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The Story Collider

Politics: Stories about the political side of science

The Story Collider

Story Collider, Inc.

Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Performing Arts, Arts, Science

4.4818 Ratings

🗓️ 3 November 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

While many people believe science and politics should be kept separate, politics is deeply ingrained in science. Be it through funding agendas, cultural lobbies or personal bias – politics can shape the science in many ways. In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers share tales about when politics and science meet. Part 1: Scientist Gretchen Goldman struggles to protect the data and integrity of science under the new Trump administration. Part 2: Journalist Liz Landau feels the wrath of the internet when she covers a study about women and their voting preferences. Dr. Gretchen Goldman is the Climate Change Research and Technology Director at the US Department of Transportation. Previously, Dr. Goldman served at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as the Assistant Director for Environmental Science, Engineering, Policy, and Justice, where she led Federal efforts on scientific integrity, Indigenous Knowledge, climate and equity, air quality, and environmental justice. Dr. Goldman spent a decade as the Research Director for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, where she led research and policy efforts on climate, environmental, and science policy decision-making. She has testified before Congress, sat on the board of 500 Women Scientists, and chaired the Air and Climate Public Advisory Committee for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. In 2022, Dr. Goldman made the Georgia Tech alumni 40 Under 40 List and was named in Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year in 2020. Dr. Goldman holds a PhD and MS in environmental engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a BS in atmospheric science from Cornell University. Elizabeth "Liz" Landau is an award-winning journalist and science communicator. She has contributed articles to the New York Times, Washington Post, WIRED, Smithsonian, Scientific American, Quanta, and other publications. In her work with NASA, she produces and edits podcasts, videos, and website stories about space. Liz holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Princeton University (magna cum laude) and a master’s in journalism from Columbia University. In her spare time, Liz enjoys songwriting and playing keyboard. Currently, she lives in Washington, D.C. Her favorite number is pi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

A science story, huh?

0:04.0

Is NYU a scientist?

0:06.0

I felt it.

0:07.0

I felt.

0:08.0

I was so unhappy.

0:09.0

I figured it out.

0:10.0

It was that golden moment.

0:12.0

Because science was on my side.

0:15.0

The Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Storyglider, where true personal stories about science help us to discover how weird and wonderful it is to exist in this world and be a human.

0:34.5

I'm your host, Misha Gayevsky, and this week our stories are all about the political

0:38.5

side of science. Whether it's through funding agendas, cultural lobbies, or personal bias,

0:43.8

politics shapes science in many ways. And since there's an election coming up on November

0:49.3

7th for all our listeners in the U.S., our stories this week examine the intersection of science and politics.

0:57.0

Our first story is from Gretchen Goldman.

0:59.7

Gretchen is the Climate Change Research and Technology Director at the U.S. Department

1:03.5

of Transportation.

1:05.1

She also served in the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy

1:08.6

as the Assistant Director for Environmental Science,

1:11.2

Engineering, Policy, and Justice. And beyond those huge jobs, Glamour magazine named her

1:17.7

Women of the Year in 2020. Gretchen was recorded in Washington, D.C. this year, and her story

1:23.4

is all about that moment when you realize that seemingly little thing from your past is actually a very

1:29.4

big thing in your present. Here's Gretchen.

...

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