Let's Talk SciComm

This week we are lucky enough to chat with Linh Do, an incredible sustainability leader, educator, and climate justice advocate based in Melbourne, Australia. As Director of the Wattle Fellowship at the University of Melbourne, she cultivates the next generation of sustainability leaders through an innovative year-long program. With over a decade of experience across advocacy, media, and social enterprise sectors, Linh has worked globally to drive climate action and community engagement. Linh holds multiple leadership positions in the community, including chair of Climate Action Network Australia and a board member at the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation, and a research committee member at the Centre for Policy Development. She is a co-founder of the technology start-up OurSay and has previously led community organising at the Australian Conservation Foundation. Linh's work bridges diverse disciplines and sectors to create holistic approaches to complex environmental challenges. Prior to her current role, she served as the Australia and Pacific lead for The Climate Reality Project, Al Gore's climate leadership program; and as publisher and editor-in-chief of The Verb during the Paris climate negotiations. She has collaborated with diverse organisations, from high school students to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Reuters Foundation.  Externally, she has been recognised with for her sustainability leadership from Green Gown Awards Australasia Sustainability Leadership, as a Woman of Influence from the Australian Financial Review (AFR) and as the Australian Geographic Young Conservationist of the Year. You can follow Linh and learn more about her work here: https://www.instagram.com/linhloop/ https://www.instagram.com/wattlefellowship/ https://x.com/lmdo https://www.linkedin.com/in/linhmdo/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/wattle-fellowship/

This week we had the wonderful pleasure of catching up with one of our very own alumni! Rachael Vorwerk studied science communication with us many years ago and has gone on to forge an incredible career in the field. Rachael is a science communicator and freelance consultant who has been published in The Conversation, Cosmos Magazine and Eingana. She has helped scientists to share their research in BBC World News, The Independent, ABC and The Age, among others.  Currently Rachael works at RMIT University as the Science Communication, Education and Outreach Manager at a 7-year Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence, the biggest research funding scheme available in Australia. She works with a group of around 50 researchers spanning PhD students through to Distinguished Professors – and helps the team to make their research more accessible to broader audiences. You can follow Rachael and learn more about her work here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/rachael-vorwerk https://twitter.com/rachael_vorwerk Here’s how a TV series inspired the KeepCup revolution. What’s next in the war on waste? What role does Entertainment-Education play in the adoption and maintenance of sustainable behaviours: a case study of reusable coffee cups in millennials https://www.combs.org.au/ (The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS); AKA the 7-year Research Centre where Rachael is currently working) https://climatethrive.com.au/  (Climate Thrive, the company Rachael co-founded)

This week it is a huge honour for us to speak with our long-time scicomm colleague Nancy Longnecker who is Emerita Professor of Science Communication at the University of Otago. She has collaborated in the production of communication resources and assessment of their effectiveness in work that is often multidisciplinary and cross-cultural. In a career spanning four decades, Nancy has produced both physical and virtual resources, including exhibitions, displays, podcasts, websites, and teaching resources. She has written over 100 books, book chapters and articles. Nancy has taught science communication and contributed to workshops in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, the UK, and Denmark and has supervised over 50 science communication research students from 17 countries. Nancy is thrilled with her recent exhibition – Hou Rongo: Moriori | Music | Manawa. Hou Rongo offered an immersive look at the home and culture of New Zealand's indigenous Moriori people, who are often neglected or misunderstood. This exhibition blended tradition with innovative technology to evoke the feeling of being on Rēkohu (Chatham Island) amid the realms of the etchu (deities). The exhibition used sacred cultural objects, large video projections and an atmospheric soundscape to transport visitors to this special place. Nancy says, ‘I am proud to have been a part of a talented multidisciplinary team of academics and cultural advisors. With the Hou Rongo exhibition and its legacy components, we are honouring Moriori culture and contributing to its revitalisation.’ You can follow Nancy and learn more about her work here:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-longnecker-7275ab66/ https://www.otago.ac.nz/science-communication/staff/longnecker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Longnecker Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ym98

