Hey, Did You Know? - An AUT Podcast

AUT News

“Hey, Did You Know?” is a new podcast from AUT where we talk to academics about their expertise, their favourite facts and the things you need to know about the amazing work being done at Aotearoa’s university of technology. Not only will the guests be asked the questions you’d expect academics to answer, the random die of destiny will be rolled multiple times to determine which random questions they'll have to answer. Just what secrets will AUT's academics reveal as they talk about knowledge that works?

  1. 5d ago

    Mindfulness and how our brains shape consumer decisions - Episode 16

    With Dr Amy Errmann. In this episode of Hey Did You Know, Dr Amy Errmann, Senior Lecturer in Marketing and International Business, talks to host Mike Kilpatrick about mindfulness, attention, and the ways our brains shape consumer decisions. This includes research into mindfulness and time perception, including how even a short meditation can make time feel longer. She also talks about how brands and public campaigns are using mindfulness, and how mindful luxury tourism worked in in the Faroe Islands and any lessons that Aotearoa could learn from. USEFUL LINKS Mindfulness - Healthify / Te Puna WaioraMindful Luxury: A case of the Faroe Islands“Open to give”: Mindfulness improves evaluations of charity appeals that are Incongruent with the consumer’s political ideologyRe-positioning the present moment: Effects of mindfulness on consumer behaviorCOMMUNITY CALLS AND ACTION  Rate & Review on your chosen podcast app Follow the show on InstagramTell us what you want to know about next: media@aut.ac.nzCREDITS Host – Mike Kilpatrick Editor – Mike Kilpatrick Producer – Mike Kilpatrick   Executive Producer – Nicola Hopkins   Music – Clinton Watkins   Design – AUT Brand Team

  2. Jul 14

    Humanitarian Engineering - Episode 15

    With Professor Regan Potangaroa. In this episode of Hey, Did You Know? An AUT Podcast, AUT Professor Regan Potangaroa (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa) chats to host Susan Strongman about creating a refugee camp from scratch, being taken hostage twice, his new-found love for drone fishing, and more. Professor Potangaroa is a recognised global expert in humanitarian engineering and Māori-centered resilience.USEFUL LINKS Kutupalong refugee camp   Canterbury Earthquakes   2016 Kaikōura earthquake  Professor Regan Potangaroa academic profile COMMUNITY CALLS AND ACTION  Rate & Review on your chosen podcast app Follow the show on InstagramTell us what you want to know about next: media@aut.ac.nzCREDITS Host – Susan Strongman   Editor – Susan Strongman   Producer – Mike Kilpatrick   Executive Producer – Nicola Hopkins   Music – Clinton Watkins   Design – AUT Brand Team

  3. Jun 9

    FIFA World Cup, the Commonwealth Games and sport in Aotearoa - Episode 14

    With Dr Mel Johnston.  In this episode of Hey, Did You Know? An AUT Podcast, Dr Mel Johnston, Head of Department, Sports Leadership and Management at AUT, chats to host Mike Kilpatrick about major sporting events, the upcoming FIFA World Cup and the changing role of sport in Aotearoa New Zealand.  They discuss whether the Commonwealth Games are still relevant, why they matter for athlete development, and what a future New Zealand-hosted Games could look like. Mel also talks about the politics and economics of mega-events, including FIFA’s huge revenues, dynamic ticket pricing, sport washing and the growing influence of broadcasting.  The conversation also explores community sport, including rising costs, volunteer shortages, access for children and the need for clubs to adapt to changing expectations. Mel shares insights from the National Sports Club Survey, including concerns about affordability and participation.  They also discuss integrity in sport, gender equality, the growth of women’s sport, and how events such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup can create momentum for participation, visibility and investment.  MAIN TOPICS AND DISCUSSION  Sport Leadership and Management at AUT - https://www.aut.ac.nz/study/study-options/sport-and-recreation  National Sports Club Survey - https://sprinz.aut.ac.nz/areas-of-expertise/sport-leadership-and-management/national-sport-club-survey  Sport Integrity Commission Te Kahu Raunui - https://sportintegrity.nz/  FIFA World Cup 2026 - https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026  Commonwealth Games - https://thecgf.com/  COMMUNITY CALLS AND ACTION  Rate & Review on your chosen podcast app Follow the show on InstagramTell us what you want to know about nextCREDITS  Host – Mike Kilpatrick Editors – Mike Kilpatrick Producer – Mike Kilpatrick Executive Producer – Nicola Hopkins Music – Clinton Watkins Design – AUT Brand Team

