Terrible Lizards22 Feb 2023

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:

A blog post Dave forlornly wrote as a guide for journalists writing about science but serves as a useful guide for most people for spotting bad science journalism: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/traps-for-journalists-to-avoid/

A blogpost by palaeontologist Mark Witton about what can happen when a TV show tries to bring dinosaurs (on this case, pterosaurs) to life even when experts are involved: http://pterosaur-net.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-despair-pterosaurs-and-david.html

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Episoder(140)

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S12DB19 Where Did Pterosaurs Lay Their Eggs?

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16 Sep 13min

S12DB18 How Did Dinosaur Heads Attach?

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2 Sep 10min

S12E08 Live At Dinocon 2026

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26 Aug 53min

S12DB17 Why Palaeontologists Hate 'Biggest Dinosaur' Headlines

In this bite from an old live stream, Iszi Lawrence and Dr Dave Hone discuss why claims of the "largest dinosaur ever" are much harder to prove than the headlines suggest. They explore how palaeontolo...

5 Aug 10min

TLS12E07 The Business of Dinosaurs:

Should dinosaur fossils belong in museums—or can they be bought and sold like works of art? When the spectacular Tyrannosaurus rex known as "Gus" was preparing to go under the hammer (and has since so...

29 Jul 52min

S12DB16 T. rex bite marks, the new Spinosaurus model & the next dinosaur superstar?

In this archive discussion, Iszi Lawrence and Dr Dave Hone answer listener questions about museum exhibits, dinosaur reconstructions, Spinosaurus, and which prehistoric animal could become the next gl...

22 Jul 10min

S12DB15 T. rex under the hammer

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15 Jul 14min