Christopher Wanjek is a health and science journalist and author based in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Biography

Wanjek received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

and his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from the

Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

. His most recent book, co-authored with Chris Gunn and published by The MIT Press, is ''Inside the Star Factory: The Creation of the'' ''James Webb Space Telescope. NASA's Largest and Most Powerful Space Observatory'', whic
Publishers Weekly
praised as "an intimate view of an astounding scientific achievement." Wanjek is also author of ''Bad Medicine: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Distance Healing to Vitamin O'' and of ''Food at Work: Workplace Solutions for Malnutrition, Obesity and Chronic Diseases''. In 2020, Wanjek published the book ''Spacefarers: How Humans Will Settle the Moon, Mars, and Beyond'' through Harvard University Press. Among positive reviews, the work was described as "the best book ... on space exploration since Isaac Asimov" by

Michael Shermer Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of '' Skeptic'' magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientif ...

, publisher of Skeptic magazine. ''Food at Work'', written for the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

, has since been presented in numerous countries, largely in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. The concept for the "Food at Work" as well as the final product has been lauded by unions and nutritionists, with emeritus professor of nutrition A. Stewart Truswell of

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

describing it as "a beautifully designed, written and printed book

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

would have to be consulted by anyone advising on food at work anywhere in the world." The project has inspired government legislation to improve worker feeding programs in Mexico, Lithuania, Uruguay and elsewhere in South America. As an astronomy writer, Wanjek worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...

Greenbelt, Maryland Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,921. Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental ...

until 2007 and freelanced for astronomy magazines such ''

Sky & Telescope ''Sky & Telescope'' (''S&T'') is a monthly magazine covering all aspects of amateur and professional astronomy, including what to see in the sky tonight and new findings in astronomy. Other topics covered include: *observing guides for planets, ...

'' and ''

Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

''. He currently is the "Armchair Astrophysics" columnist for the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's '' Mercury'' Magazine. As a health writer, Wanjek wrote many stories for CBS Healthwatch and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' health section between 1999 and 2004. Since 2006 he has written a weekly column for

LiveScience Live Science is a science news website. The publication features stories on a wide range of topics, including space, animals, health, archaeology, human behavior, and planet Earth. It also includes a reference section with links to other websites. ...

called Bad Medicine. In 2009 his LiveScience column criticized

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

who said that condoms make the epidemic of AIDS worse. While a student at Temple University, Wanjek was part of the Philadelphia comedy scene that produced comic Paul F. Tompkins and writer-director

Adam McKay Adam McKay (born April 17, 1968) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. McKay began his career as a head writer for the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') from 1995 to 2001. After leaving ''SNL'', McKay co-w ...

, his former housemate, among others. Wanjek has written for

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...

since 1998.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wanjek, Christopher Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American health and wellness writers American science writers Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health alumni Temple University alumni NASA people