Scientific evidence alone rarely drives policy decisions or public action. Instead, societies interpret complex risks through multiple channels, including narratives that translate data, models, and uncertainty into meaning. At a moment when the world will likely exceed the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement, the challenge of communicating climate risk, for example, has become inseparable from broader questions about governance, digital information systems, and public trust in expertise.

This seminar explores the evolving role of science communication. Drawing on reporting and research on climate and global environmental change, the talk examines how narratives shape public understanding, influence policy pathways, and circulate across journalism, scientific institutions, and digital platforms. It also considers how scholars working on information systems, AI, and governance can contribute to more resilient communication ecosystems for complex global challenges.

Lisa Palmer is Journalist-in-Residence and Senior Research Scholar in science communication at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). An independent professional journalist, her work examines the intersection of international science, society, and global environmental challenges, including climate change, food security, biodiversity, sustainability, and science diplomacy.

Over more than two decades, Palmer has produced science reporting, long-form journalism, and narrative essays for internationally recognized publications. She is the author of Hot, Hungry Planet: The Fight to Stop a Global Food Crisis in the Face of Climate Change (St. Martin’s Press, 2017), which explores the political and scientific dimensions of global food security under climate change. Her reporting has been supported by organizations including the Pulitzer Center, National Geographic Society, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Palmer previously served as National Geographic Professor of Science Communication at George Washington University and a lecturer at Georgetown University. She has collaborated with research teams internationally on the role of narrative and communication in advancing scientific understanding and public engagement.