Graphics editor at Scientific American • Author of Building Science Graphics https://www.buildingsciencegraphics.com/ • Formerly at National Geographic
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“It’s not just about the firing of the CDC director. It’s the fact that CDC has been hemorrhaging some of the world’s top experts." I spoke to @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social and Georges Benjamin @apha.org about the CDC leadership exodus @sciam.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/cdc-...
I should've noted there's a great sale currently in effect for Scientific American's 180th anniversary (ends Sept 2, 2025). $18/year digital subscription. Or 50% off for the unlimited sub (print edition + ad-free digital access to full archive + tote combo) www.scientificamerican.com/getsciam/ 🧪
Here's to search and submit author information for settlement bsky.app/profile/alex...
“If every author in the class filed a claim, industry advocates warned, it would "financially ruin" the entire AI industry.” arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Founded 180 years ago today, @sciam.bsky.social is the oldest continually published mag in the US. A fun history dive here to celebrate: 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/report/celeb... If you think it’s cool a science mag holds the record, please consider subscribing to kick off our next 180 years.
Do you have questions about the near-future and COVID vaccination access? (I do.) Fortunately for us, my colleague @meghanbartels.bsky.social has answers. I'm so grateful for the information she pulled together in this article. www.scientificamerican.com/article/who-...
This TikTok video made me think of the work that @datavandals.bsky.social, @jerthorp.bsky.social + co & many other folks have done/are doing in the collaborative dataviz space. Love to see the conversations that happen as people build maps/charts together in real time. 📊 www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8B9C1sN/
I hear you.
And by first time, I don’t mean that this is the first year. It started in Vancouver (2016), Then Potsdam (2018), virtual (2021) and Edinburgh (2023).
First time it’s located in the U.S. Perhaps next time it’ll be closer to your home base again?
I’ve only attended virtually in the past, and it only happens every 2 years. Excited that it’s finally working out for me to attend in person.
I bought my ticket! Perhaps I'll see you in Boston this November? 📊
The Surprising Science behind Your Favorite (and Least Favorite) Scents 🧪📊 www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...
It was such a treat to see Kapi in person for an artist’s talk and reception for her “The Plasticene” collection today. Please excuse my poor photography of her work below, and check out proper representations on her website here ➡️ www.kalliopimonoyios.com/home/the-pla... #SciArt
Then read a companion article that focuses on increasing the joy and purposefulness that comes with embracing sustainable fashion as both art form & practicality. It includes this handy taxonomy of textile fiber types. #SustainableFashion #SciArt #Fashion www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
As fashion attention shifts to fall, are you struggling with sustainability concerns amidst the impulse to freshen up your wardrobe? @sciam.bsky.social has you covered. Click through for a thorough visual guide that will make you a more informed consumer. www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-be...
Column: The Corporation for Public Broadcast is ‘winding down.’ What does that mean for public radio and TV? I talk with media studies professor and public media expert Josh Shepperd for an explainer. In short, it's dire Gift 🔗
Statement:Medical Association Liaisons to Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Being Barred from Nation’s Vaccine Review ".. irresponsible, dangerous to our nation’s health, and will further undermine public and clinician trust in vaccines."
For 180 years, Scientific American covers have invited readers on voyages of discovery—from deep oceans to distant galaxies. Now it’s your turn! Capture your own moment of exploration with our photo challenge. Terms & Conditions apply. See official rules: sciam.com/180contest #SciAmInTheWild
Scientific American is turning 180! 🎉 Celebrate with us: 🎂 Explore our anniversary collection 🧩 Solve digital jigsaw puzzles of vintage covers 🏆 Stay tuned for a contest announcement tomorrow! sciam.com/180 #SciAm180
Ticks have been on my mind this summer (cue a shiver and Lyme disease paranoia). Grateful to my @sciam.bsky.social colleague Jen Schwartz for this Q&A with an expert on the topic ➡️ www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-... 🧪
After photos showed President Trump with swollen ankles and bruised hands, the White House revealed he has chronic venous insufficiency. Here's what that means: www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...
For this @sciam.bsky.social article on illness from Vibrio bacteria along the U.S. east coast (yup, the genus that includes V. cholerae), cartographer @pinakographos.bsky.social and I pay homage to John Snow's classic cholera map with contemporary data. 📊 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/vibr...
From Savavi: “The visual techniques Jefferson developed for representing complex global relationships influenced broader conversations about how educational materials could challenge racist assumptions while building international solidarity.” open.substack.com/pub/sakisava...
