The DISRUPTED SCIENCE Podcast

Caldera Information Solutions LLC

From the authors of the forthcoming book ”How the Internet Disrupted Science” comes this view of science from where the action is — the scientific claims and publishing space. Hosted by Kent Anderson and Joy Moore, listeners receive analyses of current events, updates about the book, and opinions on various topics of interest. Book pre-sales available now. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/How-the-Internet-Disrupted-Science/Kent-Anderson/9781493094400

  1. 2D AGO

    February 25, 2026 — Insurgents vs. Incumbents

    The last 25 years in scientific publishing has been about privileging technology-backed insurgents — business models, philosophies, belief systems, information theories. Natural science empowered by digital tools flipped to “digital science” at the expense of funding for natural science. Things are more complicated now in the sciences. Insurgents are coming from all directions, so we have to distinguish between bad insurgents and good insurgents — and some of the new bad ones are playing an updated version of the tech game, too. Disruption is so embedded now that normies are insurgents. Good insurgents want to align with pro-science players for the long-term and to the benefit of all. Bad insurgents continue to exploit communication channels and others, primarily for their own enrichment and benefit. In addition, bewildering controversies have emerged between the science-aligned incumbents and science-aligned insurgents, in particular AAAS and Stand Up for Science. We discuss the value of the newer, unencumbered insurgents vs. encumbered incumbents, how the battle is against anti-science players unencumbered by rules, norms, or bureaucratic process, and how we need to support the good insurgents who are focused beyond the horizon of crazy in-fighting. The incumbents have the power to influence, and they have a choice to make. We also share our “Discoveries of the Week.” The Murder of Jane Stanford: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-murder-of-jane-stanford/id278981407?i=1000751170391 Music provided by Provoke the Truth — https://provokethetruth.net/

    55 min
  2. FEB 18

    February 18, 2026 — Martina Linnenluecke and Carl Rhodes

    Carl Rhodes is Professor of Business and Society at The University of Technology Sydney Business School. Carl researches the relationship between liberal democracy and contemporary capitalism. Martina Linnenluecke is an internationally recognized scholar who conducts research on corporate adaptation and resilience to global climate change. She is also at The University of Technology Sydney Business School. Their work caught our attention when we saw their January 5, 2026, article in The Conversation entitled “The 5 stages of the ‘enshittification’ of academic publishing.” It was related to their 2025 “speaking out” article in the journal Organization entitled “The junkification of research.” From academic capitalism to the secondary market for careerist OA publishing, the discussion is wide-ranging and lively, with a focus on their five stages of junkification/enshittification: The commodification of research The proliferation of pay-to-publish journals A decline in quality and integrity The sheer volume of publications Enshittification We also share our “Discoveries of the Week.” Tony Hawk’s “Ollie 720 Challenge” won by a 12-year-old from Japan, Ao Nishikawa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGScJcp-Y3c Subscribe to our podcast Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Amazon Music/Audible Subscribe on YouTube Music provided by Provoke the Truth — https://provokethetruth.net/

    1h 8m
  3. FEB 4

    February 4, 2026 — Real Talk

    Earlier this week, Ben Collins, the owner of The Onion, was interviewed on Kara Swisher’s “On” podcast. The interview raised some core questions about the digital information age and how we in scientific publishing are handling it so far. Collins is from Massachusetts. His mother is a librarian, and he initially pursued a sports journalism career. In 2024, he became CEO of a company called Global Tetrahedron, which purchased The Onion. He wanted to rescue it from being purchased by Elon Musk and becoming “an AI slop farm.” Collins is also attempting to buy InfoWars from Alex Jones, mainly to make sure victims who have been awarded money from Jones’ lies and defamations can finally get some.  The interview touched on a core difference in the media space, one that I pondered independently before listening to the interview — Why is there one fake media space that is currently thriving but starting to crack under the strain, and a separate reality-based media space growing stronger and more interesting and relevant by the day? What does this portend? Where does scientific publishing fit into this now? Are we indulging unscientific fantasies of our own? And why is it so much more fun and impactful to be in the reality-based world today? We also share our “Discoveries of the Week.” “Stuff You Should Know” podcast about the color orange (and more): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stuff-you-should-know/id278981407?i=1000747999454 The Ransomware Hunting Team: https://reneedudley.com/ Now available in paperback Show Notes Interview with Ben Collins: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-onions-ben-collins-on-political-satire-why-trump/id1643307527?i=1000747679219 Subscribe to The Onion: https://membership.theonion.com/ Wired article about infiltrating Moltbook: https://www.wired.com/story/i-infiltrated-moltbook-ai-only-social-network/ “Polymaths” fantasies: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2025/01/20/in-the-age-of-artificial-intelligence-polymaths-are-back-in-vogue/ Subscribe to our podcast Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Amazon Music/Audible Subscribe on YouTube Music provided by Provoke the Truth — https://provokethetruth.net/

