About

Joanne has 15 years of experience in explaining science as a professional speaker, TV host, radio presenter and book author.

Making sense of science.

Jo Nova is a science communicator, she’s presented science on TV, radio, on stage, in cartoons, exhibitions, reports and now in her blog which over 200,000 people visited in 2009.

After winning prizes in her science degree in molecular biology, Joanne joined the Shell Questacon Science Circus and spent five years touring Australia first as a performer, then as manager of the half million dollar exhibition with a team of twelve. As an associate lecturer at ANU Joanne helped to develop the Graduate Diploma in Science Communication in its earliest years.

In the last two years Joanne has focused on the science of monetary systems, financial history, the gold market, and has also become heavily involved in communicating the science of carbon’s role in Climate Change. Joanne attended the UNFCCC in Bali Dec 07 as a delegate, has spoken in New York at the International Climate Change Conference, and to Staffers of the US Senate in Washington, as well as to Australian leaders of business and banking at Consilium, for the Centre for Independent Studies.

Over 220,000 copies of The Skeptics Handbook have been published, printed and distributed in the US, Australia, NZ and Sweden. It was done entirely pro bono, and volunteers have translated it into French, German (twice), Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Turkish, Japanese, Danish, Portuguese, Balkan, Spanish and Thai. Italian, Lao, Slovenian and Dutch versions are coming.

Previously Joanne delivered keynote speeches at conferences on the latest advances in science for professional groups like researchers, medical specialists, accountants, engineers, and teachers. Her favourite topics include discussing the medical revolution and how we may all outlive our superannuation.

Joanne hosted a children’s TV series on Channel Nine, and has done over 200 radio interviews, many on the Australian ABC. Her favourite hands-on science experiments were published as a book in 2003. Joanne has also managed programs bringing hands-on science to street kids in Melbourne and remote Aboriginal communities as well as working as a cartoonist, graphic designer and illustrator.

The Blog

This Blog is becoming a forum for the science of any issue that has not been explained well, and for the application of logic, reason and the scientific method to topics that ought to be scientific, but clearly aren’t (like economics).

Jo Nova was one of the four heretics mentioned by Matt Ridley in his summation of the global effort to separate science from pseudoscience.

“The remarkable thing about the heretics I have mentioned is that every single one is doing this in his or her spare time. They work for themselves, they earn a pittance from this work. There is no great fossil-fuel slush fund for sceptics”.

Jo Nova has been mentioned or referenced by The Australian [World wide web of doubt Hot and bothered , Let's have a debate, Aunty] , Forbes,  The Spectator, Mark Steyn, Andrew Bolt [here and here], ABC (the Drum1, Drum2), The Science and Public Policy Institute, The Hawaii Reporter, James Delingpole of The Telegraph (and here and here too), Christopher Booker, and The Examiner, The West Australian. She’s been blamed for the collapse of the ETS and named in the Australian Parliament and the Oxfam report on skeptics. Jo did a five part debate with Dr Andrew Glikson, first through Quadrant Online, then at her own blog. The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne listed Jo Nova as the balancing counterpoint to the combined scientific weight of The UN and government departments. The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald tried to disparage her with an ad hominem. So did Clive Hamilton. Of course, Joanne has her own DeSmog Blog page.

Jo has been interviewed on The John Batchelor Show (NY) [1] [2], the Corbett Report and with Michael Smith on 4BC and on Global Cooling Radio.

Joanne Nova lives in Perth, Australia. She welcomes comments (but not spam) email: joanne AT joannenova.com.au (replace the ‘AT’ with’@’ to foil nasty agents.)  She received no funding for the first Skeptics Handbook or to create this site. Donations help to cover costs, and made the second Handbook possible in late 2009. She and her husband are self employed.

Her phone number is unlisted, she does not live in Bateman or Palmyra. (Please don’t phone them!).

More details about her speaking, TV, radio work and qualifications here.