Through a concise overview of a series of case studies of public communication of science before and doing the Covid-19 pandemic, I will discuss a concept of “integrated ethos” for public experts. This notion of expert ethos recognizes the rhetorical citizenship of scientists as key when experts exit the technical sphere and engage laypeople in public forums. After unpacking the integrated ethos of the
“scientist-citizen,” I also discuss a variety of contexts, platforms, and specific situations that can either enable or constrain the enactment of scientist-citizenship in our complex contemporary media ecologies. In doing so, I reflect on the challenges and opportunities of taking up a “scientist-activist” expert stance and I conclude by encouraging public experts to cultivate a deeper awareness of the rhetorical contexts in which they communicate to prevent both the erosion of their expert ethos and the political exploitation of their public communication in times of crisis and polarization. In short, I discuss in turn “scientist-citizens”, “scientist-activists”, and “scientist-rhetors” as useful public modes of engagement for contemporary experts, and I review the challenges and opportunities of taking up the public communication of science and expertise seriously through a series of examples that include both pre-pandemic and Covid-19 case studies.