Let's Talk SciComm

This week we were thrilled to chat with Dr Véronique Paris who is a medical entomologist studying Australian vector mosquitoes in the Pest & Environmental Adaptation Research Group at Melbourne Uni. Originally from Berlin, Véronique completed her BSc and MSc in Biology, specialising in ecological immunology and exploring how insect immune systems respond to infections. Before pursuing a scient...

If you’ve just been hit with negative feedback, you’re probably feeling a bit winded, and that’s completely normal. Whether it came from a colleague, a supervisor, an examiner, or even a friend, criticism can sting. Take five minutes to hear Jen and Michael share practical, compassionate advice on how to regain your confidence and transform tough feedback into something constructive and empowering...

Welcome to Season 16 of Let’s Talk SciComm. We are thrilled to be launching our next season and have a great selection of episodes in store for you to enjoy during the rest of 2025. We can’t think of any better way to launch the season than a conversation with Dr Phil Dooley. Phil is an extremely talented science communicator who wears many hats: he’s a science writer, presenter, comedian, perform...

Have you decided a PhD is the right thing for you? Congratulations! Now it’s time to make decisions about what you’re going to spend the next three of four years learning, thinking, reading and writing about. Take a break for 5 minutes and listen to Jen and Michael’s thoughts about what you need to take into account when deciding what you’re going to do your PhD on.  You can find more great advice...

This week we have the great pleasure of speaking with Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston, a neuroscientist based in Melbourne, Australia, and the author of The Future Loves You: How and Why We Should Abolish Death.  Ariel is currently a Research Fellow at Monash University - working with the Monash Neuroscience of Consciousness laboratory - where he investigates novel methods for characterising the natu...

Feeling like you’ve lost your love of science? Wondering if you should be doing something different? Wishing you felt the same passion you used to feel for your study or work?  Settle in for 5 minutes and listen to Jen and Michael’s top advice about how to rediscover your curiosity and feel motivated and excited about science again.  You can find more great advice here: https://www.youtube.com/wat...

This week we had a fascinating chat with Troy Beer whose diverse experiences have led him from digital content creation to communication lead roles across multiple sectors: from environmental charities and health NGOs to government, universities, research centres and even retail. Each role has required him to work closely with stakeholders and subject-matter experts – interpreting complex informat...

Still thinking about a talk you gave that didn’t go as well as you’d hoped? Maybe you’re dreading your next talk as a result? In this episode we tackle the all-too-familiar challenge of bouncing back after giving a talk that didn’t go to plan.  Take 5 minutes to hear our advice on being kind to yourself, treating mistakes with curiosity, and turning reflection into a concrete plan for next time. ...

This week we loved chatting with Dr Kira Hughes, an aerobiologist and award-winning science communicator who is passionate about helping other researchers learn how to effectively communicate their science and advocating for underrepresented groups in STEM. Kira has over five years of experience in science communication. She's presented at several public events, ranging from international conf...

So the time has come to really nail your 3MT talk? Perhaps you’ve progressed from your local final to a Grand Final? Congratulations! Take five minutes to tune into Jen and Michael’s top tips on how to craft a winning Three Minute Thesis Talk! You can find more great advice here: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/3mt/ua/media/745/3mt-tips-for-success-handout.pdf https://www.animateyour.science/post/how-...

Welcome to Season 15 of Let’s Talk SciComm. We’re so thrilled to be back with another season after a bit of a break. To get the season off to a wonderful start, we’re VERY excited to chat with the incredible Melissa Cristina Márquez. Melissa, (AKA Mother of Sharks) is a bilingual Latina marine scientist, science communicator, and award-winning author currently pursuing her PhD. Melissa’s scientifi...

Are you working on a piece of writing and feel like everyone else has already written about the same thing? Are you looking for a way to make the topic fresh?  Stop for 5 minutes and tune into Jen and Michael’s top tips on how to find a new approach to writing about a popular topic. You can find more great advice on writing here: https://www.theopennotebook.com/2018/11/27/finding-the-science-in-an...

