Natasha Mitchell (she/her)
@natashamitchell.bsky.social
Australian journo. NOW: host of ABC Radio National's BIG IDEAS, THEN: Founding presenter/creator of All in the Mind & Science Friction podcasts, host of Life Matters, MIT Knight fellow, World Federation of Science Journalists board. Owned by a wolfhound-x.
Pinned
Nobel scientist Jennifer Doudna with Natasha Mitchell at Sydney Opera House — the gene editing revolution, ethics, and what's next? - ABC listen
Join a full house at the Sydney Opera House with Nobel winning scientist Jennifer Doudna and Big Ideas' host Natasha Mitchell to discuss the huge social, ethical, and scientific implications of the CR...
www.abc.net.au
Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna joined me at a big Sydney Opera House event on BIG social, scientific implications of the CRISPR gene editing revolution. From curative therapies to gene edited babies, will we use it to hack
our own evolution? Listen on BIG IDEAS
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
our own evolution? Listen on BIG IDEAS
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Oh my gosh the late great science journalist Sharon Begley wrote an obit about Watson. Logging into STAT....
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Oh my gosh the late great science journalist Sharon Begley wrote an obit about Watson. Logging into STAT....
Reposted by Natasha Mitchell (she/her)
Ugh... This study has existed for decades, providing valuable health data for all sorts of topics and publications. This is just more awful news. 🛟😷 Sociology medsky
CDC team running top survey on health and nutrition is laid off
NHANES has collected data on eating patterns, diabetes, and other common diseases for decades. The CDC team that runs it has been fired.
www.statnews.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Ugh... This study has existed for decades, providing valuable health data for all sorts of topics and publications. This is just more awful news. 🛟😷 Sociology medsky
ABC Radio National's #Top100Books of 21C vote is going OFF!
Tens of 1000s of you have already voted!
Most are voting for glorious novels.
I'm a weirdo.
My lucky occupational hazard is I interview a lot of non-fiction authors.
Was profoundly affected by these.
Vote now!
top100books.abc.net.au
Tens of 1000s of you have already voted!
Most are voting for glorious novels.
I'm a weirdo.
My lucky occupational hazard is I interview a lot of non-fiction authors.
Was profoundly affected by these.
Vote now!
top100books.abc.net.au
September 5, 2025 at 8:58 PM
ABC Radio National's #Top100Books of 21C vote is going OFF!
Tens of 1000s of you have already voted!
Most are voting for glorious novels.
I'm a weirdo.
My lucky occupational hazard is I interview a lot of non-fiction authors.
Was profoundly affected by these.
Vote now!
top100books.abc.net.au
Tens of 1000s of you have already voted!
Most are voting for glorious novels.
I'm a weirdo.
My lucky occupational hazard is I interview a lot of non-fiction authors.
Was profoundly affected by these.
Vote now!
top100books.abc.net.au
The small wins
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July 23, 2025 at 12:25 PM
The small wins
Wordle 1,495 3/6
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Wordle 1,495 3/6
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See you at the NOW OR NEVER FESTIVAL in August
Hosting this important discussion at the @wheelercentre.bsky.social
on First Nations knowledges & AI with authors of the book The AI (R)evolution, Associate Prof Jessica Russ-Smith and Prof Michelle D. Lazarus
www.wheelercentre.com/events-ticke...
Hosting this important discussion at the @wheelercentre.bsky.social
on First Nations knowledges & AI with authors of the book The AI (R)evolution, Associate Prof Jessica Russ-Smith and Prof Michelle D. Lazarus
www.wheelercentre.com/events-ticke...
Charting the Future: First Nations Knowledges and Artificial Intelligence
www.wheelercentre.com
July 23, 2025 at 5:17 AM
See you at the NOW OR NEVER FESTIVAL in August
Hosting this important discussion at the @wheelercentre.bsky.social
on First Nations knowledges & AI with authors of the book The AI (R)evolution, Associate Prof Jessica Russ-Smith and Prof Michelle D. Lazarus
www.wheelercentre.com/events-ticke...
Hosting this important discussion at the @wheelercentre.bsky.social
on First Nations knowledges & AI with authors of the book The AI (R)evolution, Associate Prof Jessica Russ-Smith and Prof Michelle D. Lazarus
www.wheelercentre.com/events-ticke...
See you at Beaker St Festival in Hobart in August
Hosting the annual GREAT DEBATE ...always a hit and hilarious
tickets.beakerstreet.com.au/Events/THE-B...
and the DARK SKY DINNER
tickets.beakerstreet.com.au/Events/DARK-...
Hosting the annual GREAT DEBATE ...always a hit and hilarious
tickets.beakerstreet.com.au/Events/THE-B...
and the DARK SKY DINNER
tickets.beakerstreet.com.au/Events/DARK-...
