Interviews Archives - The Open Notebook

Interviews

Sarah Zhang

Sarah Zhang Probes the Dwindling Number of Children Born with Down Syndrome

Rapidly advancing prenatal testing technology may soon hand parents the routine decision of what kind of child they will, or won’t, bring into the world. A prime example is Down syndrome, where in countries like Denmark, a majority of families who receive a prenatal diagnosis of the condition decide to end their pregnancies. Atlantic reporter Sarah Zhang recounts how she found a fresh way to report on Down syndrome and how she got parents to open up to her.

by Jeanne Erdmann · April 6, 2021 · Comments are Disabled

Jessica Wapner’s Wall Disease Unravels How Border Walls Affect the Mind

Jessica Wapner’s Wall Disease Unravels How Border Walls Affect the Mind

In her short book Wall Disease: The Psychological Toll of Living Up Against a Border, published in October 2020, science journalist Jessica Wapner explores how living by a border changes people. In this interview, Wapner talks with Rodrigo Pérez Ortega about her motivation to disentangle the effects of walls on people’s brains, the process of writing a book during a pandemic, and the many shades of “wall disease” that affect the communities that live near walls.

by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega · March 2, 2021 · Comments are Disabled

Shayla Love Tackles the Biggest Taboo of All

Vice staff writer Shayla Love was surprised to hear about the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial of a treatment for pedophilia. To learn more about why it had taken so long to reach this milestone, she contacted researchers and reached out to pedophiles who had pledged to never abuse children. Her resulting article provoked outrage. This backlash mirrored the stigma and isolation experienced by people who desperately want help but are unable to access it.

by Christine Ro · December 8, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Samanth Subramanian’s A Dominant Character Recounts the Story of J.B.S. Haldane, Whose Life Was Torn between Scientific Integrity and Political Loyalty

Samanth Subramanian’s A Dominant Character Recounts the Story of J.B.S. Haldane, Whose Life Was Torn between Scientific Integrity and Political Loyalty

For a large part of his life, J. B. S. Haldane was an unwavering devotee of science. Then, in 1948, as one of the foremost geneticists on the planet, Haldane was called upon to comment on a shaky Soviet scientist. Haldane picked political loyalty over scientific integrity. Through this puncture, Subramanian peers into Haldane’s life and chronicles his ideas about sciences, politics, and the vast and vivid sweep of his life.

by Pratik Pawar · October 27, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Meehan Crist

Meehan Crist Explores the Ethics of Having Children in the Era of Climate Change

In March, a lecture Meehan Crist had given in London was adapted into an essay called “Is It OK to Have a Child?” In the piece, which grapples with the ethics of having children in the era of climate change, Crist embarks on a fraught discussion about parenthood, crisis, and, ultimately, individual empowerment. Here, she discusses her inspiration, the stumbling blocks she hit along the way, and the process of grounding the difficult subject of climate change in personal narrative.

by Katherine J. Wu · August 4, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Stephanie Lee

Stephanie Lee Unravels the Conflicts of Interest Behind a Controversial COVID-19 Study

In May, BuzzFeed News reporter Stephanie Lee broke a massive story based on a whistleblower complaint, filed with Stanford University, criticizing the researchers behind a controversial study on COVID-19 antibody testing. The lengthy document revealed that JetBlue’s founder, a known critic of ongoing economic shutdowns, had financially backed the research. It also noted that the scientists who had compiled the data had ignored concerns from their colleagues about the reliability of the antibody test their results were based on. Here, Lee explains how her story unfolded—and why she can’t reveal much about the original tip.

by Katherine J. Wu · June 23, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

A.J. Hostetler on Mentoring Interns and Writing for Tony Fauci’s Aunt

A.J. Hostetler on Mentoring Interns and Writing for Tony Fauci’s Aunt

“Tell stories like you’re writing for Tony Fauci’s aunt.” That advice from my first mentor, A.J. Hostetler, has stuck with me for more than 20 years. And these days it comes to mind whenever I see Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in the news talking about coronavirus.

