Do you feel you have a brown thumb? Would you like to ‘break the seal’ and your inertia and become a backyard food farmer (even if you’re a renter or don’t have a backyard)? Or perhaps you’re a more advanced gardener and are just looking for some tips on becoming more food self sufficient. 4ZZZ's Eliot Rifkin chatted with Mark Valencia from the “Self Sufficient Me” podcast about becoming ‘Self-sufficient’ with your food through backyard farming.

Tea drinking has a culture all of its own, its been around for millennium. Tea is commonly consumed during social chats, in child’s play or formal ceremonies, however are you aware we grow tea right here in Queensland? Or of it’s dietary benefits? 4ZZZ's Eliot Rifkin chatted with Margaret Wilson a tea farmer and dietician from Bryn Hill Farms on tea's dietary benefits and all about Tea Farming.

We all know that a lot of Australia’s animals and plants are under threat of extinction. But what will it take to get these species back? And if we could put a price on it, what would it cost? 4ZZZ's intrepid reporter, Anita Diamond interviewed Professor James Watson from the University of Queensland, who conducted research on the cost of recovering all of Australia’s threatened animals and plants, which has been calculated for the first time.

Do you dream of relaxing on a tropical island? Tourist bureaus still trade on images of paradise in the Pacific first created in the 18th century by explorers and adventurers. It's now possible to read the actual Explorer journals written at the time… online on the ‘Expeditions to the Pacific’ website. 4ZZZ's Eliot Rifkin chatted about this ‘digital map website’ with its deep dive links to the Explorer’s actual journals with Dr Claire Brennan, a Senior Lecturer of History from James Cook University (JCU).

As Australia deals with a dual housing and rental crisis, Finland could serve as an inspiration in tackling the issue. Past policies implemented in the Northern European nation have seen a drastic decline in homelessness as well as effective social housing for its citizens. 4ZZZ's Toni Pankaluic spoke with Dr Liam Davies, Lecturer and Research Fellow in Sustainability and Urban Planning at RMIT University to understand the historical and contemporary differences in each countries' housing policies which could help tackle our housing crisis.

n December 2024, carmakers Nissan and Honda engaged in merger talks which could see them become the third largest car manufacturer in the world, following Toyota and Volkswagen. Mitsubishi could also join their fellow Japanese automakers in the pending merger. Should the merger go ahead, it would be the second to take place in recent years following Peugeot and Fiat-Chrysler becoming Stellantis. Currently the car industry is undergoing a major transition with the rapid influx of electric vehicles in the marketplace. Not only that, but Chinese carmakers are emerging and challenging longstanding automobile brands in terms of winning over sales. 4ZZZ's Toni Pankaluic spoke with Alborz Fallah, the Founder of CarExpert to analyse where the industry is at, where it could be going int the future as well as the potential Nissan-Honda-Mitsubishi merger.

Sharks conjure deep feelings in people - it may be instinctual or perhaps a byproduct of horror films like ‘Jaws’. In any event, over-fishing is driving reef sharks toward extinction and globally more than a third of all sharks species are now threatened with extinction. Australia is a bright spot, however what is being considered to ensure these species survive in the world’s ecosystems? 4ZZZ's Eliot Rifkin chats about sharks with Colin Simpfendorfer a Professor of Marine Biology from James Cook University’s College of Science and Engineering.

99% Accurate detection of underground nuclear tests is now possible, now what? - Every so often we hear of some ‘rogue’ countries conducting nuclear tests… How easy is it to hide atomic testing? How does seismic detection methods filter out earthquakes for example? If you detect a nuclear test, then what? 4ZZZ's Eliot Rifkin chatted about refined techniques in underground nuclear test detection with Dr Mark Hoggard from Australia National University’s Research School of Earth Sciences.

Australia has a long history of producing many successful artists and bands topping charts locally and internationally. New research shows since the year 2000, the Australian music charts have increasingly been dominated by American and British artists, sparking concerns for our local industry. So why are our local artists falling behind and what could be done to reinvigorate the music industry? In search of potential answers for these questions 4ZZZ's Toni Pankaluic spoke with Tim Kelly, Program Director at the Australian Institute of Music and PhD Candidate at University of Technology Sydney to learn more.

It’s that time of year again, that prelude to Spring… magpie swooping season. Do you really understand these birds and how to live with them and mitigate swooping? 4ZZZ's Eliot Rifkin chatted about magpies with Gisela Kaplan, Emeritus Professor in animal behaviour from the University of New England, as well as an author of some best selling books.