watched

The Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week is the longest-running cable television series in history, filling screens with sharky content every summer since 1988. It causes one of the largest temporary increases in U.S. viewers’ attention to any science or conservation topic. It’s also the largest stage in marine biology, giving scientists who appear on it access to an audience of millions. Being featured by high-profile media outlets can help researchers attract attention and funding that can help super-charge their careers. Hammerhead sharks schooling near Costa Rica’s Cocos Island. John Voo/Flickr, CC BY Unfortunately, Shark Week is also a missed opportunity. As scientists and conservationists have long argued, it is a major source of misinformation and nonsense about sharks, the scient...

The U.S. has the largest number of surveillance cameras per person in the world. Cameras are omnipresent on city streets and in hotels, restaurants, malls and offices. They’re also used to screen passengers for the Transportation Security Administration. And then there are smart doorbells and other home security cameras. Most Americans are aware of video surveillance of public spaces. Likewise, most people know about online tracking – and want Congress to do something about it. But as a researcher who studies digital culture and secret communications, I believe that to understand how pervasive surveillance is, it’s important to recognize how physical and digital tracking work together. Databases can correlate location data from smartphones, the growing number of private cameras, license ...

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Beware Of ‘Shark Week’: Scientists Watched 202 Episodes And Found Them Filled With Junk Science, Misinformation And White Male ‘Experts’ Named Mike

Even If No One Is Looking For You, Yes You Are Being Watched – Surveillance Is Pervasive