About Us
Chris Mooney | Sheril Kirshenbaum
Chris Mooney
Chris is a 2009-2010 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT and author of three books, including the New York Times bestselling The Republican War on Science–dubbed “a landmark in contemporary political reporting” by Salon.com and a “well-researched, closely argued and amply referenced indictment of the right wing’s assault on science and scientists” by Scientific American–Storm World, and Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future, co-authored by Sheril Kirshenbaum. They also write“The Intersection” blog together for Discover blogs.
In the past, Chris has also been visiting associate in the Center for Collaborative History at Princeton University, and is a contributing editor to Science Progress and a senior correspondent for The American Prospect magazine. He has been featured regularly by the national media, having appeared on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” CSPAN’s Book TV, and NPR’s Fresh Air With Terry Gross and Science Friday (here and here), among many other television and radio programs.
Among other accolades, in 2005 Chris was named one of Wired magazine’s ten “sexiest geeks.” In addition, The Republican War on Science was named a finalist for the 2005 Los Angeles Times book prize in the category of “Science and Technology,” and Chris’s 2005 Mother Jones feature story about ExxonMobil, conservative think tanks, and climate change was nominated for a National Magazine Award in the “public interest” category (as part of a cover package on global warming).
Chris’s 2005 article for Seed magazine on the Dover evolution trial was included in the volume Best American Science and Nature Writing 2006. In 2006, Chris also won the “Preserving Core Values in Science” award from the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals.
Chris was born in Mesa, Arizona, and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana; he graduated from Yale University in 1999, where he wrote a column for the Yale Daily News. Before becoming a freelance writer, Chris worked for two years at The American Prospect as a writing fellow, then staff writer, then online editor (where he helped to create the popular blog Tapped).
Chris has contributed to a wide variety of other publications in recent years, including Wired, Science, Harper’s, Seed, New Scientist, Slate, Salon, Mother Jones, Legal Affairs, Reason, The American Scholar, The New Republic, The Washington Monthly, Columbia Journalism Review, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe. In addition, Chris’s blog, “The Intersection,” was a recipient of Scientific American’s 2005 Science and Technology web award, which noted that “science is lucky to have such a staunch ally in acclaimed journalist Chris Mooney.”
Chris speaks regularly at academic meetings, bookstores, university campuses, and other events. He has appeared at distinguished universities including the Harvard Medical School, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Rockefeller University, and Duke University Medical Center; at major venues such as the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco and Town Hall Seattle; and at bookstores across the country, ranging from Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida to Powell’s in Portland, Oregon. In 2006, he was the keynote speaker for the 43rd Annual Dinner of Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties and the Edward Lamb Peace Lecturer at Bowling Green State University. In 2007, he was the opening plenary speaker at the World Conference of Science Journalists in Melbourne, Australia.
Chris has been profiled by The Toronto Star and The Seattle Times, and interviewed by many outlets including Grist and Mother Jones.
Email Chris at moonecc@yahoo.com or click here to see a more comprehensive list of his various writings. For speaking engagements click here or contact:
Dustin L. Jones
Associate, College & University Division
Keppler Speakers
4350 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 700
Arlington, VA 22203
703-516-4000 phone
703-516-4819 fax
www.keppleroncampus.com
Email: djones@kepplerspeakers.com
Sheril Kirshenbaum
Sheril Kirshenbaum is an associate at Duke University and co-author of Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future with Chris Mooney. She is involved in conservation initiatives across levels of government and works to improve communication between scientists, policymakers, and the public. Her second book will be published January 2011.
In 2007, Sheril helped to found Science Debate 2008; an initiative encouraging candidates to debate science research and innovation issues on the campaign trail. She has also worked as a legislative science fellow on Capitol Hill with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) where she was involved in energy, climate, and ocean policy.
Sheril holds a MSc in Marine Biology and MP in Marine Policy from the University of Maine. Now a science journalist, she contributes to publications including New Scientist, Newsweek, The Huffington Post, and The Nation, frequently writing about topics that bridge science and society from climate change to genetically modified foods. She speaks regularly around the country to audiences at universities, federal agencies, and museums and has been a guest on such programs as Science Friday and The Bob Edwards Show.
Previously, Sheril served as a Fellow with the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History and as a Howard Hughes Research Fellow at Tufts University. She has contributed reports to The Nature Conservancy and provided assistance on international protected area projects. She also has experience working in pop radio and her work has been published in Science, Fisheries Bulletin, Oecologia, and Issues in Science and Technology.
Sheril Kirshenbaum co-hosts The Intersection on Discover blogs with Chris Mooney and has contributed to DeSmogBlog, Talking Science, Wired Science and Seed. She was born in Suffern, New York and is also a musician.
For more information, visit her website or email Sheril at srkirshenbaum@yahoo.com.
