Sign in

Christian Elliott

@christianelliott.me
5.8K followers 1.7K following 813 posts

Science journalist & audio producer / Making podcasts at NASA / Other words in Nat Geo, The Atlantic, the NYT, Science, bioGraphic, Undark, etc. / Iowan 🌽 Views expressed here are my own. Portfolio: christianelliott.me

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Dan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Kudos to @christianelliott.me for winning the commentary award; a terrific piece. Honored @sciencewriters.org gave me a finalist nod in the category, a bit of a capstone to my brief stint as an opinion writer. Wild stuff.
1122
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 23/09/2026
Thanks, Dan! This is really the only time I've decided my voice made sense for an op-ed and it's nice to have the piece recognized. I have a lot of respect for your opinion writing (even if Springer Nature apparently did not)!
010
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 23/09/2026
Neat to see our reporting for NASA's Curious Universe podcast cited in this great Roman story in @agu.org's @eos.org publication!
eos.org
Roman Telescope Begins Quest to Reveal Evolving Universe - Eos
A new era of space exploration began today with the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
010
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 22/09/2026
And I'm so glad the good folks at @undark.org took this fledging idea for an essay on and helped shape it into a sharp, thoroughly-reported and fact-checked piece (as they always do!). You can (and should) read all the winning stories here:
nasw.org
Announcing the 2026 NASW Science in Society Journalism Award winners
The National Association of Science Writers and its Awards Committee are pleased to announce the winners of the <strong>2026 NASW Science in Society Journalism Awards.</strong> This year, NASW is awar...
000
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 22/09/2026
csbelliott I'm not typically an op-ed writer, but when I discovered the ways government subsidies prop up an unsustainable network of big agriculture operations, ethanol plants and carbon sequestration wells to hide their emissions underground, right in my backyard, I decided to write an essay.
100
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 22/09/2026
Here's what they had to say: “Combining reportage with personal experience, Elliott tells a nuanced story about not just the potential risks that the carbon sequestration plants pose to the environment, but also about how policy decisions about corn, ethanol, and climate are changing us."
100
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 22/09/2026
The judges called my piece "an enlightening critique of the carbon sequestration technology and its environmental impacts."
undark.org
Carbon Capture Scale Up Brings New Problems to the Midwest
Opinion | Carbon sequestration subsidies are a boon for ethanol. But the agricultural system and technology it relies on pose risks.
100
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 22/09/2026
My op-ed for @undark.org about the science and risks of carbon sequestration in my backyard here in Illinois won the @sciencewriters.org Science in Society Journalism Award this year in the Commentary category!
170
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 17/09/2026
Here's the website with more info:
starhop.com
AerospaceFest | Explore Space Today! — McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center
Join AerospaceFest at McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center for hands-on STEM activities, astronaut talks, and planetarium shows. Free event for all ages.
000
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 17/09/2026
East coast/Boston-area friends and space fans — I'll be in Concord, NH this weekend giving a keynote about #scicomm at NASA for the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center's annual AerospaceFest. Come through!
100
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Dr Dan Shugar 🇨🇦 @watershedlab.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I spoke with @afp.com about the Nepal disaster and some of the conspiracy theories swirling around the cause (also feat @kristencook.bsky.social @glaciocook.bsky.social). ⚒️🧪 factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
factcheck.afp.com
How an ice-rock avalanche caused the deadly China-Nepal floods
At least 1,400 people were killed and more than 5,300 missing after catastrophic floods swept through the Himalayas in late August, according to Chinese and Nepali authorities. As emergency response t...
12314
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 17/09/2026
My latest for National Geographic: A new study by @wwattribution.bsky.social links the Nepal landslide to climate change. Should polluters pick up the tab for cleanup? Nepal's government thinks so.
nationalgeographic.com
If Climate Change Contributed to Nepal’s Floods, Should Polluters Pay?
The tiny country contributes less than 0.1 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions—but is experiencing the consequences of climate change firsthand.
051
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 04/09/2026
This time, the comment period is just 30 days long, without a single community meeting. You have until September 21 to make your voice heard: 6/6
regulations.gov
Regulations.gov
000
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 04/09/2026
When the Roadless Rule was adopted in 2001, it followed an 18-month public comment period, with 600 community meetings held across the country. 95% of the 1.8 million comments the Forest Service collected were in favor of the rule. 5/6
100
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 04/09/2026
Studies show road construction actually leads to more wildfire ignitions, because people are the biggest cause of fires. Critics of rescinding the rule say the move seems more about complying with executive orders pushing the "immediate expansion" of logging than about wildfire prevention. 4/6
100
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 04/09/2026
The Forest Service says it's about wildfire prevention — more roads means easier access to National Forest lands to fight fires. But wildland firefighters (ones willing to speak out) say that's "bunk" — the only thing mid-slope roads are good for is logging. 3/6
100
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 04/09/2026
So why are they moving to rescind it? I have the story, for @sierramagazine.bsky.social: 2/6
sierraclub.org
The US Forest Service Moves to Cancel Its “Best Idea”: the Roadless Rule
The Roadless Rule protected nearly 60 million acres of forest—until now
100
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 04/09/2026
The "Roadless Rule" has protected nearly 60 million acres of National Forest land from new road construction (and the timber extraction that results) since it was adopted in 2001. It's been called the US Forest Service's "best idea." It saves the agency money and protects ecosystems. 1/6
100
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 27/08/2026
We took a deep dive into the crazy science behind NASA's Roman Space Telescope on Curious Universe today, ahead of the launch this Sunday! Available as both audio video this time.
