In their recent book, Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future, Chris Mooney Sheril Kirshenbaum argue that while science matters more than ever before to domestic and world affairs, to our economy, and to our very future, Americans are paying less and less attention to science and scientists. Whether the subject’s climate change, the energy crisis, controversial biomedical research, the threat of global pandemics, nuclear proliferation, or tech-savvy terrorism–the list goes on–the American public lacks the most rudimentary knowledge it needs to weigh in on important policy decisions.

Mooney and Kirshenbaum argue pretty persuasively that there’s more than enough blame to go around for this sad state of affairs–it lies with public education, with the media, with political partisanship and with scientists themselves. And they put forward some common-sense initiatives aimed at bridging the divide, or starting to, between the scientific community and the rest of us.

I had Mooney and Kirshenbaum on the phone last month to talk about Unscientific America. Take a listen and let us know what you think.

Part 1 (11:28)

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• How they got to worrying about the disconnect between science and the public.
• Some scientists are conscious that this is a problem.
• Science and the 2008 election.
• The Obama administration is pretty science friendly, but the problem goes way deeper than who’s in power.
• Media coverage of science dwindling even as science becomes more important.
• Why the explosion of new media is a mixed blessing for science coverage.
• Post World War II was a golden age for the public interest in science. How we got from there to here.

Part 2 (7:18)

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• Increasing specialization has made scientists more isolated from the public.
• If you think science is throwing some difficult policy challenges our way, wait till you see what’s coming.
• How we start closing the gap between science and the larger culture. Start with how we train scientists. Create “an army for science.”

About Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum

Chris Mooney, author of Storm World and the New York Times bestseller The Republican War on Science, is a contributing editor to Science Progress. He writes for many publications, including Wired, Slate, and the American Prospect. With Sheril Kirshenbaum, he blogs at The Intersection.

Sheril Kirshenbaum is a marine scientist and research associate at Duke University. She previously served as a congressional science fellow. With Chris Mooney, she blogs at The Intersection. .

What level of responsibility do hate talkers like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly bear for the violent acts of their fans and followers?

Do liberals who appear on Fox News shows inadvertently legitimize the violent rhetoric and bigotry of their hosts?

How did ideas and language and ideas once associated with right-wing fringe groups seep into mainstream conservative discourse?

Authors David Neiwert and Joe Conason tackle these and related questions in this two-part Progressive Book Club podcast. Neiwert’s recent book, The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right, is one of PBC’s July selections. It’s a richly detailed account of how mainstream conservatism came to be infected by a style of politics he dubs “Eliminationism” — a species of violent rhetoric eschews dialogue and democratic debate in favor of the pursuit or outright elimination of the opposing side, either through suppression, exile, and ejection, or extermination.

This conversation was recorded on July 1.

Part I (8:34)

* How David came to write the book.
* What is Eliminationism and who are the Eliminationists?
* How much responsibility do mainstream hate talkers like O’Reilly and Hannity bear for violent acts committed by their followers and fans?
* Do liberals who appear on Fox shows and others in a way legitimate hate talkers and their violent rhetoric?

Click on the link and press play to listen.

David Neiwert and Joe Conason: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right (Part I)

Part II (9:08)

* Is Eliminationism un-American or is it deeply rooted in American history? (Or both?)
* How do we combat eliminationist rhetoric?
* Is it time to make conservatives to pay a price for not distancing themselves from hate talkers?
* How serious a problem for American society is the violent and intolerant rhetoric issuing from the far right and mainstream conservatism?

Click on the link and press play to listen.

David Neiwert and Joe Conason: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right (Part II)

About David Neiwert and Joe Conason

David Neiwert, author of The Eliminationists, Strawberry Days, Death on the Fourth of July, and In God’s Country, is a journalist and author based in Seattle. His reportage on domestic terrorism for MSNBC.com won a National Press Club Award in 2000. He is the founder of the award-winning blog Orcinus and the managing editor of the blog Crooks and Liars.

Joe Conason is national correspondent for the New York Observer, where he writes a weekly column distributed by Creators Syndicate. He is also a columnist for Salon.com, and the Director of the Nation Institute Investigative Fund. His books Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth, and The Hunting of the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton, with Gene Lyons, were both national bestsellers; his most recent book, It Can Happen Here: Authoritarian Peril in the Age of Bush, was released in February 2007.