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Welcome to my
Website & Blog

I am a lecturer, a Columbia University professor and a journalist who does interviews and general reporting on science and health.

You may know of my interviews from the New York Review of Books, Quanta Magazine and the New York Times.   In fact, I was the reporter who, in 1992, first brought the Q and A format to the New York Times.   

Over the years, I’ve contributed interviews and articles to the New York Times Sunday Magazine, the Atlantic, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Columbia Magazine, Smithsonian, Newsweek and AARP-The Magazine. 

Long ago, way in an earlier century, I was one of the Playboy Interviewers.

My sixth book, a collaboration with the political scientist, Andrew Hacker, was a critical look at our nation's colleges and universities and was one of the most widely reviewed non-fiction works of 2010.   

I also consult with organizations and educational institutions, organizing one day workshops aimed at improving science communication.


NEWEST STORIES

 

INTERVIEW WITH NAOMI ORESKES
The Nation:

America’s Toxic Romance With the Free Market

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INTERVIEW WITH KRISTY RED HORSE
Quanta Magazine:

She Studies Growing Arteries to Aid Heart Attack Recovery

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CNN:

Opinion:
On the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade,
I can’t stop thinking about how abortion changed my life

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The New York Times:

As Humanitarian Crises Escalate, So Do Demands to End Them

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INTERVIEW WITH SERGIU PAŞCA
Quanta Magazine:

Human Brains Are Hard to Study. He Grows Useful Substitutes.

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The New York Times:

Showcasing the Diversity of the South

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The New York Times:

Nadia Calviño, A Top Spanish Official, Wants More Women At The Decision-making Table

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CNN Opinion:

I almost died trying to get an abortion. I'm terrified my students could face a similar fate

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The New York Times:

These Women Found Creative Ways to Overcome the Barriers in Front of Them

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The New York Review of Books:

Dismantling the ‘Citadels of Pride’
an interview with Martha C. Nussbaum

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The New York Times:

A New Showcase for the Story of Jews in the South

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The New York Review of Books:

‘I WALK THROUGH MY FEARS’:
Interview with Nan Goldin

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Quanta Magazine:

Catherine Dulac Finds Brain Circuitry Behind
Sex-Specific Behaviors

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FOLLOWING THE CIVIL RIGHTS TRAIL

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Quanta Magazine:

The Contrarian Who Cures Cancers

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Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times

Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times

A conversation with:

Carl Safina Is Certain Your Dog Loves You

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Photo: Phil Penman

Photo: Phil Penman

The New York Review of Books:

‘I Can’t Just Stand on the Sidelines’: An Interview with Naomi Oreskes

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WIRED Magazine
via Quanta Magazine

AT 90, E. O. WILSON STILL THRIVES ON BEING A SCIENTIFIC PROVOCATEUR

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Photo: MacArthur Foundation, via Associated Press

Photo: MacArthur Foundation, via Associated Press

A conversation with:

Gregg Gonsalves Blends Activism and Science

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Image: Phil Penman

Image: Phil Penman

The New York Review of Books:

‘The Joy of the Discovery’: An Interview with Jennifer Doudna

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Image: Kai T. Dragland / NTNU via Flickr

Image: Kai T. Dragland / NTNU via Flickr

UNDARK.org:

An Evangelist for Climate Science: Five Questions for Katharine Hayhoe

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Photo: Phil Penman

Photo: Phil Penman

The New York Review of Books:

THE GUY WHO WOULDN’T WRITE A HIT: AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID SIMON

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Photo: Joshua Bright for The New York Times

Photo: Joshua Bright for The New York Times

A conversation with:

Maria Konnikova Shows Her Cards

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Photo: Phil Penman

Photo: Phil Penman

The New York Review of Books:

‘Drawing Is Always a Struggle’: An Interview with Art Spiegelman

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Photo: Annie Tritt for The New York Times

Photo: Annie Tritt for The New York Times

Asked About Retiring, They Have a Simple Answer: Why?

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VIDEO

92ND ST. Y SCIENCE TALKS

E.O. Wilson and Paul Simon in Conversation: Life, Creativity and the Future of the Planet

See the video



SciTech Now Episode 338

Watch it now


Sean McCabe; photograph by Abe Frajndlich

Sean McCabe; photograph by Abe Frajndlich

Life and the Cosmos, Word by Painstaking Word
Stephen Hawking Speaks

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Events at the 92nd Street Y