Can We Still Trust Science?

Can We Still Trust Science?

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we explore what having confidence in science really means. What separates healthy skepticism from deliberate doubt? How do politics, economic interests, and misinformation shape public opinion around scientific research? And what role can scientists themselves play in rebuilding trust? All this and more with Dr. Peter Mahaffy, member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry's (IUPAC) Committee on Ethics, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and contributor to their Chemistry International [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/journal/key/ci/html] journal, published by De Gruyter Brill. Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://x.com/ramzinasir] Guest: Dr. Peter Mahaffy [https://www.kingsu.ca/about-us/staff-directory/contact_id/3591] Reach out to Dr. Mahaffy at www.linkedin.com/in/petermahaffy [http://www.linkedin.com/in/petermahaffy]  Some papers Dr. Mahaffy refers to during the conversation: 1. Cologna, V., et. al. Trust in Scientists and Their Role in Society Across 68 Countries, 2025, Nature Human Behaviour, 9, 713-730. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5 [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5] 2. Garcia-Martinez, J; Mahaffy, P.G., et. al. Responsible Chemistry for a Changing World: IUPAC’s Guiding Principles, RSC Chemical Science, 2026, DOI: 10.1039/D5SC08844E [https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SC08844E]. 3. Mahaffy, P. G.; Garcia-Martinez, J.  From what Chemistry can do to what Chemists should do, J. Chem. Educ. 2025, 102, 11, 4661–4665. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c01467 [https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c01467] 4. Mahaffy, P. G.; Matlin, S. A.; Holme, T. A.; MacKellar. J. Systems thinking for educating about the molecular basis of sustainability. Nature Sustainability. 2019, 2, 362–370. 5. Mahaffy, P.; Cornell, S. (2025). Sustainability frameworks I – Planetary boundaries. Chapter 6 in Kirchhoff, M.; Kummerer, K.; Mahaffy, P.; Middlecamp, C. (eds) Chemistry Education for a Sustainable Future. Advances in Chemistry Education series, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK. 6. Mahaffy, P. G.; Elgersma, A.K. “Systems Thinking, the Molecular Basis of Sustainability and the Planetary Boundaries Framework: Complementary core competencies for chemistry education,” Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 2022, 100663, ISSN 2452-2236, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2022.100663 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2022.100663].

Rights, Pride & Belonging: From Gender Panic to Trans Joy

It’s pride month, and in this episode of Sustainability Matters we discuss how queer and trans youth have always fought to shape their own futures—and why their rights have become a flashpoint in contemporary culture wars. From Gay-Straight Alliances and gender-neutral bathrooms to representation in sports and the concept of trans joy, we unpack the narratives shaping identity, belonging, and inclusion in today’s political climate. All this and more with Dr. Julia Sinclair-Palm, author of “Queer and Trans Youth Political Activism [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111215105-023/html],” which is Chapter 17 in the De Gruyter Handbook of Youth Activism [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111215105/html], published by De Gruyter Brill.  Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://x.com/ramzinasir] Guest:  Dr. Julia Sinclair-Palm [https://edcp.educ.ubc.ca/julia-sinclair-palm/] Citations: 1. Sinclair-Palm, Julia. (2024). Names as a trans technology: Exploring the naming practices of trans youth in Australia, Ireland and Canada. Nordic Journal of Socio-Onomastics, 4 (1), 137-161. https://doi.org/10.59589/noso.42024.16669 [https://doi.org/10.59589/noso.42024.16669] 2. Sinclair-Palm, Julia. (2023). The Role of Family in Trans Youths’ Naming Practices. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2023.2181450 [https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2023.2181450] 3. Dyer, Hannah, Julia Sinclair-Palm and Miranda Yeo. (2020). "Drawing Queer and Trans Kinship with Children: Affect, Cohabitation, and Reciprocal Care." Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 42(4), 257-276. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2020.1724764 [https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2020.1724764] 4. Dyer, Hannah, Julia Sinclair-Palm, Chase Joynt, Miranda Yeo, and Calla Tait. (2020). Aesthetic Expression of Queer kinship in Children’s Drawings. Journal of Canadian Studies, 54(2-3), 526-543. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/780618 [https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/780618]. 5. https://thebaffler.com/latest/reject-transgender-liberalism-gill-peterson [https://thebaffler.com/latest/reject-transgender-liberalism-gill-peterson] 6. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1088&context=jqtsie [https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1088&context=jqtsie] 7. Tourmaline, S., Eric, A., & Burton, J. (2017). Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility. 8. Westbrook, L., & Schilt, K. (2014). Doing gender, determining gender: Transgender people, gender panics, and the maintenance of the sex/gender/sexuality system. Gender & society, 28(1), 32-57. 9.  Cruz, C. (2001). Toward an epistemology of a brown body. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(5), 657-669. 10. McCready, L. T. (2004). Understanding the marginalization of gay and gender non-conforming Black male students. Theory Into Practice, 43(2), 136-143. 11. Brockenbrough, E. (2015). Queer of color agency in educational contexts: Analytic frameworks from a queer of color critique. Educational Studies, 51(1), 28-44.

