Science  Write  Now

Podcasts
The Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is a podcast for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science; then you’ve come to the right place!
The SWN Podcast is hosted by Amanda Niehaus and Jessica White and produced by Taylor Mitchell with funding from Creative Australia.

Listen on-the-go on Google, Apple and Spotify now!

Opening song: 'Balmain' by Pure Milk
Episodes
Episode 1
Bright book with flower and bird in greens, yellows, pinks, blues - Ordinary Matter

Women in Science in Fiction with Laura Elvery

With Jessica White
In this episode, Jess chats with Laura Elvery about her new collection of short stories, 'Ordinary Matter,' which is inspired by the twenty women who have won the Nobel Prize for science. You can purchase it here. Laura Elvery is one of Australia’s most… Read more
Episode 2
Book - Woman in robe holding baby - cover in pastel peaches and blues - Fauna

Writing De/Extinction with James Bradley, Donna Mazza & Chris Flynn

With Jessica White
In this episode, Jessica White chats with James Bradley, Donna Mazza, and Chris Flynn about the inspiration for and writing of their recent novels Ghost Species, Fauna and Mammoth—all of which consider the implications of de/extinction and, in one case,… Read more
Episode 3
Book

Science in Poetry with Tricia Dearborn and Benjamin Dodds

With Jessica White
In this episode, Jessica White chats with Tricia Dearborn and Benjamin Dodd about the inspiration for and writing of their recent poetry collections Autobiochemistry and Airplane Baby Banana Blanket. Tricia Dearborn is a Sydney poet, writer and editor.… Read more
Episode 4
Book

Writing Ecological Emergency with Rebecca Giggs

With Jessica White
In this episode, Jessica White chats with Rebecca Giggs about her beautiful nonfiction book Fathoms: The World in the Whale and how she translates abstracted aspects of the ecological emergency—like its unfathomable scale—into a visceral narrative that is… Read more
Episode 5
Book

The Future of Sex with Rob Brooks

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with University of New South Wales evolutionary biologist and author  Rob Brooks about the future of sex, his new book Artificial Intimacy, and the science and politics of human relationships. Rob Brooks is an… Read more
Episode 6
Image from children's book - bird in a tree and frog on the ground and climate disasters all around them

Eco-fiction for Every Reader with Andrea Baldwin

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with writer and psychologist Andrea Baldwin about writing eco-fiction and crafting stories about the environment for different audiences and age groups. Andrea Baldwin is a psychologist and author who works at the… Read more
Episode 7
Book

Animal Characters and Authentic Environments with Renée Treml

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with Renée Treml about graphic novels and picture books, science for kids, designing museums (and specimens!) for books, and changing careers from science to art.  Renée Treml was inspired by Australia’s wildlife and… Read more
Episode 8
Book cover

Writing and Painting Nature with Inda Ahmad Zahri

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with Inda Ahmad Zahri about writing stories embedded in nature and creating across forms. Inda Ahmad Zahri believes in a world of wonder. She lives in Brisbane where she illustrates and writes for children and adults.… Read more
Episode 9
Book cover

Texture and Mood with Kathleen Jennings

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with award-winning writer and illustrator Kathleen Jennings about stitching together her observations into stories and worlds, writing with texture and creating narratives using mood. Kathleen Jennings is an… Read more
Episode 10
An image from the play in which a puppeteer controls blue butterflies around Charles Darwin

Re-imagining Charles Darwin for the Stage with David Morton

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with David Morton, Creative Director of Dead Puppet Society, about taking young Darwin from the page — and the Galapagos — to the stage, in The Wider Earth. David Morton is a writer, director and designer, and the… Read more
Episode 11
Yellow book with crumpled paper that says Refuse to be Done

Writing, Re-writing, and the Scales of change with Matt Bell

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with speculative fiction writer and Associate Professor of Fiction (Arizona State University) Matt Bell about his new craft book Refuse to be Done, the iterative craft of writing and rewriting, and conceptualising the… Read more
Episode 12
Green Book with red lines

Time, Memory and the Stories of our Lives with Sven Birkerts

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with writer & AGNI co-editor Sven Birkerts about time, memory, and the patterns that shape our writing. Sven Birkerts is the author of eleven books of essays and memoirs, most recently 'Speak, Memory', a personal… Read more
Episode 13
VR user inside a virtual cave blues and greens on screen

Science in Virtual Realities with Michael Angilletta

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda Niehaus chats with biologist Michael Angilletta about his collaborative work building virtual reality science labs with Hollywood-born Dreamscape Immersive, student engagement through story, and the power of immersion— as well as… Read more
Episode 14
A green book with a woman holding a cup of tea - A Hundred Small Lessons

The Nature of Trees and Rivers with Ashley Hay and Simon Cleary

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Jessica White speaks Ashley Hay and Simon Cleary about thinking—and writing—through rivers and trees, and how they connect people, places, histories, ecologies, landscapes and myths. Ashley Hay is the author of three novels and four books… Read more
Episode 15
Pale blue book with a lyrebird on the cover - The Birdman's Wife

Lost Lives Found in Fiction and Ecobiography with Melissa Ashley and Jessica White

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda talks with novelist Melissa Ashley and our own Jessica White about writing the lives of 19th-century female natural historians in fiction and ecobiography—and the importance of bringing untold stories to the light. Jessica White is… Read more
Episode 16
Bright book with a mammoth in greens and blues - Mammoth

Writing Beyond the Human with Chris Flynn

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda speaks with Chris Flynn about writing beyond the human, stories led by imagination, and thinking through place beyond setting.  Chris Flynn is the author of Mammoth, The Glass Kingdom and A Tiger in Eden. He is Editor-in-Residence… Read more
Episode 17
Muted pastel cover of an ocean with a small boat - The Woman Who Sailed the World

Keeping Secrets and Finding Science with Danielle Clode

With Jessica White
In this episode, Jess talks to Danielle Clode about how, from the 18th to the 20th centuries, women have employed great ingenuity to discover new knowledge. Danielle Clode is an award-winning author of Australian non-fiction books. Her writing includes… Read more
Episode 18
Book with various botanical art on it - The Age of Seeds

The Stories of Seeds with Fiona McMillan-Webster

With Amanda Niehaus
Why do some seeds live for thousands of years, while others only a few? What made Nikolai Vavilov the Indiana Jones of the ‘seed world’? And how do you write a book about something in which you’re not already an expert?  In this episode, Amanda talks to… Read more
Episode 19
Woman holding a piece of meat on her fork while a pheasant watches on - The Turquoise Elepahnt

The Absurdist Truths of Climate Change

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda speaks with Australian playwrights Oliver Gough and Stephen Carleton about performing climate change on the stage—and the role of absurdity in communicating dire issues. Oliver Gough is an emerging playwright and MPhil Candidate in… Read more
Episode 20
dante-shown-holding-a-copy-of-the-divine-comedy-next-to-the-entrance-to-hell-the-seven-terraces-of-mount-purgatory-and-the-city

All Things Comedy with Anne Libera (The Second City)

With Amanda Niehaus
In this episode, Amanda chats with Professor Anne Libera—Director of Comedy Studies at the prestigious comedy club The Second City in Chicago—about how comedy works and why we need it. Anne Libera is an Associate Professor and Director of Comedy Studies… Read more
Episode 21
image of fireworks

Bursting with Science and Story

With Jessica White
In this episode, Jess talks to Claire Bowen and Kevin Vinsen about Storyburst, a writing project that they established in 2020. They invited Australian writers of all ages to collaborate with researchers to write science-inspired monologues. The… Read more