The Ongoing Transformation

Think tanks are a vital part of the policy ecosystem, but what do they do? In this installment of Science Policy IRL, host Jason Lloyd talks to Neil Chilson, head of AI policy at the Abundance Institute. He has been involved in science and technology policy for his whole career, previously practicing telecommunications law and serving as the Federal Trade Commission’s chief technologist.In this episode, Chilson discusses what it’s like to work at a policy think tank, the questions about artificial intelligence that motivate his work, and why he is optimistic about our technological future. ResourcesCheck out Neil Chilson’s book, Getting Out Of Control: Emergent Leadership in a Complex World.Find more of Chilson’s work on his website and explore his Substack, including: “Red Teaming AI Legislation: Lessons from SB 1047”: How the concept of “red teaming” can be applied to creating legislation. “10 Years After the Best Tech Policy Movie Ever”: Lessons from The Lego Movie for emergent leadership.Learn more about the Abundance Institute’s vision for artificial intelligence policy by reading their recommendations here. 

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was once thought of as a condition that affects only children. The belief was that children would grow out of it, but research has shown that the condition often persists throughout life. In fact, ADHD is the second most prevalent psychiatric disorder in adults, but many misconceptions still exist about it. On this episode, host Sara Frueh is joined by David Goodman, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Center of Maryland. Goodman has treated adults with ADHD for over 40 years. Goodman explains how ADHD affects adults, the complexities in how it’s diagnosed and treated, and open questions for research in the field. Resources: Visit the Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Center of Maryland’s website to learn more about adult ADHD, and find links to more of David Goodman’s research, interviews, and publications. The American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders will release guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in late 2025. Check out their website to learn more. Read the New York Times article “Have We Been Thinking About ADHD All Wrong?,” which was discussed during the podcast episode.

Kelvin Droegemeier, a longtime leader in science policy, joins host Megan Nicholson for this installment of Science Policy IRL. Droegemeier began his career as a research meteorologist and went on to serve in many different leadership roles in state and federal government. He directed the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2019–2021, served on the National Science Board from 2004–2016, and served on the Oklahoma Governor’s Science and Technology Council from 2011–2019. He is currently a professor and Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Science and Policy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. On this episode, Droegemeier shares what it’s like to work on science policy at the state and federal levels, discusses what he sees as the pressing science policy issues of our time, and reflects on his leadership roles in academia and government. Resources:Read Kelvin Droegemier’s book, Demystifying the Academic Research Enterprise: Becoming a Successful Scholar in a Complex and Competitive Environment, to gain a better understanding of how the academic research enterprise works. Check out the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine project on Improving the Regulatory Efficiency and Reducing Administrative Workload to Strengthen Competitiveness and Productivity of US Research. Read Science, the Endless Frontier by Vannevar Bush and Issues’s project marking the anniversary of that report, The Next 75 Years of Science Policy, to learn more about the structure of scientific research in the United States. The National Science Board’s Science and Engineering Indicators provide important metrics to understand the current state of science and engineering. What is the future of American science and technology? Check out Vision for American Science and Technology (VAST) for a potential roadmap. 

Fiction can be an important tool to explore complex science and technology questions: Would our legal system be more equitable if an AI delivered verdicts rather than judges and juries? What will happen to future climate refugees? Is human consciousness just another algorithm? That’s why Issues has partnered with ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination to publish Future Tense Fiction, a speculative fiction series that uses imagination to explore science and technology questions like these ones. On this episode, host Mia Armstrong-López, an editor of Future Tense, talks to Arula Ratnakar, a computational neuroscience PhD student at Boston University and author of “Coda,” a recent Future Tense Fiction story about computing, consciousness, and cryptography. They discuss how Ratnakar’s work as a writer enhances her work as a scientist and vice versa, and how storytelling can help both experts and nonexperts think about complex technical issues and enhance the practice of science. Resources: Read Arula Ratnakar’s story, “Coda,” and Cristopher Moore’s response essay, “Computing Consciousness.” Check out the paper that inspired “Coda”: “An RNA-based theory of natural universal computation.”Find more of Ratnakar’s stories and research on her website. Check out Future Tense Fiction to find more stories! 

On Science Policy IRL, we talk to people in science policy about what they do and how they got there. We’ve shared stories of how people have found their way into science policy careers at places like the White House, Congress, and federal agencies. In this episode, we’re exploring a different way into science policy: getting involved with your local government. Taylor Spicer, the executive director of Engineers and Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL), shares how her organization helps scientists and engineers get involved in local policy. In a discussion with host Lisa Margonelli, Spicer talks about her path from international development to leading an organization dedicated to local civic engagement. She emphasizes that it’s important for people with STEM backgrounds to get involved with policy in their backyards, and describes how ESAL’s network can help you get started. Resources: Visit the Engineers and Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL) website to learn more about making a difference where you live, and subscribe to the newsletter to find opportunities in your area. Want to join ESAL’s online community-building platform? Sign up here to be the first to hear when it launches in July.

