Close-up portrait of Carl Smith wearing glasses with tortoiseshell frames, smiling, and dressed in a black shirt against a plain white background.

Award-winning radio documentaries, podcasts, and online features.

Co-host of the popular children’s ethics podcast Short & Curly.

Author, educator, researcher, and PhD Candidate.

About

14 years experience making radio shows and podcasts for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)’s Radio National, BBC, RNZ, WNYC, CBC, ABC Radio Australia, Monocle, and more.

Plus in-depth multimedia science journalism for ABC Science - latest stories here.

10 years experience presenting children’s shows, including Behind the News, Pickle, Minibeast Heroes, and the popular ethics podcast Short & Curly.

Tutor, lecturer and sessional academic in journalism and podcasting, PhD Candidate at the University of Queensland.

Award-winning science reporting, including a Walkley Award for Long-form Journalism, a Eureka Prize for Science Journalism, a Covering Climate Now Award, and a Deep Dive Grant from the Pulitzer Centre.

Co-Editor of the Best Australian Science Writing 2024 book.

Science Journalists Association of Australia’s Vice President.

2025 European Journalism Fellow at the Freie Universität Berlin.

Two people exploring a rocky beach near a large striped cliff walls, one holding a camera or phone and the other standing with a backpack, during daytime.

Podcast host

  • 'Pacific Scientific' podcast - ABC Radio Australia

    Creator of the award-winning series taking you deep into the Pacific region to meet the scientists living and breathing research.

    Person underwater holding snorkel mask close to the camera, with arm extended and body behind, in clear blue water.
  • 'Strange Frontiers' podcast - ABC Radio National

    Host of the series taking you to unusual and remarkable places where science happens.

    A man wearing a striped beanie and blue outdoor jacket standing in front of snowy mountains and forested landscape in the background.
  • 'Short & Curly' podcast - ABC Kids & Family

    Co-host of Short & Curly, making philosophy and ethics easy, entertaining, and thought-provoking.

Storytelling with sound

  • A man with a prosthetic arm bent over and holding a green ball with his prosthetic hand.

    Bionic Bodies - ABC 'Science Show'

    Sight for the blind, hearing for the deaf, a body with functionality restored. These are the promises of bionics.

    In this Walkley Award-winning series, Bionic Bodies, Carl Smith examines the emerging field of artificial body parts.

  • Person snorkeling underwater near a large rock formation.

    Searching for awe, when you've never felt it - ABC 'All in the Mind'

    Have you ever experienced the feeling of awe?

    Today we follow one person's attempt at finding awe when she's never felt it before.

  • The Apocalypse - ABC 'Science Friction'

    Science Friction's three-part series, The Apocalypse, interrogating three dramatic natural events that could catastrophically change life as we know it.

  • Patient Zero - ABC Radio National

    Senior Producer for the Eureka Prize-winning series Patient Zero, tracing historical disease outbreaks back to their source.

Field reporting, decoding complex content

  • Click-Sick - ABC 'Science Friction'

    Series Producer of Click-Sick, which hunts down the sources, considers the harms, and shines a spotlight on fake health claims.

  • Surgeons and medical staff performing a surgery in an operating room.

    Chimeras in Medicine - ABC 'Health Report'

    At the cutting edge of medical science, humans and animals are being combined. Hear how in this two-part series.

    A finalist for the 2022 Eureka Prize for Science Journalism.

  • A room filled with vintage computer technology and circuit boards, including an oscilloscope, analysis equipment, and a cash register.

    Electronic Music's Origin Story - ABC 'Sum of All Parts'

    Where and when did a digital computer play music for the first time? The surprising story of how Australia’s first computer started singing.

    Listen here.

  • Older man with white hair kneeling on dry soil, inspecting or working on a piece of equipment nearby, with a field and trees in the background under a clear blue sky.

    Energy Futures - ABC 'Science Show'

    In Energy FuturesCarl Smith examines Australia’s energy options beyond fossil fuels.

    How do hydro, nuclear, solar, wind, ocean, and other alternatives stack up?

  • A young girl in vintage clothing sits on a stool, looking into a scientific microscope positioned on a desk with a brick base, in a room with a window and blinds.

    Forgotten women of Australian computing - ABC 'Science Friction'

    Hear about the women in Australian computing who were nearly left out of the history books.

    A finalist for the 2020 Eureka Prize for Science Journalism.

  • Close-up of a human eye with visible iris, eyelashes, and reflected outdoor scene.

    The Mind's Eye - ABC 'All in the Mind'

    Neurologists believe roughly 2 per cent of people can't conjure an image in their mind's eye.

    But is it really so important?

    Listen here.

  • A rat in a cage with leaves, seen through the metal bars of the cage.

    Trouble in Paradise - BBC 'The Chase'

    How scientists are trying to eradicate rats and mosquitoes threatening French Polynesia. Listen here.

    A co-production for The BBC’s Discovery and ABC’s Off Track.

  • Person wearing a black glove holding a small fossil, on a beach excavation site with dirt ground.

    Frothin' on Fossils - ABC 'Science Show'

    Hidden in the cliffs of Victoria’s Surf Coast, are clues to an ancient whale mystery.

    Listen here.

Feature writing and photography

  • A person holding a small rodent-like animal with an open mouth. The person is wearing a black tank top and the animal is being held with a blue glove. The background suggests an outdoor setting.

    A pest in paradise

    What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.

    Read here.

  • A snow-covered mountain with a modern multi-story building or research station built into the slope, featuring large windows and outdoor staircases.

    From a snowy alpine lair, lasers pierce the night

    What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.

    Read here.

  • Aerial view of a large hotel building surrounded by boats in the ocean with coral reefs visible beneath the water.

