FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Science Friday’s Rasha Aridi Selected for New Fellowship from Outrider Foundation and Burroughs Wellcome Fund
December 18, 2024, New York, NY—Science Friday, in partnership with Burroughs Wellcome Fund and Outrider Foundation, is thrilled to announce that Producer Rasha Aridi has been named the inaugural Burroughs Wellcome Fund/Outrider Fellow—a new joint venture between Burroughs Wellcome Fund and Outrider Foundation to support Science Friday’s coverage of nuclear arms and climate change, two of the most pressing issues of our time. This two-year fellowship will highlight Aridi’s and Science Friday’s exceptional science journalism.
Aridi, whose work has been supported by Outrider since 2023, has covered a range of topics related to both climate change and nuclear arms, including a blockbuster live call-in segment on the legacy of Robert J. Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb in line with the release of the 2023 film Oppenheimer.
The fellowship will support the creation of 12 in-depth stories on climate change and nuclear arms threats, allowing Science Friday’s signature engagement-driven journalism to address two of today’s most urgent challenges. This two-year fellowship will allow Science Friday to commit the necessary time and resources to spotlight solutions, critical policy updates, and cutting-edge research, reaching a national audience of 2 million weekly listeners and 2 million followers across social media platforms.
“We’re thrilled that Rasha has been selected for this honor by Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Outrider Foundation, and thank them deeply for their generosity and vision in coming together in partnership to support our work,” says John Dankosky, Science Friday’s Director of News and Audio, “Our commitment to climate change and nuclear arms coverage is at the heart of our mission to make complicated science-based issues easier to understand and to inspire listeners to use fact-based, thoroughly vetted science to make informed decisions for their families and communities. This partnership has been a significant boon to our editorial work at Science Friday, and we look forward to advancing this critical work through Rasha’s fellowship.”
With more than 30 years of experience in engaging the public in fact-based, audience-focused journalism from the leaders of the field of science and the communities facing the brunt of issues, including climate change, Aridi’s fellowship comes at a time when trust in the media is at an all-time low and trust in science continues to decline. Audiences demand high-quality journalism where they can see themselves and their communities represented in the discourse around the issues that matter most, and this partnership will meet that need.
”Science Friday’s rigorous, fact-based reporting is more important than ever, and we’re delighted to support this fellowship,” said Robert K. Elder, President and CEO of Outrider Foundation.
“We are thrilled to celebrate Rasha Aridi as the inaugural Burroughs Wellcome Fund/Outrider Fellow,” said Russ Campbell, Director of Science Communications at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. “This partnership underscores our commitment to addressing some of the most urgent challenges of our time.”
ABOUT RASHA ARIDI
Rasha Aridi is a Producer for Science Friday and the inaugural Burroughs Wellcome Fund/Outrider Foundation Fellow. She’s an animal nerd at heart and loves stories about weird critters, science adventures, and why birds are the coolest. But more importantly, she’s also focused on stories at the intersection of science, identity, and social justice and is committed to centering marginalized voices and communities. Rasha found her way into journalism while studying wildlife conservation at Virginia Tech, which led her to realize that she had way more fun talking about science than actually doing it. She then pivoted into journalism and has since reported for outlets like Science, Smithsonian, and The Guardian. Before coming to SciFri, she worked for NPR’s Short Wave and Science Vs from Gimlet Media.
ABOUT SCIENCE FRIDAY
Science Friday is an award-winning multimedia franchise dedicated to increasing the public’s access to science and scientific information. Founded by Ira Flatow in 1991 as a live,call-in driven radio show, it has grown to a legacy media platform for public science engagement, offering a flagship radio broadcast across nearly 500 public radio stations around the country, an innovative and engaging podcast, a host of educational and engagement programs, digital news publications, newsletters, and a social media following of over 2 million across platforms, all carefully coordinated to serve our mission and make science a topic of conversation around the dinner table.
ABOUT OUTRIDER FOUNDATION
Outrider Foundation supports multimedia storytelling about nuclear threats and climate change. We partner with creators, thought leaders and news organizations to explain how smart policy can sustain a safe and livable planet. Learn more about Outrider.org.
ABOUT BURROUGHS WELLCOME FUND
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) is a private foundation dedicated to advancing biomedical sciences and supporting the next generation of scientific researchers and educators. With a strong commitment to fostering innovation and excellence in science, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund has made a significant investment in the realm of STEM education. In the past 25 years, BWF has invested more than $100 million to support initiatives and networks in STEM education. In addition to funding, BWF provides opportunities for interactions with colleagues and engagement with the broader community of educators and grant recipients across other BWF education programs. BWF’s focus on support of education highlights the belief in the pivotal role it plays in shaping the future of scientific discovery and addressing complex global challenges. Learn more at bwfund.org.