We hear about the layers of meaning in graffiti, delve into the secrets of the National Herbarium of Victoria, and dine with Stephanie Alexander for a taste of her last meal.

We explore how refrigeration has changed what we eat, ask how we can better design for city waterways, and meet a man who repairs time for a living.

Feeds: Will Aussie cafes and restaurants survive?

Australian restaurants and cafes are grappling with the impacts of the cost of living, COVID, immigration reform, and wages, jeopardising their survival. Wes Lambert is the head of a new peak body, alongside Neil Perry and Chris Lucas, tackling these pressing challenges to sustain the $64 billion sector.

Weeds: Rethinking our war on weeds

See a weed, pluck it out, right? Maybe it’s not so simple. Tim Entwisle speaks with John Dwyer whose new anthology, "Weeding Between the Lines," offers a provocative rethink of what weeds are and how we approach them - in our backyards and in the bush. 

Seeds: How do we regenerate land when we lack 90% of seeds?

The total area of degraded land in Australia is eight times the size of Tasmania. The need to replant diverse native species is more urgent than ever. But with a critical shortfall in the availability of native seeds, how can we replant degraded ecosystems and meet Australia’s ambitious international targets? Associate Professor Rachael Gallagher from Western Sydney University explains.

In this edition of Blueprint For Living, meet Hetty Lui McKinnon — a cult Australian cook whose latest book, Tenderheart, nods to family and identity. 

Then sample the kitsch design paraphernalia generated during Queen Elizabeth II's reign — the teatowels, teaspoons, and other everyday design objects that carried her image. Anni Turnbull, a curator at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum, shares their stories.

Afterward, award-winning Australian landscape designer Paul Bangay gives us a primer on the veggie patch, and Blueprint's resident design expert Colin Bisset gives us the history of the object that stuck… teflon. 

Design critic Alexandra Lange on why the mall is on its deathbed… in America at least, and Tim Entwisle reveals how a study of algae turned into a life botanic.

Plus, Annie Smithers gives us the simple truth about sauces, and Colin Bisset on Siegfried Bing — the man whose gallery gave its name to Art Nouveau. 

It's time to meet Bruce Mau. The Canadian graphic-designer turned designer of nations whose mission is to give us the tools to design for life. 

Then the New York Times's chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman invites you to decode the language of power in royal fashion.

Afterward, hop on a culinary tour of Turkey and Greece with Australian chef Ela Mittas. 

Then finish in Rome. Colin Bisset takes us through the history of Bramante's chapel in Rome — a building that changed the course of architectural history.

With the second Elizabethan era coming to a close, Blueprint For Living takes a look at the ways that Queen Elizabeth II's reign defined design, food, and landscape architecture.

George Monbiot wants to turn the global food industry on its head – from radical changes in farming practices to 3D-printed steaks. The prolific writer, environmental activist, and rewilder, explores this and more in his latest book, Regenesis.

Then it's time to meet an eccentric, little-known modernist architect who fought conventions and eschewed publicity: Bill Lucas. His friends and colleagues Peter Longeran and Julie Cracknell join Blueprint to find his traces in Australian architectural history. 

Afterward, resident chef Annie Smithers joins us for another edition of Kitchen Rudimental. This time, she schools us in the five 'mother sauces': béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato.

And then it's time for a little bit of magic. Colin Bisset gives us the design history of the magician's wand.

In this edition of Blueprint For Living, Curt Beech, production designer on the hit show Only Murders in the Building, shares the secrets to creating the perfect Upper West Side fictional apartment.

It's these ideas that lead to the design decisions that so boldly colour the homes of the murder mystery's main characters Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez).

Then, Besha Rodell, chief restaurant critic at The Age, looks at how the hospitality industry is pivoting from its reliance on alcohol mark-ups, with thoughtful combinations of non-alcoholic menus.   

Plus, Gaye Naismith gives Jonathan a lesson in the running stitch, and Colin Bisset explores the monkey bike’s place in history as a design pioneer.  

