Welcome to Science Counterpunch, a short, punchy brand for a YouTube‑first podcast that combines hard evidence, frontline scientist testimony, and rapid rebuttal clips to expose anti‑science influencers and actors while centering science and experts who’ve been targeted. <br/><br/><a href="https://www.protagonist-science.com?utm_medium=podcast">www.protagonist-science.com</a>
Science Counterpunch
Claim This Podcastby Philipp Markolin, Sam Gregson
5.0(1 reviews)
25 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas Sponsors
Podcast Overview
Welcome to Science Counterpunch, a short, punchy brand for a YouTube‑first podcast that combines hard evidence, frontline scientist testimony, and rapid rebuttal clips to expose anti‑science influencers and actors while centering science and experts who’ve been targeted. <br/><br/><a href="https://www.protagonist-science.com?utm_medium=podcast">www.protagonist-science.com</a>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
3/15/2024
1 verified contact email on file for Science Counterpunch
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Recent Episodes
July 3, 2026
The Science Counterpunch Insights Library
<p>I´m not going to lie. It often feels impossible to keep on top of things these days, between career, raising two young kids, health challenges and just trying to function, the day has few hours left to think about what I can do to make a difference in public discourse, or just as a citizen with a democratic inclination to fight rising authoritarianism and anti-science grifters.</p><p>I know many readers here are similarily exhausted; so this is not to complain but to show that maybe there are small things we can do here and there.</p><p>For example, I recently created an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lab-leak-fever.com/interactive-timeline">interactive Covid-19 origins timeline</a> based on the research in my book with the help of AI tools. It´s not perfect, but it is a lot more accessible than a 500 page book. I prototyped (or vibe-coded) the html for the timeline up in a few hours using Claude code, because I thought this is a useful thing to have and a bounded application of AI I can stand behind. (I also wrote a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.protagonist-science.com/p/ai-policy">new AI use policy for my blog here</a>)</p><p>Because of this experiment, I got a bit more ambitious to try to create a useful resource from our <a target="_blank" href="https://www.protagonist-science.com/podcast">Science Counterpunch interviews</a>. You can watch the live video explainer on top, and you can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lab-leak-fever.com/science-counterpunch-library">find the library here</a>.</p><p><p>Sharing is caring?</p></p><p></p><p>What the Science Counterpunch library actually is</p><p>I went back through every transcript from all ten episodes and used AI to summarize and create ultimately <strong>305 individual insight cards</strong>. Every card is attributed by name, and <strong>169 of them carry a direct, timestamped link</strong> back to the exact second in the original video where the guest said it to make sure context can be re-established.</p><p>The more interesting part of this library is what it makes visible, which is that there are a lot of issues, but <strong>also a lot of proposed solutions</strong>. Overall, our guests had proposed up 90+ solutions (of course with various degree of overlaps or anecdotal touch) </p><p>I believe that by making the problem and solution space parsable, at a glance, maybe it opens a way to find some nuggets of insights for people who do not have the time to listen to 10+ hours of podcast inverviews and then do the pattern-analysis on top of it themselves.</p><p>But <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lab-leak-fever.com/science-counterpunch-library">check for yourself.</a></p><p><strong>The library has many ways to explore the insights:</strong></p><p><strong>The Insight Card Library</strong> — search and filter across all ten episodes and according to category (e.g solutions). This is to really explore freely. You can also type in a name, a tactic, a keyword; and every guest who touched upon it.</p><p><strong>The Problem → Solution Map</strong> — I let AI group every problem-type card into 7 clusters and every solution-type card into 7 clusters, this is not perfect but a useful way to parse the problem and solution space.</p><p><strong>The Episode × Category Heatmap</strong> — which episodes lean hardest into which kind of content. Episode 6 for example, with Gregg Gonsalves, is almost entirely focused on actism solutions. That is not a coincidence; that is who Gregg is and what fights he has actually been in.</p><p><strong>The Recurring Concepts Map</strong> — just a different way to show where guests overlapped (e.g many had used RFKjr as a case example of a bad actors with real-world consequences)</p><p>It’s a tool. It’s also just fun to poke around in</p><p>I don’t want to hide the second half of this. </p><p>Yes, the library exists to make tactics, systemic problems, and solutions legible fast for people with little time and much exhaustion.</p><p>But it’s also just enjoyable to click through — to follow a thread from a problem cluster to the solutions guests actually proposed for it, <strong>to go down a rabbit hole starting from one guest’s name and end up somewhere you didn’t plan on. </strong></p><p>I built it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lab-leak-fever.com/science-counterpunch-library">to be explored</a>, not learned.</p><p>Participatory engagement for people looking for inspiration in the fight against anti-science.</p><p>Maybe that is not your cup of tea. </p><p>Either way, this exists now.</p><p><p>Thanks for reading Protagonist Science! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></p><p></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.protagonist-science.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">www.protagonist-science.com</a>
April 24, 2026
Cool worlds against cosmic misrepresentations /w David Kipping
