Loved the Superman (2025) movie and looking for more #punk hope? 👩‍🎤 You've come to the right place! Listen to this episode to learn all about the punk of #solarpunk, where it came from, and how it differs (in a very good way!) from other -punk genres like #cyberpunk and #steampunk 😎🤙 Kindness and optimism, with a dash of #sustainability, are officially IN!☀️🫶💛

Episode Time Stamps:

0:00 Episode intro1:36 What even is 'punk'? Definitions

14:52 Punk in Solarpunk vs punk adjacent genres

35:00 Towards a punk-i-fied future

41:14 Good news segment

Want More? Here are some of the things we spoke about in this episode that we recommend:

- Punk Identities, Punk Utopias: Global Punk and Media edited by Matt Grimes

- “Solarpunk” & the Pedagogical Value of Utopia" by Isaijah Johnson (https://www.susted.com/wordpress/content/solarpunk-the-pedagogical-value-of-utopia_2020_05/)

- Where is the Punk in Solarpunk? Questioning Tradition and Innovation in an Eco-optimist Digital Aesthetic? by Théo Maligeay (https://hal.science/hal-04295131v2/document)

- Global cyberpunk: Reclaiming utopia in Japanese cyberpunk film by Sasha Myerson (https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/sfftv.2020.21)

- Planting Seeds of Hope: A Survey of Solarpunk Futures by Dilan Guner

- Solarpunk: Notes toward a manifesto by Adam Flynn (https://hieroglyph.asu.edu/2014/09/solarpunk-notes-toward-a-manifesto/)

Good News Stories:

https://www.euronews.com/green/2025/04/17/clean-energy-from-rain-scientists-generate-electricity-from-falling-droplets

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/infant-rare-incurable-disease-first-successfully-receive-personalized-gene-therapy-treatment

#scicomm #popculture #radicaloptimism #kindness

What are solarpunk systems and can they help us toward a more positive future?

Join Ella and Isabel in the first episode of this Solarpunk season of Sci_Burst!

This episode is for you if:

- you're new to Solarpunk

- you like Solarpunk and want to explore it more

- you're interested in positive stories

- you want to imagine a sustainable and attainable future

- you see wider connections in the world around you

- you LOVE fiction (particularly sci-fi and speculative fiction)

Episode Time Stamps:

0:00 Episode Intro

1:57 Solarpunk Recap

6:22 What are Solarpunk systems?

8:03 Fictional Solarpunk systems

29:58 Current Solarpunk systems

56:54 Future Solarpunk systems

1:11:31 Good News segment!

Want More? Here are some of the things we spoke about in this episode that we recommend reading/listening/watching/loving :

- Solar Power (discless music box) by Lorde

- Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach

- Monk and Robot series by Becky Chambers

- Rewilding the Urban Soul by Claire Dunn

- Feral by George Monbiot

- Economics of rewilding by Emmanuel Faure et al.

- An Exploration of Environmental Values in Outer Space by Michael Aaron Lindquist

- Mad Max by George Miller

- Furiosa by George Miller

- Strange World by Don Hall

- Wikipedia by YOU (seriously we love contributing to wikipedia and thank all the amazing contributors)

Did someone say episode 3?! Join us and our special guest Professor Chris Danta from the ANU School of Cybernetics for a deep dive on fables and science, literary anthropology, animals and machines in literature, and even fridge music! 🐷🦊📚🤖 Add to the conversation! Let us know your thoughts on our socials @sci_burst or via our gmail sciburstpodcast@gmail.com ✨ Stay nerdy and we'll see you in the next episode.

Don't PANIC ! 😎✨It's Sci_Burst time

Join us and our very special guest Adrian Schmidt in this episode as we explore Artificial Intelligence (AI). Together we dive into AI's recent surge in popularity, its appearances in popular culture, and its use in art installations across the globe.

Add to the conversation! Let us know your thoughts on our socials @sci_burst or via our gmail sciburstpodcast@gmail.com ✨ Stay nerdy and we’ll see you in the next episode of Season 2!

Welcome to Sci_Burst Season 2! We're kicking off this season by talking all things popular culture, science, and how the two combine in weird, wacky and wonderful ways!

Our very first guest Dr Anna-Sophie Jurgens from the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science joins us to talk about circus, clowns, and even science tattoos...

We hope you come away from this episode with curiosity for the unexpected places that science appears inside and outside academia.

Add to the conversation! Let us know your thoughts on our socials @sci_burst or via our gmail sciburstpodcast@gmail.com ✨ Stay nerdy and we’ll see you in the next episode of Season 2!

