Randy Olson, Ph.D.
Randy Olson Productions
ABOUT: Randy Olson is a scientist-turned-filmmaker who left a tenured professorship of marine biology (PhD Harvard University) to attend USC Cinema School, then work in and around Hollywood for 25 years. He wrote and directed the documentary feature film, “Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus,” which premiered at Tribeca and aired on Showtime. He has published three books on the communication of science starting with his identification of the problems in, “Don’t Be Such A Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style” (Island Press, 2nd edition, 2018) then followed by his recommended solutions in, “Houston, We Have A Narrative: Why Science Needs Story” (University of Chicago Press, 2015). The latter book outlined his Story Circles Narrative Training program that has now involved over 1,000 scientists from government agencies (including the National Park Service, NIH, USDA, USGS, USFWS) and numerous universities as it continues to grow.