Featured – Southern Fried Science

Advice for talking to the media as a conservation scientist: Part 3, the press release

March 27, 2025 David Shiffman No Comments

Many environmental scientists understand that there is value in communicating about their work through the media, as publicity can help raise public awareness of a conservation threat and help build support for a policy solution. Most training material focuses on how to craft and deliver effective messages. However, this is only part of the skillset … Read More “Advice for talking to the media as a conservation scientist: Part 3, the press release” »

Advice for talking to the media as a conservation scientist: Part 2, mechanics of the interview

March 19, 2025March 19, 2025 David Shiffman No Comments

Academic life, Blogging, Education, Featured

By David Shiffman and Brett Favaro. Many environmental scientists understand that there is value in communicating about their work through the media, as publicity can help raise public awareness of a conservation threat and help build support for a policy solution. Most training material focuses on how to craft and deliver effective messages. However, this is only … Read More “Advice for talking to the media as a conservation scientist: Part 2, mechanics of the interview” »

Advice for talking to the media as a conservation scientist: Part 1

March 13, 2025March 13, 2025 David Shiffman

Academic life, Blogging, Education, Featured

By David Shiffman and Brett Favaro. Many environmental scientists understand that there is value in communicating about their work through the media, as publicity can help raise public awareness of a conservation threat and help build support for a policy solution. Most training material focuses on how to craft and deliver effective messages. However, this … Read More “Advice for talking to the media as a conservation scientist: Part 1” »

We are a maritime nation: my comments at the March 3 Defend NOAA rally.

March 3, 2025 Andrew Thaler

Featured, Policy

On March 3, 2025, hundreds of people gathered in front of NOAA headquarters to protest the illegal, wasteful, and capricious firing of career civil servants at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I was invited to speak on the value of NOAA scientific research. Below is a transcript of my remarks. NOAA is the original … Read More “We are a maritime nation: my comments at the March 3 Defend NOAA rally.” »

10 Tips for Running a Dungeons & Dragons Campaign for Education

February 26, 2025 Andrew Thaler

Education, Featured

This December, I published The Last Hunt for the Jabberwock: A Feywild Adventure in Ecologic Succession on the Dungeon Master’s Guild. Last Hunt for the Jabberwock is a 12 to 20 hour Dungeons & Dragons campaign with a twist: the adventure, set in a whimsical forest in the midst of tremendous environmental change is complemented … Read More “10 Tips for Running a Dungeons & Dragons Campaign for Education” »

NOAA carries a two century legacy of America’s first government science agency

February 19, 2025February 19, 2025 David Shiffman

Featured, Policy, Science

NOAA, the US government science and management agency in charge of sustainable fisheries, the national weather service, and ocean exploration, is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration and Project 2025. Though criticisms from “small government” types imply that having a US government science agency at all represents some kind of expansion of government power … Read More “NOAA carries a two century legacy of America’s first government science agency” »

A tongue-eating isopod takes a 5-million+ year journey through fossilized feces

February 4, 2025February 4, 2025 Andrew Thaler

Featured, Science

One day, 5 to 20 million years ago, a tongue-eating isopod parasitized some unknown Miocene fish, embedding itself in the fish’s mouth where wit would grow and consume scraps as its host feed. That partnership lasted until the fish, itself, became food, likely eaten by an ancestral sea turtle. And that’s where a million-year old … Read More “A tongue-eating isopod takes a 5-million+ year journey through fossilized feces” »

People and Ideas You Should Know: 5 Questions with Anupa Asokan

January 22, 2025 Angelo Villagomez

Conservation, Education, Featured, Policy, Reviews and Interviews, Science

Anupa Asokan, founder and executive director of Fish On—a new fishing interest organization working to advance ocean conservation policy—recently published a peer-reviewed perspective in Frontiers, “Marine Protected Areas as a Tool for Environmental Justice.” Anupa is a lifelong fisherwoman and has become a passionate advocate for ocean conservation and justice. I’ve known her for several … Read More “People and Ideas You Should Know: 5 Questions with Anupa Asokan” »

How Donald Trump’s Day 1 Executive Actions Impact the Ocean

January 21, 2025January 21, 2025 Andrew Thaler

Featured, Policy

It is day two of the Trump Administration. Yesterday saw a flurry of Executive Actions targeting immigration, climate change, energy, and social and justice issues. Trump also issued an executive order to overrule Trump’s Supreme Court’s upholding of Trump’s TikTok ban. In a sea of disinformation fueled by both propaganda, the reaction economy of social … Read More “How Donald Trump’s Day 1 Executive Actions Impact the Ocean” »

Deep-sea Mining: What went down in 2024?

January 13, 2025January 16, 2025 Andrew Thaler

Featured, Policy

The march towards deep-sea mining is a slow and stately trudge through a complex international negotiation. The real progress isn’t made in flashy headlines or overhyped announcements, but in painstaking deliberations and incremental progress in the mining code and the environmental and financial regimes. In as much as 2024 was a fairly standard year in … Read More “Deep-sea Mining: What went down in 2024?” »