Science Under Siege

Math Science History with Gabrielle Birchak

In this urgent episode of Math! Science! History, Gabrielle Birchak exposes how the United States is dismantling its scientific foundation through lawsuits, defunding, censorship, and intimidation. From shuttered labs to banned books and silenced climate scientists, Gabrielle connects today’s attacks on knowledge to historical examples of authoritarian suppression—from Galileo’s house arrest to the German Reich’s university purges and Stalin’s pseudoscience.

This is more than a culture war; it’s a battle for truth itself. If science falls, society falters. History has shown us the red flags—will we recognize them before it’s too late?

Three key takeaways

Historical Warnings – How past regimes like Germany's Third Reich, Stalin’s Soviet Union, and Mao’s China crippled their own futures by silencing science.

Present-Day Threats – The U.S. government’s defunding of universities, dismantling of climate research, and politicization of curricula.

How to Act – Practical ways to defend truth, support at-risk scholars, protect data, and safeguard scientific integrity globally.

Resources & References

· Scholars at Risk

· IIE Scholar Rescue Fund

· Union of Concerned Scientists

· American Association for the Advancement of Science

· Climate Mirror

· Internet Archive

· WHO Foundation

· iNaturalist

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