Monya Baker

As Monya Baker tells the story from a “boots on the ground” perspective of the Kitzmiller vs. Dover case, in “Of Pandas and Science Curriculum” (Issues, Fall 2025), it becomes apparent that the issue of teaching evolution in public schools is much more nuanced than a caricaturized “battle” between faith and science.

Vaccines, oil spills, genetic engineering, and stem cells—anywhere there’s science, there’s also misinformation. It muddies our ability to make good decisions, ranging from far-reaching ones like creating policy to simple ones like what to buy at the grocery store. Misinformation also undermines trust in scientific institutions and across society. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine tasked an expert committee with addressing misinformation.

Check the end of any recent study, and there will be a list of study funders and disclosures about competing interests. It’s important to know about potential biases in research, but this kind of transparency was not always the norm. Understanding bias in research and helping policymakers use the most reliable evidence to guide their decisions is a science in itself.