Seconding this as a scicomm person at a public observatory. i also think there are times to nourish people emotionally with science. One of my biggest goals is to chip away at people's shame for not knowing something. To celebrate saying "i don't know... but i get to go find out."
I don't particularly know if I think science literacy is the main goal or even should be the main goal of #scicomm and pop sci. I think science literacy is important and we should keep working at it. But I think our first goal should actually be to nourish people, intellectually. And be accountable.
What do you think is the point of pop science?
I've been reading in it a bit and it seems like at least with US data, despite US arguably being in a golden age of popular science, with infinite info available in many forms:
1) science literacy has been basically stable for decades, not improvnig
I've been reading in it a bit and it seems like at least with US data, despite US arguably being in a golden age of popular science, with infinite info available in many forms:
1) science literacy has been basically stable for decades, not improvnig
June 21, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Seconding this as a scicomm person at a public observatory. i also think there are times to nourish people emotionally with science. One of my biggest goals is to chip away at people's shame for not knowing something. To celebrate saying "i don't know... but i get to go find out."
Last day of fundraising for this incredible show!! I had the honor of writing and directing an episode and am so so grateful to this team for making it happen for season 4. If you have the means, give them some support!
Forgive Me! Season 4!
Send us back to Texarkana, NY for season 4 of Forgive Me! - A whimsical, small-town podcast comedy. | Check out 'Forgive Me! Season 4!' on Indiegogo.
igg.me
May 30, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Last day of fundraising for this incredible show!! I had the honor of writing and directing an episode and am so so grateful to this team for making it happen for season 4. If you have the means, give them some support!
Reposted by Eli Barraza
200+ scientists are in the middle of a marathon livestream to show why weather and climate science is so important and needs all our help to continue.
It is here: wclivestream.com/watch
It is here: wclivestream.com/watch
Redirecting to: https://www.youtube.com/@wclivestream/live
wclivestream.com
May 28, 2025 at 11:03 PM
200+ scientists are in the middle of a marathon livestream to show why weather and climate science is so important and needs all our help to continue.
It is here: wclivestream.com/watch
It is here: wclivestream.com/watch
So so glad to have had the opportunity to work with this team!! Help them reach their fundraising goal!!!!
Hey Friends! Thanks to a bunch of generous donations over the last week, we've hit 50% funded, which means we have not one, but TWO episode announcements incoming for you. Up first? Ep. 4.09: To Hold a Bunny Gently by @skeliton.bsky.social.
May 21, 2025 at 8:04 PM
So so glad to have had the opportunity to work with this team!! Help them reach their fundraising goal!!!!
nothing like having a curiosity itch you can't scratch because the exact volumes of a magazine you need are nowhere to be found digitally or to buy hard copies 😭
May 1, 2025 at 10:53 PM
nothing like having a curiosity itch you can't scratch because the exact volumes of a magazine you need are nowhere to be found digitally or to buy hard copies 😭
Reposted by Eli Barraza
Hey There friends! Thanks to another few donations, we've officially hit 30% funded, which means it's time for another episode announcement: Episode 4.06: It's Just His Hip. 🐕🛥🐜💙
April 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Hey There friends! Thanks to another few donations, we've officially hit 30% funded, which means it's time for another episode announcement: Episode 4.06: It's Just His Hip. 🐕🛥🐜💙
Striving to have whatever the hell KA Applegate had going on in the 90s and 2000s. I still think about Animorphs and Remnants on the regular.
April 19, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Striving to have whatever the hell KA Applegate had going on in the 90s and 2000s. I still think about Animorphs and Remnants on the regular.
Raise your hand if you feel personally vicitimized by the absolutely perfect audio fiction piece Hit Singles from Octavia Bray, @gabrielurbina.bsky.social, @sarahshachat.bsky.social, and @itsellenwinter.bsky.social ✋
a woman says " raise your hand if you 've ever felt personally victimized by regina george " in front of a man
Alt: A Meme GIF from Mean Girls where a white brunette woman played by Tina Fey says " raise your hand if you've ever felt personally victimized by regina george ". Behind her sits Ron Duvall's character in a white tank top.