THE BEAKER STREET DEBATE
Natasha Mitchell hosts the battle of brains and bravado
tickets.beakerstreet.com.au
July 23, 2025 at 5:15 AM
See you at Beaker St Festival in Hobart in August
Hosting the annual GREAT DEBATE ...always a hit and hilarious
tickets.beakerstreet.com.au/Events/THE-B...
and the DARK SKY DINNER
tickets.beakerstreet.com.au/Events/DARK-...
Hosting the annual GREAT DEBATE ...always a hit and hilarious
tickets.beakerstreet.com.au/Events/THE-B...
and the DARK SKY DINNER
tickets.beakerstreet.com.au/Events/DARK-...
See you at Byron Writers Festival in August
Hosting these four fabulous sessions
www.byronwritersfestival.com/festival/wri...
Hosting these four fabulous sessions
www.byronwritersfestival.com/festival/wri...
Byron Writers Festival | Writers
www.byronwritersfestival.com
July 23, 2025 at 5:12 AM
See you at Byron Writers Festival in August
Hosting these four fabulous sessions
www.byronwritersfestival.com/festival/wri...
Hosting these four fabulous sessions
www.byronwritersfestival.com/festival/wri...
Reposted by Natasha Mitchell (she/her)
Melbourne! Join us at the Sophia Club on 16 July where we’ll explore the meaning and purpose of friendship with philosopher @markalfano.bsky.social, hosted by @natashamitchell.bsky.social. Get your tickets: buff.ly/iXOuSSq
What are friends for? — Brunswick Ballroom, July 16
What is the nature of friendship? What is its purpose and what does it require? And why do humans have friends in the first place?
sophiaclub.co
June 24, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Melbourne! Join us at the Sophia Club on 16 July where we’ll explore the meaning and purpose of friendship with philosopher @markalfano.bsky.social, hosted by @natashamitchell.bsky.social. Get your tickets: buff.ly/iXOuSSq
WE ASKED FOR WORKERS, WE GOT PEOPLE
Hear this timely event I hosted. On BIG IDEAS
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
And read recent related excoriating reportage on PALM visa scheme issues
Pregnancies, abuse, discrimination
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...
Slavery
www.abc.net.au/pacific/prog...
Hear this timely event I hosted. On BIG IDEAS
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
And read recent related excoriating reportage on PALM visa scheme issues
Pregnancies, abuse, discrimination
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...
Slavery
www.abc.net.au/pacific/prog...
We asked for workers and got people — inside the temporary visa scheme putting food on your plate - ABC listen
A workforce we rarely hear about, lives in limbo, and stories from the coalface. From economic gains and cultural exchanges to exploitation and absconding, what are the successes and problems of the ...
www.abc.net.au
June 18, 2025 at 12:26 PM
WE ASKED FOR WORKERS, WE GOT PEOPLE
Hear this timely event I hosted. On BIG IDEAS
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
And read recent related excoriating reportage on PALM visa scheme issues
Pregnancies, abuse, discrimination
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...
Slavery
www.abc.net.au/pacific/prog...
Hear this timely event I hosted. On BIG IDEAS
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
And read recent related excoriating reportage on PALM visa scheme issues
Pregnancies, abuse, discrimination
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...
Slavery
www.abc.net.au/pacific/prog...
We're addicted to it, especially Australians.
But fast farshun, sweetie darling, is seriously f**ed up for the planet & humanity.
Four guests, including acclaimed fashion designer #KitWillow, join me from the frontier of change.
Hear now on the BIG IDEAS podcast
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
But fast farshun, sweetie darling, is seriously f**ed up for the planet & humanity.
Four guests, including acclaimed fashion designer #KitWillow, join me from the frontier of change.
Hear now on the BIG IDEAS podcast
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
June 18, 2025 at 11:39 AM
We're addicted to it, especially Australians.
But fast farshun, sweetie darling, is seriously f**ed up for the planet & humanity.
Four guests, including acclaimed fashion designer #KitWillow, join me from the frontier of change.
Hear now on the BIG IDEAS podcast
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
But fast farshun, sweetie darling, is seriously f**ed up for the planet & humanity.
Four guests, including acclaimed fashion designer #KitWillow, join me from the frontier of change.
Hear now on the BIG IDEAS podcast
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Where do you look for the secret, untold, lost, hidden histories? Can we are to truly understand ourselves without them? Joining me at Melbourne Writers Festival
Santilla Chingaipe
Sita Sargeant
Steve Vizard
for THE PAST IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY
Hear now on BIG IDEAS
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Santilla Chingaipe
Sita Sargeant
Steve Vizard
for THE PAST IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY
Hear now on BIG IDEAS
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
June 18, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Where do you look for the secret, untold, lost, hidden histories? Can we are to truly understand ourselves without them? Joining me at Melbourne Writers Festival
Santilla Chingaipe
Sita Sargeant
Steve Vizard
for THE PAST IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY
Hear now on BIG IDEAS
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Santilla Chingaipe
Sita Sargeant
Steve Vizard
for THE PAST IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY
Hear now on BIG IDEAS
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Celebrating the small wins and flukes.
