Lisa Margonelli

Termites. Termites. Termites. They work at the micro scale and they also remodel land and ecosystems.

A Nation of Innovators The story of how the federal government became an innovation evangelist in the 1960s is an account of fits, starts, and ideological ambiguity.

Amid the political upheaval of 1967, a group of bureaucratic innovators within the federal government released a manifesto. Their message: “Invention and innovation lie at the heart of the process by which America has grown and renewed itself.” Read the story: issues.org/nation-of-in...

STEM-in-Society Programs Deserve Institutional Support STEM-in-society programs have proven their utility and have never been more needed—but they are in jeopardy nationwide.

Did you know Bluesky's founder has an #STS degree? In a new article, Erin Burkett and I explain why, despite current threats to humanities and social science, "STEM-in-Society programs" like STS are more important than ever. And we guide funders and university leaders how to better support them.

Audience of 1.

Hello, professors & teachers! Can't believe it's syllabus season already.

If you assign Meet the Neighbors—perhaps for your human-wildlife conflict, animal studies, animal intelligence, or environmental ethics course?—I'd be glad to Zoom in for a Q&A. Ping me if you're interested!

The Song Between Worlds Indrapramit Das takes us to a future Mars full of wealthy space tourists to explore how tourism commodifies culture.

My 2019 short story 'The Song Between Worlds', about the paths of a 1 percenter space tourist & an indigenous worker crossing in a Martian city, is republished in @issuesinst.bsky.social for @imaginationasu.bsky.social's Future Tense series, w/ a brief new intro by me:

The Willie Nelson version?

Where did you see the announcement?

Me too. Seldane was a miracle that followed Dimetapp, which made me so sleepy. And when they took Seldane away I figured they’d fix up another great molecule. But they never did. Allegra ( and the chirals Zyrtec/xyzal) just don’t do it.

Sure, anteaters are cool, but this is really a story about how important termites, ants, and social insects are—inspiring evolution all around them. Go termites!

And beautiful, too.

That’s not stupid! It’s next step ambition. Also: nice work! And I’m inspired.

I went to Sturbridge Village with Jennifer Beals.

“Call it the Vannevar Index: The greater the pressure on the scientific enterprise, the more one hears about Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s science advisor.”

Read @lisamargonelli.bsky.social’s Editor’s Journal for the Summer ISSUES: issues.org/innovation-h...

A take worth reading on #scipol reform debate by
@issuesinst.bsky.social's @lisamargonelli.bsky.social.

Esp by science advocates.

Back to Vannevar Bush or to what's next in the Endless Frontier?

issues.org/innovation-h...

ChatGPT is Joe Gould!

If Your Snark Be a Boojum Does the American public distrust science—or have citizens lost trust in a political system that attempts to use science to resolve problems?

“Trust in science has lately emerged as the Snark of American politics.”

#STS scholar Sheila Jasanoff employs two Lewis Carroll characters—the Snark and the Boojum—in explaining the “strangely undefined” quest to understand public trust in science. issues.org/snark-boojum...

It’s Time for Universities to Redesign Their 75-Year-Old Contract American research universities have unleashed an age of massive technical innovation—but they’ve failed to innovate their own designs to meet the changing needs of society.

“Ironically, although universities unleashed an age of massive technical innovation,” ASU’s Michael Crow, William Dabars, and David Rosowsky argue, “they failed to innovate their own designs to meet the changing needs of society.”

Read their piece in the Summer ISSUES: issues.org/universities...

Portrait of Senator Todd Young by Shonagh Rae

“Our commission envisions a future in which Americans engage with biotechnology the same way they do with cell phones and computers.”

We spoke with Indiana senator Todd Young, chair of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, for the Summer ISSUES: issues.org/interview-se...

What Does a Cormorant Feel? Brandon Keim discusses animal personhood, movements around animal representation, and cormorants—one named Cosmos in particular.

Our latest podcast features the story of Cosmos, a deformed cormorant who’d groom his rescuer’s sideburns (it was the ’80s) and turn the pages of his science journals.

@brandonkeim.bsky.social & @lisamargonelli.bsky.social talk animal personhood, policy, and cormorants: issues.org/brandon-keim...

Sign: TACO BELL / URGENT CARE

i’m at the taco bell
i’m at the urgent care
i’m at the combination taco bell and urgent care

In other disaster-related news, today marks 45 years since publication of the @science.org article by Walter & Luis Alvarez, Frank Asaro, & Helen Michel arguing that the dinosaurs were killed off by the impact of a massive asteroid or comet: www.lindahall.org/about/news/s... #HistSci 🔭 🧪

There is not enough popcorn in the world.

I know the reason. (Ominous organ chords)

Why I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of Congress I cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging.

"For me, the answer now lies in refusal, the withdrawal of participation from systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging."

Today I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council.

I wrote about my decision in TIME.

time.com/7285045/resi...

How do we make scientific voices more impactful in policymaking? Read my new article out today ⬇️

Illustration by Shonagh Rae of Carla Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to lead the Library of Congress.

“Libraries are a trusted source. Let the books battle it out on the shelves. We have different perspectives, and you can choose.”

Carla Hayden, who sat down with ISSUES last year, was fired from her position as leader of the Library of Congress yesterday. issues.org/interview-li...

Inclusive Science Education Is Not Zero-Sum Including everyone in science education improves the scientific enterprise and is essential for the democratization of personal agency.

“The growing national climate of exclusion resonates deeply and personally for me.” David Asai tells his own story, calls on scientists and educators to “insist that inclusion remains at our core,” and recommends steps for doing so: issues.org/inclusive-sc...

I did it once accidentally. It’s not that fun.

And @bugeric.bsky.social has watched a LOT of bugs. If you don’t watch bugs you should at least watch BugEric watch them.