Glenn Branch

@glennbranch.bsky.social

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Deputy Director, NCSE. Views expressed on BlueSky are my own and not necessarily NCSE's.

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My essay "The Evolution of Understanding the American Public's Understanding of Evolution" appears in Glenn H. Utter's forthcoming Religious Belief and Science: A Reference Handbook.

Religious Belief and Sciencewww.bloomsbury.com This resource helps readers navigate and better understand the religious, cultural, and political intersections of American views of religious faith and scienti…

Twelve years ago, my colleague Eric Meikle and I interviewed three museum professionals about teaching evolution in natural history museums and science centers.

Taking Students to the Museum: Interview with Warren D. Allmon, Judy Diamond, and Martin Weiss - Evolution: Education and Outreachevolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com Three museum professionals with extensive expertise in informal science education about evolution—Warren D. Allmon, Judy Diamond, and Martin Weiss—are interviewed about the interaction of teachers and...

"CO2 is the World's Dumbest Criminal": from Peter Sinclair's interview of @andrewdessler.bsky.social.

Andrew Dessler PhD: CO2 is the World's Dumbest Criminalwww.youtube.com More from my interview with Andrew Dessler PhD of Texas A&M University. He is Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and holder of the Reta A. Haynes Chair in Geoscience at Texas A&M University. He is also the Director of the Texas Center for Climate Studies.

My collaborator the distinguished political scientist Jon D. Miller addresses the question "Are Americans Really Anti-Science?" for Bay Area Skeptics.

Are Americans Really Anti-Science?www.youtube.com Lately, there has been much discussion in the media and even in academic journals about the supposed rise of “anti-science” in the United States. Examples te...

Paul Braterman observes that a lot of what young-earth creationists say about Noah's Ark is just confabulation.

Toilet Train Your Tyrannosaur - 3 Quarks Daily3quarksdaily.com by Paul Braterman

"It is not appropriate for a school board to impose its own values and ideas about what's good science and what isn't good science," I told the Houston Chronicle, with regard to the disturbing decision on the part of the Cy-Fair board of trustees to censor science textbooks there.

Cy-Fair ISD board removes vaccines, diversity from textbookswww.houstonchronicle.com Cy-Fair trustees voted 6-1 Monday to edit "controversial" material from approved textbooks, on topics such as climate change and vaccines, straining staff.

New monotremes just dropped!

'Echidnapus' hints at a lost age of egg-laying mammalswww.sciencenews.org The fossil discoveries double the number of known monotreme species during the Cretaceous Period.

"Climate Wars and Fragile Moments": an interview with @michaelemann.bsky.social, a member of NCSE's board of directors.

Climate Wars and Fragile Moments: An interview with Climate Scientist Michael Mannwww.youtube.com In this Climate Chat discussion, Michael Mann joins us to discuss the latest climate science as well as his recent books, Our Fragile Moment and The New Clim...

˙lɐǝp ƃᴉq ɐ ɥɔns sᴉ sᴉɥʇ ʎɥʍ ǝǝs ʇ,uop I

Was This Sea Creature Our Ancestor? Scientists Turn a Famous Fossil on its Head.www.nytimes.com Researchers have long assumed that a tube in the famous Pikaia fossil ran along the animal’s back. But a new study turned the fossil upside-side down.

I'm just going to plug this again: in the May 2024 issue of The American Biology Teacher, my colleague Blake Touchet and I offer "A Dozen Dos and Don'ts of Teaching Climate Change." (Subscription required; drop me a line if you want a PDF.)

A Dozen Dos and Don’ts of Teaching Climate Changeonline.ucpress.edu The teaching of global climate change is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the natural world. Global citizens must understand the scientific underpinnings of climate change to make well-f...

Whence “Arrival of the Fittest”?

Whence “Arrival of the Fittest”? | National Center for Science Educationncse.ngo

I am pleased to see that Matt Young at The Panda's Thumb shares my high opinion of @patdaniels.bsky.social's How to Teach Grown-Ups about Climate Change.

How to Teach Grown-Ups about Climate Change: A Reviewpandasthumb.org

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Glenn Branch

Publication day for Darwin Mythology: Debunking Myths, Correcting Falsehoods! You can look inside the book on the Press website, google books or amazon. www.cambridge.org/ch/universit...

So much for ansers in Genesis!

Prehistoric ‘giant goose’ comes into focus after new finds in remote Australiawww.science.org Newton’s thunder bird was heavy, aquatic, and flightless

I interviewed eight legislators about their climate change education measures, and the result was published today at Yale Climate Connections.

