Adele Pentland (Curtin University) and Sally Hurst (Macquarie University), are both Superstars of STEM with extensive experience in public engagement and media communication. They are both palaeontologists, which we think gives them a bit of an advantage over some of the other sciences, since we’re the ones with dinosaurs!

In a wide ranging conversation, host Michael Mills chats with Adele and Sally about why effective communication matters for the public understanding of ancient life Along the way, they discuss several successful outreach strategies, science heroes, and offer practical advice for scientists and educators looking to communicate their research more engagingly.

This is the first in a series of episodes recorded during the 2025 CAVEPS Conference in vertebrate palaeontology at Flinders University in South Australia in November, 2025.

You can find Adele’s podcast, “Pals in Palaeo” through the following link… https://linktr.ee/palsinpalaeo

Be sure to follow the podcast on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/palsinpalaeo/

You can also head to the Pals in Palaeo website at https://palsinpalaeo.com/

Check out Sally’s website at https://www.sallyhurst.com.au

And her Found a Fossil website at https://www.foundafossil.com/

Found a Fossil also has an Insta account at https://www.instagram.com/foundafossil

And a Tik Tok account at https://www.instagram.com/foundafossil

You can find Michael on Blue Sky at https://bsky.app/profile/heapsgood.bsky.social

To connect with Dinosaur University on Facebook, follow us at https://www.facebook.com/DinosaurUniversity

At Palaeo Jam, we have an Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/palaeo_jam

What actually is a kangaroo? And how long have they been the giant red or grey hopping things so synonymous with Australia? In this episode of Palaeo Jam, host Michael Mills chats with Dr Isaac Kerr about the origin of kangaroos as “weird possums that lived in the trees a bit”, the significant gaps in the kangaroo origin fossil record, and how we make sense of what we’ve got. In a wide ranging conversation about kangaroo origins, they also discuss why of all the locomotion strategies that could have been adopted, Australia is the only place where large animals have taken to hopping.

You can follow Isaac on Blue Sky at https://bsky.app/profile/isaacarkerr.bsky.social

Isaac’s latest paper, “Limb osteology and functional morphology of the extinct kangaroo Dorcopsoides fossilis”, can be found at…

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.251591

It was in Episode 1 of Season 3 that Michael and Isaac first chatted about the prehistoric group of kangaroos, Protemnodons. Find the episode here…

https://palaeojam.podbean.com/e/the-tale-of-a-giant-prehistoric-kangaroo-or-three/

You can read the full 250 plus pages of Isaac’s remarkable paper on Protemnodon, here…

https://mapress.com/mt/article/view/megataxa.11.1.1

Here’s a link to the Flinders University palaeo team…

https://sites.flinders.edu.au/palaeontology/

You can find Michael on Blue Sky at https://bsky.app/profile/heapsgood.bsky.social

To connect with Dinosaur University on Facebook, follow us at https://www.facebook.com/DinosaurUniversity

At Palaeo Jam, we have an Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/palaeo_jam

On Thursday October 9th, Dr Jim Gehling OA (Order of Australia) was awarded the Joseph Verco Medal by the Royal Society of South Australia for a remarkable life of research and public engagement in the field of palaeontology. Previous recipients have included Sir Douglas Mawson and Reg Sprigg.

Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills is a long time friend of Jim, with Jim having been a central part of the South Australian Museum's work in the early days of the birth of Michael’s alter ego, singing palaeontologist Professor Flint. Michael notes in this podcast that the work he does as The Prof, is only possible because of the work of people like Jim.

After attending the award ceremony, Michael and Jim decided to arrange a time to catch up and chat about Jim’s life and his research. This is just part of what was a delightful day of sharing memories with Michael, Jim, and wife Inara.

Jim has led Ediacaran research in Australia, and the world, for the last 40 years, collaborating with all significant international experts and co-authoring publications on the Ediacara Biota in Australia, Canada, USA, UK, China, Russia, and Namibia. He has also been intimately involved on the excavation and research of the early Cambrian Emu Bay Shale of Kangaroo Island. The Emu Bay Shale is the only Konservat-Lagerstätte in the Southern Hemisphere and is often mentioned side by side with the likes of the Burgess Shale in British Columbia.

Jim’s research record is extensive. You can find links to some of his research on google scholar at https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=kMfMg40AAAAJ&hl=en

Or on Research Gate at… https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James-Gehling

Last year, inspired by Jim’s research on the Ediacarans and early Cambrians, Michael's Professor Flint released an album of songs, for children titled “Creatures of the Slime”. You can find the album on all main platforms via the following link…

https://linktr.ee/ProfessorFlint

You can follow Michael on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/heapsgood.bsky.social

And his HeapsGood Facebook page at

https://www.facebook.com/HeapsGoodProductions