"I can't just grab my keys and leave the house. I have to make sure I have something with me in case my glucose levels go too low. I have to make sure that I have spare insulin pump consumables. There's lots of parts of having type one diabetes that isn't just what we eat." 

Michelle's lived with type 1 diabetes for 31 years. She has to plan everything: what she eats, when she drives, whether she can try new foods. Sophie, diagnosed as a teenager, spent years hiding her condition, injecting herself in secret in her school bathrooms. 

For the millions living with type 1 diabetes, insulin is lifesaving. But it's also relentless. Multiple daily injections, or a pump worn 24/7, and constant vigilance of everything from how you exercise to how hot it is on a given day.  

Professor Victoria Cogger is working on something scientists long thought impossible: smart insulin delivered orally as a single daily pill. 

Victoria explains how oral delivery could make insulin management much easier, what's made oral delivery so difficult thus far, and what exactly makes this new pill ‘smart.’ 

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The Solutionists is a podcast from the University of Sydney, produced by Deadset Studios. Keep up to date with The Solutionists by following @sydney_uni on Facebook and Instagram, and @sydney.edu.au on Bluesky. 

This episode was produced by Liam Riordan with sound design by Jeremy Wilmot. Supervising producer is Sarah Dabro. Executive editors are Kellie Riordan, Jen Peterson-Ward, and Mark Scott. Strategist is Ann Chesterman. 

This podcast was recorded on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. For thousands of years, across innumerable generations, knowledge has been taught, shared and exchanged here. We pay respect to elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.