For our final episode of Season 1, we’re ending on an uplifting note with a sustainable and optimistic vision of the future 💖 This one’s a little intro to the emerging sci-fi subgenre, aesthetic, and movement that is ☀️ Solarpunk ☀️ Join us in exploring solarpunk worlds in pop culture, where we might see them in the near future, and what a harmonious relationship between nature, community, and technology can look like. As always, let us know your thoughts on our socials @sci_burst or via our gmail sciburstpodcast@gmail.com ✨ And while we are taking a break from releasing episodes for a little bit, we will be very contactable and active online. Stay nerdy and we’ll see you in Season 2!

Our penultimate episode of season 1 is now here! Listen to learn all about the (science and technology) formulas that make superheroes and supervillains in popular comic universes 🦸‍♀️🦹‍♀️ This episode is being released as part of the National Film and Sound Archives’ science and film night on the 1997 adaptation “Batman & Robin” — an event featuring yours truly!

The elements - a scientific concept that emerged from natural philosophy and alchemy - permeate pop culture to the nth degree. In this episode, we discuss chemistry's roots, science and magic, and the colourful portrayals of the 'classical' elements in contemporary pop culture💧🔥🌬️🪨 Join us in exploring the wonderful metaphors that come with these representations and what they say about our understanding of science - from Pixar's "Elemental" and "Avatar: The Last Airbender" to "Potion Permit" and Pokémon"!

Happy Science Week 2023! And happy episode 13! Bring your ears along for a discussion on humanity's current Mars endeavours and space colonisation themes... in board games 🚀🪐🎲

Our exciting Uncharted Territory episode on science and street art has officially dropped! Listen to explore the mathematical, technological and environmental (solarpunk may make an appearance 👀) genres found in science-themed street art. Using examples from Australia and around the globe, we discuss street art's potential as a highly accessible avenue for science communication.

Proudly announcing that episode 11 has come out 🌈💖💅

#HappyPride

Join us as we dive into depictions of queerness in science, both in sci-fi & beyond! We chat about what types of media have great LGBTQIA+ characters, what identities are depicted, and why this representation isn't more prevalent in mainstream media.

We also chat about the blossoming movement to queer science, and particularly to queer science communication! The future is bright!

Welcome to our 10th Episode of Sci_Burst, where we delve into the horror-coded topic that is Xenotransplantation. Yep, you heard us - we're talking fiction and realities of human and animal organ transplants! Explore with us from classics like H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau to modern masterpieces such as Margret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. Though this is our 10th episode, it is our first one to touch properly on Medical Science, so get keen.

There is a content warning on this one for gore, graphic descriptions, and animal cruelty.

Be kind to yourselves <3

Welcome to a teaser for our upcoming third season of Sci_Burst! Here we introduce your Sci_Burst podcast hosts, tease our next season's theme, hint towards some of our upcoming episodes, and even drop a big exciting piece of news. It's Season 3 and we're trying something completely different: video! Whether you like to listen, watch, or somewhere in-between - we've got the podcast for you and this time we're going SolarPunk. Join us as we start this sustainable, punk, and community podcast with a teaser of all that's to come.

Sci_Burst is a science in pop culture podcast hosted by Isabel and Ella, two next gen science communicators based at the Australian National University. Our episodes cover everything from science in film and video games to comics, music, toys and beyond! Sci_Burst can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone, no matter your level of expertise. We’re here to make science accessible in a fun way, spark further discussions about all things STEM, and grow a community of people happy to be nerdy about science in pop culture. Learn more about us here: https://popsicule.weblogs.anu.edu.au/

Follow us on our socials for more science in pop culture content!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sci_burst/

LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/sci-burst

Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@sci_burst

Want to get in touch? Email us at sciburstpodcast@gmail.com

Enter a forest wonderland with us and discover the magic of trees… in fiction and reality. Forest science is the star of this episode and, spotlighting Peter Wohlleben’s wholesome bestseller ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’, we discuss how the blissful beings that are trees communicate and feel, why we connect with them, and why they are such prominent symbols in fiction books. This episode is a big hug in the form of a podcast!

Happy International Women's Day 2023! For our first ever IWD episode (and first technology-centred episode!) we explore cyberfeminism and the relationships between women and technology in pop culture - covering everything from Donna Harraway and cyborgs to cyberfeminist art collectives and Black Mirror episodes. ... and if none of that means anything to you (yet!), you're truly in for a treat.

