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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
Roundtable Networking Breakfast Sponsored by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios 8:30-9:30 AM, Yawkey Atrium Join our fourteen SMASH Fellows for a structured roundtable networking breakfast. This pre-SMASH event is a chance for delegates to meet the Fellows, and strategize for three days packed with meaningful a week of networking and engagement! If you have signed on to be a mentor for more extended involvement, this will be your official first meet-up. SESSION 1: 9:30 - 10:30 Opening Keynote: Paula Apsell talks with Joi Ito Sponsored by Panasonic Poised to lead the MIT Media Lab into its fourth decade of disruptive innovation, self-described “now-ist” Joi Ito has operated at the bleeding edge of culture and technology since the dawn of the internet age. Paula Apsell, Senior Executive Producer of NOVA, leads a provocative discussion exploring the evolving role of media in our digital culture—with a look toward envisioning what the future may hold. This session will be live-streamed on Facebook. Session Producer: Pamela Rosenstein, NOVA/WGBH SESSION 2: 11:00 - 12:00 Online Video Revolution = Science Programming Disruption The online video revolution is accelerating, and creating fundamental challenges for producers and networks. Peter Katsingris, SVP/Audience Insights presents Nielsen's latest findings on how Americans consume media today. DocumentaryTelevision.com’s Peter Hamilton moderates a conversation with leading network executives, distributors and producers about how this big picture analysis shapes their decisions about which science projects to develop and green light. Produced and Moderated by: Peter Hamilton, DocumentaryTelevision.com Peter Katsingris, Nielsen Networking Lunch Sponsored by Nature/WNET & PBS 12:00 - 1:30, Yawkey Atrium SESSION 3: 1:30 - 2:30 Breaking Science: In the News We are in the midst of a revolution in the real-time transfer of information. From A.I. to Zika and everything in between, breakthroughs in science and technology captivate audiences around the globe almost instantly. Revisiting the most important science news stories of the past two years: how effectively did we tell them and what did we miss? Session Producer: Suzanne Tobias, Miles O’Brien Productions Miles O'Brien (Moderator), Miles O'Brien Productions Deborah Blum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology David Ropeik, Ropeik Associates SESSION 4: 3:00 - 4:00 Experiential Media and Immersive Storytelling From virtual reality to crowd-sourced science to games, interactive media has deep reach and measurable impact. What transforms audiences from passive observers to active participants and what actually works in this realm to elevate science literacy? This session takes a hard look at the science behind science engagement in this rapidly-morphing sector. Session Producer & Moderator: John Fraser, New Knowledge, Inc. Anthony Geffen, Atlantic Productions and Alchemy VR Kurt Squire, University of Wisconsin-Madison Peggy Wu, Smart Information Flow Technologies Albert Yu-Min Lin, Planet3 SESSION 5: 4:30 - 5:30 Idea Salon - Precision Food Sponsored by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios Cooking has long been considered more of an art than a science. But now a suite of empirical methods and high-tech tools are muscling in. From parametrically tested recipes to genetically engineered flavors to the nuances of fermentation, science and engineering have turned up the heat in the kitchen. Session Producers: John Rubin & Anne Tarrant, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios Michael Brenner (Moderator), Harvard University Christina Agapakis, Ginkgo Bioworks Will Meyers, Cambridge Brewing Company Dan Souza, Cook's Science Ben Wolfe, Tufts University SMASH Opening Night Reception: Immerse Yourself Sponsored by National Geographic and Terra Mater Film Studios Here’s your chance to experience first-hand the power of being inside an unfolding story in the world of virtual experience, with an evening of hands-on demos with some of the year’s most compelling Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and interactive games and apps. 5:30 (Yawkey Atrium): Reception & VR Demos 6:00 (Fraser Studio): Bill Grant Memorial 7:00 (Yawkey Theater): Terra Mater & Red Bull sneak preview: Mind Gamers Terra Mater Film Studios will present an exclusive sneak peak of Mind Gamers, their upcoming grounded science-fiction thriller and its unique trans-media story world—created in close collaboration with MIT Game Lab for Red Bull Mind Gamers MISSION:UNLOCK ENOCH gaming championship. 