Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me
Science journalist & audio producer / Making podcasts at NASA / Other words in Nat Geo, The Atlantic, Science, Sci Am, Hakai, bioGraphic, Undark, etc. / Iowan 🌽
Views expressed here are my own.
Portfolio: christianelliott.me
Views expressed here are my own.
Portfolio: christianelliott.me
Pinned
Christian Elliott
@christianelliott.me
· Jun 30
You hear this a lot on the left but it isn't true. USAID did not "fail to tell its story to Americans," the right targeted the agency with lies and misinformation.
Ultimately this narrative turns conservative attacks into even more calls for the left to reform.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/o...
Ultimately this narrative turns conservative attacks into even more calls for the left to reform.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/o...
NASA just won an Emmy for our live broadcast of the total solar eclipse last year. We produced a documentary film about the James Webb Space Telescope that's out in theaters and on Netflix. We have podcasts, we write feature stories. People wear the agency logo on t-shirts. We're still getting cut.
Reposted by Christian Elliott
China will continue its march into space (and to the Moon) with the Chang’e 7 mission in late 2026. This will consist of an orbiter, a lander, a rover and a smaller spacecraft that will act as a scout
Humans may return to the Moon in the coming year
NASA’s Artemis II mission, now set for February 2026, aims to send astronauts around the Moon. It is just one of many space missions to watch in the coming year
econ.st
January 4, 2026 at 2:20 AM
China will continue its march into space (and to the Moon) with the Chang’e 7 mission in late 2026. This will consist of an orbiter, a lander, a rover and a smaller spacecraft that will act as a scout
Reposted by Christian Elliott
As deep-sea mining race ramps up, mission will assess whether ecosystems recover afterward - @christianelliott.me @science.org
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
As deep-sea mining race ramps up, mission will assess whether ecosystems recover afterward
A new series of research cruises will study rare abyssal species in areas slated for mining
www.science.org
January 2, 2026 at 11:37 PM
As deep-sea mining race ramps up, mission will assess whether ecosystems recover afterward - @christianelliott.me @science.org
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Yesss 👏 this is a solid list
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
December 31, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Yesss 👏 this is a solid list
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
55 degree temperature swing within 12 hours is crazy work. I know this is the Midwest but come on
December 28, 2025 at 10:38 PM
55 degree temperature swing within 12 hours is crazy work. I know this is the Midwest but come on
ok she has my vote (I am not in her district)
Congressional Candidate Kat Abughazaleh on Parable of the Sower, and Her Love of Sci-Fi
I’ve been following Kat Abughazaleh’s career for years, starting with her work as a researcher and journalist for Media Matters. Her insights on politics and the American right, and her ability to …
lithub.com
December 20, 2025 at 6:29 PM
ok she has my vote (I am not in her district)
The stupid gemini AI built into YouTube is trying to tell me the International Space Station doesn't have a toilet and I fought it for long enough it gave up its game plan for how to deal with me 😭
December 20, 2025 at 4:23 PM
The stupid gemini AI built into YouTube is trying to tell me the International Space Station doesn't have a toilet and I fought it for long enough it gave up its game plan for how to deal with me 😭
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Billionaire Jared Isaacman is taking the reins at NASA at a challenging time for the space agency, as it faces budget cuts and technical hurdles that could scuttle its most ambitious missions
Jared Isaacman Confirmed to Head NASA at Pivotal Moment for the Space Agency
Billionaire Jared Isaacman is taking the reins at NASA at a challenging time for the space agency, as it faces budget cuts and technical hurdles that could scuttle its most ambitious missions
www.scientificamerican.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Billionaire Jared Isaacman is taking the reins at NASA at a challenging time for the space agency, as it faces budget cuts and technical hurdles that could scuttle its most ambitious missions
For the 25th anniversary of the ISS, NASA published this cool new 15-minute POV tour of the station 👩🚀
Step Inside the International Space Station (POV Tour)
YouTube video by NASA
youtu.be
December 17, 2025 at 5:11 PM
For the 25th anniversary of the ISS, NASA published this cool new 15-minute POV tour of the station 👩🚀
Reposted by Christian Elliott
This proposed action against America’s National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is friendly fire damaging all American’s national earth system science human & physical infrastructure.
It leaves all Americans less prepared to understand or predict a myriad natural hazards and risks.
It leaves all Americans less prepared to understand or predict a myriad natural hazards and risks.
The U.S. government is dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research, jettisoning key climate science projects in the process
Scientists Decry Trump's Plan to Kill Crucial Atmospheric Science Center
The U.S. government is dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research, jettisoning key climate science projects in the process
www.scientificamerican.com
December 17, 2025 at 3:48 PM
This proposed action against America’s National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is friendly fire damaging all American’s national earth system science human & physical infrastructure.
