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PODCAST

Safeguarding Sound Science

National Center for Science Education

Safeguarding Sound Science from the National Center for Science Education combats misinformation, disinformation, and misconceptions with actual science. The second season of Safeguarding Sound Science examines the everyday impacts of evolution, the grand theory that informs our understanding of all life on this planet. Host Mat Kaplan talks with scientists, researchers, and other experts as they dispel common misconceptions about evolution, discuss its sometimes invisible importance in our

science earth sciences

All Episodes

59:42

Darwin's Reach: How Evolution Shapes Our World Today

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/11/12

Invasive cancers. Antibiotic resistance. Agricultural biodiversity. To better understand these and many other pressing issues of our times, we need to better understand evolution and its applicability to so much of what we encounter in modern life. So says Norman A. Johnson, the author of Darwin's Reach: 21st Century Applications of Evolutionary Biology. Host Mat Kaplan talks with Johnson about the myriad ways evolution affects each and every one of us on a daily basis, along with how applied

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55:46

Are We Ready for the Next Pandemic?

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/11/05

Maybe not, according to Todd Disotell, a biological anthropologist and science communicator from the University of Massachusetts. Among his many research interests, Disotell studies and teaches about disease ecology: how pathogens of every variety get to be so good at making us sick (hint: evolution is deeply involved), and how our bodies fight back. Join host Mat Kaplan for this enlightening, and sometimes sobering, look at those masters of adaptation: pathogens. Learn more about your ad choices

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62:24

Let's Talk About Sex (Scientifically)

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/10/29

Everything in our lives is related to sex, in one way or another. So says Carin Bondar, one of today's guests. Bondar, a biologist, author, and philosopher who teaches at the University of the Fraser Valley, is proud to be known as an animal sex biologist. She's joined by Nathan Lents, professor of biology at John Jay College of Criminial Justice at the City University of New York. His latest book is The Sexual Evolution: A Provocative Look at Sexual Behavior ." Along with host Mat Kaplan, Bondar

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49:35

Baked, Steamed, and Frozen: Human Body Evolution in...

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/10/22

In the flop of a movie, Waterworld, Kevin Costner's character (spoiler alert!) develops gills as an adaptation to a flooded planet altered by climate change. This plays into the all-too-prevalent misconception that as the Earth warms, we humans don't need to worry — we'll simply evolve and adapt. In this episode of Safeguarding Sound Science, host Mat Kaplan talks with Libby Cowgill, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and NCSE Executive Director Amanda L

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60:49

What Darwin Got Wrong ... and Very Right!

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/10/15

Charles Darwin is one of the most recognizable names in science. His On the Origin of Species is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. In this episode of Safeguarding Sound Science, we speak with three experts who marvel at Darwin's innovations while also surfacing what Darwin may have gotten wrong and was unable to consider due to the limitations of his era. Joseph L. Graves Jr. is an evolutionary biologist and a professor of biological science at North Carolina Agricultural and

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56:39

Human Evolution: Uncovering our Origins

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/10/08

You know the t-shirt, right? The one that shows the progression from a monkey to a human? In this episode of Safeguarding Sound Science, we talk with two renowned paleoanthropologists, Jeremy DeSilva and Briana Pobiner, to find out why that image is in fact a viral misconception. DeSilva and Pobiner study the real ancestry of homo sapiens, a story that continues to unfold in Africa and elsewhere around the world. It’s a story that’s as dramatic, as exciting, and as complex as the very best

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72:38

Safeguarding Sound Science: Peter Hotez on Vaccines,...

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/10/01

Vaccine skepticism and efforts to curb vaccine access are in the news almost daily. This despite the fact that for decades, vaccines have saved millions of lives and reduced suffering immeasurably all across the globe. In this episode, host Mat Kaplan speaks with Dr. Peter Hotez, a pediatrician and global health expert and an outspoken and well-known proponent of the value and science-backed efficacy of vaccines. Dr. Hotez describes the forces at play in the rise of the anti-vaxx movement and the

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3:12

Safeguarding Sound Science Season 2: Evolution Edition

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/09/26

The second season of Safeguarding Sound Science from The National Center for Science Education examines the everyday impacts of evolution, the grand theory that informs our understanding of all life on this planet. Host Mat Kaplan talks with scientists, researchers, and other experts as they dispel common misconceptions about evolution, discuss its sometimes invisible importance in our day-to-day lives, and marvel at the wonders of ongoing scientific discovery that help us piece together more of the

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70:47

The New Face of Climate Denial: Online Influencers

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/07/23

Like nearly everything ever created by humans, social media can be used for good or evil. The same goes for podcasting and other streaming media shows. We’ll talk with two experts whose work helps us understand how these tools and platforms are misused, particularly when it comes to climate change denial, AND how they can contribute to the progress of good science and the public’s appreciation of it. John Cook, creator of the mobile game "Cranky Uncle," which aims to fight climate and science

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67:45

Hope in the Face of the Climate Crisis: Youth...

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/04/23

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,

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58:55

Making Every Classroom a Climate Classroom

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/04/16

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

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62:32

Today's Forecast: Climate Change, Trusted Sources,...

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/04/09

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 Chief

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40:25

Zombie Theories Must Die! A Conversation with Climate...

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/04/02

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 hit

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72:56

Miseducation in the USA: How Our Kids Are Too Often...

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/03/26

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 about

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52:51

A Century of Disinformation: Naomi Oreskes and the...

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/03/19

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

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47:41

What Climate Change? Michael Mann and Glenn Branch on...

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/03/12

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 The

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2:46

Introducing Safeguarding Sound Science

Safeguarding Sound Science ·

2025/02/18

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

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