Tinkering With the Doomsday Clock

For over 30 years as a researcher and academic, Darryl Jones has been exploring how people and wildlife interact and respond to one another. This has taken him to the jungles of Borneo, the Canadian arctic, the African savannah and even the strange poorly-understood world of Australia’s suburban backyards. He is convinced that we need to recognise that humans are a part of nature, not above, superior or separate. His mission in life and all his writing is to get people to reconnect with nature, wherever they live; to be wilder!

Richard King is an author and critic based in Fremantle, whose work has appeared in The Australian, The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Independent, The Monthly, Griffith Review, The Sydney Review of Books, Meanjin, Overland, New Matilda, Australian Book Review, The Best Australian Poems, The Best Australian Science Writing and a host of other publications. His first book, On Offence: The Politics of Indignation, was published by Scribe in 2013, and his second, Here Be Monsters: Is Technology Reducing Our Humanity? was published by Monash University Publishing in 2023. His latest book is Brave New Wild: How Technology Will Save the Planet (and Other Dangerous Fallacies). King is a contributing editor to Arena Quarterly, focusing on the relationship between culture and technology. His website is bloodycrossroads.com.

Josh is a Worimi man with extensive experience across Indigenous affairs, the environmental sector and sustainable agriculture. Josh works across government, corporate and social organisational levels to develop and lead change through sharing the narration of Indigenous identity through agricultural and environmental truth-telling in light of modern contexts. Josh is a deep, strategic thinker and manages business change effectively through empathy. He is passionate about creating change through effective investment and societal understanding. His first book, Australia’s Agricultural Identity: An Aboriginal Yarn, was released in 2025. Josh is undertaking a PhD at Charles Sturt University, focused on the concept of Indigenous modernity through agriculture. He was recently recognised internationally for his work, announced in the inaugural 50 Next: People Shaping the Future of Gastronomy cohort. Josh serves on the boards of Indigenous Business Australia, the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and the Australian Conservation Foundation and is the Aboriginal Co-Chair of Reconciliation NSW.

Liz Minchin is a Walkley award winning journalist and author. Before joining The Conversation in 2012, Liz was a reporter and editor at The Age and an ABC radio/online producer. As Executive Editor, she delivers training for universities, including a Pitching and Writing Masterclass. As Business Editor, she commissions on everything from workplace laws to consumer finance. In 2010, Liz co-wrote a book, Screw Light Bulbs: a plain English guide to climate and energy policy solutions.