Science Friction

From Melbourne to Munich, Lombardy to Wuhan and all the way back again: this episode is about what happened when we faced those first coronavirus cases. Where things went well, where they didn’t — and whether there’s anything we could have done to stop it.Guests:Rhonda StuartHead of infection prevention at Monash HealthMerle BöhmerInfectious disease epidemiologist at the Bavarian Health and Food Safety AuthorityRaina MacIntyreProfessor of Biosecurity at the Kirby Institute, University of New South WalesFabrizio CarinciBiostatistician at the University of BolognaCarl ZimmerScience journalist and columnist for The New York TimesHost:Olivia WillisProducers:Cheyne Anderson, James BullenExecutive Producer:Joel WernerSound Design:Tim Jenkins

Three transplant patients die within a week of each other and alarm bells start ringing.Guests:Fiona PepperActor, playing the part of Rae MoranDr Mike CattonDeputy Director, Doherty Institute for Infection and ImmunityDr Dominique MartinAssociate Professor in Bioethics, Deakin UniversityHost:Olivia WillisProducers:James Bullen, Cheyne AndersonExecutive Producer:Joel WernerSound Design:Tim Jenkins

A junior doctor uncovers a mystery that rewrites the story of a famous epidemic — and we learn the troubling origins of 'patient zero' as a concept.Guests:
Dr John GerrardDirector of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Gold Coast University Hospital
Professor Sharon LewinDirector, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Phil CarswellFounding president, Victorian AIDS Council
Bill BowtellAdjunct professor, University of New South Wales
Host:Olivia WillisProducers:Cheyne Anderson, James BullenExecutive Producer:Joel WernerSound Design:Tim Jenkins

Disease is spreading in the wake of a natural disaster on the Caribbean nation of Haiti — and everyone thinks they know where it's coming from. Spoiler: they don't.
Guests:
Jonathan M. KatzFreelance journalist and author, The Big Truck That Went By
Dr Louise IversExecutive Director, Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health; Associate Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Nelson Junior CeranorHost:Olivia WillisProducers:James Bullen, Cheyne AndersonExecutive Producer:Joel WernerSound Design:Tim Jenkins

It's the incursion we've been dreading. H5N1 bird flu has arrived in Australia.
But this strain circulated the globe for decades before it landed on our shores.
How has the risk to humans changed since the virus emerged? And what aren't we prepared for?
Got feedback? Email us sciencefriction@abc.net.au
Guests:
Dr Jarrod HodgsonWildlife biologist, Australian Antarctic Division
Dr Vidya BhardwajResearch scientist in emergency animal disease, Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness
Professor Kirsty ShortProfessor of Virology, University of Queensland
Dr Jason LombardVeterinary epidemiologist, Colorado State University
Additional audio of Heard Island courtesy of the Australian Antarctic Division.
Presenter: Belinda Smith
Producer: Shelby Traynor
Senior Producer: James Bullen
Executive Producer: Petria Ladgrove
Sound Engineer: Tim Jenkins