Benji Jones
@benjij.bsky.social
environmental correspondent @ vox 🏳️🌈
dm for signal / benji.jones@vox.com / benjijones@protonmail.com
dm for signal / benji.jones@vox.com / benjijones@protonmail.com
Insect people! Does anyone know what this is?
(Seen in Madagascar.)
(Seen in Madagascar.)
November 6, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Insect people! Does anyone know what this is?
(Seen in Madagascar.)
(Seen in Madagascar.)
Reposted by Benji Jones
"It’s a complicated situation: The health and well-being of people along the coast depends on fishing, yet too much fishing is a key reason why the reef, and the fishery it supports, is in decline."
@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4650...
@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4650...
Scientists are testing a surprising approach to fighting hunger in one of the poorest places on Earth
Madagascar is reeling from political unrest. But there’s another problem that no one’s talking about.
www.vox.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:14 PM
"It’s a complicated situation: The health and well-being of people along the coast depends on fishing, yet too much fishing is a key reason why the reef, and the fishery it supports, is in decline."
@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4650...
@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4650...
Reposted by Benji Jones
🚨Just launched: @vox.com's most ambitious biodviersity reporting project of the year.
@benjij.bsky.social went to Madagascar to find out what it takes to save one of the world’s most unique ecosystems — and learned that the answer begins with putting people first.
www.vox.com/climate/4649...
@benjij.bsky.social went to Madagascar to find out what it takes to save one of the world’s most unique ecosystems — and learned that the answer begins with putting people first.
www.vox.com/climate/4649...
Most animals on this island nation are found nowhere else on Earth. And now they’re vanishing.
The only way to save them is to put people first.
www.vox.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
🚨Just launched: @vox.com's most ambitious biodviersity reporting project of the year.
@benjij.bsky.social went to Madagascar to find out what it takes to save one of the world’s most unique ecosystems — and learned that the answer begins with putting people first.
www.vox.com/climate/4649...
@benjij.bsky.social went to Madagascar to find out what it takes to save one of the world’s most unique ecosystems — and learned that the answer begins with putting people first.
www.vox.com/climate/4649...
Coming out of silence to share a story that's very meaningful to me — a look at what's going on in southwest Madagascar. Coral reefs that sustain entire communities are failing, despite decades of conservation. It highlights the need to rethink how conservation works.
www.vox.com/climate/4650...
www.vox.com/climate/4650...
Scientists are testing a surprising approach to fighting hunger in one of the poorest places on Earth
Madagascar is reeling from political unrest. But there’s another problem that no one’s talking about.
www.vox.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Coming out of silence to share a story that's very meaningful to me — a look at what's going on in southwest Madagascar. Coral reefs that sustain entire communities are failing, despite decades of conservation. It highlights the need to rethink how conservation works.
www.vox.com/climate/4650...
www.vox.com/climate/4650...
Reposted by Benji Jones
We’ve climbed Everest, mapped the oceans, and trekked to the poles. Yet 90% of Earth’s species remain unknown. The golden age of discovery is happening now — as scientists race to catalogue our planet's "dark taxa"
@benjij.bsky.social w/ this fascinating story @vox.com: www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
@benjij.bsky.social w/ this fascinating story @vox.com: www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
The search for Earth’s most mysterious creatures is turning up extraordinary results
We still haven’t documented 90 percent of animals on Earth
www.vox.com
September 2, 2025 at 2:38 PM
We’ve climbed Everest, mapped the oceans, and trekked to the poles. Yet 90% of Earth’s species remain unknown. The golden age of discovery is happening now — as scientists race to catalogue our planet's "dark taxa"
@benjij.bsky.social w/ this fascinating story @vox.com: www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
@benjij.bsky.social w/ this fascinating story @vox.com: www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
I wrote about the search for "dark taxa" — groups of animals, like certain flies and wasps, in which the bulk of species remains unknown to science.
Among the facts that blew my mind while reporting this: Around 90 percent of all life is still undescribed. Like, what!?
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
Among the facts that blew my mind while reporting this: Around 90 percent of all life is still undescribed. Like, what!?
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
The search for Earth’s most mysterious creatures is turning up extraordinary results
We still haven’t documented 90 percent of animals on Earth
www.vox.com
September 2, 2025 at 1:38 PM
I wrote about the search for "dark taxa" — groups of animals, like certain flies and wasps, in which the bulk of species remains unknown to science.
Among the facts that blew my mind while reporting this: Around 90 percent of all life is still undescribed. Like, what!?
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
Among the facts that blew my mind while reporting this: Around 90 percent of all life is still undescribed. Like, what!?
