Author: David Shiffman

Tons of Shark Week shows are full of obvious pseudoscientific nonsense, and yet feature real scientists. Why would these people agree to do that? In my capacity as “Shark Week’s Biggeset Critic,” I’m asked this question a lot, and while I can’t speak for others and their decision-making processes, based on what colleagues have told … Read More “Why would a serious scientist agree to participate in a nonsense Shark Week show?” »

Jaws turned 50 this week, and I spoke with a lot of journalists about it. I wrote about what’s happened to sharks in the 50 years since Jaws came out- some of the worst years in these animals 450 million year history- for the Revelator. Jaws at 50: Was the Terrifying Movie Really to Blame … Read More “A roundup of my media outreach for Jaws’ 50th anniversary” »

Social media is, despite it’s challenges and limitations, an incredibly powerful (and widely used) professional tool for scientists. One common use of social media is to share one’s research with colleagues, or to find papers shared by others to read. And yet, despite the idea that sharing links to research online is not exactly new, … Read More “It’s 2025. Why do so many scientific journal articles still display weird when shared on social media?” »