Bethann Garramon Merkle (@commnatural elsewhere)
@bgmerkle.bsky.social
posts autodelete; posts my own views | she/elle
🎧http://MeteorSciComm.org & Meteor #SciComm podcast
📖Teaching & Mentoring Science Writers coming 2025 from Chicago Press!
✒🎨 https://schoolofgoodtrouble.substack.com
🎓Prof of Practic
🎧http://MeteorSciComm.org & Meteor #SciComm podcast
📖Teaching & Mentoring Science Writers coming 2025 from Chicago Press!
✒🎨 https://schoolofgoodtrouble.substack.com
🎓Prof of Practic
Hi all! I'm hiring for a #scicomm research postdoc to join our Scicomm LIFT team!
Short story is: 2 years guaranteed funding, open to remote or hybrid work, $61k+hearty benefits (see UW's 401k match in particular)!
Please share with folks who might be interested!
1/
Short story is: 2 years guaranteed funding, open to remote or hybrid work, $61k+hearty benefits (see UW's 401k match in particular)!
Please share with folks who might be interested!
1/
Post Doctoral Research Associate - Zoology & Physiology (B Merkle Lab)
Hiring a highly motivated postdoctoral research associate position to join an NSF-funded, multi-institutional, research team studying graduate students’ ability to communicate science effectively and ...
eeik.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Hi all! I'm hiring for a #scicomm research postdoc to join our Scicomm LIFT team!
Short story is: 2 years guaranteed funding, open to remote or hybrid work, $61k+hearty benefits (see UW's 401k match in particular)!
Please share with folks who might be interested!
1/
Short story is: 2 years guaranteed funding, open to remote or hybrid work, $61k+hearty benefits (see UW's 401k match in particular)!
Please share with folks who might be interested!
1/
Reposted by Bethann Garramon Merkle (@commnatural elsewhere)
I like to jokingly say "numbers are hard" when I make a mental math error.
But in all seriousness, it can be difficult for many to grasp numerical information, especially when it lacks rich context.
#SciComm #MedicalCommunications
(1/7) 🧪
But in all seriousness, it can be difficult for many to grasp numerical information, especially when it lacks rich context.
#SciComm #MedicalCommunications
(1/7) 🧪
November 6, 2025 at 6:33 PM
I like to jokingly say "numbers are hard" when I make a mental math error.
But in all seriousness, it can be difficult for many to grasp numerical information, especially when it lacks rich context.
#SciComm #MedicalCommunications
(1/7) 🧪
But in all seriousness, it can be difficult for many to grasp numerical information, especially when it lacks rich context.
#SciComm #MedicalCommunications
(1/7) 🧪
Though I've been involved with a couple of writing-related retreats/workshops lately, most of the time I must fit my writing, art, and really any kind of creative expression, into the rest of the demands and opportunities of my life. 1/
Five steps for focus
Considering what object meditation can offer us on our eternal quest for "focus"
schoolofgoodtrouble.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Though I've been involved with a couple of writing-related retreats/workshops lately, most of the time I must fit my writing, art, and really any kind of creative expression, into the rest of the demands and opportunities of my life. 1/
Reposted by Bethann Garramon Merkle (@commnatural elsewhere)
YES!! Saying No is transformative - you have way less time than you think you do, and all those little tasks fragment your time and lead to death by 1000 paper cuts. And note once you start saying no, it takes a while to shed lingering responsibilities - it feels worse before it gets better!
tl;dr: saying no truly did change my life. Everyone from @loleenberdahl.bsky.social to the latest trendy "productivity guru" has things to say about unrealistic to-do lists. (HT: Loleen's stuff is *awesome*!!) 1/
Forget the 'summer of everything': saying no changed my life
Tl;dr: You need a no buddy; I owe mine some of the biggest accomplishments of my life!
buff.ly
October 8, 2025 at 2:12 PM
YES!! Saying No is transformative - you have way less time than you think you do, and all those little tasks fragment your time and lead to death by 1000 paper cuts. And note once you start saying no, it takes a while to shed lingering responsibilities - it feels worse before it gets better!
