getting attacked. I thought, these people have a script. This is a story that people need to understand. This isn't just something of academic interest. This is something that has real political and cultural consequences." Today's very special guest is acclaimed historian of science, Prof…

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93. Interview with author and illustrator Sarah Firth 34:29

10M ago34:29

34:29

Welcome to Season 13 of Let’s Talk SciComm. We’re so thrilled to be kicking off another season as we head towards our 100th episode! To get the season off to a fabulous start, this week we’re thrilled to talk with the incredible Sarah Firth (she/ her). Sarah is based on Wurundjeri Country in Melbourne, Australia. She is an artist, writer, cartoonis…

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S4 Ep 6 - Jen Martin on 'Communicating Science' 28:30

11M ago28:30

28:30

"Doing the thing is not the whole thing, it's also the sharing it with the audiences who either need it or are simply interested in it...science isn't finished until it's communicated" Our guest today is Associate Professor Jen Martin. Jen leads the University of Melbourne’s acclaimed Science Communication Teaching program and is passionate about h…

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92. Listen to This If….you want to grab your audience’s attention 5:36

11M ago5:36

5:36

You NEED to listen to this. In this week’s episode of ‘Listen to This If…’ Jen and Michael explore how to grab your audience’s attention. In just five minutes Jen and Michael will discuss everything you need to know to turn heads and captivate your audience. https://hbr.org/2023/07/3-ways-to-keep-your-audience-focused-during-a-presentation https://…

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S4 Ep 5 - Edouard Machery on 'Experimental Philosophy' 28:14

11M ago28:14

28:14

Today our guest presenter Thomas Spiteri is joined by Professor Edouard Machery, Distinguished Professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s HPS department and director of the Center for Philosophy of Science. Edouard, a leading figure in experimental philosophy (X-Phi), shares insights into the X-Phi movement, which integrates empirical methods into…

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91. Listen to This If… you want to conquer public speaking nerves 5:42

11M ago5:42

5:42

Upcoming presentation got your palms sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy? Don’t worry, forget mum’s spaghetti, because we’re not going to let you miss your shot. Tune in to this week’s episode of ‘Listen to This If…’ where Jen and Michael give you all the tips and tricks to turn those shaky hands into a killer mic drop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e…

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S4 Ep 4 - Darrin Durant on 'Expertise' 28:18

11M ago28:18

28:18

Today Carmelina is joined by Dr Darrin Durant a Senior Lecturer in HPS at the University of Melbourne specialising in Science and Technology studies. Darrin's research covers two seemingly distinct areas: nuclear energy and expertise. Yet nuclear energy and other contested public policy issues are informed by experts on both sides of the debate. As…

1
Ep 5: Finding Jobs as Uni Students with Jay and Adrian 19:53

11M ago19:53

19:53

Find out how to successfully find and land jobs in the current labour market with Jay and Adrian!

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90. Listen to This If... you can't stop doom scrolling on your phone 5:38

11M ago5:38

5:38

Doomscrolling getting in your way? Don’t worry! Jen and Michael have some great tips to break the scrolling cycle and get you back to your task. In this week’s episode of Listen to This If, we’re discussing addictive algorithms and what strategies you can employ to get off your phone and back on track! https://hai.stanford.edu/news/psychiatrists-pe…

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S4 Ep 3 - Simon Schaffer on 'Leviathan and the Air-Pump: 40 years later' (Part 2) 26:27

11M ago26:27

26:27

This episode forms Part 2 of our extended interview with the celebrated historian of science, and master communicator, Professor Simon Schaffer. Today, we continue to focus our discussion on the book Simon co-wrote with Steven Shapin in the early 1980s, Leviathan and the Air-Pump. Simon reveals fascinating insights into the production of the book, …

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Ep 4: University life as an international student with Amanda and Sam 23:33

11M ago23:33

23:33

From the process of moving, making friends and more, Amanda and Sam share their personal experiences and advice on navigating university life in Melbourne as an international student.

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89. Listen to This If… you are over the word count 5:19

11M ago5:19

5:19

Over the word count on an assignment? It can be stressful trying to trim the writing you’ve put so much effort into. Luckily in this week’s episode, Jen and Michael have some handy tips to wriggle down those words while keeping your writing sharp and relevant to the task. Tune in now! https://www.brandeis.edu/writing-program/resources/faculty/hando…

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S4 Ep 2 - Simon Schaffer on 'Leviathan and the Air-Pump: 40 years later' (Part 1) 26:39

12M ago26:39

26:39

This episode is the first of two in which the celebrated Professor of History of Science, Simon Schaffer, discusses the famous HPS publication, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life, which Simon co-wrote with another esteemed HPS scholar, Steven Shapin, in the early 1980s. The book went on to become one of the most wel…

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88. Listen to this if… you’re preparing for a job interview 5:01

12M ago5:01

5:01

Got an interview coming up? Don't worry, Jen and Michael are here to help! In this five-minute episode, they'll give advice to make sure you're prepared for a perfect interview. From putting your mind at ease to carefully studying the job posting, Jen and Michael will provide you with practical tips that will boost your confidence and help you land…

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S4 Ep 1 - Sam and Carmelina on 'Studying Humanities and Science' 20:52

12M ago20:52

20:52

Welcome back to The HPS Podcast for Season 4. In today's episode, Carmelina and Samara touch on a variety of topics, but a core theme is 'how we study science through the lens of the humanities'. Both Sam and Carmelina believe the skills and perspectives developed through disciplines such as history, sociology, and philosophy are crucial to resolvi…

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87. Introduction to Listen To This If! 1:12

12M ago1:12

1:12

We're thrilled to launch an exciting new series of our podcast, 'Listen To This If...'. Jen and Michael will deliver a speedy, five-minute Friday fix packed with practical hot tips to tackle your toughest science communication challenges. Next Friday, we're starting with something we all want to know: how to ace a job interview! An enormous thank y…

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