“Wissenschaft fürs Wohnzimmer” – 2 years of weekly interactive, scientific livestreams on YouTube

Abstract

Science communication is becoming increasingly important to connect academia and society and to counteract misinformation. Online video platforms, such as YouTube, allow easily accessible communication of scientific knowledge to audiences made up of the general public. In April 2020, a diverse group of researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, launched the YouTube channel called “Wissenschaft fürs Wohnzimmer” (translated to “Living Room Science”) to stream scientific talks about climate change and biodiversity every Thursday evening, with the aim to reach a broad range of members of the public with a general interest in science and climate. Here we report on the numbers and diversity of content, viewers, and presenters from 2 years and 100 episodes of weekly livestreams. Presented topics encompass all areas of polar research, the scientific and societal aspects of climate change and biodiversity loss, and new technologies to deal with the changing world and climate of the future. We show that constant engagement by a group of co-hosts and presenters representing all topics, career stages, and genders enables the continuous growth of views and subscriptions, i.e. a measurable impact. After 783 d, the channel gained 30 251 views and 828 subscribers and hosted well-known scientists, while enabling especially early-career researchers to foster their outreach and media skills. We show that interactive and science-related videos, both live and on-demand, within a pleasant atmosphere, can be produced alongside the main research activity by scientists, while also maintaining high quality. We further discuss the challenges and possible improvements for the future. Our experiences will help other researchers conduct meaningful scientific outreach and push the boundaries of existing formats towards a better understanding of climate change and our planet.