media.tenor.com
April 15, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Raise your hand if you feel personally vicitimized by the absolutely perfect audio fiction piece Hit Singles from Octavia Bray, @gabrielurbina.bsky.social, @sarahshachat.bsky.social, and @itsellenwinter.bsky.social ✋
In case folks needs context:
- They only tested 25 boxes total (from California, Iowa, Louisiana)
- I have not seen much on the testing itself (if the methods were robust)
- The groups involved are associated with antivax and supporting RFK
Take what you will but I am highly skeptical of the claims
- They only tested 25 boxes total (from California, Iowa, Louisiana)
- I have not seen much on the testing itself (if the methods were robust)
- The groups involved are associated with antivax and supporting RFK
Take what you will but I am highly skeptical of the claims
March 13, 2025 at 12:52 AM
In case folks needs context:
- They only tested 25 boxes total (from California, Iowa, Louisiana)
- I have not seen much on the testing itself (if the methods were robust)
- The groups involved are associated with antivax and supporting RFK
Take what you will but I am highly skeptical of the claims
- They only tested 25 boxes total (from California, Iowa, Louisiana)
- I have not seen much on the testing itself (if the methods were robust)
- The groups involved are associated with antivax and supporting RFK
Take what you will but I am highly skeptical of the claims
Reposted by Eli Barraza
A lot of people out there seem super ready to talk themselves into learned helplessness or compliance with authoritarianism 💁🏻♀️
February 28, 2025 at 1:23 AM
A lot of people out there seem super ready to talk themselves into learned helplessness or compliance with authoritarianism 💁🏻♀️
NGL, the econ blackout tomorrow is a great opportunity to look into Buy Nothing groups in your area as well as free clothing swaps/ skill shares. Recently got into a Buy Nothing group and it's been so helpful in getting some things I needed while also giving away stuff I might have thrown out!
February 28, 2025 at 2:49 AM
NGL, the econ blackout tomorrow is a great opportunity to look into Buy Nothing groups in your area as well as free clothing swaps/ skill shares. Recently got into a Buy Nothing group and it's been so helpful in getting some things I needed while also giving away stuff I might have thrown out!
I just wish when I mention to boycott/avoid shopping at Amazon, target etc that people realized, yes I do already know it's not possible for everyone. Like, why must the first reaponse be some moralizing pushback? Not to mention the fact some people don't have other options is also an issue??
February 27, 2025 at 3:31 PM
I just wish when I mention to boycott/avoid shopping at Amazon, target etc that people realized, yes I do already know it's not possible for everyone. Like, why must the first reaponse be some moralizing pushback? Not to mention the fact some people don't have other options is also an issue??
Reposted by Eli Barraza
It’s wanting to abolish Section 504, wanting to cut Medicare, wanting to get rid of DEIA, wanting to stop people working from home. All of this will kill disabled people. When we tell you that pandemics lead to fascism, this is what we mean. When you excuse our deaths, these policies are pushed.
February 25, 2025 at 8:16 PM
It’s wanting to abolish Section 504, wanting to cut Medicare, wanting to get rid of DEIA, wanting to stop people working from home. All of this will kill disabled people. When we tell you that pandemics lead to fascism, this is what we mean. When you excuse our deaths, these policies are pushed.
working in sci comm right now is wild. my philosophy has always been not just to tell people information but also model HOW to learn. to be confidently curious and feeling comfortable to say i don't know or accepting mistakes.
some of the conversations i have with people bring hope while others...
some of the conversations i have with people bring hope while others...
February 21, 2025 at 12:30 AM
working in sci comm right now is wild. my philosophy has always been not just to tell people information but also model HOW to learn. to be confidently curious and feeling comfortable to say i don't know or accepting mistakes.
some of the conversations i have with people bring hope while others...
some of the conversations i have with people bring hope while others...
Reposted by Eli Barraza
Bandcamp lets us keep 85% of revenue. That is the best rate of anybody out there. Over a period of about 15 years, I have taken home ~$3000. Every album is "pay what you want", so you all rock.
If you bought an album for $5 then you gave me more than streaming the whole album ~300 times.
If you bought an album for $5 then you gave me more than streaming the whole album ~300 times.
February 10, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Bandcamp lets us keep 85% of revenue. That is the best rate of anybody out there. Over a period of about 15 years, I have taken home ~$3000. Every album is "pay what you want", so you all rock.
If you bought an album for $5 then you gave me more than streaming the whole album ~300 times.
If you bought an album for $5 then you gave me more than streaming the whole album ~300 times.
I have been talking about this for years at this point. We have a computer in our head and if we don't use it in favor of AI...
😮💨
😮💨
February 10, 2025 at 4:23 PM
I have been talking about this for years at this point. We have a computer in our head and if we don't use it in favor of AI...
😮💨
😮💨
Me reading the urgency of Naomi Klein's 2014 This Changes Everything while living in 2025:
February 9, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Me reading the urgency of Naomi Klein's 2014 This Changes Everything while living in 2025:
Finally read Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man this year and I honestly yearn for a double feature book club pairing it with Franz Kafka's The Trial. There's some interesting parallels and divergences between those novels that would make for some fun discussion.