It leaves all Americans less prepared to understand or predict a myriad natural hazards and risks.
It leaves all Americans less prepared to understand or predict a myriad natural hazards and risks.
They really need us to like AI don't they. The desperation of "AI companion cannot be closed"...
December 17, 2025 at 4:55 PM
They really need us to like AI don't they. The desperation of "AI companion cannot be closed"...
Reposted by Christian Elliott
What happens when herbicides don't stay where they're sprayed?
@christianelliott.me investigates how rampant herbicide use is impacting the last patches of native forest in a region largely given over to industrial agriculture. Read more:
@christianelliott.me investigates how rampant herbicide use is impacting the last patches of native forest in a region largely given over to industrial agriculture. Read more:
The Scourge of Native Oaks is Blowing in the Wind
Scientists and conservationists in the U.S. Midwest are working to stop industrial herbicides from drifting onto the region’s remaining hardwood trees.
www.biographic.com
December 16, 2025 at 8:46 PM
What happens when herbicides don't stay where they're sprayed?
@christianelliott.me investigates how rampant herbicide use is impacting the last patches of native forest in a region largely given over to industrial agriculture. Read more:
@christianelliott.me investigates how rampant herbicide use is impacting the last patches of native forest in a region largely given over to industrial agriculture. Read more:
NYU's annual magazine (with my feature) arrived! Always so fun to see a story in print.
December 7, 2025 at 6:45 PM
NYU's annual magazine (with my feature) arrived! Always so fun to see a story in print.
Whoa, speaking of:
"By looking at tree rings from across Europe...checking data against ice core samples from Antarctica and Greenland, and analyzing historical documents, researchers have constructed a “perfect storm” scenario that could explain the origin of the historic tragedy."
"By looking at tree rings from across Europe...checking data against ice core samples from Antarctica and Greenland, and analyzing historical documents, researchers have constructed a “perfect storm” scenario that could explain the origin of the historic tragedy."
December 5, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Whoa, speaking of:
"By looking at tree rings from across Europe...checking data against ice core samples from Antarctica and Greenland, and analyzing historical documents, researchers have constructed a “perfect storm” scenario that could explain the origin of the historic tragedy."
"By looking at tree rings from across Europe...checking data against ice core samples from Antarctica and Greenland, and analyzing historical documents, researchers have constructed a “perfect storm” scenario that could explain the origin of the historic tragedy."
THREE SCREENS 😭 it's now possible to watch tiktok, instagram reels and youtube shorts side by side
Unboxing Galaxy Z TriFold | Samsung
YouTube video by Samsung
youtu.be
December 4, 2025 at 5:39 PM
THREE SCREENS 😭 it's now possible to watch tiktok, instagram reels and youtube shorts side by side
I've got a new story out today in National Geographic about "disaster microbiology," an emerging field that brings together all sorts of different experts to track the unexpected, deadly outbreaks that follow natural disasters that shake up the invisible microbial communities around us.
The disease detectives who solve the world’s strangest outbreaks
When weird fungal epidemics crop up in far-flung places, scientists work together to unravel how the microscopic murderers show up and turn deadly.
www.nationalgeographic.com
December 4, 2025 at 2:12 PM
I've got a new story out today in National Geographic about "disaster microbiology," an emerging field that brings together all sorts of different experts to track the unexpected, deadly outbreaks that follow natural disasters that shake up the invisible microbial communities around us.
This was a great session at the #SciWri25 conference last month, and a good read here:
Can NASA pursue breakthrough science during a political upheaval? - CASW
casw.org
December 3, 2025 at 6:40 PM
This was a great session at the #SciWri25 conference last month, and a good read here:
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Oh my word. Vanished has made it to the Smithsonian’s list of best books of 2025.
My roar reaching further than I ever imagined in its first 180 days in the wide world. Such lovely news on the night of this glorious moon.
My roar reaching further than I ever imagined in its first 180 days in the wide world. Such lovely news on the night of this glorious moon.
An annual tradition, @smithsonianmag.bsky.social asked contributors for their favorite science books of 2025. You can check out all our recommendations (including my own, @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social's Is A River Alive?) here:
The Ten Best Science Books of 2025
From “experimental archaeology” to the mysterious appeal of exploration, the wide-ranging subjects detailed in these titles captivated Smithsonian magazine’s science contributors this year
www.smithsonianmag.com
December 2, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Oh my word. Vanished has made it to the Smithsonian’s list of best books of 2025.
My roar reaching further than I ever imagined in its first 180 days in the wide world. Such lovely news on the night of this glorious moon.
My roar reaching further than I ever imagined in its first 180 days in the wide world. Such lovely news on the night of this glorious moon.
