Professor of Environmental Politics, David Schlosberg is Director of the Sydney Environment Institute and joins the Wide Open Air Exchange this week for a discussion of global environmental governance on reflection of 50 years of World Environment Day. It was at the United Nations 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment (pictured) that the idea for World Environment Day was proposed and the following year on 5th June 1973 that it commenced as an annual day of public outreach. Professor Schlosberg remarks on how little has changed or been accomplished with regards to the same conflicts and tensions that were evident then continuing to be present fifty years later. This conversation also covers some of the developments with environmental movements and related discourses including reference to environmental justice which is a concept that Professor Schlosberg has been influential in defining and developing as a political and social theorist. We also hear about a more recent development in thinking about "multispecies justice" which Professor Schlosberg is engaged with in collaboration with a collective of researchers at the University of Sydney.
Category: Policy
University Queer Officer Sara Chaturvedi
A wide-ranging conversation about gender, race, ethnicity and university queer spaces. Sara Chaturvedi is a third-year student in the Communications/BCII course at UTS majoring in Social and Political Science. Sara is a member of the UTS Ethnocultural Collective and the Queer Collective and is currently involved in student politics as the Queer Officer on campus.
Gender Equity Programs Manager, Dr Kumi de Silva
Dr Kumi de Silva is Gender Equity Programs Manager at the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion at UTS in conversation about gender equity issues and sharing what motivated her vocational shift away from academic research as a scientist to this professional role.
What are the concerns about NLP?
This is a follow up to an introduction to Natural Language Processing (NLP) in response to a listener suggestion that we should consider concerns and fears about the technology. Dr Sarah Barns has an academic and vocational speciality in Digital Futures and is someone who thinks deeply about the history of technology and information as well as being an artist with creative practices.
Zero-waste innovator, Joost Bakker
Joost Bakker is a zero-waste activist and innovator who is the subject of the documentary film 'Greenhouse by Joost' about his Future Food System: a project of designing and constructing a zero-waste building installed with a self-sustaining urban food system.
Towards a Black feminist theory of ecology, Lydia Ayame Hiraidē
Lydia Ayame Hiraidē is a doctoral researcher studying environmentalism from a social justice perspective and thinking about what it means to move towards a Black feminist theory of ecology.
Medical cannabis research, Cilla Zhou
A conversation about cannabinoid science and developments in medical cannabis research with Cilla Zhou from the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics.
Workplace diversity and inclusion
Research by academics from Business Schools at UTS and Macquarie University finds that Diversity and Inclusion programs in organisations may actually be perpetuating inequalities. Professor Alison Pullen is a Professor of Gender, Work and Organization at Macquarie University and a chief investigator in this ARC research project.
Getting educated about Aboriginal histories
A resource for learning about the ongoing impacts of colonialism on First Nations peoples
UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, refresher
In the lead up to the Glasgow Climate Conference and the Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement, this interview with climate science scholar Professor Myles Allen is a reminder of key developments in the UNFCCC, from Rio to Paris, and provides some context for current climate politics.
Public policy, Nick Rowley
Nick Rowley shares insights from his time as a senior advisor on climate change at the 10 Downing St Policy Directorate in the Office of Prime Minister Tony Blair, along with his thoughts on Brexit, political communication, and his experiences teaching public policy at the University of Sydney.
Benefits of pill testing and other drug testing
In New South Wales there have been renewed calls for pill testing at music festivals. In this short excerpt from our 2016 conversation August De Loor of Stichting Adviesburo Drugs in Amsterdam speaks about his successful campaigns testing the quality of ecstasy pills at parties and other substances at his drug testing houses where people have been able to visit without fear of police intervention. August has been a leading advisor on Amsterdam’s drug policies for 50 years.
Indonesian diplomat Bapak Hermanus Dimara
A conversation about diplomacy and Indonesia including the Australia-Indonesia relationship. Bapak Hermanus Dimara is Consul for Information, Social and Culture at the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia for New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia based in Sydney. Bapak Hermanus Dimara adalah Konsul Fungsi Penerangan, Sosial dan Budaya, Konsulat Jenderal Republik Indonesia untuk New … Continue reading Indonesian diplomat Bapak Hermanus Dimara
Aboriginal education, Dr Lynette Riley
Dr Lynette Riley is a Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman from Dubbo and Moree with a long career as an educator. Lyn is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. Her doctoral research looked at conditions of academic success for Aboriginal students. Lyn has experience as a teacher and in Aboriginal education and administration within primary schools, high schools, TAFE, state offices and universities. Lyn is also a member of the National NAIDOC Committee.
