Why Is COVID-19 So Much Worse for Black, Indigenous, Latinx and Other Americans of Color? CASW ScienceWriting 2020-10-26 | The new coronavirus is blind to race. So how come the risk of a 35- to 44-year-old American dying of COVID-19 is nine times higher if they are Black than if they are white? Or 19 times higher if they are an American Indian or Alaska Native age 25 to 34?At the ScienceWriters2020 conference, three leading researchers presented new analyses that answer these questions. The disparities, they show, have little to do with biology and everything to do with the legacy of racism and who the essential workers are in the United States. Whites living in high-poverty neighborhoods, one of their new studies shows, are also more than 13 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than whites in rich neighborhoods of the same county.FEATURED SPEAKERS:Spero MansonDirector, Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native HealthColorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center"Bringing Light to the Darkness: COVID-19 and the Survivance of American Indians and Alaska Natives"-----------------------------------------------David Hayes-BautistaDirector, Center for the Study of Latino Health and CultureDavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA"Framing Latinos, Framing COVID-19: Understanding the Hispanic Experience with Coronavirus"-----------------------------------------------Mary T. BassettDirector, François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human RightsT.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University"Journalists' Role in Uncovering and Explaining Racial Inequities in the COVID-19 Pandemic"Produced by W. Wayt Gibbs and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing for New Horizons in Science 2020
CASW Connector Chat: How To Cover Ongoing Chaos in Science Funding CASW ScienceWriting 2025-10-21 | Ongoing cuts and reinstatements to federal science funding, along with related lawsuits, have kept reporters hopping. On October 9, 2025, top reporters Stephanie Lee of The Chronicle of Higher Education and Katherine Wu of The Atlantic discussed how they’re managing the deluge—how they track ongoing changes, keep up with sources and select the stories they focus on—as well as the online resources reporters can take advantage of, including the database Grant Witness. Co-founder Scott Delaney, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was also on hand to discuss the genesis and continuation of that project.Find a tipsheet with key points, advice for navigating Grant Witness, links to resources discussed in the session, and more here: connector.casw.org/tip-sheet-how-to-cover-ongoing-chaos-in-science-funding
Connector Chat: Co-creating science stories with your audience CASW ScienceWriting 2024-12-12 | Engagement journalism has become more popular with local news outlets, as well as those that specialize in climate and investigative journalism. These outlets recognize the value of co-creating stories with their audiences, both for improving coverage and for building trust and stronger relationships between journalists and their audiences.This hybrid interactive session, which took place November 10, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C., at ScienceWriters2024, brought engagement journalism strategies — and a frank discussion of the opportunities and challenges they present — to science writing. Participants learned what it means to co-create a story with their audience, how to identify when these strategies are worth time and resources, and discussed how to implement them.The session highlighted examples of engagement journalism on science, health, and environment topics. By building on input gathered from conference-goers and survey respondents who have worked with the public in the process of reporting, it provided hands-on practice working with audience questions and comments to shape the exploration of an issue. Following a brief presentation, participants discussed specific engagement challenges in breakout groups.Find a tip sheet with key points, advice, links to articles discussed in the session, and resources on engagement journalism here: connector.casw.org/tip-sheet-co-creating-science-stories-with-your-audience This special session, supported by the Rita Allen Foundation, is part of the CASW Connector Chat series.
Patrusky Lecture 2024 Joseph L. Graves Jr. CASW ScienceWriting 2024-12-11 | In his 2022 book A Voice in the Wilderness, evolutionary biologist Joseph L. Graves Jr. showed how science debunks rather than reinforces racism, and why that matters to the future of our species. In the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing's 12th Patrusky Lecture, Graves expanded on this message by bringing together personal experience, the writings of W. E. B. Du Bois, and the scientific evidence that powerfully undergirds the fight for a more just society. Du Bois' 1933 classic The Education of Black People included an essay, "The Field and Function of the Negro College," laying out the argument that minority-serving institutions are essential to advancing training in science and technology. As an HBCU faculty member who has trained PhD students for decades despite tattered infrastructure and persistent underfunding, Graves believes Du Bois' arguments are more salient than ever today. Success in meeting today's dire crises, he says, requires deploying an accurate understanding of human evolution and natural selection and training diverse thinkers and investigators.The 12th Patrusky Lecture was presented at the Raleigh Convention Center Nov. 9, 2024 as part of the ScienceWriters2024 conference. Joseph L. Graves Jr. is Mackenzie Scott Endowed Professor of Biology at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and a principal investigator of the PreMiEr NSF (Generation Four) Engineering Research Center.
Climate Change Means Health Changes: How Journalists Can Tackle The Links CASW ScienceWriting 2024-12-09 | Climate change and heat have health consequences throughout the lifespan, from impacts on pregnant women and infant health to effects on working adults to newly emerging impacts on aging and the elderly. It’s not just society’s most vulnerable, but everyone who is at risk for both physical and mental consequences—and these threats will become more severe and widespread in the coming years. In this panel, speakers discussed key takeaways from a daylong workshop on climate and health and how journalists can approach the problem and present solutions without being pollyannaish. This panel discussion closed a workshop, "Living and Working on a Hot Planet: Reporting on Climate Change and Human Health," presented by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing with support from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund in Raleigh, NC on Nov. 8, 2024 in connection with ScienceWriting 2024. Workshop sessions were organized by Amber Dance, CASW's New Horizons Progam Director.The panel was moderated by journalist Linda Marsa, author of "Fevered: Why a Hotter Planet Will Hurt Our Health." Panelists were:• Nicolás Rivero, climate solutions reporter with The Washington Post• Nezahualcoyotl Xiuhtecutli, senior grassroots advocacy coordinator, for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition• Kathryn Thier, postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University• Kristie L. Ebi, professor of global health and of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington, Seattle
Implementation Science in the Face of Climate Change CASW ScienceWriting 2024-12-09 | Many of the interventions designed to protect people from the effects of climate change either don’t work, or are effective in research studies but fail in the real world. Inversely, many “best practices” lack supporting evidence. How can reporters know which plans are worthy of attention? There’s a science to coming up with real solutions to complex problems like climate change, and scientists must engage with the communities in need of interventions to have any hope of true success. In this presentation to journalists, Lee Newman, Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for Health, Work & Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health, offered the example of his research with greenhouse workers and share a checklist journalists can use to identify when the cardinal principles of implementation science are or are not being applied.This talk was part of a workshop, "Living and Working on a Hot Planet: Reporting on Climate Change and Human Health," presented Nov. 8, 2024 in Raleigh, NC by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing in connection with ScienceWriters2024. The program was curated by Amber Dance, CASW New Horizons Program Director.
