Research Comms Peter Barker
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- Science
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How can we communicate research in science, the social sciences and humanities to ensure it has positive, real-world impact? That's the question being explored in this podcast, presented by Peter Barker, the director of research communications agency, Orinoco Communications.
In each episode Peter chats to someone who's doing particularly interesting and inspiring work to engage the public with research.
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Making Sense of Sensemaking: A framework for communications that cut through the noise | Liz Neeley & Ambika Kamath | Liminal
Sensemaking is a powerful communications tool that provides a framework for understanding the world in which we live and shaping the stories that we tell. In this episode of Research Comms, Peter is joined by Liz Neeley and Ambika Kamath, the founding members of science communications collective Liminal, to unpack sensemaking and its potential for navigating complicated issues facing society today.
Liz and Ambika share their vision for Liminal as a collective model that brings together professionals across disciplines to transform how research is understood and shared through more impactful and contextualised communication.
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Orinoco Communications - What We Do
Peter on LinkedIn
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Orinoco Research Comms survey
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Liminal
Wrigley Storymakers Program -
How an economic institute's video strategy helped it reach millions of people around the world | Matthew Kulvicki | Institute for New Economic Thinking
It's no secret that video can be one of the most powerful ways of sharing research with audiences online. But creating a successful strategy that will get your videos seen by the right people isn't always so straightforward.
One research organisation that has achieved huge levels of public engagement with its own video content is the Institute for New Economic Thinking, or INET. This New York based, nonprofit think tank funds economic research that ‘challenges conventional wisdom and advances ideas to better serve society’. And its incredible library of videos that showcase and elevate those ideas have reached millions of people around the world.
In this episode of Research Comms, Peter talks to Matthew Kulvicki, INET's Director of Video, about what has made the institute's approach to video such a success.
🤝 Connect with us If you're a listener of the podcast we'd love to connect!
Orinoco Communications - What We Do
Peter on LinkedIn
✍️ Take part
Orinoco Research Comms survey
🔗 Show links Institute for New Economic Thinking
INET YouTube Channel
📕 Book of the month Sidney Lumey, Making Movies -
Avoiding the Spiral of Silence: The Case for Talking About Climate | Eric Fine | Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
Over the past few decades, the evidence to show that climate change is happening, that it’s caused by human activities, and that we need to take urgent action to limit its impact, has gathered at an overhelming rate.
But research into the best way to communicate that message has lagged behind.
That’s changing, thanks in large part to the work of organisations like the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
In this episode of Research Comms, Peter chats with YPCCC Project Manager, Eric Fine, about his organisation's work to understand public attitudes to climate change, the ‘spiral of silence’ that can happen when we make assumptions about people's beliefs, the 'SASSY' public opinion survey, the power of segmentation for crafting tailored messages, and how to find optimism at at time when reality can seem so bleak.
Connect
If you're a listener of the podcast we'd love to connect!
Orinoco Communications - What We Do
Peter on LinkedIn
Take Part
Orinoco Research Comms survey
Show links
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication SASSY survey Climate silence: pluralistic ignorance as a barrier to climate change discussion by Nathaniel Geiger and Janet Swim -
Generative-AI: Establishing guidelines for how to use it | Amy Mollett, Barney Brown and William Kerslake | University of Cambridge
Generative-AI tools, like ChatGPT, are increasingly embedded in the day-to-day work of research communicators. At the University of Cambridge the senior comms team has published a set of AI guidelines, created in consultation with staff across the university.
In this episode of Research Comms, members of the working group that put the guidelines together - Amy Mollett, Barney Brown and William Kerslake - talk about their feelings towards AI, the good and the bad, why they felt they needed to create guidelines for its use, and how the University of Cambridge is currently using AI tools to communicate research.
Links:
Research Comms newsletter on substack University of Cambridge Generative-AI Guidelines Research Communications Survey Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro Generative AI is already widespread in the public sector | Alan Turing Institute -
Trust: how can research communicators earn the trust of the public?
In this episode, host Peter Barker reflects on the unique archive of over fifty Research Comms episodes to bring together insights from those conversations around the theme of trust.
Whether we’re discussing vaccine hesitancy, climate scepticism, young people’s engagement with science and scientists or the rise of conspiracy theorists, all of these topics are, at their core, issues of trust. Recognising how essential trust is to public engagement, how can the wider research community earn the trust of the public? -
Changing landscapes: telling stories from Antarctica against a backdrop of climate change and an evolving media
Athena Dinar is Deputy Head of Communications at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) where she’s spent over two decades conveying the captivating magic of Antarctica and the vital research scientists carry out there.
In this episode of Research Comms, Athena speaks with us about the shifting narratives surrounding the climate crisis and how digital media has transformed the communications landscape, as well as unpacking BAS’s endeavours to reduce its own carbon footprint while striving towards solutions to preserve the southernmost continent, as well as the wider world.
Customer Reviews
Excellent, interesting and informative
I've been listening to this since the start and have enjoyed every episode. There's a good breadth of topics, interviewees and approaches. It's always interesting to hear what people who are doing more or less the same job as you are up to, and it's also interesting to hear what those in related jobs are doing to. Jo
Excellent podcast
An interesting and inspiring podcast about research communication and public engagement. This is the podcast for you if you are a researcher or interested in research communication across all academic disciplines. Pete interviews some of the leading research communicators and discusses their projects, what drives them to communicate with the public and what challenges they have faced. He finishes with their three top tips for people starting out in research communication. Excellent. Truly excellent.
Love this guy - a surprisingly enjoyable podcast!
I say surprisingly because it IS pretty niche but I really enjoy Pete’s style and the depth he goes into the topic with his guests. Great if you’re into research communications in any way.