Political history and Malaysia, Dr Ooi Kee Beng
Dr Ooi Kee Beng is Executive Director of the Penang Institute which is a major public policy think tank in Malaysia. Dr Ooi explains some of the political history of Malaysia in relation to global history and international order and by critically analysing concepts of colonialism, nationalism and regionalism. Dr Ooi is an accomplished academic and author and his public commentary can be found at Wikibeng.com
Medical cannabis advocate, Lucy Haslam
Lucy Haslam has been a leading advocate for patient access to medical cannabis since witnessing the relief her son Dan got from using cannabis when he was terminally ill. Lucy has been at the forefront of a movement to introduce medical cannabis in Australia and continues her work due to inadequacies of the current system.
Cannabinoid science, Professor Iain McGregor
More about developments in cannabinoid science as a follow on from a previous discussion about medical cannabis. Professor Iain McGregor is Academic Director of the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics which is part of the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney. As well as explaining the human endocannabinoid system and the potential medicinal uses of various components of cannabis plants, Iain comments on the current regulatory approach to medical cannabis in Australia.
Medical cannabis, Professor Nick Lintzeris
A discussion of medical cannabis and the regulatory frameworks and market forces which impact its availability in Australia and elsewhere. Nick Lintzeris is a director of drug and alcohol services in Sydney, a conjoint professor with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney, and a chief investigator for the newly established Australian Centre for Cannabinoid and Clinical Research Excellence.
Video game development in Australia
The education sector in Australia is producing five times as many graduates of video development courses than there are jobs in the industry. Many of the graduates end up working for poker machine companies. Jeremy Ray discusses his research on this subject for a feature article published in GameInformer magazine
Economics of breast milk, Dr Julie Smith
A discussion of human milk sharing and emerging markets in breast milk with Dr Julie Smith from the Australian National University. Julie was formerly a senior economist for Australian and New Zealand governments, an advisor to the World Health Organisation, and a breastfeeding councillor and board member of the Australian Breastfeeding Association.
Counter Terrorism, Associate Professor Nick O’Brien
Nick O’Brien is Associate Professor of Counter Terrorism and Head of the Australian Graduate School of Policing & Security at Charles Sturt University. Nick worked for Scotland Yard for thirty years and on the day of the 9/11 terror attacks, he was in charge of international intelligence and operations in Special Branch. We discuss issues related to terrorism including the impacts of community relations and possible future implications of climate change on migration and security.
Tech public policy, Ryan James Terribilini
Ryan Terribilini comes from technology and public policy roles at Google and Ripple to study Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University. We discuss some of the emerging issues related to internet privacy and surveillance in a world in which we increasingly interact online and in which global finance operates using new technologies. Ryan also explains android ecosystems, bitcoin and distributed ledger technology.
Drugs policy Amsterdam, August de Loor
August de Loor has been at the forefront of advising on Amsterdam's drug policy for 50 years. Here he explains the social benefits of separating soft and hard drugs through the legal communal use of cannabis in the coffeeshop system in Amsterdam. August discusses developments in drug culture and recalls his social work and community initiatives including working closely with heroin users and starting a needle exchange as well as running a drug-testing project for many years. August advocates for a "Third Way" of dealing with drugs which comes from society rather than a top-down policing or white-coat medical approach.
Water security Kenya, Johanna Koehler
Johanna Koehler is a doctoral researcher at Oxford University specialising in decentralisation and water security in Kenya. Johanna recently returned from Kenya and she shares what it's like on the ground in local communities as well as her interactions at the governance and policy levels. We also discuss Johanna's earlier field work on the border of South and North Korea which was inspired by her family's experience being separated between East and West Germany. Johanna is a Clarendon Scholar with the School of Geography and the Environment and she works on the Water Programme at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford.
Paris climate agreement, Professor Myles Allen
Oxford climate scientist Professor Myles Allen explains the Paris agreement on the day it comes into force. Professor Allen leads the Climate Research Programme at the Environmental Change Institute in the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford where he also heads the Climate Dynamics Group in the Department of Physics.
Medical overdiagnosis, Dr Jack O’Sullivan
Jack O'Sullivan is a medical doctor who researches overdiagnosis. He explains concerns about unnecessary tests detecting cancers which might never develop into serious health problems for individuals in their lifetimes. We also discuss the invention of medical conditions for commercial pharmaceutical purposes, among other topics. Jack is a Clarendon Scholar with the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford University.
Bisexuality, gender, race, Carolyn Davis, Austin
Carolyn Davis is co-host of the podcast Snatched! and a PhD student at the University of Texas. One of the few black people in her grad program, Carolyn discusses diversity issues in Austin as well national racial injustices with policing and the prison system. Carolyn shares personal insights as a queer bisexual woman. We also discuss her research of 18th century transatlantic literature and the class she teaches about fandom.
Social Policy (child welfare), Mike King
Mike King is founder of Smile Kids Japan, a non-profit organisation which connects volunteers with child welfare institutions. He's also in the final stages of a DPhil in Social Policy at Oxford University.