How to support climate change education in your state’s schools » Yale Climate Connectionsyaleclimateconnections.org Advice from eight lawmakers.

The question on everyone's lips: did Charles W. Eliot, the president of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909, agree that evolution is not science?

Coping with Eliot | National Center for Science Educationncse.ngo

@ravenscimaven.bsky.social did a little contract work for NCSE a while back, so I feel entitled to be vicariously enraged at her recent treatment in a real estate transaction, as reported by The New York Times today.

She Made an Offer on a Condo. Then the Seller Learned She Was Black.www.nytimes.com A Black woman claims a white homeowner tried to pull out of a sale because of her race.

We need more TV meteorologists like Jeff Berardelli, "the rare TV meteorologist willing to speak out directly and often about the impact climate change is having on hurricanes and our weather in general."

WFLA's Jeff Berardelli is one TV weatherman who doesn't shy away from climate changewww.wmnf.org With the start of Hurricane season just 10 days away, WMNF WaveMakers with Janet & Tom discussed the forecast and the impact climate change is having on severe weather with Jeff Beradelli, chief meteo...

Is it just me, or does "How do you name a dinosaur?" sound like an Act 2 closer?

How do you name a dinosaur?www.youtube.com Tyrannosaurus rex, Stegosaurus, Velociraptor–what’s in a dinosaur name? Join paleontologist Roger Benson as he explains the process for naming a dinosaur spe...

My reluctance to fly only increases when I hear about climate change increasing turbulence.

Singapore Airlines turbulence: why climate change is making flights rougherwww.nature.com Warming temperatures are likely to mean that more of your plane ride will have rocky conditions, creating potentially dangerous situations. Warming temperatures are likely to mean that more of your pl...

Theodore Graebner, a creationist who corresponded with Theodore Roosevelt, was responsible for one of the most enduring pseudo-Darwin quotations in the creationist literature, as I explained in a two-part blog post in 2014.

A Pseudo-Darwin Quotation, Part 1 | National Center for Science Educationncse.ngo

Congratulations to the Illinois legislature on passing HB 4895, a bill supporting climate change education in the Land of Lincoln. It's now on its way to Gov. Pritzker's desk.

Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB4895www.ilga.gov Bill Status - Illinois General Assembly

I wonder if there are any presidents besides Theodore Roosevelt to have conducted a personal correspondence about evolution with a creationist!

The Two Theodores | National Center for Science Educationncse.ngo

I was excited to discover that Lauren Madden was invited to discuss climate change education with Newshour!

Why young Americans are pushing for climate change to be taught in schoolswww.pbs.org As the planet warms and sea levels rise, eighty-five percent of Generation Z is concerned about climate change, according to a January Marist poll. In response, states like California, Connecticut and...

Sad news of the theologian Philip Hefner, a leader in science/religion dialogue.

Remembering Philip Hefner (1932–2024)www.zygonjournal.org Philip Hefner, a Lutheran theologian known for his work in connecting scientists with religious thinkers in dialogue, died on April 27, 2024, at his home in Chicago. He was 91. …

In the May 2024 issue of The American Biology Teacher, my colleague Blake Touchet and I offer "A Dozen Dos and Don'ts of Teaching Climate Change." (Subscription required; drop me a line if you want a PDF.)

Progress on solving Darwin's "abominable mystery"?

A New Tree of Flowering Plants? For Spring? Groundbreaking.www.nytimes.com By sequencing an enormous amount of data, a group of hundreds of researchers has gained new insights into how flowers evolved on Earth.

Community colleges are the unsung heroes of American education, so I was delighted to see the Associated Press sing the praises of their climate change education efforts in particular.

Community colleges offer clean energy training as climate-related jobs expand across Americaapnews.com As students across the nation consider jobs that play a role in solving the climate crisis, they’re looking for meaningful climate training.

The film critic Nell Minow discusses the film Inherit the Wind (1960) with the law professor Jonathan Hafetz on his Law on Film podcast.

Inherit the Wind (Guest Nell Minow) (episode 26) - Law on Filmwww.buzzsprout.com Inherit the Wind (1960) is a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial,

Mark your calendar (and book your ticket) for Michael E. Mann discussing his latest book, Our Fragile Moment, with Guardian Live: 4:00 p.m. Eastern on May 15.

Michael Mann: It’s not too late to prevent climate catastrophewww.theguardian.com “We haven’t yet exceeded the bounds of viable human civilisation”, climate scientist Michael Mann argues, “but we’re getting close.”