In this edition of Blueprint For Living, RMIT's Robyn Healy reflects on the life and many legacies of the Japanese designer, Issey Miyake.

Then hear how and why the figure of the little boy peeing (aka the Puer Mingins motif) continues to reappear in fountains. Architectural historian Amy Boyington has the story.

Plus, Annie Smithers give us the complete lamington collection, and Colin Bisset introduces you to the man who is credited with the home design catalogue.

Find more Blueprint For Living via the ABC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Exploring Australia's cultural relationship to the Eucalypt, lawns as no monoculture, and the changing face of the country's urban tree canopies. Plus, Colin Bisset takes us to the Throwncrown Chapel — a magical structure nestled among the trees of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. 

Plus, chef Annie Smithers on the art of lamington-making and Colin Bisset on the pioneering African American architect Norma Merrick Sklarek.

Blueprint For Living explores the things that help make for a good life: food, architecture, desi...

Tim Spector – The Gut and the New Science of Eating Well

What exactly is the gut microbiome and why is everyone talking about it? Nutrition expert and genetic epidemiologist Tim Spector debunks common dietary myths, and gives his top 5 tips for eating a healthy and diverse diet that your gut – and your mind – will thank you for.

Lismore After the Flood: Rebuilding and Resilience

Two years after devastating floods ravaged Northern NSW and South-East Queensland, the town of Lismore is the focus of a collaborative effort to rebuild. Drawing from her experience in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, Professor Elizabeth Mossop explores what’s ahead for Lismore and how other communities can thrive amid climate change threats.

Colin Bisset - A Journey Through France with Le Corbusier

Explore the fascinating world of architect Le Corbusier with design commentator Colin Bisset, as he walks in the footsteps of this larger than life figure. Colin shares his own love affair with France, including his firsthand experiences of Le Corbusier’s iconic buildings, and his strange obsession with concrete.

Plus Colin Bisset explores the role of streamlining in design

Thoughtful design for social and public housing

Two years ago, urban planning and housing experts told us Australia had a shortage of 430,000 social and public housing dwellings. Within 20 years that shortage will be somewhere between 730,000 and one-million dwellings. Increasing the simple supply of affordable housing is crucial, but it's more complicated than numbers. What does it take to design good public and social housing? And what exactly does that good design look like? Director of MGS Architects Rob McGauran joins Cr Bill Harvey from Hobart City Council, and Carly, who lives in social housing in Melbourne's inner-west, to explore the key ingredients needed to deliver good social and public housing design.

You can spot climate change in 130-year-old restaurant menus

Menus have evolved greatly over the last few centuries. They reflect a restaurant's location, culinary trends and of course the availability of ingredients. Now, scientists are studying 130-year-old seafood restaurant menus in Vancouver, to uncover how climate change is impacting the food making it to diners' plates. Ian Rose is a writer based outside Portland, Oregon. He's charted this study, which sought help from city hall, historical societies, and local museums, to uncover the link between restaurant menus and our warming seas.

Repair Rudimental: A hand sewing starter kit

To be able to repair something, rather than replace it, puts a fork in the endless road of consumption. But hand sewing is a skill not one everyone has in 2022. Jonathan joins Gaye Naismith, founder and director of The Gaye Abandon School of Sewing and Upcycling, for an introduction to the world of mending. They begin with an essential starter kit: needles, beeswax, buttons, and cloth. Making clothes is but a dream for Jonathan just now, so we begin with learning how to wrangle a needle and thread.

Colin Bisset's Iconic Designs: The fountain pen

Every signature is special. Just ask any autograph collector. It's why the instruments that are used to sign anything from swooning love letters to historic presidential decrees are so cherished. A fountain pen has an old-fashioned quality that conveys gravitas and even decency, in a way that the undiscriminating ballpoint pen can never possess. Colin Bisset explores its design history.