    51 min
  4. JAN 28

    January 28, 2026 — Interview with PJ Puterbaugh

    PJ Puterbaugh’s skills exist at the intersection of art and science. Working as a painter and portraitist, years ago she found herself utilizing her abilities to help people by becoming a forensic artist. This meant certifying with the International Association for Identification (IAI) and becoming a Certified Forensic Artist. PJ works by assisting various law enforcement agencies with John and Jane Doe images and skull-to-face reconstructions. The same methods can also apply to museum and historical projects. Her work for medical examiners and cold case investigators bridges forensic science, creative visualization, and multimedia storytelling to bring human faces to life with accuracy and impact. She has helped law enforcement identify various victims and close years-old cold cases.  We also have our “Discoveries of the Week,” which are quite toothy. Related Links PJ Puterbaugh’s site: https://pjputerbaughartist.com/ Forensic Art and Illustration: https://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Art-Illustration-Karen-Taylor/dp/0849381185/ GOLF: What You Know Can Hurt You: https://www.amazon.com/GOLF-What-Discover-fundamentals-swing/dp/0615268404/ Ologies podcast about paleohistology: https://www.alieward.com/ologies/paleohistology Subscribe to our podcast Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Amazon Music/Audible Subscribe on YouTube Music provided by Provoke the Truth — https://provokethetruth.net/

    49 min
  5. JAN 14

    January 14, 2026 — Make the Most of the Middle

    “Disintermediation” was a hot buzzword during the early days of disruption thinking, but it never really occurred. Instead, the platform era ushered in new forms of intermediation based on advertising incentives and deregulation, making the current environment far less accountable and far more about exploitation. Markets depend on middlemen, as do information economies. The health of markets and information spaces often depends on how well those middlemen function, the rules that define their scope of action, and the incentives that guide their choices. As Jonathan Rauch wrote in The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of the Truth (Brookings Institution Press, 2021): Without the places where professionals like experts and editors and peer reviewers organize conversations and compare propositions and assess competence and provide accountability — everywhere from scientific journals to Wikipedia pages — there is no marketplace of ideas; there are only cults warring and splintering and individuals running around making noise. Compared to the intermediation of yore, with editors, editorial boards, and publishing staff listed on mastheads, platforms have no such obvious pathways to accountability. Section 230 has been used to provide them with the kind of legal cover that allows them to make their own rules and behave with near impunity. Attention is the new commodity, and stealing yours is the goal. The new middleman is a thief, not an ally. We discuss these issues, the black boxes of platforms, the role of LLMs as new black box intermediaries, the long-forgotten Fairness Doctrine and its relevance, and more. We also touch on recent news (the new STM report, PISS, and more). Joy’s post about velvet ropes: https://www.the-geyser.com/bring-back-the-velvet-ropes/ This podcast gets a nod: Also, this draft paper (labeled as such, thank you authors) is a critically important read because of the ideas: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5870623 Some background on how it came about: https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/how-generative-ai-is-destroying-society We finish with our “Discoveries of the Week.” Subscribe to our podcast Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Amazon Music/Audible Subscribe on YouTube Music provided by Provoke the Truth — https://provokethetruth.net/

    52 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

From the authors of the forthcoming book ”How the Internet Disrupted Science” comes this view of science from where the action is — the scientific claims and publishing space. Hosted by Kent Anderson and Joy Moore, listeners receive analyses of current events, updates about the book, and opinions on various topics of interest. Book pre-sales available now. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/How-the-Internet-Disrupted-Science/Kent-Anderson/9781493094400