Sci_Burst

Happy silly season! This December we’re exploring what a solarpunk community looks like when the sun goes down, and the delightful subgenre that is ~lunarpunk~ 🌃🌙💜. We touch on human-nature relationships after dark 🦉, solarpunk technologies at nighttime (think bioluminescence, decolonial space travel 🛰️🪼🍄), and also what evening culture and festivals could look like in a solarpunk/lunarpunk future 🪅. Press play to learn more!Episode time stamps:0:00 Introduction7:37 Human-nature relationships at night21:08 Solarpunk technology at night41:40 Solarpunk evening culture and spirituality1:00:41 Good news from our world!Want more? Here are some things that we spoke about in this episode that we recommend:- What is lunarpunk? (https://solarpunkmagazine.com/what-is-lunarpunk/)- The Matrix Resurrection Brings Lunarpunk to the Big Screen (https://solarpunkmagazine.com/the-matrix-resurrection-brings-lunarpunk-to-the-big-screen/)- Avatar (2009 film)- Star Trek- Octavia Butler’s ‘Earthseed’ series- For too long, colonial language has dominated space exploration. There is a better way (https://theconversation.com/for-too-long-colonial-language-has-dominated-space-exploration-there-is-a-better-way-264886)- Tender for the night: After-dark cultural complexities in the night-time economy (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10304312.2011.617875)- Towards 24 Hour Cities: Reflection on Night-time Economy Policy Accelerator (https://worldcitiescultureforum.com/report/5th-edition/night-time-economy/)- Danny Bettay on Designing our Future Skies (https://cybernetics.anu.edu.au/news/2024/06/20/Danny-Bettay-on-designing-our-future-skies/)- Peter Swanton is using Indigenous knowledge to study the stars (https://reporter.anu.edu.au/all-stories/our-knowledges-are-significant-peter-swanton-indigenous-astronomy)Good News Stories:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-27/labor-rules-out-ai-training-copyright-exceptions/105935740https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2rz08en2po.amp

Just in time for the release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, we bring you a sequel Pokémon episode - with a twist! This time we ask the question: is the Pokémon universe truly solarpunk??? 👀👀👀Press play to hear about the solarpunk elements of Pokémon (including sustainability, clean energy, and harmonious human-nature relationships ♻️🌱⚡️), the not so solarpunk elements of Pokémon (including capitalist💰 and colonialist mechanics), and the future potential of the franchise 🔴⚪️👾Episode time stamps:0:00 Introduction3:28 Solarpunk elements of Pokémon 45:19 The not so solarpunk elements of Pokémon 58:43 The future of Pokémon 1:07:48 Good news from our world!Want more? Here are some things that we spoke about in this episode that we recommend:• Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of Sea (2006 movie)• Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009 movie)• Pokémon Sun and Moon (2016 games)• Bulbapedia on Sunyshore City (https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sunyshore_City)• Interview with Junichi Masuda in Nintendo Power (https://archive.org/details/Nintendo_Power_Issue_240_April_2009/page/n43/mode/2up)• How Does the POKEMON GOVERNMENT Work? (ft. BirdKeeperToby) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OefUCoIdfUg)• Pokemon: The First Movie (1997)What is meat made of in the Pokémon games? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PRiSkGCK0w)• Why Conservationists Should Heed Pokémon (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.295.5564.2367b)• ‘It is a Pokémon world’: The Pokémon franchise and the environment (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1367877913501240)• Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (2002 games)• From the top... | Pokemon Blazeblack Solarpunk Challange (#1) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpa8gQMrmCw)• Herbelovedghast’s quote from ‘Tonight’s realization: Pokémon is a Solarpunk setting.’ (https://pocketseizure.tumblr.com/post/172519120467)Good News Stories:https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cevz13xkxprohttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-04/backyard-biobanking-tasmania-alpine-plants-bushfire-threat/105730036

