All That We Touch

What would it actually take to build a functioning circular economy in nutrients, starting with recycling human urine? That's the question driving this bonus episode of Liquid Gold, recorded live at South by Southwest Sydney 2025. UTS researcher Dana Cordell chairs a panel that pushes past the novelty of "wee as fertiliser" into the harder territory: phosphorus scarcity, wastewater emissions, contamination risk, and who should be paying for pollution in the first place. The conversation moves from Django Seccombe explaining why Sydney Water spends up to two billion dollars a year dealing with nutrients it could be recovering instead, to organic garlic grower Dr Michelle Zeibots on the practical "yuck factor" of getting farmers to actually use urine-derived fertiliser, to policy expert Liana Downey on why consumers so often end up carrying the cost of decisions made further up the supply chain. VOICES Kerry Tozer is a doctoral researcher at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS Jordan Roods is a doctoral researcher at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS Associate Professor Dana Cordell is a Research Director at the Institute for Sustainable Futures where she leads the Food Systems research group. Dana works with stakeholders across Australia, EU, UK, Sweden, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India, China, Malawi and the U.S. to identify how food systems can transform and circularise in response to a range of sustainability challenges, from climate change to urban sprawl, to the global phosphorus challenge. Django Seccombe is an environmental engineer who splits his time between establishing and embedding circular economy practice in Sydney Water and developing cross industry circular economy projects in the private sector. His projects cut across water, energy, food and waste systems. Dr Michelle Zeibots is a garlic farmer and a researcher with UTS’ Institute for Sustainable Futures, specialising in the analysis of sustainable urban passenger transport systems. Liana Downey is an experienced strategic advisor who helps leaders change the world. As Executive Director of Liana Downey & Associates, Liana and her team work with nonprofits, governments and social enterprises globally to increase impact. She is the author of Mission Control: how non profits and governments can focus, achieve more and change the world (Routledge, 2016). Have your say Jordan and Kerry have put together a short anonymous survey to hear what listeners think about urine recycling – "peecycling"! – and the problems it could solve. The survey link is in the show notes on the episode page. Participants who share their contact details go into a draw to win one of three $50 AUD Visa gift cards. Please make sure you read the participant information sheet and complete the consent requirements before completing the survey or uploading any audio or video that could identify you. Try it for yourself You can purchase your own bottle of eco-friendly urine-derived fertiliser to sprinkle on your plants via this link: https://www.nicegreentech.com/products Further reading Turning food waste into taste From flush to fertiliser, urine is liquid gold You can find plenty of fact sheets and articles about the future of urine recycling and a circular nutrient economy at the NiCE Hub website. Credits Producer: Celine Teo-Blockey Sound Engineering: Melissa May Additional Music: Om Bhandari Cover Art: Alexandra Morris Executive Producer, Impact Studios: Sarah Gilbert All That We Touch is an Impact Studios production, made on Gadigal land in Warrane/Sydney.

Every time we flush, we send a valuable resource down the drain: phosphorus, one of the essential building blocks of life and a key ingredient in the fertiliser that grows the world's food, along with nitrogen and potassium. Meanwhile, we mine phosphate rock and potash, and generate climate pollution to manufacture ammonia (rich in nitrogen) to produce industrial fertiliser - essential for growing food to feed a hungry planet But what if, instead of extracting our fertiliser in ways that damage the planet, we harnessed the waste our own bodies produce, feeding it back into the food chain, where it belongs? In this episode, host Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis traces how humans went from managing waste locally to flushing it away without a second thought. And with researchers Jordan Roods and Kerry Tozer, she explores the growing movement to recover nutrients from urine and turn them back into fertiliser — from university labs in Sydney, to a redesigned toilet prototype, and to a community-scale ‘peecycling’ program in Vermont. Voices Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis — host; health and social researcher Nicola Cama — historian, City of Sydney Michelle Maloney — legal scholar, advocate for earth-centred governance Kerry Tozer — doctoral researcher, Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS Jordan Roods — doctoral researcher, Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS Dana Cordell — associate professor, UTS; research supervisor to Kerry and Jordan Cara Beal — professor of environmental science and health; director, Cities Research Institute, Griffith University Abe Noe-Hayes — Rich Earth Institute, Vermont Have your say Jordan and Kerry have put together a short anonymous survey to hear what listeners think about urine recycling – "peecycling"! – and the problems it could solve. The survey link is in the show notes on the episode page. Participants who share their contact details go into a draw to win one of three $50 AUD Visa gift cards. Please make sure you read the participant information sheet and complete the consent requirements before completing the survey or uploading any audio or video that could identify you. Try it for yourself You can purchase your own bottle of eco-friendly urine-derived fertiliser to sprinkle on your plants via this link: https://www.nicegreentech.com/products Further reading You can find plenty of fact sheets and articles about the future of urine recycling and a circular nutrient economy at the NiCE Hub website. You can learn more about the Rich Earth Institute here. Credits Host: Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis, with Jordan Roods and Kerry Tozer Producers: Britta Jorgensen and Celine Teo-Blockey Sound Engineering: Melissa May Additional Music: Om Bhandari Cover Art: Alexandra Morris Editorial Support: Jane Curtis, Michelle Ransom-Hughes, Tamson Pietsch, Rachael Cusick Executive Producer, Impact Studios: Sarah Gilbert Thanks also to: Professor Ho Kyong Shon, Dr Ibrahim El Saliby, Associate Professor Jan-Olof Drangert, Professor Cara Beal, Dr Michelle Maloney, Dr Haley Joyell Smith, Gary Leeson, Mark Dunn, and Ed Hickson. Liquid Gold is an Impact Studios production, made on Gadigal land.