What happens in your brain when you hear your favorite song? In our Music and Health podcast miniseries, we’re exploring how music affects our minds, bodies, and communities. On this episode, host J. D. Talasek is joined by Sweta Adatia, a neurologist practicing in Dubai, and Fred Johnson, a community engagement specialist and artist in residence at both the National Academy of Sciences and the Straz Center for Performing Arts. They discuss their paths into combining music and science, how music impacts the brain, and how music can go beyond entertainment to create stronger, healthier communities. This series is produced in collaboration with Susan Magsamen and Leonardo journal.Resources:Listen to Fred Johnson’s version of “Nature Boy,” and check out his website and his Instagram to listen to more of his music and mantras, and to see Johnson in an upcoming show. Visit Sweta Adatia’s website to learn more about her work. Listen to previous miniseries episodes: The Creative Arts and Healing with Renée Fleming and Susan Magsamen.Dancing Together with David Leventhal and Constantina Theofanopoulou.

Fungi are ubiquitous in nature—in fact, you’re likely breathing in fungal spores as you read this. Most fungi are harmless to healthy people. But changes in the global climate, in human settlement patterns, and even in our own body temperatures have made fungal pathogens an increasing health threat.On this episode, host Jason Lloyd interviews Angel Desai, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor at the University of California Davis Medical Center. Desai and George R. Thompson III cowrote “Foiling the Growing Threat of Fungal Pathogens” in the Winter 2025 Issues. Desai discusses what fungal pathogens are, why they are becoming more dangerous, and how the public health community can respond. Resources: Learn more about fungal pathogens by reading Angel Desai and George R. Thompson III’s Issues article, “Foiling the Growing Threat of Fungal Pathogens.” Angel Desai and Maimuna S. Majumder’s October 2020 Issues article, “How Contact Tracing Apps Could Help Prevent COVID-19 Super-Spreader Events,” offers lessons about contact tracing and disease surveillance that can be applied to future outbreaks. How can wildfire smoke spread disease? Read Leda N. Kobziar and George R. Thompson III’s “Wildfire Smoke, a Potential Infectious Agent” in Science to learn more. Check out “Infectious Diseases in a Changing Climate” by Matthew C. Phillips, Regina C. LaRocque, and George R. Thompson III in JAMA to read more about the impact of climate change on infectious diseases.

More than half of US states have legalized cannabis for recreational or medical use. Regulations on cultivation, production, and marketing vary from state to state, and most of these policies were developed without a robust public health strategy. Because it is not federally legal, Washington has provided only limited guidance to states on how to control the variety of cannabis products on the market. What’s more, the dazzling arrays of gummies, vapes, and chocolates are available with much higher concentrations of THC (the psychoactive component of cannabis) than have been previously available.A recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, Cannabis Policy Impacts Public Health and Health Equity, examines the connections between public health and marijuana legalization. On this episode, host Sara Frueh talks to Yasmin Hurd, vice-chair of the report committee, Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience, and director of the Addiction Institute at  Mount Sinai. They discuss the research on the complex landscape of modern cannabis products, what’s known about their public health impacts, and strategies policymakers could use to minimize harms. ResourcesRead the National Academies’ report, Cannabis Policy Impacts Public Health and Health Equity.Visit the Hurd Lab and Addiction Institute websites to learn more about Yasmin Hurd’s work on addiction.

“People always say, ‘Well, if I could only do one art form, what would it be?’ And I always say dance.” —Susan Magsamen In our podcast miniseries Music and Health, we’re exploring how music impacts our minds, bodies, and communities. In this installment, we’re learning about the power of dance. Host J. D. Talasek is joined by David Leventhal and ConstantinaTheofanopoulou. Both began their careers as dancers and use dance to inform their current work. Leventhal is a program director and one of the founding teachers of Dance for PD, a program that offers people with Parkinson’s disease research-backed dance classes. Theofanopoulou is a research assistant professor at Rockefeller University. Her research focuses on understanding the neuroscience of complex sensory motor behaviors. They discuss how dance is helping patients regain movement abilities, and what neuroscience research says about dance as a form of healing. This series is produced in collaboration with Susan Magsamen and Leonardo journal.Resources:  Listen to the first episode of the mini-series, Music and Health: The Creative Arts and Healing, featuring Renée Fleming and Susan Magsamen.  Visit the Dance for PD website to learn more about the program, and find classes in your area or virtually.  Learn more about Constantina Theofanopoulou’s research by visiting her website. 

Vaccines, oil spills, genetic engineering, and stem cells—anywhere there’s science, there’s also misinformation. It muddies our ability to make good decisions, ranging from far-reaching ones like creating policy to simple ones like what to buy at the grocery store. Misinformation also undermines trust in scientific institutions and across society. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine tasked an expert committee with addressing misinformation. Their report,Understanding and Addressing Misinformation About Science, is out now. On this episode, hostMonya Baker is joined byAsheley Landrum, one of the authors of the report and an associate professor at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication. Landrum’s research focuses on science, communication, and media psychology. She discusses what exactly science misinformation is, how to tackle it, and the unexpected places it can arise. Resources: Learn more about science misinformation by reading the full National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, Understanding and Addressing Misinformation About Science.ReadIssues’ collection of articles about “Navigating a Polluted Information System.”Check out thePsychology of Misinformation special issue to learn more about misinformation in different domains, including Landrum’s research on “Entertainment media as a source of relationship misinformation.”VisitAsheley Landrum’s website to learn more about her work.