Welcome to Season 13 of Let’s Talk SciComm. We’re so thrilled to be kicking off another season as we head towards our 100th episode!  To get the season off to a fabulous start, this week we’re thrilled to talk with the incredible Sarah Firth (she/ her).  Sarah is based on Wurundjeri Country in Melbourne, Australia. She is an artist, writer, cartoonist, graphic recorder and animator, originally trained as a classical sculptor. She has received a Talking Difference Fellowship from the Immigration Museum, was a finalist in the Incinerator Gallery Award For Social Change and her comics were part of Eisner Award-winning and Ignatz nominated comic anthologies. Her debut graphic novel Eventually Everything Connects was shortlisted for The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2024, selected as The Age’s Non-Fiction Pick of The Week, ALIA’s Notable Graphic Novels of 2023 and one of The Best Graphic Novels Ever by Refinery29. You can buy Sarah’s brilliant book Eventually Everything Connects in Australia/ NZ here: http://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/daGy9Q And in US/UK/Europe here: https://www.graphicmundi.org/books/978-1-63779-068-7.html You can follow Sarah and learn more about her work here:  https://www.instagram.com/sarahthefirth/ http://www.sarahthefirth.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahthefirth/ https://www.facebook.com/SarahTheFirthCreativeServices https://twitter.com/sarahthefirth https://www.tiktok.com/@sarahthefirth Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/om98

You NEED to listen to this. In this week’s episode of ‘Listen to This If…’ Jen and Michael explore how to grab your audience’s attention. In just five minutes Jen and Michael will discuss everything you need to know to turn heads and captivate your audience. https://hbr.org/2023/07/3-ways-to-keep-your-audience-focused-during-a-presentation https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-ways-hook-your-audience-first-60-seconds-jaimie-abbott-mba-gaicd/ https://thespeakerlab.com/blog/attention-grabber-examples/ Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/kog8

Upcoming presentation got your palms sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy? Don’t worry, forget mum’s spaghetti, because we’re not going to let you miss your shot. Tune in to this week’s episode of ‘Listen to This If…’ where Jen and Michael give you all the tips and tricks to turn those shaky hands into a killer mic drop.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXHivnWyZyo https://hbr.org/2016/10/how-to-calm-your-nerves-before-a-big-presentation https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/discover-ucl/top-tips-overcoming-dreaded-presentation-nerve Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/w8g8

Doomscrolling getting in your way? Don’t worry! Jen and Michael have some great tips to break the scrolling cycle and get you back to your task. In this week’s episode of Listen to This If, we’re discussing addictive algorithms and what strategies you can employ to get off your phone and  back on track! https://hai.stanford.edu/news/psychiatrists-perspective-social-media-algorithms-and-mental-health https://www.uhhospitals.org/blog/articles/2024/07/doomscrolling-breaking-the-habit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students/news/2020/may/study-boosting-benefits-exercise https://catherineprice.com/phone-break-up-challenge Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/u778

Over the word count on an assignment? It can be stressful trying to trim the writing you’ve put so much effort into. Luckily in this week’s episode, Jen and Michael have some handy tips to wriggle down those words while keeping your writing sharp and relevant to the task. Tune in now! https://www.brandeis.edu/writing-program/resources/faculty/handouts/reverse-outlining.html https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/reading-aloud/ https://crosstalk.cell.com/blog/how-to-reduce-word-count-without-reducing-content Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/2d78

Got an interview coming up? Don't worry, Jen and Michael are here to help! In this five-minute episode, they'll give advice to make sure you're prepared for a perfect interview. From putting your mind at ease to carefully studying the job posting, Jen and Michael will provide you with practical tips that will boost your confidence and help you land the perfect job. Listen now and get ready for your interview! https://www.proclinical.com/blogs/2021-6/3-ways-to-make-a-good-impression-in-a-scientific-interview https://headspace.org.au/explore-topics/for-young-people/job-interview-preparation/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpkegRmPgis https://www.askamanager.org/category/interviewing https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-02/how-to-nail-job-interview/9868736 Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/is78

