Best Australian Geographic Podcasts (2024)

1
Why? Sailing solo and non-stop around Antarctica, again: Lisa Blair 34:08

2+ y ago34:08

34:08

In 2017 Lisa Blair became the first woman to sail solo around Antarctica. Earlier this year she set sail again, determined to become the fastest person ever to complete the journey. On this episode of Talking Australia we catch up with Lisa as she rounds Cape Horn, her journey's halfway point, ahead of schedule and discover she's involved in all ma…

1
Working with rural landholders to stop extinction: David Parker 28:15

2+ y ago28:15

28:15

David Parker is the Senior Threatened Species Officer at the NSW Department of Planning & Environment and Chair of the National Recovery Plan for the Plains-wanderer. In his role David works with rural landholders to ensure the survival of threatened species. In 2021 these efforts lead to more than 13,000 hectares being gifted by landholders to pro…

1
How to make a living as a professional adventurer and photographer: Chris Bray (Rebroadcast) 43:18

2+ y ago43:18

43:18

Engineer and professional adventurer Chris Bray turned his passion for nature photography into a thriving business - teaching people how to photograph animals around the globe. His adventurous life started early on a boat with his parents and sister as they sailed around the world. On this episode of Talking Australia Chris chats about his upbringi…

1
How Indigenous Elders read the stars: Duane Hamacher 37:28

2+ y ago37:28

37:28

Duane Hamacher is an astronomer and associate professor at the University of Melbourne who has specific interests in cultural astronomy and Indigenous sciences. His new book, The First Astronomers - How indigenous Elders read the stars, offers a systematic overview of traditional First Nations knowledge of the stars. In this episode he talks about …

1
How drones can help to save our forests: Aymeric Maudous 51:46

2+ y ago51:46

51:46

Aymeric Maudous grew up in the French countryside of the Bordeaux region and moved to Australia 17 years ago. After years of being a successful marketer in the US he eventually decided to follow his childhood passion for the environment. Aymeric launched “Lord of the Trees” in 2019 – a company that uses drone technology to help reforest landscapes.…

1
Deep earth evolution - everything you need to know and why it’s important: Alan Collins 37:21

2+ y ago37:21

37:21

Alan Collins is a professor at the University of Adelaide who is interested in the deep earth evolution of our planet and its effect on our atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. He leads the Tectonics and Earth Systems Group and in 2012 was awarded an Australian Research Council “Future Fellowship”. On this episode of Talking Australia Alan talks …

1
How Tim Jarvis went from polar explorer to passionate environmentalist (Rebroadcast) 38:06

2+ y ago38:06

38:06

Tim Jarvis had his fair share of suffering being a polar adventurer and going through extremes. But in order to recreate two epic journeys by Sir Douglas Mawson and Sir Ernest Shackleton, from the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, Tim willingly stripped himself of all modern equipment and finished these expeditions with the same clothes and gear…

1
Here's how to save what's left of our coral reefs: Dean Miller (Rebroadcast) 31:56

2+ y ago31:56

31:56

Dr. Dean Miller is a marine biologist, adventurer, film maker, photographer and writer. He is also the managing director of the NGO ‘Great Barrier Reef Legacy’ which is a group of experts dedicated to conservation of coral reefs around the world with focus on our own mighty reef. On this episode of Talking Australia Dean explains how coral reefs wo…

1
From conquering Everest to pioneering Antarctic tourism: Greg Mortimer (Rebroadcast) 47:12

2+ y ago47:12

47:12

Greg Mortimer is one of Australia’s best known and highly respected mountaineers. In 1984 Greg was one of the first two Australians to ever summit Everest. He also climbed the world’s most dangerous mountain, K2, as well as two of the highest peaks in Antarctica. He later became a pioneer of Antarctic tourism and even has a new ship named after him…