Arboretum Canberra

Jonathan takes you on an adventure through the breathtaking landscape of the National Arboretum. He is joined by Scott Sadler, Executive Branch Manager of the National Arboretum Canberra and Stromlo Forest Park, as they explore the 250-hectare site's beauty, rich history and scientific importance. Plus, Scott shares the inspiring story of coming back from devastating fires to create a unique, ever-changing garden.

The Anatomy of Colour

While the natural world paints its own picture, the colours we choose in the spaces we live, and work are deeply personal. From burnt orange to mission brown, when it comes to colour trends for the home historian of architectural paint Patrick Baty has seen them all. He's advised on paint colour for Buckingham Palace, Hampton Court Palace, Tower Bridge, 10 Downing Street, and even BBC's Broadcasting House.

Annie Smithers' Kitchen Rudimental: puff pastry continued

Have you ever wondered what to do with your puff pastry scraps? Annie has the answers – it's called a rough puff! Plus, she takes you on a step-by-step journey in assembling a vol-au-vent.

Colin Bisset's Iconic Designs: The Pedal Bin

Nearly a hundred years ago it wasn't an induction cooktop that made your kitchen look bang up to date but a pedal bin. Invented by Lillian Gilbreth in the 1920s, it was the result of a new and very twentieth-century preoccupation – the study of time and motion. A pedal bin could save precious minutes in the kitchen. It was emblematic of the emerging interest in efficiency in the early twentieth century, a time when architects wanted houses to work like machines and Henry Ford introduced the production line to the factory floor.

If you were paying close attention to Vivid Sydney just now you might have caught mention of something called the Blak Hand Collective. A forming idea that connects indigenous architects, interior designers, landscape designers and beyond. Award-winning architect and a man of Wailwan and Kamilaroi country Jefa Greenaway is one of the people behind the idea along with Wiradjuri architect Craig Kerslake. It's a wonderful and rich set of possibilities for connecting ideas of design, identity, and place.

We take a hike through Bundian Way, an ancient Aboriginal track that runs between Mt Kosciuszko and the NSW town of Eden. Stretching 365 kilometres, it has been used by Aboriginal people for thousands of years. Chair of Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council BJ Cruse shares stories from the ancient pathway that runs from the sea to the mountains and was almost lost to history.

A change in season means it's time to explore the array of colours the cooler months have to offer. Jonathan joins Tim Entwisle, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria, as they take a moment for reflection and appreciate the different perspectives the rainy garden has to offer. Even the sun-loving succulents thrive in the wetter months. Plus, some bird watching across the lake.

For many of us, the rotary clothes hoist is as Australian as a kookaburra, even given a starring role in the Sydney Olympics closing ceremony, and so it is natural to assume that it's an Australian invention. In fact, it's difficult to pinpoint exactly who created it. Blueprint's resident architecture and design commentator Colin Bisset explores its many variations.

For the dandy, looking swell is a way of life! He prides himself on wit and dress, but their influence reaches beyond fashion and intellect, as Dominic Janes discovers in his latest book British Dandies: Engendering Scandal and Fashioning a Nation. It tells a scandalous story of fashionable men and the role they played in the cultural and political life of Britain.

Regular listeners might remember a conversation Jonathan had with Blueprint friend Annie Smithers on the controversial subject of his preference for cold toast. For him, it all goes back to the motels of the mid-sixties and little wax paper envelopes of white toast delivered through the breakfast hatch. If you're an Australian of a certain age or perhaps even a mid-century obsessed hipster, you'll love the country's motels. Author, broadcaster, and architecture nerd Tim Ross sure does. He's been working on a new exhibition at Canberra's National Archives Reception this way: Motels – a sentimental journey.

In this instalment of Kitchen Rudimental, Annie Smithers gives Jonathan a puff pastry masterclass. Layers of dough and butter – butter and dough - form a gorgeous silky texture – if you can get it just right! It’s a beautiful process that’s perfect for a Saturday afternoon. 

Then, The Great Bed of Ware was intended to wow. And who among us doesn’t feel excited by the prospect of sleeping in any four-poster bed, even one that is half the width? Blueprint's resident design expert Colin Bisset explores their influence as symbols of romance and intimacy, majesty, and class.