Wordle 1,428 3/6
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May 17, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Celebrating the small wins and flukes.
Wordle 1,428 3/6
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Mark Z*ckerberg claims corporations are being culturally neutered - are they?
Joining me: journo #CatherineFox (author, The Boss Bias) & lawyer @joshbornstein.bsky.social (author, Working for the Brand:How Corporations are Destroying Free Speech)
We roam far & wide!
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Joining me: journo #CatherineFox (author, The Boss Bias) & lawyer @joshbornstein.bsky.social (author, Working for the Brand:How Corporations are Destroying Free Speech)
We roam far & wide!
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Mark Zuckerberg claims corporations are culturally neutered — are they? Men, women, work, and the manosphere - ABC listen
Meta's Mark Zuckerberg has said “a lot of the corporate world has become culturally neutered” and that it needs more “masculine energy”? Has it and does it? At Meta, he recently shut down initiatives ...
www.abc.net.au
May 14, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Mark Z*ckerberg claims corporations are being culturally neutered - are they?
Joining me: journo #CatherineFox (author, The Boss Bias) & lawyer @joshbornstein.bsky.social (author, Working for the Brand:How Corporations are Destroying Free Speech)
We roam far & wide!
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Joining me: journo #CatherineFox (author, The Boss Bias) & lawyer @joshbornstein.bsky.social (author, Working for the Brand:How Corporations are Destroying Free Speech)
We roam far & wide!
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Reposted by Natasha Mitchell (she/her)
Want to make sense of this extraordinary moment & a world in chaos?
@johnthelyonsden.bsky.social Greg Sheridan
@emmashortis.bsky.social @joshtaylor.bsky.social joined me for a BIG conversation at Sorrento Writers Festival.
8pm across Oz on ABC Radio National or HERE
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
@johnthelyonsden.bsky.social Greg Sheridan
@emmashortis.bsky.social @joshtaylor.bsky.social joined me for a BIG conversation at Sorrento Writers Festival.
8pm across Oz on ABC Radio National or HERE
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
April 30, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Want to make sense of this extraordinary moment & a world in chaos?
@johnthelyonsden.bsky.social Greg Sheridan
@emmashortis.bsky.social @joshtaylor.bsky.social joined me for a BIG conversation at Sorrento Writers Festival.
8pm across Oz on ABC Radio National or HERE
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
@johnthelyonsden.bsky.social Greg Sheridan
@emmashortis.bsky.social @joshtaylor.bsky.social joined me for a BIG conversation at Sorrento Writers Festival.
8pm across Oz on ABC Radio National or HERE
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Want to make sense of this extraordinary moment & a world in chaos?
@johnthelyonsden.bsky.social Greg Sheridan
@emmashortis.bsky.social @joshtaylor.bsky.social joined me for a BIG conversation at Sorrento Writers Festival.
8pm across Oz on ABC Radio National or HERE
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
@johnthelyonsden.bsky.social Greg Sheridan
@emmashortis.bsky.social @joshtaylor.bsky.social joined me for a BIG conversation at Sorrento Writers Festival.
8pm across Oz on ABC Radio National or HERE
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
April 30, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Want to make sense of this extraordinary moment & a world in chaos?
@johnthelyonsden.bsky.social Greg Sheridan
@emmashortis.bsky.social @joshtaylor.bsky.social joined me for a BIG conversation at Sorrento Writers Festival.
8pm across Oz on ABC Radio National or HERE
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
@johnthelyonsden.bsky.social Greg Sheridan
@emmashortis.bsky.social @joshtaylor.bsky.social joined me for a BIG conversation at Sorrento Writers Festival.
