In this conversation Professor Nick Enfield, Chair of Linguistics at the University of Sydney joins host Dr Chris Neff to discuss striving for understanding in language and its relation to the age of fake news. Professor Enfield contributed to research showing that, worldwide, on average we seek clarification in our conversations every 90 seconds and heads the University’s Post Truth Initiative. It looks at a range of ways to understand and confront the problem of alternative facts, fake news, propaganda, and bullsh*t.

From supermarkets, to farms, to our own home gardens and kitchens, we all participate in the mega industry that is food, every day. But what do we know about this global network and how can we sustain it long into the future? Dr Alana Mann from the Department of Media and Communications and the Sydney Environment Institute joins Open for Discussion to discuss why the food industry is tricky business.

There’s a growing appreciation of the unique challenges many millennials face, and not just when it comes to the price of a smashed avocado. What impact does this have on young people’s politics? How do they use social media to engage? And are politicians paying attention? Listen as Ariadne Vromen, Professor of Political Sociology, joins Dr Chris Neff on Open for Discussion to discuss. For full transcript and additional resources visit https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2017/10/09/3-ways-millennials-do-politics-differently-.html

Netflix, WhatsApp, Uber and AirBnB are all examples of digital disruption. Digital disruption changes and challenges established ways of doing business, social interacting and, even more fundamentally, how we think. Kai Riemer, Professor of Information Technology and Organisation in the University of Sydney's Business School joins Chris Neff to explore digital disruption's impact on all our lives.

People involved in medical cannabis can find themselves in a twilight zone where the law may prevent uses of cannabinoids claimed to have life-saving effects. Professor Iain McGregor explains the vision, stories and studies behind the University of Sydney’s Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics. Soundbite and transcript at http://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2017/09/25/is-medical-marijuana-the-next-wonder-drug-podcast.html

Australia has one of the highest household rates of pet ownership in the world. What is our obsession with our pets, and what does it mean for the animals we claim to love? The University’s resident Dr Doolittle, Dr Anne Fawcett, has a background in philosophy and is also a practicing vet. In this episode, she and host Dr Chris Neff discuss the ethics around our interactions with our pets.

Most times we think of crime, it’s after the fact. But what if through certain measures we could stop a crime before it happens? No this isn’t a Tom Cruise movie, it’s a chat with Dr Garner Clancey, senior lecturer in criminology at the University of Sydney Law School. He joins Open for Discussion to discuss crime statistics (which for most categories aren’t on the rise) and the strategies used today to prevent crimes.

How can insects, slime mould and other brainless organisms – which comprise the majority of life on Earth - inform next-generation engineering, optimal transport systems and help us build the smart cities of the future? Dr Tanya Latty’s team at the Insect Behaviour and Ecology Lab is studying insects to see how humans can learn the lessons road-tested in Nature and then apply them to the human condition. Image by Vinayaraj CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons