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Your world, explained. Exploring who we are, how we got here and where we are going. Australia’s top social scientists in conversation with journalist Ginger Gorman. Seriously interesting. Seriously insightful. Seriously social. Brought to you by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.
Episodes
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
Sunday May 23, 2021
Sunday May 23, 2021
With travel bans and canned plans, negotiating travel in the time of COVID is proving tricky. We’ll talk to experts about where the industry is at now, learn what’s happened to those dependant on the industry for their career, and explain why tourism is so stuck negotiating the present it’s almost impossible for those in it to plan for the future.
Useful Links
Sunday May 09, 2021
Sunday May 09, 2021
Whether or not your own business – or your own employment situation – was impacted directly, nobody could ignore seeing the financial impact of COVID-19 start to unfold last year. Podcast host Ginger Gorman reviews her 2020 interview with Economics Editor for the Sydney Morning Herald Ross Gittins, who stated that Australia's recession was “completely different” to anything before. Ahead of the Federal Budget, let's see how his predictions and commentary stack up in 2021 with commentary from Professor of Economics at UNSW Business School, Richard Holden.
Useful Links
- University of NSW Business School
- Ross Gittens on why this recession is different Seriously Social Podcast
Sunday Apr 11, 2021
Sunday Apr 11, 2021
What's involved in forecasting the Federal Budget, COVID-19 daily case numbers, or Australia's electricity needs?
Join expert Professor Rob Hyndman as he explains the art of prediction. This episode also features guests Jehan Ratnatunga (Who Gives A Crap) and leading economist Stephen Koukoulas.
Useful Links
- Who Gives A Crap
- What's the pandemic forecast? Australian Research Council
- Forecasting: Principles and Practice (3rd Ed) Rob J Hyndman and George Athanasopoulos
- The Kouk Stephen Koukoulas
Sunday Mar 28, 2021
Sunday Mar 28, 2021
Whatevs, just chillax – slang is here to stay. Slang expert Professor Kate Burridge explains how slang evolves and why it sticks around, and you’ll meet three linguists who are working hard to revitalise some of our ‘sleeping’ Indigenous languages.
Useful links
- Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages is the peak body for Aboriginal Languages revitalization in the state of Victoria, leaders in the field of Language Revitalization, Resources Development, Research, and the archival, development, Aboriginal Language Library and Aboriginal languages digital information.
Sunday Mar 14, 2021
Sunday Mar 14, 2021
Toxic masculinity and rape culture are in the headlines again. And women are furious. So how can we reset masculine norms? We met two men working to help others embrace an expression of masculinity that is healthy for all genders. We also look to the past to understand the present as Professor Pauline Grosjean explains how gender imbalance in the arrival of the First Fleet still impacts behaviours today.
Useful Links
- Lifeline 13 11 14
- Ten to Men: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health
- Menslink
- What's wrong with men wearing skirts? Ginger Gorman
Sunday Feb 28, 2021
Sunday Feb 28, 2021
Are you or your team clocking long hours at work? Or often twiddling your thumbs? Turns out Goldilocks was right: the balance needs to be just right. In this episode, Professor Andrew Neal discusses how bosses effectively (and ineffectively) manage workloads and what the risks are when they get it wrong.
Useful Links
- A new approach to mental workload measurement in air traffic control Hartel, C. E., Neal, A., Halford, G. S. and Hartel, G. F.
Sunday Feb 14, 2021
Sunday Feb 14, 2021
Have you ever used humour in a potentially inappropriate situation? Did it help? Humour does more than provide a giggle or two. It's an energiser, an icebreaker and a team builder. In this episode, Professor Sharyn Roach Anleu, Dr David Cheng and the 2020 cartoonist of the year Cathy Wilcox explain its purpose and provide some laughs along the way too.
Useful Links
- Examining the energising effects of humour: The Influence of humour on persistence behaviour David Cheng & Lu Wang
- Judges, Judging and Humour Jessica Milner Davis & Sharyn Roach Anleu (Eds)
- Cathy Wilcox, cartoonist
- Sarah Cooper, TikTok
Sunday Jan 31, 2021
Sunday Jan 31, 2021
Do you have an image you just can't get out of your mind? Something from the news or a current event? Did it impact how you thought about that issue - maybe for decades? According to Professor Roland Bleiker (and at least one Ethiopian taxi driver) visual politics is a real thing, and it's twisting our perceptions every day.
Useful Links
- The Visual Dehumanisation of Refugees Roland Bleiker, David Campbell, Emma Hutchison & Xzarina Nicholson
- World Press Photo Foundation
- Scott Morrison heckled by residents in bushfire-ravaged town ABC News
Sunday Dec 13, 2020
Sunday Dec 13, 2020
The TV show, Neighbours, premiered in 1985. Since then, you’re likely to know half as many neighbours as you did in the mid-1980s. So, how did your community help you get through 2020? And why is something Professor Andrew Leigh terms “an ugly term for a beautiful concept” (social capital) so important?
Useful Links
- Reconnected: A community builder's handbook Andrew Leigh & Nick Terrell
- Play For Lives
- Pub Choir
- Intrepid Landcare