Life Course Effects of Climate Change, from Pregnancy and Birth Through Adulthood and Aging CASW ScienceWriting 2024-12-09 | People born in the 2020s will be exposed to significantly higher temperatures and other impacts of climate change over their lifetimes than those born in the 20th century. That will impact their lives from cradle to grave. Quite a bit of research already indicates that heat affects pregnancy, birth weight, and infant mortality. And researchers are just starting to dig into how climate interacts with aging, when energy usage changes. The impacts of climate change are not just physical, but also mental. In the keynote address at the workshop "Living and Working on a Hot Planet: Reporting on Climate Change and Human Health", Kristie L. Ebi, professor of global health and of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington at Seattle, described the state of knowledge about the impact of climate change across a life course.The workshop for science journalists was presented by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing in Raleigh, NC, USA, on Nov. 8, 2024, in connection with ScienceWriters2024. The workshop, supported by a grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Freelance writer Amber Dance curated the program and introduced Dr. Ebi.
Occupational Health: Regulations and Protections (or the Lack Thereof) for Workers in Hot Conditions CASW ScienceWriting 2024-12-08 | Migrant farmworker Juan José Ceballos died in North Carolina in July 2024 on a day that reached 101 degrees Fahrenheit. José Arturo González Mendoza, a 29-year-old farmworker from Mexico, died in North Carolina’s sweet potato fields on a hot September day in 2023 — though recent autopsy results do not point to heat as the primary factor in his death. These men are two out of many deaths raising awareness of heat risk at work in the state, the nation, and around the globe. Not only outdoor employees, such as construction workers and farmworkers, but indoor employees such as warehouse and restaurant workers, are at risk. Despite the huge health threat, it’s been difficult to implement regulations at any level. Our panelists will discuss why people like Ceballos die, what could or should happen to protect them, and what stands in the way of those protections.This panel discussion was presented in Raleigh, NC Nov. 8, 2024 by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing as part of a workshop, "Living and Working on a Hot Planet: Reporting on Climate Change and Human Health." The workshop program, organized by CASW New Horizons Program Director Amber Dance, was offered in connection with ScienceWriters2024 and was funded by a grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.The occupational health session was moderated by Nicolás Rivero, climate solutions reporter for The Washington Post. Panelists were:• Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Lab, Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Duke University• •Neza Xiuhtecutli, senior grassroots advocacy coordinator for the National Sustainable Agriculture CoalitionClermont Ripley, co-director of the Workers' Rights Project, North Carolina Justice Center
Heat and Toxins Intersect to Damage Kidneys in Sri Lanka CASW ScienceWriting 2024-12-07 | Kidneys are severely impacted by heat stress. Chronic kidney disease is cropping up in heat-vulnerable communities around the world, likely due to dehydration and other physiological changes caused by heat exposure. Nishad Jayasundara, Juli Plant Grainger Assistant Professor of global environmental health at Duke University, researches how chemical pollutants, especially those in drinking water, may synergize with heat stress to worsen kidney disease. That could be because temperature influences chemicals’ properties or release into the environment, or because bodies already dealing with heat stress are more vulnerable to chemical exposure. Working in his native Sri Lanka, Jayasundara has seen that even children are affected by kidney disease; he finds markers of kidney injury in one in ten children.This presentation on Jayasundara's research was part of a workshop for science journalists, "Living and Working on a Hot Planet: Reporting on Climate Change and Public Health," presented by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing in Raleigh, NC, USA, on Nov. 8, 2024, in connection with ScienceWriters2024. The workshop, supported by a grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Freelance writer Amber Dance curated the program and introduced Dr. Jayasundara.