Murder mysteries and detective fiction have long been prominent genres in pop culture, from Sherlock Holmes stories to Agatha Christie adaptations. Knives Out and Glass Onion were perhaps the biggest mystery films released in the last couple years. Join us in unravelling the parallels between murder mystery fiction and something we know, love, and hold very dear: science!

Kick off 2023 with us by jumping into the stunning world of science sounds! This rhythmic episode will have you looking at science in a whole new way after experiencing the electric beauty that is data sonification <3  

In a funky key change, we also explore music parodies and how these may just be some of the biggest ear-worms ever! 

Put on your headphones and crank up the volume! Let's start this year off with a boogie!!!!

Welcome to our final episode for 2022! We're wrapping up the year by talking about the psychology behind our hopes and dreams, with a little festive season twist! Explore the realities of wishing and believing with Isabel and Ella in this episode of Sci_Burst.  We'd love to know where else has wishing come up in pop culture for you? What are your new year’s resolutions? And will they change after this episode? Thank you all for supporting the first 6 months of Sci_Burst with us, we can't wait to dive into more science and popular culture next year with you <3 

This episode certainly is the cream of the crop! Join us on a journey into the wonderful world of STEM in Farming Sim Games! If you’re an Animal Crossing stan, a Stardew Valley farmer, a Minecraft participatory planner or a cosy gamer - this is the podcast episode for you! Who knew gaming could be so educational? We did! (Just kidding, these are new ideas for us too)

High School Musical is a #steminist masterpiece and really did mark the start of something new. Join us in exploring the evolution of STEM girlies in noughties teen media, the 'competent girl' trope, and Aussie media vs the international stage.

You, you are my universe and you make my world light up inside~~ Welcome to our anticipated episode on science and the multiverse trend in pop culture! Join us in exploring quantum theory, the sci-fi hit "Everything Everywhere All at Once", and why we're all so obsessed with alternate realities.

I wanna be the very best ... at science communication! Welcome to the first episode of Sci_Burst, spend an hour with us as we talk all things popularity, ecology and the gamification of science - Pokémon style.

Sci_Burst proudly presents our teaser trailer! 

Get comfy & cozy with your hosts of this brand new podcast about science, popular culture, and entertainment!

On this sunny Sunday morning we bring you our final episode for Season 2! Join us, and special guest Isaac Martin, as we talk all things renewable energy ☀️, technologies of the desert 🐪, and the future of Australian car culture 🚗✨

We explore Australia’s #potential as a sustainability hub & clean energy superpower 💚💛, the impacts & innovation of initiatives like the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge & ANU Solar Racing 🏎️, and all this alongside #popculture like Max Max and Summernats 😎

…and if you listen till the end, you’ll discover our theme for Season 3 😉😉

To kick off 2025, we bring you a fascinating episode on archaeology and pop culture, featuring special guest and budding archaeologist Phoebe Barnes!🏺⛏️🦴

Do you love Tomb Raider? 🪦🧩 Indiana Jones? 🤠🛕 Jurassic Park? 🦖🦕 Then this episode is for you.

We touch on archaeogaming 👾, representations of archaeologists on screen vs archaeologists irl 🗿📜, and the mix and bleed of scientific thinking and the humanities.

We hope you enjoy it!

What do ballon art and storytelling have in common? They are both great avenues for Science Communication AND are skills of this episode's guest: Dr Chloe Lim.

Join us as we enter the amazing world that is SciComm for Kids! We're talking DIY science kits, STEM themed books, and even baking.

This feel good episode also touches on being a business babe and a shining light for CALD voices in STEM. So press play and enjoy :)

Does thinking of maths make you spiral? Don't worry! This episode we are joined by teacher-in-training and maths enthusiast Will Roberts to talk to us about maths anxiety across reality and fiction!

Struggling to think of maths teachers in your favourite high school tv show? Scarred by maths classrooms? The two may be more related than you think!

Join us as we look for the beauty in mathematics, and have hope in the future of maths classrooms with empathetic and passionate teachers like Will. All this & more, just press play >>

Add to the conversation! Let us know your thoughts on our socials @sci_burst or via our gmail sciburstpodcast@gmail.com ✨ Stay nerdy and we'll see you in the next episode.

Why do science labs look like *that* ?

What is alchemy?

What came before the science we know today?

And what does spiderman have to do with all of this?

Our guest Lilia deep dives with us into the history of science talking about alchemy, astrology, greek myths, spiderman, star trek and so much more.

If you've ever wanted to know why evil/mad/genius science labs look like *that* in fiction - you've come to the right place!

