About this season
Catalyst is Australia's premier science investigation series. Each week the team brings you stories from Australia and around the world, meeting scientists at the forefront of discovery.
Episodes (8)
1. Allergy Clinic
Aired 12 February 2019 • 30 min
With Australia in the grip of an allergy epidemic, we set up a pop-up clinic to understand why so many of us are suffering from these conditions and reveal the latest science about what we can do to treat and prevent them.
2. The Mindfulness Experiment
Aired 19 February 2019 • 30 min
Catalyst brings together 15 ordinary Australians to take part in a revealing scientific experiment - to see if practicing mindfulness can help treat conditions like chronic pain, anxiety and stress that affect millions of us.
3. Black Hole Hunters
Aired 26 February 2019 • 30 min
Professor Tamara Davis meets the scientists on a quest to hunt down black holes, the journey has brought us to the cusp of an unprecedented milestone in scientific achievement - to photograph a black hole for the first time.
4. Staying Younger for Longer: Body
Aired 13 August 2019 • 30 min
Ian Henderson, the recently retired and much loved ABC newsreader, sets out on a quest to find the secret to ageing healthily, and along the way uncovers some amazing new science that could benefit us all.
5. Staying Younger for Longer: Brain
Aired 20 August 2019 • 30 min
Dr Sarah McKay uncovers the revolutionary new science that promises to keep your brain healthy into old age - and uncovers the drugs that hope to defeat many of the diseases of ageing.
6. Should I Risk It?
Aired 8 October 2019 • 30 min
Lily Serna finds out how maths can help us all become smarter with the risks we take in life. And she discovers that far from taking too many risks, many of us are playing it too safe.
7. Face Surgeons: Inside the Craniofacial Unit
Aired 15 October 2019 • 30 min
For 6 weeks, Catalyst was given unprecedented access to an incredible unit that performs some of the most complex and specialised craniofacial surgery in the world to help rebuild people's faces and lives.
8. Investigating Body Dysmorphia
Aired 22 October 2019 • 30 min
Journalist Ruby Jones meets some of the 2.5 million Australians whom body image concerns have become a serious mental health issue. Ruby discovers that far from vanity these disorders are crippling people's lives.