I first went to Harvard Medical School, where I gave a talk at a meeting of the Allen Frontiers Symposium. It was entitled "Braided History: Reporting on Human Origins." I talked about the enduring old visions of human evolution--missing links, marches of progress, and so on--and how we need to transcend them to understand new fossils and genetic evidence. You can watch it here.
Later in the month, I headed to San Francisco, where I had a conversation with the writer Annalee Newitz about She Has Her Mother's Laugh before a live audience. You can watch it here.
It's been nearly 20 years since I published Parasite Rex, a love letter to nature's most under-appreciated life form. And every year since, I've come across some wild new research to explore.
Here's a feature I wrote for the New York Times about a fungus that manipulates ants in a manner crying out for a Hollywood adaptation. It features amazing photographs, including the one above, from one of the parasitologists I wrote about, João Araújo.
I did not expect this strange obsession of mine to morph into a meme, but so it went:
Here are some pieces you may find interesting...
E.P.A. to Roll Back Rules to Control Toxic Ash from Coal Plants. Lisa Friedman, New York Times
Long-awaited cystic fibrosis drug could turn deadly disease into a manageable condition. Carolyn Johnson, Washington Post
Intense monitoring and care lift mountain gorilla numbers. Christina Larson, AP
The new science fossil fuel companies fear. Zack Colman, Politico
Deaf couple may edit embryo’s DNA to correct hearing mutation. Jon Cohen, Science
How Measles Leaves Kids Exposed to Other Diseases. Megan Molteni, Wired.
Controversial ‘gay gene’ app provokes fears of a genetic Wild West. Amy Maxmen, Nature
‘Broadband’ Networks of Viruses May Help Bacteria Evolve Faster. Jonathan Lambert, Quanta.
Lyme Vaccines Show New Promise, and Face Old Challenges. Cassandra Willyard, Undark
Greenland's Dying Ice. Paul Voosen, Science
Deadspin’s Public Execution Reveals A Media Industry Dying From The Inside, Andy Campbell, Huffpost
November 9, 2019 Charleston, SC. Charleston To Charleston Literary Festival
December 3, 2019 Nashville. Vanderbilt University. Chancellor Lecture Series.
NEW--> January 20, 2020 Los Angeles, Aloud (with cosmologist Sean Carroll). Details to come.
More 2020 talks to come!
My latest book, She Has Her Mother's Laugh, is available from fine book mongers, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BAM, Hudson Booksellers, and IndieBound.
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Best wishes, Carl
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