Episodes

  • What Does it Mean to be Authentic?

    What Does it Mean to be Authentic?

    · SciComm Hotline

    In this conversation, Reyhaneh and Stephanie discuss the importance of authenticity and self-awareness for personal and branded science content. We emphasize the need to recognize and embrace one's true values rather than projecting a false image. The discussion highlights how individuals can leverage their unique traits, such as humor and vulnerability, to create a genuine connection with others. And how the rules change when you're representing a large science organization.

    Learn more about Rey and Steph at: http://scicommhotline.com

    Submit your creep story to [email protected]


    Studies mentioned:

    Assessing the Credibility and Authenticity of Social Media Content for Applications in Health Communication: Scoping Review

    https://www.jmir.org/2020/7/e17296/

    Constructing and influencing perceived authenticity in science communication: Experimenting with narrative https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0226711Link in Bio Substack: https://www.milkkarten.net/
  • Two Bros Talking About AI

    Two Bros Talking About AI

    · SciComm Hotline

    AI: Rey and Steph are a bit embarrassed to admit they use it, but they do. Listen to them talking about all the ways AI comes in handy in media production, research, and job search. They also talk about the dark side of AI, some of the pitfalls and philosophical thoughts around it!

    Learn more about Rey and Steph at:

    http://scicommhotline.com

    Message your hot takes to [email protected]

    More about the Jackson Summit here;

    https://www.jacksonwild.org/

    Follow Rey’s 30-day ChatGPT “Going Viral” plan

    https://www.instagram.com/p/DPTuSgIADFN/

    Measuring AI Ability to Complete Long Tasks

    https://metr.org/blog/2025-03-19-measuring-ai-ability-to-complete-long-tasks/

    Palisade Research (AI whistleblower org)

    https://palisaderesearch.org/

    More Perfect Union: On AI and energy consumption

    https://www.instagram.com/p/DPTv9Mkjrgu/?img_index=1

    The Oatmeal: Let’s Talk About AI

    https://theoatmeal.com/comics/ai_art

    Instagram Reel on the ChatGPT exchange

    https://www.instagram.com/p/DPeshTAgdNm/

    The white paper for The National Academies of Sciences “Sustained Public Engagement in Science and Engineering via Digital Spaces and Communities” here:

    https://overdeck.org/portfolios/spotlight/nasem-sustained-public-engagement-in-science-and-engineering-via-digital-spaces-and-communities/

    NotebookLM

    https://notebooklm.google/

  • Missing episodes?

    Click here to refresh the feed.

  • Is it the humor or the reaction to humor?

    Is it the humor or the reaction to humor?

    · SciComm Hotline

    Steph and Rey go down a rabbit hole of their comedy grievances. With lots of examples from social media, they dissect what it is that annoys and worries them about how we consume comedy, while also discussing what they hope for in comedy.

  • Building Trust: How much transparency is too much transparency?

    Building Trust: How much transparency is too much transparency?

    · SciComm Hotline

    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 [email protected]

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

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

  • Building Friendships & Communities

    Building Friendships & Communities

    · SciComm Hotline

    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 [email protected]

    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/usjlpComSciCon – A series of science communication workshops organized by graduate students for graduate students: comscicon.orgSTEM Success Summit – An event providing skills training, workforce development, and internship/apprenticeship services: https://www.stemedia.com/experience/stem-success-summitNational Geographic Society – A leading nonprofit focused on exploration, education, storytelling, and environmental science: nationalgeographic.orgJackson 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.comCivic 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.orgGilliam 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
  • Vulnerability + 3 Principles of Storytelling for SciComm

    Vulnerability + 3 Principles of Storytelling for SciComm

    · SciComm Hotline

    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/

  • Grief, SciComm, and Existing in the Digital Abyss

    Grief, SciComm, and Existing in the Digital Abyss

    · SciComm Hotline

    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

  • Plagiarism and Intellectual Humility

    Plagiarism and Intellectual Humility

    · SciComm Hotline

    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

  • Competent or Incompetent?

    Competent or Incompetent?

    · SciComm Hotline

    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

  • Welcome to SciComm Hotline!

    Welcome to SciComm Hotline!

    · SciComm Hotline

    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