Designing Science Conversations is a partnership project with Dust&Co.


Join us as we explore conversations with scientists while engaging with a public audience.

Hosted by Fred Dust, author of “Making Conversation: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication.” Moderated by Nic DiPalma, founder of SpacetimeLabs.

Fred Dust
Host / Author

Nic DiPalma
Moderator / Exec. Producer


Episodes

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00 Introduction - A Conversation Starter

Host Fred Dust and Moderator Nic DiPalma discuss the origin of the podcast and share thoughts on the life-changing effects of these remarkable conversations.

Show Notes | Transcript

01 Commitment

Guest: Brandon Hoak, graduate of design and environmental engineering & analysis from Cornell University.

Show Notes | Transcript

02 Creative Listening

Guest: Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Neuroscience & Psychology at Brigham Young University, UT.

Show Notes | Transcripts

03 Clarity

Guest: Madeline Ashby, science fiction writer, futurist and speaker.

Show Notes | Transcripts

04 Script Spotting

Guest: Dr. Evren Tok, Assistant Dean of Innovation and Community Engagement at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar.

Show Notes | Transcript

05 Context

Guest: Kim Arcand, Visualization Lead at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Show Notes | Transcript

06 Change

Guest: Dr. Grant Warner, Director of Innovation at Howard University, DC

Show Notes | Transcript

07 Create

Guest: Bill Diamond, President/CEO of the SETI Institute

Show Notes | Transcript

08 Constraints

Guest: Dr. Nicolas Bonne, Public Engagement and Outreach Fellow at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, UK.

Show Notes | Transcript


Designing Science Conversations is also available on most podcast platforms.


Brief

Despite science and health dominating the headlines during a global pandemic, the public distrust of science and the medical research community has grown. It’s not for a lack of information, but for an abundance of it.

This podcast mini-series was a design research project for exploring an approach to science communication — a more human-centered ‘science conversation.’ In our conversations with scientists and the listening audience, we found inspiring stories of challenge and achievement.

Goals

  • Introduce a human-centered approach to science communication.

  • Give scientists the tools and instruction to improve their communication for deeper engagement with the public.

  • Inspire confidence to practice better communication in a variety of conversation and collaboration environments.


Making Conversation:
Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication

by Fred Dust

How often do you walk away from a conversation feeling really heard? That it moved the people in it forward in some important way? You’re not alone.