Dr Vanessa Pirotta is a wildlife scientist, science communicator and marine mammal expert - pioneering the use of cutting edge technology to aid whale conservation efforts. In non science speak, she is collecting whale snot using drones! I speak to Vanessa about her PhD project, ocean conservation, sharks, dolphin spies and...what on earth she is doing with all that whale snot!

You can follow Vanessa on

Twitter: @VanessaPirotta

Instagram: @drvanessapirotta

and online at www.vanessapirotta.com

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Toby Walsh is a "rock star" of Australia's digital revolution. He is a world-leading expert on Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and their ethical application. He is passionate about ensuring that limits are placed on AI for the public good, and has played a leading role in campaigning the UN to ban lethal autonomous weapons (aka killer robots).

Toby has held research positions at leading global institutions, and contributed to countless publications and academic journals. He is the author of a number of books on artificial intelligence: It's Alive!: Artificial Intelligence from the Logic Piano to Killer Robots" and "2062: The World that AI Made".

You can follow Toby on Twitter @TobyWalsh

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Andrea Durbach has dedicated her life and career to pursuing equality in justice, and it was a pleasure to speak with her at this tumultuous time in global politics.

Andy is a Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and a former Director of the Australian Human Rights Centre.

Before moving to Australia, Andy practised as a political trial lawyer and human rights advocate in South Africa where she represented many victims and opponents of apartheid laws. One of her most notorious cases is known as the Upington 25 – where 25 black citizens were convicted of a single policeman’s murder – a trial of political complexity that also ended in the assassination of her friend and fellow defence lawyer.

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There is remote working during a pandemic...but then there is remote working in the freezing cold waters of Antarctica.

Michaela Skovranova is an Australia-based photographer specialising in underwater photography. Michaela's work has focused on capturing environmental stories in extreme environments—from the Great Barrier Reef to Antarctica.

Michaela has amassed a variety of awards, not to mention Instagram followers; and worked with National Geographic, Roxy and Olympus Australia. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine and the Huffington Post.

See her amazing photographs on Instagram @mishkusk and online at www.mishku.com

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How do astronauts handle conflict in space?

I chat with James Bevington, an engineer turned astrobiologist, to find out. James is a researcher in space life sciences who in 2017, as Commander of the NASA funded Mission 5 for HI-SEAS, carried out an 8-month simulated mission to Mars. He and his five crew mates lived in complete isolation on a barren landscape, and their only contact with the outside world was through messages with a 40 minute communication delay.

You can find out more about James here: www.jamesbevington.com

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Annie has captained the Australian swim team, broken five world records and won numerous medals for Australia, including gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Annie is a lawyer as well as a swimmer, and was the Legal Counsel for the Australian Olympic Committee. We talk about the highs and lows of being a Paralympic athlete and the resilience required to balance life outside the pool. She has also worked for the Court of Arbitration for Sport and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to sport.

From a gold medal to the silver screen, Annie has also been Charlize Theron’s stunt double in Mad Max 4: Fury Road – did Tom and Charlize really not get on!?

Annie is currently the Vice-President of the Board of Paralympics Australia.

www.annabellewilliams.com.au

@anniejwilliams

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Professor Bates Gill has seen up-close how a global perspective can transform the world for the better. Primarily focusing on China and Asian affairs, his 30-year international career as a scholar, policy advisor, and institution-builder has taken him across six continents and to some 60 countries and counting. Along the way, he has led a global top-ten think tank and held research positions at world-leading universities.

Bates and James chat about how, in the midst of unprecedented global tensions, China’s relationship with the West might play out on the world stage.

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