Following the SMH account of turmoil in CSIRO, reported in What The Papers Say in yesterday’s Crikey Daily, a reader points us to this fascinating story in the April edition of Australasian Science. “The Insider” by Norman Abjorenson gives an account of his time at CSIRO serving under Geoff Garrett and former tobacco lobbyist Donna Staunton: journalists eyeballed and intimidated, journalists blackballed or rewarded with advertising for favourable reports, an email by Garrett requesting email-free days, and descriptions of an environment of mistrust and suspicion where nods and winks prevail.

Whoever said science was dull?