  4. May 26

    Episode 13 - Food, nutrition and diets

    With Professor Caryn Zinn. In the thirteenth episode of Hey, Did You Know? An AUT Podcast, Professor Caryn Zinn from AUT's School of Sport, Exercise and Health, chats to host Mike Kilpatrick about differing aspects of food and how they relate to health. As well as ultra-processed foods, they talk about the new inverted food pyramid, carbohydrates and the importance of protein - as well as the things that should be in the lunchboxes of school kids. They also discuss insulin resistance, why dietary guidelines designed for healthy populations don't necessarily fit the needs of everyone and introduces a new AUT app. The app - CHIPS - is AI-driven and designed to help people make better food choices. They also touch on diets, including veganism and how to select the right protein powder. Caryn also reveals which actor would play her in a movie of her life! MAIN TOPICS AND DISCUSSION  New dietary guidelines from the US stir the pot - https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/thedetail/586936/new-dietary-guidelines-from-the-us-stir-the-pot Reversing Type 2 diabetes - https://www.aut.ac.nz/news/stories/new-research-on-reversing-type-2-diabetes Ultra-processed foods are taking over our diets - https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2025/11/19/ultra-processed-foods-are-taking-over-our-diets-expert-reaction/ COMMUNITY CALLS AND ACTION  Rate & Review on your chosen podcast app Follow the show on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/autuninews/⁠Tell us what you want to know about next: ⁠media@aut.ac.nz ⁠ CREDITS  Host – Mike Kilpatrick Editors – Mike Kilpatrick Producer – Mike Kilpatrick Executive Producer – Nicola Hopkins Music – Clinton Watkins Design – AUT Brand Team

  5. May 12

    Episode 12 - Spiders and other bugs

    Spiders with Dr Leilani Walker.  In the twelfth episode of Hey, Did You Know? An AUT Podcast, Dr Leilani Walker chats to host Susan Strongman about why she once had 30 giant-jawed spiders living in her garage, sexual cannibalism in praying mantises, necrophiliac penguins... and why we should care about any of these things. Dr Walker (Te Whakatōhea) is a senior lecturer in environmental science at AUT and curator of entomology at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. As a behavioural ecologist, she uses terrestrial invertebrate models to study sexual selection, intra-specific competition and evolution. Dr Walker’s research interests also encompass entomology and arachnology more generally, as well as equity in higher education and science. MAIN TOPICS AND DISCUSSION  The man who invented day light saving time  Sheetweb spiders   The global spread of (mis)information on spiders  'Sexual depravity' of penguins that Antarctic scientist dared not reveal   COMMUNITY CALLS AND ACTION  Rate & Review on your chosen podcast app Follow the show on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/autuninews/⁠Tell us what you want to know about next: media@aut.ac.nz ⁠ CREDITS  Host – Susan Strongman Editors – Susan Strongman Producer – Mike Kilpatrick Executive Producer – Nicola Hopkins Music – Clinton Watkins Design – AUT Brand Team

  6. Apr 28

    Episode 11 - Romantasy

    Romantasy with Dr Yael Cameron.  In the eleventh episode of Hey, Did You Know? An AUT Podcast, Dr Yael Cameron chats to host Mike Kilpatrick about romantasy, the book genre that’s taken the world by storm.  During their chat Yael explains what romantasy is and talks about popular romantasy author Sarah J Maas’s popularity. She also discusses the idea that because romantasy books tend to be queer and women friendly there may be snobbery or misogyny when it comes to talking about the genre.  That doesn’t mean romantasy is perfect, though, and Yael talks about some of the common tropes that are seen in these books as well as great examples of where those tropes are turned on their head.  They also talk about popular Netflix show Heated Rivalry and how important it is for people to see sports people represented as queer and the impact that can have.  That leads to a discussion about the Superbowl half-time show and how powerful Bad Bunny’s performance was for representation – but also why it was a political statement.  Yael finishes talking about poetry and then shares some suggestions for books to read if you’re new to romantasy.  Warning – there may be spoilers for Sarah J Maas books in this podcast.  Yael is a Senior Lecturer in Teacher Education in the Faculty of Culture and Society  Using a queer and feminist lens, Yael’s work traces social, religious and mythological representations in popular culture as a way of understanding the world we live in.    She has written about influential works like Dune, Mad Max, Finnish Noir, and Russian Resistance Poetry and also on legendary figures like Frankenstein, Medusa, and Eve.  MAIN TOPICS AND DISCUSSION  @sarahjmaas - The Instagram page for the author of A Court of Thorns and Roses   Bad Bunny’s Superbowl half-time show -Watch the full show on YouTube  Heated Rivalry - The Wikipedia entry on the wildly popular Canadian TV show  Radiance by Grace Draven- The official website of the author of Yael’s recommended read COMMUNITY CALLS AND ACTION  Rate & Review on your chosen podcast app Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autuninews/Tell us what you want to know about next: media@aut.ac.nz  CREDITS  Host – Mike Kilpatrick Editors – Mike Kilpatrick Producer – Mike Kilpatrick Executive Producer – Nicola Hopkins Music – Clinton Watkins Design – AUT Brand Team