What happens when companies lie about their sustainability or pretend to be solarpunk? 🤥 Enter, the deceptive act of greenwashing 🤢⚠️⚠️ Press play to learn where the phrase comes from, why companies might do it, and how countries and communities are already combatting it to make the world a little more solarpunk! Bring your best selves, it’s not every day that a new Sci_Burst episode also coincides with a Taylor Swift album drop AND Mean Girls Day 😉☀️Episode time stamps:0:00 Introduction3:30 What is Greenwashing?21:45 Solarpunk washing ... it's a thing45:42 Moving away from greenwashing to the future of a more circular, sustainable, and solarpunk world58:47 Good news (clothing/fashion edition)Want more? Here are some things we spoke about in this episode that we recommend:• Greenwashing: Do you know what you’re buying? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2898878/• Big oil coined ‘carbon footprints’ to blame us for their greed. Keep them on the hook (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/23/big-oil-coined-carbon-footprints-to-blame-us-for-their-greed-keep-them-on-the-hook) • Concepts and forms of greenwashing: a systematic review (https://enveurope.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s12302-020-0300-3)• Jay Westerveld (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Westerveld)• How to spot greenwashing buzzwords Instagram post https://www.instagram.com/p/DIxyiZXtZ46/?img_index=8&igsh=Mmgxc3JvN3Bva2V0• McDonald’s rolling out green logo in Europe (https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34111784)• H&M Case Shows How Greenwashing Breaks Brand Promise (https://www.forbes.com/sites/retailwire/2022/07/13/hm-case-shows-how-greenwashing-breaks-brand-promise/)• Solarpunk, ESG and Greenwashing: How Firms Appeal to Green Investors (https://corporateinsight.com/solarpunk-esg-and-greenwashing-how-firms-appeal-to-green-investors/)• ASIC continues action on misleading claims to deter greenwashing misconduct(https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2024-releases/24-185mr-asic-continues-action-on-misleading-claims-to-deter-greenwashing-misconduct/)• Greenhushing: What is it, and why do companies do it? (https://lens.monash.edu/@cop/2024/10/29/1387058/greenhushing-what-is-it-and-why-do-companies-do-it)Good News Stories:https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/french-senate-backs-law-curb-ultra-fast-fashion-2025-06-10/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-24/australian-designer-takes-paper-clothing-to-catwalk/105319424

This is a very special episode of Sci_Burst – our first ever live recording!!!Press play to learn about third places, the science and hope of community, and accessible futures.Thanks to our live audience, videographer, and Woden Library staff for making this such a cosy and special recording xxThis project is supported by Inspiring Australia ACT and the ACT Government. Our equipment for this live recording was also made possible by YWCA Canberra. Episode time stamps:0:00 Episode intro2:53 What are third places?14:06 The science of community and third places34:23 Hopeful community futures45:27 Good News segmentWant more? Here are some things we spoke about in this episode that we recommend:- The Great Good Place (1989) by Ray Oldenburg- Closure of ‘third places’? Exploring potential consequences for collective health and wellbeing (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S135382921930735X)- Integrating the environmental and genetic architectures of aging and mortality (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03483-9)- What are Third Places and Why Do They Matter? (https://www.shankerinstitute.org/blog/what-are-third-places-and-why-do-they-matter)- 'Third places' are good for your wellbeing and wallet. Here is how to find yours (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-14/third-spaces-benefits-wellbeing-and-wallet/103577022)- Libraries are becoming 'community living rooms' keeping regional Australians connected (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-31/libraries-offer-safe-space-and-inclusion-in-regional-communities/105312932)Good News Stories:https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2024/feb/02/prioritize-friend-relationships-loneliness-healthhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/13/playing-thriving-reef-sounds-underwater-speakers-save-damaged-corals#scicomm #community #thirdplaces #hopefulfutures #solarpunk #libraries #walkablecommunities #accessibility

Loved the Superman (2025) movie and looking for more #punk hope? 👩‍🎤 You've come to the right place! Listen to this episode to learn all about the punk of #solarpunk, where it came from, and how it differs (in a very good way!) from other -punk genres like #cyberpunk and #steampunk 😎🤙 Kindness and optimism, with a dash of #sustainability, are officially IN!☀️🫶💛Episode Time Stamps:0:00 Episode intro1:36 What even is 'punk'? Definitions14:52 Punk in Solarpunk vs punk adjacent genres35:00 Towards a punk-i-fied future41:14 Good news segmentWant More? Here are some of the things we spoke about in this episode that we recommend:- Punk Identities, Punk Utopias: Global Punk and Media edited by Matt Grimes- “Solarpunk” & the Pedagogical Value of Utopia" by Isaijah Johnson (https://www.susted.com/wordpress/content/solarpunk-the-pedagogical-value-of-utopia_2020_05/)- Where is the Punk in Solarpunk? Questioning Tradition and Innovation in an Eco-optimist Digital Aesthetic? by Théo Maligeay (https://hal.science/hal-04295131v2/document)- Global cyberpunk: Reclaiming utopia in Japanese cyberpunk film by Sasha Myerson (https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/sfftv.2020.21)- Planting Seeds of Hope: A Survey of Solarpunk Futures by Dilan Guner- Solarpunk: Notes toward a manifesto by Adam Flynn (https://hieroglyph.asu.edu/2014/09/solarpunk-notes-toward-a-manifesto/)Good News Stories:https://www.euronews.com/green/2025/04/17/clean-energy-from-rain-scientists-generate-electricity-from-falling-dropletshttps://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/infant-rare-incurable-disease-first-successfully-receive-personalized-gene-therapy-treatment#scicomm #popculture #radicaloptimism #kindness