I'll say it again: art & science aren't mutually exclusive. It's not just artists who are creative. It's not only scientists who are rigorous. We can get philosophical about this, but the key thing is that we can make our science & #scicomm look way better...even if we don't feel like an artist. 1/
Even if you say "I'm not an artist," it's worth a little effort to create compelling, accessible science visuals
Resources to help you do so
schoolofgoodtrouble.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:42 PM
I'll say it again: art & science aren't mutually exclusive. It's not just artists who are creative. It's not only scientists who are rigorous. We can get philosophical about this, but the key thing is that we can make our science & #scicomm look way better...even if we don't feel like an artist. 1/
Low-key 📢: I’m resuming a creative project I’ve done off & on for 20+ yrs & setting off on a long creative journey & most of the work will feel hard, imperfect. & I think we should f*ck perfection and lean into our innate, human impulse to be creative, no matter how it turns out. 👉
F*ck perfect
Make something, do something, feel something--no matter how it looks
buff.ly
October 28, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Low-key 📢: I’m resuming a creative project I’ve done off & on for 20+ yrs & setting off on a long creative journey & most of the work will feel hard, imperfect. & I think we should f*ck perfection and lean into our innate, human impulse to be creative, no matter how it turns out. 👉
I'm officially on sabbatical*--an extraordinary opportunity, period, and one made more so by the fact that I don't have a tenure-track appointment. This is one point of equity that my institution gets right & we should all be advocating for widely in #HigherEd. 1/
October 24, 2025 at 8:04 PM
I'm officially on sabbatical*--an extraordinary opportunity, period, and one made more so by the fact that I don't have a tenure-track appointment. This is one point of equity that my institution gets right & we should all be advocating for widely in #HigherEd. 1/
I wrote abt word play to deal w/ #WritersBlock (buff.ly/bdbjLMp) w/ found poetry, collage, etc. Uncommon words for familiar things is another option. This list from @merriam-webster.com on unusual nature words buff.ly/gFSSgpM taught me 3! What's a list that could refresh your thinking?
Word play
Writer's block is a great excuse to actually have some fun with science writing.
buff.ly
October 24, 2025 at 7:35 PM
I wrote abt word play to deal w/ #WritersBlock (buff.ly/bdbjLMp) w/ found poetry, collage, etc. Uncommon words for familiar things is another option. This list from @merriam-webster.com on unusual nature words buff.ly/gFSSgpM taught me 3! What's a list that could refresh your thinking?
Collaborators & I scanned 27 career dev, leadership & mentoring progs worldwide. Key insight: mentoring most impactful when ppl are connected to #mentor networks, not lone mentors. More here: buff.ly/VrLj9pn and read the original paper here: buff.ly/GSQJRcN #scicomm #HigherEd 🧪
October 18, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Collaborators & I scanned 27 career dev, leadership & mentoring progs worldwide. Key insight: mentoring most impactful when ppl are connected to #mentor networks, not lone mentors. More here: buff.ly/VrLj9pn and read the original paper here: buff.ly/GSQJRcN #scicomm #HigherEd 🧪
I think of departments as the academic "scale" where most change is possible, because at the departmental we academics still have substantial (if not total) influence over the "vibe" and impact of the people in our departments (staff, students, faculty). 1/
*Not* an exposé: Publishing a department-level climate survey as a tool for action
Making our departments better is possible...and more necessary than ever.
schoolofgoodtrouble.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 8:39 PM
I think of departments as the academic "scale" where most change is possible, because at the departmental we academics still have substantial (if not total) influence over the "vibe" and impact of the people in our departments (staff, students, faculty). 1/
tl;dr: saying no truly did change my life. Everyone from @loleenberdahl.bsky.social to the latest trendy "productivity guru" has things to say about unrealistic to-do lists. (HT: Loleen's stuff is *awesome*!!) 1/
Forget the 'summer of everything': saying no changed my life
Tl;dr: You need a no buddy; I owe mine some of the biggest accomplishments of my life!
buff.ly
October 8, 2025 at 2:05 PM
tl;dr: saying no truly did change my life. Everyone from @loleenberdahl.bsky.social to the latest trendy "productivity guru" has things to say about unrealistic to-do lists. (HT: Loleen's stuff is *awesome*!!) 1/
Tl;dr: for the PhDs, postdocs, and early career faculty (hoping to be) among us, I have a recommendation for *the* book for early career academics trying to stay afloat (plus bonus recs).
1/
#scicomm #AcademicSky #🧪
1/
#scicomm #AcademicSky #🧪
*The* book for early career academics trying to stay afloat (plus bonus recs)
For the PhDs, postdocs, and early career faculty (hoping to be) among us
schoolofgoodtrouble.substack.com
October 7, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Tl;dr: for the PhDs, postdocs, and early career faculty (hoping to be) among us, I have a recommendation for *the* book for early career academics trying to stay afloat (plus bonus recs).
