Kathleen Davis is a producer and fill-in host at Science Friday, which means she spends her weeks researching, writing, editing, and sometimes talking into a microphone. She heads the show’s State of Science project, bringing local science stories to a national audience.
Before joining the Science Friday team in 2020, Kathleen reported on tech and breaking news at WESA, Pittsburgh’s NPR station. One time, her coworkers made her a dinosaur themed birthday cake, complete with a Rice Krispy meteor.
Kathleen is originally from the great state of Michigan, and is always eager to talk about freshwater lakes and Coney Island diners. She can often be found taking long walks to run errands that would be done much faster by other modes of transportation.
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12:11
Phasing Out “Problematic” Plastics
Companies pledge to stop making hard-to-recycle materials—like straws, cutlery, and stirrers—as early as 2025.
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17:32
A Race To Save Florida’s Manatees
This charismatic mammal had its worst year on record in 2021. Scientists are scrambling to reverse manatees’ bad fortune.
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17:33
Understanding The Cannabis-Body Connection With Exercise
The first human study on how cannabis affects exercise sheds light on the body’s endocannabinoid system.
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7:28
Big Agriculture Schools Face Increasing Donor Conflicts Of Interest
Harvest Public Media and Investigate Midwest find corporations have given colleges at least $170 million in the last decade. How does that influence their research?
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8:49
Growing Plants—And Providing Solar Energy
Growing crops under solar panels is an efficient way to approach a new era of agriculture.
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4:35
This is Your Brain on Wordle
A social psychologist explains why the popular word game is so addictive.
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9:33
Ivermectin’s False Reputation Exemplifies How Misinformation Spread
The unproven drug lacks scientific backing—and even the studies that purportedly found it effective have been disputed and retracted.
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17:17
Omicron May Be Less Severe. It’s Still A Big Healthcare Problem.
A breakdown of what to consider when talking about severity.
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10:19
Black Protestant Clergy Are Effectively Encouraging Vaccines
In historically Black Protestant churches, regular attendees are much more likely to be vaccinated than those who come infrequently.
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6:34
What Is Causing Maine’s Puffins To Physically Shrink?
Centuries of see-sawing growth and decline now has a new factor: climate change.