1
How to help farmers future-proof their land: Kellie Walters 25:55

2+ y ago25:55

25:55

Kellie Walters is a holistic ecological management expert who started her career living and working as an ecotour guide in Kakadu National Park 24 years ago. Since then she made it her goal to help farmers “future-proof” their land by improving the soil. Trying to be part of the solution her company VRM Biologik produces natural agriculture product…

1
The end of an epic solo crossing of Australia with camels: Sophie Matterson 33:15

2+ y ago33:15

33:15

Sophie Matterson took a break from her work in the film industry and the constraints of city life to find new inspiration in the outdoors. She ended up mustering feral camels in the Red Centre, which gave her an idea for an epic adventure. During the midst of the global pandemic she embarked on a 5000km, solo, coast-to-coast trek, accompanied only …

1
How biohacking is changing the world: Paul Dabrowa 39:50

2+ y ago39:50

39:50

Paul Dabrowa is a Melbourne-based biohacker and an expert in the field of artificial intelligence and social media. During his time at Harvard University he focussed his social research on the use of propaganda interviewing Nazis and former KGB agents. On this episode Paul talks about the importance of garage scientists and mavericks to the science…

1
Making a difference through powerful documentaries: Craig Leeson 35:30

2+ y ago35:30

35:30

Craig Leeson began his life in a small community in Northern Tasmania but today he works out of Hong Kong from where he operates an award-winning international documentary making operation. Craig is a man who understands the power of storytelling to create awareness and has made films with the likes of David Attenborough and the National Geographic…

1
How genetic testing can save the dingos: Kylie Cairns 32:22

2+ y ago32:22

32:22

Dr Kylie Cairns is a population geneticist and runs the Dingo Genetics Research program. Her aim is to gather more genetic information from Dingos in order to protect them and break with the perception of dingos as feral wild dogs. In this episode, she explains her position in a decades-long and heated scientific debate about the identity of Austra…

1
Turning the world into a mountain bike playground: Glen Jacobs 29:02

2+ y ago29:02

29:02

Glen Jacobs is the Director of World Trail and the first and only Australian to be inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. With his company Glen has designed, planned and constructed hundreds of projects in 20 countries and created more than 300km of purpose-built mountain bike trails in Australia. At the age of 12 the Queenslander began expl…

1
Inspiring a new generation of Rally drivers: Molly Taylor 24:46

2+ y ago24:46

24:46

Molly Taylor grew up in family of passionate and successful rally drivers. In 2016 she became the youngest ever and first female driver to win the Australian championship. Currently she is competing in the all new electric “Extreme E Rally Championship” and will fulfil her dream by taking part in the legendary Dakar Rally - the pinnacle of off-road…

1
How to save animals from extinction: Annette Rypalski 33:38

2+ y ago33:38

33:38

Annette Rypalski is the Biodiversity Director at Mt Rothwell, the largest feral-free ecosystem in Victoria – just 50km outside of Melbourne. Within the fenced-off, predator-free area, Annette and her team work hard to ensure the survival of some of Australia’s most critically endangered species. On this episode she shares her journey, explains how …

1
How an inventor is fighting the war on waste: Veena Sahajwalla (Rebroadcast) 33:13

2+ y ago33:13

33:13

Professor Veena Sahajwalla is also known as “the waste queen” and the inventor of the world’s first e-waste micro factory. Her mission in life is to find new ways to deal with our massive waste problems. Her ideas of reviving waste gained huge popularity through the successful tv-program “war on waste”. In this episode she shares her story from her…

1
Why flies are way cooler than you think: Bryan Lessard (Rebroadcast) 20:52

2+ y ago20:52

20:52

Bryan Lessard, better known as “Bry the Fly Guy”, is an entomologist who's dedicated to changing our perception of flies and other insects. He has discovered many new fly species and had the privilege of naming them, often having fun along the way with names such as Scaptia beyonceae, aka Beyoncé fly. On this episode of Talking Australia Bryan expl…

