DC Events
nisbetmc | March 4, 2010Readers in Washington, DC will find this event, open to the public, of strong interest:
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Meteorological Society (AMS), and the American Statistical Association (ASA), present:
Climate Policy: Public Perception, Science, and the Political Landscape
Friday, March 12, 2010
11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Hart Senate Office Building, Room 902
United States Senate
Washington, DC
*To learn more about this event, please visit www.ametsoc.org/cb*
**This event is part of the AMS Climate Briefing Series, which is made possible, in part,…
nisbetmc | February 28, 2010What does climate change mean to you? from Andrea Posner on Vimeo.
Students in AU Professor David Johnson's class on interactive media have created a social media and discussion site for tonight's American Forum on "The Climate Change Generation: Youth, Media, and Politics in an Unsustainable World."
Features at the site include video interviews with AU students on the topic (see above), a Twitter feed that student attendees and public radio listeners will be posting to, a Facebook group, a news aggregator on climate change, and various topic driven discussion boards with topics ranging…
nisbetmc | February 8, 2010
UPDATE: Due to the weather, the Forum is postponed until the end of February or early March. When a date is finalized, I will post details.
Tuesday night at 7pm, American University's School of Communication will be hosting a panel discussion focused on "The Climate Change Generation: Youth, Media, and Politics in an Unsustainable World." [Follow the link for location on campus and directions.]
Joining me on the panel will be the Washington Post's national environmental reporter Juliet Eilperin and Mother Jones energy and environmental reporter Kate Shepard. The panel will be moderated by…
nisbetmc | November 19, 2009For DC readers, NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco will be speaking at American University tonight. Details are below
In 1998, Lubchenco as president of AAAS argued for a new social contract for science that requires scientists and their organizations to "communicate their knowledge and understanding widely in order to inform decisions of individuals and institutions." Her commitment to "civic science" led her to found the Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellows program, which over the past decade has trained up to 20 mid-career scientists per year in public affairs and communication. For…
nisbetmc | October 13, 2009
Tonight, the AU School of Communication's American Forum series focuses on "Change + 1: Are young voters talking back to Obama?" A diverse panel of experts will look not only at how the Millennial generation views Obama personally but also how this age-group views the important issues facing the country today, including the economy and health-care as these issues affect them, transparency in government and the effectiveness of social-networking to govern versus social-networking to get elected.
Panelists include David Gregory, moderator, NBC's Meet the Press and AU alum; Jose Antonio…
nisbetmc | August 24, 2009For DC-area readers who have been following the discussion of climate change communication at this blog, you will want to turn out to Ed Maibach's talk tomorrow at the NSF. Details below. For background reading, see Ed's report with colleagues on Global Warming's Six Americas and the resources at the Center for Climate Change Communication, which he directs. I would also recommend his recent co-authored article from the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. Ed and I are collaborating on a funded project to test different frames on climate change across audience segments, evaluating the…
nisbetmc | July 30, 2009About 400 people packed the classic AFI Theater last night for the NIH-sponsored screening and discussion of Inherit the Wind. Here are a few follow-up notes, especially for attendees logging on looking for more information about topics discussed.
1. As I mentioned last night, perhaps the best book on understanding the science, the history, and the politics of America's decades long debate over evolution is Eugenie Scott's Evolution vs. Creationism, recently updated, expanded, and released in its 2nd edition.
2. For those looking for more details on the issues related to framing and public…
nisbetmc | July 28, 2009
Tomorrow night, watch Spencer Tracy argue in defense of evolution.
For readers in the DC area, tomorrow night at 7pm, the NIH Office of Science Education and the American Film Institute are teaming up to sponsor a screening of Inherit the Wind as part of their summer film series "Science in the Cinema."
Following the film, I have been invited to make a few remarks on the evolution debate as it plays out in contemporary culture and the enduring themes from the classic movie. The event and film series is designed to facilitate active audience participation and debate, so I expect there will be…
nisbetmc | June 17, 2009Readers in the DC area will definitely want to check out the upcoming event on June 23 at the National Academies. Details are posted below. I hope to be able to attend and to report back on some collected remarks.
