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June 18 · Issue #14 · View online
Science and Culture Stories Curated by Journalist Dinsa Sachan
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Hujambo!
This week, Chicago-based journalist Rod McCullom is curating Nucleus Mag. I first met Rod in Cape Town in 2014. We were both attending an HIV conference in the city. Rod is a biomedical and science journalist that specializes in reporting on the intersections of science, technology, disease and medicine with poverty, race, sexuality. He is especially interested in how science, technology and innovation often do not work for the “have nots”, the people on the margins of society.
One of his specialties is reporting on the domestic and global HIV epidemics. He has reported the epidemic from five continents. He is a contributor to The Atlantic, The Nation, Scientific American and other outlets including UNDARK, the new-ish digital science publication from MIT where he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. In a previous life, he was a writer/producer at ABC News and NBC. He is truly a rockstar science journalist, and I turn to him for advice and mentoring from time to time.
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Rod was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow in 2015-16. Photo credit: Rod McCullom
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Facial Recognition Technology Is Both Biased and Understudied
The second installment of my new column at UNDARK that explores the intersections of science, technology and crime. Facial recognition algorithms are often less accurate for people of color and especially African Americans. Why does this happen and why is there so little research?
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Does Gun Violence Spread Like a Blood-Borne Pathogen?
My first column at UNDARK. Chicago is my hometown. Unfortunately some neighborhoods are terrorized by escalating gun violence. New research employs predictive algorithms used by epidemiologists to show who is mostly likely to get infected — that is to say shot — next.
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A Promising HIV Vaccine in South Africa
I’ve followed the progress of the RV 144 vaccine study from 2009. I was excited to report from Cape Town on the adaptation of the vaccine for Southern Africa. This was at the HIV Research for Prevention 2014 where Dinsa and I met.
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Can Chicago Curb Menthol Smoking among African-American Youth?
This was my first piece for Scientific American. I lost my father and one uncle to lung cancer. Another uncle also has lung cancer. So I’m always interested in scientific research that sheds more light on why African Americans are particularly vulnerable to certain cancers.
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Southern Exposure
I was so honored to work on this story which became the cover of the January/February 2017 issue of POZ. We took a deep dive into the structural barriers and social determinants that have encouraged the escalating HIV epidemic among African American men who have sex with men in the southern United States.
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Chilean and Antarctic Fossils Reveal the Last "Geologic Minutes" of the Age of Dinosaurs
One of my favorite science journalists is the amazing Ángela Posada-Swafford. She’s reported from Antarctica at least four times.
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Developing a Microbicide to Fight HIV in Women
Excellent reporting, narrative and science journalism from my friend Dinsa Sachan who interviewed vaginal ecologist Sharon Hillier at HIVR4P in Cape Town.
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The Intellectual Emptiness of All-Male Panel Discussions
Lauren Whaley just ended her fellowship year at MIT KSJ. This is a great deconstruction of the all-male panel which are unfortunately omnipresent across scientific and technical conferences, colloquia, symposia, etc.
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Kenyans to Get Drugs to Prevent HIV Infection
Nairobi-based John Muchangi is fantastic journalist. He’s doing a top-rate job of reporting on the HIV epidemic in Kenya with precision, authority, empathy and respect.
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Rail yard expansion in Englewood raises questions of eminent domain’s scope
This was a local story in Chicago and very well reported. The human and social cost – including the biosocial impact of pollution and environmental racism – from the expansion of a railyard to demolish one working class neighborhood.
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I’m back to my den after a little break. I’d be busy with long-form writing projects for the next two months. That’s exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. But I’m glad I’m fulfilling my promise of taking on longer stories. What new challenges are you committing yourself to this month? Fill me in! ♥ Did you enjoy reading this issue of Nucleus? Please share it on (1) Twitter (2) Facebook, or (3) via a quick e-mail. (Thank you!)
Until next week,
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