8:00 (Yawkey Theater): National Geographic Premiere Screening: Continent 7—Antarctica Antarctica is the harshest place on Earth. The temperature drops to more than 100 degrees below zero, winds gust over 200mph, crevasses big enough to swallow trucks hide beneath a thin sheet of snow, storms bury entire buildings in snow and ice, and despite all that frozen water, the air is as dry as the Sahara in places. It’s a place where humans aren’t meant to survive. Yet… there is a community rugged individuals whose work puts them in the path of all these challenges. They make this place hospitable, and not just for themselves, but for others. These scientists and the community play a vital role in many urgent fields of science, from climate change to studies of glacier movement, active volcanoes and the search and tagging of marine megafauna that calls this ice home. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 Roundtable Networking Breakfast Sponsored by National Geographic Society 8:30-9:30 AM, Yawkey Atrium Seasoned industry veterans join our inaugural class of SMASH Fellows for frank roundtable conversations and a continued opportunity for networking and engagement! SESSION 6: 9:30 - 10:30 Idea Salon - Being Human Some scientific discoveries radically alter our sense of self. Neuroscience has started to unveil the mystery of our memories and emotions. Advances in synthetic biology and gene editing techniques may soon force us to reckon with the fundamental blueprints of humanity and our nascent understanding of the microbiome reveals just how little we know about the intricate balance of our own basic physiology. In this session, we’ll explore recent discoveries that are changing our understanding of ourselves. Session Producer & Moderator: Graham Townsley, Shining Red Productions Heather Berlin, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai James J. Collins, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Steve Ramirez, Harvard University SESSION 7: 11:00 - 12:00 Idea Salon - Bringing Big Data to Life By 2020 We will have generated 44 zettabytes of data—just one zettabyte is equivalent to one trillion gigabytes! But all of this data is value free without the people who search for meaning in its unfathomable depths. From viruses on your personal computer, to predicting terrorism and pandemics and into glorious visions of galaxies beyond earth, join three new world explorers as they bring Big Data to life. Session Producer & Moderator: Ruth Berry, Terra Mater Factual Studios Kim Arcand, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Yaneer Bar-Yam, New England Complex Systems Institute V.S. Subrahmanian, Professor, University of Maryland Networking Lunch Sponsored by PBS Distribution 12:00 - 1:30, Yawkey Atrium SESSION 8: 1:30 - 2:30 Beyond Clickbait: Creating Smart, Strategic & Irresistible Online Content Facebook Live. Snapchat. Instagram. The list of content distribution platforms is only getting bigger. In this ambitious session we’ll meet some of the science producers experimenting on the frontiers of digital storytelling. Using detailed analytics to understand their audiences and inform their narrative strategies, can they uphold the editorial standards so vital to science communication? Viral content doesn’t have to be clickbait to be compelling. This session will be live-streamed on Facebook. Session Producer & Moderator, Anna Rothschild, WGBH Erin Chapman, American Museum of Natural History Joe Hanson, PBS Digital Studios James Williams, VP of Digital Video for National Geographic Partners SESSION 9: 3:00 - 4:00 Scientists Taking a Stand Science should inform our responses to big challenges, such as a rapidly changing planet, the demands of a growing population, and dramatic economic inequality. Few scientists disagree. Yet many scientists remain above the fray. To what extent should scientists “take a stand,” and how can they work with communicators -- like filmmakers -- to do it? This panel features veteran scientists and communicators with a range of perspectives and experiences on the questions of whether, why, and how scientists should take a stand. Session Producers: Nate Dappen and Neil Losin, Day’s Edge Productions Session Moderator: Neil Losin, Day's Edge Productions Sean B. Carroll, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Chris Filardi, Conservation International Jared Lipworth, Independent Producer Sonya Pemberton, Genepool Productions SESSION 10: 4:30 - 5:30 Idea Salon - EUREKA! Sponsored by Panasonic Session Moderator: Kirk Johnson, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History A look at “game changing” discoveries and technological innovation just beyond the horizon, in a session designed to surprise! Session Producer: Sarah Goforth, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Session Moderator: Kirk Johnson, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Robbert Dijkgraaf, Director and Leon Levy Professor, Institute for Advanced Study Nancy Kanwisher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Doug Owsley, Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History Sara Seager, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Jackson Hole Science Media Awards Gala Celebration Sponsored by Jackson Hole WILD with Sony Electronics Harvard Art Museum, 6:00 - 10:00 5:30: Buses begin leaving WGBH for Harvard Art Museum. 