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
This is not the year of positive wildlife stories, but I've got one. And it's about jaguars.
I spent a week in Sonora, Mexico last month looking for cats and learning about a creative project to save them — involving the very people that once hunted these animals down.
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
I spent a week in Sonora, Mexico last month looking for cats and learning about a creative project to save them — involving the very people that once hunted these animals down.
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
May 20, 2025 at 3:48 PM
This is not the year of positive wildlife stories, but I've got one. And it's about jaguars.
I spent a week in Sonora, Mexico last month looking for cats and learning about a creative project to save them — involving the very people that once hunted these animals down.
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
I spent a week in Sonora, Mexico last month looking for cats and learning about a creative project to save them — involving the very people that once hunted these animals down.
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
Reposted by Benji Jones
We kick off with @benjij.bsky.social who joins us to talk about the Department of the Interior's move to strip endangered species status from the lesser prairie chicken, and other science news of the week.
www.sciencefriday.com/segments/les...
www.sciencefriday.com/segments/les...
Lesser Prairie Chicken May Lose Endangered Species Status
The Department of the Interior seeks to remove the lesser prairie chicken’s endangered species designation. What would that mean?
www.sciencefriday.com
May 16, 2025 at 6:07 PM
We kick off with @benjij.bsky.social who joins us to talk about the Department of the Interior's move to strip endangered species status from the lesser prairie chicken, and other science news of the week.
www.sciencefriday.com/segments/les...
www.sciencefriday.com/segments/les...
The Trump administration is trying to remove protections for a very odd bird on a technicality and maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal but it's actually a very big deal and signals something scary for all other species near the brink
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
Trump officials are trying to yank this animal’s last shot at survival
The administration’s attack on nature, explained by a dancing chicken.
www.vox.com
May 15, 2025 at 1:13 PM
The Trump administration is trying to remove protections for a very odd bird on a technicality and maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal but it's actually a very big deal and signals something scary for all other species near the brink
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
having my annual “oh yeah i guess i like new york” moment
cherishing it before it vanishes in 30
cherishing it before it vanishes in 30
May 3, 2025 at 5:08 PM
having my annual “oh yeah i guess i like new york” moment
cherishing it before it vanishes in 30
cherishing it before it vanishes in 30
Hi. I wrote about America’s most beloved insect: the monarch butterfly.
They’re not doing well.
USFWS finally proposed federal protections for them late last year.
Trump is already moving to dismantle regs to protect wildlife.
What will happen to monarchs?
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
They’re not doing well.
USFWS finally proposed federal protections for them late last year.
Trump is already moving to dismantle regs to protect wildlife.
What will happen to monarchs?
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
The fate of this beloved American creature is in Trump’s hands
Trump says he’s pro-America. Will his administration protect its most iconic butterfly?
www.vox.com
April 17, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Hi. I wrote about America’s most beloved insect: the monarch butterfly.
They’re not doing well.
USFWS finally proposed federal protections for them late last year.
Trump is already moving to dismantle regs to protect wildlife.
What will happen to monarchs?
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
They’re not doing well.
USFWS finally proposed federal protections for them late last year.
Trump is already moving to dismantle regs to protect wildlife.
What will happen to monarchs?
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
just a normal reader email
April 16, 2025 at 9:36 PM
just a normal reader email
Reposted by Benji Jones
In research published yesterday, scientists monitored what anti-anxiety drugs did to salmon as they migrated from a river out to the Baltic Sea. The results are fascinating.
@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
Oops, we accidentally drugged the world’s fish
The bizarre link between your anti-anxiety drugs and salmon.
www.vox.com
April 11, 2025 at 1:47 PM
In research published yesterday, scientists monitored what anti-anxiety drugs did to salmon as they migrated from a river out to the Baltic Sea. The results are fascinating.
@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
Talked to a scientist who collects SEA TURTLE TEARS for her research. If that's not strange enough: She's looking for signs that those tears contain a kind of *magnetic* bacteria because that might help turtles navigate??? Science is cooooool.
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
The extraordinary reason why scientists are collecting sea turtle tears
Researchers are hoping they may unlock one of animal biology’s greatest mysteries.
www.vox.com
April 1, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Talked to a scientist who collects SEA TURTLE TEARS for her research. If that's not strange enough: She's looking for signs that those tears contain a kind of *magnetic* bacteria because that might help turtles navigate??? Science is cooooool.
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
Reposted by Benji Jones
Need a palette cleanser from all of the news this week?