Have you got a group project coming up? Maybe you’ve had some bad experiences of working in a team before and you’re wondering how to make it better this time? Drop everything for 5 minutes and tune in.  In this week’s episode, Jen and Michael share their top tips on how to work harmoniously and productively in a group.  You can find more great advice here: https://students.unimelb.edu.au/academic...

Have you lost your motivation? Do you need to get lots of things done, but you’re finding it hard to get started? Wondering how to get your mojo back? Stop for five minutes and tune into this week’s episode of ‘Listen To This If….’ for Jen and Michael’s advice on how to rediscover your motivation.  You can find more great advice here: https://jamesclear.com/motivation   https://www.ifocusandwrite....

Are you graduating soon, or have you recently graduated? Are you looking for ways to get ahead in your career?  Take a five-minute break to listen to Jen and Michael’s top tips on how to kickstart your career. You can find more great advice here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/networking-tips-early-career-scientists-lessons-from-science-tpfke/   https://conductscience.com/10-networking-tips-to-kic...

Is your writing too formal? Too boring? Or too hard to read? Have you been given the feedback that you need to make your writing more conversational? Take five minutes to tune into Jen and Michael’s top tips on how to make your writing easier to read.  You can find more great advice here: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-conversationally https://www.ukri.org/what-we-do/developing-...

It's that time of year when many of us are feeling overwhelmed by our to-do lists. If you have a big task on your list that you’re struggling to make headway with, it’s time for your 5-minute Friday pep talk.  Join Jen and Michael for their top tips on how to manage a sense of overwhelm and get stuff done!  You can find more great advice here: https://www.calm.com/blog/what-to-do-when-you-feel-ove...

Got a talk coming up? Worried your powerpoint slides are boring? Think your audience might get distracted or even doze off while you’re talking?  Stop for 5 minutes and tune into Jen and Michael’s top tips on how to improve your Powerpoint slides.  You can find more great advice here: https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/how-to-avoid-death-by-powerpoint https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/design-ti...

Keen to start a new habit? Maybe you want to exercise regularly, read more papers or get more writing done? Well, if you’ve got 5 minutes, Jen and Michael are back with a new season of Listen To This If…. This week they’re giving you a quick Friday pep talk with their top tips on how to get started with a new habit. Listen now!  You can find more great advice here: https://www.scientificamerican.c...

Three years later and we couldn’t be more excited to be sharing Episode 100 of Let’s Talk SciComm with you. We are so proud to still be creating this podcast and couldn’t be more grateful to YOU, our fabulous listeners, for continuing to support us.  To celebrate reaching episode 100 and the end of Season 13, Jen and Michael decided to turn the spotlight inwards and ask each other some of our favo...

It’s hard to believe this is the 99th episode of Let’s Talk SciComm!  As you can imagine, we are very excited to still be producing our podcast three years and 99 episodes later. To celebrate, we invited the rest of our fabulous teaching team - Dr Catriona Nguyen-Robertson, Dr Linden Ashcroft and Dr Graham Phillips back to the podcast. The five of us spend half an hour reflecting on the highs and...

This week we had a fascinating conversation with speech pathologist and science communicator Dr Georgie Johnson. Georgie is a clinical researcher with an interest in childhood stuttering treatment and addressing the psychological impact of stuttering for children. Georgie completed her PhD in 2024 investigating management of stuttering during the school years. Part of this program of research was...

This week we had the most wonderful conversation with wildlife scientist, woman in STEMM/STEAM, science communicator, author and vessel operator, Dr Vanessa Pirotta. You’re going to love hearing Vanessa’s infectious enthusiasm for all things science and science communication.  Vanessa’s research uses innovative technologies for wildlife conservation. Vanessa works collaboratively across both marin...

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 en...

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 i...