The Best Australian Science Writing 2024
What lurks in a house of slime hidden in the middle of a forest? Why are AI scientists talking about the formula p(doom) – and what does it mean for humanity? Is there a place for psychedelics in our medicine cabinets?
The best science writing doesn’t just answer questions, it cracks them open. It dissects them, probes them and solves their mysteries. It takes you on a journey of discovery.
Science is a deeply human endeavour and the stories we tell about it can be powerful, lifechanging forces for good. At times they can also be worrying glimpses of what might lie ahead. They can show us the climate models that are predicting our future, how emojis might empower a new generation of Kaytetye language speakers, as well as how scientists create your favourite chip flavour.
This much-loved anthology – now in its fourteenth year – selects the most riveting, entertaining, poignant and fascinating science stories from Australian writers, poets, and scientists.
With a foreword by DeadlyScience founder Corey Tutt OAM, this anthology covers an extraordinary year filled with major moments in science.
**Includes the shortlisted entries for the 2024 UNSW Press Bragg Prize and the 2023 student prize-winning essay.**
'[The book is] a readily accessible path for people, as the writers present with clarity and readability.' – Blue Wolf Reviews
'As Ryan and Smith note in their introduction, science writing is a field that is increasingly under threat, as publications close and falling rates force writers out. The threat of AI looms over the entire industry like the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. This collection offers a fascinating and frequently delightful reminder of just how much we will lose if these trends continue.' – The Saturday Paper
'To some, the title of this anthology could be off-putting. Science. Blerk. Instant memories of school labs with bunsen burners and dead rats. But fear not. The key word in the title is "writing", and this book has plenty of first-class examples...Informative and entertaining. Not a bit like school.' – The Canberra Times
Dr Jackson Ryan is a former molecular biologist and current science and tech journalist with a focus on longform and narrative non-fiction science writing. He served as the science editor at CNET.com between 2018 and 2023 and was the 2022 winner of the Eureka Prize for Science Journalism. His longform writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, The Monthly and Nature. He lives with a collection of more than 70 Christmas sweaters and zero dachshunds, the latter of which he hopes to rectify one day.
Carl Smith is a science journalist working for ABC’s Science Unit and Radio National. He makes audio documentaries, podcasts and written features with original photography. He’s won a Young Walkley Award for Longform Journalism and jointly won a Eureka Prize for Science Journalism. Carl’s been an ABC News cadet, a geneticist, a reporter on Behind the News, a ‘journalist in residence’ in Germany and an animated presenter on the ABC Education series Minibeast Heroes. His most recent audio series are Strange Frontiers and Pacific Scientific. He also co-writes and cohosts the ethics podcast for kids, Short & Curly.
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