Science AMA Series: We’re David Pogue, tech guru and host of 16 NOVA
programs, and Chris Schmidt, NOVA senior producer. Today, we launched
NOVA’s first crowdfunding campaign, because we think involving people in
science is important. Ask us anything!
Abstract
Hi, everyone! I’m David Pogue—former New York Times tech columnist,
current Yahoo tech critic, and—most importantly for today’s
conversation—the host of 16 NOVA programs that have aired on PBS! Some
of those include the MAKING STUFF and MAKING STUFF 2 series, and the
two-hour HUNTING THE ELEMENTS movie: a crash course on the periodic
table that over 10 million people have watched so far. Today, we’re
embarking on a Kickstarter journey—not only to make a sequel to
HUNTING THE ELEMENTS, called BEYOND THE ELEMENTS, but to gain a deeper
connection with NOVA’s audience.We think that more engaging science
programming can be a key to generating public excitement for science and
scientific discovery. I’ve also got Chris Schmidt with me. He’s a Senior
Producer at NOVA, with decades of award-winning science television under
his belt. (Chris’s IMDB page) He’s done a ton of stuff at PBS,
Dreamworks Animation, The Discovery Channel, History Channel, National
Geographic, Animal Planet, and others. He’ll be producing and directing
BEYOND THE ELEMENTS. Together, we’ve had some wild adventures making
documentaries that attempt to engage all levels of science lovers. We’re
here to talk about making science television, the importance of science
literacy, and the role that media plays in educating the public about
science. And about how we think the audience should be part of it all!
Ask us anything! Watch our latest doc, SEARCH FOR THE SUPER BATTERY,
tomorrow, February 1, at 9/8c on most PBS stations. (Check your local
listings to confirm.) And check out our Kickstarter campaign to Make
Science for All! #scienceforall 1:36 PM ET: We’re here people! Looking
forward to answering your questions. Here’s the proof (for science!):
https://youtu.be/T2cu-1jiki0 2:43 PM ET: Answering diligently! Planning
on being around for another 90 mins or so! 4:27 PM ET: Thanks for all
your questions! We’ll be checking back in over the next 24 hours and
following up if you have more for us. In the meantime, lets Make Science
for All!