How can Wikipedia editors work with Indigenous content in a responsible way? Hear a panel discussion with Indigenous lawyers Dr Terri Janke, Shavonne Wright, and Matilda Langford on the new Wikimedia Australia guide to respectful, accurate engagement with Indigenous knowledge. Oral knowledge can't be referenced under Wikipedia's own rules, and that hits Indigenous knowledge hardest. Most Australian editors are non-Indigenous, and our research found their confidence with Indigenous content varies widely. Hear how a new practical guide, developed with Wikimedia Australia and led by Dr Terri Janke, will support you to include and edit First Nations content on Wikipedia. Recorded live at WikiCon Australia 2026. Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) and Indigenous Data Sovereignty Guide Wikimedia Australia has adopted the Guide as organisational practice for our Board, staff and funded projects. We are also pleased to share it as recommended good practice for editors and contributors who want to engage responsibly with Indigenous content across Wikimedia projects. It's grounded in a set of clear values: Valuing relationships and accuracy over quantity Respecting Indigenous cultural authority and protocols Being transparent about what is shared on Wiki platforms Supporting Indigenous agency and authorship Avoiding harm Rather than prescribing rules, the Guide outlines a risk-assessment approach, helping contributors to think through whether the content in front of them is lower-risk (general, non-sensitive Indigenous content) or something that calls for a higher level of caution (culturally sensitive, secret or sacred, or offensive material), and steps to follow in each case. It provides guidance on reliable sources and citation, metadata and description. It also addresses free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) – the principle that communities have the right to make decisions about their own knowledge before it's used. Read the Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) and Indigenous Data Sovereignty guide ‘The White Paper: the questions we’re still sitting with’ The Guide gives practical direction. The CultureStrong White Paper is honest about what's unresolved. It examines where open licensing and customary law pull against each other, where the law is silent, and where the wider Wikimedia movement, not just in Australia but worldwide, needs to keep talking. It also looks ahead. It recommends developing a dedicated First Nations Protocol for Wikimedia Australia through a staged, Indigenous-led process shaped with communities, Knowledge Holders and Wikimedians. Such a Protocol would deliver what the editing community is asking for: scenario-based guidance that reflects the diversity of the 200-plus First Nations across the Australian continent, and offering a methodology other Wikimedia chapters could adapt internationally. Read the White Paper The text above is from Wikimedia Australia’s Respecting First Nations knowledge on Wikimedia platforms Voices Heather Ford is an ARC Future Fellow and Professor in the School of Communication and Social Sciences at UTS. She is a former Advisory Board member of the Wikimedia Foundation and the author of “Writing the Revolution: Wikipedia and the Survival of Facts in the Digital Age” published by MIT Press. Terri Janke is a Wuthathi, Yadhaigana and Meriam woman and a nationally and internationally recognised expert on Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP). As Solicitor Director and owner of Terri Janke and Company, Terri leads a multidisciplinary team delivering legal and advisory services across ICIP, copyright, trade marks, business law and governance. John Paul Janke is a journalist, National Indigenous Affairs Editor at NITV and co-host of their flagship news and current affairs program The Point. Shevawn Wright is a Nunga and Irish practising artist and lawyer with expertise in the fine arts as well as commercial and construction law. Her areas of specialty include infrastructure projects and arts related legal issues. Shevaun is passionate about empowering First Nations people to thrive in both the public and private sectors through legal advocacy, broader community training and innovative contractual solutions. Matilda Langford is a paralegal at TJC who is skilled in community consultation, law, politics, and social media communications. Matilda completed her Bachelor of Arts (Politics) (2022) and her Bachelor of Laws (2024) from the University of Sydney. Elliot Bledsoe is the President of Wikimedia Australia, the Australian chapter of the international Wikimedia Foundation – and he is Co-lead of Creative Commons Australia – the local Chapter of the CC Global Network which promotes and encourages the use of CC licences in Australia. Elliott also runs Agentry, an arts marketing micro-consultancy. This panel discussion was recorded by Jane Curtis at WikiCon Australia 2026 in Canberra, Australia. Credits The executive producer of this series is Heather Ford. The series is hosted by Heather Ford, Francesca Sidoti and Richard Cooke. Produced by Jane Curtis. Associate producer is Francesa Sidoti. Sound by John Jacobs. Executive Producer of UTS Impact Studios is Sarah Gilbert. It’s produced on Gadigal Country in Sydney Australia. wikihistories is supported by Australian Research Council Grant DP220100662, ‘Wikipedia and the Nation’s Story: Towards Equity in Knowledge Production’. Find out more at wikihistories.net