1/
#scicomm #AcademicSky #🧪
1/
#scicomm #AcademicSky #🧪
Reposted by Bethann Garramon Merkle (@commnatural elsewhere)
So we hope the book (scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2024/12/10/w...) will help with that bit, at least. But read @briles34.bsky.social's preprint - there's lots more to it!
What our new book looks like: “Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences”
About a year ago, I posted some basic information about my new book, coauthored with the brilliant Bethann Garramon Merkle. It’s time for an update: as books grow up, they change and presumably imp…
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
October 7, 2025 at 1:44 PM
So we hope the book (scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2024/12/10/w...) will help with that bit, at least. But read @briles34.bsky.social's preprint - there's lots more to it!
Reposted by Bethann Garramon Merkle (@commnatural elsewhere)
One issue the preprint identifies is that mentors are super important - but they (we!) lack training in effective writing mentorship. That's exactly why @bgmerkle.bsky.social and I wrote our forthcoming book, 'Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences" - our next month.
October 7, 2025 at 1:44 PM
One issue the preprint identifies is that mentors are super important - but they (we!) lack training in effective writing mentorship. That's exactly why @bgmerkle.bsky.social and I wrote our forthcoming book, 'Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences" - our next month.
I refuse to police AI/LLM use in my classroom, even though I'd rather totally prohibit AI in my academic writing and #scicomm courses. I'd also rather not talk about it, but that's just not an option any more. So, I've been using a course policy that seems to...NOT be working. 1/
I'd like to 100% prohibit LLMs, but I refuse to police AI use in my academic writing & writing-intensive courses
So, here's what my course policy is, and how it's working.
buff.ly
October 2, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I refuse to police AI/LLM use in my classroom, even though I'd rather totally prohibit AI in my academic writing and #scicomm courses. I'd also rather not talk about it, but that's just not an option any more. So, I've been using a course policy that seems to...NOT be working. 1/
Reposted by Bethann Garramon Merkle (@commnatural elsewhere)
In thus series, then AAUP members share their stories of repression and resilience in the face of partisan interference and violations of academic freedom.
Learn more about the project at the link below👇
#academicsky #academicfreedom #defendhighered #highered #socialjustice #academia
Learn more about the project at the link below👇
#academicsky #academicfreedom #defendhighered #highered #socialjustice #academia
Faculty on the Frontlines
www.aaup.org
October 1, 2025 at 4:23 PM
In thus series, then AAUP members share their stories of repression and resilience in the face of partisan interference and violations of academic freedom.
Learn more about the project at the link below👇
#academicsky #academicfreedom #defendhighered #highered #socialjustice #academia
Learn more about the project at the link below👇
#academicsky #academicfreedom #defendhighered #highered #socialjustice #academia
Reposted by Bethann Garramon Merkle (@commnatural elsewhere)
Introducing “Faculty on the Frontlines,” a new series from the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom that documents the stories of AAUP members!
Over the next 2 weeks, we will spotlight the stories of 10 AAUP members fighting to defend academic freedom.
Check out our teaser 🔥
Over the next 2 weeks, we will spotlight the stories of 10 AAUP members fighting to defend academic freedom.
Check out our teaser 🔥
October 1, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Introducing “Faculty on the Frontlines,” a new series from the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom that documents the stories of AAUP members!
Over the next 2 weeks, we will spotlight the stories of 10 AAUP members fighting to defend academic freedom.
Check out our teaser 🔥
Over the next 2 weeks, we will spotlight the stories of 10 AAUP members fighting to defend academic freedom.
Check out our teaser 🔥
Reposted by Bethann Garramon Merkle (@commnatural elsewhere)
"Good editing is about structure, flow and signposts. It concerns your audience and how they will receive it. It is not about you." - Melanie Smith
See the full post for how to shift your views and approach to editing your academic writing.
academiccoach.info/blog/how-to-...
#academicsky
See the full post for how to shift your views and approach to editing your academic writing.
academiccoach.info/blog/how-to-...
#academicsky
How to edit your writing — Academic Coach
I have these little mantras here at Academic Coach and this is one of them: write without fear, edit without mercy. Write quick, edit slow. What is editing? Let’s start with the basics. Editing is t...
academiccoach.info
October 1, 2025 at 7:40 PM
"Good editing is about structure, flow and signposts. It concerns your audience and how they will receive it. It is not about you." - Melanie Smith
See the full post for how to shift your views and approach to editing your academic writing.
academiccoach.info/blog/how-to-...
#academicsky
See the full post for how to shift your views and approach to editing your academic writing.
academiccoach.info/blog/how-to-...
