A functioning democracy depends on the ability of citizens and elected officials to identify, value, and rely upon legitimate sources of scientific information essential to ensuring the nation’s health, well-being, and security. This symposium explores the role of science in the formation of the American democracy; current challenges to maintaining public and policy-maker acceptance of credible science in the face of deliberate misinformation; distractions exacerbated by the expansion of digital media and competing cultural values; and new approaches, informed by both research and practice, to strengthen the incorporation of policy-relevant science into American public discourse and decision-making.