Hotel designer Bill Bensley lives by the motto, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing. The California-born designer has studios in Bangkok and Bali, and his latest book More Escapism: Hotels, Resorts and Gardens features some of the region’s most extravagant resorts. His inspiration comes from treasures around the globe, including a 1930s Vietnamese bamboo hat that provided the design spark for the Hotel de la Coupole in Vietnam.

In this week's Garden Rudimental, award-winning landscape designer Paul Bangay takes Jonathan for a stroll through Stonefields, one of Victoria's most beautiful country gardens where exotics and native plants merge to create a definitive style of Australian garden.

Cookbooks aren't just a bunch of recipes. They often contain insights into the political and cultural contexts of their time. Never was there a better example of this than Australia's oldest continuous community cookbook, The Barossa Cookery Book. Initially released in 1917 as a war fundraiser it's now in its 33rd edition. Sheralee Menz and Marieka Ashmore, also known as Those Barossa Girls, have begun a companion venture with The Barossa Cookery Book Project.

Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier are considered titans of the modern movement but in this week's Iconic Designs, Colin Bisset examines the contribution that women made to their most famous designs. It’s only been recently acknowledged that Lilly Reich was behind much of Mies’s furniture, and Charlotte Perriand behind all of Le Corbusier’s.  

Once regarded as a fringe movement, more designers and architects are looking to nature-based systems to build our lives while reducing carbon emissions.

Claire Beale, Executive Manager at LCI Melbourne and a former Design Institute of Australia President, takes us through the Three Bs of organic design; biomorphic, biomimetic and biophilic.

The National Archives of Australia records and stores key events and decisions that have shaped Australian history and after one heck of a move has opened the doors of its new facility. With enough shelving to stretch from Canberra to Cooma the purpose-built facility is environmentally controlled, environmentally friendly and energy-efficient. Jonathan Green takes a stroll through its corridors with Sean Debenham, Assistant Director Storage and Lending to check out what’s in there.

You sick of potatoes yet? We’re not.  Annie Smithers continues Kitchen Rudimental this week by tempting us to have a crack at making potato cakes (that’s a potato scallop for any Queenslanders and New South Welshfolk).

And Colin Bisset takes a strike at the little magic fire stick with a red tip for this week’s Iconic Design. If civilization started when we learned how to create fire then what a link to our beginnings the arrival of the humble match was.

Via their Instagram page Design.Emergency Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli have brought designers together to tackle some of the worlds intractable problems.

Journalist Amy Odell discusses her biography of the fashion industry's most powerful influencer Anna Wintour.

New Zealanders have kicked off a citizen historian fad thanks to a new book from Dr Christine Whybrew of Heritage NZ called How to Research Your House. It helps you discover the genealogy of your home and uncover secrets of its past.

Toilet, loo, powder room, the toot; no matter what you call it you use it everyday. In this week's Iconic Designs Colin Bisset casts his eye over the design evolution of the public toilet.

All the world's great cities have some things in common and fantastic food is one of them. But what happens if a city doesn't have a chief restaurant critic?

Besha Rodell, the recently appointed Chief Restaurant Critic for The Age and Good Weekend discusses the role of a great food writer and why she prefers to remain anonymous.

Then it's time to visit Sydney's newest herbarium at the Australian Botanic Garden in Mount Annan. Denise Ora, Chief Executive of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, and Brett Summerell, Director Research and Chief Botanist, join Tim Entwisle for an amble through the new facility and discuss why they're critical to conserving plants and fighting climate change.

Annie and Jonathan just can't get enough of the humble spud. In the latest edition of Kitchen Rudimental, Annie Smithers teaches Jonathan how to master a Potato Terrine with Gruyère.

And finally, Colin Bisset explores the Tower House in London's Holland Park. It's the work of William Burges, an architect whose small but significant output represents a high point in the Gothic Revival. This is everything that minimalism is not.