The story behind award-winning stories: A conversation with Usha Lee McFarling CASW ScienceWriting 2024-10-21 | For this Connector Chat, we welcomed Usha Lee McFarling, national science correspondent for STAT, for a behind-the-scenes look at her writing process, interviewing tips, and more. McFarling is the winner of the 2024 Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting.Joining her in conversation was Steve Padilla, writing coach and Column One editor for the Los Angeles Times. Padilla and McFarling talked about elements of great storytelling, how to blend narrative and science, and more, using a few of McFarling's award-winning stories as examples.Find links to the stories discussed, as well as notes and recommended readings from Usha and Steve, here: connector.casw.org/connector-chat-tip-sheet-usha-lee-mcfarling-stat
Connector Chat: Reporting on hot-button topics as a science writer: Lessons from abortion coverage CASW ScienceWriting 2024-07-12 | Science journalists and communicators are increasingly called upon to cover topics that spark social and political turmoil, ranging from abortion and gender-affirming care to vaccines and guns. Reporting on and writing about these subjects can require more sensitivity and time than other science stories, as every step of the process, from finding sources to sharing a published story, comes with added complexity.Abortion is one key example of a medical topic that has become increasingly political, following Supreme Court decisions and barriers to accessing health care across the U.S. In this Connector Chat, co-presented with the Journalist's Resource, we discussed covering abortion and other controversial topics with journalist Sarah McCammon, a national political correspondent at NPR, and Katie Woodruff, a public health social scientist in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Services at the University of California, San Francisco. Moderated by Naseem Miller, senior health editor at The Journalist’s Resource, the panel explored research on news coverage of abortion, how to find and protect sources, how to conduct interviews with sensitivity, reporting may be different for hot-button topics than with other types of science and health stories.Check out CASW Connector here: connector.casw.org Check out The Journalist's Resource here: journalistsresource.org
Connector Chat: Science journalism and communication in the misinformation era CASW ScienceWriting 2024-04-19 | We live in an era of misinformation. How can science journalists and communicators do their jobs effectively in this climate? False or fake stories about the coronavirus pandemic, the mpox outbreak, climate change, vaccines, and more have amplified challenges to clearly communicating complex stories. What makes misinformation so appealing? Why do people believe it and share it? And how can science journalists and communicators break through all the noise? Hear answers to these questions and more in this Connector Chat between Science contributing correspondent Kai Kupferschmidt and Briony Swire-Thompson, assistant professor and director of the Psychology of Misinformation Lab at Northeastern University. Kupferschmidt is currently a Knight Science Journalism fellow focusing on misinformation and how to combat it. Swire-Thompson studies why people believe in misinformation, why they share it, and how to effectively correct erroneous reports. This Chat took place on April 16, 2024.Read a tipsheet from this session and find links to papers and resources mentioned at connector.casw.org/tip-sheet-science-journalism-and-communication-in-the-misinformation-eraVisit the Connector website: connector.casw.org
John D. Sutter on the significance of the Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award CASW ScienceWriting 2024-04-16 | In 2023, journalist and filmmaker John D. Sutter won the second annual Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award. The award recognizes and supports reporting and writing that embodies the high standards exemplified by Sharon Begley (1956–2021), a science journalist of unflinching dedication, skill, moral clarity, and commitment to mentoring. The Sharon Begley Award comprises a career prize, recognizing the accomplishments of a mid-career science journalist, and a grant of at least $20,000 to enable the winner to undertake a significant reporting project.For more information and to apply for the award, please visit casw.org/awards-fellowships/sharon-begley-science-reporting-award/.
John D. Sutter and the Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award CASW ScienceWriting 2024-04-16 | In 2023, journalist and filmmaker John D. Sutter won the second annual Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award. The award recognizes and supports reporting and writing that embodies the high standards exemplified by Sharon Begley (1956–2021), a science journalist of unflinching dedication, skill, moral clarity, and commitment to mentoring. The Sharon Begley Award comprises a career prize, recognizing the accomplishments of a mid-career science journalist, and a grant of at least $20,000 to enable the winner to undertake a significant reporting project.For more information and to apply for the award, please visit casw.org/awards-fellowships/sharon-begley-science-reporting-award/.
John D. Sutter on the Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award CASW ScienceWriting 2024-03-19 | In 2023, journalist and filmmaker John D. Sutter won the second annual Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award. The award recognizes and supports reporting and writing that embodies the high standards exemplified by Sharon Begley (1956–2021), a science journalist of unflinching dedication, skill, moral clarity, and commitment to mentoring. The Sharon Begley Award comprises a career prize, recognizing the accomplishments of a mid-career science journalist, and a grant of at least $20,000 to enable the winner to undertake a significant reporting project.For more information and to apply for the award, please visit casw.org/awards-fellowships/sharon-begley-science-reporting-award/.
Connector Chat: Best practices for pitching freelance science stories CASW ScienceWriting 2024-01-17 | Pitching stories can be one of the most challenging parts of science journalism, whether you’re just starting out as a freelancer or you’ve been at it for a while. How do you boil down the story and convince editors you’ve got a great story idea? How do you choose where to pitch a story and then shape it for a particular outlet’s readers? And what resources are available to help you find new places to approach and craft a winning pitch?In this Connector Chat, held Jan. 10, 2024, our accomplished panel of editors and writers shared their expertise on pitching and answered audience questions. Small groups discussed specific topics in breakout rooms (hence the abrupt jump in the video toward the end), with reports back from each group. Panelists:-Robin Lloyd, freelance writer and editor, CASW president, and creator and curator of Science media outlets to pitch-Victoria Jaggard, deputy editor, health and science, The Washington Post-Esther Landhuis, freelance science & health journalist-Debbie Ponchner, editor, Knowable en español, and CASW board memberVisit CASW Connector at connector.casw.org
Connector Chat: How to find and apply for fellowships for science journalists CASW ScienceWriting 2023-11-13 | There are a wide variety of fellowships available to science journalists. Some offer mentorship and work experience to writers just starting out in their careers, others provide space and funding to step away from a job for an ambitious science and health reporting project. Some support career pivots, and many others are somewhere in between — or are something else entirely.In this Connector Chat, held on November 8, 2023, panelists offered the inside track on the fellowship experience, choosing the right fellowship for you, crafting a competitive application, and more, and answered questions from participants. The Chat also included a brief demo CASW Connector, a library of science writing resources -- including fellowship opportunities. The chat was facilitated by Connector managing editor Kate Travis, and the panelists were: Jyoti S Madhusoodanan, freelance science journalistNeel Dhanesha, founding staff writer, HeatmapDeborah Blum, director, Knight Science Journalism Program at MITVisit CASW Connector at connector.casw.org
