Ideas Matter

I’m a co-founder, alongside Pillar VC and Homeworld Collective, of Ideas Matter, a writing fellowship for scientific “idea generators.” We believe that a small fraction of scientists who are able to cultivate and clearly articulate ideas play an outsized role in shaping the priorities of their scientific field. We aim to discover and teach these individuals how to write and grow audiences.

Cohort 01: Biology was announced in December 2023. A total of 14 fellows were selected from more than 520 applicants. View the announcementonline.

Our mission, then, is to cultivate the means of idea production. We train researchers & writers in scientific domains to write and grow audiences so that they can wield outsized influence over the trajectory of their field.

Fellowships run once or twice per year, and are typically focused on a specific theme, such as biology or computer science. Each fellowship lasts 8-weeks and funds 12-15 fellows. We help current — and aspiring — scientific thought leaders craft stories that resonate with a wider audience, mainly through blogs, essays, and newsletters.

Ideas Matter fellows write two edited pieces for inclusion in a published anthology. They will join a selective writing community and gain access to a pot of funds to hire professional editors and artists, or to take reporting trips. Fellowships include monthly workshops and lectures from writers, thinkers, and editors. 

We received about 550 applications for Cohort #1, which is devoted to biology. Guest speakers include: Saloni Dattani, Ed Boyden, Christina Agapakis, Alexey Guzey & Emily Mullin. Our long-term vision is to build a Y Combinator for Scientific Ideas.