Words on Wednesday Archives - Page 2 of 3

The Evolution of Humans with Fran Dory

We humans share something like 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees. This means at some point we had a common ancestor, but once our paths diverged, how did our early ancestors become us? Fran Dory, Manager of Exhibitions at the Australian Museum talks with Sylvia about this mysterious common ancestor and how we became human. […]

The story of a Truffle farm with Barbara Hill

Barbara Hill established Macenmist, a Truffle Farm out of Bredbo, New South Wales just north of the Snowy Mountains back in the 1990s with her husband. When she bought the property some 30 years ago, it was underdeveloped, but today it is a thriving establishment that produces Black Perigord Truffles. But how did that happen […]

Warfare today with Dr. Keith Suter

In today’s world with global conflicts rising, Sylvia looks at warfare, what it is, what it was, and what its likely to be. Dr. Keith Suter is global futurist and media commentator in national and foreign affairs and he sits down with Sylvia to talk about wars of the past and present, and what warfare […]

Chocolate with chocolatier Jin Sun Kim

Jin Sun Kim came to Australia from her native Korea to become a pastry chef. Along the way she fell in love with chocolate and is now a chocolatier at her business Kakawa in Darlinghurst. Learn about where chocolate comes from, how it is made and what makes it good – and bad! […]

Eat Your History Part 6: Curry with Jacqui Newling

The first recorded curry meal served in the colony was at a dinner party given bt Governor Macquarie. It was the food of the upper classes and, as we have learned with other foodstuffs, it doesn’t come on to the tables of average households until it is cheap and plentiful. Commercial curry powders came to […]

Eat Your History Part 5: Jelly with Jacqui Newling

Jelly arrived in the colony long after it was fashionable on tables in England. It was very much a rich man’s dish because of the time it took to make. Learn about these techniques and how jelly later becomes a staple in all Australian homes. […]

Eat Your History Part 4: Oysters

Jacqui Newling returns with Part 4 on oysters. In the early days, oysters were used as mortar. However, we quickly started harvesting them for eating and by the 1860s had seriously depleted this resource. Thus began oyster farming. […]

Eat Your History Part 3: Tea with Jacqui Newling

In this episode Jacqui looks at tea. Convicts and poor settlers had drunk tea back in England, but it was not considered a staple and was not included in convicts’ rations. As more idea from China came into the colony, the poor drank cheap green tea while the wealthy drank black tea with milk and […]

Eat Your History Part 2: Sugar with Jacqui Newling

When the convicts and first settlers arrived, sugar was not a staple. It was still a very expensive commodity, only on the tables of the wealthy. Learn how sugar became more plentiful, cheaper and part of everyone’s life. […]

Eat Your History Part 1: Bread with Jacqui Newling

We return to a series from 2016 with Jacqui Newling called Eat Your History. Jacqui is colonial gastronomer at Sydney Living Museums and in this series, she takes us through the history of basic food staples in the early colony. First episode is our most basic: bread. […]

Dancing with the Enemy with Diane Armstrong

Diane’s latest book is set in Jersey, one of the Channel Islands occupied by the Nazis during World War II and alternates in time between those dark days and the present. Diane talks about the inspiration for the novel and her research, including her trips to Jersey. […]

The Musical – More than entertainment! Part 1 with Sue Jowell

Sue Jowell joins us for a new series entitled The Musical – More Than Entertainment. In Part 1, she introduces the background and early history of the musical from the 18th century, through vaudeville and Gilbert and Sullivan of the 19th century. We conclude with where Sue’s heart belongs: the silver screen and the first […]