MEDIA
Watch or listen to a few of Shawn's public appearances below.
Shawn and Norah Jones talk about sciece and art
Sing for Science podcast hosted by Matt Whyte
NORAH JONES: DON’T KNOW WHY: EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY IN ART AND SCIENCE with Norah Jones and "War On Science" author Shawn Otto In this episode we discuss: - how the war on science began - the story of how Exxon PR created climate change denial - the scientific method - how to talk to people with whom you disagree - Keith Richards' giant tape recorder
Facts or Fiction: Is trust in Science Eroding?
Shawn delivers a keynote and joins this panel at Bayer in Leverkusen, Germany
The session - moderated by former BBC presenter Trixie Rawlinson - featured distinguished panelists Markus Weisskopf (Executive Director of the “Wissenschaft im Dialog” gGmbH, an initiative fostering dialogue between science and society); Kemal Malik (Bayer’s former Board Member for Innovation); Susanne van Veluw (award-winning scientist at Harvard Medical School Boston); Shawn Otto (US-based science advocate, writer, teacher, and speaker); Edith Heard (award-winning Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory); and Volker Stollorz (Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director of the Science Media Center in Cologne, Germany).
March for Science Earth Day 2017 Speaker - Shawn Otto
Earth Day Network
"So we say to our elected leaders, the war on science must end. The evidence shows that global warming is real, that vaccines do not cause autism, that research drives prosperity, that there are no such things as alternative facts, and that if you want America to succeed, Donald Trump, you can’t lead it with your brain tied behind your back."
Democracy Now! Special Broadcast Highlights from the March for Science
Amy Godman | Democracy Now!
Shawn Otto: "We are gathered here today to defend this fundamental principle, to tell our elected leaders that attacking science is attacking democracy, denying science is denying democracy, and rejecting science is rejecting democracy. The greatest freedom and the greatest equality come not from the PR campaigns of wealthy corporations, nor from the demands of impassioned ideologues, but from public policies based on evidence."
The War on Science wins the MN Book Award
Greg Laden's Blog
Amanda and I were graciously invited by author Shawn Otto and State Auditor and Gubernatorial Hopeful Rebecca Otto to join them at their table. Shawn’s wildly popular, and extremely, increasingly relevant book The War on Science: Who’s Waging It, Why It Matters, What We Can Do About It was up for the award in General Nonfiction.
A conversation with the author of “The War on Science”
ScieTech Now | Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Science and technology impact many public policy issues today, from energy and the environment, to public health and privacy. But how is public opinion and knowledge of science informed or misinformed by our political discourse? A new book titled, “The War on Science,” is starting conversations about the relationship between science and democracy.
The Political War on Science
Lone Star—Kingwood College, Houston, TX
Shawn Otto has worked for years to get politicians to focus on and debate the major science issues like climate change and to base policy decisions on evidence, while working to get journalists to do a better job of covering these important questions.
Shawn Otto on The War on Science
The National Academies
Shawn Otto gave the keynote address at the National Academies program Examining the Mistrust of Science. He spoke about The War On Science and the rise of past-fact politics, why this is a threat to democracy, why it's happening, and what can be done to solve it.
The War on Science
Consider This | California Public Broadcasting
Otto explains why the evidence-based politics that gave birth to democracy are now in decline and authoritarian politics are once again on the rise—and provides some compelling solutions to bring us to our collective senses, before it’s too late.
Why Is Science a Political Issue? Encouraging Enlightenment with Shawn Otto & Lawrence Krauss
Harvesting Happiness Talk Radio
During this week’s radio show you will learn about:
- The ideological war on science
- Lessons we can draw from the current state of humanity
- Scientific code of ethics
- The relationship between science and public policy
The War On Science Interview: Who's Waging It, Why It Matters, What We Can Do About It
Readara
Science advocate and writer Shawn Otto explains to Readara how science challenges the present order of power and business structures, and why it has come under attack from various ends. Otto provides a historical perspective on anti-science movements in ancient and more recent times, dwelling on the inevitable collapse of societies and regimes that declared war on evidence.
Trump and Science: A Conversation With Shawn Otto
Ikonokast
This week we speak with Shawn Otto, author of
The War on Science: Who’s Waging It, Why It Matters, What We Can Do About It, about the implications of the presumed Donald Trump presidency, especially with respect to science policy. Given the way the Trump cabinet is forming up, this becomes an incredibly important conversation.
Science and the Election
Big Picture Science Radio | NPR
Shawn Otto, organizer of Science Debate, describes one obstacle to meaningful discussion. Communication expert Kathleen Hall Jamieson looks back to discern trends that have made productive discussion about science nearly impossible today. And Lawrence Krauss discusses the unique situation in which the man at the top of one political ticket is flat out wrong about science.
Trump and Clinton Remain Far Apart on Science and Environment
National Public Radio | KQED Forum
As part of NPR’s “A Nation Engaged” conversation, we discuss the candidates’ positions and the use and misuse of science in politics and public policy with:
Shawn Otto, co-founder, sciencedebate.org; author, "The War on Science: Who's Waging It, Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It."
Marcia McNutt, geophysicist; president, National Academy of Sciences; former director, U.S. Geological Survey under President Obama
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, professor, Annenberg School for Communication; director, Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania
Debating Science in the 2016 Election
Science Friday | Public Radio International
While the major-party presidential candidates have been making a lot of speeches about taxes, job creation, and international trade, there’s one topic that hasn’t been very visible on the campaign trail: science. Shawn Otto, chair of ScienceDebate.org, offers a list of 20 science policy questions curated by some of the nation’s major scientific societies. He says they should prompt campaigns to make science policy equal to foreign, military, and domestic policies on the campaign trail.
The War On Science, And What To Do About It
Joy Cardin Show | WPR
Despite being exposed to more science than at any point in human history, more Americans, and policymakers, are growing distrustful of science. That’s according to our guest, who says we’re in the midst of a vast, well-funded war on science…and unless we can find a way to reverse course, we won’t be able to solve the world’s biggest problems in the coming decades.
Freethinking Forum - "The War On Science" by Shawn Otto
Freethinking Forum
In this in depth interview author Shawn Otto discusses his new book showing us how to win the war, defending science from the many forces suppressing its use by Congress and state legislatures in dealing with climate disruption, reproductive rights and many other issues. Fourteen "battle plans" detail the steps toward the proper role of science in governing America. See why he is earning high praise, 5-star reviews
The Bizarre War on Science
KGO-810 San Francisco
With climate change in the headlines, there is an ongoing debate over if it's scientifically verifiable, or if it's just a conspiracy theory used for political gains. Our guest helps clarify. How is the San Francisco / Bay Area impacted by climate change? How have both political left and right shunned science to further their own ends? Find out what callers have to say about how bad science effects courtroom cases, how lack of understanding affects health, and much more.
Science Under Siege: 3-part documentary based on Shawn's writing
CBC | Ideas with Paul Kennedy
Scientists are increasingly restricted in what they can research, publish and say—constrained by elected officials, legal attacks, and PR campaigns. Historically, science has always had a thorny relationship with institutions of power. But what happens to societies which turn their backs on curiosity-driven research? And how can science lift the siege? A three-part series.
Shawn reads from SINS OF OUR FATHERS
Wyoming Public Radio
The novel recounts an arson inside an embezzlement inside an assault inside a banking scheme, all the way down to an unflinching look at America’s original sin: five hundred years of physical and spiritual violence against Native peoples. Crimes that made our country.