The Road To Find Out

How can the law function as a tool for social justice? What is the value of a legal education in today’s society? These legal and pedagogical questions, and more, are discussed by Senior Lecturer in the School of Law, Rachel Killean, and our guest host, Juliette Marchant, a fourth year Arts/Laws student.

What are the challenges facing the teaching sector today? What skills or experience make for excellent primary, secondary or tertiary educators? Join Senior Lecturer Remy Low to hear his stance on these questions, as he tracks his journey from struggling as a high-school student to educating the next generation of teachers now.

Associate Professor Tanya Latty is an entomologist who has researched and worked at the University of Sydney for over 14 years. In this episode, Tanya traces her journey to academia which arose from a lifelong love of insects and animals, hear about the wonderful world of bees, ants, velvet worms and more!

How can we properly capture Chinese-Australian history? What does the future of studying and teaching in Australian higher education look like? How can we write history that empowers? Join guest host and history student, Angelina Gu, as she speaks to Dr Sophie Loy-Wilson, Senior Lecturer in Australian history from the Department of History. Angelina and Sophie talk about everything from #twitterstorians, to the future of higher education in Australia, covering Sophie’s own experience as an undergraduate student at USYD, and the reality of researching Chinese-Australian history.

What are the key issues facing migrant workers in Australia? How can our undergraduate experiences shape our future in unexpected ways? Today The Road To Find Out sits down with Chris F. Wright, an Associate Professor in the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies. Hear about Chris’ experience of USYD in the early 2000s as an editor of Honi Soit and his current research on the steps Australia needs to take to protect its migrant workers.

How has the University of Sydney become a more inclusive space? What is the future of public health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples? Lisa joins The Road To Find Out to share her insights as Deputy Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Services), tune in to hear about her background in nursing and epidemiology and how that expertise has shaped her work at Sydney University.

What is the point of studying an arts degree? How is university research funded? Is it morally permissible in the 21st century to have children when doing so would contribute to global warming? Join Sam Shpall, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, as he shares his insightful answers to these questions and discusses the ethical hazards of procreating in a world stricken by climate change.

How do medicine and engineering intersect? What are the key challenges for using synthetic biomaterials in bone and tissue replacements? A big welcome to Young No, our first STEM guest on the podcast and the Deputy Head of School (Education) for Biomedical Engineering and self-confessed Lego aficionado. Tune in to hear about his research into synthetic biomaterials and their applications in the human body.

How does it feel to stand trial in court? Where does crime and art intersect? What is the impact of defendants attending their own trials virtually? Tune in to our chat with Dr Carolyn McKay, a senior research fellow at the Sydney Law School to hear about her incredible career as a practicing lawyer, visual artist (and two-time Archibald Prize finalist) and legal scholar.

What is the future for music education in our high schools and universities? How do music education and composition intersect? James Humberstone, a Senior Lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, kicks off Season 2 by teaching us the importance of music, and proves it is never too late to start a career in academia.

How many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are there? How can we take care of this very special Country and it's environments? What is linguistics, and why is it so complex? Australia is home to some of the oldest and most unique languages in the world. In today's episode, we experienced the honour of sitting down with Dr Jakelin Troy, a professor of Linguistics and the Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research at the University of Sydney. Dr Troy shares her experience as an academic, Aboriginal philosophies on life, and some deeply personal statements on what our Governments have done to her land in Ngarigu Country.

How does one lead a harmonious life? Can a musical education promote harmony in oneself and society? Join us in conversation with Rick Benitez, a recently retired Professor of Philosophy to discuss how ancient philosophy can help us answer these questions while we also discuss his experiences of the changes at Sydney University.

Are young people actively engaged in politics? Is University a place of privilege? What even are street libraries? All will be answered, along with the personal journey of Dr Peter Chen, an enthusiastic Political Scientist, who has taught at the University of Sydney for over 13 years.

What did we lose in the change from silent to sound cinema? Did Alfred Hitchcock recover some lost art of a purer, silent cinema? Hear about this and the remarkable personal life of Bruce Isaacs, an Associate Professor of Film Studies and confessed Hollywood fanatic in the first ever episode of The Road To Find Out.