Randy Olson | An Island Press Author

Randy Olson

Randy Olson earned his Ph.D. at Harvard University and became a professor of marine biology before moving to Hollywood for his second career as a filmmaker. Since obtaining an M.F.A. from the University of Southern California School of Cinema, he has written and directed the critically acclaimed films Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus (Tribeca, '06, Showtime) and Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy (Outfest, '08), and co-founded The Shifting Baselines Ocean Media Project, a partnership between scientists and Hollywood to communicate the crisis facing our oceans.

How important is it that the main-stream media covers climate change?

A piece from Grist points out that major TV networks spent just 50 minutes on climate change—combined—in 2016. We’ve asked a few of our journalist-authors what kind of responsibility the media has to report on climate change topics. Does this lack of coverage happen because there isn't a compelling news story or narrative?

LISTEN: Don't Be So Unlikeable

Many of you read Randy Olson's message to scientists and the March for Science about the power of narrative. (If you haven't, check it out here!) To learn more about talking substance in an age of style, listen to an excerpt of Chapter 4: Don't Be So Unlikeable, read by Olson himself, below.

#ForewordFriday: March for Science Edition

At Island Press, our staff, authors, educators, practitioners, and partner organizations are committed to providing the knowledge and information that can change minds, change practice, and change policy. That's why we're partnering with The March for Science. History contains far too many examples of attempts to suppress, obfuscate, and deny the knowledge that comes from science, and to shut down the vital conversation that advances and promotes it.
Photo Credit: Rockaway Youth on Banner by Flickr.com user Light Brigading

A Message for Scientists (and Everyone) on Earth Day: "Narrative is Leadership"

This Earth Day scientists will receive attention like never before (and they deserve it), but if they’re smart they’ll turn to great leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. as models for how to engage the public. Both of them had what scientists tend to lack — narrative intuition.

Reflections on ESA 2015

Earlier this month, I attended my first conference with Island Press: the Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD. As the sales associate, part of my role here is to coordinate the Island Press conference presence, such as the booth appearance, the books we have on sale, and our promotional materials.