1000s German academics have to teach — even if they're never paid for it
In Germany and Austria there's a degree higher than a PhD traditionally required for professorships, and it's kind of a terrible deal.
Latest
The two secret ingredients of great science media
Here's a hint: they rhyme with honey and lime.
A scammer impersonated a science journalist. It worked.
AI fraud is going to make it harder for new voices to break into science journalism
OpenAI is turning math into a pay-to-win game
Also: NSF science funding overhaul, more newspaper layoffs, and people trust scientists who seem "on their side"
This is how a science paper becomes science news
Also: Journals milking open access fees, AI interest stories, and a big win for local journalism in California
Five takeaways from the MIT report on AI in higher ed
Also: Two AI math discoveries, unconventional science funding, and bunsen burner mythology
"It's honestly a miracle that we're still around" — the Xylom's Alex Ip on indie newsroom realities
Also: Controversial changes to NIH peer review, 90% of biomedical papers show signs of AI use, and Harvard shuts down its writing center
Some things are beyond words (and pictures, and video)
Sometimes you just have to be there
How can I make this newsletter better for you?
I'm on vacation for the eclipse. So instead of the usual Monday post, I have a request: tell me what you want!
Academics in Germany and Austria are stuck in job limbo
Also: Montana's "right to try" law for experimental cures, UK science gets reshuffled, a university sues Anthropic over patents, and more from last week
It is not science journalism's job to improve trust in science
Also: The "Science: A New Golden Age" report, layoffs at National Geographic, and studies on the consequences of AI adoption in research
Is peer review at Science sexist?
Also: Attention as a class issue, an anti-AI editorial containing AI links, and a Thiel-backed journalist-rating startup
Monday Edition
"The bullets we've dodged have hit someone else" — UK science cuts largely spare physics and astro, hit projects and labs
Also: AI conflict of interest disclosures in philosophy, PhD admission down 15% at US universities, an AI "humanizer" tool for science, and more from last week
Monday Edition
In the last 2 weeks, 4 science magazines shut down, sold, or lost funding
Also: Avi Loeb to head White House UFO committee, overworked ERC peer reviewers, Anthropic's push for AI in science, and more from last week
Monday Edition
Is the NSF slashing research to fund a tech initiative?
Also: SciAm sold, two Max Planck papers retracted, a big study links AI to skill atrophy in schoolkids, and more from last week
What determines how science is done — and how it matters?
The newsletter is back with a new focus on the systems, instincts, and incentives that shape what's discovered, what's believed, and what happens when science hits the real world
Rant
Pluto is MAGA's favorite "planet" for a reason
Jared Isaacman's Pluto push is a master class in science populism
I want to do more than write science entertainment
Let's talk about science, science communication, and how knowledge matters
TLDR
Who gets the job? Here's how computers could help catch unfair rankings
I am weirdly hopeful that it could be easier to notice biased AI than biased humans?
Science Communication
About "to" and "around" the Moon
Technically correct is not, in fact, the best kind of correct in scicomm
TLDR
AI-generated science is now "good enough"
The "AI Scientist" is mediocre and uninspired. Don't dismiss it.
Q&A
How do social movements win?
Timo Damm blends qualitative and quantitative research to understand how small groups push for change
TLDR
You and a frog might have the same taste in music
Citizen science revealed a shared "taste for the beautiful" across species
Science in Society
Are the Stardew Valley wiki authors scientists?
Science is the generational project of finding out true things about the real world — and that project needs catalogers