We're thrilled to launch an exciting new series of our podcast, 'Listen To This If...'.  Jen and Michael will deliver a speedy, five-minute Friday fix packed with practical hot tips to tackle your toughest science communication challenges. Next Friday, we're starting with something we all want to know: how to ace a job interview! An enormous thank you to the University of Melbourne Science Communication students who form the production team for Listen To This If: Madeleine Kelly, Riccardo Petroni, Meiqi Peng and Lorne Whytcross. Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/9cc8

We’re ending Season 11 with a fabulous conversation with climate change communicator Dr Simon Torok. Simon is CEO and Director of Scientell, a science communication company that seeks to maximise the impact of scientific information. He distils technical information for non-scientific audiences to communicate the importance of science in our lives and its role in understanding the environment. Simon has a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication from the Australian National University, and completed a PhD in climate change science at the University of Melbourne. He has managed communication for CSIRO in Australia and for the Tyndall Centre in England. He was editor of the Helix and Scientriffic science magazines, and has published more than 200 newspaper, magazine and scientific journal articles. He has co-authored 20 popular science and climate change books, several of which have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Hungarian. You can follow Simon and learn more about his work here: https://www.scientell.com.au/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-torok-5570782/ https://x.com/Simon_Scientell

This week we absolutely loved speaking with highly skilled communications coach David Crisante. David has had a career in journalism, political speechwriting - including for Australia's Foreign Minister -  and science communications. These days he helps professionals to master storytelling techniques so that they’re more effective when communicating with stakeholders.  David is founder of the Sydney Comedy School, where students discover their unique communication styles and how they can be more confident and charismatic, in public speaking and in everyday life. He is the director of Future Science Talks, and in 2024 he took his Science Comedy Program around Australia, training hundreds of scientists in the art of using humour to build rapport with audiences. David’s career history includes reporting for the ABC and SBS, as well as an international correspondent in Tokyo for several years, where he specialised in reporting on the nuclear disaster of 2011. He was a political and crisis response specialist for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  David has managed a wide array of PR crises, such as international kidnappings, pirate attacks and the disappearance of MH370. You can follow David and learn more about his work here: https://www.davidcrisante.com/ https://www.futuresciencetalks.com.au/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidcrisante/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-science-talks/ https://www.youtube.com/@FutureScienceTalks https://x.com/ScienceTalksAU

This week we were incredibly fortunate to speak with Dr Catherine Richards Golini in Switzerland. Catherine is a Healthcare Publications Editor at Karger Publishers, specializing in creating, developing, and editing resources for patients and HCPs. Holding a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Swansea University, and with published research on patient communication, she is also a skilled plain language writer and reviewer of plain language summaries and patient materials. With expertise in health discourse, medical communication,and patient communication, Catherine also brings a wealth of experience in educational course development and language assessment. She cofounded and served as director of EALTHY, the European teachers‘ association for medical and healthcare English, demonstrating her commitment to advancing medical language education. You can follow Catherine and learn more about her work here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinerichards/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/karger-publishers/ https://velocityofcontentpodcast.com/plain-language-summaries-go-beyond-language/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGWlf2RhM6k

This week we had the wonderful opportunity to talk with Sara Garfield - a true expert in communicating about science in English as a non-native language. Sara is a dedicated educator with a diverse academic and teaching background that spans multiple countries and disciplines. Raised in Italy speaking English at home, her early fascination with languages and literature has paved the way for her academic interests and teaching career. Her undergraduate studies led her to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Modern Languages and Literature from Università Cà Foscari Venezia in Venice, Italy. During this time, she specialised in English and French languages and literature. Throughout her studies, she worked as an English private tutor, proof-reader and translator. Her true passion, though, has always been teaching and language learning. That is what drove her to train as an English language teacher in London, UK. Seeking to deepen her understanding of language acquisition and pedagogy, she pursued a Master of Science degree in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at Worcester College, University of Oxford, UK. Currently, she holds a permanent position as an English language instructor and course coordinator in the Department of Languages and Communication at the College of Science and Technology, University of Bordeaux. With a diverse teaching background, she has taught English for Specific Purposes and English for Science and Technology at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her teaching philosophy emphasises active pedagogy, student-led learning, and the integration of digital tools for enhanced engagement. Among her research interests are topics linked to science communication using English as a lingua franca in international settings, teaching methodologies, intercultural communication, and the relationship between language and thought. Her approach is interdisciplinary and dedicated to fostering students’ linguistic, intercultural and communication competencies. You can follow Sara and learn more about her work here: www.linkedin.com/in/sara-garfield-816569b9 Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/skb8

