#check out Thing Explainer by randall munroe if you want a brilliantly simple and funny feat of science communication in simple english!

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the thing about academic literature is that sometimes incredibly complex hyperspecific terminology and phrasing really is the best, clearest, most efficient way to communicate a concept while minimizing nuance and potential for misinterpretation. tbh it drives me up the wall when people take that personally and misconstrue it as elitism and deliberate obfuscation when the goal is to be as objective as possible in such an inherently subjective medium as written language. obvs some authors take it to an extreme— pretty common disclaimer for humans in general— but the rule of thumb is if you can choose between a common word or phrase that kinda matches the thing you need to say and has a variety of colloquial meanings, and a niche word that has exactly one definition, you should pick the niche one every time.

the other thing is that most academic literature is aimed at other academics, because that's who it's most vital and time-sensitive to reach with the info. entry-level science communication geared toward the layperson should not be expected from interacademic communication and scientific journals, the same way you wouldn't tell two ESL spanish-speaking people to speak english when chatting privately in their own home.

on top of all that, i think people criminally undervalue teachers and public speakers. "simple english" is deceptive; it's an entirely separate skill (and honestly an art form) to rephrase something complex into simpler terms, even if you know the actual concept front to back. asking someone who deals almost exclusively in academic vernacular to suddenly try and write in simple english for a layperson is an extremely tall order and devalues both the work they put into developing that academic-language mindset and the equally impressive work of educators who actually are able to perform that translation work and regularly do so as a career