Matthew C. Nisbet
Associate Professor of Communication, Northeastern University
Matthew C. Nisbet, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Public Policy, and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University. Nisbet studies the role of communication and advocacy in policymaking and public affairs, focusing on debates over over climate change, energy, and sustainability. Among awards and recognition, Nisbet has been a Visiting Shorenstein Fellow on Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, a Health Policy Investigator at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a Google Science Communication Fellow. In 2011, the editors at the journal Nature recommended Nisbet's research as “essential reading for anyone with a passing interest in the climate change debate,” and the New Republic highlighted his work as a “fascinating dissection of the shortcomings of climate activism."
Few details are provided, but in a buzz-generating interview, here is what The Sun (UK) reports: “The former US Vice President said: ‘I will make a sequel to the 2006 […]
In his appearance last week on NPR Science Friday (audio), Columbia University’s Jeffrey Sachs framed the climate challenge not in terms of regulating pollution but rather as an energy and […]
In an op-ed at the Seattle Times, communication scholars Dave Domke and Kevin Coe note the absurd God & Country tests that have been applied to Barack Obama, ranging from […]
As I have argued in talks and articles over the past year, the communication challenge on global warming is to create the public opinion environment where meaningful policy action can […]
Back in February, I traveled to Rome, Italy to present at a conference sponsored by Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the Adriano Olivetti Foundation. The focus was on climate change […]
Despite record amounts of media attention and ever certain science about threats to the environment, Americans’ commitment to taking environmentally sustainable actions remains little changed over the past eight years. […]
Back in the spring of 2006, Time magazine ran the cover at left warning Americans to “Be Worried, Be VERY Worried” about global warming. As I’ve written in different places […]
In Expelled, Richard Dawkins recounts how learning about science “killed off” his faith. And PZ Myers tells us that the more science literacy we have in society, the less religion […]
On the eve of Expelled premiering in theaters across the country, Pew offers a wide ranging Q&A; with Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project. The full interview is […]
In a recent analysis, Pew finds that news attention to Iraq has sharply declined since last year, overshadowed in coverage by the dominance of the Democratic primary race and the […]
With Pope Benedict’s visit to the United States this week, Gallup has released a survey measuring Americans views on various religious groups as well as atheists. Favorable perceptions of atheists […]
In a recent episode (podcast) of the CBC series “How to Think About Science,” here’s how Harvard historian of science Steven Shapin answers that question: I believe of course that […]
Next week, on Friday April 18, I will be giving a talk at the National Science Foundation, sponsored by the National Capital Area Skeptics. Open to the public and NSF […]
The latest in the Science Communication Consortium series… The Science Communication Consortium presents:Science and Congress: The Role of Think Tanks and Congressional Science CommitteesThursday, April 24, 20087:00-8:30pmCUNY – 365 Fifth […]
From the National Academies recent report on evolution: “As SCIENCE, EVOLUTION, AND CREATIONISM makes clear, the evidence for evolution can be fully compatible with religious faith. Science and religion are […]
When producers release a documentary about a public affairs topic, especially in the case of a propaganda film like Expelled, they create several natural advantages over the typical news coverage […]
As I have mentioned here before, one of the studies I am working on evaluates the impact of documentary film across audiences, news coverage, and policy contexts. I have written […]
In the left side bar, I have had a standing policy on comments for the past year. Here’s what it says: Keep it substantive, serious minded, on topic, and respectful. […]
Ask yourself: What’s the best way you can promote atheism in your community or on your campus? Do you want to gain attention through polarizing attacks at your blog or […]
Over the summer I addressed by video conference a meeting by the National Academies on state science policy advice. They’ve now produced a report based on that meeting and it […]
Yesterday, on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show, Francis Collins appeared with other guests to talk about the science and ethics of personal genetic testing. The show was prompted in part by […]
At Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School on Monday, about fifty faculty and students turned out for the lunch time seminar on Framing Science. The Q&A generated traditional questions but also a […]
Several news reports note that Gore’s new climate communication initiative targets Americans not just through television ads, but also by way of interpersonal networks, specifically what campaign organizers call “influentials” […]
A few weeks ago I highlighted this relevant finding from the massive amount of data contained in Pew’s annual State of the Media report. And Chris highlighted the results of […]
I’m hitting the road for talks at Princeton, but a quick post on Gore’s new ad campaign, launched officially with an appearance last night on 60 Minutes.I haven’t see the […]
I just drove round trip from the Minneapolis airport to Madison in a rented Toyota Prius. I have to say that the car is super fast and smooth and has […]
You don’t have to be a social scientist to recognize that the distribution of opinion among people who comment at Scienceblogs is very different from the perspective found among the […]
From E.O. Wilson’s appearance last year on PBS Bill Moyers talking about the common moral obligation among atheists and evangelicals to take collective action on the environment: Let us– in […]
Caitlin Wall, one of the students in my Political Communication seminar this semester, has embarked on a very successful job as an international affairs blogger for Foreign Policy magazine. Caitlin’s […]
Two weeks ago, I spent my spring break at the Exploratorium, as a visiting Osher Fellow. One of the projects I consulted on was the Exploratorium’s “evidence” project, an exciting […]