Is the Scientific Enterprise Too Risk-Averse? Live Debate from Open to Debate and Johns Hopkins’ SNF Agora Institute

On May 5th in Baltimore, Open to Debate and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University will host the latest debate in their ongoing partnership, "The Hopkins Forum." The event will bring together two teams of scientists and economists to debate the following question: "Is the Scientific Enterprise Too Risk-Averse?"

Modern science has given us the ability to edit our genes, life-saving vaccines, and a glimpse at the origins of the universe. But is the system that produced these breakthroughs holding itself back? Critics argue that the pressure to publish and fierce competition for funding rewards safe, incremental work over bold thinking and big swings. Yet others see a system still capable of paradigm-shifting discoveries - one where large, worldwide collaborations and long-term thinking motivate scientists to pursue grand, ambitious ideas.

Arguing that the scientific enterprise is too risk-averse will be economist Tyler Cowen. Cowen is the host of the "Conversations with Tyler" podcast, a contributor at The Free Press, and his blog, Marginal Revolution, was named the best economics blog on the web by The Wall Street Journal. He also founded Emergent Ventures, a multi-million dollar fund that supports entrepreneurs and brilliant minds with highly scalable, "zero to one" ideas for meaningfully improving society.

Opposing Cowen and arguing that the scientific enterprise is not too risk-averse will be chemist, science entertainer, and professor Dr. Kate Biberdorf aka. Kate the Chemist. Dr. Biberdorf is Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Notre Dame, the author of the bestseller The Big Book of Experiments, The Awesome Book of Edible Experiments for Kids and the fiction series Kate the Chemist.

Both debaters will have a partner to be announced soon.

The event is presented by Open to Debate and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and is the sixth debate in their ongoing partnership, "The Hopkins Forum." It will take place on Tuesday, May 5, at 6:00 PM ET at Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus, Shriver Hall (3400 N. Charles Street) in Baltimore. Media are invited to attend and can email [email protected] for access. The event will be recorded for later broadcast on the Open to Debate public radio show and podcast.

TThe event follows the launch of The Hopkins Forum last year with five live debates in both Washington DC and Baltimore. In the first debate, Jeff Sessions, Jeff Flake, Cristina Rodriguez, and Jamal Greene debated the future of the Supreme Court. In the second, former Congressman and CIA officer Will Hurd and State Department veteran Susan Thornton debated the US-China A.I. arms race. In the third, former CDC director Tom Frieden, influencer Doctor Mike Varshavski, former Surgeon General Jerome Adams, and emergency medicine physician Dara Kass debated whether COVID was a public health failure. The fourth saw tech policy experts debating the government breaking up Big Tech. The fifth and most recent saw Andrew Yang and Chris Hughes debate AI and the future of work.

DEBATER BIOS

ARGUING YES:

Tyler Cowen: Author of "The Great Stagnation"; Economics Professor at George Mason University; Founder of Emergent Ventures
Tyler Cowen is the Holbert C. Harris Professor of Economics at George Mason University and chair of the university's Mercatus Center. He is also the host of the "Conversations with Tyler" podcast, a contributor at The Free Press, and his blog, Marginal Revolution, was named the best economics blog on the web by The Wall Street Journal and earned him a spot on TIME's "25 Best Bloggers" list. He also founded Emergent Ventures, a multi-million dollar fund that supports entrepreneurs and brilliant minds with highly scalable, "zero to one" ideas for meaningfully improving society. He is the winner of the fourth annual Foundation for Economic Education's 2017 Leonard E. Read Distinguished Alumni Award. Foreign Policy named him one of 2011's Top 100 Global Thinkers, and a survey by The Economist placed him among the most influential economists of the decade. He has written for Bloomberg Opinion, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and others. Tyler has written or co-written twenty books, including the generative-made books "GOAT" and "Marginal Revolution," "The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All the Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History," which was a New York Times bestseller, "Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World," "Discover Your Inner Economist," a treatment of behavioral economics, and "An Economist Gets Lunch: New Rules for Everyday Foodies."

ARGUING NO:

Dr. Kate Biberdorf ("Kate the Chemist"): Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame; Science Entertainer
Kate Biberdorf is a chemist, science entertainer, and professor. Through her theatrical and hands-on approach to teaching, Dr. Biberdorf is breaking down the image of the stereotypical scientist, while reaching students who might otherwise be intimidated by science. She is the author of the bestseller The Big Book of Experiments, The Awesome Book of Edible Experiments for Kids, the fiction series Kate the Chemist, and the nonfiction book It's Elemental: The Hidden Chemistry in Everything. She's been profiled in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, and has appeared on The Today Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, NBC Nightly News, The Rachael Ray Show, Star Talk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Late Night with Stephen Colbert.

ABOUT OPEN TO DEBATE
Open to Debate addresses a fundamental problem in America: the extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. We are the nation's only nonpartisan, debate-driven media organization dedicated to bringing multiple viewpoints together for a constructive, balanced, respectful exchange of ideas. Open to Debate is a platform for intellectually curious and open-minded people to engage with others holding opposing views on complex issues. We know debate works to find common ground: On average, 32% of the Open to Debate audience changes their mind on contentious topics after hearing a debate. That's the power of debate done right, and at scale, it can change the direction we're headed in America. Open to Debate is broadcast as a weekly public radio program, carried on NPR stations including WNYC (#1 in the nation). Open to Debate is made available as a podcast, video series, and digital platform, and records episodes with live audiences nationwide. Learn more at opentodebate.org, and subscribe to Open to Debate's Substack to access more than 350 debate archives, explore exclusive content, and engage with our community.

ABOUT THE SNF AGORA INSTITUTE
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University is an academic and public forum dedicated to strengthening global democracy through research, teaching, and practice. Founded in 2017 with a visionary $150 million grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the institute draws inspiration from the ancient Athenian agora-a space for open debate and deliberation-to bridge divides, expand civic engagement, and foster informed, inclusive, dialogue as the cornerstone of robust democracy.

SNF Agora organizes its work around three pillars:

• Discovery : Advancing transformative, multi-disciplinary research to address democratic decline and identify sources of resilience.
• Design : Collaborating with practitioners to develop usable knowledge that transforms academic insight into real-world impact.
• Dialogue : Creating spaces for inclusive civic discourse, public convenings, and educational programs that empower citizens to engage meaningfully in democracy.

Through its work, the SNF Agora Institute empowers citizens with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas to participate meaningfully in civic life. Its scholars and practitioners collaborate to address challenges to democracy, bridge divides, and cultivate democratic resilience through research, innovative interventions, and public engagement. For more information about the SNF Agora Institute, visit www.snfagora.jhu.edu.

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For more information on Open to Debate, please contact Ray Padgett ([email protected]) at Shore Fire Media.