Stretching more than two thousand kilometres along Australia's north-east coast, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth — so big it's visible from space, yet built by animals just millimetres across. This episode looks at how the reef was made, the mass bleaching events of recent years, and the science of trying to protect it, with a clear-eyed view of what is and isn't known.

You'll come away understanding the sheer scale of the reef, the coral-algae partnership that builds it, what recent bleaching events mean, and how scientists weigh threats against the reef's real resilience.

Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au

Further reading: Australian Institute of Marine Science – annual reef condition r ...