6:00 - 7:00: Strolling Dinner 7:30 - 9:00: Awards Ceremony 9:00 - 9:30: After Celebration & Champagne Toast Emcees: Brooke Runnette, National Geographic Society Kirk Johnson, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 SESSION 11: 9:30 - 10:30 The Sound of Science As it turns out, in science storytelling, a picture may not be worth a thousand words. Some of the most compelling and timely science media is delivered in audio-only podcast or radio. And the medium is only growing in popularity: audiences in the MILLIONS are getting initial exposure to science stories through radio/podcast. This session examines the challenges and opportunities of an audio-only medium when it comes to complex scientific topics. Join us as we tune into the sound of science. Session Producer: Nathan Tobey, Nathan Tobey Consulting Session Moderator: Ari Daniel, NOVA Adam Cole, National Public Radio Mary Harris, New York Public Radio Genevieve Sponsler, Public Radio Exchange SESSION 12: 11:00 - 12:00 Closing Keynote: Marco Werman talks with Richard Wrangham and Steven Pinker Sponsored by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios More than at any point in history, media today has the power to break down cultural barriers and forge a sense of interconnectedness across the planet. At the same time, it can be used as a tool to incite violence, evidenced by the terrifying new dimensions of terrorism and crime. But, what does the future hold? Can society shed the mantle of our ancestors to forge a more peaceful future or is violence hard-wired into our DNA? Marco Werman interviews two of our generation’s most incisive thinkers on this subject. This session will be live-streamed on Facebook, and edited for later distribution as a segment on PRI’s The World. Session Producer: Andrew Sussman, The World Moderator: Marco Werman, Public Radio International and BBC Steven Pinker, Harvard University Richard Wrangham, Harvard University SESSION 13: 12:00 - 1:30 Wrapping Things Up: A Lunchtime Dialogue Sponsored by Discovery Yawkey Atrium Considering twelve provocative sessions to last night’s awards--and all the conversations in between--we’ve covered a lot over the past few days. What are the big takeaways and surprising revelations? Join a frank and interactive discussion that will lay the groundwork for continuing the conversation in Jackson Hole next year, and at SMASH18. Brian Leith (Moderator), Brian Leith Productions Michael Rosenfeld, Twin Cities PBS SESSION 14: 2:00 - 3:00 Using Science to Sculpt Science Filmmaking Sponsored by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios Can science’s distinctive methods for enlarging knowledge be used to increase our understanding of how to make engaging films about science? This session will feature results from an ongoing series of studies on the “science of science filmmaking” being conducted by the Yale Cultural Cognition Project and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios. The presenters will demonstrate how the project’s “science curiosity scale” can be used to evaluate the engagement of culturally diverse audiences with films on controversial topics like human evolution and climate change. Can curiosity be an antidote to biased thinking about science, and if so, how can it be triggered? Session Moderator: Katie Carpenter, Executive Director, Evidence-Based Science Communication Initiative, Yale Law School Laura Helft, Senior Manager for Public Outreach and Evaluation, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios Dan Kahan, Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of law at Yale Law School 3:00 Special SMASH Tour of the Harvard Natural History Museum Public Forum: Survival Yawkey Theater, 6:30pm Join SMASH16, NOVA and the Leakey Foundation for tonight’s public forum: Survival, featuring Ruth DeFries, Daniel Lieberman, Stuart Pimm, Steven Pinker, Pardis Sabeti, Dan Schrag, and Richard Wrangham. Please contact kathryn@jhfestival.org if you are interested in attending. Yawkey Theater, 6:30pm |
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