Science + Science Writing: Long COVID—What’s the story going forward? CASW ScienceWriting 2023-10-27 | As governments and many media outlets move on from the pandemic emergency, there’s a group of people who can’t, and may never be able to move on. All three of the panelists in this session have personal experience with COVID-19 that doesn’t go away. This session presented at the ScienceWriters2023 conference focused on the scientific questions still unanswered and the journalistic angles still unplumbed in long COVID, which influences every system of the body and intersects with health equity issues, creating or enhancing difficulty in care access for marginalized groups including people of color, LGBTQ+ populations, and undocumented people. The efforts of long COVID advocates continue to grow and provide inspiration for coverage. This session was part of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing's New Horizons in Science briefings at the conference. It took place in Aurora, CO on October 8, 2023. Amber Dance, New Horizons program director for CASW, moderated the discussion with one in-person and two remote panelists. A brief segment of the video recording is missing, owing to a technical glitch.Resources related to this session may be found at bit.ly/longCOVIDlinksPanelists:• Fiona Lowenstein, writer, speaker, and consultant, author of The Long COVID Survival Guide• Chimére L. Sweeney, Long COVID storyteller and advocate; author, speaker, panelist and thought leader; contributor to The Long COVID Survival Guide• Julia Moore Vogel, director of The Participant Research Center at Scripps Research
Science + Science Writing: Look! Up in the sky! Its not a UFO ... its a UAP CASW ScienceWriting 2023-10-27 | The U.S. shot down several balloons – spy-related and otherwise – in early 2023 to great media fanfare. Meanwhile, NASA convened an independent panel to study what were once called UFOs and are now known as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAPs. It’s probably not E.T., but there’s a whole lot of stuff up there … What is it, and how can science writers accurately and sensitively report on this conspiracy-fraught topic?In this session at the ScienceWriters2023 conference, science writers heard about the panel's conclusions from experts and a science journalist who served on the panel. The session was part of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing's annual New Horizons in Science annual briefings. It took place in Boulder, CO on October 7, 2023.In recognition of the public interest in this topic, the discussion has been reconstructed from a personal audio recording and a short video presentation. The audio has been edited for clarity.The session was moderated by Dan Vergano, senior opinion editor at Scientific American.Panelists: • Iain Boyd, H.T. Sears Memorial Professor at the University of Colrado Boulder; director, Center for National Security Initiatives• Nadia Drake, reelance writer and interim physics editor at Quanta Magazine• Thomas Zurbuchen, director, ETH Zurich Space• Mick West, writer and UFO investigator; author of "Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect"
Science + Science Writing: Mistrust and misinformation after Ohios toxic train disaster CASW ScienceWriting 2023-10-27 | On February 3, 2023, a train carrying toxic materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, dumping its cargo into a small, conservative, rural community. The Environmental Protection Agency told residents everything was fine; it wasn’t. What followed was a maelstrom of confusion and mistrust as scientists attempted to document the hazards and journalists worked to communicate the rapidly changing story to an audience sometimes unwilling to trust the word of experts and reporters. In this session at the ScienceWriters2023 meeting, a panel discusses how an uncoordinated government science response and journalists who sometimes missed residents’ key concerns contributed to the obfuscation, as well as what the scientific findings truly are and how local journalists adapted to reach the audience most in need of information.The session was presented in Boulder, CO, on October 9, 2023 as part of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing's annual New Horizons in Science briefings for science writers. The panel was introduced by New Horizons Program Director Amber Dance.Moderator: Sharon Lerner, reporter, ProPublicaPanelists:Andrew Whelton, professor of civil engineering and ecological engineering, Purdue UniversityNick Messenger, economist and senior researcher, Ohio River Valley InstituteStephanie Czekalinski, deputy editor of engaged journalism, Ideastream Public Media
After the Blaze: Indoor air quality studies following Boulders urban fire CASW ScienceWriting 2023-10-27 | December 30, 2021, saw the ignition of what would become the most destructive fire in Colorado history. The Marshall fire burned more than 1,000 buildings in Boulder’s foothills before snow put it out on January 1, 2022. Thousands more homes were damaged in the 6,000-acre conflagration.Hundreds of University of Colorado Boulder students, faculty and staff were among the evacuees. When they returned home to residences that still smelled like a campfire, there was little information available to indicate what toxins they might be exposed to, and how they should clean it up.So researchers with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at CU Boulder, some personally affected by the fire, turned their skills to understanding the aftermath. Dozens of projects sprang up to address what happened; the impacts on people, their pets and the environment; and how future similar events might be mitigated. Researchers found ongoing impacts on indoor air quality long after the blaze was out, for about six weeks. They also discovered some routine cleaning practices were ineffective, and might even generate additional airborne toxins. In this session from the ScienceWriters2023 conference Joost de Gouw, professor of chemistry and a CIRES fellow, shares the story and results from this work. De Gouw's presentation, part of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing's New Horizons briefings and moderated by New Horizons Program Director Amber Dance, was given on October 9, 2023.
Meet the Machines: A masterclass in AI (and its hazards) for science CASW ScienceWriting 2023-10-20 | Artificial intelligence is everywhere these days, from phones to the newsroom…and in the lab. In this masterclass, presented as part of CASW's New Horizons in Science program at ScienceWriters2023, Sayash Kapoor offered a brief primer on the three main types of applied AI--generative, perception, and predictive--and what it can and cannot achieve, especially when used for prediction. Kapoor, a PhD candidate in the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University, shares his recent research on problems in how scientists and social scientists are applying AI: the phenomenon of “data leakage,” which has led to a reproducibility crisis affecting hundreds of papers across more than a dozen fields. When the leakage problem is addressed, the claimed achievements of predictive AI often disappear. Kapoor shares key tips, developed in cooperation with journalists, for reporters writing about AI. His talk was delivered remotely to a live audience of science writers in Boulder, CO, on Oct. 9.
