The Ongoing Transformation

In this podcast, experts discuss transitioning to cleaner energy technologies, including the challenges and potential of the green transition. They explore the role of government support, advancements in green tech, and the balance between pragmatism and idealism in decarbonization efforts.

On this installment of Science Policy IRL, Lisa Margonelli goes behind the scenes of Congressional policymaking with Brent Blevins. Blevins is a senior congressional staffer and staff director of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, which is part of the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Space, Science, and Technology.  Blevins talks about his unusual path into science policy (he didn’t study science, and he wasn’t a AAAS fellow!) and what staffers in the House and Senate do in the science policy world. He also talks about the incredible experience of getting to set policy for things like sending humans to Mars while also having a staff job that can end with any two-year election cycle. Resources: Want to learn more about what it’s like to work as a congressional staffer? Check out our Science Policy IRL episode with Amanda Arnold.  Learn more about the House Science Committee by visiting the House Republicans Science Committee website and the House Democrats Science Committee website. The Senate version of this committee is called the Senate Committee on Science, Commerce and Transportation.  Have thoughts you want to share with Blevins? He tells us his email in the episode, and he really wants to hear from you! Listen to the end of the episode to get his email.

Caregiving is a nearly universal human experience, but it’s not often thought of as an issue with implications for our nation’s science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) enterprise. A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Supporting Family Caregivers in STEMM: A Call to Action, seeks to change that. In some academic STEMM environments, devoting time to care for family members is still seen as a taboo subject because it clashes with the idealized notion of scientists who focus exclusively on their work. The lack of legal and institutional support for caregivers drives many people to leave STEMM fields altogether. What can be done to change this inequity? On this episode, Issues editor Sara Frueh talks to Elena Fuentes-Afflick, chair of the report committee and a professor of pediatrics and vice dean for the School of Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital at the University of California San Francisco. Fuentes-Afflick talks about the pressures of balancing caregiving with a STEMM career; how complex and poorly implemented policies are hurting workers and the economy; and steps that the government, universities, and others could take to make a difference. Resources: Read the Supporting Family Caregivers in STEMM: A Call to Action report and find more resources.  Learn more about federal policies and practices to support STEMM caregivers by reading the National Science and Technology Council’s report.  Find more of Elena Fuentes-Afflick’s work on her website. 

Kei Koizumi, Principal Deputy Director at the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, discusses the vital role of OSTP in advising the president on S&T matters, shaping federal research funding, and global cooperation for AI governance. He shares insights on transitioning from AAAS, advocating for research funding, and promoting inclusive science policy.

When tackling the problem of misinformation, people often think first of content and its accuracy. But countering misinformation by fact-checking every erroneous or misleading claim traps organizations in an endless game of whack-a-mole. A more effective approach may be to start by considering connections and communities. That is particularly important for public health, where different people are vulnerable in different ways.  On this episode, Issues editor Monya Baker talks with global health professionals Tina Purnat and Elisabeth Wilhelm about how public health workers, civil society organizations, and others can understand and meet communities’ information needs. Purnat led the World Health Organization’s team that strategized responses to misinformation during the coronavirus pandemic. She is also a coeditor of the book Managing Infodemics in the 21st Century. Wilhelm has worked in health communications at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and USAID.  Resources  Visit Tina Purnat and Elisabeth Wilhelm’s websites to learn more about their work and find health misinformation resources.  Check out Community Stories Guide to explore how public health professionals can use stories to understand communities’ information needs and combat misinformation.  How is an infodemic manager like a unicorn? Visit the WHO Infodemic Manager Training website to find training resources created by Purnat and Wilhelm, and learn about the skills needed to become an infodemiologist.

Amanda Arnold, VP at Valneva, discusses vaccine policy, neglected diseases, global distribution, and career transitions with a focus on supporting the innovation ecosystem in science policy.

Douglas Duncan is an astronomer who worked on the Hubble Space Telescope. He is also an eclipse fanatic. Since 1970, he has been to 11 total solar eclipses. When April 8, 2024, comes around, he’ll experience his twelfth with his 600 best friends as he leads a three-day eclipse viewing extravaganza in Texas. “It looks like the end of the world,” he says, and a total eclipse can be a source of intense fascination. He uses the emotional experience of the eclipse as a gateway to learning more about science.  On this episode, Lisa Margonelli talks to Duncan about how he has used this sense of experiential wonder, particularly in planetariums, as a way to invite the public into the joy of science. In previous generations, planetariums were seen as “old fashioned” and isolated from the work of modern astronomers. But Duncan pioneered a career track that combined public teaching at a planetarium with a faculty position at the University of Colorado. Now many planetariums have become places where academic astronomers can share their knowledge with the public.  Resources:  Visit Doug Duncan’s website to learn more about his work.  Read about his work at NASA.  Want to photograph the solar eclipse? Duncan has made an app for that called Solar Snap.  Learn more about using eclipses to engage the public.  See the itinerary for Duncan’s “Totality Over Texas” trip, which will be attended by 600 people. The trip offers three days of eclipse-related activities. 

The Science Policy IRL series pulls back the curtain on who does what in science policy and how they shaped their career path. In previous episodes we’ve looked at the cosmology of science policy through the eyes of people who work at federal agencies and the National Academies, but this time we are exploring think tanks.  Walter Valdivia describes how a chance encounter while he was getting a PhD in public policy at Arizona State University led him into science policy. Since then he’s worked at think tanks including Brookings and the Mercatus Center and is now at the Science and Technology Policy Institute, which does research for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In this episode, we’ll talk to Walter about what think tanks do in the policy world and how policy sometimes creates inherent paradoxes.  Resources:  Visit the Institute for Defense Analysis’ Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) to learn more about Walter’s current work.  Check out the book, Between Politics and Science by David Guston, to see what inspired Walter’s career in science policy. Here is the first chapter. Visit the Center for Nanotechnology in Society’s website.  Read Walter and David Guston’s paper, “Responsible innovation: A primer for policymakers.” Read “Is Patent Protection Industrial Policy?” to learn more about policy paradoxes.  Check out The Honest Broker by Roger Pielke, Jr. to learn more about the role of impartial expertise.  Interested in learning more about Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs)? Read this primer.

Monique Verdin discusses using art and science to understand the Gulf's transformation by climate and industry. She highlights the impact of climate, fossil fuels, and Gulf waters on her ancestral landscape, emphasizing community building and activism in Louisiana. Verdin's work focuses on environmental concerns, corporate roles, and Indigenous voices, creating space for marginalized communities and bridging with science. She explores collaborative relationships, nature's wisdom, and the heart-mind connection in community building.

Explore the impact of Alta Charo shaping science policy on stem cells, CRISPR, and more. Learn about science policy's real-life impact, her experience at the science policy table, and how science policy can inspire techno optimism. Delve into ethical debates, HIV prevention research, challenges in biotechnology, and the importance of public involvement in scientific discussions.