Can science be more open?
How can we incorporate lived experience as evidence?
How do we break through biases to create better knowledge?
Unscripted: Candid Conversations about the Future of Research
Listen in live to a set of daily conversations taking place over the course of a single week.
Six visionary thinkers take the mic and pair up to talk to each other one-on-one in this five-part series that challenges us to rethink the way society produces, collects, shares, and uses knowledge about health.
Each episode builds on the last: The guest from one episode becomes the host of the next to talk shop about what the future of research could look like and how we get there.
Keep up to date with Unscripted
Meet the Cast of Unscripted
Lil Milagro Henriquez, PhD (ABD), has a rich background in environmental justice, youth leadership, and social activism. She founded Mycelium Youth Network to equip young people with the skills and knowledge to thrive in a climate-challenged world. Her work emphasizes both resilience and community-based solutions. Episode 1
Erica Walker, ScD, MSc, epidemiologist and founder of Community Noise Lab, practices what she calls storm-chasing science: She conducts research guided by a community's needs—in places impacted by deep inequalities and environmental injustices—and equips them with resources to advocate for better health. Episodes 1 & 2
Mary Bassett, MD, MPH, director of FXB Center for Health and Human Rights and former NY State Health Commissioner, is a leading thinker on the intersection of race, wealth, and health. She’s exploring reparations as a public health strategy that could dramatically improve the health and life expectancy of Black Americans. Episodes 2 & 3
Brian Nosek, PhD, social psychologist and co-founder and director of Center for Open Science, believes in order for research to better benefit us all we must realign our systems of incentives and rewards to promote transparency, reproducibility, and integrity, and reward scientists for asking big questions. Episodes 3 & 4
Keolu Fox, PhD, Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian), genome scientist, co-founder of Indigenous Futures Lab and Native BioData Consortium, believes creating a healthier, equitable future starts with Indigenous data sovereignty: A community should decide if, when, and how data about them is collected, shared, and used. Episodes 4 & 5
Sarah Richardson, PhD, director of GenderSci Lab, is a historian, philosopher of science, and leading gender and science scholar. She builds interdisciplinary teams to shape how we ask and answer research questions about gender and sex. Her work advances health equity for all, informs public discourse, and addresses bias. Episode 5
Take home a part of the Unscripted experience.
Order your very own free T-shirts with quotes from Unscripted. Spark curiosity and conversation about the future of research when you wear them out in your communities. Snap a pic of you and your shirt and tag RWJF (@RWJF on LinkedIn or @RWJFoundation on Instagram and use the hashtag #RWJFUnscripted) so we see it!
Follow the conversation thread: Get inspired with us as we hear from leaders who are challenging the research status quo to advance health equity.
Questions? Email us at Unscripted@RWJF.org.
Episode 1: Monday, October 21
Lil Milagro Henriquez, PhD (ABD), MA, founder and executive director of Mycelium Youth Network, talks with Erica Walker, ScD, MSc, RGSS assistant professor of Epidemiology, Brown University, and founder and director of Community Noise Lab.
Listen to leaders in youth advocacy and environmental justice as they take on questions like, “How can researchers use local wisdom and lived experience to make new discoveries that advance health equity?” and more.
Episode 2: Tuesday, Oct. 22
Erica Walker, ScD, MSc, assistant professor, Brown University, and founder and director of Community Noise Lab, talks with Mary Bassett, MD, MPH, director of FXB Center for Health and Human Rights and professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Hear these trailblazers in public health and racial justice as they dig into questions like, “How can we prioritize research that solves community problems and advances social justice?” and more.
Episode 3: Wednesday, Oct. 23
Mary Bassett, MD, MPH, director of FXB Center for Health and Human Rights and professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, talks with Brian Nosek, PhD, co-founder and executive director of Center for Open Science.
Listen in as these visionaries in health and human rights and open science explore questions like, “How are we incentivizing researchers?” and “Can we change the reward system to encourage asking bigger questions?” and more.
Episode 4: Thursday, Oct. 24
Brian Nosek, PhD, co-founder and executive director of Center for Open Science, talks with Keolu Fox, PhD, assistant professor and co-director of Indigenous Futures Lab at UC San Diego.
Hear from two changemakers exploring the ways data can be more open and collaborative ponder questions like, “How can we make science more inclusive?” and “What are the most equitable approaches for collecting, sharing, and using data and research findings?” and more.
Episode 5: Friday, Oct. 25
Keolu Fox, PhD, assistant professor and co-director of Indigenous Futures Lab at UC San Diego, talks with Sarah Richardson, PhD, director of GenderSci Lab at Harvard University.
Hear from these researchers that are readying the next generation of scientists as they explore questions like, “How do we break through biases to create better, more inclusive health knowledge?” and more.
Featured Resources
Hunches
A hunch is an inkling, a possibility, a sneaking suspicion about the future. We don’t often share our hunches, but when we do, amazing things can happen. Share yours!
5 Questions For...
In this series, we ask these grantees to tell us about their work and share their insights into how new technologies, scientific discoveries, cultural shifts and breakthrough solutions may influence health and wellbeing now and for generations to come.
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