Guest Thinkers

In announcements and press efforts this past month, the Vatican is promoting Galileo as a symbol of collaboration between science and religion. The initiative is part of a larger campaign […]

A reminder about the outstanding panel to be held tomorrow at NSF headquarters.

Kudos to the Obama administration for approaching one of America’s top science communicators for the position of Surgeon General. Not only could CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta be a visible and […]

Sigh. More of the same self-defeating sophomoric rants against religion coming to a theater soon.It’s an embarrassing time to be an atheist in America.

Economic troubles and what to do about them are not unlike climate change or biomedical research. Both economic policy and science policy can be deeply complex and uncertain and can […]

Yesterday I turned in a short essay to the BA’s Science & Public Affairs magazine about science communication in the Obama era. In the essay, among recommendations,I floated a proposal […]

Tonight I board a plane for Venice, Italy where I will be presenting as part of an expert workshop on science communication, sponsored by the EU, Istituto Veneto di Scienze, […]

I am in Venice, Italy this week to participate in an expert workshop on research in science communication held at the historic Venice Institute of Science & the Arts (above). […]

What’s a vision of the future of science journalism? Consider Yale Environment 360. The university and foundation-sponsored online magazine and social media site is updated daily and weekly, publishing feature […]

There was a clear consensus focus to presentations and comments at the first day of the Venice workshop on science communication and public engagement: The biggest future challenge will be […]

Day two of the expert workshop on science communication at the Venice Institute of Science & Arts focused more narrowly on the question of defining and evaluating forms of science […]

Call it a case of extreme optimistic bias: Many climate advocates point to polls that show when the public is asked directly, a majority say they are “concerned” about global […]

A model for government agencies and science organizations to replicate. From a Politico article on Obama’s campaign pledge to use technology to enhance transparency, responsiveness, and citizen engagement: The transition […]

On Thursday, Feb. 5, I will be at Virginia Commonwealth University giving a talk as part of the university’s Science, Technology, and Society lecture series (details). It will be an […]

As I wrote last month, in the Year of Darwin, the loudest voice associated with science threatens to be Richard Dawkins and other New Atheist pundits who will argue their […]

In a Policy Forum article this week at Science, Hampshire College professor Salman Hameed discusses the reasons for widespread rejection of evolution across Islamic countries. Surveys show, for example, that […]

On January 8, NSF will be hosting a very important panel discussion on climate change and journalism. Details are below. NSF to Host Panel Discussion on Communicating Climate Change11 a.m.-12:30 […]

There’s probably no one better qualified than Carol Browner to coordinate the administration’s efforts on energy and the environment. The looming question is whether or not Obama’s new uber-czar positions […]

Many readers were shocked and disappointed last week with the forced resignation of Rev. Richard Cizik from his position heading up the Washington office of the National Association of Evangelicals. […]

Over at the Columbia Journalism Review, Curtis Brainard offers a must-read interview with the NY Times Andrew Revkin, the environment beat’s most influential reporter. Revkin has been covering the environment […]

Obama gets communication and that’s why he was able to make a historic run to the White House. And it’s much more than an understanding of how to use technology […]

In two new TV advertisements, the We campaign is back on message (after one major stumble), framing appeals around the tagline of “Repower America,” connecting a focus on clean energy […]

President-elect Obama’s remarks at a press conference today should sound familiar to readers of this blog: “A couple of years ago I was invited to Rick Warren’s church to speak […]

The latest issue of the American Journal of Bioethics features an important study on the effects of viewing medical dramas on the ethical reasoning of medical and nursing students. From […]

Now that Obama has his science and environmental policy team in place, there’s great optimism for important new directions in policy. Yet it will take smart and effective communication to […]

From an email sent out this morning by NSF. If readers can make it, this panel is definitely worth attending. NSF to Host Panel Discussion on Communicating Climate ChangeJournalists Andy […]

A few bloggers have registered their reaction to last week’s PRI radio segment that questions the wisdom of calling climate change and evolution opponents “deniers.” Most notably Orac, Mike the […]

The HHMI Bulletin, the monthly magazine of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, runs a lengthy feature on science blogging in its November issue. I am quoted in the article with […]

The NY Academy of Sciences offers a stunning venue for public talks, forums, and receptions, with a view from the 40th floor of 7 World Trade Center.Thursday morning I will […]

The National Academies is doing some preliminary pilot research on a new communication initiative. As part of that process, they want to find out what science blogs readers think are […]