Science miracle: New season Agree to Disagree starts today!

Science miracle: New season Agree to Disagree starts today!

The new season of the science series "Agree to Disagree" starts on June 2, 2025 in the Arte Mediathek. The series, which was awarded the "Buzzy Award" as the best documentary short format at the World Congress of Science & Factual Producers in Seattle in 2023, illuminates current, socially relevant topics. The series is moderated by Prof. Dr. Bertolt Meyer, who holds the professorship for labor, organizational and business psychology at the Technical University of Chemnitz. The new episodes show how scientists respectfully discuss with different points of view.

Meyer and two researchers meet in each of the seven new episodes to deal with urgent questions of our time. The range of topics is diverse and ranges from the question of whether esotericism is dangerous, to the role of disposition or environmental influences in depression to the challenges in development cooperation and migration. In addition, important questions about CO₂ storage and housing shortage in society are discussed.

The connection between science and society

The importance of science communication has increased particularly during corona pandemic. The term describes all forms of communication about scientific knowledge, including science journalism and public relations. A study of the MIT shows that false information on social media platforms have a greater reach than correct information. This underlines the need for credible science communication. Prof. Meyer emphasizes that with his moderation he wants to focus on the plurality of scientific findings and the dynamic character of science.

In addition to "Agree to Disagree", Arte also works on a podcast called "People of Science". This podcast will shed light on the research focus of the guests and their careers. The first episode of the entire series was published on May 24, 2023 and focuses on robotics research, with guests like Prof. Dr. Ulrike Thomas and her team were invited.

challenges and future of science communication

Despite the progress in science communication, there are challenges. Science journalists and communicators often criticize the mixing of PR and journalism, which can endanger the quality of science communication. Suggestions for improvement include the stronger bundling of communication and the support of socially relevant topics by journalistic media.

A new definition of science communication could focus on the truth content of the information and ensure that uncertainties and contradictions are communicated transparently. Scientists should not be forced to publicly communicate what is rejected by the Science Council.

Overall, the new season of "Agree to Disagree" not only shows the challenges that our society faces, but also how important a respectful and evidence -based exchange is in science to promote social discourses.

For more information about the series and the specific topics, please visit the Technical University of Chemnitz href = "https://idw-online.de/de/news814737"> Idw-online or the Federal Center for Political Education .