It will be interesting to compare the thoughts of the assembled practitioners with the conclusions from the article we published last week at Nature Biotechnology, which synthesized relevant research in the fields of science communication, ethics, and policy and highlighted eight key recommendations.
The National Academies Presents: An Educational Event on Science Communication
The…
nisbetmc | June 2, 2009
At the AFI Silver Theater on July 29 watch Spencer Tracy argue in defense of evolution.
For readers in the DC area, on July 29 at 7pm, the NIH Office of Science Education and the American Film Institute are teaming up to sponsor a screening of Inherit the Wind as part of their summer film series "Science in the Cinema."
Following the film, I have been invited to make a few remarks on the evolution debate as it plays out in contemporary culture and the enduring themes from the classic movie. The event and film series is designed to facilitate active audience participation and debate, so I…
nisbetmc | June 1, 2009
The future of science journalism and communication will involve three key strategies:
1. "Going broad" and reaching a diversity of audiences across non-traditional media platforms such as entertainment film and television, new genres of documentary film, new forms of multi-media storytelling, new genres involving satire and comedy, and through collaborations with the creative arts.
2. "Going deep" and creating new non-profit forms of digital science journalism, especially at the local or regional level, that offer rich reservoirs of information via content contributed by professional…
nisbetmc | May 13, 2009On the road giving talks this spring and in several forthcoming articles, I recommend that one way to widen the net in terms of public engagement is to hook science around entertainment media. A leading initiative I spotlight is the National Academies' Science & Entertainment Exchange which pairs scientists with TV and film producers. A recent success was the incidental news coverage generated by scientific consultation on the movie-version of The Watchmen.
This week comes another great strategy for "going broad" with science communication. As the NSF spotlights, more than 45 lectures are…
nisbetmc | April 10, 2008Next 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 staff**, the talk is titled "Framing Science: Conflict and Consensus in Public Communication."
As case studies, I will be focusing specifically on the issues of climate change and evolution, reviewing media and public opinion trends while also contextualizing the relevance of Gore's new communication initiative and the release of Expelled. The presentation marks roughly a year since the publication of the Framing Science essay…
nisbetmc | January 27, 2008Here's some news not only of interest to readers in DC, but it could also be an important new dynamic in the Democratic primary race. Tomorrow in a rally open to the public on the campus at American University, Ted Kennedy will join Caroline Kennedy in endorsing Barack Obama for president. Read about it at the Boston Globe. The basketball arena should be packed, so make sure you try to arrive early.
nisbetmc | January 16, 2008I'm told that more than 170 have RSVPed for tonight's Framing Science talk and panel discussion at the House of Sweden in Georgetown. Details here.
nisbetmc | January 11, 2008Next week on Wednesday I will be joined by several stellar panelists for a Science Cafe discussion at the Swedish Embassy aka the House of Sweden. Built last year, the embassy is an architectural marvel sitting on some of the best real estate in the Georgetown waterfront.
You don't want to miss this. I hear that they are expecting an audience topping a 100 and I am sure people will be gathering afterwards to go out for beers in Georgetown. Details below. Notice the RSVP requirement.
For my talk, I will be discussing the paradigm shift in science communication, focusing in on the continued…
nisbetmc | November 9, 2007Each Monday evening in November, AAAS is sponsoring a series of panel discussions on major issues in science and technology policy. The panels are hosted by NPR reporters Joe Palca and Richard Harris. See details below:
AAAS Invites You to a New Discussion Series
Science & Society: Grand Challenges
No powerpoint. No notes.
Just candid conversations with leading scientists,
economists, and politicians hosted by award-winning NPR reporters
Joe Palca and Richard Harris.
Monday, November 12th topic: Meeting Global Energy Demands
AAAS Auditorium, 1200 New York Ave, NW, Washington, D.C.
About…
nisbetmc | January 17, 2007Today I am launching a new regular feature where I will spotlight DC events of interest for readers of Framing Science who live, work, and play here in the Beltway.
While Framing Science covers mostly national and international issues, with the site's readership spanning the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia, the "DC Events" feature emphasizes the "place-blog" nature of this site.
DC is perhaps the world capital for science, public health, and environment-related strategic communication activities, with many leading institutions and organizations focused on the topic. So I am hoping that…