Can the human body survive climate change? That’s the burning question in this episode of Totally Cooked. With the world already experiencing more frequent and intense heatwaves, we sit down with Professor Ollie Jay from the University of Sydney to explore how our bodies respond to extreme heat, and what happens when they can’t keep up.

Ollie walks your co-hosts Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan through the science of sweating, hydration, and heat stress, and explains the critical tipping points between heat exhaustion and deadly heatstroke. We discuss who’s most at risk, why heat is often overlooked as a killer, and what governments, communities and individuals can do to stay safe in a hotter world. We also find out what it’s like to sit in a room set to 54°C, and why your fan might not be helping as much as you think.

Plus, it’s quiz time: from Death Valley to the Ashes, the FIFA World Cup to the Sahara, we put Sarah and Ollie to the test with a scorcher of a quiz on record-breaking heat. If you’ve ever wondered whether climate change is cooking us alive (and how long we can keep turning up the thermostat) this episode has the answers.

Iain records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation. Sarah records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and recognise their unique and continuing connection to the land, skies, waters, plants and animals.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most extraordinary natural wonders on Earth, a vast, living ecosystem visible from space and home to thousands of species. But it is also one of the most vulnerable. As ocean temperatures rise and marine heatwaves intensify, this Australian icon faces an uncertain future. In this episode of Totally Cooked, recorded in Cairns, we ask a confronting question - can we save the Great Barrier Reef?

Your hosts Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Iain Strachan are joined by Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, marine biologist, climate advocate, and one of the world’s leading experts on coral reefs. Ove has spent decades at the forefront of reef science, from uncovering the mechanisms of coral bleaching to shaping global climate policy through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He brings both deep scientific knowledge and an unwavering sense of both hope and realism to a conversation that spans reef resilience, climate tipping points, and what Australia must do next.

Whether you’ve snorkelled the Reef, seen it on screen, or simply care about our planet’s future, this episode is for you. We explore the science behind what’s happening to the Reef, the efforts to protect it, and why Ove still believes, despite the odds, that we can turn things around.

To find out more about Totally Cooked, go to: https://www.21centuryweather.org.au/engage/totally-cooked-the-weather-climate-podcast/

Iain records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation. Sarah records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and recognise their unique and continuing connection to the land, skies, waters, plants and animals.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Climate grief is a real and growing psychological phenomenon. Around the world, people are grappling with the emotional weight of the climate crisis, from anxiety about the future to mourning the loss of places, species, and a sense of stability.

So how do we live a meaningful life and stay resilient in the face of such an overwhelming, collective challenge? How do we hold on to hope and contribute to change when others in our communities, our politics and our families seem indifferent or even hostile to climate action?

More broadly, what’s stopping us from acting faster, and at scale? Why does society struggle to respond, even when the science is clear? What role do social norms, economic systems, political incentives, and psychology itself play in shaping our collective actions?

Hosted by Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and science communicator Iain Strachan, this episode explores not just individual emotions, but the deep systemic barriers, including economic short-termism, political inertia, and institutional design, that hold us back from meaningful climate progress.

Our guest for this episode is Professor Ben Newell, a Professor of Behavioural Science in the School of Psychology at UNSW Sydney, and Director of the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response (ICRR).

Ben’s work brings together behavioural science, climate science, economics, and governance to understand how people and institutions make decisions, and how they can do better in the face of climate risk.

Iain records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation. Sarah records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and recognise their unique and continuing connection to the land, skies, waters, plants and animals.

To find out more, go to: https://www.21centuryweather.org.au/engage/totally-cooked-the-weather-climate-podcast/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.