Relationality and Reciprocity in River Governance - Episode 15 (with Gerrard Albert, Anne Poelina and Erin O'Donnell)

In this episode, we explore the tension inherent in researching environmental law in the context of an increasingly politicised research context. We share Liz's inaugural professorial lecture from October 2024, and Cristy uses the opportunity to interview Liz about why she researchers water law. We discuss typical problems encountered in settler-colonial water law frameworks, and how innovative governance models, like that for the Whanganui River in Aotearoa New Zealand, suggest potentail oth...

In this episode, Cristy and Liz explore academic career planning with our very special guest, Professor Inger Mewburn (AKA The Thesis Whisperer), who talks to us about her own academic career, her current research, her work with PhD students and neurodivergent academics, and the under-rated skill of project management for researchers (the subject of her latest book). As usual, we also share recent developments in domestic and international environmental law, including climate change litigatio...

In this episode, Mihnea Tănăsescu joins us to discuss his groundbreaking research on Ecocene Politics. Mihnea reflects on how we can conceptualise human relationships with nature, with particular attention to learning from place-based restoration projects and Indigenous legal systems. We critically explore how hope, despair, and lucidity can help or hinder our attempts to make sense of the ecological challenges communities are facing around the world. We also discuss the ways that legal and p...

In this episode, Associate Professor Erin O'Donnell (U Melbourne) joins us as a guest co-host to chat with us about the perils, pitfalls, and promise of researching in the burgeoning field of rights of nature. We discuss the top methodological challenges inherent in doing research about the rights of nature and legal personhood, and provide our thoughts about how to do this sort of work ethically and in a way that contributes to the scholarly field, the community, and nature itself. As always...

In this episode, Cristy interviews Liz about her Blue Carbon Futures research program. While it’s been claimed that blue carbon ecosystems can sequester up to 10 times more carbon than terrestrial forests, the legal frameworks needed to protect and restore them are fragmented, contested, and in many cases, underdeveloped. Liz unpacks how ownership disputes, traditional land law boundaries, and colonial legacies create hurdles for Indigenous communities trying to restore and finance these vita...