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Nutrition

Nutrition

Updated Weekly
News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated Weekly
Politics

Politics

Updated Twice Weekly

Politics

Politics

Updated Twice Weekly
News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated Weekly
Nutrition

Nutrition

Updated Weekly
News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated Bi-monthly
Physics

Physics

Updated Weekly
Science

Science

Updated 31/07/2019
Nature

Nature

Updated Weekly

5 MAR

South Australian election special

Labor is expected to be returned in power in a landslide. But the election is also the first test of One Nation's ability to turn its surging popularity into seats. Mentioned in this episode: Your support matters Support non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025

5 Mar

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45 min
2 DAYS AGO

RBA Deputy's inflation warning

The Reserve Bank's Andrew Hauser told The Conversation's podcast inflation is likely to be higher than projected before the war in the Middle East broke out. Mentioned in this episode: Your support matters Support non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025

2 days ago

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34 min
25 FEB

Geoffrey Watson backs calls for royal commission on CFMEU scandal

The anti-corruption expert says Victoria's Labor government was willing to 'deal with the devil' on its Big Build projects – at the cost of 'bad governing'. Mentioned in this episode: Your support matters Support non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025

25 Feb

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31 min
19 FEB

New Liberal deputy Jane Hume on industrial relations, child care and a decade in politics

The newly installed Liberal deputy leader talks about the turnaround in her fortunes, the spectre of WorkChoices, and why she doesn't believe in quotas for women. Mentioned in this episode: Your support matters Support non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025

19 Feb

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36 min
3 MAR

Does light therapy work? The science of stroboscopic stimulation

Light therapy sounds wholesome. Sit in front of a lamp. Feel better. But nowadays, it can also mean strapping on a flashing mask and watching your own brain generate kaleidoscopic hallucinations behind closed eyelids. In this episode, host Katie Edwards tries on a stroboscopic light mask being promoted by celebrities including Jennifer Aniston and Rosamund Pike to find out what happens. And David Schwartzman, a research fellow at the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science at the University of Sussex, explains how stroboscopic light produces hallucinations in the brain, and how it's currently being trialled to treat conditions like depression. Strange Health is a podcast from The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. Full credits for this episode available here. If you like the show, please consider donating to support our work. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation here. Hosts: Katie Edwards from The Conversation and Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol Executive Producer: Gemma Ware Editing and mixing: Anouk Millet Artwork: Alice Mason Can a psychedelic-induced mystical experience really improve your mental health?SAD lamps: do they work? Experts explain how they help the winter blues

3 Mar

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40 min
2 DAYS AGO

What is period scooping? And other menstrual hacks you should think twice about

Period scooping sounds like something you would only hear in a biology lab, not while doom-scrolling TikTok. Yet earlier this year, videos claiming you can “scoop out” your period to avoid the mess and shorten the whole thing racked up millions of views. In this episode, we hear from Sally King, a visiting fellow at King’s College London, about why you can't shorten your period, and why you need to be careful about upsetting the pH balance of your body. She also gives us her perspective as a menstrual physiologist on other period hacks, including menstrual blood face masks, and drinks that some influencers say can shorten your period. Strange Health is a podcast from The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. If you've got a question about a viral trend or video you've seen and you'd like us to delve into the science behind it in a future episode, please email us at strangehealth@theconversation.com. Full credits for this episode available here. If you like the show, please consider donating to support our work. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation here. If you've got a questeion Hosts: Katie Edwards from The Conversation and Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol Executive Producer: Gemma Ware Editing and mixing: Anouk Millet Artwork: Alice Mason Menstrual health literacy is alarmingly low – what you don’t know can harm youWould you put period blood on your face? What science says about ‘menstrual masking’Your vagina cleans itself: why vagina cleaning fads are unnecessary and harmful

2 days ago

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39 min
10 FEB

Tony Barry on why a new Liberal leader isn't a quick fix

What do Australians in focus groups say about the Liberal Party right now? "They just kind of laugh," the former Liberal staffer turned pollster says. Mentioned in this episode: Your support matters Support non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025

10 Feb

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26 min
24 FEB

What your body odour says about you

Body odour has a reputation problem. It is often treated as a hygiene failure or a social offence. In reality, it is biology at work, plus a big helping of culture. And yet people online are trying chlorophyll shots to make their BO smell better. Hosts Katie Edwards and Dan Baumgardt discuss what evidence there is behind this, plus some of the health conditions that can affect body odour. And we talk to Mats Olsson, a professor of experimental psychology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, who studies how humans perceive body odour. Strange Health is a podcast from The Conversation is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. Full credits for this episode available here. If you like the show, please consider donating to support our work. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation here. Hosts: Katie Edwards from The Conversation and Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol Executive Producer: Gemma Ware Editing and mixing: Anouk Millet Artwork: Alice Mason

24 Feb

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41 min
10 FEB

What is the vagus nerve and can you really reset it?

The vagus nerve has become the internet’s favourite body part. On social media, it is everywhere. People hum into their phones, gargle with theatrical enthusiasm, dunk their faces into bowls of ice water and poke at their ears in the hope of “activating” it. So in this episode we focus our attention on the body’s longest cranial nerve and ask a simple question: what does the vagus nerve actually do, and can we really hack it? Hosts Katie Edwards and Dan Baumgardt turn this week to Arshad Majid, a professor of cerebrovascular neurology at the University of Sheffield and an expert in vagus nerve stimulation. Strange Health is a podcast from The Conversation is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. Full credits for this episode available here. If you like the show, please consider donating to support our work. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation here. Hosts: Katie Edwards from The Conversation and Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol Executive Producer: Gemma Ware Editing and mixing: Anouk MIllet Artwork: Alice Mason From decapitation to positive psychology: how one nerve connects body, brain and mindStimulating the pathway connecting body and brain may change chronic condition patients’ lives

10 Feb

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37 min
4 FEB

Barnaby Joyce on getting on with Pauline Hanson and One Nation's rise

Joyce says 'I'm not going to be wearing a burqa' like the One Nation leader – but his relationship with her is stronger than his 'bitter' end with the Nationals.

4 Feb

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36 min

Listen to experts explain the world around us and tell the stories behind brand new research. Podcasts from The Conversation, an independent source of news and views, sourced from the academic and research community. Shows in English, French and Bahasa Indonesia. Free to listen.

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