2022 Patrusky Lecture: Alyssa Goodman on The New Universe CASW ScienceWriting 2022-11-08 | In CASW's annual distinguished lecture, astrophysicist Alyssa Goodman looked forward to the potentially surprising discoveries that will emerge as astrophysics is reorganized around remarkable new methods that harness the power of visualization, computer simulation, large-scale collaboration, and powerful instruments such as the new James Webb Space Telescope and the European Space Agency’s Gaia mapping project. Goodman, Robert Wheeler Willson Professor of Applied Astronomy at Harvard University, takes viewers on a visual odyssey of the new universe these tools are showing us, using some of the remarkable tools she and colleagues have created to visualize and analyze the tremendous data volumes created by these projects. The lecture was presented at the ScienceWriters2022 conference in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 23, 2022.
A critical reflection on media coverage of SARS-CoV-2s origin CASW ScienceWriting 2022-11-02 | Media coverage of SARS-CoV-2’s origins serves as a fascinating case study that has relevance for other scientific controversies. At the ScienceWriters2022 conference in Memphis, Tenn. in October 2022, CASW convened a panel to discuss how journalists have addressed the special challenges of this highly politicized story. Participants included three journalists who have covered the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic and a scholar who studies the interplay of biomedical science, politics, law, and public reason. Co-organized by Beijing-based independent science writer Jane Qiu and Jon Cohen, senior correspondent for Science, the panel included Katherine Eban, contributing editor for Vanity Fair, and Benjamin Hurlbut of Arizona State University. Deborah Blum, director of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT, moderated the discussion. Recording of the session was possible through the generous support of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.Owing to technical difficulties, there are both video and audio issues with the recording of this session. Viewing with closed captions is recommended.
Improving the coverage of science and race in a time of reckoning CASW ScienceWriting 2022-01-11 | This session at ScienceWriters2021 focused on how journalists cover race and science, using a close reading of "Why America's Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis," from The New York Times Magazine of April 11, 2018. It was the plenary session of a workshop on the intersection of science journalism and social justice, organized by CASW with support from the Kavli Foundation.Nicholas St. Fleur of STAT opens the session by talking with the article's author, Linda Villarosa; her editor at the Times; and a behavioral health scientist whose work was featured in Villarosa's article. In the second half of the session, Villarosa returns to talk about the larger questions of writing about social justice issues with scholars whose work examines the context and reality of Black maternal and infant health. That panel is moderated by Evelynn Hammonds, chair of Harvard’s Department of the History of Science. The two-part conversation was organized to provide viewers with a better understanding of the journalistic challenges and choices involved in writing articles like Villarosa’s; the ways that reporters of color draw on unique perspectives and experiences to produce works of unusual power, sensitivity, and effectiveness; and ideas for ways that science journalism can be more inclusive and effective in unearthing truths and serving all readers.
Perseverance, Hope, and Tianwen-1: Scientists Explain What to Expect from Three New Missions to Mars CASW ScienceWriting 2021-02-11 | Did you know that one of the two new rovers about to land on Mars has a zoom camera and microphones, shoots lasers, is left-handed, and carries a helicopter on its belly? Or that China's 3-in-1 Mars spacecraft includes an orbiter, a lander, and a rover? Or why Mars geologists think Jezero crater might be the best place to look for signs of ancient Martians?In this documentary, first presented in October at the ScienceWriters2020 conference, experts on the space missions now arriving at Mars explain what these state-of-the-art interplanetary robot explorers can do—and what they hope to find. Watch this before you tune in for the exciting landing of NASA's Perseverance mission on February 18!FEATURED SPEAKERS-----------------------------------Nina LanzaTeam lead, Space and Planetary Exploration, Los Alamos National Laboratory"Three New Missions to Mars: Capabilities of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover"-----------------------------------------------Katie Stack MorganResearch scientist and Mars 2020 deputy project scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory"Searching for Biosignatures of Past Life on Mars"-----------------------------------------------Andrew JonesFreelance space journalist, SpaceNews and the Planetary Society"Tianwen-1: What We Know about China's First Mars Orbiter, Lander, and Rover"
Q&A with speakers for Unequal Burdens of COVID-19 CASW ScienceWriting 2021-02-10 | Speakers answer questions submitted by the audience who watched the prerecorded video: "Unequal burdens: Addressing the racial inequities in health care revealed and exacerbated by COVID-19." A slightly edited version of that video is now available: "Why Is COVID-19 So Much Worse for Black, Indigenous, Latinx and Other Americans of Color?" (youtu.be/JsvITgGvOvY) FEATURED SPEAKERS:Mary T. BassettDirector, François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human RightsT.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard UniversityDavid Hayes-BautistaDirector, Center for the Study of Latino Health and CultureDavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLASpero MansonDirector, Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native HealthColorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center
Science + Science Writing: Communicating about climate across political divides CASW ScienceWriting 2021-02-10 | In this session, two expert climate communicators describe communication techniques that research has shown effectively breach the partisan divide. They show how to avoid framing, language, and other factors that unintentionally signal bias and undermine trust in climate science. And they suggest ways to pitch climate stories to outlets that typically don’t cover the topic or that reach a skeptical audience.Max Boykoff, who heads up the Media and Climate Change Observatory at the University of Colorado, Boulder, presents the latest results from his group's study of 46,000 print articles on climate change from 17 sources in five nations and how these and other research results illuminate how different kinds of reporting about climate do—and do not—resonate broadly with the public.Geologist and Yale Climate Connections contributor Karin Kirk presents a case study describing how she convinced editors at a sporting magazine that usually avoids climate change to tackle the topic, how she managed negative pushback generated by the piece, and what she has since learned about people’s motivations on climate change, why various messages tend to be ‘sticky’ and effective, and what factors actually help people change their minds.
