Jena Barchas-Lichtenstein

Jena Barchas-Lichtenstein is a linguistic anthropologist who leads the media research at Knology, as well as Associate Editor of Public Anthropologies at American Anthropologist. They lead Knology's participatory collaborations with news organizations, including PBS NewsHour. Their research interests center on the relationship between scientific authority and questions of epistemic and probabilistic certainty. That includes partnerships with journalists and science communication practitioners, as well as research on discourses of quantification and the relationship between text practices and larger sociocultural structures. Between earning a Ph.D. from UCLA and joining Knology, Jena developed content for instructional software and worked as a strategy consultant in media and health. Their doctoral research focused on media circulation and socialization into the global community of Jehovah’s Witnesses.