“It’s my first law of science writing,” A.J. told me recently.

by Siri Carpenter · June 17, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Amber Gibson (left) and Cassandra Willyard

Amber Gibson and Cassandra Willyard Investigate Abuse of Medical Residents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In some academic hospitals, medical residents treating COVID-19 patients have faced an overwhelming caseload of patients, working brutally long shifts with inadequate protective gear and little to no help from supervising physicians. Journalists Amber Gibson and Cassandra Willyard teamed up to investigate abuse of medical residents in “COVID-19 Crisis Exposes Resident Abuse,” published at Medscape on April 28.

by Jeanne Erdmann · June 8, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Amy Maxmen Unveils Scientific Roadblocks Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

In covering infectious disease, Nature senior reporter Amy Maxmen keeps the focus on the scientists behind new discoveries. Six years after she wrote about the Ebola outbreak that began in West Africa in 2014, Maxmen is once again writing about a viral pandemic. Here, she tells Katherine J. Wu about finding unique angles on COVID-19, how her experiences with Ebola reporting have informed her journalism, and how a borrowed Chihuahua is helping her get through the pandemic.

by Katherine J. Wu · June 2, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Taylor Quimby

Taylor Quimby Burrows into Lyme Disease in the Podcast Patient Zero

When reporter Taylor Quimby delved into the confusing, complicated world of Lyme disease for his documentary podcast Patient Zero, he learned a lot about what tracing a disease looked like. The goal of Quimby’s seven-part miniseries was to explore Lyme and how the medical establishment handled it, while lending sound to what has often been called a “silent disease.” Quimby spoke to Shira Feder about how he gained sources’ trust, how he employed sound effects, and how he figured out how to tell the story of a complicated medical mystery in audio form.

by Shira Feder · May 19, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Lane DeGregory

Lane DeGregory Follows a Family Waiting for a Medical Miracle

Tampa Bay Times reporter Lane DeGregory spent three years with a family as they waited for a medical miracle. DeGregory shares how she distilled 42 legal pads of reporting into “Lincoln’s Shot,” an eight-part series that is intimate yet comprehensive.

by Jennifer Lu · May 12, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Martin Enserink

Martin Enserink Discusses the Sobering Impact of Covering Disease Research

These days, Science staff editor Martin Enserink is busy editing stories about COVID-19, but two years ago he was immersed in writing a feature about a Spanish doctor’s efforts in Papua New Guinea to eradicate an infectious disease called yaws. This is a scourge many people haven’t even heard of, but for those affected, it can be devastating. Enserink didn’t know how long or emotional the journey would become.

by Sally James · May 5, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Annie Jacobsen on the Stories behind Secretive Government Research Programs

Annie Jacobsen on the Stories behind Secretive Government Research Programs

Annie Jacobsen’s reporting has illuminated some of the more clandestine—and sometimes scientifically and ethically murky—research projects undertaken by the United States military and intelligence agencies. Here, she talks with Greg Miller about cultivating sources with knowledge of secretive government programs, using Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to get documents declassified, and writing for television.

by Greg Miller · April 28, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय सीमा नाघेर नदी र समुदायको कथा भन्छन् रमेश भुसाल

अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय सीमा नाघेर नदी र समुदायको कथा भन्छन् रमेश भुसाल

सन्२०१८ मा वातावरण पत्रकार रमेश भुसालले वैज्ञानिकहरूको एक टोलीसित कर्णाली नदीको तिब्बतीय पठारमा रहेको शिरदेखि भारतमा गङ्गा नदीको दोभानसम्म यात्रा गरेका थिए । यात्राका क्रममा उनले जलवायु परिवर्तनका संकेतहरूबारे खोजी गरेका थिए र नदीको किनारमा बस्ने मानिसहरूसित कुराकानी गरेका थिए । यात्रको दौरान कहिलेकाँहि पत्रकारिताको नैतिकताका बारेमा समेत सोच्न बाध्य भएका थिए । हालै उनले अभय राज जोशीलाई आफ्नो यात्राको अनुभव सुनाएका थिए ।

by Abhaya Raj Joshi · April 14, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Ramesh Bhushal Crosses Borders to Tell the Story of a River and Its People

Ramesh Bhushal Crosses Borders to Tell the Story of a River and Its People

In 2018, environmental journalist Ramesh Bhushal joined scientists on a transborder expedition along the Karnali River, from its origin in Tibet to its confluence with the Ganges in India. Along the way, he looked for emergent signs of climate change, talked to the residents who live along the riverbanks, and at times walked a delicate tightrope of journalistic ethics. He spoke with Abhaya Raj Joshi about reporting from one of the most remote regions of the Global South.

by Abhaya Raj Joshi · April 14, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Eva Holland

Eva Holland’s Nerve Confronts the Science of Fear

After some of her worst fears were realized, Eva Holland decided to reexamine her relationship with fear. In her first book, Nerve, she undertakes a journey through the science of how and why we get scared and what we can do about it. Here, she talks about weaving together a deeply personal narrative with hard science, experiential reporting, and how frightening it can be to expose your own fears.

