jod999

[jod999]

I did a thing. @superlinguo is awesome!

Micro-patronage for research communication: the Lingthusiasm podcast as a case study of a sustainable funding model (new research article)

For the last eight years of making Lingthusiasm we have relied on the financial support of patrons to crowdfund the production of the show. I've occasionally shared the logistics of this at workshops or in mentoring meetings, but I have been wanting to share more of the motivation, benefits and challenges of this model for research communicators. The internet can be a magical place for connecting with audiences for specific topics, where any one single physical location might not have the depth of audience to make that content viable.

For this paper I had the good fortune to work with Jonathan O’Donnell, whose PhD thesis was all about public funding of research and research communication. It was conversations with Jonathan that helped me clarify that in all of the choices we had made about funding Lingthusiasm the clearest thread was sustainability. Lingthusiasm works because it is financially and intellectually sustainable for our production team, and for our audience. It was a joy to work on this article, and I hope it's useful for other scicomm or niche content creators, as well as offering a bit of an insight into some of the choices we've made for Lingthusiasm.

Abstract

Micro-patronage provides a new model of funding for research communication. This article uses the Lingthusiasm podcast as a case study to describe how micro-patronage can work and some of the benefits and challenges involved. The authors draw on their own experience of micro-patronage to demonstrate how to create sustainable projects. They also discuss how it sits alongside university funding structures, while also providing a measure of independence from those structures.

Citation

Gawne, Lauren, and Jonathan O’Donnell. (2025). Micro-patronage for research communication: The Lingthusiasm podcast as a case study of a sustainable funding model. Journal of Science Communication 24(03). DOI: 10.22323/146620250609102339

[jod999]

Hadestown was amazing.

[jod999]

Things I love about Wikipedia.

It has an article about Major General Sir Nils Olav III, Baron of the Bouvet Islands, who is a king penguin.

Which includes "...Nils was the first penguin to receive [a knighthood] in the Norwegian Army.

The talk page includes the following note:

"There seems to be some confusion between the penguin's rank and his honorary appointments. Nils Olav has received three distinct things:

His military rank, currently major general in the Norwegian army

His noble title, currently Baron of the Bouvet Islands

His honorary appointments, currently mascot and colonel-in-chief, both in the King's Guard

These should not be mixed together."

[jod999]

I'm assuming that you've already seen this from @chaser, @batshit-auspol. The coming election is going to be absolutely batshit crazy.

[jod999]

[jod999]

stop using chatgpt!!!! take a bronze pin and carve your questions onto an ox scapula, then toss it into the fire!!!! use the cracks to divine the gods answer!!!!

[jod999]

Today my PhD supervisor told me "Now, journal reviewers are getting meaner. Don't take it personally. It's because they're upset about being exploited for free labour but don't have the class consciousness to unite against the publishers."

[jod999]

I had my PhD oral exam on Zoom from my hotel room in Glasgow at 9pm on the opening night of Worldcon (after setting up in the art show) AND I PASSED! NO AMENDMENTS! I DON’T EVEN HAVE TO FIX THE TYPOS ahahahrgh

[jod999]

"For a reason I can no longer remember, I started picking science theses at random from the Australian National University library catalogue and reading only the acknowledgements." - Tabitha Carvan

[jod999]

My latest Guardian Books cartoon.

[jod999]

stop using chatgpt!!!! take a bronze pin and carve your questions onto an ox scapula, then toss it into the fire!!!! use the cracks to divine the gods answer!!!!

[jod999]

We have a team planning day today, where we are going to do real planning.

I'm actually excited.

[jod999]

[jod999]

Coming to terms with the fact that maybe expecting myself to research and write a polished conference paper from scratch before my flight was too ambitious and trying to remind myself of how many of the academics I know finish their papers the day before they present

[jod999]

Coming to terms with the fact that maybe expecting myself to research and write a polished conference paper from scratch before my flight was too ambitious and trying to remind myself of how many of the academics I know finish their papers the day before they present

[jod999]

SCIENCE CAT

(my latest cartoon for New Scientist)

[jod999]

“…as I jumped through the hoops of a new tenure track position, in Germany, I also devoted more of my energy to other kinds of writing, writing that still didn’t “count.”

I noticed a few things as I did. One was that all of my writing became easier – if blocked on a scholarly project, I could begin it in a playful style, or I could get the creative juices flowing by writing in another genre first. Or: I could do something creative with my hands or with my body, and allow my subconscious to do the work. Writing began to feel less like something I had to do in a way that would not offend my harshest critic, and more like something I could do to please myself.”

“…the distinction that now counts for me is not between critical and creative practices, or between aesthetic and other uses of literature. It is between work done to please power, and work done in the face of death.”

- Irina Dumitrescu, “Why I’m No Longer a Proper Academic” (Creative Critical)