Rebecca D. Costa
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Rebecca Dazai Costa (born April 11, 1955) is an American
sociobiologist Sociobiology is a field of biology that aims to explain social behavior in terms of evolution. It draws from disciplines including psychology, ethology, anthropology, evolution, zoology, archaeology, and population genetics. Within the study of ...
,
futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...
, and author. She is an expert in the field of fast adaptation. Costa is widely known for her controversial book, ''The Watchman's Rattle'', which offers an evolutionary explanation for modern problems such as government gridlock, terrorism, addiction, a decline in education, etc. National Public Radio's ''EarthSky'' said, "Rebecca Costa is a sociobiologist who spots and explains emerging trends in relationship to human evolution, global markets, and new technologies." Her work has been featured in ''The New York Times'', ''USA Today'', ''Washington Post'', and ''
Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...
''. Costa is the recipient of the Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Award.


''The Watchman's Rattle''

On October 12, 2010, Vanguard Press, a division of Perseus Books Group, Inc., published Costa's book: ''The Watchman's Rattle''. Acclaimed Harvard University naturalist, Edward O. Wilson, contributed the foreword to the book. ''The Watchman's Rattle'' received critical acclaim from
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, Dr. James Watson, Donald Trump, Bill Bradley, and others. The book earned a "Highly Recommend" by the ''New York Journal of Books'', and ''The New York Times'' speculated whether Costa would be "Oprah's Next Star." Media Partner of ABC Television Group, GreenRightNow.com recognized ''The Watchman's Rattle'' as one of the best "green" books of 2010. Bart Alexander, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer for Molson Coors, said that ''The Watchman's Rattle'' "is a wakeup call book about what political, economic, and social challenges the world may be facing." ''Inc.'' Magazine said The Watchman's Rattle is "a fascinating study on how the brain works and how, in the face of complex challenges, our society can survive despite our intelligence being outpaced by our problems." The book was distributed in 20 countries. In November 2012, the paperback edition of ''The Watchman's Rattle'' was released by Perseus Books Group, Inc.


''On the Verge''

On September 6, 2017, Costa's book ''On the Verge'' was published by RosettaBooks. The book examines the role
predictive analytics Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of Statistics, statistical techniques from data mining, Predictive modelling, predictive modeling, and machine learning that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future or other ...
and human foresight play in "pre-dapting" to future events. The book received critical reviews from Jim Lehrer, Alan Dershowitz, Senate Majority Leader, George Mitchell, John Sculley, Christine Todd Whitman,
Tom Daschle Thomas Andrew Daschle ( ; born December 9, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who represented South Dakota in the United States Senate from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he led the Senate Democratic Caucus during the ...
, Craig Newmark, Governor Bill Richardson, and others.


''The Costa Report''

The success of ''The Watchman's Rattle'' led to a nationally syndicated weekly radio news program called ''The Costa Report'' in 2011. The program was praised for its nonpartisan coverage. Newsmakers ranging from Vice President Walter Mondale and theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, to former Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, Bob Woodward, George Schultz, and
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appeared as guests on ''The Costa Report''. The program was syndicated by the Genesis Communications Network (GCN) and VoiceAmerica. The final episode of The Costa Report aired January 4, 2018.


Television

In 2011, Costa agreed to host an internet television program on the ''emPOWERmetv Network''. The program was titled ''Countermeasures, with host Rebecca Costa,'' and was loosely based on ''The Costa Report'' radio show. Following an 8-episode pilot, Costa was offered a contract for a full season, but declined stating "The time needed to research, write, and oversee a weekly television program is more than my schedule can accommodate."


Public speaking

In 2012, Costa joined the American Program Bureau (APB). She is a popular public speaker at business, healthcare, education, government and technology conferences. Executive Director of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security said "Rebecca Costa blew us away with her socio-biological explanation of how our complex environment drives humans into gridlock and indecision. She artfully connects the dots from genetics to complexity to evolution to gridlock." Executive Vice President of Abbott Laboratories, John Landgraf said, "(Costa) really made me stop and think about our business in a different light." Costa has been a speaker at Dole Food Company, IBM, Walmart, NASCIO, Abbott Laboratories, Big Data Alliance, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Tableau Software, National Retail Federation, G20 Summit, North American Spine Society, Colorado Health Symposium, etc.


Personal life

Rebecca Costa lives on the coast of the Pacific Northwest. She has two children by marriage. She is an enthusiastic supporter of the
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,
American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...
, and
Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...
.


References


External links


Official Website
* __NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Rebecca D. Sociobiologists American social sciences writers American women writers American talk radio hosts American women radio hosts University of California, Santa Barbara alumni People from San Mateo, California 21st-century American women 1955 births Living people