We see Indigenous art and motifs used extensively in Australia's marketing campaigns. But do Indigenous communities and businesses benefit from this branding? Professor Anne Poelina — a Nyikina Warrwa woman from the Mardoowarra River in Western Australia's Kimberley region — is making sure they do.

Then we turn to the grand old piles that dot the British Isles. Today, these buildings are more likely to host film and tv crews or tour groups. This is a marked turnaround given many were left in ruins, sold off, or simply demolished as aristocratic families fought over the scraps of empire by the end of the Second World War. Adrian Tinniswood has compiled this history in a new book, Noble Ambitions: The Fall and Rise of the Post-War Country House.

Afterward, meet the team behind Growing Farmers — a new community organisation pairing trainee urban farmers with residents who want their empty yards to become flourishing, small-scale market gardens. Jonathan took a trip to meet farm host Sapphire McMulla-Fisher in Melbourne's outer-north, along with Growing Farmers' president Alice Crowe.  

Finally, for Colin Bisset's latest edition of Iconic Designs we look at the mighty little box that revolutionised how we store food: the Tetra Pak.

Painting birds: Australian Birds in Watercolour

Artist and former regional doctor David Freeman shares his sense of place – a setting which led to his exquisite new collection Australia's Birds in Watercolour.

Eating birds: How to roast a duck with Annie Smithers

Annie takes Jonathan through jointing and roasting a duck. Learn how to cook a duck stock, duck sausage, and the prized duck fat.

Watching birds: Bruce Pascoe’s ‘Black Duck: A Year at Yumburra’

Bruce Pascoe and Lyn Harwood discuss traditional agriculture and how they find strength in Country at their farm Yumburra. 

Object of Desire: Comedian Daniel Connell’s porcelain owl

Comedian Daniel Connell shares the story behind a cute little porcelain owl which has accompanied him on his comedic journey. 

Film and television shows have conjured up images of ancient cities many times, thanks largely to historical texts and archaeological finds. Now archaeologists are trying to recreate the odours of old civilisations. Barbara Huber from Germany's Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History is on a mission to advance the science of olfactory archaeology to understand how ancient people experienced and interpreted their worlds through smell.

It's time to dig, mulch and prune with Australia's award-winning landscape designer Paul Bangay. In this edition, Paul throws formality to the wind as he takes Jonathan through The Woodland, where geometry and grids give way to the freedom of wilding. For those of us with smaller green spaces Paul and Jonathan muse on whether you can rewild an urban courtyard.

Jams, pickles, and chutneys, oh my! Preserving is an art and Kylee Newton is a master at it. She's also the author of Modern Preserves and calls herself a saint of produce, giving fruit and vegetables another life through her time capsules in jars. She shares ideas on how to use up that glut of keeps, that won't involve toast or crumpets.

As Australians make their way to the polls this Saturday, in-house design guru Colin Bisset leans into the election, democracy sausage in hand, as he takes us through the design history of the voting booth. Surprisingly, the idea of voting in private is an Australian one, first used in Victoria in 1856, and later adopted by the British and Americans. But how has it evolved since?

Rima Truchanas learned to swim in Tasmania's Lake Pedder and watched on with her family when 50 years ago it drowned to make way for the Hydro-Electric Scheme . Her early life was shaped by her parent’s involvement in the campaign to save it. Now, there are plans to restore the Lake to its former glory.  Frances Green has produced a documentary for RN's History Listen about the campaign which spearheaded the Greens political movement in Australia.

For Victoria's Kulin nation Autumn is wombat season. For Jonathan, the Fall is the perfect time take a stroll through Melbourne's Botanic Gardens with Tim Entwisle.  Together they ponder the philosophy of flowers, and Jonathan discovers a new pocket of the garden: the compost yard. 

Whether it's mashed, fried, baked, or boiled the humble potato is an endless source of tasty treats. Chef Annie Smithers takes Jonathan into the kitchen for a meditation on spuds in this edition of Kitchen Rudimental. Is the potato the perfect vegetable?

