Safeguarding Sound Science

National Center for Science Education•ncse.ngo

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.

Follow on

Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app

Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Hope in the Face of the Climate Crisis: Youth Activism and Leadership

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...

Apr 23, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 7

Making Every Classroom a Climate Classroom

What do teachers 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 S...

Apr 16, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 6

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

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 C...

Apr 09, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 5

Zombie Theories Must Die! A Conversation with Climate Communicator Marshall Shepherd

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 hi...

Apr 02, 2025•40 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Miseducation in the USA: How Our Kids Are Too Often Denied Climate Facts

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. Learn more ab...

Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 3

A Century of Disinformation: Naomi Oreskes and the Merchants of Doubt

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

Mar 19, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 2

What Climate Change? Michael Mann and Glenn Branch on the Climate Deniers

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 T...

Mar 12, 2025•48 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Introducing Safeguarding Sound Science

Feb 18, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Hosted on Megaphone by Spotify

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android

Open in Metacast