Every student uses Wikipedia. Some schools and teachers still tell them not to. This episode asks why, and explains how to teach Wikipedia literacy to primary and secondary school students, instead of banning it outright. Researchers Heather Ford and Simon Knight answer questions and hear advice from teachers Ben Lawless, Marty Douglas and David Boon, and librarian Michelle Sadler. Hear what good, critical Wikipedia use looks like in the classroom or library: questions to ask before even opening Wikipedia; checking the Talk page; and lateral reading. Using Wikipedia in the Classroom for teachers A set of resources from the Wikimedia Foundation: Using Wikipedia to foster media and information literacy skills: Teachers Introductory booklet PDF (2020, 10 pages) Teachers’ Guide Module 1 PDF (2021, 72 pages) Teachers’ Guide Module 2 PDF (2021, 65 pages) Teachers’ Guide Module 3 PDF (2021, 56 pages) Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom (All languages) PDFs Five Ways to Use Wikipedia in the Classroom A Wikimedia blog post on how to integrate Wikipedia into classroom practice with: Source investigation Editing for accuracy Fact-Checking and Identifying Misinformation Neutral Point of View Practice Collaborative Editing Using Wikipedia in the Classroom for students A quick guide to using Wikipedia in a way that won’t make your teacher angry: Students Introductory booklet PDF (2020, 7 pages) WikiEdu For Instructors and their Students WikiEdu is an accredited program run in the US and Canada. However, its resources are available for everyone. In its flagship program, higher education instructors replace traditional assignments with the creation and improvement of Wikipedia articles. In place of writing a traditional term paper, students take on a real-world assignment that requires them to identify reliable sources, evaluate evidence, and synthesize complex information for a public audience. Read instructor resources on: crucial information for designing successful Wikipedia assignments. successful strategies for incorporating Wikipedia assignments engage in theoretical thinking around Wikipedia and knowledge production Read students resources on: Editing Wikipedia Illustrating Wikipedia Evaluating Wikipedia topic-specific guidelines for contributors. More reading XKCD comic with 'Citation needed' Original XKCD comic 285 Wikipedian Protester An explanation of XKCD comic 285 on the 'explain xkcd' wiki Using Wikipedia in the University classroom Authentic assessments: using Wikipedia in the University classroom (University of Sussex blog, 2022): The Educational Enhancement Team at the University of Sussex, UK, on how many of their academic Schools and Departments are looking at how they can add more authentic assessments to their modules - including Wikipedia assessments. Comparing Wikipedia, encyclopedias and AI Comparing Wikipedia, Traditional Encyclopedias, and Generative AI: The Wikipedia Assignment as Tool for Student Information Literacies (WikiEd blog, 2025): Professor Katie Hold had students compare a traditional encyclopedia, a Wikipedia article, and a generative AI query on their research topics as an information-literacy exercise. Students grew more appreciative of Wikipedia's verifiable sourcing, while criticizing AI outputs for inaccuracies, broken citations, and closely mirroring Wikipedia without attribution. The exercise reinforced that all three sources work best as starting points for further research, not endpoints. Research Wikipedia no worse for science info than Britannica, study finds (The Guardian, 2005) Internet encyclopaedias go head to head by Jim Giles (Nature, 2005) Voices Heather Ford is an ARC Future Fellow and Professor in the School of Communication and Social Sciences at UTS. She is a former Advisory Board member of the Wikimedia Foundation and the author of “Writing the Revolution: Wikipedia and the Survival of Facts in the Digital Age” published by MIT Press. Simon Knight is a member of the University of Technology Sydney Centre for Research on Education in a Digital Society (UTS: CREDS), and its founding Director. Dr Knight researches how people learn to navigate uncertainty, disagreement, and evidence, and the mediating role of technology in that. Credits The executive producer of this series is Heather Ford. The series is hosted by Heather Ford, Francesca Sidoti and Richard Cooke. Produced by Jane Curtis. Associate producer is Francesa Sidoti. Sound by John Jacobs. Executive Producer of UTS Impact Studios is Sarah Gilbert. It’s produced on Gadigal Country in Sydney Australia. wikihistories is supported by Australian Research Council Grant DP220100662, ‘Wikipedia and the Nation’s Story: Towards Equity in Knowledge Production’. Find out more at wikihistories.net

