Science Friday

Science Friday (known as SciFri for short) is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 400 public radio stations. SciFri is hosted by award-winning science journalist Ira Flatow and was created and is produced by the Science Friday Initiative. The program is divided into two one-hour programs, with each hour ending with a complete sign-off. The focus of each program is news and information on science, nature, medicine, and technology. For most of its existence, Science Friday was a sub-program within Talk of the Nation, serving as the fifth day of programming on Friday. Science Friday was spun off as a series in its own right when Talk of the Nation was canceled in June 2013.

Science Friday
Other namesSciFri
Genretalk
Running timeapprox. 110 min.
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
SyndicatesWNYC Studios
Hosted byIra Flatow
Created byScienceFriday, Inc.
Directed byCharles Bergquist
Executive producer(s)Ira Flatow
Recording studioNew York City
Original releaseOctober 1991 (1991-10) – present
Audio formatStereophonic
Websitewww.sciencefriday.com

The Science Friday radio program is produced by the Science Friday Initiative, a 501(c)(3) organization. The Science Friday Initiative is an independently run organization with a governing Board of Directors and Executive Director. In addition to the radio program, the organization creates award-winning educational and digital content, finds underwriting for the program, and hosts public science events.

Science Friday is also available in a podcasting format and is one of the most popular iTunes downloads, frequently in the top 15 downloads each week. SciFri podcasts are downloaded over 23 million times per year and over 1.8 million listeners tune in each week to hear the program. It is also carried via Sirius XM Radio.

SciFri broadcasts excerpts from the annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony on the Friday after Thanksgiving.[1][2]

Funding

The Science Friday Initiative accepts tax-deductible donations on behalf of the radio program.[3]

Science Friday is funded by stations fees that broadcast the program, by individual donors, by advertising underwriters, and by foundation grants including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Heising-Simons Foundation[4]. Formerly the program was supported by the Noyce Foundation, the S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Science Friday has received federal funding from the US National Science Foundation and NASA.

History

SciFri was created when the National Science Foundation agreed to fund a weekly science talk-show on NPR. After the Gulf War in 1991, NPR created the daily talk show Talk of the Nation, and incorporated Science Friday into it. Science Friday moved from NPR to Public Radio International in 2014.[5]

Science Friday maintained an island (Science Friday Island) in Second Life, including an open-air theater with live audio and video feeds of the broadcast. That venue is no longer in operation.

On November 9, 2012, ScienceFriday, Inc. filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in New York state court against a long-running Denver radio program, titled Real Science Friday, hosted by two young earth creationists including a Colorado pastor. The show was re-titled Real Science Radio.[6]

On April 11, 2018, distribution of the show changed hands once more when it went from PRI to WNYC Studios.[7]

gollark: Great!
gollark: Instead of insulting people, have you considered not doing that?
gollark: Just write while mostly ignoring the movie.
gollark: You need to buy wire to make more.
gollark: Relatedly, here's a fun incremental game! https://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/index2.html

References
  1. Science Friday Archives: The 2007 Ig Nobel Awards Archived 2007-12-26 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Ig Nobel day-after-Thanksgiving broadcast on Science Friday". www.improbable.com. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  3. "Science Friday Initiative: Our Mission". scifri.org. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  4. "Science Friday Initiative: Thank You!". scifri.org. Archived from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  5. "Flatow moves Science Friday to PRI distribution". Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  6. Flaherty, Scott (Nov 13, 2012). "NPR Program Sues Christian Radio Hosts Over Trademarks". Law360.
  7. 'Science Friday' partners with WNYC on distribution Current Public Media, January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
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