Ira Flatow of Science Friday Coming To Casper
Award-winning science correspondent Ira Flatow of the popular NPR radio show and podcast "Science Friday" will be in Casper this fall, just one day before the Solar Eclipse. According to a release from The Science Zone, Flatow's presentation "Science Is Sexy" will explore how social media, television, film, and even advertising are helping to "satisfy the public's thirst for science and technology."
"If you want to capture the public's attention, you create a science-based piece of media", Flatow told us. "Look at the films lately that are winning awards. There's a new movie that's coming out about Einstein. The money, the people who invest in the media know something that most people don't, is that people love science. they'll go watch it, they'll go listen to it, we know from our own ratings, they'll search it out on websites, so science now is, in general, smart is the new sexy. "
Flatow, who is not a scientist himself, sees himself as a sort of translator, seeking to understand the science and just tell it to people. "My aim is to make science a topic around the dinner table. As much as you sit down and you say 'Hey, did you see who won the sports, or did you see the stock market?' I want people to say something like, 'Hey, guess what I heard on Science Friday today, or on my radio or on my podcast', and make it a topic of conversation."
Science has recently been used as a political talking point, and Flatow says that never used to be a topic among scientists or politicians before. He says science was accepted by both parties, and funding was secure. "We knew we had to fund science because it has to do with our health, it has to do with our commerce, with our industry. Nothing is possible, there are no inventions possible, there are no businesses, new businesses that can be created without the technology that science helps create. And everybody understood that, so if it's political it's because the politicians made it political."
Flatow will give his presentation Sunday, August 20th, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. at the Casper College Wheeler Concert Hall. Early Bird Tickets are on sale now for $50.00, $75.00 for raised view, the prices will go up June 1st. You can find information on how to purchase tickets HERE.