Journalists and scientists at the frontiers: workshop closing session CASW ScienceWriting 2020-12-23 | --Smart, thoughtful public discussion about emerging science and technology is a great goal. How can journalists manage the challenges of reporting on developments that stir excitement, hope, cultural controversy, anger and fear and best serve their readers and society? Distinguished editors responded to the recommendations coming from small-group discussions focused on covering gene editing, solar geoengineering, artificial intelligence/predictive technology, and brain-machine interfaces.This session was part of a workshop, "Journalists and Scientists at the Frontiers: A dialogue about values and responsibility," sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and produced by the Council for the Advancement of Science as part of the ScienceWriters2020 conference. Alan Boyle, GeekWire contributing editor and president of CASW, moderated the closing session.Speakers:--Brooke Dulka, neuroscientist and freelance writer, scribe for the gene editing discussion group;--Karen Andrade, Civic Science fFellow with the Science Philanthropy Alliance, scribe for the solar geoengineering discussion group;--Maria Carnovale, Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, scribe for the artificial intelligence discussion group;--J. Alex Grizzell, postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, scribe for the brain-machine interfaces discussion group;--Victoria Jaggard, executive editor for science, National Geographic; and--Alison Snyder, managing editor, Axios.
The complexities of covering science on the cutting edge CASW ScienceWriting 2020-12-23 | The most exciting science stories that journalists cover, from artificial intelligence to gene editing, often have an ethical component. What are the social implications of a particular line of research? How much should writers emphasize the possible abuses of a new piece of scientific knowledge? Is the very act of reporting on controversial research in a way condoning it?These were among the questions that inspired a special workshop session on October 15, 2020, as part of the ScienceWriters2020 conference. The panel discussion took a deep, multi-perspective dive into the journalistic decisions and conversations behind a New York Times Magazine story that ran online in July 2019 under the headline "Scientists Are Giving Dead Brains New Life. What Could Go Wrong?" The workshop was sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and organized by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (@ScienceWriting).Shown on this video are:Robin Marantz Henig (chief session organizer and moderator), a long-time freelance journalist, journalism ethics instructor, and former president of the National Association of Science Writers;Karen S. Rommelfanger (co-moderator), neuroethics program director at the Emory University Center for Ethics;Matt Shaer, writer at large for the New York Times Magazine and author of the story;Nenad Sestan, a professor of neuroscience, comparative medicine, genetics, and psychiatry at Yale University, whose research was the focus of the story;Mike Benoist, the story editor at the New York Times Magazine;L Syd Johnson, a philosopher and bioethicist at SUNY Upstate Medical University; andKhara Ramos, chief, neuroscience content and strategy, Office of Neuroscience Communications and Engagement, National Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Stroke
2020 Patrusky Lecture: Ruha Benjamin on 2020 Vision CASW ScienceWriting 2020-11-09 | Princeton sociologist Ruha Benjamin, author of "Race after Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code" and other works examining how science and technology reinforce racial inequality, delivered the eighth Patrusky Lecture, "2020 Vision: Reimagining the Default Settings of Technology & Society," during the ScienceWriters2020 virtual conference on October 21, 2020. The lecture was part of the New Horizons in Science Briefings organized by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.
UW Medicine Virology Lab Tour CASW ScienceWriting 2020-10-22 | Seattle’s UW Medicine Virology Lab has been at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic since its beginnings in the U.S. The lab developed its own test for COVID-19, assessed potential therapeutics such as hydroxychloroquine. At the time of this tour in October 2020, the lab was beginning a project to test 7,000 people repeatedly for the virus and antibodies. This event was part of a public program, "COVID-19 Science and Coverage," organized by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing and National Association of Science Writing. UW Medicine scientists gave viewers a rare inside look at a lab that's typically off limits to visitors owing to biohazard concerns and featured a Q&A with the scientists.Speakers are:--Geoffrey Baird (@uwpathology), acting chair of UW Medicine's Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, who moderates the Q&A;--Alex Greninger (@GreningerLab), assistant director of the UW Medicine Virology Lab;--Keith Jerome (@UWVirology), director of the lab and head of the Virology Division at the University of Washington School of Medicine; and--Pavitra Roychoudhury (@pavitrarc), acting instructor at UW Medicine's Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and research associate at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.--The event was introduced by Susan Gregg, director of media relations at the University of Washington, and features a video produced by Randy Carnell of the UW media relations office.
2020 science writing awards winners CASW ScienceWriting 2020-10-21 | Winners of the science writing awards given by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing and the National Association of Science Writers talk about their winning stories in a video that debuted at the opening of the ScienceWriters2020 conference.Featured are the 2020 winners of the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting (CASW), the Science-in-Society Journalism Awards (NASW), the Excellence in Institutional Writing Awards (NASW), and the Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for science journalism.
