Wendy Zukerman | |
|---|---|
 At the March for Science 2018 in Washington, D.C. | |
| Occupation | Science journalist |
| Notable work | Science Vs |
Wendy Zukerman is an Australian science journalist and podcaster. She is best known as the host of Science Vs , a program that dissects areas of scientific controversy and public confusion.
Wendy Zukerman was born in the United States but raised in Melbourne, Australia. She attended Monash University and received a biomedical science and law degree. [1] [2]
Zukerman worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on the documentary television program Catalyst and the consumer affairs television program The Checkout . [3]
She has also written for many different publications, including New Scientist , [4] Cosmos , [5] The Age , The Australian , and Saturday Paper. [3] [6]
In 2014 and 2015, she spoke at Storyology, an annual festival of journalism and media. [1] In March 2018, she spoke at a SXSW panel event called, "What Podcasts Ate for Dinner". [7] [8]
Zuckerman's podcast Science Vs was initially produced and distributed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as part of ABC Radio's First Run podcast program.[ when? ] [9] [10] In October 2015, Gimlet Media, an American digital media company based in Brooklyn, New York, took over the production of the podcast. [11] [12] [13]
Science Vs focuses on communicating science to non-scientists. The show takes a myth-busting approach, and topics on the show generally come from controversial topics or current events. Episode topics have included immigration, gun control, ghosts, climate change, acne, and antidepressants, among others. [10] [14] [15] [16] Zukerman has said that the idea for Science Vs came from news headlines about Gwyneth Paltrow wanting women to participate in a "health practice" of vaginal steaming, which she thought could present in a way that combined science with humour. [17] Zukerman summarised her podcast's position against false equivalences, saying, "If there's a 95 percent consensus among scientists, you report the consensus." [14]
In 2021, Zukerman was amongst the first nominees of the Podcast Academy's new "Ambie" awards. She was one of seven nominees for the Best Host award. [18]
Her brother is actor Ashley Zukerman, and they have another sister, Debbie. As of 2016 [update] Zukerman was living in New York City. [19]