youtube.com
Why NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Will Make Discoveries Scientists Don't Expect
YouTube video by NASA Goddard
021
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
"A massive flood potentially caused by a chunk of ice breaking off from a glacier has swept away bridges, schools, and other buildings and killed at least 160 people" www.scientificamerican.com/article/wall...
scientificamerican.com
Wall of floodwater sweeps away villages in Nepal, with hundreds missing
A massive flood potentially caused by a chunk of ice breaking off from a glacier has swept away bridges, schools, and other buildings and killed at least 160 people
22911
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 27/08/2026
Good editors must be treasured!
010
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 24/08/2026
Phil's story struck me because he's on the front line of the climate crisis, living on a literal and metaphorical cliff. There's no government agency or insurance company between him and oblivion. He's making hard decisions right now that we'll all have to face eventually.
010
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 24/08/2026
While reporting on landslides for a National Geographic magazine feature, I met a man I knew I had to profile — Phil Gordon, a retired librarian who lives on a cliff that's slowly sliding into the sea. His solution? Moving his cabin by hand, inch by inch, away from the edge...
nationalgeographic.com
Phil Gordon's House Will One Day Slide Off an Alaska Cliff. So He's Moving It Inch by Inch.
"Twenty-five years ago, when I first looked over the edge... I thought I was the kind of fool that should live here.”
121
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 13/08/2026
New space telescope, new NASA podcast series... 🌌 With a field of view 100 times larger than Hubble's, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will settle essential questions in astronomy. So excited to see this series, which we've been working on for months, finally launch!
nasa.gov
Roman Series: NASA’s New View of the Dark Universe
Meet NASA’s newest space telescope. NASA scientists explain how Roman will help us understand dark energy, one of the most puzzling mysteries in space.
044
Reposted by Christian Elliott
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 31/07/2026
As climate change destabilizes the ground beneath our feet, geology is becoming a real-time science, Christian Elliott reports:
bit.ly
Climate Change Is Destabilizing the Ground Beneath Our Feet
Mountains are shifting, permafrost is melting, and the risk of landslides is rising.
12915
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 31/07/2026
When the Earth's waters shift, so does solid ground. Now, mountains are moving, permafrost is melting, and the risk of landslides is rising. Warming, which began in the atmosphere and hydrosphere, has penetrated the geosphere, destabilizing land across the planet.
020
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 31/07/2026
My latest piece for @theatlantic.com lays out an argument I've been hearing from scientists for a while now in my reporting — that we need to stop thinking about climate change as a phenomenon restricted to the atmosphere and the ocean and start thinking about it as an unstable land problem. 🧪⛰️
theatlantic.com
Climate Change Is Moving Mountains
As glaciers melt and rainfall grows more extreme, once-stable lands are shifting.
1127
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Ben Young Landis @younglandis.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
"...the Sacramento Valley... likely permanently lost its capacity to store water, researchers report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." (@christianelliott.me / @science.org) www.science.org/content/arti... #California #CALEG #Sacramento 🧪
science.org
A California aquifer may have crossed the point of no return
Satellite data reveal in unprecedented detail how groundwater reservoirs permanently lose their ability to store water
076
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 29/07/2026
As soon as I started the final season of The Bear I knew I'd be putting this soundtrack on repeat to do research/write. Just the amount of stress needed for me to actually lock in and get things done lol.
open.spotify.com
The Bear: The Final Season (Original Soundtrack) - Album by Christian Lundberg | Spotify
Christian Lundberg · album · 2026 · 17 songs
010
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
"On Friday, wildfires in Spain overran one of three observatories the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration uses to connect with spacecraft, including Voyager 1, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the recently completed Artemis mission around the Moon." www.wired.com/story/spanis...
wired.com
One of NASA’s Most Important Deep Space Observatories Hit by Spanish Wildfires
Flames burned through the Deep Space Communications Complex near Madrid, but NASA has been unable to assess the damage as a wildfire emergency grips the region.