    The bizarre story of Australia's floating hotel and its 14,000km round journey to North Korea

    What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.

    Read here.

  • Bionic eyes, arms and spines are no longer science fiction

    In the spring of 1984, something unusual began to happen to Dianne Ashworth's vision.

    Read here.

  • A landscape view of a wind farm with multiple wind turbines spread across rolling hills under a partly cloudy sky.

    A guide to Australia's future energy options

    Australians are looking to a future without coal. So what are our other options? Carl Smith guides us through Australia's alternative energy sources.

    Read here.

  • Scientists build 'DNA robots' that transport molecular cargo using 'arms' and 'feet'

    US researchers have built a team of robots, made entirely out of DNA, that can walk around and sort molecules.

    Read here.

Multi-platform storytelling

  • Reporter, writer, presenter, and video journalist across a host of ABC shows, including:

    Behind the News

    ABC News

    730

    Landline

    Minibeast Heroes

    And a regular on-air guest for shows like ABC News 24, The Project, and more.

  • I love taking photos in the field while I’m recording - almost all of the pictures above are my own, and you can check out my written stories for more.

  • I’ve been very lucky to experiment with creating digital comics to help explain complex science topics, like:

    The demon’s in AI’s data (an educational narrative comic)

    I needed my son to get tested for COVID-19 — but a dodgy Facebook post stood in my way (ABC News Online)

  • Regular MC and host of live events across Australia, including at the Sydney Writers’ Festival, World Science Festival Brisbane, Adelaide Writers’ Week, Australian Museum, and elsewhere.

    Judge, facilitator, performer, and live interviewer on-stage for children and adults, helping publics make sense of complex information.

  • Vice President and a founding committee member of the Science Journalists Association of Australia (SJAA) helping establish workshops, grant and residency programs.

    A passionate supporter of young people, often assisting as a judge, mentor, speaker and MC across the country.

  • Co-Editor of the Best Australian Science Writing 2024 anthology, a book published through UNSW Press.

    I’ve also authored chapters in the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023, and 2025 editions.

Teaching & Research

PhD Candidate in Digital Journalism at the University of Queensland in Australia.

In 2025, a European Journalism Fellow at the Freie Universität Berlin.

Degrees in Journalism and Molecular Genetics, with a handful of papers published across both fields.

Since 2010, a sessional academic, tutor, and guest lecturer across numerous Australian universities, regularly teaching into Introductory Journalism, Radio Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, Podcasting, and Science Communication classes.

2025 Bellagio Centre Resident

2025 Humboldt Residency Programme

2024 ‘Berlin Residency Award’, University of Queensland

2024 Pulitzer Centre Deep Dive Ocean Reporting Grant Recipient

2023 MIP.labor Fellow, Freie Universität Berlin

2023 European Geosciences Union Fellow

2023 Falling Walls Media Fellow

2022 Journalist in Residence at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS)

Awards and reviews

  • 2024 Covering Climate Now Award

    Listen to the story here.

    “In two communities — one in the US state of Georgia and one in Scotland — marginalized communities that have been neglected by their governments are taking matters into their own hands to defend against flooding. While they’re at it, these grassroots movements, partnering with local scientists, are also experimenting with ways to restore the environment. This informative piece by Carl Smith serves up an inspiring look at the power and agency of community activists, while remaining clear-eyed about the challenges they face in the absence of systemic support. Judges called Smith’s work “refreshing” and imminently listenable.”

  • 2017 Young Walkley Award for long-form journalism

    The Walkley Awards are Australia’s premier journalism awards.

    For the series Bionic Bodies on ABC Radio National’s ‘Science Show’.

  • 2021 Eureka Prize for Science Journalism

    Patient Zero tells stories of disease outbreaks: where they begin, why they happen and how we found ourselves in the middle of one. From the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to medical mysteries of the past, this eight-part series provides a new lens through which to view pandemics.

    Read more here.

  • 2018 Webby Award Honoree, Kids & Family Podcasts

    For the children’s ethics and philosophy podcast ‘Short & Curly’.

    Read some lovely and emoji-filled reviews from our fiercely loyal fans here.

  • 2024 Pulitzer Centre Deep Dive Grant

    “Smith collaborated with locals to create a multimedia view of the atoll through photography and radio. His project reveals the possibilities for climate-threatened populations of a collaborative model between Western science and Indigenous traditional land stewardship. Smith takes a similar approach to his own reporting work, taking time to understand the local people’s culture, ways of knowing, and communication styles before pulling out a camera. The resulting series of reports reflects the bittersweet balance of hope and determination in the face of extreme climate threats.”

    More here.

  • 2023 Clarion Award for Health and Science Reporting

    Judges’ comments: “In a strong group of entries, ‘Strange Frontiers’ was a stand-out example of excellence in health, medical or science reporting. The journalist combined multimedia storytelling and in-depth research to deliver insightful and impactful reporting on seriously complex science, which has the potential to change lives and society. The reporting was accessible, immersive, and stunningly produced.”

Carl Smith and Jackson Ryan, Co-Editors of the book 'The Best Australian Science Writing 2024' at an event with a black backdrop featuring the UNSW Sydney logo and university shield.
Carl Smith with headphones recording an interview with a man who is squatting on a stone ledge. They are outdoors near the ocean with lush green plants and trees, under a partly cloudy sky.
Carl Smith in a suit and glasses holding a Walkley Award in front of a backdrop with the Walkley Foundation logo and a teardrop-shaped emblem.
A man in a dark suit and glasses is being interviewed outdoors in front of a large satellite dish with mountains in the background. He is speaking into multiple microphones held by reporter Carl Smith.

Contact

You can email me at the ABC - smith.carl[at]abc.net.au

I’m also on LinkedIn, or bluesky / twitter - @CarlSmithAUS

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