Colin Bisset's Iconic Design this week takes us to the ancient Confucius Mansion in Qufu, a village in China's Shandong province. Confucius (aka Master Kong), died over two and a half thousand years ago but the venerable sage's impact on Chinese life was immense and long-lasting and it’s still possible to visit the home of his descendants.

Jonathan makes the trip to Mallacoota in far-eastern Victoria, land of the Gunai Kurnai people, to visit writer, historian, and Dark Emu author Bruce Pascoe. During a wander around the farm, they discuss native crops and grasses, food sustainability and farming and ducks.

Then you'll meet humanitarian architect Esther Charlesworth. The co-founder of Architects Without Frontiers joins Jonathan to understand what role design can play in response to disaster.

From the floods in NSW and Queensland to the war and destruction in Ukraine, there's a lot for the built environment profession to do now… and well into the future.

And finally, resident design expert Colin Bisset gives you the lowdown on the origins of the white picket fence. The plain wooden fence has been around for a very long time, but he asks: who decided to make something prettier?

Is there a certain dish, a certain food that triggers your sense memory and takes you right back to a time in your childhood? For British-Japanese writer Katherine Tamiko Arguile, both these things connect her to her heritage, her sense of family and the world around her. The arts journalist and author has released a new book — part memoir, part recipe collection — called MESHI: A personal history of Japanese food.

And for the next edition of Garden Rudimental, award-winning Australian landscape designer Paul Bangay reveals his adoration for Vita Sackville-West. While she's best known for her writing, her Bloomsbury Group membership, and her enduring partnership with Virginia Woolf, Sackville-West was also a passionate green thumb.

Afterward, it's time to hear from freelance journalist Evan Rail. He recently detailed the breadth of destruction of Ukraine's built environment and cultural heritage — and the efforts to protect it — in an article for the New York Times.

Then let Blueprint's resident design expert Colin Bisset drive you away… specifically in a regal three-wheeler.

The fact of the matter is we live in co-existence with our environment: our cities, our neighbourhood, animals, trees and plants… as well as our ex-lovers, however many billion corpses and the world's garbage and excrement. In the age of the Anthropocene, ecological collapse — and a pandemic — what does it mean to be 'all in this together', especially when there's no getting out of it?

Timothy Morton, a Texan-based philosopher and Rita Shea Guffey Chair in English at Rice University, joins Blueprint For Living to help us with these questions and introduce us to the idea of the 'hyper-object'.

With ecology in mind, we'll turn to ecologist Francisco Sanchez-Bayo, whose work traces the impact of pesticides on our environment and the world's insect populations.

Then it's time to think about type. Letters have no gender, but that hasn't stopped our species ascribing them masculine and feminine qualities.

It's a phenomenon type designer and scholar Marie Boulanger examines in her debut book, XX XY: Sex, letters and stereotypes.

Afterward, Colin Bisset introduces us to the curious story behind the inventor of the dishwasher, Josephine Cochrane.

UX, or user experience, design has given us an era of near-frictionless design, where incredibly complex pieces of technology — like the smartphone — rarely require an instruction manual. Cliff Kuang is someone who's spent a lot of time thinking about the history and ethics of this field. He's the author of User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design are Changing the Way We Live, Work & Play, and he tells Blueprint about why we should all be a lot more critical about what makes design 'friendly'.

Then it's time to meet Eyal Weizman, founder of research agency Forensic Architecture. He helms a research collective using architectural analysis, open-source investigations, digital modelling — alongside traditional investigative methods — to investigate and expose state violence, human rights violations, and urban conflicts.

Afterward, delve into an investigation of a different kind. Journalist and illustrator Emma Do and Kim Lam spent several months documenting the lives of Australia's Vietnamese garment outworkers. If you wore the likes of Country Road or Bonds in the '90s, chances are these women made your clothing in the garages and spare rooms of Australia.

From Vietnam, we're heading to Brazil, via the work of the renowned Italian-Brazilian architect, Lina Bo Bardi. Colin Bisset has the inside story of the woman who cut through the boy's club of mid-century modernism.

