My Writing

Articles

I write news and feature articles for both children and adults. Here are some of my recent favorites:

Selected Clips
On the Right Track
Audubon
On the Right Track
Audubon

A intrepid researcher faces steep odds as she attempts to study nutcrackers in the Cascade Mountains. But the birds—and the singular trees they help sustain—are too important for her not to persist.

Audubon
No More Mosquitoes?
Science World
No More Mosquitoes?
Science World

Scientists are hacking mosquitoes’ biology in a battle against these disease-carrying pests

Science World
What Whale Barnacles Know
Hakai Magazine
What Whale Barnacles Know
Hakai Magazine

For generations, these hitchhikers have been recording details about their hosts and their ocean home.

Hakai Magazine
Astonishing Animals That Illuminate Human Health
UCSF
Astonishing Animals That Illuminate Human Health
UCSF

These scurrying, soaring, and slithering wonders are teaching scientists how our own bodies work – and how to fix them.

UCSF
Why Won't My Cat Stay Away From My Laptop?
Slate
Why Won't My Cat Stay Away From My Laptop?
Slate

A vaguely scientific investigation.

Slate
How Does a Touring Orchestra Move Its Instruments?
WQXR
How Does a Touring Orchestra Move Its Instruments?
WQXR
WQXR
Why Do Cambrian Creatures Look So Weird?
LiveScience
Why Do Cambrian Creatures Look So Weird?
LiveScience
LiveScience
Why School Should Start Later
New York Times for Kids
Why School Should Start Later
New York Times for Kids
New York Times for Kids
Out in the Cold
SuperScience
Out in the Cold
SuperScience

Snowshoe hares turn white in the winter to blend in with the snow. Can they survive if that snow disappears?

SuperScience
Are Monsters Real?
Scholastic MATH
Are Monsters Real?
Scholastic MATH

Scientists are on the hunt for the true identity of mysterious beasts

Scholastic MATH
The Bird Awards
New York Times for Kids
The Bird Awards
New York Times for Kids

5 of the most fantastic feathered artists

New York Times for Kids
Can I Train My Cat to Be Less Annoying?
Slate
Can I Train My Cat to Be Less Annoying?
Slate

Maybe.

Slate

Books for Kids

I also write nonfiction science books for elementary-school students. Break Down, for National Geographic Kids, was listed as a Best STEM Book of 2022 by the National Science Teaching Association.

WTF, Evolution?!

My first book, WTF, Evolution?!: A Theory of Unintelligible Design, started as a Tumblr project. It has sold more than 25,000 copies since 2014 and has been translated into German and Japanese.