  7. Apr 14

    Episode 10 - Science

    Science with Professor Allan Blackman.  Summary In the tenth episode of Hey, Did You Know? An AUT Podcast, Professor Allan Blackman chats to host Mike Kilpatrick about science and chemistry and just how important it is in today’s world.  During their chat, Allan reveals which television show got the science correct and why one lab incident he witnessed ended with an emergency hospital trip.   He also talks about why scientists need to be precise in the language they use and why he thinks chemistry is cool and is going to save the world.  Allan is a Professor of Chemistry in the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences at AUT. He got his PhD from the University of Otago.  He is dedicated to good science communication and chemistry education and is a regular on RNZ, talking about science in the news. He is the co-author of a widely used science textbook and a YouTube series called Chemistry Matters.  Throughout his career, his students have acknowledged his talents in chemistry education by selecting him for several teaching excellence awards.  His own research is focused on the synthesis, structure, and reactivity of coordination complexes, especially those containing substitution-inert metal ions.  Main Topics & Discussion  The most boring chemical element  The most boring chemical element episode of Elemental | RNZ  Perchloric Acid  The world’s scariest acid?  A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson  The book that explains science brilliantly  Chemistry Matters – the YouTube series  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsnOmf9_1yc  Community & Calls to Action  Rate & Review on your chosen podcast app  Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autuninews/  Tell us what you want to know about next: media@aut.ac.nz  Credits Host – Mike Kilpatrick  Editor – Mike Kilpatrick  Producer – Mike Kilpatrick  Executive Producer – Nicola Hopkins  Music – Clinton Watkins  Design – AUT Brand Team

  8. Mar 31

    Episode 9 - Theatre, pro-wrestling and Donald Trump

    Theatre, professional wrestling and Donald Trump with Professor Emerita Sharon Mazer.  In the ninth episode of Hey, Did You Know? An AUT Podcast, Professor Emerita Sharon Mazer chats to host Mike Kilpatrick about her background in theatre and how US President Donald Trump’s rise to power has a connection to professional wrestling.    They also speak about performance and whether it teaches us who we are as well as why the act of going to see a theatre performance is so important. She also offers up some of her favourite theatres in Aotearoa you might want to check out as well as discussing the reciprocity between those on stage and the audience.  They finish their conversation talking about the role of Māori theatre.  Sharon is a Professor Emerita of Theatre and Performance Studies in Te Ara Poutama, the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Development at AUT.   After working as a theatre director in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland she earned her PhD at Columbia University, writing about Middle English drama.   She has published multiple books, and you may have seen her on your screens as an expert in the Netflix documentary series Mr. McMahon. She is also an ongoing contributor to the Wrestling Darkness podcast series.  Main Topics & Discussion   World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), formerly the WWF  ⁠https://www.wwe.com/⁠   Kayfabe – what does it mean?  Sharon uses the word ‘kayfabe’ - ⁠what does it mean?⁠   The Battle of the Billionaires  ⁠It all went down at WrestleMania XXIII⁠   Te Matatini – traditional Māori performance art   ⁠https://www.tematatini.co.nz/ ⁠  Community & Calls to Action  Rate & Review on your chosen podcast app  Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autuninews/  Tell us what you want to know about next: media@aut.ac.nz  Credits Host – Mike Kilpatrick  Editors – Mike Kilpatrick  Producer – Mike Kilpatrick  Executive Producer – Nicola Hopkins  Music – Clinton Watkins  Design – AUT Brand Team

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“Hey, Did You Know?” is a new podcast from AUT where we talk to academics about their expertise, their favourite facts and the things you need to know about the amazing work being done at Aotearoa’s university of technology. Not only will the guests be asked the questions you’d expect academics to answer, the random die of destiny will be rolled multiple times to determine which random questions they'll have to answer. Just what secrets will AUT's academics reveal as they talk about knowledge that works?

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