science
Hosted by ABC Australia · science · EN
From mystery illnesses to flesh-eating bacteria and the looming threat of bird flu — outbreaks can push scientists, communities and health systems to their limits. For Science Friction on ABC Radio National, Belinda Smith looks back on some of the disease outbreaks that shaped Australia.Hear about the scientists racing to find answers, the unusual diseases they're hunting, and the everyday people caught in the middle.Outbreaks is a four-part series from Science Friction on ABC Radio National. Episode 1 is out Wednesday October 14th.Dead and Alive (Season 7) Quantum computers could be the next giant leap in technology — transforming how we heal people, how we grow food, how we get around our cities. So how close are we to the quantum future we've been promised? Science reporter Jacinta Bowler unpacks how the weird world of quantum physics could change everything.Artemis Explained (Season 6) In humanity's next giant leap, astronauts are heading back to the Moon for the first tim
Required Pod Score for this podcast. PitchCentric checks your profile against host openness, topical fit, and audience signals before you generate a pitch.
Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
37%
Guest openness
Selective
Sign up to generate a grounded pitch for Science Friction.
Signup to Generate a PitchFrom mystery illnesses to flesh-eating bacteria and the looming threat of bird flu, outbreaks can push scientists, communities and health systems to their limits. For Science Friction on ABC Radio National, Belinda Smith looks back on some of the disease outbreaks that shaped Australia.
Science Friction is hosted by ABC Australia. The show has published 250 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "03 | Outbreaks: The mozzie mystery" (27 October 2026, 26 minutes), "02 | Outbreaks: The great mimicker" (20 October 2026, 26 minutes), and "01 | Outbreaks: The aquarium illness" (13 October 2026, 26 minutes).
Science Friction publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 18 minutes across 250 episodes.
Booking probability for Science Friction is 37%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Science Friction requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Science Friction's contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Science Friction are Scientific Research & Development and Health & Wellness Services. Science Friction has a science audience.
ABC Australia hosts Science Friction, a science podcast with 250 episodes published.
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Episode #3
It starts as a mozzie bite ... but then it turns into something much worse. And the search for a cause stretches back decades. How did flesh-eating bacteria come to be in Melbourne's inner suburbs? And what do possums...
Episode #2
In 2021, four people across four different parts of the United States fall ill. They all have the same disease — a life-threatening bacterial infection. But the weird thing is they haven't travelled anywhere. And the...
Episode #1
In 2000, people who visited the Melbourne Aquarium started to get sick. Really sick. This outbreak would go on to become the largest of its kind in Australia. This story goes back 50 years to a mystery that stumped...
Science Friction
From mystery illnesses to flesh-eating bacteria and the looming threat of bird flu — outbreaks can push scientists, communities and health systems to their limits. For Science Friction on ABC Radio National, Belinda...
Episode #4
When it comes to the often incomprehensible world of quantum, it can be hard to distinguish hype from reality. We might be on the verge of a breakthrough ... or tech start-ups might be trying to drum up momentum for the...
Episode #3
You might not know it, but Australia is an unexpected frontrunner in the race to build a quantum computer. Despite our isolation, leading quantum experts have called Australia home for decades, chipping away at this...
Episode #2
It's 1994, and a mathematical algorithm puts a spotlight on quantum computing for the first time. Defence departments, spy agencies and cybersecurity experts are on edge over the explosive Shor's algorithm. They spend...
Google announces it has achieved something game changing — quantum supremacy. But not everybody agrees. The company claims its quantum computer called Sycamore has solved a problem that no classical computer could...
Science Friction
Quantum computers could be the next giant leap in technology — transforming how we heal people, how we grow food, how we get around our cities. So how close are we to the quantum future we've been promised? For Science...
Episode #12
<p>The Integrity astronauts are back on Earth recovering from their journey, while NASA prepares for Artemis III. </p><p>Belinda and Jacinta answer some of your questions in the wake of a successful moon orbit mission...
Episode #11
<p>There wasn't a dry eye in mission control as the Artemis II astronauts safely returned in what NASA called a "perfect" splashdown.</p><p>Belinda and Jacinta relive the historic re-entry, and dig into the wild physics...
<p>Nine days down … only one to go.</p><p>The Artemis II mission is currently hurtling through space back to Earth, and is expected to land in the Pacific Ocean off the Californian coast tomorrow morning, Australia...
Episode #9
<p>With under two days to go, the Artemis II astronauts are making the most of their remaining time in space. </p><p>Belinda and Jacinta take a look at what they've been up to in the lead up to re-entry, and what they...
Episode #8
<p>After the high of the lunar flyby, the four Artemis II astronauts are now on the return leg of their mission while scientists pore over the thousands of images sent back to Earth so far. </p><p>Belinda and Jacinta...
<p>It’s been a big day for the Artemis II astronauts. They broke a 56-year record for the furthest distance humans have travelled from Earth, successfully looped around the Moon, and capped off the flyby with a solar...
Episode #6
<p>We’re at the pointy end of the Artemis II mission now: It’s the eve of the lunar flyby. </p><p>With the four astronauts now looped into the Moon’s gravitational clutches, they’ll have an intense few hours observing...
Episode #5
<p>Alongside taking snaps of Earth, chatting with mission control and fixing the toilet, the Artemis II astronauts are also taking part in all kinds of scientific research. So what experiments are running on the Orion...
<p>The Artemis II astronauts have passed the halfway point between Earth and the Moon, and still have around another day's travel time before they approach their lunar flyby. </p><p>So what do they get up to while...
Episode #3
<p>Just over a day after blasting off, four astronauts encased in an Orion capsule have veered away from Earth and are now on course to fly around the Moon.</p><p>Bel and Jacinta unpack what the "trans-lunar injection"...
Episode #2
<p>And we have lift off!</p><p>Four astronauts successfully blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center and have started their journey to the Moon.</p><p>But it wouldn't be a Moon launch without a couple of hiccups. We...
Recent guests on Science Friction. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
World Class Athlete, Motivational Speaker, and Business Consultant, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Journalist, former editor-in-chief of WIRED and MIT Technology Review, Wired
Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 laureate, Israeli Quantum Computing Center
renowned author and science commentator
PitchCentric classifies Science Friction under these industries. Guests from them are the closest fit, and each links to the best podcasts in that industry.
Shows with the most semantically similar episode content. Pitch one, pitch all; producers cluster.
Is this podcast yours and you'd like to remove or correct details? Request removal or email privacy@pitchcentric.com.
Questions about the free trial? See the pricing FAQ
