Safeguarding Sound Science, Season One: Climate Change

In Safeguarding Sound Science's Season One: Climate Change Edition, Mat Kaplan talks to scientists, science communicators, and other experts to explore who's behind some of the more insidious efforts to sow distrust in climate science, how those efforts filter down to schools and classrooms, and what is being done to ensure that everyone — especially students — is exposed to accurate climate science.

Episode 8: "The New Face of Climate Denial: Online Influencers"

July 22, 2025

Like nearly everything ever created by humans, social media can be used for good or evil. The same goes for podcasting and other streaming media shows. We’ll talk with two experts whose work helps us understand how these tools and platforms are misused, particularly when it comes to climate change denial, and how they can contribute to the progress of good science and the public’s appreciation of it. John Cook, creator of the mobile game "Cranky Uncle," which aims to fight climate and science misinformation, discusses his years-long effort to help inoculate against climate denial arguments and the special problems posed by social media and online influencers. Samantha Harrington, from Yale Climate Connections, then discusses with host Mat Kaplan her findings from her recent article, "Eight of the top 10 online shows are spreading climate misinformation."

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