ABSTRACT
It is common to bemoan the public's lack of scientific literacy, an observation that shows up most frequently in the context of science- based political debates over issues like stem cell research and climate change. If only the public better understood the science, the argument goes, better political and policy outcomes would result. This argument both misunderstands science and, more importantly, misunderstands what happens at the interface between the scientific and political-policy arena. Given that things are not so neat and clean, what role can the news media play in helping improve the situation?