Science Friday Names Flora Lichtman Host

Veteran science journalist Floria Lichtman has been named a Host of Science Friday, the independently produced, trusted source for news and entertaining stories about science distributed by WYNC Studios. Founder Ira Flatow will also continue as host,

Lichtman is well-known to the Science Friday audience, having served as a frequent guest host since 2010. Known for her creative scientific storytelling Flora is the former host and creator of “Every Little Thing,” a Gimlet-produced podcast that ran for two hundred episodes over five years. She has also written for Netflix’s “Bill Nye Saves The World” and co-directed the Emmy-nominated video series “Animated Life” on the New York Times Op-Docs channel.

“I am thrilled that Flora is joining me as Host,” said Flatlow, who founded the show in 1991 and has overseen the program’s expansion to serve more than 1.8 million people on radio and digital platforms. “Floria is already beloved by our audience for her thoughtful insights, humor, and energy. She embodies the relentless curiosity, fun, and intellectual rigor that is foundational to our show.”

“Over the past twenty years, in my career, what has mattered most to me is making science accessible, relatable and human,” said Lichtman. “That’s what Science Friday is all about.”

“More than ever, we need more trustworthy science newsstand we always need more fun,” Lichtman added.

“Science Friday fans will be glad to know that Ira’s not going anywhere,” said Danielle D. Johnson, SciFri’s Executive Director. “After thirty-three years, Ira wants to bring in another trusted voice and perspective to anchor the show. Together, Ira and Flora will continue to inspire and delight our audience with entertaining and educational stories about science, technology, and other cool stuff.”

Science Friday is an award-winning producer of high quality, fact-checked and trustworthy science news and educational programming. For 30 years, SciFri has introduced top scientists to public radio listeners, and remind them of how much fun it is to learn something new. Science Friday also produces a sweeping array of educational and entertaining science experiences through videos, podcasts, digital reporting, live events, citizen science, K-12 educational and professional development, and at-home learning activities for families that directly serve hundreds of thousands of educators, parents, citizen scientists, and lifelong learners every year.

The program can be heard on public radio stations in all 50 states and download by listeners across the world.

This week, Science Friday achieved a milestone, reaching its 501st station for distribution.

About Science Friday

Science Friday’s mission is to increase public access to science and scientific information. They strive to deliver enjoyable, understandable science to people and communities across the country.  Founded by Flatlow, Science Friday was first broadcast in 1991 as a caller-driven public radio talk show focused conscience and connecting wit the public with scientific experts. Since then, they’ve expanded their offerings into podcasts, digital and social media, education, live events, and community programming all in service of their mission.

About WNYC Studios

WNYC Studios is the premier producer of on-demand and broadcast audio that informs, inspires and delights millions of engaged listeners each month. WNYC Studios is home to some of the most critically acclaimed and beloved podcasts, including Radiolab, On The Media, and The New Yorker Radio Hour. In addition, WNCY Studios distributes some of public radio’s most popular programs, including Science Friday, Freakonomics, and Today, Explained to hundreds of public radio stations across the country.

Stitcher Brings Listen Later Buttons To (Some) Podcast Websites

Listen Later ButtonStreaming audio/podcast aggregation app Stitcher is expanding the reach of its Listen Later service. Stitcher originally launched Listen Later as an in-app feature in 2003. The idea was simple but effective: When users find something in Stitcher they’d like to listen to at a later time, they can tap a button next to the item of interest, and that item is then added to a queue for later playback. This new addition to the feature takes Listen Later outside of the confines of the app, and allows for Listen Later buttons to appear on the web. Now, users can find things to listen to while web browsing and instantly “save” these audio portions by sending them to that same Listen Later queue inside of Stitcher.

And while Stitcher aggregates over 20,000 different audio feeds, this new Listen Later service is being rolled out slowly. It’s currently only available to a handful of partners. But Stitcher is planning on expanding the scope of Listen Later over time, eventually allowing all of its “partner” shows (a term Stitcher uses for any podcast that’s distributed thru the platform) to take advantage of this service.

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