Public Outreach
Naturally Speaking Podcast
This is an all-around science podcast created by myself and some colleagues within the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine at the University of Glasgow. Episodes contain banter on a range of topics including specific research findings to general issues in science and academia.
You can access links to all of the episodes or subscribe to the podcast here.
Bright Club
A chance for academics to try stand-up comedy based on their research. Quite nerve-racking but an amazing experience and a great way to talk about science with the public. I've done this twice now and had an absolute blast. Find out more here.
Zombie Science
The last couple years myself and some other Institute members have put on this event as part of the Glasgow Science Festival, in collaboration with the Glasgow Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies. It may sound strange but zombies are an amazing launching off point for discussing all kinds of topics in biology including epidemiology, physiology (e.g. neural function), foraging, group behaviours, and many, many others. This event has consisted of a spoof zombie lecture followed by a Q&A session with an expert panel. These events are always a huge amount of fun.
Film Q&As
In these events we (myself and colleagues within the Institute) screen a film and then sit on an "expert" panel to answer any questions from the audience. We've done this twice so far - with Jaws and Finding Nemo - and hope to do more in the future. Using the films as a starting point, the resulting discussions are excellent and cover a broad range of topics including marine conservation, animal behaviour, and what it's like to be a marine biologist.