Flora has produced science media for 20 years across many formats. She got her start right here at Science Friday, working her way up from intern to fill-in host, and resident videographer. From there, she worked as a video producer for The New York Times, co-creating an Emmy-nominated film series that dramatized scientific discoveries using… paper puppets. She also was nominated for an Emmy for her writing on Bill Nye’s Netflix show “Bill Nye Saves the World.” She has created and launched a number of podcasts in various roles, including hosting Gimlet’s beloved “Every Little Thing,” which connected listeners to experts who could answer their burning questions. The show ran for five years and published over 200 episodes. In her previous role as Hypothesis Fund Managing Editor, she told the stories of world-class scientists pursuing bold new ideas in a new storytelling initiative, The Leap.
Making science accessible, relatable, and human has been a focus of Flora’s career. Some of her inspiration comes from her own experience in science: Long, long ago, she worked at a NATO oceanographic lab in Italy. For the lab’s research expeditions, she lived on a ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.
You can find her @flichtman on social media platforms.
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CERN finds a new particle + News alerts for the cosmos
New views of reality, from the discovery of a “super-heavy” subatomic particle to an alert system announcing changes from the universe.
Move over, vibe-coding. Vibe-proving is here for math
A few years ago, ChatGPT couldn’t do simple arithmetic. Now, some experts say that AI could make mathematicians obsolete.
Is Punch the monkey really just like us?
A young macaque at a zoo in Japan has a fan base that can’t get enough of him. Why are we so invested in the social life of one cute monkey?
Could bird flu still spark a pandemic?
As local reports of dead birds rise, the greatest human risk continues to fall on some of the most vulnerable: farm workers.
Why does fashion repeat in 20-year cycles? Math has the answer
A mathematician analyzed 150 years of women’s fashion to understand 20-year trend cycles, and how “optimal distinctiveness” drives change.
‘Project Hail Mary’ brings a new kind of alien to the big screen
Move over, Ryan Gosling: Rocky the alien is the breakout star of the big-budget movie adaptation of “Project Hail Mary.”
Building a digital ant gallery, from the ground up
How a particle accelerator, a robot, high-speed cameras, and 2,000 ants came together to paint a picture of biological diversity.
The heaviness and (not) hope of climate change
Elizabeth Kolbert has been writing about the environment for decades. And right now, she isn’t feeling optimistic.
Could a ‘digital twin’ help you get better health care?
Scientists are working to create “digital twins” of patients that they can test treatments on, in hopes of delivering personalized health care.
Who uses Farmers’ Almanacs? + Zebra finch home design
Have climate change and weather apps made Farmers’ Almanacs obsolete? Plus, home decorating tips from zebra finches.