Looking Back and Looking Forward: A Year of How We Talk About Science
In this brief retrospective piece, we take a look back at what we've accomplished in our first year and what we're planning for the year ahead.
Introduction: How Did We Get Here?
A little under a year ago today, at the behest of one of my friends, I begrudgingly made a Substack account and created a draft of what would become the How We Talk About Science site. At the time, I had wanted to more seriously contribute to science communication efforts and create my own model of what science writing could look like. However, a recent rejection from a writing fellowship had left me unsure about whether I really had what it took to be a science writer. My friend Celia, never one to let her friends get down on themselves, introduced me to the Substack platform and encouraged me to start my own. After a few months of deliberating, I took the plunge, and the rest, as they say, is history.
A month or so after starting out, my friend Jess reached out to me to let me know how much she loved the site. A month after that, I reached out to ask if she would be open to helping me develop a new section focused on the achievements and perspectives of women in STEM. With that, we began a collaborative partnership that has expanded the content of the blog, led to the creation of two new sections, and has started to bring in contributors and guest writers. Here, we’ll recap what we’ve been able to accomplish together so far and where we hope to take How We Talk About Science next year.
What We’ve Accomplished So Far
When How We Talk About Science first began, it only had two of its now four existing sections: Thoughts On… and The Latest. In its infancy, I wanted the blog to take a two-pronged approach to discussing science: one focused on highlighting current issues and one focused on discussing recent research, respectively. However, much like science itself, these sections evolved to encompass different types of content and respond directly to ongoing issues and crises. Before we delve into our new sections, let’s reflect on how our first sections grew over the course of the year.
As the emergence of devastating natural disasters and disease outbreaks spurred misinformation online, we sought to provide fact-based context to debunk misinformation and conspiracy theories using our Thoughts On… section. Immediately following the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, and in anticipation of Hurricane Milton, I set out to debunk false claims circling online and to illustrate the real world consequences of misinformation, particularly as it pertained to hurricane victims. Additionally, with the recent increase in cases of avian flu in cattle and humans, Jess began providing context and updates about the virus’s spread both nationally and worldwide. Using her training as a virologist, Jess has provided up-to-date information about avian flu developments via new content as well as rebuttals for emerging conspiracy theories about the virus. In the coming year, and, in particular, as the new presidential administration begins its attacks on science in the U.S., we plan to continue our discussions of current issues in science and society through future Thoughts On… installments.
While some scientific discoveries garner instant recognition and press, there are always exciting studies being published that don’t make their way out to the general public. The second section I created, The Latest, was meant to address this gap and bring you the latest science in an accessible manner. More than that, though, I wanted to play around with how we bring this science to you. In trying to simplify science for a lay audience, science writers can run into issues like sensationalism and unintentionally communicate claims that don’t fully capture the nuance of the research. Additionally, given rising public mistrust in science and the propagation of misinformation, I wondered: how can we present science in a way that is still accessible to non-experts, but gives readers the tools to understand it for themselves? With that, The Latest subseries, Journal Clubs, was born.

In the scientific world, journal clubs are typically meetings where someone will present the findings of a recent study, which are discussed by scientists. The purpose of these meetings can vary; sometimes, it’s to keep up with the latest research in the field, to inform ongoing projects in the lab, or to see how scientists from other fields of biology approach questions. I wanted to apply this format to my writing and see if I could find a middle ground through which readers could understand the science for themselves. The first entry into this series covered the development of the golden apple snail as a model for eye regeneration, and was soon followed by another piece focused on a new method that makes marine invertebrate tissues more optically clear for high-resolution imaging. However, as I spoke with friends and family, I realized that these pieces were still science-heavy and inconveniently long for those with a casual interest in science. To address this, I created a new series under The Latest, Fixations, meant to more quickly summarize findings and communicate the significance of the works. So far, we’ve talked about flatworm stem cells and snakeskin patterning, but in the coming year, we’re eager to expand beyond the field of developmental biology and bring you the latest science from all over. We’ll also be workshopping Journal Clubs and continuing to think about the best way to make the science accessible for readers.
