We talk to David Roberts from Vox about the intractability of conservatives on climate change and whether polarization is something to be avoided or embraced.Links for this episodeOutside magazine on Roberts unpluggingNiskanen Center podcas

Ep 19: Climate Communication Own Goals

Sep 26th, 2017 27m 54s

After a summer, er… hiatus… we discuss a recent Nature Geoscience paper by Millar et al. and some factually untrue claims (not all of them by contrarians!) leading to an epic communications own goal.Links from this episodeOriginal Nature Geo

Ep 18: Robert Mac on science comedy, part 2

Aug 3rd, 2017 57m 26s

Part 2 of our interview with stand-up comedian Robert Mac on telling Mormon jokes in Utah, the tension between accuracy and comedy, herd mentality and the different types of laughs.Special thanks to Matt Dundas and Grassroots Comedy DC for the

Ep 17: Robert Mac on the secrets of comedy, part 1

Jul 11th, 2017 52m 51s

Stand-up comedian Robert Mac gives a master class on comedy and story-telling, explaining how to show-don’t-tell, lay breadcrumbs, funnel your stories from wide to narrow, and understand your audience.Special thanks to Matt Dundas and Grassroo

Ep 16: Katharine Hayhoe on shared values

Jul 7th, 2017 51m 6s

We talk to climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe about cheerfully responding to climate misinformation, finding shared values with your audience, finding hope in climate solutions, and denial mansplaining.Links from this episodeGlobal Weirding

Ep 15: Oren Cass on alarmism vs denial

Jun 22nd, 2017 51m 29s

Here is the second half of John Cook and Peter Jacobs’ interview with Oren Cass. They discuss alarmism, science denial and the consensus among economists on climate action. The podcast episode is a truncated version of the full interview which

Ep 14: Oren Cass and scientific consensus

Jun 7th, 2017 51m 31s

John Cook and Peter Jacobs interview Oren Cass, after Oren and John exchanged articles in the National Review. Peter geeks out about the 2012 Presidential election (Oren was part of the Romney campaign) then they have a vigorous debate about th

Ep 13: The science of climate science denial

May 15th, 2017 27m 16s

John Cook and Peter Jacobs critique a National Review article by Oren Cass that misrepresents their 2016 paper on the scientific consensus on climate change. They discuss the techniques of climate science denial, focusing on the technique of fa

Ep 12: Risks and rewards of science comedy

May 12th, 2017 47m 54s

Communication researcher Emily Vraga joins us as co-host again to discuss science comedy. She explains her research into how comedy can increase credibility, engagement and reduce perceived aggression. We also critique a variety of examples of

Ep 11: Sarah Myhre and scrappy science communication

May 4th, 2017 40m 46s

Climate scientist Sarah Myhre talks about her scrappy science communication: how she draws on expert witness training, hands-on experience, human emotions and transparency to build resilience and effectively communicate the science of climate c

Ep 10: Breaking Debunking: William Happer’s carbon cycle myth

Apr 28th, 2017 4m 32s

In our first “Breaking Debunking” mini-episode, John Cook and Peter Jacobs explain how the carbon cycle works (the CO2 we breath out originally came from the air) and debunk William Happer’s myth from CNN that breathing adds CO2 to the atmosphe

Ep 9: Joining the March for Science

Apr 26th, 2017 22m 28s

John Cook and Peter Jacobs join the March for Science in Washington D.C. They speak to the marchers about how far they came to attend the march, why it’s so important to stand up for science and how else we

Ep 8: Heartland Institute’s misinformation campaign into schools

Apr 17th, 2017 32m 48s

Last month, the Heartland Institute sent a climate denial booklet to 25,000 teachers around the US. We look at the why and how of this book. What is the chief motivation for the book’s misinformation and what are the techniques they employ to

Ep 7: Kim Cobb and the March for Science

Apr 10th, 2017 47m 38s

Kim Cobb talks about her rousing speech supporting science at a street rally in San Francisco. She also talks about her broader efforts to communicate climate science, the important role of diverse voices in science communication and her resear

Ep 6: Lamar Smith’s hearing on climate science

Apr 6th, 2017 37m 5s

We review the House Committee’s hearing on climate science and the scientific method. We explore the conflict between the Republicans’ supposed dismay at the drop in public trust in science, and their deliberate efforts to erode public trust in

Ep 5: Emily Vraga, science advocacy and the March on Science

Apr 3rd, 2017 22m 28s

Emily Vraga has researched how advocacy affects a scientists’ credibility (spoiler alert: it doesn’t necessarily). She joins us as co-host to discuss her research and it’s implications for the upcoming March on Science. Links from this episode

Ep 4: Previewing the climate science denial hearing

Mar 29th, 2017 33m 22s

We preview the upcoming hearing on Climate Science: Assumptions, Policy Implications, and the Scientific Method. We also discuss Lamar Smith’s speech at the Heartland Institute conference, previewing the hearing. Techniques used to cast doubt o

Ep 3: Tony Leiserowitz and consensus messaging

Mar 27th, 2017 43m 22s

We examine the topic of consensus messaging – communicating the expert agreement on climate change. We interview Tony Leiserowitz from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication who has conducted leading research into the psychology of co

Ep 2: Scott Pruitt and science denial

Mar 26th, 2017 34m 53s

We examine Scott Pruitt’s denial of the scientific consensus on human-caused global warming, both in a CNBC interview and in his hearing for head of the EPA. We also turn our gaze on Bernie Sander’s characterization of the consensus and

Ep 1: Stephan Lewandowsky and origins

Mar 25th, 2017 38m 9s

In our inaugural episode of Evidence Squared, we explore both co-hosts’ journey from a physical science background to an interest in the social science of science communication. Then we talk to cognitive scientist Stephan Lewandowsky, whose fat

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