Award-winning journalist + editor + author
The octopus is an intelligent, curious, and clever multitasker. We two-armed humans often struggle to keep up with it. But the pace of octopus research is accelerating. And this has been a big year for octopus science. So to celebrate International Octopus Day, let's see what we have learned about these amazing animals--and what they are teaching …
Continue reading "The 8 Best Octopus Studies this Year–for World Octopus Day"
Most octopuses prefer the solitary life. Some have even been known to eat their mates. But a newly discovered species of octopus is disrupting this long-held model. The larger Pacific striped octopus (still so new to science it does not yet have a formal Latin name) was first spotted some 40 years ago. But its behavior, …
One chilly October evening, two weeks before the launch of Octopus! The Most Mysterious Creature In the Sea, I was honored to give a super-fun sneak peek of my book at Longmont's PechaKucha Night. So I am octoputletly honored to be asked back for The Best of PechaKucha Night this Friday night, July 24, at the Longmont Museum's …
Continue reading "Octopuses Return to Boulder County for “Best of PechaKucha” July 24"
I confess that I cannot imagine running a marathon without my running mix on my iPod shuffle. And science actually has my back. I chatted recently with the guru of music and sports, Costas Karagrorghis for ESPN The Magazine for some more information on just why so many of us are hooked on music to get us …
Continue reading "How Music Boosts Athletic Performance — for ESPN The Magazine"
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"
Never mind the cooked octo-arm in the profile pic, Time Out New York recommends "Octopus! A Discussion of Animal Intelligence, Behavior--and Robots" on Thursday! I couldn't agree more. We'll have Jennifer Basil discussing her work with these and other amazing cephalopods, Robert Lurz philosophizing on what octopuses might think about other octopuses, and Frank Grasso describing his …
Hey, Colorado, want to learn a little more about the amazing octopus? Its surprising intelligence and incredible camouflage? Stop by the High Plains Library just north of Denver in Erie on Thursday evening! I'll be presenting from my new book, Octopus! The Most Mysterious Creature In the Sea. There will be awesome images, a reading, a …
Continue reading "Octopus! Talk and Signing This Thursday at Colorado’s High Plains Library"
It isn't everyday that someone wants to talk about octopuses for the better part of an hour--even when you've just written a book about the animal. But fortunately LiveScience editor Megan Gannon is just as fascinated with these animals as I am. And she had some awesomely fun questions about them. Our chat has just been posted …
Does your octopus have cowboy boots? I hope so, because next Thursday, December 19 at 7pm, I'll be reading and wading into adventure tales from my book Octopus! The Most Mysterious Creature In the Sea at the amazing Circle Cinema in Tulsa, Oklahoma! Yes, it's very far from the ocean, but Tulsa is my home-sweet-hometown. And I …
Continue reading "Hey, Y’all, Octopus! Reading and Signing Thursday, December 19 in Oklahoma"
Yesterday morning I visited the cool studios of KGNU in Boulder to talk with Shelley Schlender on How On Earth about Octopus! The Most Mysterious Creature In the Sea--and all of the amazing things these animals can do. It was the first time I got to do a live radio view in studio (complete with pro mics and …
Continue reading "Radio Chat with How On Earth about Octopus!"
