In this week's episode we take a look at a fascinating new scientific study that suggests the anthropocene has affected speech itself - and how this could irrevocably change the field of linguistics.

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49 - Pronouncing and the Anthropocene

Extinction is a fact of life. But five times in Earth's history, cataclysmic mass extinction events have wiped out not a few animals, but up to 96% of life in one go. And scientists are now raising the question: are we now entering the sixth great mass extinction?

48 - Mass Extinctions: the day the earth went bust

In this episode we take you into the murky world of global trade deals - including the secretive tribunals where companies get to sue governments for billions. Join us for this interview with the wonderful Dr Patricia Ranald, Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network.

45 - Trade secrets

What neolithic beverage is still the world's third most consumed drink? That's right: beer! We delve into beer's 14,000 year old history and do a couple of sidebar trips via witches and the world's coolest nun. We also dig into why a drink the grew from one major climate shift may be killed off by another. 

44 - A History of Beer (featuring witches!)

It's called the jewel of Sydney, but below the surface of Sydney harbour is a toxic legacy. In this week's episode, we bring you the astounding tale of how one company, with one factory, has changed the way we will use the harbour for generations.

43 - Sydney's sparkling cesspit

For years, we've protected nature on the idea that bigger is better: protecting big, isolated areas of 'untouched' wilderness is the only way to keep nature safe. But in 2018, research from Australia's University of Melbourne turned that idea on its head. This week we look into the question: when it comes to protecting nature, is size everything?

42 - Size isn't everything

To welcome us all into 2019 and start the year with some optimism, in this episode Suzanne and Lucy reflect on 5 of our top wins for the environment from 2018. 

41 - our 5 wins from 2018

A very special interview this week, recorded LIVE at the Australian Labor Party 2018 National Conference! Suzanne speaks with Lisa Garcia, ex-Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice at the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and now with the US NGO Earthjustice, which provides legal support to communities confronting major pollution and health issues. Suzanne and Lisa talk environmental justice, why independent institutions are a must in protecting our health and how inspirational communities are fighting back.

40 - Interview: Lisa Garcia, Earthjustice

In this week's episode we delve into an aspect of the anthropocene that has been all over the news in recent weeks: bushfires. Devastating fires have been raging from California to Queensland, and in this episode we look at all the ways that humans are influencing the increase in the severity and frequency of fires - and although climate change is a huge part of it, there are many other fascinating ways that human behaviour is playing a role.

39 - Ignition

We go back in time to one of the most vicious fights of the 19th century: the war between Thomas Edison and Nicholas Tesla over who would power the United States. This battle last nearly a decade, and was marked by brutal commercial competition, a bizarrely large amount of public animal murder, and a propaganda campaign that would make Donald Trump blush. It's a war that's opened up again in the age of computers, and this time nobody can predict how it will end.

38 - The War of the Currents

Several recent high-profile arrests have brought forensic genetic genealogy - or identifying criminals through large, open-source genetic databases - to the public's attention. But is this the next big thing in crime fighting, or the top of a very slippery and very dangerous slope? Are we heading for a future where you have no control over who can access parts of your genetic code? 

37 - To catch a killer

How green are your solar panels? In this week's episode, we delve into the dark side of renewable energy, and the toxic trail it's leaving from California to Inner Mongolia. 

36 - The dark side of renewable energy

There's growing evidence that plants can think and communicate. Though plants have no brains, scientists have uncovered evidence that they talk to each other, make decisions, learn and have a social life. This week, we take a journey into the secret mental life of plants and discuss what that tells us about being human.

35 - Can trees think?

Tea. The solution to all life's problems. But your cup of tea maybe causing more problems than it solves: food waste, plastic pollution, deforestation and unfair labor practices are all side effects of the mainstream tea industry.  We sit down with Julie Hirsch, co-founder of Eloments Organic Teas, to find out what makes the perfect sustainable cup of tea.

34 - A sustainable cup of tea (ft. Julie Hirsch)

We have a very special episode this week, in partnership with ActionAid Australia. Lucy will take us through a explosive new report revealing for the first time how Australia’s global fossil fuel giants are systematically undermining women’s rights in the global south and their plan to quadruple the number of mines they operate - and the impact that will have on women and communities - in low-income countries.  

33 - Outsourcing the damage

Join Suzanne and Lucy as they attempt to understand life in a time when human impact reaches every part of the globe and beyond.

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