Virtual, Real, Resilient: Jewish Spaces in 21st Century Europe

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we explore how Jewish Europe is being reshaped across physical and digital spaces in the 21st century. How do virtual environments change the way heritage is preserved and shared? Can digital reconstructions and online communities sustain cultural identity? What happens when these spaces are affected by rising antisemitism, shifting politics, and changing public visibility—against a longer history of loss and reconstruction? All this and more with Dr. Maja Hultman and Dr. Joachim Schlör, editors of Virtual and Real-Life Spaces of Jewish Europe in the 21st Century, [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111268132/html] published by De Gruyter Brill. Discourse on sustainable digital spaces is just one of our sustainability initiatives here at De Gruyter Brill. Explore the recent De Gruyter Brill Annual Impact Report [https://degruyter-live-craftcms-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/DGB_25/Documents/dgb_impact-report-2025.pdf]for a closer look at our sustainability commitments and progress in 2025. Host: Dr. Shawn Rowlands [https://www.rtc.bt/social-sciences-faculty] Guests: Dr. Maja Hultman [https://www.gu.se/en/about/find-staff/majahultman] and Dr. Joachim Schlör  [https://www.southampton.ac.uk/people/5x2wnz/emeritus-professor-joachim-schloer]

Who Gets to Be Indigenous?

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we examine how indigeneity is defined and contested in conversations around identity, science, and sovereignty. Is it something we inherit, or a political construct? How can scientific and Indigenous knowledge systems collaborate without losing their distinct integrity? And what happens when genetic research defines belonging in ways that conflict with cultural and political self-understandings?  All this and more with Dr. Benjamin Gregg, author of “Scientific Integrity and Indigenous Justice in Genetic Research [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111592077-009/html],” which is Chapter 5 in the book Indigeneity as Social Construct and Political Tool: Critique and Reconstruction of a Contested Identity [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111592077/html], published by De Gruyter Brill.  Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://x.com/ramzinasir] Guest: Dr. Benjamin Gregg [https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/government/faculty/bggregg]

Play Like a Girl: Girlhood and Identity in Video Games

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we look at how video games are reshaping the representation of girlhood, identity, and coming-of-age through play. Why have games so often been associated with boyhood? What overlooked histories of girls’ gaming cultures challenge this narrative? And how are contemporary games challenging traditional heroic narratives with more complex stories about growing up, belonging, and self-discovery? All this and more with Dr. Stephanie Harkin, author of Girlhood Games: Gender, Identity and Coming of Age in Video Games [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111560939/html], which is Volume 20 in the series “Video Games and the Humanities”, [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/serial/vgh-b/html] published by De Gruyter Brill. Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://x.com/RamziNasir] Guest: Dr. Stephanie Harkin [https://www.rmit.edu.au/profiles/h/stephanie-harkin ]