February 9, 2025 at 6:07 AM
Finally read Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man this year and I honestly yearn for a double feature book club pairing it with Franz Kafka's The Trial. There's some interesting parallels and divergences between those novels that would make for some fun discussion.
Reposted by Eli Barraza
Big sale over at @haymarketbooks.org that include an absolute favorite, We Do This Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba - spread the word!
For #BlackHistoryMonth we're offering 40% OFF Haymarket Books on the Struggle for Black Liberation
40% OFF Haymarket Books on the Struggle for Black Liberation
Black History Month is not only a celebration of the rich history of Black life, politics, culture, and struggle. It is also a reminder to engage every day with that history as we ...
www.haymarketbooks.org
February 2, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Big sale over at @haymarketbooks.org that include an absolute favorite, We Do This Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba - spread the word!
Reposted by Eli Barraza
📣 UPDATE: OK, still working with some others to figure out the best way to present it all, but in the meantime here's the first batch of links to the most-recent archived versions of every page at the CDC prior to the Trump/Musk Purge:
acasignups.net/25/02/02/whi...
acasignups.net/25/02/02/whi...
In which I provide links to archived versions of every CDC.gov page available pre-purge (Part 1 of 15)
As horrific as it is that the Trump/Musk Administration is purging data from federal websites, it's good to know that the Internet Archive has been archiving much of it. However, in addition to the Ar...
acasignups.net
February 2, 2025 at 5:36 PM
📣 UPDATE: OK, still working with some others to figure out the best way to present it all, but in the meantime here's the first batch of links to the most-recent archived versions of every page at the CDC prior to the Trump/Musk Purge:
acasignups.net/25/02/02/whi...
acasignups.net/25/02/02/whi...
Reposted by Eli Barraza
The Internet Archive has to date downloaded 500 terabytes of US government websites, which it crawls at the end of every presidential term. The whole archive is fully searchable. This effort's housed by a donation-funded nonprofit, not a branch of the US government. blog.archive.org/2024/05/08/e...
End of Term Web Archive – Preserving the Transition of a Nation | Internet Archive Blogs
blog.archive.org
February 1, 2025 at 12:58 AM
The Internet Archive has to date downloaded 500 terabytes of US government websites, which it crawls at the end of every presidential term. The whole archive is fully searchable. This effort's housed by a donation-funded nonprofit, not a branch of the US government. blog.archive.org/2024/05/08/e...
Reposted by Eli Barraza
For a photo op & a bragging media post, Trump minions at the USACoE have thrown away millions of gals of #water farmers were relying on for later this year. This water will not be captured, will not be useful for cities or farms or firefighting. It is now lost.
www.latimes.com/environment/...
www.latimes.com/environment/...
Acting on Trump's order, federal officials opened up two California dams
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers just opened up two California dams. A spokesperson says the flows are 'controlled' and being coordinated with local officials.
www.latimes.com
February 1, 2025 at 1:25 AM
For a photo op & a bragging media post, Trump minions at the USACoE have thrown away millions of gals of #water farmers were relying on for later this year. This water will not be captured, will not be useful for cities or farms or firefighting. It is now lost.
www.latimes.com/environment/...
www.latimes.com/environment/...
Reposted by Eli Barraza
while The Horrors persist, let us celebrate less horrors overall…. because all three mega fires in Los Angeles are finally 100% contained!!
February 1, 2025 at 5:19 AM
while The Horrors persist, let us celebrate less horrors overall…. because all three mega fires in Los Angeles are finally 100% contained!!
Reposted by Eli Barraza
Another thing re antidotes... the people you love, who you value... be in the moment with them. Not distracted, not on your phone, but fully present. Open to them. So you can see them and be seen. This feels even more important right now.
Destabilization of reality in the US is about to reach surreal heights. Protect your mind. Monitor stress levels. Do not doomscroll--it does not help. Be selective about when and how long you expose your brain to this. Do what you can when you can.
February 1, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Another thing re antidotes... the people you love, who you value... be in the moment with them. Not distracted, not on your phone, but fully present. Open to them. So you can see them and be seen. This feels even more important right now.
Reposted by Eli Barraza
California’s monarch butterfly population plummets; fire wipes out Topanga habitat 🧪
www.latimes.com/california/s...
www.latimes.com/california/s...
California's monarch butterfly population plummets; fire wipes out Topanga habitat
The Western population of the monarch butterfly hit a near-record low with fewer than 10,000 found living in California this winter, a foreboding sign.
www.latimes.com
January 31, 2025 at 8:48 PM
California’s monarch butterfly population plummets; fire wipes out Topanga habitat 🧪
www.latimes.com/california/s...
www.latimes.com/california/s...