The pandemics impacts on families, kids, and college students CASW ScienceWriting 2020-10-21 | This panel discussion examined the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on families across the United States, with special attention to the struggles of parents trying to keep their families healthy while ensuring that their kids can continue to develop mentally, emotionally, and physically.Speakers were June Gruber (@junegruber), associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder and director of the Positive Emotion and Psychopathology Laboratory; Steven Berkowitz, a professor in psychiatry at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; and Kendra Parris (@DrKendraParris), a psychologist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.Aditi Subramaniam (@Aditi789), a neuroscience PhD turned freelance science writer, moderated the discussion. She writes on the Psychology Today website on parenting from a neuroscience perspective, and is a science contributor to the Deccan Herald online. This was the third event in the fall 2020 public series "COVID-19 Science & Coverage," presented by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (@sciencewriting) and the National Association of Science Writers (@sciencewriters).
The Politics of the Pandemic CASW ScienceWriting 2020-10-05 | In this panel discussion, a journalist, a health advocate, and a scientist shared views from the front lines of a political pandemic. Speakers were independent journalist Maryn McKenna (@marynmck); Marsha Jones (@theafiyacenter), co-founder and executive director of The Afiya Center, a reproductive justice organization in North Texas founded and directed by Black women; and Peter Daszak (@peterdaszak), a physician-scientist who is president of EcoHealth Alliance. Moderator Maggie Koerth (@maggiekb1), senior science reporter for FiveThirtyEight.com, framed the program this way: "Science and science journalism are never just about what happens in a laboratory, and the COVID-19 pandemic has tangled the worlds of science and politics into some particularly spectacular knots. To make sense of this story, you've got to understand how politics has affected what we know (and don't know) about this virus, how public health campaigns are influenced by political trends, and how the needs of a pandemic have reshaped political goals."This was the first in the public series "COVID-19 Science & Coverage," presented by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (@sciencewriting) and the National Association of Science Writers (@sciencewriters).
2019 Patrusky Lecture: Steven Squyres on Spirit and Opportunity CASW ScienceWriting 2019-11-12 | Planetary scientist Steven Squyres, who was the principal investigator for the science payload on the Mars Exploration Rover Project, delivered the seventh Patrusky Lecture, "Spirit and Opportunity: The Mars Exploration Rover Project," during ScienceWriters2019 in State College, Pa., on October 27, 2019. The lecture was part of the New Horizons in Science Briefings organized by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.
2018 Patrusky Lecture: Shirley Tilghman on Righting the Ship CASW ScienceWriting 2018-10-26 | Shirley Tilghman, an eminent geneticist who served as the 19th president of Princeton University, delivered the sixth Patrusky Lecture, "Righting the Ship: Systemic Flaws in the Biomedical Research Enterprise," during ScienceWriters2018 in Washington, DC, on October 14, 2018. The lecture was part of the New Horizons in Science Briefings organized by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.
Apollo Plus 50: Past and future of Americas space effort CASW ScienceWriting 2018-10-15 | CASW presents a panel discussion on the past, present and future of America's space program, 50 years after Apollo. Panelists include Scott Pace, executive secretary of the National Space Council; Valerie Neal, a curator at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum; and Apollo 17 moonwalker Harrison Schmitt.
Book It: A Conversation Among Authors Mary Roach, Steve Silberman and Ed Yong CASW ScienceWriting 2018-08-26 | Two internationally known book authors—Steve Silberman, author of Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, and Ed Yong, author of I Contain Multitudes—joined Mary Roach, author of bestselling books including Grunt and Stiff, onstage at the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists in San Francisco on October 28, 2017. The authors asked each other questions about their work, their lives, and their tips for selling, writing, and promoting a successful science book.
Rewriting the Code of Life CASW ScienceWriting 2018-05-18 | Not since the atomic bomb has a technology so alarmed its inventors that they warned the world against its use. Not, that is, until the spring of 2015, when the University of California, Berkeley biologist Jennifer Doudna called for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the new gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9, a technology she developed to rewrite genetic code in human embryos. The cheapest, simplest, most effective way of manipulating DNA ever known, CRISPR may well give us the cure to HIV, genetic diseases, and some cancers, and help address the world’s hunger crisis. In this opening session of the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists, Doudna shared her pioneering work with science journalists and answered their questions about the implications and issues raised by science's new ability to rewrite the code of life.
Building Science Journalism Networks Around the World: A Challenge CASW ScienceWriting 2018-03-26 | In remarks delivered at the opening ceremony of the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists in San Francisco, CA on October 26, 2017, Enrique Bustamante Martinez challenged science journalists to build regional networks for cross-border reporting, training and knowledge sharing. Bustamante is executive director of Fundación Ealy Ortiz A.C. (Closed captions available in Spanish.)
Why the Wafflers Are Wrong: Addressing Climate Change Is Urgent—and a Bargain CASW ScienceWriting 2018-03-07 | In 2017, more than 80 percent of the world’s energy supply came from the burning of fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As global climate change continues, opposition to action has shifted from denial of the impact of human activities to waffling about that impact, the damage to human well-being from climate change, and the costs of measures to sharply reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.In this address delivered in San Francisco, CA on October 26, 2017 to the World Conference of Science Journalists, John P. Holdren, science advisor to President Barack Obama, explained why the wafflers are wrong, and why investing in measures to avoid the worst impacts of future climate change is a far better “deal” for society than suffering the consequences of inaction.John P. Holdren is professor of environmental science and policy at Harvard University. At the Harvard Kennedy School, he is Teresa & John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and co-director of the Program on Science, Technology and Public Policy at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. During his tenure as President Obama's Science Advisor, he was the Senate-confirmed director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Tapping Databases for Scientific Evidence on Health CASW ScienceWriting 2018-01-31 | Approximately 2.5 million new scientific papers are published each year, according to recent estimates. To keep up with the literature in a field such as cancer, for example, a person would have to read 17 papers every waking hour all 365 days a year. But journalists work on deadline, and they need to efficiently search for and identify relevant scientific evidence to inform their reporting.In this session presented on Oct. 26, 2017 in San Francisco, CA, by the Association of Health Care Journalists as part of the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists, stewards of leading health and science databases shared their best practices for mining databases. The offered handy shortcuts for uncovering everything from key research studies to epidemiological data, and revealed forthcoming tools that put more power in the hands of journalists who want access to the raw information produced by health studies.
