TLS09E02 Dinosaurs News

Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals have been a hit in the media for about as long as palaeontologists have been digging them up. But even in the modern age of digital communication, there is almost always an intermediate (and often several) between a palaeontologist and their audience when it comes to communicating about these animals. Whether it’s journalists, reporters, documentaries and print, radio or TV, what you say, suggest, demand, advise or write as a palaeontologist often goes through editors, subeditors, producers, directors, animators and whole panels of discussion and you have very little control over it. That means that even the best communicators can have their message badly distorted by those who don’t, or should, know better and has profound effects on the public understanding of science and where scientists fit into it.

So listen to Dave describe (OK, rant) about all the ways this goes wrong and what it means for the audience and palaeontologists alike. Iszi does get a word or two in as well.

Links:

[cozyoni]

This podcast series has been genuinely enlightening and educational. Thank you so much for this series.

[OnlyForViews]

Always happy to see another episode. Feeding the algorithm, and saying thanks for all your hard work.

[Cwattyeso]

Love a new episode of stompy stomp stomps and chompy chomp chomps. I really don’t know why Dr Dave doesn’t embrace these highly scientific terms they are much easier to remember then some of the current ones made up by scientists determined to use all their scrabble tiles in a single move.

[hibernopithecus]

If the pterosaur caught the worm, would interest be as high as it is in early birds?
Asking for science.

[hibernopithecus]

At the time of writing, this video has 1.47k views.
If that’s similar or more views than the average msm story gets, does it not fall under your contractual outreach obligations?
In other words, if you get paid by your uni for doing this podcast, would they pay you for doing it more often?