Graphic Adventures in Science Engagement

I describe the evolution of the idea to create a new kind of science book in my area of physics that could reach and excite a wider range of audiences than the traditional book does. Authors hide so much about how theoretical physics works, and how researchers think about it, when we write prose-only presentations, mostly from the point of view of a single, expert voice. What it we instead include more of the visuals we use: the scribbled diagrams, equations, metaphors that we use when grasping for an idea? What if the reader could hear multiple voices and perspectives in conversation, and even see the different interlocutors? From these questions, A graphic non-fiction book was born, The Dialogues: Conversations About the nature of the Universe (MIT Press), and in this talk I describe the research and exploration that went into constructing the book, which was listed amongst NPR's Science Friday's Best Books of the Year, two years in a row!