In a first father-daughter interview on the podcast, Bill and Emma Dauster discuss important science communication and policy issues, including:
– Approaches that Bill, a longtime public policy expert, has found scientists employ that are particularly effective in getting their message across to politicians and common missteps to avoid
– Notable differences between persuading a scientific advisor compared to a politician that a research project is important and/or deserving of funding
– How Emma’s science background as a PhD student in Neuroscience and Behavior informs her views on politics
– When Bill was working in the Senate and the White House, which qualities and skills did effective scientist-staffers he supervised or worked with seem to possess
– The best entry points for scientists who want to get into the policy arena, including at the local, state, or federal level and Legislative Branch compared to Executive Branch
– The importance of diversity in research
– Scientists are trained to “follow the data”, but public policies are shaped by, and embedded with, political considerations like the “equity” of a proposal, not just how efficient it may be, or the power of certain group in society to bend a policy to its benefit, for example. How these factors can challenge scientists interested in policymaking, as it’s not just “all about the data”
