Free public event sponsored by the Department of African-American Studies and the Department of Journalism.

A free public event, the second as part of Truth Project series, "True Talk, Fake News: The Search for Reality in Public Discourse," is a panel discussion that brings together faculty members in rhetoric and journalism to discuss our thirst for truth in a world of fakery and propaganda. Panelists include: Rosa A. Eberly, associate professor of rhetoric, Department of Communication Arts and Sciences and Department of English; Patrick Plaisance, the Don W. Davis Professor of Ethics, Department of Journalism; Russell Frank, associate professor, Department of Journalism; and Matt Jordan, associate professor, Department of Film-Video and Media Studies.

As part of a year-long focus on studying data analytics in sports, the Center for the Study of Sports in Society presents a free public "conversation" featuring New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson. A graduate of Dartmouth Colleeg and Harvard Law School, Alderson's career in baseball began with the Oakland A's and includes service as MLB vice president supervising umpries, among other duties. Among the topics he will discuss will be how executives without extensive math/statistics expertise can digest and act upon data from analysts.

Former director of national intelligence James Clapper will present a free public lecture. Presented by Center for Security Research and Education.

Free public screening of "Borderline," a film about a woman who has a borderline personality disorder dignosis. Post-screening discussion wtih director/producer Rebbie Ratner, psychology professor Kenneth Levy and Anita Gabrosek, an assistant teaching professor in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.

Free public lecture by Distingushed Professor S. Shyam Sundar of the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. Sundar is the founding co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory, housed in the Bellisario College. He has been studying the psychology of online news consumption for more than 20 years. His experiments have identified several important elements of digital media technologies that shape the perceived credibility of internet-based information. Sponsored by the Institute for CyberScience at Penn State as part of monthly seminar series exploring the frontiers of cyberscience research.

There has been deepening concern about political polarization in public attitudes toward the scientific community and/or scientific knowledge. Many attribute this polarization to psychological deficiencies among conservatives as compared to liberals. This attribution, however, is inconsistent with our knowledge of basic psychology and the empirical literature on how ideology influences science attitudes. Drawing from interdisciplinary research in the fields of communication, psychology, and political science, we review the scientific literature on partisanship and public attitudes about science, what drives perceptual divides about many science topics, and what lessons we may draw for more effective science communication across ideological and value differences.

About Erik Nisbet

Erik C. Nisbet (Ph.D., Cornell University) is an associate professor of communication, environmental policy, and political science at the Ohio State University, a member of the Human Dimensions of the Environment research group at the Ohio State University, and a faculty associate at the OSU Mershon Center for International Security Studies. Erik’s research focuses on the intersection of science and politics while informing best practices for communicating across ideological and value differences. Erik has published more than thirty journal articles and book chapters, including in Nature Climate Change, Public Understanding of Science, and Science Communication. His research has also been supported by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation.

Sascha Meinrath, the Palmer Chair of Telecommnications in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, will present a free public lecture titled "Hacking the 21st Century: Data Integrity in the Era of Cyber Siege" as part of the University's Research Unplugged series. While an integral and helpful part of our lives, technology can come with its own host of frustrating problems. From ID theft and hacking of personal information, to changes in the economy itself, Meinrath will investigate the current trends in technological development, and discuss what can be done to change course and protect ourselves from the dark side of today's digital Faustian bargains.