Today I learned about cartographer Louise E. Jefferson thanks to a TikTok by Saki Savavi. www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8hhVbr1/
Thousands of federal grants have been terminated, effectively cutting lifesaving research and the careers of people behind the work. Read their stories, thoughtfully written by @rachelnuwer.bsky.social for @sciam.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
Hi 👋. Just a heads-up: Scientific American is having a digital and unlimited access subscription sale through July 17 (40%) off. —> www.scientificamerican.com/getsciam/
This is so, so good. Thank you for writing it, @cogley.bsky.social
Our excellent graphics editor @jenchristiansen.com gives a great History of Scientific American talk to each new class of interns here. Today we all learned that SciAm is older than STAMPS (in the U.S. at least). Also, please look at this screenshot of our early AOL page.
Thanks for your kind words!
My colleagues and I know paywalls can be frustrating! SciAm has a 90 days for $1 deal if you've run out of free views: www.scientificamerican.com/getsciam/90-...
Hi! I know paywalls can be frustrating but they're often what pays the salaries of journalists like Jen and me. SciAm has a 90 days for $1 deal I highly recommend if you've run out of free views: www.scientificamerican.com/getsciam/90-...
Vaccination schedules on the CDC website have already started changing under RFK Jr. So we published a guide to the evidence-based vaccine recommendations in place *before* all 17 members of the advisory panel were abruptly dismissed by the new admin. www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-... 🧪
10 years ago today, we dropped a thing that people still ask me about regularly. The question "What's Really Warming the World?" still has the same answer. With Blacki Migliozzi, in conversation with NASA GISS geniuses @climateofgavin.bsky.social and @drkatemarvel.bsky.social 🎁🔗
Missing a climate goal doesn’t mean we should give up. An illustrated guide to the concept of overshoot by @angela-morelli.bsky.social @tomgab.bsky.social & @andyreisinger.bsky.social for Scientific American. www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-... 🧪📊 #sciart
Then read a companion article written by Jessica Hullinger that focuses on increasing the joy and purposefulness that comes with embracing sustainable fashion as both artform and practicality. www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-... #fashion #SustainableFashion #SciArt
Making sustainable clothing choices isn’t always easy. So I pitched a story with the goal of helping all of us cut through greenwashing. See www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-be... for stages of clothing production, data on environmental & human impact, and consumer tips #SustainableFashion 📊
A nice thing to print up and have on hand if you are heading to a public place with others to express your opinions: gem7.neocities.org/pubs/protest...
I'm incredibly excited about participating in the Visualizing Resilience conference this week in Finland. Looks like June 6 streaming tickets are still available for folks that can’t make it in person: vizknowledge.aalto.fi/index.html
New: I recreated Tomas Wright’s 1742 astronomical treatise, Clavis Cælestis, and its accompanying sheets titled A Synopsis of the Universe. New posters are available in antique style and modern colors. Explore: www.c82.net/clavis-caele... How it was made: www.c82.net/blog/?id=99
Reefs of Time by @lisasgardiner.bsky.social arrived ahead of its Jun10 pub date.🤩 I knew I wouldn’t see my fellow Smith College geology major on campus this weekend at reunion, so I spent time with her new title at our old haunt (the science building 🧪🪨🪸) instead. Congrats on your latest book, Lisa!
I miss her.
When our kitty died a few months ago 💔 we commissioned a portrait from artist Kat Corrigan. We hung it yesterday, by her climbing tree. (Now a home to plants, since I needed something alive in the corner.) Kat was so kind. Highly recommend. katcorrigan.com
My "Map of Nothing" featured in @sciam.bsky.social has been shortlisted for the 2024 Information is Beautiful Awards. Nothing is the new something. Work with @jenchristiansen.com. www.informationisbeautifulawards.com/showcase/712...
Red Block by El Anatsui @thebroadmuseum.bsky.social
Untitled (Your body is a battleground) by Barbara Kruger, 1989 @thebroadmuseum.bsky.social
Today was a good day for art viewing @thebroadmuseum.bsky.social // Mirror #1 by Roy Lichtenstein (left), Portrait of Malak Lunsford II by Kehinde Wiley (right)
Museum and Planetarium Friends, Many of you use NASA SVS material. Right now it is critical that we are able to document SVS's impact. Please let us know how you are using our content (use my email address at the bottom of this page: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov). Thank you!
NEW WORK! ✨ I got to create this 2-page spread for an article in @sciam.bsky.social on the puzzling lack of worlds outside our solar system in a certain size range; the "Radius Gap." Visualizing several hundred exoplanets as a polar plot + contours. www.scientificamerican.com/article/exop...
