Public Talks
I enjoy taking research out of the seminar room and into venues where the audience is curious rather than captive. Pubs, festivals, and classrooms have all turned out to be excellent places to talk about ancient DNA, evolution, and what genomics can — and cannot — tell us about ourselves.
Public events
2025
- Adelaide Fringe Festival — supported Pint of Science events and Science Comedy shows. [Show details to be added.]
- Pint of Science Adelaide — public talk on ancient DNA and human evolution. [Date and venue to be added.]
2021
- History Teachers’ Association of Australia (HTAA) — invited speaker, National Conference. The session led to ongoing collaborations developing genomics-aware educational materials for secondary school curricula.
Recurring
- Waterhouse Club — public lectures hosted by the South Australian Museum supporters’ society. [Dates to be added.]
The Conversation
I write occasional explainers for The Conversation, covering recent papers in plain language for a general audience.
- What were dingoes like before the European invasion? Centuries-old DNA reveals a surprising history — 10 July 2024 (with Gabriel Conroy, Jane Balme, Sally Wasef).
- Ancient humans may have paused in Arabia for 30,000 years on their way out of Africa — 24 May 2023 (with Ray Tobler, Shane T. Grey).
- Ancient DNA reveals a hidden history of human adaptation — 31 October 2022 (with Christian Huber, Ray Tobler).
- We found traces of humanity’s age-old arms race with coronaviruses written in our DNA — 24 June 2021 (with Ray Tobler).