Five questions. Two hosts. One deceptively simple quiz. Can Wikipedia articles really be edited by anyone? Does the site rely on your $5 donations, or is there more to the story? Host Heather Ford goes head-to-head with guest Simon Knight in a true-or-false showdown about Wikipedia. Almost nothing is as straightforward as it sounds. This is All That We Touch: Wikipedia, a documentary podcast series exploring what shapes the world's most-read encyclopaedia, and how to use it better. Every question in this episode comes the Wikimedia Foundation's 2025 Global Readers Survey, testing how well people understand the site they use every day. Play along and test your knowledge! Voices Heather Ford is an ARC Future Fellow and Professor in the School of Communication and Social Sciences at UTS. She is a former Advisory Board member of the Wikimedia Foundation and the author of “Writing the Revolution: Wikipedia and the Survival of Facts in the Digital Age” published by MIT Press. Simon Knight is a member of the University of Technology Sydney Centre for Research on Education in a Digital Society (UTS: CREDS), and its founding Director. Dr Knight researches how people learn to navigate uncertainty, disagreement, and evidence, and the mediating role of technology in that. Quiz questions and more reading Quiz question #1 True or false? Wikipedia articles can be changed by anyone. You can and cannot change Wikipedia (Wikipedia) A community essay on editing, reverting edits, blocks and bans, page protection, oversight and deletion. Who writes Wikipedia? (Wikipedia) A community essay on the types of editors and the demographic skew of the volunteer base. Study reveals bot-on-bot editing wars raging on Wikipedia's pages (The Guardian, 2017) Over time, the encyclopedia’s software robots can become locked in combat, undoing each other’s edits and changing links, say researchers. Quiz question #2 True or false? Wikipedia articles must have pictures Wikimedia Commons A media file repository making available public domain and freely licensed educational media content (images, sound and video clips) to everyone, in their own language. Commons Courtesy: Reusing Creative Commons-licensed media is easier than you think by Joshua Leach (The Ink Tank blog, 2025) Quiz question #3 True or false? Wikipedia articles change over time Wikipedia at 25: What the data tells us (Pew Research Centre, 2026) Answers to some common questions about the site, based on data from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Statistics, including Which pages have been edited the most? And Which pages have had the most views or edits in a single day? An Encyclopedia with Breaking News by Brian Keegan (MIT Press, 2019) Wikipedia's unexpected ability to generate high-quality articles about current events is a critical part of its success story; Keegan offers lessons taken from this for addressing the sludge polluting other online platforms. The language geography of Wikipedia by Martin Dittus and Mark Graham (Oxford Internet Institute, 2022) Deaths in 2026 Wikipedia page Quiz question #4 True or false? The people who write Wikipedia articles are unpaid volunteers. Wikipedia How-To Guides for editors with a conflict of interest (The Ink Tank blog) How to properly request updates, whether adding a new logo, correcting errors, or handling disputes, without violating Wikipedia’s policies. Paid editors on Wikipedia: Should you be worried? (Kim Osman, The Conversation, 2014) Wikipedia:Conflict of interest/Paid contribution disclosure policy Quiz question #5 True or false? Wikipedia relies on donations to support its operations. How is Wikipedia funded? (Wikimedia Foundation, 2025) Fundraising statistics (Wikipedia, 2025) Credits The executive producer of this series is Heather Ford. The series is hosted by Heather Ford, Francesca Sidoti and Richard Cooke. Produced by Jane Curtis. Associate producer is Francesa Sidoti. Sound by John Jacobs. Bell music composition by Maksim Voloshin-Cleary. Executive Producer of UTS Impact Studios is Sarah Gilbert. It’s produced on Gadigal Country in Sydney Australia. wikihistories is supported by Australian Research Council Grant DP220100662, ‘Wikipedia and the Nation’s Story: Towards Equity in Knowledge Production’. Find out more at wikihistories.net