How Science Can Benefit from a Good Plot Twist

“The point of what I’m trying to do is to get people to remember the science and to think about the science, and I do that by trying to create as evocative a picture as I can,” says Ari Daniel PhD ’08, scientist turned journalist, in a recent MIT Career Lunch & Learn. Daniel, who earned his PhD in biological engineering in the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program, produces radio and multimedia content for NPR, NOVA, the New York Times, and more.

In this archived recording of the webinar, Daniel discusses how he uses powerful techniques of narrative and storytelling to communicate a wide array of science topics to a broad audience. To bring the realities of climate change alive for podcast listeners, for example, Daniel traveled to Guam to capture audio footage of a coral spawning event, accompanying researchers out on the water as they attempted to aid the reproduction of the endangered coral. As he explains, the fact that all did not go as expected—a common occurrence in science—only helped to shape the story.

The talk is moderated by Julie Pryor, communications officer at the MIT McGovern Institute.

Watch more archived Career Lunch & Learn webinars and learn about other upcoming MIT Alumni Association career programming.