Matthew C. Nisbet
Associate Professor of Communication, Northeastern University
Matthew C. Nisbet, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Public Policy, and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University. Nisbet studies the role of communication and advocacy in policymaking and public affairs, focusing on debates over over climate change, energy, and sustainability. Among awards and recognition, Nisbet has been a Visiting Shorenstein Fellow on Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, a Health Policy Investigator at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a Google Science Communication Fellow. In 2011, the editors at the journal Nature recommended Nisbet's research as “essential reading for anyone with a passing interest in the climate change debate,” and the New Republic highlighted his work as a “fascinating dissection of the shortcomings of climate activism."
–Guest post by Josephine Chu, graduate student at American University. In the last ten years, the rise of a variety of web-based and social media platforms has dramatically changed the […]
— Guest post by Emma Waldman, American University student. Scientist-turned filmmaker Randy Olson argues that it takes more than literal-minded facts and information to communicate about topics like climate change to […]
–Guest post by Amanda Frank, graduate student at American University. Contemporary debates over climate change reveal the inherent complexity of the issue, which the New York Times’ Andrew Revkin refers […]
Call me a proud alum. If you haven’t yet heard of Jim Yong Kim, the Dartmouth College president nominated by Obama today to head the World Bank, then welcome to […]
Following the demise of cap and trade legislation, green group leaders acknowledged that despite spending several hundred million dollars to pass the bill, they were unable to create public demand […]
Specific to climate change and energy related activities, environmental groups outspent conservative groups and their industry association allies $394 million to $259 million.
A new study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology finds that in comparison to young Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, today’s high school seniors and college freshmen are […]
–Guest post by Erin Brett, American University student. Although the great majority of climate scientists believe that climate change is a serious threat, only two percent of Americans mentioned the […]
–Guest post by Meredith Hollingsworth, American University student. In 2004, Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger boldly declared in a white paper the death of environmentalism. They argued that the movement […]
–Guest Post by Declan Fahy, AoE Science & Culture correspondent. There is a scene in The Iron Lady when former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is asked by her doctor […]
–Guest post by American University student Becca Stern. People are often scared of topics they do not understand, explain Matthew R. Hartings and Declan Fahy in their article “Communicating Chemistry […]
–Guest post by Kathrina Maramba, American University graduate student. Recently, Dr. David Agus appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to promote his new book The End of Illness. “Why […]
The Climate Reality Project has produced an online video short linking effectively for viewers the parallels between the tobacco industry’s attempts to lie and downplay the threat of smoking with […]
Environmental groups and climate activists have been harshly critical of Mitt Romney’s unfortunate backtracking on climate science and his commitment to policy action. Much of the criticism has argued that […]
In January, super PACs out fundraised and spent their aligned GOP candidates. Given that independent TV ads tend to be disportionately more negative than candidate ads, there has been a […]
Peter Gleick, a water and climate analyst at the Pacific Institute and member of the National Academies, has admitted in a blog post at the Huffington Post to having obtained […]
Gasoline prices have never been higher this time of the year, reports the Associated Press. At $3.53 a gallon, prices are already up 25 cents since Jan. 1. And experts say […]
This week, NOAA’s Climate Service and Climate Watch magazine launched a video short course and lecture series featuring a diversity of world class experts explaining the major scientific, social, and […]
Today marks the start of the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the world’s great scientific meetings. Many of the panels held in Vancouver […]
See update on scientist Peter Gleick’s role in the case. The blogosphere and Twitterverse lit up today with outrage over the contents of alleged strategy and budget documents leaked from […]
Like climate change or poverty, political polarization in the United States may itself be a “wicked” problem, not something we are going to solve or end over the next decade, […]
This semester, students from a diversity of majors at American University are participating in an advanced seminar I am teaching on science and environmental communication. For the first part of the […]
On January 19-21, the University of Michigan’s Erb Institute and the Union of Concerned Scientists hosted a major summit of more than 100 social scientists, scientists, professionals, and political leaders […]
–Guest post by Declan Fahy, AoE’s Science and Culture correspondent. Writer David Milch, a creator of NYPD Blue and Deadwood, was quoted in a talk by author Michael Crichton as […]
In Monday’s GOP primary debate, Newt Gingrich earned praise from conservatives while drawing justifiable anger from many for his labeling of Barack Obama as the “food stamp president.” As the […]
The polarized state of American politics has once again brought speculation and claims about a rising tide of anti-science in America and an attack on reason. The prominence of such […]
— Guest post by Declan Fahy, AoE Science and Culture Correspondent (Twitter @fahydeclan) The media largely failed to give a measured account of its role in Stephen Hawking’s life and […]
Social protest may be the most difficult type of event for journalists to cover, especially when the protest offers few visible leaders or concrete policy goals and when much of […]
Over the past decade, there has been an explosion of research from the social and behavioral sciences offering insight on how individuals, social groups and political systems come to understand […]
–Guest post by Patrick Riley, AoE Culture Correspondent and Filmmaker. Nothing changes on New Year’s Day? U2’s Bono had it right – at least when it comes to media coverage […]