1
Changing the narrative on UFOs: Ross Coulthart 42:02

2+ y ago42:02

42:02

Ross Coulthart is a highly respected, award-winning investigative journalist, TV presenter and author. He is well known to Australians thanks to his role as an investigative reporter on 60 Minutes. Ross spent much of the past year discovering more about sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), previously referred to as UFOs, following a de…

1
An adventurous life: Dick Smith 36:28

2+ y ago36:28

36:28

Dick Smith is described by Paul Hogan as part Bill Gates and part Bear Grylls on the cover of his new autobiography, My Adventurous Life. He is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, explorer, political activist and the founder of Australian Geographic. This proud true-blue Aussie also holds several aviation records, including the first solo circumnaviga…

1
Adventure beast with a gentle soul: Bradley Trevor Greive aka “BTG” 48:31

2+ y ago48:31

48:31

Bradley Trevor Greive or simply BTG was a paratrooper in Australian army before becoming a mega-selling author with more than 30 million copies sold worldwide. He is also a graduate of the Russian cosmonaut program, a Polynesian rock lifting champion, wildlife photographer, conservationist, cartoonist and many more things. His brand new wildlife an…

1
Finding adventure during a pandemic: Jimmy Ashby 34:48

3y ago34:48

34:48

After his life-changing bike ride around the world, Jimmy Ashby was looking for his next big adventure and found it right on his doorstep. With the world going into lockdown Jimmy and his mate Chad Freak decided to take on a 3000km desert ride into the Outback. The duo cycled from Perth to Coober Pedy in South Australia through some of the most rem…

1
The Thrill of birdwatching: Sean Dooley 37:27

3y ago37:27

37:27

Sean Dooley is a TV comedy writer and author whose great passion in life is for birds. He is a self-described ‘extreme twitcher’ and took a whole year off to travel the continent counting birds and broke the national record. He wrote about the experience in his book The Big Twitch. These days Sean is the Public Affairs Manager at BirdLife Australia…

1
The power of conservation photography: Douglas Gimesy 25:56

3y ago25:56

25:56

Douglas Gimesy is an award-winning conservation photographer who made a name for himself with powerful images capturing a wide range of conservation issues. From the illegal wildlife trade to the Black Summer bushfires and the plight of our iconic platypus, he spends most of his time capturing the Australian environment in crisis. On this episode D…

1
The secrets of octopus intelligence: Peter Godfrey-Smith 32:46

3y ago32:46

32:46

Peter Godfrey-Smith is a philosopher of science and best-selling author. After an encounter with a curious cuttlefish he set out to uncover the secrets of octopus intelligence. On this episode Peter talks about the mysterious lives of cephalopods, whether they have personalities and how smart they really are. This Episode of Talking Australia is ho…

1
The history of fishing in Australia: Anna Clark 23:33

3y ago23:33

23:33

Anna Clark is a historian, author and passionate fisher who’s acclaimed book “The Catch: The Story of fishing in Australia” offers a unique view on Australia’s favourite past time activity. On this episode Anna talks about what got her hooked on fishing in the first place, the drastic impact of both recreational and commercial fisheries on our fish…

1
The man behind the creative direction of Australian Geographic: Mike Ellott (Rebroadcast) 29:34

3y ago29:34

29:34

Mike Ellott is one of the country’s leading publishing designers. Australian Geographic´s creative director chats about how he got started – on magazines in London – to what it took to land his current, highly coveted role. He also delves into the art of turning complicated facts into beautiful, educational graphics, and where he finds his inspirat…

1
Light and life in the deep sea: Edith Widder 30:05

3y ago30:05

30:05

The pioneering marine biologist made it her calling to unravel the secrets of bioluminescence in world's deepest oceans. Bioluminescence is light produced by a chemical reaction within a living organism, and it’s more common in those dark depths than you may think. In this episode Edith talks about how she fell in love with the ocean at a young age…

1
How to stop poisoning yourself: Julian Cribb 31:12

3y ago31:12

31:12

Julian Cribb is an award-winning author and science communicator who has published thousands of articles as well as 12 books focusing on the existential risks faced by humanity. His new book EARTH DETOX: How and Why we must clean up our planet addresses the dangers of toxic chemicals, why they are even more of a threat to our future than climate ch…

