One thing to consider is that Nate Silver having a big audience is almost certainly a good thing in the world. It's less important what he works on and more imp

One thing to consider is that Nate Silver having a big audience is almost certainly a good thing in the world. It's less important what he works on and more important that he's able to spread some small measure of statistical fluency to as many people as possible. He's a good writer, and is able to convey confusing aspects of statistical analysis to lay people. There are academics doing academic-y things in the shadows, and there will be for the foreseeable future. Silver, though can maximize the impact of his particular gifts by increasing his audience and chipping away at the enormous levels of statistical ignorance in the world. In fact, there's a great tradition of this in the sciences. In terms of popularizing science, Nate Silver is a kindred of people like Carl Sagan (Cosmos), Steven Hawking (A Brief History of Time), Randall Munroe (XKCD), as well as Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman (MythBusters)