Where Are We At With...?

Where Are We At With Universal Translators?

Apps like Google or Microsoft Translate claim to have removed the language barrier. But few people would trust an app to interpret their complex medical history, or relay critical information in a court case. Human translators and interpreters have formed critical links between civilisations and thinkers for millennia. Professor Marc Orlando from Macquarie University tells us where things can still get lost in translation.

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Where Are We At With Fashion Part 2

The global fashion industry contributes to modern slavery, environmental destruction, and unrealistic body images. But there are solutions. People like Professor Alice Payne from RMIT are working towards a sustainable, responsible and circular process that allows those of us who wear clothes to make the best choices for ourselves and the planet.

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Where Are We At With Fashion? Part 1

Watch a movie from the 50s or 60s about the future, and apparently, we should be all wearing silver jumpsuits or coloured PVC by now. Most of us aren't, but what we are wearing is shaped by a myriad external influences, be they cultural, social, demographic, economic, political, or more.

Fashion historian, Dr Madeleine Seys from Adelaide University explains what role colonisation played on fashion in Australia, and why active-wear was already a thing 200 years ago.

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Where Are We At With Military Drones?

No longer just an eye in the sky, drones in the air, sea and on land have changed military strategy forever. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has killed tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians alike. To the world's horror, international law and expectations have been savagely upended, but to its surprise, the smaller nation has managed to keep fighting.

Dr Oleksandra Molloy from UNSW explains why drones have become the most important weapon on the battlefield, but will neve…

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Where Are We At With Vaccinations?

Vaccines work. The science has repeatedly shown what an incredible impact they have had on diseases, especially those mostly caught in childhood. But some people continue to hold out, due to either the fear-mongering of a few, health-system mistakes by governments, or the potential conflict of corporate interests.

Professor Julie Leask AO from the University of Sydney has spent decades finding out how to change their minds.

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Where Are We At With Nuclear Fusion?

Nuclear fusion is the holy grail of power production. It is what powers the Sun and all the stars we see in the night sky.

For the past 80 years, scientists have been saying it's been only 30 years away from being perfected. Except now, with the massive projected electricity demands of AI and the scaling back of fossil fuel use, it could be close to reality.

Our guest is Dr Warren McKenzie, Managing Director of HB11, a small Australian company looking to power the world …

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