1
How our cities can be safe havens for wildlife: Dieter Hochulli (Rebroadcast) 25:25

3y ago25:25

25:25

Dieter Hochulli is an urban ecologist who specialises in understanding how cities impact Australia’s unique wildlife. During the recent, unprecedented bushfires we saw how cities could act as refuges in dangerous weather situations. However, as Australia has become more urbanised Dieter has observed how animals such as the brush turkey, orb weaving…

1
World record-breaking pilot and plane crash survivor: Ryan Campbell 43:18

3y ago43:18

43:18

In 2013 Ryan Campbell became the first teenager and youngest pilot to fly solo around the world. His adventure took him 70 days, and 24,000 nautical miles, through 15 different countries. It also earned Ryan several honours, including the Australian Geographic Society's Young Adventurer of the Year award. But two years later Ryan’s life was instant…

1
What makes Australian birds so smart: Gisela Kaplan (Rebroadcast) 38:15

3y ago38:15

38:15

Behavioural ecologist Gisela Kaplan has studied native Australian birds for decades and understands them better than most people. The expression “bird brain” means quite the opposite of what we think and some species are outsmarting human children in some areas. Her biggest worry is that Australians take their birds for granted and our way of life …

1
Veterinarian and “CSI pathologist”: Lydia Tong (Rebroadcast) 40:28

3y ago40:28

40:28

Animal pathologist Dr Lydia Tong reinvented the role of veterinarian. After uncovering a cruel dog-killing scandal, she spearheaded a campaign to enforce stricter rules on racing-dog breeders, as well as bringing attention to animal abuse in households with domestic violence. Her most important work, however, might be the discovery of a new method …

1
The war on cane toads: Rick Shine 32:03

3y ago32:03

32:03

Rick Shine is Australia’s leading expert on cane toads and, together with his team of researchers, the evolutionary biologist and ecologist developed new methods to control the ecological impact of the invasive amphibians. Since its introduction, the poisonous toad is rapidly spreading across the continent with devastating effects for many of Austr…

1
The Power of Deadly Science: Corey Tutt (Rebroadcast) 25:31

3y ago25:31

25:31

Besides his day job as a University Research Assistant Corey Tutt works tirelessly to raise funds and books for his initiative Deadly Science. So far the program has distributed 5000 books and 70 telescopes to Australian schools. For his efforts to bring knowledge and resources to some of Australia's most remote schools Corey had been named the 202…

1
Rediscovery of Australia´s rare cloaked bee: James Dorey 21:53

3y ago21:53

21:53

The Adelaide based ecologist and native bee expert is known for his beautiful portrait images of bees and other insects. James is the author of the book “Bees of Australia” and just recently, after 100 years in hiding, he rediscovered the rare cloaked bee. On this episode he talks about the relevance of his images, how he came across a species that…

1
The man who coloured the stars: David Malin 39:23

3y ago39:23

39:23

David Malin is a globally acclaimed astrophotographer, known for inventing new ways to capture the true colours of our night sky. These techniques also led to the discovery of two new types of galaxies. Born in the North of England he moved to Australia in 1976 to join the Australian Astronomical Observatory. In 1987 David discovered what is known …

1
Pushing the limits of photography: Krystle Wright 1:04:39

3y ago1:04:39

1:04:39

Regarded as one of the world’s leading female extreme adventure photographers, Krystle Wright is always pushing the limits of her craft. Also a cinematographer and director, she gave up city living to pursue her dream and hasn't looked back. Her personal desire for adrenaline and passion for paragliding almost cost her her life in a serious acciden…

1
The first woman to swim around Lord Howe Island: Lauren Tischendorf 45:57

3y ago45:57

45:57

Lauren Tischendorf took on a special challenge and became the first woman to swim around Lord Howe Island. The gruesome 35km ocean swim took her 13 hours, negotiating large swells and shark-studded waters throughout. South African-born Lauren became a regular swimmer at Sydney’s beaches but got sparked on by belittling remarks of fellow, primarily …