@benjij.bsky.social has this adorable and fun story about one marine scientist's unexpected discovery: www.vox.com/down-to-eart... @vox.com
@benjij.bsky.social has this adorable and fun story about one marine scientist's unexpected discovery: www.vox.com/down-to-eart... @vox.com
A marine biologist discovered something incredible in a beer bottle on the seafloor
Sometimes nature thrives in the most unlikely places.
www.vox.com
March 28, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Need a palette cleanser from all of the news this week?
@benjij.bsky.social has this adorable and fun story about one marine scientist's unexpected discovery: www.vox.com/down-to-eart... @vox.com
@benjij.bsky.social has this adorable and fun story about one marine scientist's unexpected discovery: www.vox.com/down-to-eart... @vox.com
Can anyone point me to an octopus expert in the Caribbean/Florida region? I need help with an ID!
March 27, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Can anyone point me to an octopus expert in the Caribbean/Florida region? I need help with an ID!
well i’m officially that person who takes their dog to water aerobics
March 26, 2025 at 10:21 PM
well i’m officially that person who takes their dog to water aerobics
The US and Europe largely solved the acid rain problem. Hooray! But now our rain is full of something a lot scarier — microplastics, PFAS, and other modern chemicals. And these pollutants are much harder to clean up. www.vox.com/climate/4016...
We got rid of acid rain. Now something scarier is falling from the sky.
Here’s why you should never, ever drink the rain.
www.vox.com
March 10, 2025 at 3:18 PM
The US and Europe largely solved the acid rain problem. Hooray! But now our rain is full of something a lot scarier — microplastics, PFAS, and other modern chemicals. And these pollutants are much harder to clean up. www.vox.com/climate/4016...
One thing bringing me joy right now: my plants are THRIVING!! in an nyc apt.
this orchid is blooming for like the sixth time. i’ve had it for years!!
even my succulent is blooming!!! i didn’t think this was possible
the secret? i think neglect and sunlight
this orchid is blooming for like the sixth time. i’ve had it for years!!
even my succulent is blooming!!! i didn’t think this was possible
the secret? i think neglect and sunlight
March 8, 2025 at 5:15 PM
One thing bringing me joy right now: my plants are THRIVING!! in an nyc apt.
this orchid is blooming for like the sixth time. i’ve had it for years!!
even my succulent is blooming!!! i didn’t think this was possible
the secret? i think neglect and sunlight
this orchid is blooming for like the sixth time. i’ve had it for years!!
even my succulent is blooming!!! i didn’t think this was possible
the secret? i think neglect and sunlight
This is a big deal — corals in Florida and throughout much of the Caribbean are not producing babies anymore. Sexual reproduction is failing. That means coral reefs will start failing too.
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
Florida’s iconic corals aren’t having babies anymore. Scientists are alarmed.
A baby bust threatens the future of an already struggling reef.
www.vox.com
February 27, 2025 at 7:25 PM
This is a big deal — corals in Florida and throughout much of the Caribbean are not producing babies anymore. Sexual reproduction is failing. That means coral reefs will start failing too.
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
Reposted by Benji Jones
The black-footed ferret has been coming back from the brink of extinction thanks to the work of US government scientists. They just got fired. www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
This animal is on the edge of extinction. Trump just fired the people trying to save it.
Job cuts and frozen funding could inch one of the world’s rarest species even closer to extinction.
www.vox.com
February 27, 2025 at 5:43 PM
The black-footed ferret has been coming back from the brink of extinction thanks to the work of US government scientists. They just got fired. www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
Staff cuts and funding freezes have upended one of the country’s highest profile conservation projects — a nationwide effort to breed, clone, and release endangered black-footed ferrets, among the rarest animals in the world. www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
This animal is on the edge of extinction. Trump just fired the people trying to save it.
Job cuts and frozen funding could inch one of the world’s rarest species even closer to extinction.
www.vox.com
February 26, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Staff cuts and funding freezes have upended one of the country’s highest profile conservation projects — a nationwide effort to breed, clone, and release endangered black-footed ferrets, among the rarest animals in the world. www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
Reposted by Benji Jones
Florida’s iconic corals aren’t having babies anymore. Scientists are alarmed.
@benjij.bsky.social explains how a baby bust threatens the future of an already struggling reef: www.vox.com/down-to-eart... @vox.com
@benjij.bsky.social explains how a baby bust threatens the future of an already struggling reef: www.vox.com/down-to-eart... @vox.com
February 25, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Florida’s iconic corals aren’t having babies anymore. Scientists are alarmed.
@benjij.bsky.social explains how a baby bust threatens the future of an already struggling reef: www.vox.com/down-to-eart... @vox.com
@benjij.bsky.social explains how a baby bust threatens the future of an already struggling reef: www.vox.com/down-to-eart... @vox.com