045
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 27/07/2026
During a record-setting drought in California in 2021, satellite radar showed much of Sacramento Valley permanently subsided by more than half a meter — meaning a permanent loss in aquifer water storage capacity. Covered a new study in @pnas.org today for @science.org. 🧪
science.org
A California aquifer may have crossed the point of no return
Satellite data reveal in unprecedented detail how groundwater reservoirs permanently lose their ability to store water
078
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 21/07/2026
Memory foam. The Dust Buster. Cell phone cameras. A swimsuit so fast it got banned from the Olympics. All NASA inventions! Today on Curious Universe: the 50th anniversary of NASA's Spinoff program -- how the agency gets technologies from space into the hands of people on the ground.
open.spotify.com
There’s More Space in Your Life Than You Think
NASA's Curious Universe · Episode
000
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Dan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
"...the recently announced layoffs at Scientific American have elicited shock, dismay, and grief throughout our science writing community." www.nasw.org/July2026soli...
nasw.org
NASW expresses solidarity with journalists facing layoffs and loss of freelance work
To the workers affected by this round of layoffs, both in terms of staff jobs and the loss of freelance work as a result of those eliminated positions, and to those still recovering from similar actio...
19137
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 08/07/2026
Fantastic piece, and I'm so inspired by your garden! 🐝
110
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
"On a more fundamental level, a vocal cohort of ecologists, historians and philosophers argues that the concepts of native and invasive species — which they equate with xenophobia and militarism — should be reworked or abandoned"
051
Reposted by Christian Elliott
National Association of Science Writers (NASW) @sciencewriters.org · 01/07/2026
Proposed rule revisions of federal grant guidelines by the OMB will limit transparency and the communication of scientific findings. Learn more: www.nasw.org/article... Honor America's 250th by letting your voice be heard. Log your opposition by July 13: www.regulations.gov/...
nasw.org
Proposed OMB changes would gut science communication — Comment by July 13
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget recently proposed extensive changes to [federal grant guidelines](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance) that would severely restrict how scientists communicate their research findings to the public and American taxpayers.
099
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 01/07/2026
If you'd like to read about the exploits of Ed Saltzman etc.
nasa.gov
000
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 01/07/2026
Doing research for a NASA podcast episode and came across this absolute banger of an ebook cover
100
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Dr Dan Shugar 🇨🇦 @watershedlab.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
I spoke w Brady Podloski, host of Catastrophes podcast about hazards and disasters in the mountains, including our recent paper in @science.org about the 481m tsunami in Tracy Arm, Alaska (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...). Check it out. @ucalgaryscience.bsky.social 🧪⚒️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xb1...
youtube.com
EP. 48: The 481 Metre Tsunami that Nearly Hit a Cruise Ship
YouTube video by Catastrophe
1189
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 25/06/2026
One of my story sources found a copy of my Nat Geo piece on landslides in a cafe in Taiwan! Blowing my mind that people are finding and reading this story all over the world. 😍
022
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
"With the upcoming International Seabed Authority assembly meeting scheduled in July, all eyes will be on Canada to see if the government recognizes a responsibility to challenge [The Metals Company] and the U.S. government’s actions, or if it continues to remain silent."
082
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 24/06/2026
So sorry to hear this! Sad day for SciAm — what a loss of journalistic talent for them
010
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 24/06/2026
So sorry, Meghan. Terrible news for SciAm
110
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Kate Wong @katewong.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Today is my last day at Scientific American, which has been sold to LabX media group. For three decades I've led the magazine's coverage of human origins, archaeology, paleontology, animal behavior, ecology, BIRDS. End of an era. Anyway this feels weird to say, but I'm now available for assignments!
671847456
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 24/06/2026
Terrible news, sorry to hear this, Dan
010
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Dan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Scientific American is being sold to LabX Media, publisher of Discover: group.springernature.com/gp/group/med... They've fired me and other union staff, ahead of June 26 vote ratification. My rates are suddenly more reasonable, if you need editing or reporting - Argonaut2026@gmail.com
group.springernature.com
Springer Nature to divest its consumer media businesses | Springer Nature Group | Springer Nature
Strategic divestment of consumer media portfolio enables Springer Nature to focus on its core business Transaction supports the long-term development
93961574
Reposted by Christian Elliott
Meghan Bartels @meghanbartels.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
I’m so sad to share that yesterday was my last day at Scientific American. It was an honor to work alongside my incredible colleagues and to speak with researchers across the sciences. If you’re looking to hire staff or freelance, please consider me and my other laid off coworkers (🧵)
711212357
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 18/06/2026
Nothing like a post-supercell sunset over a Midwestern gas station
020
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 11/06/2026
Yeah I'd probably want to talk with a buyer and sort of vet them haha
000
Christian Elliott @christianelliott.me · 11/06/2026
(I have no connection to this story to be clear, I'm just also rewilding my yard and have gotten the same question)
000