We're living through the great Space Boom and with great innovation comes a lot of whacky ideas... Astronomer and Associate Professor Michael Brown from Monash Univeristy joins me to discuss stupid things in space.

The conversation dives into some of the more bizarre and ambitious ideas circulating the space industry, from firing villians and radioactive waste in to the sun to deploying giant orbital mirrors to light up Earth's dark side. Brown breaks down why many of these concepts are far less practical then they sound. With over 15,000 satellites cirlcing earth, Brown also examines the promises and downsides of mega-constellations like Starlink, including how they operate and the challenges they pose for astronomers and the environment.

It's a fascinating and critical peek in to the intersection of innovation, risk, and imagination in the new space age.

In this episode I sit down with Professor Conny Aerts, a pioneering mathematician and founding figure of astroseismology, who reveals how scientists are "listenting" to stars to understand what's happening deep inside them. From oscillating stars to solar sunquakes, she explains how sound waves can measure the sun's size, age and activity.

Beyond the science, she shares her remarkable journey from a small rural town in Belgium where she had to attend an all-boys school, the only school near her family home. She was expected to become a seamstress but Conny's dreams were beyond this planet, leading her on a path toward becoming a highly acclaimed asteroseismologist.

We're scared to say the D word! But why is talking about death such a taboo? Dr. Hannah Gould, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Melbourne, joins me to discuss the topic in the wake of the release of her new book 'How To Die in the 21st Century'.

The discussion dives in to the modern experience of dying, from the pressures of having a 'good death' to the reality of overly medicalised, 'prolonged dwindling'. Hannah unpacks how death isn't just biological but also cultural and legal, raising the question: When does death officially occur?

The conversation is an invitation to rethink death - not as something to fear, but as something we can approach with openness, intention, and maybe even a sense of celebration

https://www.hannahgould.com/