Oh my goodness, I miss the Malofoej information graphics summit in Pamplona. Thanks for this blast from the past, @visualisingdata.com
New #paleoart of mine has just appeared in a @sciam.bsky.social article on the awesome horns and spikes of herbivorous dinosaurs (not my art in the preview). A fascinating read by biomechanicist Mike Habib - was great fun working with him on this! #sciart www.scientificamerican.com/article/dino...
Ripples creating ripples creating ripples 🧪 An excellent #sciart blog series by @bgmerkle.bsky.social made an impression on me years ago. I later cited it in my book. That act recently made a impression back on @bgmerkle.bsky.social. Read more in this thread on motivation & evaluation in #Academia ⬇️
“Journalism should steal a page from the social sciences, where every source is documented, and the hard sciences where every finding must be replicable.” 🧪https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/full-text-jelani-cobbs-2025-reuters-memorial-lecture-trust-issues-credibility-credulity-and
And writings about work that I’ve learned about from @blackamazon.bsky.social See slate.com/technology/2... and www.wired.com/story/listen... )
Another favorite: “To Fight Misinformation, We Need to Teach That Science Is Dynamic,” by Bergstrom, Pimentel, and Osborne. (Although as the title suggests, it’s more about misinformation than disinformation, so I don’t know if it meets your request.) www.scientificamerican.com/article/to-f...
I never tire of recommending this excellent Crash Course video series on navigating digital information. It’s hosted by John Green, and developed in partnership with MediaWise, The Poynter Institute, and The Stanford History Education Group youtu.be/L4aNmdL3Hr0?...
Quote tweet this with your favorite protest art. I wanna see it. And for more in the topic, we have a great Field Trip episode talking to an expert in art activism: www.alieward.com/ologies/wond...
Once again, the New York Times gives the dataviz community an opportunity to reflect on its purpose. Can everything be quantified and turned into a chart? Most important: what are the consequences of a chart? If words matter, charts matter too.
People are not getting the messages they need the most. As our government information systems (CDC, NOAA) get dismantled, this is getting worse. Truth doesn't have a marketing budget, so spreading those messages is up to us. ONE solution to this, is street art. Join me 3/3 at 8pm lu.ma/53ks8h33
Statement from wire services on being shut out from White House pool. - the wires are the spinal cord of real news delivered to the public in U.S. - cutting them off from presidency threatens democracy reutersagency.com/resources/st...
The ebook version of Getting to the Heart of Science Communication is on sale for $4.99 at all retailers. Extremely relevant (unfortunately) for this moment #SciComm islandpress.org/books/gettin...
It's a joy to work with scientists who have an infectious sense of curiosity & wonder. Interviewing Sholei Croom (w/my Scientific American colleague @clarakm.bsky.social ) about a paper they co-authored w/ @chazfirestone.bsky.social was a recent highlight 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/whic...
CSH's coolest #workshop is coming up! Join visualization pros Liuhuaying Yang and Paul Kahn, along with a talented team of experts from the worlds of art, #science, journalism, and #visualization. Don’t miss out—applications are open until March 20! 👉 vis.csh.ac.at/vis-workshop... #dataviz
Scientific American is seeking a full time summer/fall news graphics intern (focused on dataviz). Experience w/Adobe Illustrator + the ability to work in the U.S. is required. We’re hybrid—in NYC office at least 2x a week. Apps due March 21 📊 🧪 🐡 springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/SpringerNatu...
Have you seen this one? 🥰 tobefonseca.com/product/furr...
And for my maker/artist friends: Let’s Move the Needle: An Activism Handbook for Artists, Crafters, Creatives and Makers by Shannon Downey www.nokillmag.com/articles/mov...
Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World (Without a Bullhorn) by Omkari L. Williams www.omkariwilliams.com/the-book
These books are helping me focus. Perhaps they’ll resonate with you, too. 🧵
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SAVE THE DATE - InfoPlus brings together visualization designers, researchers, journalists and more. Happening Nov 14-16 in Boston. The theme is ENERGY and that's something we need right now to survive informationplusconference.com/2025/
After last year’s overwhelming feedback we are once again bringing together an international group of scientists, researches and designers. Join us in September. Training Data Visualisation for Science September 15-16, Utrecht More information and registration: lnkd.in/eqKmntAu
#info+ 2025 conference announced!! informationplusconference.com/2025/
Many people have asked me how can they best stay informed and protect their health while we navigate the indefinite pause on communications from NIH, CDC, & FDA. Here’s a thread on concrete steps YOU can take to protect yourself & your community. 🧵
Many thanks!!!
Forgive me if I’m just missing it, but do you see an artist credit anywhere in the magazine for this styled version? I’d love to know who designed it.