1
Unraveling the secrets of the Echidna: Peggy Rismiller 30:14

3y ago30:14

30:14

Peggy Rismiller made it her calling to slowly unravel the mysteries of the world’s oldest species of mammal – the echidna. In the late 80s she joined the team at the Pelican Lagoon Research and Wildlife Centre on Kangaroo Island and since then her work has earned her international recognition. On this episode she shares some amazing facts about the…

1
Protecting our giant Earthworms: Beverley van Praagh 26:38

3y ago26:38

26:38

Reaching up to 3m in length the giant Gippsland earthworm may be the world's largest of its kind. Often mistaken for a snake due to its size, this creature can only be found in a few locations in Victoria. The worms are under serious pressure by agricultural use of their habitat so, for the last 30 years, ecologist Beverley van Praagh and her team …

1
Exploring Outback Australia: Ron Moon 22:47

3+ y ago22:47

22:47

Outback travel expert Ron Moon has seen more of Australia than most. He has spent much of his life exploring and writing about Australia’s remote areas and adventures, including retracing journeys of early European explorers. He fashioned a life based on his love for 4WD touring, camping, bird watching, diving, hunting, canoeing and fishing. He has…

1
Crossing Australia solo on the camel trek: Sophie Matterson 1:00:43

3+ y ago1:00:43

1:00:43

Sophie Matterson took a break from her work in the film industry and the constraints of city life to find new inspiration in the outdoors. She ended up mustering feral camels in the Red Centre, which gave her an idea for an epic adventure. Last year during the midst of the global pandemic she embarked on a 5000km, solo, coast-to-coast trek, accompa…

1
Guardian of the Kimberley: Albert Wiggan (Rebroadcast) 36:03

3+ y ago36:03

36:03

Albert Wiggan is an inspiration. A traditional owner and Bardi-Kija-Nyul Nyul man from the Dampier Peninsula of Western Australia, he's also an Indigenous ranger and sees himself as a translator between Western science and Aboriginal teachings. "I feel part of both worlds," the 38 year old says. His knowledge and love for nature led him to fight th…

1
The truth about bird feeding: Darryl Jones (Rebroadcast) 39:56

3+ y ago39:56

39:56

Darryl Jones is a bird scientist who opened up the debate about bird feeding in Australia. He went from anti-bird-feeder to becoming a responsible voice for an activity a large number of Australians enjoy doing. He is also loves colourful Hawaiian shirts and is a real treat to talk to. On this episode he says why feeding birds isn’t as bad as we we…

1
Growing up on a bike ride around the world: Jimmy Ashby (Rebroadcast) 38:16

3+ y ago38:16

38:16

At only 18 years of age, passionate cyclist and outdoor enthusiast Jimmy Ashby jumped on his bike and set off on a life-changing trip that even the most devoted cyclists would balk at. The South Australian teenager wanted to fulfil his dream to cycle around the whole world all by himself. Thirteen months later, Jimmy had cycled 39,000km, crossing 3…

1
How regenerative farming can heal the land: Charles Massy 34:12

3+ y ago34:12

34:12

Charles Massy is one of the most important voices of Australia's regenerative farming movement. A farmer, scientist and author, he experienced the devastating effects of traditional farming methods firsthand on his family farm. For years Charles unwittingly contributed to its decline, using chemicals and pesticides that degraded the soil. After yea…

1
Turning bird photography into fine art: Leila Jeffreys (Rebroadcast) 35:31

3+ y ago35:31

35:31

Leila Jeffreys is a fine art photographer famous for her Australian bird portraits. Rather than capturing her motives in the outdoors she brings them into a photo studio environment and creates truly unique pictures of local birds. This gives her the ability to capture incredible detail and the results are pictures that bend the idea of where natur…

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