Award-winning journalist + editor + author
Any day when I get to talk about the microbiome and fermented foods is a good day. But one Monday in March was an especially good one when I got to chat about these topics with John Schumann for Studio Tulsa's #MedicalMonday on Public Radio Tulsa. We discussed just what the heck the microbiome is--and …
A few years ago, I was sitting in television studio atop Lookout Mountain discussing octopuses with Good Day Tulsa host Keith Taylor. This month, I got to return--this time to talk about the microbiome. Although Keith was bummed to hear that his beloved beer isn't usually good for our guts (with some very interesting exceptions), …
Continue reading "Tulsa Gets “Cultured,” Thanks to Channel 8"
It's a good question. Fiber plays such an important role in our health, thanks in no small part to our microbes. And it is an integral part of so many amazing foods and cuisines. Yet we often see it as a bland obligation. I talked with Edith Zimmerman of New York Magazine's The Cut about …
I am excited to be returning to my home state of Oklahoma later this month. I'm honored that during the trip, I will get to present and to sign books at Full Circle Bookstore in Oklahoma City! I'll be talking food, the microbiome, and my new book, Cultured. The event is Thursday, March 21 at …
Continue reading "CANCELED: Book Talk and Signing in OKC March 21 @ Full Circle Bookstore"
Coming back to my hometown of Tulsa is always a pleasure. Especially over the past decade or so, as I witnessed the growth and new vibrancy of downtown (which used to be only for trips to the PAC or Spaghetti Warehouse). I am especially excited to my upcoming trip, during which I'll take a break …
Continue reading "The Science of the Gut: Magic City Books Event in Tulsa, March 20"
What foods feed our microbiome? I dived into this question with NPR's Jonathan Lambert in a recent interview with The Salt. As he notes, "A surge in microbiome research over the past two decades has revealed they do much more than simply digest food. They can mediate weight gain, fight off infection, and even alter our mood." …
Tuesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m., I'll be talking microbes and signing copies of Cultured: How Ancient Foods Can Feed Our Microbiome at the Boulder Book Store! Join me for an evening of learning about the bugs inside of us--and how our diet can help them help us. Learn more about the event here. Hope to see you there!
There has been a flourish of new studies linking the human microbiome to a host of diseases--Parkinson's, diabetes, and even depression. But that is not enough for biologist Rob Knight. Knight is one of the co-founders of the American Gut Project, a citizen-funded effort to better understand the microbiome's connection to health. He recently moved …
Continue reading "Where Microbiome Research Is Headed: My Latest for NPR"
About a year and a half ago I learned that the epicenter of citizen microbiome science is just a half-hour away from my house. So, naturally, I wanted to give them my poo.* And my dog's, too. (The results of the quest are detailed in a four-part series on NPR's Shots blog) More specifically, I wanted to …
Continue reading "The Guts of a Microbiome: I Sequenced My Family’s Poo for Science–and for NPR"
"Don't lick the bathroom floor." It's good advice. Especially when coming from an environmental microbiologist who has spent months studying public bathrooms. I got to cover the resulting icky research for NPR. But it's not all bad, say the researchers. They found that the microbes on different bathroom surfaces were, of course, largely influenced by …
