BRIANKEATING

Why People Have Turned on Science

Dear Magicians,

Scientists are losing the public.

This was inevitable.

They owe their careers to taxpayers. Yet many act as if their work is too important to explain. As if brilliance alone entitles them to a lifetime of funding.

Academia makes this worse. Scientists who engage with the public get mocked as “popularizers.” It’s a sneer, not a compliment.

Look at Carl Sagan.

He brought science to millions. And for that, the National Academy of Sciences shut him out. The message? Keep your head down. Stay obscure. Hoard knowledge or risk exile.

This is a sickness.

We need science more than ever—climate change, pandemics, AI. And yet, scientists are pulling away.

Andrew Huberman notes that Oliver Sacks was “attacked, shunned, and only after becoming a bit of a celebrity, re-welcomed.” A familiar pattern.

UC Davis Professor Inna Vishik is right: Not every scientist can be a great communicator, but every scientist can share their research. Dismissing the public is a choice. Richard Behiel sees where this is going. Scientists will wake up. They’ll realize that public trust is not an obstacle—it’s the foundation. Most will build a public presence, or be left behind. The public is smarter than academia assumes.

The fix is clear. Change what we reward. Stop punishing engagement. Teach scientists to communicate. Build bridges, not walls. Most of all, we need a shift in mindset. Because science locked away is science wasted. Because a public that doesn’t understand science won’t trust it. And because the greatest discoveries mean nothing if no one hears them.

For Scientists & Academics:

🔹 Share your work. Write, speak, blog, stream, go on podcsats — engage—your research belongs to the world.

🔹 Challenge the gatekeepers. Don’t let academia punish those who make science accessible.

🔹 Bridge the gap. Teach, podcast, write—make science impossible to ignore.

For the Public:

🔹 Demand better. Your tax dollars fund science—expect clarity, not secrecy.

🔹 Engage. Follow scientists who explain, not just publish. Ask questions. Push for transparency.

🔹 Support communicators. The ones breaking barriers need your voice behind them.

Administrators: Wok for Institutional Change:

🔹 Reward public engagement. Universities should value outreach like they do research.

🔹 Teach communication. Science students should learn how to explain, not just experiment.

🔹 Break the cycle. Stop treating public engagement as a career risk. Make it a career advantage.

Science belongs to everyone. Let’s start acting like it.

Until next time, have a M.A.G.I.C. Week,

Brian

Appearance

I appear (briefly) in this new video I made about the quest to understand the size of the universe. A series of debates explained through the lens of telescopes and the people who use them.

Let me know what you think about this new style of ‘explainer videos’ featuring my brand-new studio.

Genius

The geniuses at NASA made this cool tool showing what the Hubble Space Telescope Saw on your birthday 🎉

Here’s mine above: On September 9 in 2006, HST caught V838 Monocerotis Light Echo . This image shows a light echo from the star V838 Monocerotis. After the star brightened temporarily, light from that eruption began propagating outward through a dusty cloud around the star. The light reflects or “echoes” off the dust and then travels to Earth.

Image

Hubble Telescope’s Just Took a Jaw-Dropping New Photo Mosaic That Traces Andromeda Galaxy’s History!

Conversation

In this video, I sit down with Professor Konstantin Batygin, a leading astronomer at Caltech, to dive deep into his groundbreaking research on Planet Nine. We explore the intriguing—but still debated—evidence for this mysterious planet, its impact on the Kuiper Belt, and the challenges of observing it directly. Professor Batygin also reveals the science behind his work, including how N-body simulations are used to compare with actual data. We then take a journey through the formation of Jupiter, unpacking its unusual size and role in shaping the early solar system. Plus, we discuss the exciting future of planetary research, with the Vera Rubin Observatory poised to revolutionize our understanding. Don’t miss this fascinating conversation!

Click Here to Watch!

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Upcoming Episode

Dick Bond will be on The INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE Podcast soon. A leading cosmologist from the University of Toronto, Bond has shaped our understanding of the cosmic microwave background, dark matter, and the large-scale structure of the universe. His work laid the foundation for modern precision cosmology, influencing missions like WMAP and Planck. What burning questions do you have for one of the great theoretical minds in astrophysics?

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