02 | Outbreaks: The great mimicker

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 HospitalProfessor Sharon LewinDirector, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and ImmunityPhil CarswellFounding president, Victorian AIDS CouncilBill BowtellAdjunct professor, University of New South WalesHost: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 ByDr Louise IversExecutive Director, Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health; Associate Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical SchoolNelson 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 [email protected]:Dr Jarrod HodgsonWildlife biologist, Australian Antarctic DivisionDr Vidya BhardwajResearch scientist in emergency animal disease, Australian Centre for Disease PreparednessProfessor Kirsty ShortProfessor of Virology, University of QueenslandDr Jason LombardVeterinary epidemiologist, Colorado State UniversityAdditional audio of Heard Island courtesy of the Australian Antarctic Division.Presenter: Belinda SmithProducer: Shelby TraynorSenior Producer: James BullenExecutive Producer: Petria LadgroveSound Engineer: Tim Jenkins

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 have to do with it?Got feedback? Email us [email protected]:KylahMelbourneProfessor Paul JohnsonInfectious diseases physician, Austin Health and University of MelbourneProfessor Tim StinearMolecular microbiologist, Doherty Institute and University of MelbourneDr Veronique ParisMedical entomologist, University of MelbournePresenter: Belinda SmithProducer: Shelby TraynorSenior Producer: James BullenExecutive Producer: Petria LadgroveSound Engineer: Tim JenkinsMore information:Breaking Buruli - Science Friction

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 bug that causes the infection isn't found in the US.So how did they get it?This handful of cases kicks off a disease investigation with roots that stretch back to northern Australia.Got feedback? Email us [email protected]:Dr Julia PetrasEpidemiologist, US Centers for Disease Control and PreventionDr Mindy ElrodMicrobiologist, US Centers for Disease Control and PreventionWill MisiSupport worker, CairnsDr Josh HansonGeneral and infectious diseases physician, CairnsDr Ella MeumannInfectious diseases physician; Clinical microbiologist, Menzies School of Health Research, DarwinPresenter: Belinda SmithProducer: Shelby TraynorSenior Producer: James BullenExecutive Producer: Petria LadgroveSound Engineer: Tim Jenkins

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 scientists in Philadelphia. How did they crack the case, and why are we still struggling to stop this disease?Got feedback? Email us [email protected]:Professor Robert PromisloffClinical Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Drexel UniversityDr Jane GreigEpidemiologist, Burnet Institute and Médecins Sans FrontièresDr Verlaine TimmsMicrobiologist, University of Newcastle and University of Western SydneyStephen WalshLawyerPresenter: Belinda SmithProducer: Shelby TraynorSenior Producer: James BullenExecutive Producer: Petria LadgroveSound Engineer: Tim Jenkins

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.

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 benefit of their stakeholders.Hype is important in science, but can it go too far? And has AI knocked the wind out of the sails of quantum computing?Got feedback? Email us [email protected]:Dr Tara RobersonScience communicatorStela TodorovicMedia Director for PsiQuantum AustraliaGideon LichfieldJournalist, former editor-in-chief of WIRED and MIT Technology ReviewProfessor Warwick BowenDirector of the Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology and leader of the Quantum Optics Laboratory, University of QueenslandPresenter: Jacinta BowlerScript producers: Fiona Pepper, James BullenSenior Producer: Shelby TraynorExecutive Producer: Petria LadgroveSound Engineer: Tim JenkinsArchives Research: Lisa Chidlow, Michael Osmond