Safeguarding Sound Science

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Latest Episodes:

Hope in the Face of the Climate Crisis: Youth Activism and Leadership Apr 23, 2025

Though climate change represents a clear and present danger for all of us, it is young people who will suffer the most if we don't mitigate global warming. And they understand this. Nearly 70% of 16-25-year-olds are extremely worried or very worried about the climate, according to a recent global study. Faced with this mounting crisis, young people are raising their voices and actively engaging in solutions. Meet three such people in this week's episode: Cindy Le, Leilina Patel, and Jariel Ramos, all members of the Action for the Climate Emergency Youth Advisory Board. They're joined by Kelly Lê, Executive Director of Grades of Green, a nonprofit organization that supports schools in fostering environmental literacy worldwide, and NCSE's Amanda L. Townley. Host Mat Kaplan discusses with our guests their paths towards climate activism, their efforts to create systemic change, and the ways they maintain hope in the face of the climate crisis.

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Making Every Classroom a Climate Classroom Apr 16, 2025

What doteachers want and need to know about teaching climate change? And how can they best be prepared to tackle this critical topic, even in places where climate change is considered a taboo subject? Bertha Vazquez, a longtime science teacher and the education director of the Center for Inquiry, has co-written the just-published What Teachers Want to Know About Teaching Climate Change. She tackles these questions, as does guest Amanda L. Townley, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, who is also a former science teacher. Join host Mat Kaplan as he explores with Vazquez and Townley what can be — and is being — done to help every classroom become a climate classroom.

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Today's Forecast: Climate Change, Trusted Sources, and a Sprinkling of Local Relevance Apr 09, 2025

In a warming world, poison ivy is becoming bigger and itchier. That's the kind of personally relevant message that resonates with everyone, and helps make the impacts of climate change hit home, according to Edward Maibach, award-winning climate communicator and director of George Mason University's Center for Climate Change Communication. And who better to convey those messages than trusted sources, such as TV weathercasters? So says Bernadette Woods Placky, a close colleague of Maibach's and Chief Meteorologist and Vice President for Engagement at Climate Central, whose mission is to communicate climate change science, effects, and solutions to the public and decision-makers. They work with broadcast meteorologists, journalists, and other influential voices. Join host Mat Kaplan as he explores the strategies employed by Woods Placky and Maibach to generate greater understanding of the perils of a warming planet and what can be done about it.

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Zombie Theories Must Die! A Conversation with Climate Communicator Marshall Shepherd Apr 02, 2025

Nationally recognized meteorologist, scientist, and author J. Marshall Shepherd describes zombie climate theories as those that live on, no matter how much the science refutes them time and again. These zombie climate theories, which spread misinformation and misconceptions, are sticky and pernicious and need to be combated by effective science communication, Shepherd says. Join host Mat Kaplan as he explores the many strategies Shepherd uses to convey complex ideas about climate science that hit home for the general public and slay those zombie theories.

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Miseducation in the USA: How Our Kids Are Too Often Denied Climate Facts Mar 26, 2025

Award-winning journalist Katie Worth spent time in schools around the country talking to teachers and students as she attempted to understand the landscape of climate change education in US schools. She chronicles what she discovered in her book, Miseducation: How Climate Change is Taught in America's Schools. Join host Mat Kaplan as he discusses the state of climate change education with Worth and Oklahoma science teacher Melissa Lau, whose perspective is included in Miseducation.

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A Century of Disinformation: Naomi Oreskes and the Merchants of Doubt Mar 19, 2025

In her critically acclaimed books, Merchants of Doubt and The Big Myth, Harvard historian Naomi Oreskes argues that well-funded interest groups have purposely sowed doubt and confusion about climate change. Our host, Mat Kaplan, discusses these tactics with Oreskes, how these efforts mirror what's been done to obfuscate in other campaigns such as by the tobacco industry, and how these efforts to distort and misinform have been combated.

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What Climate Change? Michael Mann and Glenn Branch on the Climate Deniers Mar 12, 2025

Scientists nearly unanimously agree that the planet is warming at an unprecedented rate, and that humans are the cause. We see evidence of climate change in the increased frequency and intensity of catastrophic weather events, glacier melts, and rising sea levels. Yet climate change denial persists, hampering efforts to combat this crisis. Why? Join host Mat Kaplan as he explores the current state of climate change denial and its roots with renowned climate scientist Michael E. Mann, author of The New Climate War, and National Center for Science Education Deputy Director Glenn Branch.

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Introducing Safeguarding Sound Science Feb 18, 2025

Safeguarding Sound Science from the National Center for Science Education combats misinformation, disinformation, and misconceptions about climate change with actual science. In Season One: Climate Change Edition, Mat Kaplan (former host of Planetary Radio) talks to scientists, teachers, and other experts to explore who's behind some of the more insidious efforts to spread misinformation, how those efforts filter down to schools and classrooms, and what is being done to ensure that everyone, including students, get an accurate climate change education.

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