This week we were absolutely thrilled to speak with one of our favourite people: Tilly Boleyn. Tilly (she/her) is the Head of Curatorial, Science Gallery Melbourne, University of Melbourne. Basically, she’s a massive nerd, curious about the world and everything in it. She is a collaborative creature at heart and heads the team with a mixture of organisation, chaos, humour and sassy backtalk. She loves connecting people, making space for thought, and challenging people to back up their opinions in an imagined recreation of Mad Max Thunderdome. Her background is in museums, galleries, education, events, festivals, broadcasting and research. Originally a microbiologist, Tilly ran from the lab to the ABC, where she discovered a talent for science gossip – talking about other people’s science rather than doing her own. She then morphed into a curator and has created exhibitions on health, medicine, experimentation, the voice, engineering, sustainability, mental health, dark matter, identity and genders. Tilly is delighted by blurring the boundaries between science, art, design, technology, maths, engineering and large-scale-batteries-powered-by-human-urine. Currently she plots with scientists and artists to deliver a rolling series of innovative and thought-provoking shows to engage audiences with the bleeding edge of human knowledge. You can follow Tilly and learn more about her work here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tilly-boleyn-a5397535/ https://x.com/tillsify https://www.instagram.com/tillyboleyn/ https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/ockhamsrazor/art-science-gallery-giant-urine-battery/102998322 (Tilly’s Ockham’s Razor talk)  https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/166791 https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/560724 https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/inner-west/powerhouse-museum-curator-tilly-boleyn-feeds-leeches-who-are-part-of-an-exhibit/news-story/222bdadf317c15bb01c952e630d01631 Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ekb8

This week we had a fabulous conversation with multi-award winning science journalist Dr Jackson Ryan. Jackson is a former molecular biologist and current freelance science journalist with a focus on longform and narrative non-fiction science writing. He served as the Science Editor at CNET.com between 2018 and 2023 and was the 2022 winner of the Eureka Prize for Science Journalism. In 2024, he is co-editing the Best Australian Science Writing anthology -- and you should buy it! His longform writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, The Monthly and Nature.  You can follow Jackson and learn more about his work here: https://www.jacksonwryan.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacksonryanscience https://x.com/dctrjack https://sjaa.org.au (Jackson is President of the Science Journalists Association of Australia) https://www.linkedin.com/company/science-journalists-association-of-australia You can read Jackson’s Antarctica stories here: https://linktr.ee/dctrj Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/i4b8

This week we were privileged to have a wonderful conversation with Dr Rachel Nowak who is a consultant, an advisor, a scientist and a journalist. She has been working in science, technology and innovation on three continents. Her specialities include science journalism, knowledge mobilisation, research and technology assessment, and stakeholder engagement. She has been Washington Bureau Chief and Australasian Editor of New Scientist magazine. She was Director of Research Marketing and Communications at the University of Melbourne. She founded the social-good brain tech start-up The Brain Dialogue and is currently a Consultant Editor with Custom Media at the Nature Springer group.  Rachel did her PhD in agricultural science at the University of Leeds. She studied writing, alongside poets and novelists, at The Johns Hopkins University. Her award-winning science journalism has changed R&D and medical practice, and research law and policy around the world. Rachel immigrated to Australia on a Distinguished Talent visa for her international record of outstanding achievements in science communication. You can follow Rachel and learn more about her work here: https://www.nowakassociates.net/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-rachel-nowak-gaicd/ https://twitter.com/DrRachelNowak Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/6nb8