While I was excited to discuss the science and the issues surrounding it, however, I also wanted to bring light to the issues that face women in science, in particular. After several conversations about our lives in science, including the struggles we were facing, my friend Jess and I began Looking Forward: Women in STEM with the goal of drawing attention to issues facing women at each stage in their scientific career. Our inaugural piece interviewed ten women across various scientific fields and education levels, highlighting their experiences, their hopes, and their thoughts on the future of science. We are incredibly thankful for the amazing women that shared their stories and grateful to those of you who read and shared the piece, helping this section take off. In subsequent pieces, we discussed the data surrounding the “leaky pipeline” of women leaving science, as well as a review of the 2023 book, The Exceptions, which covers the experiences of scientist Dr. Nancy Hopkins and her colleagues and their fight against discrimination at MIT. Recently, I participated in an event discussing The Exceptions at the National Institutes of Health and had the opportunity to introduce Dr. Nancy Hopkins herself! In the coming year, we plan to continue raising awareness of issues facing women in science and advocating for actions to confront these issues head-on.
For a while, between the three sections, How We Talk About Science felt complete. However, in speaking with my friend Addison, we realized that there wasn’t a space for content on how science plays a role in our everyday lives. While The Latest provides insight into recent research, we didn’t necessarily have a place to talk about how the science we generate factors into the things we experience. Passionate to write about the natural phenomena that surrounds us, Addison spearheaded the development of a new section, Everyday Science, and wrote our inaugural piece on how and why leaves change in the fall. Through this section, we aim to focus on real-world understanding of science and how science is intertwined with our lives. While Addison already has plans to write a piece on winter adaptations in the new year, we hope to continue building up this section in the future and generating content that combines different branches of science into the big picture.
With a doubling of its existing sections and recruitment of new contributors to How We Talk About Science, this first year has been marked by growth and experimentation as we play around with the ways in which we talk about science and communicate it to lay audiences. While it’s been an incredible first year, Jess and I are particularly eager to tell you about what’s next.
Where We’re Going
After a jam-packed year, Jess and I are excited to continue expanding the content of How We Talk About Science in addition to growing our reach and audience. With four sections worth of content, each with different focuses and aims, we aim to continue providing updates on current events, breaking down the latest research, and drawing attention to ongoing issues in science. Already, we’re planning on publishing pieces on topics ranging from a review of the recent National Geographic documentary For Winter to a retrospective piece on vaccines and where we are now. Every person that has contributed to How We Talk About Science has strengthened it, and we can’t wait to see how the blog continues to grow alongside both its writers and readers.

Speaking of contributions, we are also excited to announce that, starting in January 2025, we are formally opening How We Talk About Science to guest writers and contributors. When I named the blog, I wanted to encapsulate not only the different methods of communicating science but also the fact that it takes a village to do it effectively. Jess, Addison, and I all have different kinds of expertise ranging from virology to evolutionary developmental biology, but we want to create a space where lay audiences can read about topics from a variety of other disciplines. If you would like to submit a piece for consideration, please use the following Google Form. You can also access our writing guidelines and expectations for submission here. These documents are also linked in our About page and can be accessed at any time. If you have any questions, you can reach out to us at howwetalkaboutscience@gmail.com.
Similarly, we would love to hear from you, the readers! If you have feedback on pieces, suggestions for future content, or any questions about the science, please feel free to reach out to us at the email listed above or leave comments with what you would like to see. This is, and always was intended to be, a community effort, and we will always take your thoughts and suggestions into consideration.
Conclusion
As we all look towards a new year, we wanted to take a moment to say how grateful we are to those of you who have joined us on this journey and to everyone who has read and participated in our pieces. While we may not know exactly what 2025 will bring, we will do our best to navigate developments in science and society and bring you accurate, fact-checked information. Science will be under threat, but our hope is that by communicating science accessibly and providing you with the tools to understand it, we will be able to carve out a space where science can be communicated freely and without censorship. We hope you will join us in this mission, and we are excited to see what the next year has in store for How We Talk About Science.
Until next year, Isabella & Jessica from How We Talk About Science