Add to the conversation! Let us know your thoughts on our socials @sci_burst or via our gmail sciburstpodcast@gmail.com ✨ Stay nerdy and we'll see you in the next episode.

In this cinematic episode of Sci_Burst our special guest Professor Kenneth Lampl from the ANU School of Music joins to talk about the history of music in movies.

From John William's handwritten music to Hans Zimmer's film score digital revolution, learn with us how technology, cinema, people, and sound, continue to influence each other throughout time.

Curious to know how King Kong and Star Wars changed how we listen to movies forever? You need only to press play!

Add to the conversation! Let us know your thoughts on our socials @sci_burst or via our gmail sciburstpodcast@gmail.com ✨ Stay nerdy and we'll see you in the next episode.

Today marks the release of our 20th full length episode, all about sign language! 😲🎉🙌


Ever wondered how sign languages like Auslan communicate scientific concepts and handle technobabble? Or how signing is represented on screen & fictional pop culture media like Bluey, CODA and Dune?


Join us and our special guest Bailey Kennedy - who has a vast array of knowledge in these areas - to find out!


Add to the conversation! Let us know your thoughts on our socials @sci_burst or via our gmail sciburstpodcast@gmail.com ✨ Stay nerdy folks and we'll see you in the next episode.

What happens when companies lie about their sustainability or pretend to be solarpunk? 🤥 Enter, the deceptive act of greenwashing 🤢⚠️⚠️ Press play to learn where the phrase comes from, why companies might do it, and how countries and communities are already combatting it to make the world a little more solarpunk! Bring your best selves, it’s not every day that a new Sci_Burst episode also coincides with a Taylor Swift album drop AND Mean Girls Day 😉☀️

Episode time stamps:

0:00 Introduction

3:30 What is Greenwashing?

21:45 Solarpunk washing ... it's a thing

45:42 Moving away from greenwashing to the future of a more circular, sustainable, and solarpunk world

58:47 Good news (clothing/fashion edition)

Want more? Here are some things we spoke about in this episode that we recommend:

• Greenwashing: Do you know what you’re buying? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2898878/

• Big oil coined ‘carbon footprints’ to blame us for their greed. Keep them on the hook (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/23/big-oil-coined-carbon-footprints-to-blame-us-for-their-greed-keep-them-on-the-hook)

• Concepts and forms of greenwashing: a systematic review (https://enveurope.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s12302-020-0300-3)

• Jay Westerveld (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Westerveld)

• How to spot greenwashing buzzwords Instagram post https://www.instagram.com/p/DIxyiZXtZ46/?img_index=8&igsh=Mmgxc3JvN3Bva2V0

• McDonald’s rolling out green logo in Europe (https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34111784)

• H&M Case Shows How Greenwashing Breaks Brand Promise (https://www.forbes.com/sites/retailwire/2022/07/13/hm-case-shows-how-greenwashing-breaks-brand-promise/)

• Solarpunk, ESG and Greenwashing: How Firms Appeal to Green Investors (https://corporateinsight.com/solarpunk-esg-and-greenwashing-how-firms-appeal-to-green-investors/)

• ASIC continues action on misleading claims to deter greenwashing misconduct(https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2024-releases/24-185mr-asic-continues-action-on-misleading-claims-to-deter-greenwashing-misconduct/)

• Greenhushing: What is it, and why do companies do it? (https://lens.monash.edu/@cop/2024/10/29/1387058/greenhushing-what-is-it-and-why-do-companies-do-it)

Good News Stories:

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/french-senate-backs-law-curb-ultra-fast-fashion-2025-06-10/

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-24/australian-designer-takes-paper-clothing-to-catwalk/105319424

This is a very special episode of Sci_Burst – our first ever live recording!!!

Press play to learn about third places, the science and hope of community, and accessible futures.

Thanks to our live audience, videographer, and Woden Library staff for making this such a cosy and special recording xx

This project is supported by Inspiring Australia ACT and the ACT Government. Our equipment for this live recording was also made possible by YWCA Canberra.

Episode time stamps:

0:00 Episode intro

2:53 What are third places?

