ABOUT | broadsciencepodcast

About Us

Broad Science is an initiative dedicated to making science inclusive, engaging, and intersectional. We are focused on telling science stories from the voices and perspectives that often get overlooked and go untold.

Though podcasting Broad Science aims to provide a platform that makes science accessible for everyone, empowers marginalized communities, and encourages socially-conscious scientific practice in the next generation of scientists.

“Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated” - Rosalind Franklin

Why Tell Diverse Science Stories?

Research indicates that storytelling is a useful tool for communicating science to non-experts. We are all impacted by science on a daily basis, but the significance of that impact can vary if people don’t have a chance to learn about discoveries.

science

journalists

doing it

right

19%

of women are experts quoted in scientific studies

14%

of women make up the focus of health and science stories in the media

“Whenever communities [of color] interact with science in the news, it’s rarely positive,”
—(Danielle Lee @DNLee5)

To find out more check out this article: Including diverse voices in Science Stories (OpenNotebook)

“As journalists we fail to do justice to what science is by somehow artificially presenting it as an inhuman, dispassionate inquiry. It’s human. People make human decisions,”—Deborah Blum

SCIENCE AND THE PUBLIC

Distrust: There is a growing public distrust when it comes to science. The mistrust towards scientists and their work goes beyond the topic of climate change. The information overload makes it hard to separate good science from fake science news. When it comes to science communication, there needs to be better collaboration between scientists and journalists to convey research in an accurate and clear manner

ENGAGEMENT AND ACCESSIBILITY

Can you name a scientist...that’s living?

According to a 2013 survey, 70% of American adults couldn't name a living scientist! This sparked the viral twitter hashtag:

#ActualLivingScientist

Although the public supports research funding through taxes, they have limited access to most of this research. With extremely high journal subscription prices and unnecessary jargon, it is understandable why many are disengaged from the scientific process and product. The public, particularly those with limited science backgrounds and communities that have historically been excluded from scientific narratives, should be given the opportunity to have access to science and feel empowered.