<p>Is a cosmic rock truly an alien spaceship that the government does not want you to know about? Misrepresentations of scientific inquiry or hypotheses often aren’t an accident, but a structural by‑product of how curiosity, media incentives, and speculation collide. Space science, especially the search for alien life, sits at the perfect fault line: high uncertainty, high awe, and enormous public attention. The result is a constant churn of overreach, misinterpretation, and claims that outrun the evidence.</p><p>This week on Science Counterpunch, we’re joined by astrophysicist David Kipping—director of the Cool Worlds Lab at Columbia University and creator of the Cool Worlds channel—to examine how serious science pushes back. We unpack why astronomy and astrobiology attract so much distortion, how careful speculation differs from storytelling dressed up as science, and what it means to communicate uncertainty without killing curiosity.</p><p>We talk about:</p><p>* why space and alien life grab the public imagination—and why that makes audiences vulnerable to grifters</p><p>* the difference between compelling speculation and testable scientific hypotheses</p><p>* working with institutions like NASA, and where institutional communication succeeds or fails</p><p>* the risks and rewards of engaging massive platforms that don’t consistently respect scientific limits</p><p>* what scientists, creators, and audiences can do better or differently to stop misrepresentation before it hardens into belief</p><p>Being careful and evidence-driven isn’t about shutting down wonder or fun speculations. It’s about protecting them—by keeping evidence in charge.</p><p>Science Counterpunch is a punchy YouTube-first podcast that exists to defend the Enlightenment in an age of information warfare. We expose merchants of doubt, amplify experts under attack, and arm you with the tools to spot anti-science rhetoric before it spreads.</p><p>Evidence matters. Reason isn’t optional. Let’s counterpunch.</p><p><p>Push back on disinformation and help amplify the voices of scientists under attack - share this episode.</p></p><p><strong>Find the full playlist of </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnzdgklfCMnJ6hJzhD8zinppvtb3uN4no"><strong>Science Counterpunch here</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><p>Follow, like and subscribe to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@BadBoyofScience">Sam´s YouTube channel</a> <strong>to watch the video recording</strong> and not miss any upcoming episode. Any thoughts and feedback? Let us know in the comments!</p><p>Subscribe for free to receive updates on my work and join the fight for an evidence-based worldview.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.protagonist-science.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">www.protagonist-science.com</a>
April 10, 2026
Decoding anti-science gurus /w Matt Browne and Chris Kavanagh
<p>Anti-science isn’t a bug in the modern information ecosystem—it’s the feature. Today’s secular gurus don’t need robes or rituals; they wield academic credentials, technical jargon, and a galaxy-brained confidence that turns YouTube, Twitter, and podcasts into pulpits. Their gospel? That institutions are corrupt, science is suspect, and only they have the answers.</p><p>This week on Science Counterpunch, we’re joined by Chris Kavanagh and Matt Brown, hosts of Decoding the Gurus, for a forensic look at the rise of anti-science influencers and the cult dynamics that keep their audiences loyal. We dissect how “decorative scholarship” and anti-institutional rhetoric undermine trust, why audiences crave affirmation over information, and what happens when universities and media fail to defend the basics.</p><p>We talk about:</p><p>* the anatomy of a secular guru—and why credentials are both weapon and shield</p><p>* how online communities form around grievance, identity, and ritualized in-group policing</p><p>* the psychology of audiences: why emotional energy, resentment, and narcissism fuel the ecosystem</p><p>* why institutions struggle to respond; and what academic freedom really means in the age of information warfare</p><p>* practical strategies for fighting back: critical consumption, evidence, and refusing to feed the fire</p><p>This isn’t about dunking for sport. It’s about understanding the playbook—and arming yourself for the next round.</p><p>Science Counterpunch is a punchy YouTube-first podcast that exists to defend the Enlightenment in an age of information warfare. We expose merchants of doubt, amplify experts under attack, and arm you with the tools to spot anti-science rhetoric before it spreads.</p><p>Evidence matters. Reason isn’t optional. Let’s counterpunch.</p><p><p>Push back on disinformation and help amplify the voices of scientists under attack - share this episode.</p></p><p><strong>Find the full playlist of </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnzdgklfCMnJ6hJzhD8zinppvtb3uN4no"><strong>Science Counterpunch here</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><p>Follow, like and subscribe to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@BadBoyofScience">Sam´s YouTube channel</a> <strong>to watch the video recording</strong> and not miss any upcoming episode. Any thoughts and feedback? Let us know in the comments!</p><p>Subscribe for free to receive updates on my work and join the fight for an evidence-based worldview.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.protagonist-science.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">www.protagonist-science.com</a>
25 total episodes available
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Frequently asked questions
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- What is Science Counterpunch?
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This podcast updates daily.
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This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
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Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
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