Posts Tagged ‘Bill Nye’

On GMOs, Cultural Brokers, and Sticky Narratives

A Zurich-based think tank asks: “Who is influencing the way we think today? Whose ideas are determining ours?”  To answer that question, it teamed up with an MIT researcher to rank the world’s top 100 thought leaders of 2014. The Oxford dictionary defines a thought leader as someone “whose views on a subject are taken to be…Continue Reading…

Bill Nye Had a Fixed View on GMOs. Then Something Happened.

A decade ago, Bill Nye, aka The Science Guy, did a segment on GMOs for his TV show. His approach surprised some who saw it years later. “It was weightily anti-GMO, something I wouldn’t have expected from Bill Nye,” one writer has noted. You can watch it yourself and decide. Others have rendered their judgement: Greenpeace,…Continue Reading…

How to Treat Celebrities that Champion and Muddy Science?

Last summer I was at a party where the guests included a bunch of successful heart surgeons. I spoke at length with one of them (I’ll refer to him as Dr. X) who has known and sometimes worked with Dr. Oz at New York-Presbyterian hospital in Manhattan. Dr. X is in his 40s. He told me Oz had…Continue Reading…

Bill Nye Gets Invited to Attend Another GMO Debate

If you missed the recent Intelligence Squared debate on GMOs, it’s worth watching. Or if you prefer, read the transcript.  Like Nathanael Johnson, I was initially dubious about the event, then pleasantly surprised at how it turned out. I was also a kinda surprised to see Bill Nye (The Science Guy) piggyback on it: They’re debating…Continue Reading…

Open Letter to Bill Nye from a Plant Scientist

Below is an open letter from Kevin Folta, a plant scientist at the University of Florida, Gainsville. In recent years, Folta has taken a leading role as an educator on the subject of agricultural biotechnology. He often engages with GMO critics and foes. Folta is a professor in a public institution and his research is…Continue Reading…

Bill Nye Explains Why he is a GMO Skeptic

Bill Nye, stalwart defender of evolution and climate science, has a new book out called, Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation. Nye, for those unfamiliar with him, is a popular science communicator. He also relishes verbal debate. In recent years, he’s become known for taking on creationists and climate skeptics. Nye’s reputation as a…Continue Reading…