SCIENCE, CULTURED
The news that CNN is eliminating its science reporting team is just the latest blow to mainstream science journalism. But an informed democracy needs good coverage of issues that touch virtually every aspect of our lives.
The move seems strange and unfortunate given the ever-increasing role that scientific and technological issues play in shaping political and economic life in the United States. Curtic Brainard at CJR rounds up baffled experts, but everyone else can let CNN know what they think about the move.
SCIENCE, CULTURED
The Science and Entertainment Exchange is a new departure for the scientific community, but precisely the sort of outreach measure that can help it better connect with our broader society.
Earlier this week at The Intersection, Sheril Kirshenbaum offered a look at a new program from the National Academies that will help television and movie makers who want better integrate scientific concepts into their work. The Science and Entertainment Exchange aims to bridge the gap between the research arena and the entertainment industry “and addresses the mutual need of the two communities by providing the credibility and the verisimilitude upon which quality entertainment depends–and which audiences have come to expect,” according to the program’s website.
SCIENCE, CULTURED
Divisiveness and the lack of shared purpose have been too common surrounding science issues. It’s time for a change.
SCIENCE, CULTURED
His anti-global warming novel was unfortunate. But like it or not, his impact on the image of science in our culture was massive.
INTERNET
The next transition team must make the most of modern information and communications technology to shape, coordinate, and run the process of moving the next president into office. Here are some suggestions on how that can work.
SCIENCE, CULTURED
As the media’s interest in covering science declines, the lack of strong advocates for such coverage also comes to light.
SCIENCE, CULTURED
It’s entirely possible for research to thrive even as the influence and relevance of science, in policy and to the average citizen, decline. Reflections on a dramatic conversation to elevate science in America.
ANNIVERSARIES
Just over a year ago, we launched Science Progress. Our goal was to provide a forum for progressive science policy, a venue in which those concerned about the future of the country could assess the current state of science in America.
SCIENCE, CULTURED
When the public hasn’t been monitoring developments in science, people can fall back on Hollywood images of big strange projects that go badly awry. If scientists monitored public perceptions, they could engage before misinformation spreads.
SCIENCE, CULTURED
Both presidential candidates have now answered 14 questions about science policy—but it’s not enough.
CLIMATE
We should use hurricanes to discuss global warming, but we have to do it with rigorous fidelity to the current state of scientific understanding.
A quick look at the issues making the rounds on the science blogs this week.
Former Time magazine-reporter-turned-environmental-policy-analyst Eric Roston will make his Colbert Report debut tonight talking about his new book, The Carbon Age. Science Progress featured an interview with Roston earlier this month that ranged across the various scientific fields connected by the carbon atom.
Embryonic stem cell research, strong scientific input on global warming policy, and more federal funding for scientific research: these are all things the American public wants.
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
Young scientists today have a hunger for outreach training. Here are some concepts, conceits, and lessons learned from an attempt to help them deal with the media.
Rick Weiss argues that the orderly and unbiased testing of reality to see how things actually work—the art and science of science—has ever been the engine of better health, higher productivity and greater economic power, not to mention enhanced entertainment and leisure-time options. It is something of a wonder, he writes, that so many today eschew it, and so openly.
Kicking off an auspicious week at Science Progress that will culminate in our first public event, the Center for American Progress just announced that former Post reporter Rick Weiss is joining CAP as a Senior Fellow.
COMMUNICATING SCIENCE
The World Science Festival in New York City was a huge success—and that’s because it garnered attention that ranged far beyond coverage in traditional science media outlets. But to communicate science broadly, there’s still a long way to go.
Science Progress and American Progress's Doing What Works project teamed up to produce a set of policy proposals that the Obama administration and Congress can adopt to reinvest in the building blocks of American science, innovation, and economic competitiveness. Read the overview of the five reports.
Science Progress proceeds from the propositions that scientific inquiry is among the finest expressions of human excellence, that it is a crucial source of human flourishing, a critical engine of economic growth, and must be dedicated to the common good. Scientific inquiry entails global responsibilities. It should lead to a more equitable, safer, and healthier future for all of humankind.