The criminal justice system has long relied on scientists — and especially psychologists — to make some of the most crucial assessments about defendants. Is this person fit to stand trial? Should the so-called insanity defense be applied? In many instances, the law lags far behind the science, with sometimes disastrous results. In “The Science [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Guest Contributor’
Rachel Aviv examines the science of sex abuse
Posted by Lauren Friedman on April 9th, 2013
Posted in Behind-the-Story Interviews 
Tags: Aviv, Friedman, Guest Contributor, New Yorker, pedophilia, Writer Interview 
3 Comments »Ed Yong profiles a scientific dynasty
Posted by Carl Zimmer on February 19th, 2013
Science is practiced by people, and people never work in isolation. Scientists train their students, who grow up to be scientists in their own right and train students to follow in their own footsteps. Along the way, scientific dynasties emerge, working together to establish new ways of thinking and applying their ideas to new problems. [...]
Posted in Behind-the-Story Interviews Tags: Guest Contributor, Nature, Notes, Profile, Writer Interview, Yong, Zimmer 5 Comments »David Quammen on turning research into story, part II
Posted by David Dobbs on January 29th, 2013
Last week, we published the transcript of a discussion between David Dobbs and David Quammen that we sponsored at last year’s National Association of Science Writers meeting. Today, we present Part II of the conversation between the two Davids. Most of this interview took place by phone in early December. David Dobbs: Where do you [...]
Posted in Behind-the-Story Interviews Tags: Dobbs, Field Reporting, Guest Contributor, Quammen, Spillover, Structure, Video, Writer Interview 1 Comment »Video: David Quammen interview
Posted by Christie Aschwanden on January 25th, 2013
On Tuesday, we posted an edited transcript of an interview that TON contributor and editorial board member David Dobbs conducted with author David Quammen. This conversation took place before a live audience at a TON event at the National Association of Science Writers meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina last October. Below is a video of the conversation [...]
Posted in Behind-the-Story Interviews Tags: Dobbs, Guest Contributor, Narrative, Quammen, Video, writing 1 Comment »David Quammen on turning research into story, part I
Posted by David Dobbs on January 22nd, 2013
David Quammen has been one of the world’s leading science writers for over a quarter century, with eight acclaimed nonfiction books, including the iconic The Song of the Dodo, as well as four novels. His new book, Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, gave us the excuse to interview him for TON — [...]
Posted in Behind-the-Story Interviews Tags: Dobbs, Field Reporting, Guest Contributor, Quammen, Spillover, Structure, Writer Interview 6 Comments »Cynthia Graber profiles a modern-day Dr. Frankenstein
Posted by Melanie Bauer on December 21st, 2012
While Cynthia Graber isn’t new to reporting on regenerative medicine, her interview with Tufts University biologist Michael Levin led to some unexpected stories. In research that recalls the toils of Dr. Frankenstein, Levin uses electricity to initiate regeneration of body parts in living organisms. In light of recent advances in DNA research, the field of [...]
Posted in Behind-the-Story Interviews Tags: Bauer, Edits, Graber, Guest Contributor, Interviewing, Matter, Narrative, Reporting, Structure, Writer Interview No Comments »Like being there: How science writers use sensory detail
Posted by Jyoti Madhusoodanan on October 17th, 2012
“At this time of year, with new growth laying a haze of green over the wet fields, the farm country around this small town smells faintly but distinctly of manure. It’s a rich, warm aroma, appropriate to the place that bills itself on road signs as “Canada’s foremost cattle county.” But follow the dip in [...]
Posted in Elements of Craft Tags: Elements-of-Craft, Guest Contributor, Madhusoodanan, Narrative, Reporting, Sensory Detail 1 Comment »Florence Williams takes the measure of modern breasts
Posted by Michelle Nijhuis on September 26th, 2012
“For such an enormously popular feature of the human race,” writes Florence Williams in Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History, “it’s remarkable how little we know about their basic biology.” Breasts make us mammals, says Williams, but they also seem to make us confused: Our theories about their enduring appeal are muddled, and our understanding [...]
Posted in Behind-the-Story Interviews Tags: Books, Guest Contributor, Humor, Nijhuis, Williams, Writer Interview 6 Comments »Sharpening ideas: From topic to story
Posted by Dan Ferber on July 11th, 2012
George Johnson wanted to write about new developments in cancer research for the New York Times. But he needed to find a story that would let him to do it. So last year Johnson, a regular contributor to the Times’ science section who’s writing a book about cancer, cut a deal with his editor. He’d [...]
Posted in Elements of Craft Tags: Characters, Elements-of-Craft, Ferber, Guest Contributor, Narrative, Pitching, Story Development, Structure 4 Comments »Making the leap from news to books: Critical questions
Posted by Charles Choi on May 30th, 2012
Authors of science books often begin as writers of science news. As a science journalist who is looking to write a book, I’ve become very curious as to how other science journalists made the leap forward. I suspected that the questions that go into books might be different from those that drive newspaper and magazine [...]
Posted in Elements of Craft Tags: Blum, Books, Choi, Dobbs, Elements-of-Craft, Guest Contributor, Hutson, Koerth-Baker, McKenna, Narrative, Reporting, Zimmer 5 Comments »Gabriel Spitzer explores the Chicago science scene
Posted by Cynthia Graber on February 15th, 2012
Clever Apes, a science series that airs on the Chicago public radio station WBEZ, won the 2011 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award in the Radio category. Gabriel Spitzer, host and founder of the show, created the WBEZ science beat, and works with producer Michael De Bonis on the bimonthly segment. In this TON podcast, Spitzer [...]
Posted in Behind-the-Story Interviews Tags: Clever Apes, Graber, Guest Contributor, Kavli Awards, Podcast, Spitzer, Writer Interview No Comments »Seeking to awe: An “Oops!” story
Posted by Robert Frederick and Corinna Wu on February 1st, 2012
When hundreds of snow geese landed in and subsequently died from Berkeley Pit’s toxic water, some of the microbes the geese carried found a home in the Butte, Montana lake and started soaking up the lake’s toxins. Bioremediation, however, isn’t the subject of Radiolab senior producer Soren Wheeler’s story, “Even the worst laid plans?” Instead, [...]
Posted in Behind-the-Story Interviews Tags: Environment, Frederick, Guest Contributor, Podcast, Radiolab, Wheeler, Writer Interview, Wu 2 Comments »