I am a scholar-practitioner who works at the intersection of journalism and academia, with an interest in the public understanding of science. On the journalism side, I have over fifteen years of experience across audio, print, and digital news. As the founder and director of Cited Media, I oversee popular and critically acclaimed documentary podcasts that focus on topics related to science, health, and the environment. Additionally, I support a variety of research-focused institutions in developing their own podcasts, including universities, scholarly organizations, and health authorities. On the academic side, I am a published scholar and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, where I research how journalists respond to public distrust of expertise. I am also an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health, where I teach risk and health communication. Previously, I was Visiting Professor at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Communication, Art, and Technology, where I taught the fundamentals of podcasting and audio journalism.
Research Interests
My research examines the theory and practice of contemporary science, health, and environmental journalism. Today, many publics are increasingly hostile to scientists and to the people who cover them. My research asks: how should journalists understand and respond to audiences that no longer trust them?
In approaching this question, I draw upon a wide range of scholarly fields. From the public understanding of science, I leverage democratic and dialogue-based forms of science communication that have proven effective in bridging political and epistemic divides. Pulling from more theoretical accounts in the philosophy of science and in science and technology studies, I explore how social and political factors influence the production, dissemination, and interpretation of scientific knowledge. Finally, from practice-focused research in communications and journalism studies, I investigate how reporters perceive and enact their own professional roles within the context of shifting political, technological, and material conditions. Combined with my own extensive professional experience, these various approaches form the basis of an interdisciplinary research program that is both theoretically rich and professionally relevant.
I believe that building public trust necessitates a more inclusive, democratic, and public interest-oriented science, and that journalists can play a role in supporting the development of that science.
Career History
Below, I have included some key achievements from my scholarly and journalistic career. For a full list, please download my C.V.
Academic Appointments
Adjunct Professor, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia (2025)
Visiting Professor, Faculty of Communication, Art, and Technology, Simon Fraser University (2021)
Education
Doctoral Candidate in Social Justice Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (ongoing)
Master of Journalism, Graduate School of Journalism, University of British Columbia (2017)
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Political Science, University of British Columbia (2013)
Journalistic Awards and Honours
2025 National Association of Science Writers: Finalist for the Science in Society Journalism Awards (for: Cited, season 02)
2025 American Bar Association Silver Gavel Awards: Winner in the radio/podcasting category (for: The (ir)Rational Alaskans from Cited)
2025 New York Festivals Radio Award: Bronze tower, education podcast (for: Cited, season 02)
2022 The Canadian Podcast Awards: Finalist for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for a Series: (for: Darts and Letters)
2018 University of British Columbia: President’s Staff Award in Creativity and Innovation: (for: Cited), with a $2,000 prize
2017 Canadian Association of Journalists Awards: Finalist in Open Broadcast Feature (for Cited EP41: The Heroin Clinic)
2017 Canadian Association of Journalists Awards: Finalist in Community Media (for Cited EP59: Why are Vancouver’s Hospitals Getting More Violent?)
2017 Jack Webster Foundation Awards: Winner of Excellence in Feature Reporting in Audio (for Cited EP41: The Heroin Clinic)
2016 National Campus and Community Radio Association Awards: Best Podcast (for Cited)
2015 National Campus and Community Radio Association Awards: Best Radio Documentary (for Cited EP1: Superpredators Revisited)
2014 National Campus and Community Radio Association Awards: Best Radio Documentary (for Terry Project Podcast: Sam Returns to Historymaker)
2013 Just Desserts Award: Alma Mater Society, University of British Columbia (for contributions to student media)
Publications
“From Public Deficits to Public Defects: How Journalists Embraced Technocratic Explanations for the Post-Truth Era.” Facts and Frictions: Emerging Debates, Pedagogies and Practices in Contemporary Journalism, 3(2), 22-38.
Doctoral Research
My doctoral research at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education used a variety of methodological approaches to examine how the media responds to public distrust of science, including a critical discourse analysis of major works of journalism, a 32-person interview study of leading reporters in mainstream and alternative media, and my own professional and philosophical reflections about contemporary journalism. I found that the industry is in a profound state of professional, political, and philosophical rupture. Interviewees have sharp differences of opinion over just about every topic in my study, including the root causes of public distrust and the appropriate response. Therefore, the media is unsure of how to operate in post-truth times.
Drawing from professional insights and from professional omissions that I identified in this research, I suggest shifts to journalistic norms and practices. I contend that science will not be seen as trustworthy unless it is seen as democratically legitimized. Therefore, journalists should apply greater critical attention to the institutions of scientific governance and the mechanisms of public engagement. Rather than merely reporting on science as a collection of intellectual outputs or methods, they must begin to view science as a set of social institutions like any other. In doing so, they can fulfill an important epistemic function by ensuring that science is well-functioning (i.e., diverse and not unduly influenced by corporate interests). Additionally, they can encourage the development of democratic mechanisms that would make space for more vigorous public debate regarding scientific values and priorities.