Every week, I check the CDC's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report. This week for the first time in its 60 years it was not published on schedule. American healthcare workers all over the country are less informed about health crises that affect their patients. CDC led reports matter a 🧵
I’d caution against interpreting a quiet social media response as being a non-response. Many people are shifting energy towards mutual aid and strengthening connections with people and advocacy groups in person at the local level.
I've been thinking lots about this environmental justice Q&A with Robert Bullard by @yessfun.com from 2023. It was an honor to work on graphics for it. www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-... 📊 🧪
If anyone happens to need it this week for...reasons...this is the best graphic on the complexity of human sex determination I've ever seen. I use it in an undergrad course on gene regulatory mechanisms. Shoutout to @unamandita.bsky.social! www.scientificamerican.com/article/beyo...
My 4-page 📊 spread for the Feb issue of @sciam.bsky.social is now live in digital format! I take a look at everyone who has been to space or earned their astronaut wings. www.scientificamerican.com/article/ever... Constructive feedback is welcome. This was a labor of love & I'm very proud of it.
Researchers found 15 people in Kansas City who had changed their mind about climate change, and asked them why. Fascinating! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
So I guess today is the day I take my earbuds out and start reading all of the books that I bought because of TikTok.
It was!! He played a piece (with recorded piano by astrophysicist Amir Siraj) with images from Hubble and JWST projected that gave me goosebumps.
So fortunate to have experienced Yo-Yo Ma live last night, as he intertwined stories and thoughts with cello music on stage. In an effort to spread the hope and joy, here’s one of my favorite of his collaborations: youtu.be/2dKk1bIn8aU?...
FINSPAN—a follow up to Wingspan—is out, and I'm part of it! Illustrators Ana María Martínez & Catalina Martínez and I drew a fantastic array of fish for Stonemaier Games. Enjoy! 🌊 🐡 🥳 #sciart #medart #fishart #sciencegames #finspan #wingspan #fish #cardgames #medart youtu.be/Fuvsx5Hd3iE
I like to maintain a respectful vibe on my socials. I’m not into words like “dumb” or snarky comebacks these days. Only needs action if you want to engage with an audience that includes me quoting you directly. But maybe I wasn’t your intended audience, in which case no action needed.
Ha ha. I hear you. But I framed it as a statement that indicated that your post made *me* feel a certain way. Maybe that was your goal. 🤷♀️ In any case, here is the main reason that—although I appreciated the prompt—I preferred to avoid featuring it in a short thread about critique in my feed: [1/2]
Oof. That sounds like destructive criticism. Not constructive criticism. It shouldn’t act as a frustrating power flex.
Critique is a critical part of the #dataviz process. But it can turn into a mess & waste of time if isn't done in a useful manner. I recommend this book by Adam Conner & @aaronirizarry.bsky.social for practical advice on how to give & receive feedback 📊 3/3 www.discussingdesign.com/discussing-d...
I spent *hours* critiquing work in studio art classes over the years. It’s a skill that is picked up in that context. Folks that come at #dataviz from a computer science background as opposed to a design/arts eduction may be less practiced in it. Is it a part of dataviz course curriculum now? 📊 2/N
I'm late to this discussion about #dataviz critiques, but my brain won’t let it go. I’m quoting @sonjakuijpers.bsky.social post, because something about the vibe of @elijahmeeks.bsky.social 's prompt doesn’t feel productive to me. You can see that post & more replies if you click through. 📊 1/N
The science behind auroras will never cease to amaze me. (Shown here via graphics by Matthew Twombly) 🧪 #sciart www.scientificamerican.com/article/expe...
Wishing you clear skies and a view of an aurora tonight. www.scientificamerican.com/article/auro...
I went on that journey years ago and loved it. You’re inspiring me to look into doing it again. Enjoy!
How did you know that I *just* finished sewing myself another paper sack 😅?
Out today: my illustration of the infamous Vagus Nerve in @sciam.bsky.social . It's always a pleasure trying to represent complicated anatomy for a popular audience—a delicious challenge. AD by @jenchristiansen.com Check it out: www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-... #medart #sciart #medicine
Not enough bandwidth at the moment! I recommend go.bsky.app/R3nSyyy plus the “Data Viz 📊” feed
By the amazing @tobefonseca.bsky.social 🐈⬛ tobefonseca.com/product/furr...
As written by Melanie Feinberg, “When we view objectivity and subjectivity as opposites rather than complements, we distort the empirical realities of data collection.” thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-myth-of-... (Article makes me want to read Daston & Galison’s excellent book _Objectivity_ again) 📊🧪
Also see Poet Training Tool by the DIAGRAM Center. It provides guideline for writing alt text for complex and information-rich images. Lots of science graphics are included as examples, and there are discrete sections addressing chemistry and math. poet.diagramcenter.org