Deborah Blum
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Deborah Leigh Blum (born October 19, 1954) is an American science journalist, and the director of the Knight Science Journalism program at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
."Faculty & Staff , Knight Science Journalism at MIT"
Faculty and staff listing for Knight Science Journalism at MIT. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
She is the author of several books, including '' The Poisoner's Handbook'' (2010)"''The Poisoner's Handbook"''
Publisher's product display.
Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media company, media Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a Mergers and acquisitions, mer ...
. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
Quote: "Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Deborah Blum follows New York City's first forensic scientists to discover a fascinating Jazz Age story of chemistry."
and ''The Poison Squad'' (2018),
The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
and has been a columnist for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and a blogger, via her blog titled Elemental, for ''
Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...
''. As a science writer for the ''
Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...
'', Blum wrote a series of articles examining the professional, ethical, and emotional conflicts between scientists who use animals in their research and
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...
activists who oppose that research. Titled "The Monkey Wars," the series won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting."Beat Reporting"
The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2013-11-01.


Early life and education

The eldest of four daughters, Blum was born in 1954 to Jewish parents in
Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents i ...
. Her father was
entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
Murray S. Blum and her mother was Nancy Ann Blum, an educator and writer. Deborah grew up in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
,
Bristol, England Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, and
Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...
. She graduated from the
University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
, where she majored in journalism and was chief editor of the student newspaper, '' The Red and Black''.


Career

Blum worked as a reporter covering police, fires, courts, and other general assignment beats for newspapers in Georgia, Florida and California before she turned to science writing. She was on the staffs of the '' Macon Telegraph'', the '' St. Petersburg Times'' and the ''
Fresno Bee ''The Fresno Bee'' is a three-times a week newspaper serving Fresno, California, and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's central San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's ...
'', among other publications.


Environmental journalism

After earning a master's degree in
environmental journalism Environmental journalism is the collection, verification, production, distribution and exhibition of information regarding current events, trends, and issues associated with the non-human world. To be an environmental journalist, one must have an ...
from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...
, Blum returned to the ''Fresno Bee'', where she became an award-winning environmental reporter. She was the first to report on the alarming incidence of severely deformed
waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...
at the
Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge The Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge was an artificial wetland environment, created using agricultural Surface runoff, runoff from farmland in California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The irrigation water is transported to t ...
, where poor management of irrigation runoff had polluted the
wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
with toxic levels of the element
selenium Selenium is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Se and atomic number 34. It has various physical appearances, including a brick-red powder, a vitreous black solid, and a grey metallic-looking form. It seldom occurs in this elem ...
. Her work for the ''Fresno Bee'' put the mid-sized paper ahead of much larger regional rivals, including the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' and the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' in covering that major environmental story.


Science writing and teaching

In 1984, Blum joined the staff of the ''Fresno Bees sister newspaper, the ''Sacramento Bee'', where she broadened her range, covering science subjects. Her series "California: The Weapons Master" was awarded the 1987 Livingston Award for National Reporting. In 1992 the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
awarded her its AAAS-Westinghouse Award for Science Journalism, also for the "Monkey Wars" series. Blum expanded the Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper series into a book of the same title. Her second book, '' Sex on the Brain'' examines the biological differences between men and women. In '' Love at Goon Park'', she explores the life and career of groundbreaking psychology researcher
Harry Harlow Harry Frederick Harlow (October 31, 1905 – December 6, 1981) was an American psychologist best known for his maternal-separation, dependency needs, and social isolation experiments on rhesus monkeys, which manifested the importance of caregivi ...
, and in '' Ghost Hunters'' she follows a quest by 19th century psychologist-philosopher
William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...
and colleagues to apply objective scientific methods to the study of paranormal phenomena. In ''The Poisoner's Handbook'' she explores the pioneering work of two unheralded scientists who paved the way for modern forensic detectives."Doug Moe: UW journalism prof's book on forensics gets positive reaction"
''
Wisconsin State Journal The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of Septembe ...
'', January 18, 2010.
This book was promoted on
Point of Inquiry A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...
. She received the James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public from the
American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...
in 2015 for this book. Blum has written, most often about science and its interrelationship with American culture, for publications that have included ''The New York Times'', ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'', ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''
Discover Discover may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Discover'' (album), a Cactus Jack album * ''Discover'' (magazine), an American science magazine * "Discover", a song by Chris Brown from his 2015 album ''Royalty'' Businesses and bran ...
'', ''
Psychology Today ''Psychology Today'' is an American media organization with a focus on psychology and human behavior. The publication began as a bimonthly magazine, which first appeared in 1967. The print magazine's reported circulation is 275,000 as of 2023. ...
'', ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', the ''
Utne Reader ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne''; , ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...
'', and '' Mother Jones''. In 2013, she began writing "Poison Pen" which appears as a column in ''The New York Times'' and as a blog post in the newspaper's online edition. website. After becoming director of the Knight Science Journalism Program, she created and became publisher of a new on-line science magazine, '' Undark''. From 1997 until 2015, she was a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 2005 she was appointed Helen Firstbrook Franklin Professor of Journalism, an endowed faculty position within the University of Wisconsin journalism school. In July 2015, she became director of Knight Science Journalism at MIT."Pulitzer Prize-winner to head Knight Science Journalism at MIT"
MIT press release, July 18, 2014.
A past president of the
National Association of Science Writers The National Association of Science Writers (NASW) was created in 1934 by science journalists and reporters. The mission of NASW is "to improve the craft of science journalism and to promote good science reportage". It has been called, "the nation ...
, she has been a member of the governing board of the World Federation of Science Writers and has also served on such panels for the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, the AAAS Committee on Public Understanding of Science and Technology, the National Research Council's Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, the
Society for Science & the Public Society for Science, formerly known as Science Service and later Society for Science and the Public, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of science, through its science education programs and publications, including ...
and a US Congress committee on science. Blum is co-editor, with Mary Knudson and Robin Marantz Henig, of the book ''A Field Guide for Science Writers''.


Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT

Blum became director of the
Knight Science Journalism The Knight Science Journalism program (styled as "KSJ@MIT") offers 9-month research fellowships, based at its headquarters at the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, to elite staff and freelance journalists specializing in covera ...
Program (KSJ), a fellowship program endowed by the James S. and John L. Knight Foundation to encourage "a select breed of journalist", in July 2015. The following year, she and former New York Times reporter and columnist Tom Zeller Jr. co-founded Undark, a digital science magazine published under the auspices of the KSJ program. In July 2016, David Corcoran, former editor of ''Science Times'' at ''The New York Times'', joined the program as a senior editor at the magazine and associate director of the program.


Personal life

Blum and her husband have two sons.


Bibliography


Books

* ''The Monkey Wars'' (1994, Oxford University Press) () * ''A Field Guide for Science Writers: the official guide of the National Association of Science Writers'' , edited by Blum, Mary Knudson, and Robin Marantz Henig (1997; 2nd ed., 2006, Penguin Books) () * ''Sex on the Brain: the biological differences between men and women'' (1997) — a ''New York Times'' Notable Book of the Year (1998, Penguin Books) () * ''Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the science of affection'' (2002) — named among the best books of 2002 by ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'',
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
and ''Discover'' magazine, finalist for ''Los Angeles Times'' 2002 Book Prize (2002, Basic Books) () * ''Ghost Hunters: William James and the search for scientific proof of life after death'' (2007, Penguin Books) ()) * '' The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York'' (2010, Penguin Press) ()) * ''Angel Killer: A True Story of Cannibalism, Crime Fighting, and Insanity in New York City'' (2012, The Atavist) ()) * ''The Poison Squad: One Chemist’s Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century'' (2018, Penguin Press) ()) * ''Tactical Guide to Science Journalism: Lessons From the Front Lines'' (2022, Oxford University Press) ())


Filmography


TV

* ''The Poison Squad'' (2020) based on Blum's book titled ''The Poison Squad. Documentary film produced by PBS's American Experience'' * ''The Poisoner's Handbook'' (2014) adapted into a PBS documentary from Blum's book by the same title.


Awards

* 2021 Distinguished Service Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Journalism and Mass Communication. * 2018 Endocrine Society Award for Excellence in Science and Medical Journalism *2014 University of Washington-Whitewater Chancellor's Regional Literary Award for the books ''The Poisoner's Handbook'' and ''Love at Good Park'' * 2010 ''The Poisoner's Handbook a Finalist for the
Agatha Award The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short ...
in Best Non-fiction'' * 2010 Best Adult Nonfiction award to ''The Poisoner's Handbook'' from the Society of Midland Authors * 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting at the ''Sacramento Bee'' for her series, "The Monkey Wars"


Reviews


NPR review of ''The Poisoner's Handbook''


on Madison.com
Ghost Hunters Reviews
at
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
*
The Final Frontier
'' review by Dennis Drabelle in ''The Washington Post'', July 30, 2006 *

'' review by Michael S. Roth in ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
,'' August 6, 2006
Salon.com review of Love at Goon Park''


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blum, Deborah 20th-century science writers 21st-century science writers 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American journalists 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American science writers American women science writers American environmental journalists American journalism academics American bloggers American women bloggers Science bloggers American newspaper journalists American reporters and correspondents American women journalists American women non-fiction writers Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers Journalists from California Livingston Award winners for National Reporting Writers from Madison, Wisconsin Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting winners University of Georgia alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Journalism & Mass Communication alumni Wired (magazine) people Writers from Sacramento, California 21st-century American Jews 1954 births Living people