The Challenges of Covering Infectious Disease Outbreaks CASW ScienceWriting 2018-01-31 | SARS. Bird flu. Ebola. Zika. Outbreaks of new or re-emerging diseases keep coming, and science, society and the media always seem to be caught off guard. This session, presented in San Francisco, CA, on Oct. 27, 2017 as part of the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists, was organized by the Association of Health Care Journalists. Panelists explored the causes of the dramatic rise in infectious disease outbreaks—from ecological disruption and booming travel to human behavior and the advent of the megacity. They discussed what may be in store in the years ahead, including the growing risk of bioterrorist events like the 2001 anthrax attacks that paralyzed the U.S. East Coast. Finally, they asked whether the world is better prepared now than a decade ago, examined the challenges that journalists face during disease outbreaks, and evaluated how the media have done in the recent past.
Innovating for Development CASW ScienceWriting 2018-01-25 | About 700 million people in the world live below the international poverty line of $1.90 a day, with spotty access to electricity, sanitation and health care. These are the people whose lives could be improved most by the application of science and technology — yet they have been largely ignored by private sector innovation. This session, held Oct. 28, 2017 in San Francisco as part of the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists, presented three experts’ perspectives on an emerging approach to harness privately funded science and invention to create affordable, appropriate technologies that help the poorest people boost their health, incomes and standards of living. The speakers described lessons learned from funding, inventing and reporting on such technologies.
The Human Ethics of Global Crisis Reporting CASW ScienceWriting 2018-01-19 | Science is at the heart of many of the world’s greatest crises, including infectious disease outbreaks, weather- and climate-related catastrophes, and energy sector exploitation and accidents.When science journalists are called upon to report these stories, lack of familiarity with local contexts raises the risk of biased, inaccurate and insensitive reporting. Examples of this bias are seen in some of the portrayals of people and societies affected by disease outbreaks and in coverage of confrontations over resource extraction on lands owned or occupied by indigenous communities.This session, presented on October 28, 2017 at the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists in San Francisco, CA, convened a diverse panel of journalists from around the world to explore how science journalists can anticipate and avoid these pitfalls to drive more accurate, and unbiased, coverage of global crises.
Putting Character into Science: The Power of Profiles CASW ScienceWriting 2018-01-11 | What makes a good science profile, and when is it the right or wrong way to approach a story? We all know that one seemingly easy way to help a reader grasp complex science is to personalize research by telling the story of those doing it. But profiles of scientists are challenging to do well in our increasingly rushed work environment and a tricky format for a journalist. How can a writer make an individual narrative come alive, while going beyond the cliché of the lone scientist as hero or odd genius? Are there tricks to maintaining neutrality when you are spending time with a smart, charismatic researcher or a nasty egomaniac? And how do you select the personal information that advances the scientific story and leave out the irrelevant or trivial? In this session presented in San Francisco Oct. 26, 2017 at the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists, an experienced panel of science writers discuss the rules of profiling scientists—including veteran Ann Finkbeiner's rules for profiling women scientists—and share their struggles and successes with these potentially controversial stories.
The Art of Truth: Data Visualization and Infographics for Everyone CASW ScienceWriting 2018-01-08 | The use of graphs, charts, maps and infographics to explore data and communicate science to the public has become more and more popular among scientists and journalists alike. However, notes visual journalist Alberto Cairo, this rise in popularity has not been accompanied by an increasing awareness of the principles and rules that should guide the design of these visualizations.This presentation, a plenary talk given by Cairo October 27, 2017 in San Francisco at the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists, provides a tour of good and bad uses of visualizations in recent news stories, a series of practical guidelines for better design, and a demonstration of free and easy-to-use tools—all with the goal of showing you that anybody and everybody can use visualization.
Science Journalism, Authoritarian Regimes, and Pseudoscience CASW ScienceWriting 2018-01-05 | Pseudoscience deceives millions of people every day. Although scientists and journalists try to expose baseless assertions, governments around the world often will make decisions based on such claims or on the mistrust of science.Do science journalists have a social responsibility to help people demand evidence-based policies? If so, how can science journalists overcome animus from those in power who seek to prevent them from exercising this responsibility? These questions are crucial when societal well-being is at risk and especially if governments are driven by authoritarianism.This session, presented October 28, 2017 at the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists in San Francisco, CA., tackled these isseues. Journalists shared their experiences reporting in such situations—from “race science” and HIV denialism in South Africa to fraudulent cures in Brazil and Egypt, from archaeological findings used as a nationalistic strategy in Indonesia to governmental ignorance of scientific solutions in Costa Rica.
Fact Checking: The Future of Journalism? CASW ScienceWriting 2018-01-05 | We've all heard a lot about "fake news." Fact-checking sites have multiplied in the North American and European media, mostly focused on analyzing political statements or rumors gone viral on the Internet. At a time when young adults can barely distinguish true from false on social networks, and when some authors claim we have entered a “post-fact era,” shouldn’t scientific information rank at the top of these fact-checking efforts?This session, held October 28, 2017 in San Francisco at the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists, brought together representatives of various fact-checking initiatives in North America and Europe to learn from their experiences and their trials and errors.