8pm across Oz on ABC Radio National or HERE
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Reposted by Natasha Mitchell (she/her)
Tune in tomorrow and Thursday for ABC Radio National’s broadcast of the ‘Making cancer treatment worth it’ public forum with Big Ideas presenter Natasha Mitchell in conversation with top cancer and stem cell scientists: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
@natashamitchell.bsky.social @asscr.bsky.social
@natashamitchell.bsky.social @asscr.bsky.social
How do we make cancer treatment worth it, work better, and less harmful? - ABC listen
Cancer is common and chemo and radiotherapies can save or extend our lives. But sometimes they don't, or they stop working, or they come with disabling long-term side effects. In a state of desperation, some of us seek out unproven alternatives which might even put us at greater risk of cancer. Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell and guests to find out how scientists are attacking the problem of cancer treatment. This event was organised by the Australasian Society of Stem Cell Research, University of Adelaide, and National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia. Speakers Professor Mark Dawson Haematologist and clinician-scientist Associate Director of Research Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University of Melbourne. Associate Professor David Elliot Stem cell researcher and leader of the Heart Disease group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute Principal investigator, Novo Nordisk Foundation for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW). Professor Megan Munsie Immediate Past President, Australasian Society of Stem Cell Research (ASSCR) Professor of Emerging Technologies (Stem Cells) Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the University of Melbourne Thank also to Tanya Ha from Science in Public and Dr Luke Isbel from the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute. Further listening How surfing writer Tim Baker and doctor Peter Goldsworthy learnt to live well and laugh with cancer (Big Ideas, 2025)
www.abc.net.au
April 21, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Tune in tomorrow and Thursday for ABC Radio National’s broadcast of the ‘Making cancer treatment worth it’ public forum with Big Ideas presenter Natasha Mitchell in conversation with top cancer and stem cell scientists: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
@natashamitchell.bsky.social @asscr.bsky.social
@natashamitchell.bsky.social @asscr.bsky.social
Bit on, and then some!
Hosting these Sorrento Writers Festival panels this weekend:
sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/artfuel/prog...
Hosting these Sorrento Writers Festival panels this weekend:
sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/artfuel/prog...
April 22, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Bit on, and then some!
Hosting these Sorrento Writers Festival panels this weekend:
sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/artfuel/prog...
Hosting these Sorrento Writers Festival panels this weekend:
sorrentowritersfestival.com.au/artfuel/prog...
Reposted by Natasha Mitchell (she/her)
"On Tyranny" is a #1 NYT bestseller again. I wish the moment were different. But I’m glad the book is useful. And grateful for all the kind words about putting the 20 lessons to work.
snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-les...
snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-les...
Twenty Lessons, read by John Lithgow
Key selections from On Tyranny, for viewing and sharing
snyder.substack.com
April 19, 2025 at 1:28 PM
"On Tyranny" is a #1 NYT bestseller again. I wish the moment were different. But I’m glad the book is useful. And grateful for all the kind words about putting the 20 lessons to work.
snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-les...
snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-les...
Reposted by Natasha Mitchell (she/her)
The White House has turned COVID.gov from a public health resource into a politically charged platform promoting the lab-leak theory and attacking specific scientists and the pandemic response in general. Let’s fact check its 5 headline claims… 🧵
April 19, 2025 at 8:47 AM
The White House has turned COVID.gov from a public health resource into a politically charged platform promoting the lab-leak theory and attacking specific scientists and the pandemic response in general. Let’s fact check its 5 headline claims… 🧵
Reposted by Natasha Mitchell (she/her)
Abrego Garcia's wife: "I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive. Kilmar, if you can hear me, stay strong. God hasn't forgotten about you. Our children are asking when you will come home ... they miss their dad so much."
April 15, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Abrego Garcia's wife: "I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive. Kilmar, if you can hear me, stay strong. God hasn't forgotten about you. Our children are asking when you will come home ... they miss their dad so much."
Yeah nah. Sorry. This whole spectacle was weird. Happy for them.
But Billionaire Bezos, how about editorial independence & press freedom @washingtonpost.com - and a living wage deal for Amazon workers?
USA, how about not sacking ECR & POC women space scientists/engineers at #nasa right now?
1/2
But Billionaire Bezos, how about editorial independence & press freedom @washingtonpost.com - and a living wage deal for Amazon workers?
USA, how about not sacking ECR & POC women space scientists/engineers at #nasa right now?
1/2
April 15, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Yeah nah. Sorry. This whole spectacle was weird. Happy for them.
But Billionaire Bezos, how about editorial independence & press freedom @washingtonpost.com - and a living wage deal for Amazon workers?
USA, how about not sacking ECR & POC women space scientists/engineers at #nasa right now?
1/2
But Billionaire Bezos, how about editorial independence & press freedom @washingtonpost.com - and a living wage deal for Amazon workers?
USA, how about not sacking ECR & POC women space scientists/engineers at #nasa right now?
1/2
Reposted by Natasha Mitchell (she/her)
Reposted by Natasha Mitchell (she/her)
“Kennedy’s team requested that Marks turn over data on cases of brain swelling and deaths caused by the measles vaccine—data that Marks said doesn’t exist because there have been no such confirmed cases in the U.S.” www.wsj.com/health/healt...
Exclusive | Ousted Vaccine Chief Says RFK Jr.’s Team Sought Data to Justify Anti-Science Stance
Dr. Peter Marks says the new health secretary’s team wants to show vaccines aren’t safe while promoting dangerous and unproven treatments.
www.wsj.com
April 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
“Kennedy’s team requested that Marks turn over data on cases of brain swelling and deaths caused by the measles vaccine—data that Marks said doesn’t exist because there have been no such confirmed cases in the U.S.” www.wsj.com/health/healt...