Teaching Journalism Students to Report on Science

Once upon a time science writing was simple: A reporter would read published studies in the scientific literature and write about the latest wonder of research or miracle of medicine.  Things have gotten more complicated since those early days of science journalism. The spread of pollution, the Vietnam war, the Chernobyl meltdown, the Challenger explosion,…

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On a Wave and a Prayer in Taghazout

I was paddling into position to catch my next wave when the call to prayer sounded from the village across the beach. It was a low, mesmerizing moan. “Allah Akhbar!’’ (“God is great.’’) A reminder of our humility. On a barren hillside in the distance someone had arranged enormous white-painted rocks to spell in Arabic:…

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Spark of Truth: Can Science Bring Justice to Arson Trials?

On a rainy spring morning in eastern Kentucky, Greg Gorbett prepares to commit arson. His target is a tidy but cheerless one-bedroom apartment with the kind of mauve-colored carpet, couches, tables, and lamps you would find in a cheap motel. Gorbett is not the only one eager to see the place burn. A handful of other…

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Was Mona Lisa a 16th century super-model?

Italian researchers think they may have located the remains of the woman who posed for DaVinci’s famous painting. More here — news from the world of medical archeology.

The field was one of many pioneered by the amazing Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne in the late 19th century.

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Edgar Award Short-list

The Mystery Writers of America has short-listed The Killer of Little Shepherds for their annual Edgar Allen Poe Awards, the nation’s most prestigious award in mystery-writing. TKOLS is competing in the non-fiction category.

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DEATH OF A GREAT IDEA

It was with hope and pride that the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York announced the formation of the Arson Screening Project in 2008. The purpose of the project would be to review arson cases for the kind of “junk science” that had put unknown numbers of innocent people in jail, and…

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SIX DANGEROUS MYTHS ABOUT ARSON

For many years fire investigators believed that they could use certain “burn indicators” to show that a fire was purposely-set instead of accidental. As a result, many people were sent to jail for arsons they never committed. The field has been modernized in recent years: arson investigations are more scientific than ever before. Nonetheless, several…

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ARSON INVESTIGATIONS UNDER FIRE

Several weeks ago I wrote that CSI labs are not at all like they’re portrayed on TV. Revelations about shoddy practices are causing hundreds of convictions to be re-examined or overturned. Unfortunately, the same is true of arson investigations. A string of exposés of wrongful arson convictions in Massachusetts, Illinois, Texas and elsewhere has revealed…

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GYPSIES, VAGABONDS AND THE CURSE OF THE “OTHER”

These are tough times to be an outsider. Amid the panic of collapsing economies, France and Italy are deporting their gypsies, Americans are persecuting illegal immigrants, and German Chancellor Merkel has made it clear that Turkish workers would never truly be part of their adopted country, no matter how many generations their families had lived…

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THE MYTH OF CSI

Click here to see my opinion piece in The Boston Globe about the myth and reality of our nation’s CSI labs. Cited by The Atlantic as one of its “5 Best Wednesday Columns” here.

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