Roots of the current crisis of science in the US: A conversation with Dr Stephan Lewandowsky

Full video is available here: https://youtu.be/TOunWyNiJFI

And an abbreviated transcript (intro only) here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hkFVGShLRG9G1KDqtuxyKZY9vAOafpIc/view?usp=sharing

We have an amazing guest today - Dr Stephan Lewandowsky, a leading cognitive scientist and an expert on misinformation. We will examine the roots of our current crisis of science in the US, and its implications for the future.

Professor Stephan Lewandowsky is the Chair of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Bristol in the UK. His research examines the consequences of the clash between social media architectures and human cognition, for example by researching countermeasures to the persistence of misinformation and spread of “fake news” in society, including conspiracy theories, and how platform algorithms may contribute to the prevalence of misinformation. He is also interested in the variables that determine whether or not people accept scientific evidence, for example surrounding vaccinations or climate science.

Our conversation touches on Dr Lewandowsky's career journey, his current work and what it means to be a cognitive scientist. We talk about the current US administration and the crisis of science, implications for the future, and some novel research directions that give him hope.