Flora has produced science media for 20 years across many formats. She got her start right here at Science Friday, working her way up from intern to fill-in host, and resident videographer. From there, she worked as a video producer for The New York Times, co-creating an Emmy-nominated film series that dramatized scientific discoveries using… paper puppets. She also was nominated for an Emmy for her writing on Bill Nye’s Netflix show “Bill Nye Saves the World.” She has created and launched a number of podcasts in various roles, including hosting Gimlet’s beloved “Every Little Thing,” which connected listeners to experts who could answer their burning questions. The show ran for five years and published over 200 episodes.
Making science accessible, relatable, and human has been a focus of Flora’s career. Some of her inspiration comes from her own experience in science: Long, long ago, she worked at a NATO oceanographic lab in Italy. For the lab’s research expeditions, she lived on a ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.
You can find her @flichtman on social media platforms.
15:27
Two Steps Forward For Meat Alternatives
Scientists bring us a lab-grown chicken nugget and texturally accurate, plant-based calamari. We’ll bite.
8:00
Does Taping Your Mouth Shut Help You Sleep?
Social media influencers are claiming that taping your mouth shut during sleep has life-changing effects. But the evidence isn’t airtight.
11:45
And The Oscar Goes To … Science
The Sci-Tech Awards honor behind-the-scenes technologies that bring movies to life, from car flippers to safe burn gel for fire stunts.
8:33
Ancient Iguanas Floated 5,000 Miles Across The Pacific
Millions of years ago, iguanas somehow got from North America to Fiji. Scientists think they made the trip on a raft of fallen vegetation.
9:03
Meet Fiona, The Pregnant Icthyosaur Fossil
The marine reptile’s fossilized fetus is cluing paleontologists into the lives of ancient sea creatures.
5:21
This Ancient Wasp Might’ve Used Its Butt Flaps To Trap Prey
Taking a cue from a Venus flytrap, this prehistoric wasp had a creative way of getting its meal.
12:13
$8 Billion Of Climate Tech Projects Were Canceled In 3 Months
How will market uncertainty and a lack of federal support for climate efforts affect the future of clean energy in the United States?
17:23
A New Book On The Horrifying, Creative World Of Insect Zombies
“Rise of the Zombie Bugs” explores how parasites create real-life zombies in the insect and invertebrate world.
12:11
How Death Metal Singers Make Their Extreme Vocalizations
Vocal researchers are learning how death metal singers safely produce extreme vocal distortions, in hopes of improving vocal health care.
17:25
A Precisely Pointed Laser Allows People To See New Color ‘Olo’
Researchers isolated one kind of cone in the eye and aimed lasers at it to allow subjects to see a super vibrant teal shade they call “olo.”