Merging supermassive black holes, and communicating science in the age of social media

On this week’s show: What we can learn from two supermassive black holes that appear to be on a collision course with each other, and the brave new online world in which social media dominates and gatekeeps public access to scientific information

First up, Staff Writer Daniel Clery talks with host Sarah Crespi about the possibly imminent merger of two supermassive black holes in a nearby galaxy. How imminent? We might see a signal as early as 100 days from now. 

Also, this week we have a special section on science and social media. In her contribution, Dominique Brossard, professor and chair in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, talks about the shift in the source of scientific information away from traditional publishers, newspapers, etc. to social media platforms, and what it means for the future of science communication.

Finally, we share some tweets about the relationship of social media and science communication submitted by young readers in our Letters section. You can read our picks here or check out all the submissions on Twitter at #NextGenSci.

This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.

[Image: NASA’S GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

[alt: simulation of a pair of supermassive black holes on the cusp of merging]

Authors: Sarah Crespi; Daniel Clery

Episode page:  https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ada1028

About the Science Podcast: https://www.science.org/content/page/about-science-podcast 

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