Portfolio

Smart News articles for Smithsonianmag.com. Selected works:

Canadian Government Winds Down Research That Could Help Stop Climate Change
Researchers Find Fracking Might Cause Earthquakes After All
Oklahoma’s Biggest-Ever Earthquake Was Likely Man-Made
Italian Scientists Sent to Jail Because They Downplayed the Risk of an Earthquake

The Long History of Americans Debating Empty Chairs
The Life And Death of Wonder Bread
What’s Up With the Winds That Keep Grounding Felix Baumgartner’s Leap From the Stratosphere?

Most Arctic Animals Should Deal With Climate Change Just Fine
Australia is Burning, And It’s Only Going to Get Worse as the World Warms
Why 97 Percent Of Greenland’s Icy Surface Just Melted
Ancient Climate Change Meant Antarctica Was Once Covered with Palm Trees
A Massive Field Of Frozen Greenhouse Gas Is Thawing Out

By Painting Their Markings, This Scientist Disrupted Birds’ Social Structure (One time I decided to write a news story as a poem)
Scientific American in 1875: Eating Horse Meat Would Boost the Economy
The Black Death Never Left – And It Might Defeat Our Best Defenses
In New Zealand, Dogs Are Being Taught How To Drive Cars
Why Do People Hate Dissonant Music? (And What Does It Say About Those Who Don’t?)

Research highlights and author interviews for Eos: An up-to-date list of stories can be found here or on Google Scholar.

A selection of other written work:

“The Media Exaggerate The Risks of Infectious Diseases,” as published in Epidemics (Opposing Viewpoints)

The Human Face of Big Data, contributing writer and researcher

Women In Video Games: Still A Lot Of Sexism, But There’s Hope, Refinery29 and LadyBits
How Men Learn (Or Don’t) About Menstruation, Popular Science and LadyBits

The Revolution Should Not Be Digitized–Put It on Microfilm Instead, Discover
The joys and perils of oversharing at NXNE, New Scientist
Engineering Science Students Offer City New Solutions, University of Toronto Engineering
11 Space Missions That Will Make Headlines in 2011, Discover
You’ll believe anything you read online, won’t you?, Scientific American

Space Weather Model Moves Into Prime Time, Space Weather
Revealing the Link Between Solar Activity and Satellite Anomalies: Career Recollections From Joe Allen, Space Weather
Dangerous dependence on virtual water deepens, American Geophysical Union
Hurricanes and Oil Will Mix, American Geophysical Union

Video

“Planet Now” and “Weird Planet” segments of Daily Planet during January, 2010

The science of pearl culturing
Amino Acids from Interstellar Space

YouTube Channel – Home of all the other random videos I’ve put together

Radio

Me on Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal talking about the history of eating horses

The Amazon Rainforest Would Not Be Without Saharan Dust – An interview between me and News Talk 610 CKTP host Tom McConnell