Guest Thinkers

Next week, I will be teaming up with Chris Mooney at Cal Tech for an evening lecture followed by a day long science communication seminar for the university’s graduate students […]

The box-office troubles of docs such as “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” is in contrast to Expelled’s impact.The LA Times runs a story this week on the downturn in box office fortunes […]

Here are the details on the talk I am giving with Chris Mooney tonight at Cal Tech. Also online are the syllabus and readings for the science communication workshop we […]

On TV, Neil deGrasse Tyson uses narrative to dramatize the importance of basic research.Last week in San Diego, I participated on a panel at the BIO 2008 meetings that focused […]

I’m back in DC after a week long tour of southern California. On Monday night, an audience of close to 100 scientists, students, and staff turned out at Cal Tech […]

A Gallup survey out this week reveals a wide partisan gap in perceptions of evolution. Specifically, 60% of Republicans say humans were created in their present form by God 10,000 […]

As I’ve argued before, conservatives often have the advantage in elections and policy battles because of their tendency to enforce greater message discipline and coordination. The latest example is James […]

At Knight Science Journalism Tracker, Charlie Petit has a pretty comprehensive round-up and commentary on news coverage of this week’s (failed) climate change legislation.

So how did Barack Obama beat improbable odds to capture the Democratic nomination? A team of reporters at the Washington Post has the best account I’ve seen on Obama’s ingenious […]

If the author is skeptical of mainstream science, is there a conservative think tank behind them?A new study by a team of political scientists and sociologists at the journal Environmental […]

A recent report for the Gallup survey organization by Oklahoma State sociologist Riley Dunlap backs up what I have been arguing at this blog and in various articles regarding the […]

The National Journal has released its annual survey of Congressional members on their views of climate science. When asked: “Do you think it’s been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that […]

As I wrote last week, in John McCain’s recent television ad focusing on global warming, he frames his position as a pragmatic “middle way” approach between the two extremes of […]

When Inconvenient Truth was released in 2006, Gallup polling showed that less than a majority of Americans had a favorable view of Al Gore. Yet just following his Nobel Prize […]

An artist’s take on the “scary wonder” of nanotechnology. The asbestos of tomorrow? As we wrote in our article last year at The Scientist, that’s not the type of frame […]

Released around the time of Expelled’s premiere, this YouTube clip produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science features Francis Collins, CEO Alan Leshner, and others discussing the […]

Note: Trends reflect the number of combined articles appearing annually in the New York Times and the Washington Post containing in the headline or lead paragraph the key words for […]

A round up of recent news coverage where I have provided analysis…1. USA Today ran this profile of actor Ed Begley, focusing on his commitment to environmental issues and a […]

Do voters under the age of 30 always trend more liberal and more likely to vote Democrat? Contrary to conventional wisdom, history and data say “No.”Political preferences are a product […]

This week’s On the MediaspotlightsRushmore Drive, the new search engine marketed to African Americans (audio above). As the program describes, the search engine uses a unique algorithm to find those […]

Evidence for the influence of an effective media strategy, from a just released Pew survey: Following his first visit to the United States as spiritual leader of the world’s Catholics, […]

Bill McKibben’s latest grassroots project is the launch of www.350.org, a Web portal and blog designed to focus world attention on cutting the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere to […]

Can a radio talk show host motivate Republicans to turn out in a Democratic primary and vote strategically for a candidate? Past research suggests that political talk radio can have […]

Pew has released an in depth analysis of news coverage of the Pope’s U.S. visit. As I have posted previously, some media critics have claimed that the press gave the […]

Obama as young Luke Skywalker, Hillary as Darth Vader, Bill as the Emperor, Bill Richardson as Han Solo. This new viral video promoting Obama’s candidacy is brilliant and effective humor. […]

Since Earth Day, a number of pollshave been released confirming that public opinion on climate change has changed very little over the past two years or since the premiere of […]

Gallup has released a survey showing that at this point in the race, Obama’s association with Wright may be potentially more damaging to his candidacy than McCain’s continued embrace of […]

In a new campaign advertisement (above), Senator John McCain focuses on global warming, framing his position as a pragmatic “middle way” approach between the two extremes of denying there is […]

The NY Times runs a lengthy front page Sunday feature exploring Obama’s years as an activist and politician in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. As the feature recounts, Obama […]

At the BIO 2008 International Convention coming up in June in San Diego, I will be participating in a panel on the communication challenges facing biotechnology. Below are the details […]