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.
How the US patent system keeps drug prices high
Pharmaceutical companies can use overlapping patents to extend their exclusive rights to a drug, delaying production of cheaper generic forms.
A virus hunter in Nigeria has thoughts on the Ebola outbreak
A Nigeria-based molecular biologist breaks down the current Ebola outbreak, and what’s needed to improve disease monitoring across Africa.
How did Neanderthals deal with illness and injuries?
Up to 94% of Neanderthals suffered at least one traumatic injury in their lifetime. How did their healthcare keep up?
Can the shingles vaccine stave off dementia?
A growing body of research suggests that some common vaccinations have benefits far beyond preventing the disease they were designed for.
Meet the drug developer taking on wildlife diseases
Chemist Tim Cernak has a wild to-do list: Cure sea turtle cancer. Save frogs from fungal diseases. Take on avian flu.
Inside the Nebraska quarantine facility responding to hantavirus
The National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska is housing 18 people exposed to hantavirus, and preparing for possible cases of Ebola exposure.
Surveying wildlife along Lewis and Clark’s route, 220 years later
A new wildlife survey follows Lewis and Clark’s route, 220 years later. And, cell and GPS data show how animals react to humans’ presence.
Pope Leo’s encyclical on AI, and the Vatican science advisors
On the release of Pope Leo’s encyclical about AI, we peek inside the Vatican academy that helps inform the pope’s scientific views.
Bizarre exoplanet clouds + Counting insects with weather radar
Astronomers have spotted clouds of vaporized sand on an exoplanet. And, weather radar data reveal insects in U.S. skies—100 trillion of them.
Is that spooky old house full of ghosts, or just infrasound?
Low-frequency noises that humans can feel, but not hear, may be behind the spooky feeling of old houses—and serve as a warning to animals.