Who are we, truly, without our friends and communities? This week, Steph and Rey share some stories from the heart: Rey reflects on her trip to Hiroshima and the forming of an unlikely friendship. Steph shares how a scene from Avatar: The Last Airbender broke her (in the most wholesome way possible). Listen to the podcast and learn more about Steph and Rey’s principles of SciComm community building and red flags to be aware of.  

Learn more about Rey and Steph at:

http://scicommhotline.com

Message your hot takes to [email protected] 

Here’s the Aspen Institute panel that sent Steph over the edge and led to us scrapping the episode: https://www.youtube.com/live/SJD1GOyInyA?si=j4Ol_XAaL4Ogo0Qp 

Here are some communities we mentioned, and you should check out: 

• US-Japan Leadership Program (USJLP) – A binational leadership initiative convened by the United States-Japan Foundation that brings together emerging American and Japanese changemakers for immersive conferences, building a lifelong network of Delegates and Fellows: us-jf.org/en/usjlp

• ComSciCon – A series of science communication workshops organized by graduate students for graduate students: comscicon.org
• STEM Success Summit – An event providing skills training, workforce development, and internship/apprenticeship services: https://www.stemedia.com/experience/stem-success-summit

• National Geographic Society – A leading nonprofit focused on exploration, education, storytelling, and environmental science: nationalgeographic.org

• Jackson Wild Media Lab – A competitive, fully funded, immersive nine-day filmmaking and science storytelling workshop by Jackson Wild: https://www.jacksonwild.org/media-lab?utm_source=chatgpt.com 

• AAAS Mass Media Fellowship (also known as the AAAS Science & Engineering Mass Media Fellowship) – A 10-week summer program placing science, engineering, and mathematics students and postdocs at media organizations: massmedia.secure-platform.com

• Civic Science Fellowship – A program that embeds emerging leaders in organizations at the interface of science and society, under collaborations like the Rita Allen Foundation's Civic Science Fellows: civicsciencefellows.org

• Gilliam Fellowship (HHMI) – The Gilliam Fellows Program launches promising PhD students into impactful scientific research careers while fostering inclusive training environments: https://www.hhmi.org/programs/gilliam-fellows