#academicsky
I've been a big letter writer since I was a little kid. Nothing compares to snail mail with a real postmark and handwriting from someone special. 1/
October 2, 2025 at 12:56 AM
I've been a big letter writer since I was a little kid. Nothing compares to snail mail with a real postmark and handwriting from someone special. 1/
There are unhealthy myths about how much time people in #academia must spend working to be “successful.” Yet we also tend to be terrible at estimating how much time we spend working, or on a particular task or activity (hint we often way over-estimate time spent & underestimate time needed). 1/
Academic time can feel as warped as in Wonderland: time tracking saved my mental health
Sounds like hyperbole, but time tracking helped me get a grip on calendar chaos, affirm the meaning of my work, and reclaim my personal time.
schoolofgoodtrouble.substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 8:24 PM
There are unhealthy myths about how much time people in #academia must spend working to be “successful.” Yet we also tend to be terrible at estimating how much time we spend working, or on a particular task or activity (hint we often way over-estimate time spent & underestimate time needed). 1/
I really think scientists still need to be part of the media conversation--even (or especially) when journalists deal w/ contentious issues. That's why I responded to this "tricky" interview request & encouraged two colleagues to. Here's why I think this matters for #scicomm:
It is STILL vital that scientists engage with the media
Scientists need to be part of the conversation even, or especially, when journalists deal with contentious issues.
buff.ly
September 16, 2025 at 2:11 PM
I really think scientists still need to be part of the media conversation--even (or especially) when journalists deal w/ contentious issues. That's why I responded to this "tricky" interview request & encouraged two colleagues to. Here's why I think this matters for #scicomm:
I will add: we are immensely grateful for all of you who have connected with the Meteor #Scicomm podcast & hope you still feel connected as we work together to foster capacity to do good in the world. There are amazing resources to help us all (a lot from way beyond scicomm); we'll focus there.
Just posted the one and only episode in season 5 of the #SciComm podcast I do with @bgmerkle.bsky.social. It's basically a 17-min audio version of "WOAH NOW"
🧵 on why we're taking a pause, or you can listen of course ⬇️
www.meteorscicomm.org/podcast
🧵 on why we're taking a pause, or you can listen of course ⬇️
www.meteorscicomm.org/podcast
Podcast | Meteor
The Meteor podcast about science communication with impact, including about the podcast, how you can get episodes in your inbox, and an archive of past episodes.
www.meteorscicomm.org
September 11, 2025 at 9:44 PM
I will add: we are immensely grateful for all of you who have connected with the Meteor #Scicomm podcast & hope you still feel connected as we work together to foster capacity to do good in the world. There are amazing resources to help us all (a lot from way beyond scicomm); we'll focus there.
I keep having this conversation with colleagues. We need to make it obvious to students that revision means success, not failure, as a writer. 1/
Dozens of eyeballs, dozens of drafts
We need to make it obvious to students that revision means success, not failure, as a writer.
schoolofgoodtrouble.substack.com
September 9, 2025 at 10:52 PM
I keep having this conversation with colleagues. We need to make it obvious to students that revision means success, not failure, as a writer. 1/
Reposted by Bethann Garramon Merkle (@commnatural elsewhere)
Darn right we are!
@stephenbheard.bsky.social & I are pretty stoked! Our book (from @uchicagopress.bsky.social) about mentoring #ScientificWriting is another step closer to being in your hands!! We now have a cover, a *funny* index (who knew that was possible!?!) & amazing blurbs from 3 scholars we deeply respect! 1/
Owls, and blurbs, and a cover, oh my!
Our book, Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences, is several steps closer to your eager hands!
schoolofgoodtrouble.substack.com
September 3, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Darn right we are!
Reposted by Bethann Garramon Merkle (@commnatural elsewhere)
This is a great book for folks who need to train others in scientific writing but were perhaps never formally trained themselves. Which is probably a whole lot of us! Highly recommend.
@stephenbheard.bsky.social & I are pretty stoked! Our book (from @uchicagopress.bsky.social) about mentoring #ScientificWriting is another step closer to being in your hands!! We now have a cover, a *funny* index (who knew that was possible!?!) & amazing blurbs from 3 scholars we deeply respect! 1/
Owls, and blurbs, and a cover, oh my!
Our book, Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences, is several steps closer to your eager hands!
schoolofgoodtrouble.substack.com
September 3, 2025 at 7:49 PM
This is a great book for folks who need to train others in scientific writing but were perhaps never formally trained themselves. Which is probably a whole lot of us! Highly recommend.