The DISRUPTED SCIENCE Podcast

August 27, 2025 — Science ≠ Tech, Tech ≠ Science

Today, we dive into a few aspects of the imposition of tech thinking into the scientific endeavor, including business models, AI, accidental certifications, and new NIH policies. 

 

Show Notes

Jessica Knurick post: https://drjessicaknurick.substack.com/p/trust-the-science-doesnt-mean-what

Comet Plus: https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-comet-plus

"Scholarly Kitchen" guest post by Mike Olson: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/08/26/guest-post-beyond-classification-the-human-cost-of-library-and-information-labor-under-digital-capitalism/

Clay Shirky on the return of the Blue Books: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/opinion/culture/ai-chatgpt-college-cheating-medieval.html

Pygmy sea horses: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/science/evolution-genetics-seahorses.html

Video of pygmy sea horses (NatGeo): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4q3sBuCkRQ

Better bee food to thwart colony collapse: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250822073807.htm

See our book cover: https://www.the-geyser.com/how-the-internet-disrupted-science/ 

Provoke the Truth (pod music) — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

Contact us: DISRUPTEDSCIENCE@GMAIL.COM 

August 20, 2025 — Interview with Jason Steinhauer, Author of "History, Disrupted"

It's our first interview for the podcast, and we landed a great guest!

Jason Steinhauer is a “public historian” working at the intersection of history, tech, media and politics. He writes and speaks about how social media, tech, and A.I. are shaping our history, politics, democracy, and future. His 2021 book, “History, Disrupted,” touches on many of the same issues we discuss in our forthcoming book about expertise, gatekeepers, the sharing of knowledge, and how information incentives work.

Link to his book: https://www.amazon.com/History_-Disrupted_-How-Social-Media-and-the-World-Wide-Web-Have-Changed-the-Past/dp/3030851168/

Link to his newsletter: https://jasonsteinhauer.substack.com/

Link to his page: https://www.jasonsteinhauer.com/ 

Link to the FT story about Sam Altman’s desecration of the kitchen: https://www.ft.com/content/b1804820-c74b-4d37-b112-1df882629541 

Provoke the Truth (pod music) — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

Contact us: DISRUPTEDSCIENCE@GMAIL.COM 

August 13, 2025 — Looking Ahead

A brief episode to talk about where the podcast has been and exciting plans for where it is going next. Also, two great "Discoveries of the Week," and don't miss this week's silly sign-off in honor of National Joke Day.

 

August 6, 2025 — The Dumbest Ad Business

Paid OA has co-opted editors into paid placement collaborators within publishers. We talk about the implications of this, explore it as a cleaner thought experiment and its implications, and reflect on how dumb a business it is if the goal is article placement commerce.

Also, we discuss the related issue of why paper mills and others exist and are flooding the literature.

PNAS paper: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2420092122

NYTimes coverage: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/science/04hs-science-papers-fraud-research-paper-mills.html

Provoke the Truth (pod music) — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

Contact us: DISRUPTEDSCIENCE@GMAIL.COM 

July 30, 2025 — The Coming AI Winter

In this episode, we talk about "gaslight" preprints, retractions, and then explore some of the signs that we may be approaching an "AI winter" due to high expenses, lackluster offerings, a conceptual bubble bursting, and more. Inspired by Ed Zitron's work, we apply it to some scientific publishing offerings, as well.

 

Our "Discoveries of the Week" involve music, books, and delight.

 

Show Notes

"Gaslight" preprints — https://www.the-geyser.com/now-its-gaslight-preprints/

Ed Zitron's newsletter — https://www.wheresyoured.at/

Ed Zitron's podcast — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-offline/id1730587238

Hum "manifesto" — https://blog.hum.works/posts/the-alchemist-future 

Katina review of AI tools — https://katinamagazine.org/content/article/reviews/2025/deep-dive-into-three-ai-academic-search-tools 

Our Cactus Communications interview — https://allthingsscicomm.buzzsprout.com/1933426/episodes/17561515-rethinking-science-communication-beyond-technology-trends 

Joy's "Discovery of the Week" — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOigILEBilo 

Kent's "Discovery of the Week" — https://www.amazon.com/Genius-Myth-Curious-History-Dangerous/dp/B0DX9W74SZ/ 

Provoke the Truth (pod music) — https://provokethetruth.net/ 

 

July 23 — Sci Pub's Epstein Files, the Farm Report, and Discoveries of the Week

The USDA is quashing scientific research. Ozzy leaves us. And two discoveries of the week. Music stings provided by friend of the pod, Lucas, at Provoke the Truth: https://provokethetruth.net/

 

Related posts:

https://www.the-geyser.com/scientific-pubs-epstein-file/

https://www.the-geyser.com/sci-pubs-epstein-files-part-2/

https://www.the-geyser.com/fascism-comes-to-the-farm/

 

July 16 — Sleuths and Dirty Laundry, Peer Review Congress Agenda, YLE Praising NIH Caps, AUP "Mass Resignation," Update on "Gaslight Journals," Rick Tackles CC, and Adam Becker's New Book

We tackle a host of topics and try new technology

• Sleuths and Dirty Laundry
• Peer Review Congress Agenda
• YLE Praising NIH Caps
• AUP "Mass Resignation"
• Update on "Gaslight Journals"
• Rick Tackles CC
• Adam Becker's New Book and Kara Swisher Interview

ALSO, "Discoveries of the Week" that will chill you out and make you feel alive!

July 10 — MAHA and the NIH Disrupt Publishing

In this week's special episode, we cover some recent news (medical groups suing HHS, NSF grants icing out biomedicine, and sleuths being leveraged for anti-science), dive into the recent interview the Director of the NIH had with Charlie Kirk, give a book update, and share our Discoveries of the Week.