by Jill Sakai · March 31, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Poet Jane Hirshfield Fuses Science, Loss, and Wonder in Her New Collection, Ledger

Poet Jane Hirshfield Fuses Science, Loss, and Wonder in Her New Collection, Ledger

Jane Hirshfield, who has a long-standing interest in the intersection of literature and the sciences, is the author of 15 much-honored books, including her most recent, Ledger, published today.
In this, her ninth collection of poetry, Hirshfield combines scientific precision and poetic vision to explore how human actions (and inactions) contribute to the climate crisis. Here she tells Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer about the personal, ecological, and political motivations for the new book.

by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer · March 10, 2020 · 1 comment

Priyanka Pulla Tracks a Zoonotic Disease Outbreak in India

Priyanka Pulla has always been drawn to convoluted stories of disease investigations. So, when her editor at the Indian daily newspaper The Hindu asked her to report on the Nipah virus outbreak that had taken the southern state of Kerala by surprise in 2018, she quickly dove into the scientific literature, following it up with a short three-day reporting trip. Having covered several mystery disease outbreaks in the past, Pulla discovered that both the pace of the investigation and the state’s swift response to the outbreak were unusual for a country like India.

by Shreya Dasgupta · March 3, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Jessica Camille Aguirre Dissects Australia’s Cat-Killing Conservation Strategy

Jessica Camille Aguirre Dissects Australia’s Cat-Killing Conservation Strategy

Millions of feral cats are devastating Australia’s population of small mammals found only on the continent. To staunch sky-high extinction rates, the government has ordered a massive culling of the feline predators, to the dismay of cat lovers around the world. In her New York Times Magazine story, Jessica Camille Aguirre unpacks this polarizing conservation strategy. Here, she tells TON how she wrangled the logistics of her reporting trip, captured vivid details on the ground, and handled the story’s inevitable backlash.

by Christine Ro · February 25, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Sam Kean

Sam Kean on Using History to Humanize Science

In his first book, The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean tackled a topic that strikes fear and loathing into the hearts of many high school chemistry students: the periodic table. But in Kean’s hands, the table became a springboard for stories about discovery, obsession, and betrayal. His subsequent books have employed the same lively storytelling and historical perspective to tell fascinating tales about genetics, neuroscience, and the atmosphere. Kean spoke with Greg Miller about his approach to research, storytelling, and finding the human side of science.

by Greg Miller · January 14, 2020 · Comments are Disabled

Ankita Rao

Ankita Rao Reckons with the Toll of Forced Sterilization on Vulnerable Women

Ankita Rao knew from reporting in India that forced sterilization is not just a thing of the past. Around the world, poor young women are pressured or tricked into operations that prevent them from having children. Doctors and government officials act from greed and paternalistic ideas about the “best” family planning strategies for marginalized people. As an editor at Vice, Rao had a full workload, but she kept pursuing this story. Eventually, a handful of Canadian women opened up to her about their experiences.

by Emily Laber-Warren · November 19, 2019 · Comments are Disabled

Sarah Zhang

Sarah Zhang Explores the Fallout of a Fertility Doctor’s Secret

With the advent of direct-to-consumer genetic testing, an increasing number of people are learning that they were conceived using donor sperm. In rare cases, it turns out that their biological fathers are actually the doctors who offered fertility treatments to their parents. A situation like this involving an Indiana fertility doctor piqued The Atlantic reporter Sarah Zhang’s interest, leading her to track down his biological children. Her investigation reveals how much society’s attitude toward donor insemination has changed.

by Knvul Sheikh · November 5, 2019 · Comments are Disabled

Mary Heglar on Leading with the Heart, not the Head

Mary Heglar on Leading with the Heart, not the Head

Mary Annaïse Heglar writes beautiful, urgent essays about climate change—essays that acknowledge the emotional complexities of the crisis and often make clear its links to racism and colonialism. And she does it all in her spare time. Nine to five, she is the publications director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where she edits and oversees technical reports about environmental research and policy. Here, Heglar tells TON about her process, her thoughts on the role of emotion in climate communication, and her sudden rise.

by Emma Marris · October 22, 2019 · 1 comment

Elizabeth Shogren

Elizabeth Shogren Uncovers Censorship of Science at the National Park Service

The National Park Service greenlighted a project studying the effects of climate change on coastal parks—then buried its results. Reporter Elizabeth Shogren, of Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, tells TON how she used public-records laws to pull back the curtain on scientific censorship by top Park Service officials.

by Jennifer Lu · October 1, 2019 · Comments are Disabled