SciComm Hotline – Details, episodes & analysis

In their first episode, Rey and Steph talk about being a hater, but in a productive way! Listen to their hot takes, their vision for this podcast, and requests for their audience. If you’re curious about the resources they mentioned, here’s the list:

Learn more about Rey and Steph here:

https://scicommhotline.com

ComSciCon is the conference where Steph and Rey found a lasting SciComm community:

https://www.comscicon.org

Rare is one of the great organizations that works with entertainment industries to inform their work through consulting, evaluation, and more:

https://rare.org/program/climate-culture/entertainment-lab/

This is The Landscape Of Science Communication In The Video Content Creation Community: Connecting Research To Practice, where some participants mentioned they never heard of the science of SciComm:

https://nnsi.northwestern.edu/landscape-science-communication/

This is the University of Wisconsin-Madison's PhD in SciComm program:

https://lsc.wisc.edu/academic-programs/ph-d-in-science-communication/

Here's a study that discusses the elements of trust: "What are you assessing when you measure “trust” in scientists with a direct measure?”

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09636625231161302

How much does your audience know about you? How much should they know about you? In this episode, Rey and Steph discuss a listener’s experience of discovering a science influencer’s PR strategy and how that connects with a new paper on trust in science: "Lying Increases Trust in Science."  

Learn more about Rey and Steph at:

http://scicommhotline.com

Message your hot takes to drama@scicommhotline.com 

Find the paper we discuss, “Lying increases trust in science,” here:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11186-025-09635-1

Who are we, truly, without our friends and communities? This week, Steph and Rey share some stories from the heart: Rey reflects on her trip to Hiroshima and the forming of an unlikely friendship. Steph shares how a scene from Avatar: The Last Airbender broke her (in the most wholesome way possible). Listen to the podcast and learn more about Steph and Rey’s principles of SciComm community building and red flags to be aware of.  

Learn more about Rey and Steph at:

http://scicommhotline.com

Message your hot takes to drama@scicommhotline.com 

Here’s the Aspen Institute panel that sent Steph over the edge and led to us scrapping the episode: https://www.youtube.com/live/SJD1GOyInyA?si=j4Ol_XAaL4Ogo0Qp 

Here are some communities we mentioned, and you should check out: 

• US-Japan Leadership Program (USJLP) – A binational leadership initiative convened by the United States-Japan Foundation that brings together emerging American and Japanese changemakers for immersive conferences, building a lifelong network of Delegates and Fellows: us-jf.org/en/usjlp

• ComSciCon – A series of science communication workshops organized by graduate students for graduate students: comscicon.org
• STEM Success Summit – An event providing skills training, workforce development, and internship/apprenticeship services: https://www.stemedia.com/experience/stem-success-summit

• National Geographic Society – A leading nonprofit focused on exploration, education, storytelling, and environmental science: nationalgeographic.org

• Jackson Wild Media Lab – A competitive, fully funded, immersive nine-day filmmaking and science storytelling workshop by Jackson Wild: https://www.jacksonwild.org/media-lab?utm_source=chatgpt.com 

• AAAS Mass Media Fellowship (also known as the AAAS Science & Engineering Mass Media Fellowship) – A 10-week summer program placing science, engineering, and mathematics students and postdocs at media organizations: massmedia.secure-platform.com

• Civic Science Fellowship – A program that embeds emerging leaders in organizations at the interface of science and society, under collaborations like the Rita Allen Foundation's Civic Science Fellows: civicsciencefellows.org

• Gilliam Fellowship (HHMI) – The Gilliam Fellows Program launches promising PhD students into impactful scientific research careers while fostering inclusive training environments: https://www.hhmi.org/programs/gilliam-fellows

Yes, another episode of Rey and Steph nag about job-search miseries, but hey, that’s just life. However, they also delve into a discussion of vulnerability, its benefits and pitfalls, and conclude with the research-based principles of storytelling: recall, fluency, and framing.  

Learn more about Rey and Steph here:

https://www.phuturedoctors.com/scicomm/hotline  

This is Dr. Nathan Walter’s Lab. We had a Story Craft session between researchers and National Geographic Explorers to talk about principles of science storytelling:

https://com-psi.northwestern.edu/

Veritasium’s “How One Company Secretly Poisoned The Planet”

https://youtu.be/SC2eSujzrUY?si=H1wM7BZPztMm3m7h 

More Perfect Union “How Corporations Are Secretly Poisoning Our Food Supply”

https://youtu.be/Y0lsLnXX4U8?si=-WvYfElpMY3XICOo 

Human Footprint, Season 2, Episode 1

https://www.pbs.org/video/shelf-life-3atwv4/

Your SciComm friends, Steph and Rey, are tired. They are grieving the status quo, but they are also trying to find their place in the world of SciComm. Listen as they discuss their sadness, as well as digital media, its best practices, and how our algorithmic overlord makes it challenging to predict what content can be successful. 

Learn more about Rey and Steph here:

https://www.phuturedoctors.com/scicomm/hotline

Find the white paper and panel on “Sustained Public Engagement in Science and Engineering via Digital Spaces and Communities” here:

https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/44757_06-2025_convocation-on-the-status-of-informal-science-and-engineering-education

Are Women a Missing Audience for Science on YouTube? An Exploratory Study

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK4qINgpMyk

SciComm Bites: Science Communication Digest

https://scicommbites.org/

Civic Science Media

https://civicsciencemedia.org/

“Cursing means you're honest, according to a study”

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/communication/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2021.610920/full

Has anyone ever copied your SciComm content without crediting you? Has anyone ever been inspired by your content and created something new, and given you credit for it? In this episode, Rey and Steph discuss the challenges and nuances of content replication, intellectual humility, and existing in the SciComm world as a woman.

Learn more about Rey and Steph here: https://www.phuturedoctors.com/scicomm/hotline

Greater Good Science Center white paper on intellectual humility: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_does_intellectual_humility_look_like

Humblebragging: A distinct—and ineffective—self-presentation strategy, https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-40996-001

In this episode, hosts Stephanie Castillo and Reyhaneh Maktoufi explore the complexities of competence in science communication.

They delve into the importance of credibility and trust in the scientific community, particularly in the context of social media influencers who may misrepresent their expertise. They discuss the ethical implications of using valid science communication principles for marketing purposes, the importance of credibility and trust in science, and the role of sponsorship in shaping public perception.

Veritasium’s PFAS video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC2eSujzrUY

Science Sam’s Instagram account:

https://www.instagram.com/science.sam/

Here are some of the studies they referenced:

Study Black female scientists being preceives as less warm and competent “Race and gender biases persist in public perceptions of scientists’ credibility.”

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-87321-z

Dual promotion strategies where you promote others alongside yourself

Dual-promotion: Bragging better by promoting peers.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37561455/

Love this quote from the paper “Should We Retire the Concept of Source Credibility? An Experimental Exploration of When Credibility Is (and Is Not) Useful.” The concept of competence and credibility “has lost some of its swag” 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10755470251334094

“Does the CSR Message Matter? Untangling the Relationship Between Corporate–Nonprofit Partnerships, Created Fit Messages, and Activist Evaluations”
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0893318919897059