14:06 The science of community and third places

34:23 Hopeful community futures

45:27 Good News segment

Want more? Here are some things we spoke about in this episode that we recommend:

- The Great Good Place (1989) by Ray Oldenburg

- Closure of ‘third places’? Exploring potential consequences for collective health and wellbeing (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S135382921930735X)

- Integrating the environmental and genetic architectures of aging and mortality (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03483-9)

- What are Third Places and Why Do They Matter? (https://www.shankerinstitute.org/blog/what-are-third-places-and-why-do-they-matter)

- 'Third places' are good for your wellbeing and wallet. Here is how to find yours (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-14/third-spaces-benefits-wellbeing-and-wallet/103577022)

- Libraries are becoming 'community living rooms' keeping regional Australians connected (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-31/libraries-offer-safe-space-and-inclusion-in-regional-communities/105312932)

Good News Stories:

https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2024/feb/02/prioritize-friend-relationships-loneliness-health

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/13/playing-thriving-reef-sounds-underwater-speakers-save-damaged-corals

#scicomm #community #thirdplaces #hopefulfutures #solarpunk #libraries #walkablecommunities #accessibility

Just in time for the release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, we bring you a sequel Pokémon episode - with a twist! This time we ask the question: is the Pokémon universe truly solarpunk??? 👀👀👀

Press play to hear about the solarpunk elements of Pokémon (including sustainability, clean energy, and harmonious human-nature relationships ♻️🌱⚡️), the not so solarpunk elements of Pokémon (including capitalist💰 and colonialist mechanics), and the future potential of the franchise 🔴⚪️👾

Episode time stamps:

0:00 Introduction

3:28 Solarpunk elements of Pokémon

45:19 The not so solarpunk elements of Pokémon

58:43 The future of Pokémon

1:07:48 Good news from our world!

Want more? Here are some things that we spoke about in this episode that we recommend:

• Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of Sea (2006 movie)

• Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009 movie)

• Pokémon Sun and Moon (2016 games)• Bulbapedia on Sunyshore City (https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sunyshore_City)

• Interview with Junichi Masuda in Nintendo Power (https://archive.org/details/Nintendo_Power_Issue_240_April_2009/page/n43/mode/2up)

• How Does the POKEMON GOVERNMENT Work? (ft. BirdKeeperToby) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OefUCoIdfUg)

• Pokemon: The First Movie (1997)What is meat made of in the Pokémon games? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PRiSkGCK0w)

• Why Conservationists Should Heed Pokémon (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.295.5564.2367b)

• ‘It is a Pokémon world’: The Pokémon franchise and the environment (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1367877913501240)

• Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (2002 games)• From the top... | Pokemon Blazeblack Solarpunk Challange (#1) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpa8gQMrmCw)

• Herbelovedghast’s quote from ‘Tonight’s realization: Pokémon is a Solarpunk setting.’ (https://pocketseizure.tumblr.com/post/172519120467)

Good News Stories:https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cevz13xkxprohttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-04/backyard-biobanking-tasmania-alpine-plants-bushfire-threat/105730036

Happy silly season! This December we’re exploring what a solarpunk community looks like when the sun goes down, and the delightful subgenre that is ~lunarpunk~ 🌃🌙💜. We touch on human-nature relationships after dark 🦉, solarpunk technologies at nighttime (think bioluminescence, decolonial space travel 🛰️🪼🍄), and also what evening culture and festivals could look like in a solarpunk/lunarpunk future 🪅. Press play to learn more!

Episode time stamps:

0:00 Introduction

7:37 Human-nature relationships at night

21:08 Solarpunk technology at night

41:40 Solarpunk evening culture and spirituality

1:00:41 Good news from our world!

Want more? Here are some things that we spoke about in this episode that we recommend:

- What is lunarpunk? (https://solarpunkmagazine.com/what-is-lunarpunk/)

- The Matrix Resurrection Brings Lunarpunk to the Big Screen (https://solarpunkmagazine.com/the-matrix-resurrection-brings-lunarpunk-to-the-big-screen/)

- Avatar (2009 film)

- Star Trek

- Octavia Butler’s ‘Earthseed’ series

- For too long, colonial language has dominated space exploration. There is a better way (https://theconversation.com/for-too-long-colonial-language-has-dominated-space-exploration-there-is-a-better-way-264886)

- Tender for the night: After-dark cultural complexities in the night-time economy (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10304312.2011.617875)

- Towards 24 Hour Cities: Reflection on Night-time Economy Policy Accelerator (https://worldcitiescultureforum.com/report/5th-edition/night-time-economy/)

- Danny Bettay on Designing our Future Skies (https://cybernetics.anu.edu.au/news/2024/06/20/Danny-Bettay-on-designing-our-future-skies/)

- Peter Swanton is using Indigenous knowledge to study the stars (https://reporter.anu.edu.au/all-stories/our-knowledges-are-significant-peter-swanton-indigenous-astronomy)

Good News Stories:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-27/labor-rules-out-ai-training-copyright-exceptions/105935740

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2rz08en2po.amp