We’re so thrilled to be back with you for Season 11 of Let’s Talk SciComm. And to get the season off to a brilliant start, we had a wonderful conversation with Sara Phillips. Sara is an award-winning science writer and editor based in Melbourne, Australia. She edited the 2020, 10th-anniversary edition of the Best Australian Science Writing. Previously, she was Asia-Pacific bureau chief for Nature News, executive editor for the Asia-Pacific region of Nature Research Group’s custom publishing arm, the national environment reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and editor of ABC Environment online, a now-archived portal for the ABC’s environment content. Starting out on an environmental trade publication WME, she later became deputy editor of Cosmos magazine, where she was part of the team that won magazine of year not once, but twice. Cosmos Online won internet site of the year under her editorship. And the editor won editor of the year for 2005 and 2006, while she was supporting him. She was also the founding editor of G magazine, a sustainable lifestyle magazine. Her team won consumer magazine of the year (for print run over 30,000) at the Bell Awards for magazine publishing, and she took out editor of the year. You can follow Sara and find out more about her work here: https://saraphillips.net.au/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-phillips-3a15635/  https://www.abc.net.au/news/sara-phillips/3549260 https://invasives.org.au/our-team/sara-phillips/ Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/syy8

We’re ending Season 10 on a high, chatting with Brendon Bosworth in Cape Town, South Africa. Brendan is a communications specialist and science communication trainer who runs Human Element Communications. Brendon’s goal is to make research on topics of global concern, such as climate change and sustainable development, more accessible to non-specialists. After working as a communications officer on a large international climate change adaptation project in 2018, and as a journalist for more than 10 years before that, Brendon decided he wanted to work with scientists to build their communication skills. He partnered with Dr Tali Hoffman (director of Honeyguide Science Communication) to develop a science communication training programme, ‘Communicating Science for Impact.’ Since launching the programme in 2020, he and Dr Hoffman have trained over 300 people from institutions including UNEP, FAO, the University of Cape Town, the University of Ghana, the University of Nairobi, and the University of Saskatchewan to communicate about science with non-specialists more effectively.  Brendon is a Fulbright scholar with a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado Boulder. In his previous life as a journalist, he wrote about everything from ocean acidification to mental health, with some surf travel writing in between. He is also a photographer whose work has been featured in exhibitions in South Africa and abroad. As a consultant, Brendon has provided writing, editing, and communication services to clients including UN-Habitat, CARE, the Global Center on Adaptation, and the World Urban Forum. You can follow Brendon and learn more about his work here: https://www.humanelementcommunications.com/ https://www.humanelementcommunications.com/insights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am1-e0G27X8&t=974s (A recent interview Brendon did with Fancy Comma) https://www.brendonbosworth.com/ (Brendon’s photography website) https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendonbosworth https://www.instagram.com/brendon_bos/ https://twitter.com/BrendonBosworth Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/eyy8

This week we have the immense pleasure of speaking with the brilliant Alicia Sometimes. Alicia is a multi-award winning poet and broadcaster who is deeply passionate about both art and science. She has performed her poetry at many venues, festivals and events around the world. Alicia is director/co-writer of the art/science planetarium shows, Elemental and Particle/Wave. In 2023 she received ANAT’s Synapse Artist Residency and co-created an art installation for Science Gallery Melbourne’s exhibition, Dark Matters. Her new book is Stellar Atmospheres. You can follow Alicia and learn more about her work here:  https://www.aliciasometimes.com/ https://bookedout.com.au/find-a-speaker/author/alicia-sometimes/  https://www.instagram.com/sometimesalicia/ https://x.com/aliciasometimes  https://sometimes2023.blog.anat.org.au/  https://corditebooks.org.au/products/stellar-atmospheres (Alicia’s new book) Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/xw58