An annual tradition, @smithsonianmag.bsky.social asked contributors for their favorite science books of 2025. You can check out all our recommendations (including my own, @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social's Is A River Alive?) here:
The Ten Best Science Books of 2025
From “experimental archaeology” to the mysterious appeal of exploration, the wide-ranging subjects detailed in these titles captivated Smithsonian magazine’s science contributors this year
www.smithsonianmag.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:08 PM
An annual tradition, @smithsonianmag.bsky.social asked contributors for their favorite science books of 2025. You can check out all our recommendations (including my own, @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social's Is A River Alive?) here:
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Today is #AntarcticaDay, the Anniversary of the Signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959. To learn more about Antarctic History, you can can check out my book!
December 1, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Today is #AntarcticaDay, the Anniversary of the Signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959. To learn more about Antarctic History, you can can check out my book!
I've got a new piece in @sierramagazine.bsky.social today about an innovative community-led landslide monitoring program taking shape in Alaska in the absence of a unified government effort.
The Rise of Community-Led Landslide Monitoring
Could an innovative natural-disaster monitoring system in Alaska be a model for the rest of the country?
www.sierraclub.org
December 1, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I've got a new piece in @sierramagazine.bsky.social today about an innovative community-led landslide monitoring program taking shape in Alaska in the absence of a unified government effort.
Reposted by Christian Elliott
have you ever been somewhere so dark you could step outside & immediately spot the Milky Way? i traveled to the Upper Peninsula to learn about efforts to balance industrialization & economic growth with the preservation of starry skies:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/s...
Fighting for ‘The Right to Night’ Under Starry, Rural Skies
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:21 PM
have you ever been somewhere so dark you could step outside & immediately spot the Milky Way? i traveled to the Upper Peninsula to learn about efforts to balance industrialization & economic growth with the preservation of starry skies:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/s...
Reposted by Christian Elliott
My latest labor of editing love is this stunner by @christianelliott.me about herbicide drift, a silent ecological crisis ravaging the remaining native hardwood trees of the U.S. Midwest.
Sadly I did not get to use my preferred hed, The Fast and the Furious: Midwest Drift
Sadly I did not get to use my preferred hed, The Fast and the Furious: Midwest Drift
For @biographic.bsky.social, I reported from across rural Illinois on an environmental crisis unfolding in the Midwest: herbicides drifting off millions of acres of crop fields are slowly killing oaks and other native tree species. #longreads
The Scourge of Native Oaks is Blowing in the Wind
Scientists and conservationists in the U.S. Midwest are working to stop herbicides from industrial agriculture from drifting onto the region’s remaining hardwood trees
www.biographic.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
My latest labor of editing love is this stunner by @christianelliott.me about herbicide drift, a silent ecological crisis ravaging the remaining native hardwood trees of the U.S. Midwest.
Sadly I did not get to use my preferred hed, The Fast and the Furious: Midwest Drift
Sadly I did not get to use my preferred hed, The Fast and the Furious: Midwest Drift
For @biographic.bsky.social, I reported from across rural Illinois on an environmental crisis unfolding in the Midwest: herbicides drifting off millions of acres of crop fields are slowly killing oaks and other native tree species. #longreads
The Scourge of Native Oaks is Blowing in the Wind
Scientists and conservationists in the U.S. Midwest are working to stop herbicides from industrial agriculture from drifting onto the region’s remaining hardwood trees
www.biographic.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:43 PM
For @biographic.bsky.social, I reported from across rural Illinois on an environmental crisis unfolding in the Midwest: herbicides drifting off millions of acres of crop fields are slowly killing oaks and other native tree species. #longreads
I just tried to highlight a section of text in a PDF about deep-sea mining regulations and I accidentally clicked "Generate Image" instead of highlight and I HATE AI I HATE IT I DON'T WANT AN IMAGE OF WHATEVER THIS IS IN MY PDF PLEASE MAKE THE AI GO AWAY
November 24, 2025 at 4:08 AM
I just tried to highlight a section of text in a PDF about deep-sea mining regulations and I accidentally clicked "Generate Image" instead of highlight and I HATE AI I HATE IT I DON'T WANT AN IMAGE OF WHATEVER THIS IS IN MY PDF PLEASE MAKE THE AI GO AWAY
Can we get directions to the ones that are still in need of defacement
Yesterday my partner and I counted all the ads along Chicago's Brown Line for "Friend," a company selling an AI chatbot pendant, and tallied how many of those ads were defaced.
Still working on a longer piece on this, but here's the quick and dirty: we counted 104 "Friend" ads total, 42 defaced.
Still working on a longer piece on this, but here's the quick and dirty: we counted 104 "Friend" ads total, 42 defaced.
November 24, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Can we get directions to the ones that are still in need of defacement