John works with the radio team to create our weekly show, and is helping to build our State of Science Reporting Network. He’s also been a long-time guest host on Science Friday.
He and his wife have three cats, thousands of bees, and a yoga studio in the sleepy Northwest hills of Connecticut.
John likes building radio collaborations. He helped bring together 18 stations across the Northeast to cover environmental issues, which eventually led to the New England News Collaborative, worked with NPR on their Collaborative Coverage Project, and with the national talk program America Amplified.
For 25 years, John oversaw news programming at WNPR, where he started the daily talk show, Where We Live. He’s also produced award-winning long-form documentaries on mental health and care for the elderly, and hundreds of short stories for NPR and public radio stations, including one about virtual reality in dentistry that’s actually pretty embarrassing to listen to now.
You can also see him doing live events for The Connecticut Mirror, The Connecticut Forum, and The International Festival of Arts & Ideas.
John grew up in Pittsburgh, and is as big a Mr. Rogers fan as you’ll find anywhere.
17:16
Searching For Life On The Red Planet Prompts Deeper Questions
How to look for life that we can’t even imagine—and how to imagine life we’ve never seen before.
2:14
The World According to Sound: Antiphonal Duets
Some birdsong is so complex and intricate that it’s hard to tell if there’s one bird singing, or two.
12:05
Paul Farmer, Global Health Leader, Dies At 62
A champion of equitable healthcare, and the co-founder of humanitarian non-profit Partners In Health, Farmer leaves behind a poignant legacy.
17:24
Blind Patients With Eye Implant Left In The Dark As Its Startup Struggles
Second Sight Medical Devices abandoned support for blind patients who received its bionic eye implant. What happens to those patients next?
7:13
Climate Change Ruins The World Championship Sled Dog Derby
At the World Championship Sled Dog Derby, warm weather played an unwanted star role.
9:57
Finding Tranquility In The Sounds Of Nature
Human activity is erasing the natural soundscape, says Bernie Krause, a former musician turned ecologist.
12:09
Pittsburgh’s Bridge Collapse Spotlights America’s Infrastructure Woes
Larger vehicles, increased traffic, and climate change are putting pressure on America’s aging infrastructure. How did things get so dire?
7:50
Why Did Ancient Ferocious Cat-Like Creatures Go Extinct?
A combination of factors led to a period known as the “Cat Gap,” a stretch of 6.5 million years where there were no cats or cat-like animals living in North America.
9:36
Why Are Mice The Most Frequently Used Lab Animal?
Despite mice’s genetic similarity to humans, treatments that work in mice often don’t work in humans.
7:50
The Science Behind ‘Power Of The Dog’
A leading contender for an Oscar for Best Picture has a somewhat hidden science theme.