Airdate: Decoding Danger

Dr Jordan Nguyen is narrator of a 3 part ABC documentary series Decoding Danger delves into the science behind nature’s greatest threats, to find ways to stay safe.

Australia is a land of extremes. Apocalyptic fire storms, raging floods, and tropical cyclones, the most venomous creatures in the world, fearsome crocodiles, and deadly sharks. Like few other places in the world, Australia has a reputation for danger.

In a new era in which the role that humans play in natural systems is more critical than ever, it’s time to come to grips with the forces of nature that threaten us.

In this three-part series we dive deep into the science behind nature’s greatest threats… to learn how new technologies and discoveries can help us understand the forces that shape life… in Australia, and around the world.

Technology is exploding at an exponential pace, offering up solutions that would have been unthinkable only a generation ago. Robots can learn to recognise endangered eagles, sharks can be safely repelled by new devices that exploit their million year old biology.

By drawing on ancient Indigenous knowledge and cutting edge digital technologies, we can better prepare for bushfires as they develop into 21st century firestorms. By mimicking the techniques of species that have evolved in the harsh Australian environment, we can learn to draw water out of thin air, and make buildings that breath. And by looking into the Australia’s deep past, we can learn lessons about this harsh land and prepare for the future.

Production credits: Alan Erson – Executive Producer; Kate Pappas – Executive Producer; Nick McInerney – Writer/Director; 

9.30pm Tuesday 31 August on ABC.