It's time to turn a new leaf, because Tim Entwisle, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria, is taking you on a tour of the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show after it returned from a two-year pandemic pause. This includes a stroll through a garden co-designed by tennis champion and current Australian of the Year, Dylan Alcott.

Then Blueprint's resident chef Annie Smithers takes Jonathan through the battle of the hot cross buns: Hot or cold? Crunchy or mushy? Chocolate or fruity? Time to rid yourself of this cross to bear.

Afterward, Shannon Mattern — a social anthropologist from New York's New School for Social Research — tells us why the metaphor of the city-as-computer doesn't quite fit, and instead, we should embrace a messy city.

Plus, Colin Bisset delves into the austere design language of Cesar Pelli, an architect whose skyscrapers have been likened to "the sober aesthetic of a German luxury car or a well cut suit".

Plus Colin Bisset gives the lowdown on manhole covers in Japan.

Plus, Colin Bisset on the duo who created a better alternative for those serving ice-cream.

Plus, Colin Bisset introduces the woman responsible for the Georgian period's stone of choice… and it was completely artificial.

The long shadow of Rome

Why are tourists so obsessed with Ancient Greece and Rome? 

Might some of the more obscure archaeological sites, for example from medieval times, be missing out on the attention they deserve - both in terms of the eyes of tourists, as well as the cold hard cash so vital to ensuring their upkeep?

What is a system garden?

Join Tim Entwisle on a late autumn stroll through the System Garden at the University of Melbourne.

The System Garden is used by teachers and students to learn about subclasses and families of plants.

Created in 1856, it is one of the oldest gardens of its kind in Australia.

Designing for dignity

The idea of designing with empathy is a popular one. But empathy has its limits. 

LA-based designer Nu Goteh explores how we can move beyond creating objects to foster conditions for radical change, reshaping the very idea of design as a chance for others to thrive.

What does the term 'plant-based' do that ‘vegetarian’ and ‘vegan’ cannot?

As late summer plays out, you might be contending with an abundance of tomatoes. Chef Annie Smithers has answers for you.

Stringy bark, coral gum, Silver top ash, lemon-scented gum… with over 900 specifies, it's hard to pick a favourite.

If you're a regular listener, you'll have heard conversations with Indigenous experts on the intersection of Country and archaeology, heritage, artefacts and architecture. Now it's time to understand how it's parcelled up, packaged and sold.

Plus a salon concert featuring a replica of Marie Antoinette's harpsichord.

Plus, resident design expert Colin Bisset walks us through the cool, concrete convent of La Tourette, and chef Annie Smithers answers the ultimate question: what makes a salad, a salad?

Plus, Colin Bisset delves into the design history of the top hat… an item that adorned both King George IV and Madonna.

RN Summer brings you the best of Blueprint and Lost and Found.

RN Summer brings you the best of Blueprint and Lost and Found.

RN Summer brings you the best of Blueprint and Lost and Found.

From the flickering flames of ancient hearths to the glowing coals of modern barbecues, fire is more than just a tool; it's an elemental force that has shaped our diets, our culture, and our very way of being. 

Today we'll meet people from across the world who each bring a unique flame to the feast. 

Niklas Ekstedt, the Michelin-starred Swedish chef who has redefined Scandinavian cooking by harnessing the primal power of flame.

We'll travel across the Atlantic for a taste of American barbecue from the deep south, with pitmaster Shalamar Lane. 

No exploration of fire would be complete without understanding the tools we've used to contain it. Colin Bisset will walk us through the design history of the stove.

And chef Lennox Hastie of Sydney’s Firedoor fame joins us to discuss what he’d cook for his last meal on earth.

RN Summer brings you the best of Blueprint and Lost and Found.

RN Summer brings you the best of Blueprint and Lost and Found.

Plus, Colin Bisset explains why the sleigh has been inseparable from Christmas iconography for centuries… and take a Lost and Found trip through Melbourne in full festive regalia.