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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Maine nearly became the first state to ban data centers
Maine shows how public mobilization is making a difference in determining where data centers go, and how they impact local communities.
What urban design tells us about democracy
Archaeologists can use the design of ancient temples, plazas, and cities to piece together the story of how a place was governed.
How do you describe nature? Two poets help us
For Earth Day, we wanted to know how to best put our feelings about nature into words. Two poets help us out.
The lucky breaks that make our Earth home
An astrophysicist explores all that it took for life to exist on Earth, from the formation of stars to self-organizing molecules.
Simone Giertz’s journey from robot comedy to high-end design
Inventor Simone Giertz rose to YouTube fame with comically bad robots. Now she designs comically useful objects for our very normal problems.
When a dolphin whistles, what does it mean?
Recordings from a decades-long research project in Florida are helping scientists decode the complexity of dolphin whistles.
Inside the lives of astronauts’ families
Tracy Scott’s dad walked on the moon. Now, as a sociologist, she studies the lives and families of other Apollo-era astronauts.
How a sound designer gave an alien its voice (and 250 words)
Erik Aadahl, the sound designer behind “Project Hail Mary” and 2014’s “Godzilla,” uses his background in biology to bring characters to life.
Can GLP-1 drugs treat addiction?
Researchers are investigating whether GLP-1 drugs could be used to treat addiction disorders, following patient reports of reduced cravings.
What a sperm whale’s birth tells us about whale culture
Ten whales helped a mama sperm whale give birth—giving us a glimpse into whale culture and why animals help each other out.